No rent, no lodging! declared landlady Lucy Smith, 32, to her lodger, Sampson Salmon, a 29-year-old labourer. So out you go!
Salmon slunk away, vowing revenge under his breath. He hadnt exactly been an ideal lodger at the Smiths home in Venour Road, Mile End, Bow. Frequently drunk, often aggressive, and very anti-social, he had attacked Mr. and Mrs. Smith several times in the past when they asked him for the arrears of rent he owed. He was tolerated for so long only because he was also Lucy Smiths cousin.
He was finally thrown out on December 15th, 1900, but returned only a few days later to cut Lucy Smiths throat. A defence of insanity failed at the Old Bailey in January 1901, and Salmon was hanged on Tuesday, February 19th at Newgate. By then Queen Victoria was dead, though she had still been on the throne when Salmon was brought to trial.