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The Case That Shocked Canada at the Very End of the 19th Century
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Please remember to subscribe and hit the bell icon as well as leave a like and a comment for more videos every week!
Brief Case is a True Crime Channel focusing on old or lost cases that have been forgotten to history. If you have any recommendations for future cases that you would like to bring to light, feel free to reach out to me to: briefcaseuk@gmail.com
Music by CO.AG Music - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwZB4l43iTw&t=105s
Music by Myuu -https://www.youtube.com/user/myuuji
Music by Kevin Macleod - https://incompetech.com
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NewsTranscript
00:07Today we are looking at a case from the very end of the 19th century, so sit back as we
00:14go to Canada.
00:17Emily Hilda Blake was born in 1878 in the county of Norfolk in England.
00:22Her father was a police constable and when able supplemented the family's income by working as a farm labourer.
00:28Although he worked hard to provide for his family, the wages from both occupations were modest,
00:33and like many working class households in rural Victorian England, the Blakes often found themselves in difficult financial circumstances.
00:41Although named Emily Hilda Blake, everyone knew her as Hilda.
00:45Her parents were deeply religious people, but tragedy struck early in Hilda's life.
00:50Both her parents died, while she and her brother Thomas were still children, leaving them with no one to care
00:56for them.
00:57As a result, they were admitted to the Heckingham workhouse, where life was harsh and opportunities were few.
01:03At the time, Britain was sending thousands of orphaned, abandoned and impoverished children to Canada through a number of charitable
01:10immigration schemes.
01:12Many of these children had spent time in workhouses or children's homes, after losing one or both parents, while others
01:19came from families who were too poor to support them.
01:21It was hoped these children would have the opportunity to build a better future in Canada, where they were placed
01:26with farming families, or employers who could provide them with a home in return for their labour.
01:31While some found kindness and stability, many others endured loneliness, hard work and mistreatment.
01:39Hilda and her brother were among those who were called the home children, and in 1888, Lady Bouchon arranged for
01:45the pair to travel to Manitoba, as part of her charitable efforts to help orphaned children begin new lives overseas.
01:52Hilda and Thomas were placed in the home of a man named Alfred Stewart, who lived with his wife Letitia,
01:58in the remote settlement of Elkhorn, in the province of Manitoba.
02:02Situated on the western prairies, Elkhorn was an isolated community, some distance from the province's biggest towns and cities.
02:10Hilda was not happy there, and after some time she left the house, and went to live with Mr and
02:15Mrs Rex.
02:16The move, however, started a legal dispute.
02:19Mr Stewart charged Mr Rex with child stealing, a case that was eventually dismissed, and in response, Mr Rex charged
02:26Mr Stewart with false prosecution,
02:27and although he won the lawsuits, the damages he received were very small.
02:33Following this ordeal, Hilda went to work for a man named Mr Charles Adams, who represented Brandon in the Legislative
02:40Assembly of Manitoba.
02:41She worked very hard, and in 1898 left the employment of Mr Adams, and entered the service of Mr Robert
02:48and Mrs Mary Lane, who lived in the town of Brandon in Manitoba.
02:51In 1898, Brandon was one of the province's fastest growing communities.
02:57Founded only 16 years earlier, following the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway,
03:02it had rapidly developed into a busy commercial centre, serving the surrounding farming districts.
03:08Its streets were lined with shops, hotels, churches and public buildings,
03:12while railway traffic brought a steady flow of travellers, merchants and new settlers.
03:16Although the town still retained the character of a frontier community, its rapid growth was transforming it into a thriving
03:23centre of trade and agriculture.
03:26Hilda seemed happy in Brandon, and those who knew her, regarded her as a charming young woman,
03:31who had a good reputation, and was passionately fond of the Lane's four young children.
03:37On Wednesday the 5th July 1899, what had begun as an ordinary afternoon at the Lane home, suddenly descended into
03:45tragedy.
03:46Mrs Lane was hanging freshly ironed curtains, while Hilda continued with her household duties nearby.
03:52At around 4 o'clock, there was a sound of gunfire.
03:55Mrs Lane had been shot twice, one shot in her back, and another in her head.
04:00Despite this, she managed to stagger from the house before collapsing on the sidewalk.
04:05Some neighbours had heard the gunfire, and Mr Sampson was the first person to run to her assistance.
04:11When he realised that she had been shot, he ran for a doctor.
04:15He returned a couple of minutes later, and asked another man to fetch the police.
