Captured: Portraits of Crime 1870-1930 - Flipbook - Page 68
“Coward!” at him for what he had done to her sister the previous
Sunday night. Kimini then rushed downstairs and found her
sister and grandmother lying on the floor in pools of blood.
They had both been shot in the head. Kimini ran to Petersham
Police Station and alerted authorities.
Meanwhile, Briggs made his way to a wharf on Johnston
Street, Annandale, disposing of his revolver in an empty
allotment in Petersham en route. He leapt into the water in an
attempt to drown himself but didn’t succeed. Private detective
Robert Nelson was on duty at the wharf and helped Briggs out of
the water. Briggs confessed to what he had done, and Nelson
escorted him to Balmain Police Station.
At the Supreme Court on 17 February 1899 Briggs pleaded
not guilty to murder on the grounds of insanity. The jury
decided otherwise. Briggs was convicted of murder and sentenced
to death. Despite an appeal to the Executive Council, he was
executed on 5 April 1899.
Maggie Dutt and her grandmother, Margaret, were buried
together in matching black coffins in the Presbyterian section
of Rookwood Cemetery. After his execution, Briggs was buried in
the same section of the cemetery — within view of his victims’
graves.
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