The Following story is copied from reports in the Andover Advertiser published on Friday 19th May 1922 and Friday 26th May 1922

Murder at Kimpton

19th May 1922

DOUBLE TRAGEDY AT KIMPTON YOUNG WOMANAND FORMER LOVER KILLED SEQUEL TO A BROKEN ENGAGEMENT 

An engagement, which terminated just before April, has had an unusually sad ending, which has put the little village of Kimpton into gloom. On Sunday Afternoon in the village street, a chimney sweep killed his former sweetheart to whom he had been engaged and almost immediately afterwards took his own life. The victims are Beatrice Emily Worsdell (25), a cook, a daughter of Mr. andMrs. Worsdell of New buildings, Kimpton, and Horace Frank Hyde of Cobham, Surrey. Whose age was given as 36.

The story is briefly this - that Hyde made the acquaintance of the young woman when she was in service in Cobham as a cook, the attachment ripened into an engagement, but for some reason which has not been disclosed, the betrothal was broken off and Miss. Worsdell came home to Kimpton to escape, his attentions. She became a cook to Captain Leaf, of Kimpton Manor, just a month ago. Hyde must have been desperately fond of her, for he wrote her letters, in the last of which he asked her to give him a final good-bye. On Sunday he found his way to Kimpton and committed the dreadful deed which has set the whole neighbourhood in mourning, for Miss. Worsdell and the whole family are well known and much respected. The tragedy was enacted about a quarter of a mile from her home and yet within full view of it, for while the house and another holds a commanding view over all the village and is reached by means of a beaten track at right angles to the shoddesden Road.

 

Later on Monday afternoon the district coroner (Mr. P.E.I. Talbot) held an enquiry into the deaths, and it was a most distressing affair. Mr. Worsdell's house could not comfortably accommodate. the jury, so the coroners court was set up in the adjoining cart shed, which was made as convenient as possible. The jury was constituted as follows :- Tom Swash (Foreman), Joseph Darby, Hugh Guyatt, John Robert Bowden, Waiter Newman, Herbert Tom Young and Alfred Juror. The coroner first outlined the case of the young woman’s death.'She was killed," he said, "by a young man, with whom she had been keeping ,company;' He thought the Jury would have no doubt about that. It only depended ,on the possible state of the man’s mind whether they found a verdict of murder against him or simply that he killed her while he was insane.The first witness was David Worsdell, the deceased’s Father who is employed by Mr. Flambert, of Littleton farm, he gave his daughters age as 25 and said, She was single. A month ago she left home to go to service as a cook with Captain Leaf at Kimpton Manor. He last saw her alive on Friday afternoon about 5 o'clock, when she appeared to be in the best of health. He spoke to her and she did not seem to have any trouble what so ever. Previous to this situation his daughter was in service at Cobham.
The Coroner asked "Did you know that your daughter was keeping company with this young man ?"
Witness replied "Yes"
"Had you ever seen him"
"Yes"
"When did you last see him?"
"About a month ago. He came on the Friday, stayed the night and went back in the morning as far as I can say."
"Did you know that she had given him up"
Mr. Worsdell replied "Yes. She told him so in my presence."

EARLY CALL AT KIMPTON

Sidney Bews, a Private in the Kings Hussars, who is a servant to Captain Leaf, at Kimpton Manor, said that the deceased was a cook in the house, she had been there about a. month.The Coroner asked'. "Did you see this man at all?"
Sidney Bews answered
"Yes. I saw Miss. Worsdell talking to him about 12 o'clock on Sunday. I saw him afterwards in the New Inn at Kimpton, about 1.30”
The coroner asked "When was the last time that you saw them takingtogether. ?"
"It was about 2.45 on Sunday, near Manor Farm House."
"On either of the occasions when you saw them, did they seem to be talking in a friendly manor ?"
"The fist conversation about 12 o'clock at the kitchen door lasted for two minutes. Then he left. I fancy I heard the words 'This afternoon. ' "
"When you saw the man at the door in the New Inn, and kneeling behind the church wall waiting for the girl. Did he appear to be drunk?"
"No, he walked quite straight."
"When you saw them walking along together, were they walking along side by side, Did she seem to be afraid of him or anything of that sort"
"She looked as though she did not want his company."
John Sturgess, a Labourer, living at Kimpton disposed that he knew Miss. Worsdell. On Sunday afternoon between 1.0 and 3.30. He saw her with a man that he had never seen before. They passed by him as he was stood about a dozen yards away from the school. They went along the road that leads to the bottom of the track, which goes to New Buildings. We lost sight of them in the bend of the road..

