Mr Richard Beck and his wife Elizabeth were both murdered by Richard Brinkley on 20 April 1907 although unintentionally. Mr Beck was the landlord of a building in which a Mr Parker lived. Brinkley had gone around to see Parker and had taken him a present of a bottle of stout that he had laced with Prussic Acid. While they were both out of the room Mr and Mrs Beck came in with their daughter. On seeing the bottle of stout they all sampled it. Mr and Mrs Beck died within a few minutes but their daughter was taken to hospital and made a full recovery. 

Brinkley, Richard

Richard Brinkley was a man who befriended a 77 year old widow Mrs Johanna Blume with a view to cheating her out of her money. She owned a house in Fulham and he had designs upon her estate. He drew up a will in which he was the sole beneficiary of all the old lady's property and savings By folding a piece of paper he managed to entice her to sign it thinking it was a list of people wishing to go to the seaside. He obtained the signatures of Henry Heard and Reginald Parker, who were to be the witnesses in the same way. It was in fact a will made out in his favour.

When the lady died her grand-daughter contested the will. Knowing that this meant the witnesses would be questioned he decided to eliminate them. He started with a Mr Parker, visiting him on the pretext of buying a dog. He had a bottle of stout laced with prussic acid to give to Mr Parker. While they were looking at the dog, Mr Parkers landlord, Mr and Mrs Beck and their daughter came in to see him. Seeing the stout they both sampled it and promptly died. The daughter was very ill but recovered.

Brinkley was promptly arrested and tried for murder at Guildford Assizes where he was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. He was hanged at Wandsworth on 13 August 1907 by Henry Pierrepoint.

Real-Crime.co.uk

Richard Brinkley

Brinkley was hanged at Wandsworth Prison on 13th August 1907. Brinkley was a carpenter who cultivated the friendship of Johanna Maria Louisa Blume, a 77-year-old widow. She owned a house in Fulham and he had designs upon her estate. He drew up a will in which he was the sole beneficiary of all the old lady's property and savings. He induced her to sign the will by means of telling her that he was collecting names for a seaside outing. By using a similar ruse he collected the signatures of two witnesses, Henry Heard and Reginald Parker.

Mrs Blume died two days later and Brinkley promptly produced the will and claimed his inheritance. Mrs Blume's grand-daughter, who had lived with the old lady, disputed the signature and, with the help of a solicitor, demanded that Brinkley prove the validity of the will. As this meant that the witnesses would be questioned Brinkley decided that the best way forward would be to eliminate them.

He visited Parker saying that he was interested in buying a dog that Parker had for sale. He brought with him a bottle of stout. The bottle was left unattended on the kitchen table while the two men went to look at the dog. Mr Beck, Parker's landlord, with his wife and daughter entered the kitchen and, spotting the bottle, decided to sample it. All three collapsed with Mr and Mrs Beck dying. The bottle was found to have been laced with prussic acid.

Brinkley was tried at Guildford Assizes, with forensic evidence being given on the use of various inks used in the signatures on the wills. Mrs Blume's body was exhumed and no trace of poison was found.

DerekBentley.com

Richard Clifford Brinkley

Henry Pierrepoint and John Ellis hanged Brinkley at Wandsworth Prison on 13th August 1907. Brinkley was a 53-year-old carpenter who cultivated the friendship of Johanna Maria Louisa Blume, a 77-year-old widow. She owned a house in Fulham and he had designs upon her estate. Brinkley drew up a will in which he was the sole beneficiary of all the old lady's property and savings. On 17th December 1906 he induced her to sign the will by means of telling her that he was collecting names for a seaside outing. By using a similar ruse he collected the signatures of two witnesses, Henry Heard and Reginald Parker.

Mrs Blume died two days later of a cerebral haemorrhage and Brinkley promptly produced the will and claimed his inheritance. Mrs Blume's granddaughter, who had lived with the old lady, disputed the signature and, with the help of a solicitor, demanded that Brinkley prove the validity of the will. As this meant that the witnesses would be questioned Brinkley decided that the best way forward would be to eliminate them.