04:20They then helped Mrs Lane back into the house, but as she reached the parlour, she died.
04:25The shooting sent shockwaves through the local community, and the police were quick to secure the house,
04:31and begin investigating the circumstances surrounding Mrs Lane's death.
04:35Officers carefully examined the premises, searching for any clue that might explain what had happened.
04:41With no obvious motive, and few immediate leads, investigators faced the difficult task of reconstructing the events of that afternoon,
04:49and identifying whoever had entered the home and carried out the fatal attack.
04:53The investigation was led by Brandon police chief, James Kilcaddy, assisted by Detective Foster and Winnipeg authorities.
05:01The only witness to the terrible crime was Miss Hilda Blake.
05:04She told officers that at about quarter to four, a man came to the door and asked for food.
05:09She said that she told Mrs Lane, who was standing on a chair hanging curtains,
05:13but Mrs Lane said that she was too busy to attend or bother with him.
05:16Speaking in a quiet voice, Miss Blake then said that without the slightest warning, the man drew a revolver and
05:23fired.
05:24She said that the bullet hit Mrs Lane in the back, just below the shoulder blades, and as Mrs Lane
05:29tried to run he fired again.
05:30She said that he was so close to her, that her dress was singed with the flames from the pistol.
05:35Miss Blake added that Mrs Lane did not fall straight away, but managed to get to the street where she
05:41collapsed.
05:42Asked what the tramp did following the shooting, Miss Blake said that he ran out of the back gate and
05:47escaped.
05:48Knowing they had little time to catch the killer before he disappeared, the police sounded the town fire alarm,
05:53and the signal quickly brought hundreds of local residents from their homes, and together they spread out in search of
05:59the murderer.
06:00Hilda Blake had provided them with a description.
06:03She said that the man was tall, with a moustache and an unshaven face.
06:07She added that he was dressed in blue overalls, a grey shirt, and wearing a black slouch hat.
06:14According to Miss Blake, he had also been carrying a sack.
06:17In the early evening a tramp matching the description was arrested, and taken to the police station.
06:22As news of the arrest spread, an angry crowd gathered outside shouting lynch him.
06:28However, after Miss Blake was brought to the police station, the police realized that they had arrested the wrong man,
06:33as she confirmed that he was not the person who had shot Mrs Lane.
06:37There were numerous reports of suspicious strangers in the hours following the murder.
06:41One witness claimed to have seen a man matching the suspect's description, running towards a dense scrub to the east
06:47of the city.
06:48However, despite an extensive search, no trace of him could be found.
06:53Other sightings of possible suspects were reported from across the surrounding countryside,
06:58many of which involved tramps or travelling labourers, but none could be substantiated.
07:03Mrs Lane was highly respected in Brandon.
07:05She was the mother of four small children, the eldest one only eight years of age.
07:10Everyone was determined to bring the person responsible for the terrible crime to justice.
07:16As soon as Attorney General Cameron received word of the murder,
07:20he liaised with the local authorities in Brandon, and dispatched members of the provincial police force to assist,
07:25and ordered every available officer to help track down the killer.
07:29He knew the news of the brutal crime had caused widespread public anger,
07:33and there was immense pressure to identify and arrest the murderer as quickly as possible.
07:37The following day, the 6th of July, the police found a revolver wrapped in a torn piece of newspaper,
07:43hidden under a barrel in the road at the back of Mr and Mrs Lane's house.
07:46Two chambers contained empty cartridges, and the others were loaded.
07:51That afternoon an inquest was held that was overseen by Dr Fraser, the coroner for the city.
07:57The murder scene was visited, but apart from concluding that Mrs Lane had been murdered by a person or persons
08:03unknown,
08:04no further findings were reached.
08:06Another man was arrested and questioned.
08:08He was later interviewed by the press, and because he spoke very little English,
08:12the interview was conducted through an interpreter.
08:15Confused by his arrest, he had repeatedly asked why he had been taken into custody.
08:20Throughout the interview, he remained calm, and showed no sign of fear.
08:24After it became clear that he had no connection to the crime, he was released without charge.
08:29The first significant breakthrough came when Chief Gilcalde sent Detective Mackenzie to Winnipeg,
08:35to see if he could trace the origin of the revolver that had been found behind the Lane residence.
08:39His inquiries led him to the Hinkston Smith Arms Company, where a young clerk told him that on the 20th
08:45of June,
08:46a woman had purchased a cheap revolver, together with a full box of cartridges.
