On the evening of January 1, 1960, a group of people were singing in the East House pub on Spital Hill in Sheffield just before closing time. Mohamed Ismail, a Somalian national aged 30, entered the bar armed with a revolver and opened fire. Mick McFarlane, 22 and a steelworker, Thomas Owen, a 27-year-old soldier, and Fred Morris, 30, were all killed. To others were severely injured. Ismail, an unemployed labourer, fled the scene of the shooting to the pub's toilet, where he was arrested minutes later. He admitted the crime and had hoped to be executed but he was deemed not fit to stand trial due to insanity. He was instead sent to Broadmoor high security hospital and then deported to his native Somalia, where he was later shot dead after running amok with a gun.On the evening of January 1, 1960, a group of people were singing in the East House pub on Spital Hill in Sheffield just before closing time. Mohamed Ismail, a Somalian national aged 30, entered the bar armed with a revolver and opened fire. Mick McFarlane, 22 and a steelworker, Thomas Owen, a 27-year-old soldier, and Fred Morris, 30, were all killed. To others were severely injured. Ismail, an unemployed labourer, fled the scene of the shooting to the pub's toilet, where he was arrested minutes later. He admitted the crime and had hoped to be executed but he was deemed not fit to stand trial due to insanity. He was instead sent to Broadmoor high security hospital and then deported to his native Somalia, where he was later shot dead after running amok with a gun.
On the evening of January 1, 1960, a group of people were singing in the East House pub on Spital Hill in Sheffield just before closing time. Mohamed Ismail, a Somalian national aged 30, entered the bar armed with a revolver and opened fire. Mick McFarlane, 22 and a steelworker, Thomas Owen, a 27-year-old soldier, and Fred Morris, 30, were all killed. To others were severely injured. Ismail, an unemployed labourer, fled the scene of the shooting to the pub's toilet, where he was arrested minutes later. He admitted the crime and had hoped to be executed but he was deemed not fit to stand trial due to insanity. He was instead sent to Broadmoor high security hospital and then deported to his native Somalia, where he was later shot dead after running amok with a gun.

Five horrific murders that shocked Sheffield and why the killers were hanged, deported and jailed forever

Rahmah Ghazali
By Rahmah Ghazali

Live Reporter

Published 6th Jul 2022, 00:01 GMT
Although the majority of Sheffield is considered to be relatively safe, the city has unfortunately experienced a fair amount of violent crime, with some offences shocking the city and further afield.

The Steel City has made headlines for some of the most horrific crimes over the years, leaving locals utterly terrified at the time.

From a business owner being buried in a cellar to mass murder in a family home, the following cases continue to shock the city to this day.

One of Sheffield’s strangest murders happened in 1922 when the owner of a laundry in Crookes was killed by an employee, who then told another worker that ‘he had gone back to China’. Sing Lee moved to Sheffield following the First World War and set up several laundries around the city, but lived alone above his premises at 231 Crookes. The 33-year-old employed two people in the Crookes premises – a fellow countryman called Lee Doon and a local woman named Lily Siddall. On the evening of Saturday, September 22, 1922, Sing closed the shop at 9pm as usual and asked Lily to work on Sunday as normal, but when she arrived the following day there was no sign of him. She asked Doon of his whereabouts and he replied he ‘had gone back to China’, adding that he was now in charge of the business. She travelled to Liverpool where he knew Sing had family and told them of her concerns, and they travelled back with her to Sheffield and reported the matter to police. And when officers went to the laundry the following Saturday, they discovered Sing’s body stuffed into a trunk and buried under a pile of coke in the cellar. Doon was arrested and charged with murder and, at his trial, claimed they had quarrelled over Sing’s addiction to opium and claimed that they had got into a fight – him accidentally killing Sing. Throughout the trial and to the point of execution, Doon is said to have remained calm at all times, and his only request was that he be beheaded rather than hanged, as this was the traditional method of execution in China at the time. Doon didn’t get his wish, and he went to the gallows at Armley Jail in Leeds on January 5, 1923.

1. Crookes Laundry Murder - 22 September 1922

One of Sheffield’s strangest murders happened in 1922 when the owner of a laundry in Crookes was killed by an employee, who then told another worker that ‘he had gone back to China’. Sing Lee moved to Sheffield following the First World War and set up several laundries around the city, but lived alone above his premises at 231 Crookes. The 33-year-old employed two people in the Crookes premises – a fellow countryman called Lee Doon and a local woman named Lily Siddall. On the evening of Saturday, September 22, 1922, Sing closed the shop at 9pm as usual and asked Lily to work on Sunday as normal, but when she arrived the following day there was no sign of him. She asked Doon of his whereabouts and he replied he ‘had gone back to China’, adding that he was now in charge of the business. She travelled to Liverpool where he knew Sing had family and told them of her concerns, and they travelled back with her to Sheffield and reported the matter to police. And when officers went to the laundry the following Saturday, they discovered Sing’s body stuffed into a trunk and buried under a pile of coke in the cellar. Doon was arrested and charged with murder and, at his trial, claimed they had quarrelled over Sing’s addiction to opium and claimed that they had got into a fight – him accidentally killing Sing. Throughout the trial and to the point of execution, Doon is said to have remained calm at all times, and his only request was that he be beheaded rather than hanged, as this was the traditional method of execution in China at the time. Doon didn’t get his wish, and he went to the gallows at Armley Jail in Leeds on January 5, 1923. Photo: Archive

