The home off Subway Street
The Yorkshire Post report of 7 November 1925 places Ellen Spencer at 7 Leslie Avenue, Subway Street, Hull. It reports that she had been found dead at home and that the inquest returned a verdict of wilful murder. A report on 12 November records a murder charge against William Burkitt, a fisherman associated with Gillett Street. [source]
Discovery and prosecution
A later narrative dates the discovery to 3 November and describes Ellen's daughter visiting the house, receiving no answer and obtaining a neighbour's help to enter. The subsequent investigation led to Burkitt's prosecution at York Castle. [source]
An inquest verdict is not the trial verdict
The secondary accounts record the criminal trial in November 1925 ending in a manslaughter conviction and a ten-year sentence. That differs from the inquest's earlier murder wording. We label this entry by the eventual criminal verdict rather than treating the two proceedings as interchangeable. [source]
Names and street spellings to check
The indexed November reports vary: Ellen also appears as Helen, and Leslie Avenue appears elsewhere as Leslie's Grove. This may reflect reporting or indexing differences. The original pages and a contemporary street directory should be compared before those variants are resolved; the case is retained under Ellen Spencer and the address in the 7 November report. [source]
Follow the sequence
The timeline
- 3 November 1925
Discovery date given in the later narrative. [source]
- 7 November 1925
Yorkshire Post report of the inquest murder verdict. [source]
- 12 November 1925
Yorkshire Post report of the murder charge. [source]
- November 1925
Later accounts record a manslaughter conviction and ten-year sentence. [source]
The next chapter of research
What remains to be established
- Read the original inquest and criminal trial reports side by side.
- Check Ellen / Helen and Leslie Avenue / Leslie's Grove against original pages and directories.
- Research Ellen's family and burial, keeping her life distinct from the offender's biography.
These questions are part of the account. We will revise this page when reliable records resolve them.
Sources & references
Links identify the material used and the next places to look. Indexed newspaper text can contain OCR errors; full original pages should be checked before adding further details.
Help us learn more
Do you have a document or reference?
Tell us the source, date and how it relates to Ellen Spencer. We check contributions before publication.
Share historical research ↗