 

"I heard a scream just afterwards," said Witness "and I looked round and saw Miss. Worsdell running down the road. She ran straight across to Mr. Rose's cottage. Mr. Rose opened the door and as he did so, she collapsed and fell straight into his arms. 1 could not see any injury at the time, but I ran into the house and discovered that the girl had been very badly injured. I could se by her throat that it was ne2rly all up with her. We put towels round her neck, placed her on a chair and did every thing we possibly could for her. She was dead in about a quarter of an hour. As soon as we had done all we could for the girl, I looked about for the man and found his body lying at the bottom of the track. The Coroner asked, "How far away did you find him from where you were standing when they passed you?” "About 70 yards."
"Did you hear them say any thing?"
"There was no conversation passing between them. They were walking side by side and it struck me that he was walking hard against her, on her right hand, as if he were trying to get her to go up the other road which leads on to the downs. She more or less walked in front of him to take the other turning, so as togo to her home."
"Did the girl speak at all before she died?"
"Mr. Rose and I were talking together and saying that we did not think that she could live, when she looked up and remarked 'I can hear all you are saying, I can hear all you are talking about.' She told us the name of the man,she said 'Horace Hyde is the man.' and called for her poor mother."Henry Rose, Job master of Kimpton, told how his house was situated right at the junction of Cow Lane and Shoddesden Road and the bottom of the track that leads up to New Buildings. 

HER LAST WORDS

The Coroner asked. "What time was it yesterday afternoon that you heard the screaming ?" Mr. Rose replied "It was about 3.30. I was indoors sitting down at the time. I jumped up, looking out of the window, saw Miss. Worsdell come across the grass plot towards my door. I knew her. She shouted. 'Mr. Rose, Mr. Rose.' I rushed to the door and saw what was the matter. Just as I got to the door and opened it she fell into my arms. I said 'Oh dear what ever have you done, have you had an accident?' She did not answer for a minute, so I called my wife. We tried to make her comfortable. We sat her on a chair outside in the air. I could see blood all over her, but thought that it was only coming from her hand. As I lifted her down I saw her head hang back and discerned that her throat had been cut. 'Oh dear,' I said 'whoever has done this?' She answered 'That horrible man.' . 'Where is he. ' I asked. ' He is over the road under the hedge.' she said and I asked her what his name was, and she replied 'Horace Hyde.' quite distinctly. She asked me for some water. I gave her some, but she only just sipped it. - As soon as we saw what had happened, We got towels and bound round her neck. In fact we did every thing that we possibly could for the poor girl. We sent for the Doctor and the Police. Three times Miss. Worsdell called for her mother. I asked her if she could hear what we were talking about. and she said that she could. '.My dear girl; I think you are dying.' I exclaimed. She looked up and said 'Yes.' She died within twenty minutes of the tragedy. I then went back to look for the man who I had previously seen, but knew nothing about.”

Medical evidence was given by Dr. J.E. Jones of Ludgershall, who stated that he arrived about 4 p.m. He saw the deceased tying on the piece of grass in front of the house. "She was dead." He said.He found that her throat had been cut. The cut was six inches long, on the left side of her neck, extending about one inch to the right of the wind pipe. Mussels, Arteries and Veins had been cut, but the wind pipe had not been severed, which accounted for the girl being able to speak. The wound was from the left to the right, but was too far back to be self inflicted. If inflicted by any one else it must have been a right handed man. There was a second cut on, the inner side of the right fore arm, two inches above the wrist. The cut was five inches long, and deeper on the inner side. The Tendons of the little ring finger had been cut, and in his opinion was, the girl must have put up her hand and tried to stop him curing her. In that way she received the cut on his wrist. Bleeding from the first described wound was the cause of death. Nothing could have been done to save her, the jugular vein had been severed.Very impotent evidence, which had a very strong bearing on the case was given by Hyde's Brother, Ernest Joseph Hyde, a brick layer who stated they lived at - 1, Manor Cottages, Anyards, Cobham, Surrey. The Coroner asked, “Do you know anything about the relationship of thetwo.”
The witness stated, "My Brother had been engaged to be married to Miss. Worsdell. I have an idea that it had been broken off. The last that I saw of my brother was on Saturday afternoon when we had tea together at about 5 o'clock."'