08:51The clerk recalled that he had been surprised to see a woman buying such a weapon.
08:55He explained that at her request, he had shown her how to load the revolver,
08:59by opening the box of cartridges, and inserting one into the chamber.
09:02He said that she had also asked him whether she could buy only part of the box of cartridges,
09:07but he told her that she could not, explaining that they were sold only in full boxes.
09:12When Detective Mackenzie asked him to describe the customer,
09:15the sales clerk's description closely matched that of Hilda Blake.
09:19Although this was a promising lead,
09:21the detective still needed to establish whether Hilda had actually been in Winnipeg,
09:25on the day the weapon was purchased.
09:28He visited local hotels and restaurants, where he discovered that Hilda Blake had arrived in the city on the morning
09:34of the 20th of June,
09:35and registered for dinner at the Seymour House under the name Miss Blake,
09:38and according to witnesses, had returned to Brandon later the same evening.
09:43Although the revolver purchase had placed Miss Blake firmly under suspicion,
09:47Chief Kirkcaldy had already began to doubt her account of the shooting.
09:51After carefully studying the angles of the bullet wounds, and the layout of the room,
09:55he concluded that the shots could not have been fired,
09:58from the position where Hilda Blake claimed the tramp had been standing.
10:01He also thought it unlikely that a wandering tramp would be carrying such a clean revolver,
10:07which had been carefully wrapped in newspaper.
10:09With these suspicions in mind,
10:11he sent Detective Foster to search Hilda Blake's room at the Lane residence.
10:15There, the detective discovered a bottle of laudanum,
10:19the original packaging for the revolver,
10:21and the remaining portion of the newspaper in which the weapon had been wrapped.
10:24The torn edge of the newspaper matched the piece of newspaper found with the revolver,
10:29and this provided a crucial link between Miss Blake and the murder weapon.
10:33The evidence against the young woman now appeared overwhelming.
10:36Mrs. Mary Lane's funeral took place on the Saturday afternoon,
10:40and was attended by a large number of mourners.
10:42The overwhelming turnout reflected the deep sympathy felt throughout the community for the Lane family,
10:48in the wake of such a devastating tragedy.
10:50The service was conducted by the Rev. McAdam Harding,
10:54assisted by the Rev. Ray Hill.
10:57Detective Mackenzie returned from Winnipeg on the Sunday morning,
11:01accompanied by Mr. Walter Sutton, the Hingston Smith Arms Company sales clerk.
11:05Before making an arrest, the officers decided to confront Miss Blake with Mr. Sutton,
11:11without revealing the true purpose of the meeting.
11:14They believed that her reaction could confirm their suspicions.
11:16Chief Kilcaldy went to the Lane residence,
11:19and asked Hilda to accompany him to the police station.
11:22He told her that another tramp had been arrested,
11:25and that he wanted her to see whether she could identify him.
11:28Hilda agreed,
11:30but on the way they encountered Detective Mackenzie and Mr. Sutton,
11:33apparently by chance.
11:35The moment Hilda saw Mr. Sutton,
11:37she became agitated,
11:39while Mr. Sutton immediately recognized her as the woman who had purchased the revolver,
11:43and discreetly signaled this to the detectives.
11:46With the identification confirmed,
11:48the magistrate issued a warrant for Hilda's arrest,
11:51and she was taken into custody.
11:53Realizing that the police had traced the revolver back to her,
11:56she became extremely emotional.
11:58Having read the Saturday evening newspapers,
12:01which had reported that the purchaser of the weapon had been identified,
12:05she knew the investigation had reached its conclusion,
12:07and she now began to weep uncontrollably,
12:09and begged to be allowed to return briefly to the Lane residence to say goodbye to the children.
12:14She promised that if this was permitted,
12:17she would then make a full confession.
12:19Chief Kilcalde agreed,
12:21and accompanied her back to the house,
12:23where he watched as she tearfully embraced and kissed the children farewell.
12:27On her return to the police station,
12:29she was true to her word,
12:30and made a full confession.
12:32She said that she had shot Mary Lane,
12:34as she was jealous of her.
12:35She explained that she had become deeply attached to the Lane children,
12:39and seeing the affection shared between Mr. and Mrs. Lane and their family,
12:43filled her with envy.
12:44Then, after a brief pause,
12:46she said it was jealousy that had driven her to commit the murder.