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Arthur Hutchinson had escaped from a police station in Selby where he faced charges of theft, burglary and rape by climbing through a toilet window and committed the murders. After three and a half weeks on the run, Hutchinson - who had already served five years in prison for attempting to murder his brother-in-law - broke into the home of Basil Laitner, 59, in Dore, which he shared with his wife Avril, 55, and their son Richard, 28. He had entered the property through a patio window hours after the family had hosted a wedding reception for their daughter and went on to stab the three family members. Hutchinson was found guilty of triple murder and rape at his trial in September 1984 and sentenced to life with a minimum term of 18 years - meaning he could have been released in 2002. However, the then Home Secretary Leon Brittan intervened and made Hutchinson subject to a whole life order, meaning he will never be set free.

2. Dore murders - October 23, 1983

Arthur Hutchinson had escaped from a police station in Selby where he faced charges of theft, burglary and rape by climbing through a toilet window and committed the murders. After three and a half weeks on the run, Hutchinson - who had already served five years in prison for attempting to murder his brother-in-law - broke into the home of Basil Laitner, 59, in Dore, which he shared with his wife Avril, 55, and their son Richard, 28. He had entered the property through a patio window hours after the family had hosted a wedding reception for their daughter and went on to stab the three family members. Hutchinson was found guilty of triple murder and rape at his trial in September 1984 and sentenced to life with a minimum term of 18 years - meaning he could have been released in 2002. However, the then Home Secretary Leon Brittan intervened and made Hutchinson subject to a whole life order, meaning he will never be set free. Photo: Archive

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A man named Ian Wood shot and killed his lover and her three-year-old daughter at her house in Ughill Hall, Bradfield, Sheffield. He also shot the woman’s five-year-old son twice in the head, but somehow the boy survived – staying alive without medical intervention for 21 hours until the police arrived. Wood had been having an affair with Danielle Ledez, who was 10 weeks pregnant by him at the time of the killings. He was finally apprehended while taking part in a walking tour of Amiens Cathedral in France - just three miles from where Danielle was born - where he climbed over a parapet and clung to a gargoyle around 200 feet above the ground threatening to kill himself. It took French officers around six hours to talk him down. Following his surrender, Wood was extradited back to the UK in November and remanded in custody to face trial. On December 1, he was formally charged with two counts of murder and one of attempted murder. Wood was unanimously found guilty and sentenced to life behind bars.

3. Ughill Hall Murders - 21 September, 1986

A man named Ian Wood shot and killed his lover and her three-year-old daughter at her house in Ughill Hall, Bradfield, Sheffield. He also shot the woman’s five-year-old son twice in the head, but somehow the boy survived – staying alive without medical intervention for 21 hours until the police arrived. Wood had been having an affair with Danielle Ledez, who was 10 weeks pregnant by him at the time of the killings. He was finally apprehended while taking part in a walking tour of Amiens Cathedral in France - just three miles from where Danielle was born - where he climbed over a parapet and clung to a gargoyle around 200 feet above the ground threatening to kill himself. It took French officers around six hours to talk him down. Following his surrender, Wood was extradited back to the UK in November and remanded in custody to face trial. On December 1, he was formally charged with two counts of murder and one of attempted murder. Wood was unanimously found guilty and sentenced to life behind bars. Photo: National World

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Blake and Tristan Barrass were just 14 and 13 when they were killed in their family home on Gregg House Road, Shiregreen. The house was also where incestuous parents Sarah Barrass and Brandon Machin plotted to murder their other children, where they had forced all of them to take tablets. The couple's plan did not work, so they resorted to strangling Blake and Tristan. Barrass stangled Tristan with her dressing gown cord, before Machin strangled Blake with his bare hands. They then placed bin bags over their heads to 'make sure' they were dead. In September 2019 both Barrass and Machin admitted two counts of murder, conspiracy to murder six children and five counts of attempted murder. They were both given life sentences, and will serve a minimum of 35 years. Following lengthy consultations, approval to demolish the house was given to owners Sanctuary Group in July last year. In February 2021, the 'horror house' was finally reduced to rubble to make way for a memorial to remember the lives that were taken away too soon.

4. Shiregreen murders - 24 May, 2019

Blake and Tristan Barrass were just 14 and 13 when they were killed in their family home on Gregg House Road, Shiregreen. The house was also where incestuous parents Sarah Barrass and Brandon Machin plotted to murder their other children, where they had forced all of them to take tablets. The couple's plan did not work, so they resorted to strangling Blake and Tristan. Barrass stangled Tristan with her dressing gown cord, before Machin strangled Blake with his bare hands. They then placed bin bags over their heads to 'make sure' they were dead. In September 2019 both Barrass and Machin admitted two counts of murder, conspiracy to murder six children and five counts of attempted murder. They were both given life sentences, and will serve a minimum of 35 years. Following lengthy consultations, approval to demolish the house was given to owners Sanctuary Group in July last year. In February 2021, the 'horror house' was finally reduced to rubble to make way for a memorial to remember the lives that were taken away too soon. Photo: Submitted

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