The Manchester Ripper, poisoned cake and the murder of 'Market Mary': Terrifying tales from Manchester's past
manchestereveningnews.co.ukVictorian Manchester is often celebrated as a place of industrial might, technological innovation and economic growth. But there was another side to the city that was not for the faint-of-heart. Grinding poverty, disease, drinking and prostitution were rife.
And in those conditions crime flourished. Here award-winning historian Michala Hulme, author of Manchester: Bloody British History, takes a look back at some of the darker episodes of late 1800s and early 1900s Manchester. While Londoners were starting to adjust to life after the Ripper, the residents of Manchester were about to get their own serial killer - only this time the victims were young boys.
And just how many were killed remains a mystery. The first victim's body was discovered shortly after 3pm on April 11, 1905, by a rag gatherer named David Shields.
He was gathering rags on Hoyle Street, Ancoats when he noticed that the door was open on one of the unoccupied houses. When he went inside he was greeted by the battered body of a young boy.
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