They were young lovers they had been going out together since he was 15 and she was 13 so no one was surprised when they decided to marry. The date was fixed for August 1900, when he was 21 and she 19. Then things started to go wrong.
First, Alfred Highfield, the potential bridegroom, lost his job. That caused them to argue for the first time. The parents of the future bride, Edith Poole, suggested they all went for a walk in central London, where they all lived, and have a talk about their differences.
They had reached the Strand when Ediths parents, who were walking in front, heard a terrible scream. They turned to see Highfield kneeling over Edith. He had cut her throat, and nine days later she died in hospital.
Highfield was tried at the Old Bailey three months later and hanged on Tuesday, July 17th, 1900, at Newgate Prison. He told the court that when Edith refused to go out with him again he intended to cut his own throat, but the razor slipped, and her own throat was cut by accident.