In 1909 Noah Woolf, a 58-year-old bookbinder, had gone to live at the Home for Aged Christian Hebrews in Holloway. In the following year Andrew Simon became a fellow-resident, and it wasnt long before he complained of Woolf s atheistic remarks.
Other inmates made similar complaints, and when Woolf was questioned he said his accusers were Russian-Polish Jews who told lies, but he was a German Jew who always told the truth.
He was told to leave the home, packed his belongings, and departed. But on OCTOBER 28th, 1910, he returned and stabbed Mr. Simon to death.
In a statement to the police Woolf said he stabbed the victim in the neck, and he fell to the floor. Then to make sure of Simons death, he stabbed him two or three more times. He would not have done it, he added, if Simon had withdrawn his allegations.
At Woolf s trial, his counsel sought a verdict of manslaughter on the grounds of provocation. But no amount of provocation could excuse such a deliberate act, the judge told the jury.
Convicted of murder, Noah Woolf was hanged on December 21st, 1910, the drop of seven feet nine inches killing him instantly.