Franz Muller
| Franz Müller | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | c.1841 |
| Died | 14 November 1864 |
| Nationality | German |
| Occupation | Tailor |
| Criminal charge | Murder |
| Criminal penalty | Death by hanging |
| Criminal status | Executed |
Franz Müller (c.1841 – 14 November 1864), a German tailor, murdered Thomas Briggs in the first murder committed on a British train. The case caught the imagination of the public due to increasing safety fears about rail travel at the time, and the pursuit of Müller across the Atlantic Ocean by Scotland Yard.
Contents |
[edit] Crime
On 9 July 1864 Thomas Briggs, a City banker, was beaten and robbed while he travelled on the 9.50 p.m. North London Railway train between Fenchurch Street and Hackney Wick. The robber took his gold watch and gold spectacles and threw his body from the compartment. The driver of a train travelling in the opposite direction spotted Briggs lying on the embankment next to the tracks between Bow and Hackney Wick stations. 51°32′23.08″N 0°1′36.21″W / 51.5397444°N 0.026725°W The banker died of his wounds shortly after being taken to the nearby "Mitford Castle" pub in Hackney.[1]
[edit] Investigation
When the train reached Hackney Wick, the guard was alerted by two bankers who discovered pools of blood in Briggs' compartment. Police later found a black beaver hat.[2] Initially it was presumed to have belonged to the deceased but it subsequently turned out to have belonged to the murderer.
On 18 July, a cabdriver called Matthews came forward with suspicions about a German called Franz Müller.[3] He told police that the 25-year-old tailor had come to his house with a gold chain in a box. After he had attached his fob watch to the chain, he gave the box to Matthew's daughter. The box had sold by a jeweller named John Death from Cheapside.
Death identified Müller from a photograph and told investigators the German had visited his shop on 11 July to exchange a gold chain. This was later identified as belonging to Briggs. With this evidence, a warrant for Müller's arrest was issued.[4]
[edit] Transatlantic escape
However by the time an arrest warrant was issued, Müller had boarded a sailing ship to New York. On 20 July, a Scotland Yard inspector along with Matthews and Death sailed for New York from Liverpool on the Inman steamer City of Manchester in pursuit of Müller. The faster ship arrived in New York three weeks before Müller.
When Müller arrived he was arrested. Among his possession was Briggs' gold watch and a hat. Müller had altered the hat by cutting the crown by half its height and carefully sewing it to the brim. Although diplomatic relations between the United States and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland remained severely strained due to British involvement in the American Civil War (such as the building of Confederate commerce raider the CSS Alabama), an American judge upheld the extradition request to return Müller to Britain.
[edit] Trial & conviction
Although most of the evidence against Müller was circumstantial, the prosecutor Mr Serjeant Ballantine made a strong case. Defence concerns that Matthews had only came forward to receive the reward were of little effect. Müller maintained his innocence throughout his trial. After he was found guilty, he was sentenced to death.[5] King Wilhelm I of Prussia (subsequently the Kaiser of Germany) failed to get the British Government to postpone the execution.[6]
[edit] Death
The public hanging of Müller took place outside Newgate Prison in London on 14 November amid scenes of drunkenness and disorderly conduct by 50,000 spectators. Although this was one of the last public executions in England, they did not end until 1868.
Despite consistently claiming innocence at his trial and while awaiting sentence, Müller allegedly confessed to the crime immediately before being hanged. Dr Cappell, the prison chaplain, claimed afterwards that Müller's last words were "Ich habe es getan" (English: I did it) in response to the question was he responsible for the death of Briggs.[7] This confession led to a large scale public outcry over whether the chaplain had overstepped his authority by breaking the seal of the Confessional.[citation needed]
[edit] Legacy
Briggs had been murdered in a closed compartment that had no corridor, when the train started there was no way to leave until the next station. Public reaction resulted in the establishment of the communication cord on trains that allowed passengers to contact members of the railway crew, required by the Regulation of Railways Act 1868. It also led to the creation of railway carriages that had corridors. The new coach/carriage designs would have side corridors that allowed passengers to move from their compartments while the train was in motion.
[edit] References
[edit] Bilbliography
- Colquhoun, Kate (2011). Mr Briggs' Hat: A Sensational Account of Britain's First Railway Murder. London: Little, Brown. ISBN 0748115676.