Brinkley visited Parker at his lodgings in Croydon saying that he was interested in buying a dog that Parker had for sale. He brought with him a bottle of oatmeal stout. The bottle was left unattended on the kitchen table while the two men went to take the dog for a walk. Mr Richard Beck, Parker's landlord, with his wife, Elizabeth, and daughter entered the kitchen and, spotting the bottle, decided to sample it. All three collapsed with Mr and Mrs Beck dying. The bottle was found to have been laced with prussic acid. Brinkley was arrested in the street in Fulham on the following day.

Brinkley was tried at Guildford Assizes, with forensic evidence being given on the use of various inks used in the signatures on the wills. A railway inspector remembered Brinkley buying a ticket to Croydon on the evening of the Beck's deaths and a chemist in Manor Road, South Norwood, told of having sold prussic acid to Brinkley. Mrs Blume's body was exhumed and no trace of poison was found.

Murder-UK.com

Bottle Of Stout Was Fatal

Mrs. Johanna Blume, a 77-year-old widow, owned a house in Fulham, London, where she lived with her granddaughter. Getting to know her, Richard Brinkley, a 53-year-old carpenter, fancied her home and devised a scheme to obtain its possession.

First he cultivated Mrs. Blume’s acquaintance. Then he drew up a will in her name, in which she left him her entire estate. To obtain her signature on the document, he folded it so that it appeared to be a blank piece of paper. Then he told Mrs. Blume he was collecting signatures for a seaside outing. “It’s going to be a wonderful day out,” he told her. “You’ll enjoy every minute of it.”

She peered at the piece of paper and signed it between the two crosses Brinkley had thoughtfully added in pencil. In the same way he then obtained the signatures of two witnesses, Reginald Parker and Henry Heard, who signed their names below Mrs. Blume’s.

Her death followed two days later, and Brinkley promptly produced the will and claimed her property. Her 21-year-old granddaughter accepted that the will bore Mrs. Blume’s signature, but she decided to challenge it, and went to a solicitor. He wrote asking Brinkley to prove the document’s validity, adding that he wished to see the will’s witnesses.

The solicitor subsequently saw Reginald Parker, who said he had no recollection of witnessing a will, let alone seeing Mrs. Blume sign any document.

Informed that the will was to be contested, Brinkley went to see Mrs. Blume’s granddaughter, offering to marry her if she would accept the will’s terms and drop her solicitor. But the granddaughter wasn’t interested in marriage, least of all to a man more than twice her age.

His proposal rejected, Brinkley decided to eliminate his two witnesses, starting with Parker. On the pretext of buying a bulldog Parker had for sale, on APRIL 20th, 1907, he went to see him at his lodgings in Croydon, taking along a bottle of stout which he placed on a table while they went out to look at the animal.

In their absence Parker’s landlord Richard Beck entered the room with his wife and daughter. Seeing the bottle of stout, they decided to sample it. Moments later they collapsed, Beck and his wife dying shortly afterwards, their daughter recovering in hospital.

The stout was found to be laced with prussic acid, and when Parker told the police that the bottle had been brought by Brinkley he was arrested on suspicion of causing the Becks’ deaths. Detectives found a vet who had supplied Brinkley with prussic acid to destroy a dog. They also found the off-licence assistant who had sold Brinkley the bottle of stout.

Convicted at Guildford Assizes of the Becks’ murder and the attempted murder of their daughter and Parker, Richard Brinkley was hanged at Wandsworth Prison on August 13th, 1907.

And Mrs. Blume? When she was exhumed, the police were confident that prussic acid would be found. But there was no trace of any poison. So her death was either an extraordinary coincidence or Brinkley somehow outwitted the pathologist Bernard Spilsbury who examined the body.

TrueCrimeLibrary.com