George Millen & Henry Sheepwash - Kent
The village of Bethersden on the outskirts of Kent received a shock when two men were arrested for the brutal attack and murder of an eighty year old man. This case is evidently reminiscent of another that we have covered on this blog of Landick & Mills. However, these two young men were only 17 & 16 at the time of the crime.
The crime happened on a bleak day in February, when George Millen (17) and Henry Sheepwash (16) reputedly of bad character, broke into the house of the elderly William Law (80). It was said that they were after the watch, that Law had apparently sold in considerable distress. Whether the two men had harassed Law for the watch, is unknown. They both went upstairs to Law’s bedroom where they rummaged through his belongings and then hit Law repeatedly with an iron stick with a knob on the end, they took his breeches and then left the man for dead. Somehow Law had managed to crawl out of his cottage and go to a nearby neighbor for help. However, he died from his injuries a couple of days after the incident.
William Law had said, according to various sources, that he had found two men by his bedside, and thinking that they were some friends, did not immediately become alarmed. However, when they attacked him apparently unprovoked he tried to plead for his life but was ignored. Before he died, he kept repeating the words; “"How cruelly I have been treated, cruel work, cruel work, to live to be four score, and knocked on the head like a dog.".
The motive for the crime: https://justintimesvintage.com/listing/858130539/antique-victorian-train-conductor-pocket
Thomas Millen, who was George’s cousin, was the neighbor who responded to Law’s cries for help. He testified that he had known Mr Law for six years, and that apart from his deafness the man was in reasonable health. On the day of the incident, he heard frantic knocking at the door at about 10:30 at night, he then opened the door to find Law in a shirt with no breeches, bleeding profusely from several wounds to the head. Law had apparently said to Millen; “"Pray let me in; someone has murdered me". Thomas Millen, had gone back to Law’s cottage where he found the place in complete disarray with the window broken from the outside.
After various witnesses coming forward saying that they had seen both Millen and Sheepwash, they were immediately apprehended by the police, the instrument that was used to hit Law and the man’s breeches were found in a nearby pond. When both men were sent before the magistrates, they found the evidence so conclusive that they sent both men to appear at Maidstone assizes. However, whilst in custody both men gave different accounts of the crime. Sheepwash had apparently testified that Millen had struck Law, and that it had made him feel so queer that he ran downstairs directly. But, according to William Law who was the grandson of the victim, said that Millen blamed Sheepwash for the unprovoked attack.
Both men were convicted of murder at the assizes. However, whilst Millen was sentenced to death, Sheepwash had got a reprieve, he was sent to a lunatic asylum. I think, probably on the account of his age, but there is no reason given in any of the sources. George Millen was executed for the wilful murder of Mr William Law on the 28th March 1849, however, there is very little information on the execution itself.
In conclusion, the brutal murder of Mr Law had left the village of Bethersden in shock at the brutal and unprovoked nature of the crime. There are still a lot of questions surrounding this crime, why did Sheepwash get a reprieve? Was Millen, indeed, more guilty? Was the motive just for Law’s watch?. However, these questions will probably remain unanswered.
A lunatic asylum: https://novellafotografia.blogspot.com/2011/08/victorian-lunatic-asylums-uk-high-royds.html
