A woman who heard a dog barking at Mitre Farm in the village of Boothroyd, just outside Dewsbury, on MARCH 31st, 1914, went to investigate and discovered what she thought was a bundle of rags in a field. Suddenly the bundle of rags moved. Running forward, the woman discovered it was the wife of her neighbour, William Preston. Mrs. Preston had been shot in the back, but not fatally.
When the police arrived they found the bodies of William Preston and his son Joseph, 22. The son had also been shot in the back. After killing him and attempting to kill his wife, Preston had evidently turned the gun on himself.
Mrs. Preston recovered in time to tell the inquest that her husband had been suffering from money worries over the farm, from where he ran a rag-and-bone business.