12:49However, she insisted that she had purchased the revolver,
12:52not to shoot Mrs. Lane,
12:54but to use if she ever needed it.
12:56But for some reason,
12:57on Wednesday the 5th of July,
12:59in a fit of insanity,
13:01she shot her mistress.
13:02When placed in front of the magistrate,
13:05Hilda was asked if she had a statement to make,
13:07and after a slight hesitation,
13:09she said,
13:10I want to say that I am guilty,
13:12and deserve the severest punishment the law can give.
13:15The magistrate then committed her to trial.
13:19As the weeks passed,
13:21the intense public interest that had surrounded the murder,
13:24gradually began to fade.
13:25Although newspapers continued to report developments,
13:28there was little new information to satisfy public curiosity,
13:32and attention slowly turned elsewhere.
13:34This changed, however,
13:36on the afternoon of the 15th of November, 1899,
13:39when a densely packed Brandon courtroom fell silent,
13:43as the case of Hilda Blake was called to order.
13:46Standing before Justice Killam was a 21-year-old prisoner,
13:50stood accused of the July murder of Mrs. Mary Lane.
13:53Hilda was neatly dressed,
13:55in a brown velvet dress,
13:57and maintained a calm demeanor,
13:59although she looked quite pale.
14:01The legal proceedings, however,
14:02were extraordinarily brief.
14:04When asked by the judge if she had any legal representation,
14:07or desired counsel,
14:09Hilda simply replied,
14:10No thank you.
14:12Despite her refusal,
14:13Justice Killam insisted on pausing the session,
14:16so local attorney Mr. G.R. Caldwell
14:19could confer with her privately.
14:21After a short consultation,
14:22he returned to inform the judge,
14:25that his advice could be of no use to the prisoner,
14:27and that she remained unwavering in her intent
14:30to omit full culpability.
14:31When the formal charge of willful murder was read,
14:35despite the judge's warnings,
14:36Hilda entered a plea of guilty.
14:38Because of this,
14:40the trial concluded almost immediately,
14:42and Justice Killam formally handed down
14:44the mandatory sentence of death by hanging.
14:47Those present were somewhat taken aback
14:49by Hilda's calm composure.
14:51Many appeared to regard her sympathetically,
14:54seeing her not as a hardened criminal,
14:56but as a modest and tragic young woman.
14:58Yet, the calmness she displayed inside the courtroom,
15:02disappeared the moment she stepped beyond public view.
15:05Once outside,
15:06the strain of the proceedings overwhelmed her,
15:08and she broke down,
15:10collapsing into a state of shock,
15:12and sobbing uncontrollably.
15:13Following this,
15:15Hilda was returned to the Brandon jail to await her execution.
15:18During her imprisonment,
15:20she attempted to escape,
15:21with the assistance of the prison matron Emma Strip,
15:24who provided her with a metal file.
15:26The attempt was discovered before it could succeed,
15:29and the matron was later convicted for helping a condemned prisoner.
15:33While awaiting her fates,
15:34Hilda also wrote a poem entitled,
15:37My Downfall.
15:38This reflected on the decisions that she had taken,
15:41that had brought her to the condemned cell,
15:43and was published by a local newspaper.
15:46Outside the prison,
15:47some people argued that her sentence should be commuted.
15:49Dr. Amelia Yeomans,
15:52a physician,
15:53and prominent campaigner for women's rights,
15:55maintained that Hilda's mental condition should be taken into account.
15:59She suggested that Hilda had suffered from a form of mental illness,
16:02and urged the government to grant mercy.
16:04The appeal failed.
16:06Federal authorities declined to interfere with the sentence,
16:09meaning the execution would proceed as planned.
16:12On the morning of the 27th of December 1899,
16:16Hilda Blake was taken to the gallows.
16:18She faced her punishment with dignity.
16:20The execution was carried out in the yard of Brandon Jail,
16:23before a small group of official witnesses.
16:26For her final moments,
16:28Hilda wore the very same brown velvet dress that she had worn during her trial.
16:33Just before the sentence was carried out,
16:35she utters her final words,
16:37Do not think too hard of me.
16:39Goodbye.
16:40With her death,
16:41she became the first woman ever executed in the province of Manitoba.
16:47Hello everyone,
16:48and thank you so much for listening.
16:50As usual,
16:52please leave any comments or feedback you may have,
16:54and I hope to see you all again,
16:56in the next,
16:58brief,
16:59case.
16:59.
16:59.
16:59.
16:59.
16:59.
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