IF YOU think Oswestry is experiencing a crime-wave, think again!

The murder of Old Mother Trefonen was so ghastly and complicated, it took a team of Metropolitan Police detectives from New Scotland Yard to work it out.

Old Mother Trefonen had suddenly fallen on financial hardship and struggling to make ends meet, decided she needed to make sacrifices. One day, some time during the turn of the century, she took the trip to Oswestry to earn some money by selling her pig at the market.

She packed her meagre lunch of bread and cheese and walked the fields to Oswestry Market, stopping at the Coach & Dogs in Upper Brook Street to eat the lunch.

She raised a fair price for her pig, as pigs were reaching a rather good price on that day.

To have all that money in her handkerchief must have been a blessing as she had not been so well-off for a long time.

Lady Luck then struck her a crushing blow as, upon taking the return journey back to Trefonen, she was mugged.

The last thing she felt was a blow to the back of her neck by a rather heavy object.

Upon falling to the ground, the mugger continued to beat her to a pulp, killing her instantly.

The thief took her money and ran away across those same fields she travelled not only a few hours prior.

When Old Mother Trefonen’s body was discovered, the police were fetched. The killer’s actions were so calculated that the police ran to a loss and even described it as “the perfect crime”, as the killer was able to hide their tracks and the lack of sophisticated criminal investigation technology did not help matters.

The police decided to refer the case to New Scotland Yard in London, who sent a team of detectives from the Criminal Investigation Department (or the CID) to take over the investigation.

The sight of this team and their bloodhound sniffer dogs must have been a relief for the concerned Burgesses who were already in a state of fear over who may be the next victim.

The team were billeted in the Coach & Dogs. An extensive and exhausting search of the rural hinterland nearly forced them to close the case; it was only a final door-to-door search of every single house in Oswestry lead them to the house of the killer.

Upon raiding the home, one of the detectives found the handkerchief in the main room with the coins still wrapped.

The accused was subsequently arrested and taken to the Guildhall, but despite constant questioning to the point of interrogation, he refused to confess.

The accused was sent to the Salop Assizes in Shrewsbury to face trial, but the Justice of Assizes threw the case out, citing a lack of evidence.

The Justice was quoted as saying “red and white hankies were two-a-penny and no evidence at all?”.

The news was fed back to Oswestry and the crowd of jubilant Burgesses were not happy.

They were ready for mob justice – they took to the streets and headed for Oswestry Railway Station to meet the GWR from Gobowen.

The accused spotted the angry mob, jumped the train and ran off into the woods, never to be seen again.

Whether he was tipped off or had a premonition, it is unknown, but his quick-thinking decision may have just saved him his life.

Nobody knows what happened to the accused after this – whether he went to another town to continue his crime spree – it is still a mystery to this day.