JEALOUSY

"Was he very much effected by this breaking off of the engagement?" Asked the Coroner.
" It seemed to appeal to him in the way, that he was a little troubled."
"How would you say that it affected him?"
" At times he seemed to be wondering."
" Did he drink at all?"
" When the engagement was over he took to drinking, and it preyed on his mind. He tried to drown his feelings."
"Had he served in the army at all?"
"Yes. He was a soldier. For seven years prior to the war he had served in India and he served all through the war with the Royal Field Artillery. He had not been injured or gassed, but his transport had been torpedoed twice."
The witness again mentioned the tea party on Saturday evening, when his another and father and his two brothers were together. Then the deceased told the family that he was going to Kingston, about five miles away from Cobham. He said that he was off to the Empire, and that was the last he knew of him till he was notified on Sunday night of what had occurred.
"Did your brother seem strange in his manner?" Asked the Coroner.
"Yes, he had been strange since the engagement was broken off. The bottom of the matter is, I believe, he was jealous, and I think he had made up his mind that if he could not have Miss. Worsdell, no one else should."
Summing up, the Coroner remarked that there seemed no doubt at all that Horace Hyde killed the young woman by cutting her throat. Had Hyde been alive, it would have been a most serious thing for him whether it was wilful murder or if he had killed her while temporally insane, the jury had to decide. If he had not cut his own throat the jury would have been very much inclined to that he killed the girl while temporally insane, he thought.They had heard of people who had been disappointed in love going off their heads and killing objects of their affections as well as them selves. There was desperately strong feeling in this case, and no doubt. The brother was right when he said that he thought that the deceased had come to the conclusion, that if he could not have the girl, no one else should.Had he got a sane mind at the time? Every thing seemed to have been planned by a sane man. He had two razorson him. He came to the village to do it, and apparently he came prepared to do it The Coroner had two letters written by Hyde, which seemed to suggest that there was something coming. One stated that:
"I want to kiss you for the last time." and such like things. Every thing pointed to a perfectly reasonable mind. The planning of the railway journey, putting the razors in his pockets intending to do something. After about five minutes the jury returned a verdict to the effect that Hyde wilfully murdered Miss. Worsdell, and that there was no evidence to show that he was insane. They considered that he had done it while sane.

THE SECOND INQUEST 

Next the jury saw the body of Horace Hyde, which was lying in an out house (that of Miss. Worsdell was in her home.)

Dr. Jones said that after examining the young woman on Sunday afternoon, he saw this man’s body about 50 yards away from the Rose's house. He was lying on the left side of the road going to Shoddesden and opposite the track that goes up to New buildings. The wound in his throat was six inches long. It was on a level with the top of 'Adams apple.' and was deeper on the right side. All the Arteries on both sides of the neck as well as the veins had been cut through, in fact he had cut right through to the front of the spinal cord, which was showing. It was a very determined cut, and no doubt self inflicted. The man musty have been in a terribly determined state to have cut himself like that.
Ernest Joseph Hyde proved his brother's identity and repeated most of the evidence tendered in the first case.

William George Lucas, a servant employed at Delhi Mass, Tidworth Barracks, said he lived at Snoddesden. On Sunday afternoon he walked across to Kimpton with his friend from Winchester. He was near Manor Farm House about 3.10 and he saw the couple walking. He had not seen them before. The man was quite a yard away from the girl. They came straight up the road leading from Kimpton to Shoddesden. Witness said good bye to his friend, then walked on behind the couple with view to seeing some friends at the school corner. He spoke to three fellows there; Sturgess, Goodall, and Rose. They were there about two -minutes. All at once he heard a scream from the girl, and saw her run across to Mr. Rose's house. Witness ran towards the house but Mr. Rose shouted to him to go up the road, as the fellow was along there, he said. Witness rushed up them and found a man in a kneeling position. An open razor was laying about a foot away from his left hand. Witness picked up the razor put it in the hedge until the policeman came up. Witness took his handkerchief out of his pocket and fed it round the deceased's neck. He could see it was no good, and as he turned the man over to lay him down, he died.

He saw some 'girl's stuff' lying on the grass. There was some jewellery there to, a ring and a gold bangle in a box. Supt. Cox said these were presents which Hyde had given the girl, but which when she, came home to Kimpton, she returned to him.  

The coroner thought that the jury would have no hesitation in finding that Hyde cut his own throat, for a witness had proved it to them that he had saw them walking along only a couple of minutes before the tragedy.
A jury man wanted to know if there was anything that could throw some light on the breaking off of the engagement. The Coroner said he thought it would he advisable to read one letter which Hyde had wrote. It reads as follows:-

Dear Em,
A line to tell you dear, that I should like to see you and kiss you a last goodbye, as I can’t stand it any longer here. Every day you are in my thoughts, and I keep waking up at night since I saw you last………

The Coroner said he could not go on with the letter.Supt Cox said the letters were addressed to her home. She finished with him entirely. He made enquiries in the district on Sunday morning before he got to Kimpton, and he tried his best to find out where she was. He went to two wrong houses in quest of her.

The Coroner said, in one letter, Miss Worsdell had said he had taken to drink, but the brother had told them that was not 'till after the engagement was broken off. The jury returned a verdict of felo-de'se. and the foreman on their behalf expressed the sympathy of the court with both families in the great trial that had overtaken them. The Coroner agreed and said he would pass on their words.