Suspect stifled witnesses

Accused killer used his charm and influence to keep incriminating evidence secret

On Sept. 12, 1907, when Bert Shaw boarded the 7:20 a.m. train at Sheffield, England, for his home in Camden Town, London, he had no idea he was taking part in the first act of what was to become one of England's most infamous murder cases.

Upon arrival at his apartment, Bert was greeted by his landlady, Mrs. Stocks, and his visiting mother. It was 11:30 a.m. and the two women were mildly concerned that Bert's wife Phyllis had not left her apartment all morning. Bert went directly to his quarters and found the door locked. Mrs. Stocks provided a duplicate key.

When Bert found the bedroom door locked, he broke it down. Phyllis' nude body lay on the bed. She had been stabbed in the throat.

Phyllis had been an avid collector of postcards, which she kept in the front room. Bert noticed one of her albums in the bedroom. It was open and several postcards were scattered on the floor.

A bloody basin bore evidence that the killer had washed up after the murder. In the parlour, a meal for two had obviously been consumed. In the Camden Town murder, almost everyone involved had a secret. Bert's wife wasn't legally his wife at all. Her name was Phyllis Dimmock and she was a prostitute.

About nine months earlier, Bert had agreed to have Phyllis move in with him on condition that she never ply her trade again. He had told everyone that he and Phyllis had married.

But Phyllis hadn't given up her old ways one little bit. Bert learned of Phyllis' deception from the police. He was investigated as a suspect and was able to prove without a doubt he was miles away at the time of the crime.

Police checked out the pubs frequented by Phyllis. They discovered her favourite hangout was the Rising Sun in Camden Town. In this way they came in contact with Robert Roberts. He had spent three consecutive nights, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, with Phyllis, leaving early each morning. On Wednesday night, the night of the murder, he had wanted to visit Phyllis for the fourth time, but she told him she already had a date for that night.

Every word Roberts told police proved to be true. On Wednesday morning, before he left the apartment for the last time, there was a knock on the door. Two pieces of mail were pushed under the door. Roberts picked them up. One was a letter, which Phyllis read before handing it over to Roberts. He remembered the contents. "Dear Phyllis, Will you meet me at the Eagle, Camden Town, 8:30 tonight, Wednesday? - Bert.''

After Phyllis showed the letter to Roberts, she went to a bureau and pulled out a postcard. It read, "Phyllis darling, If it pleases you, meet me, 8:15 p.m. at the (a drawing of the Rising Sun). Yours to a cinder, Alice.''

Roberts had noticed that the letter and the postcard were written in the same hand. It appeared to detectives that Phyllis' killer had desperately searched for the incriminating postcard, which they could not find.

The investigation was winding down when Bert Shaw called police with the startling news that he had found the missing postcard. Scotland Yard released copies of the postcard to the press, requesting anyone who recognized the writing to come forward.

Two people recognized the handwriting. Ruby Young had every intention of passing along her information to police, but before she could do so, her friend Robert Wood, whom she knew had written the postcard, called on her.

Ruby accused Robert of the being the writer. He didn't deny it. Robert told Ruby that he had met a woman named Phyllis in the Rising Sun. They had a few drinks. When Phyllis told him she collected postcards, he produced one. Phyllis was delighted and asked him to write something nice on it.

He wrote the note as a sort of an appointment, but when he went to sign it, Phyllis instructed him to sign it "Alice.''

He told Phyllis he would mail it and placed it in his pocket. Next day, strictly by coincidence, he met Phyllis on the street. The day after that, he mailed the postcard.

Ruby believed Robert's story and didn't pass her information on to Scotland Yard.

The other person who recognized the writing on the postcard was a Mr. Tinkham, who worked with Robert Wood at a fancy glassware manufacturing company.

Tinkham told Robert of his suspicions and was given the same basic story as Ruby Young. He also believed Robert and did nothing. It should be pointed out that Robert Wood was a respected artist and executive with his company. He was considered to be a fine, upstanding citizen.

During the height of the investigation, Robert met with his old flame Ruby on several occasions and urged her to tell anyone who asked that he had been with her on the night of Phyllis' murder.

He also looked up a Mr. Lambert, whom he knew had seen him with Phyllis at a pub about a week before the murder. He implored Lambert not to reveal what he knew.

Robert explained he wasn't guilty of any wrongdoing. He just didn't want to get involved in a murder case as it would be an embarrassment to his father. Lambert agreed.

But Ruby Young couldn't resist telling a friend the whole story. The friend told a newspaper man, who in turn informed Scotland Yard. On Oct. 4, 1907, Robert Wood was taken into custody. Two days later, he was charged with Phyllis Dimmock's murder.

None of the articles missing from Phyllis' home was ever traced to Robert, nor was the murder weapon found in his home.

As for Robert's attempts to have friends and colleagues lie to protect him, Marshall Hall claimed he went to such trouble because he didn't want his family to find out that he often associated with prostitutes.

The English jury returned a verdict of not guilty, after which the courtroom crowd gave Robert Wood a standing ovation.

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