Ernest Knox
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Ernest Knox | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 27 January 1873 |
| Died | 19 March 1894 (aged 21) Old Melbourne Gaol, Victoria, Australia |
| Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
| Occupation | Painter |
| Criminal status | Executed |
| Conviction | Murder |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
Ernest Knox (27 January 1873 – 19 March 1894) was an Australian man executed for the murder of Isaac Crawcour,[1] whom he shot during a bungled burglary in Williamstown. He is known for possibly being the source of a skull previously thought to be that of bushranger Ned Kelly.
Knox was born in 1873 in Collingwood, to Emma (née Hogan) and John Knox.[2] According to his mother's testimony at trial, Knox received a serious head injury in a road accident as a teenager, and for the remainder of his life showed signs of mental instability.[3]
Shortly before 3am on 12 January 1894, Knox and an accomplice named John Charles Jent (also variously spelled Ghent and Gent) broke into the shop of pawnbroker Michael Crawcour in Nelson Place, Williamstown. The noise woke Mr Crawcour, who hastened downstairs and was shot at twice by the burglars, losing his right earlobe to a bullet. Jent leapt back out the window and escaped via the yard, but Knox remained in the building, unable to unlock the front door and escape onto the street.[4]
Crawcour's son, 20-year old medical student Isaac, also hurried into the passageway leading to the shop, and attempted to wrestle Knox to the ground and disarm him. In the process, Knox shot the young Crawcour in the torso, but Crawcour was able to pin Knox down despite his injuries and give his revolver to his father.
Isaac Crawcour, bleeding from his wound, exited to the building to call out for help in the street. Three men, including two police officers, heard his cries and found him lying on the street exhausted from blood loss and in a serious condition. On entering the shop, they found Knox under guard of the older Crawcour. Once in police custody, he gave police the false name of "Walter Jameson", until admitting under questioning that he was actually Ernest Knox. Jent was also soon arrested in Carlton, at the home of Knox's mother, where he had been boarding.[5]
Young Isaac Crawcour died from his wounds the following day, after giving testimony to police as to the events of the burglary.