William Charles Glass, Free Settler "Zephyr" 1864

Inquest detailed account of murders http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article211603463

THE DOUBLE MURDER AND SUICIDE AT NORTHAMPTON. FURTHER PARTICULARS. THE INQUEST AND VERDICT. MURDER AND SUICIDE. THE FUNERAL. A SUICIDE'S GRAVE, GLASS'S CHARACTER AND DISPOSITION. [By Telegraph.] (From our Correspondent.) Geraldton. February 22. The inquest on Lucy and Ellen Glass revealed little that was fresh. The family took dinner peaceably together on Sunday, and after dinner Lucy told her father of her intentions. He said nothing, but became uneasy, and walked about in a restless manner from room to room. For a week previously he had been in gloomy spirits, especially since his daughter Lucy had told him that only a bullet would separate her from Brown. Laura Glass, aged nine, stated that she saw the crime committed; her father never spoke, but fired two shots. He sent Laura ahead to tell her mother, and was leading his little child, Harold, towards home himself, when he met Mrs. Glass, who said: "William, you villain, what have you done ?" He replied: "Go and see, and attend to them." He then took from the house thirteen cartridges, a bottle of laudanum, and a parcel of strychnine, and sitting down wrote the two notes, the contents of which I telegraphed to you yesterday. The writing of the letter addressed to his children showed him to be in a state of nervousness or emotion. The one to the Authorities was neatly written, and would be taken to be be done in his calmest moments. In the afternoon an inquest was held on Glass's body. The evidence was similar to what was given in the other inquiry. The verdict was "Death by his own hand." The funeral of Lucy and Ellen Glass took place at five o'clock, yesterday afternoon, the remains being followed by a large number of people. The two coffins were placed in one grave in the Church of England cemetery. The funeral of their unhappy father was held at seven o'clock in the evening, the same persons attending. The remains were buried in the lowest corner of the cemetery, and there was no funeral service, only the Lord's Prayer being read over the body. Glass was an atheist, and always ridiculed religion, and he would not allow any of his family of twelve to be christened. In many ways, however, he was a high-minded, honorable, proud-spirited man, and general sorrow is felt that he should have stained his hands with such a foul crime. He first came to the colony twenty-eight years ago, as Manager of the Geraldine Mines, but for several years past he has been engaged in squatting pursuits. He was intensely fond of his children, and though he would never do a mean action, he was revengeful, and frequently asserted that his creed was "Two eyes for an eye, and two teeth for a tooth."

PARTICULARS RESPECTING THE MURDERER. Glass came to this district in the Zephyr in 1864. He was a native of London, and had been sent out from England to take over the management of the Geraldine Mine. The Zephyr was wrecked in a storm at Port Gregory and several of the passengers were drowned. Glass, however, was among those who swam ashore, and were saved. He then acted as business Manager of the mine until 1867 when Mr. Samuel Mitchell took charge. After this he was employed, for a few years, as clerk to Messrs. Scott and Gale and then commenced squatting pursuits at the Geraldine. For the last six years, he and his family had been living at Trevenson. His violent temper was generally known, and no one cared to offend him. He always took a lively interest in matters connected with the welfare of Northampton, and attended most public meetings held in the mining village, his powers as a speaker being surpassed by those of few other men in the colony. Had he wished to turn his talents to good account, they might have been employed, in many ways, to the profit of his country. His family are left in pretty good circumstances.

Victorian Express  Fri 24 Feb 1893 

THE NORTHAMPTON TRAGEDY. FURTHER PARTICULARS. HORRIFYING DETAILS. Northampton, Feb. 20. Further particulars are to hand concern ing the fearful tragedy which occurred at Northampton last Sunday. It appears that Lucy Glass told her father that a young man named Thomas Brown, with whom she had been keeping company, was coming to take her away to get married on Monday morning. Glass thereupon expressed his strong disapproval of the match . and got in a great rage. Subsequently, Lucy and her Sister Nellie went to the well, which is situated about a quarter of a mile from the house, to which spot Glass followed them with a gun, and shot them both through the head. The murderer then wrote a note, which he addressed to his son James, saying he was going to take poison, bidding him good bye, and telling him not to die broken-hearted, as his father had done. It is not yet known whether Glass is dead, but as his son James was coming to report the murders, he saw his father lying in ambush alongside the road, evidently watching for Brown. On his way down to Geraldton, James Glass met Brown coming up with a carriage, and told him what had occurred, as well as warned him of the danger that was before him. Brown went on, and has not since returned. February 21.

[Later.] Glass shot himself through the head on Sunday night, when being approached. The three bodies have just been brought into Northampton for the inquest.

[Later.] The bodies of Glass and his victims are now lying in the yard of Hosken's Hotel. The remains of Lucy and Ellen are in coffins, but Glass's corpse is sewn up in a bag. Glass committed suicide on Sunday night, at midnight. Shea, the man who was accompanying Brown in the carriage, approached the spot where Glass lay, and as Glass heard him coming he said, in a gruff voice — ' Who is that,' and immediately afterwards the report of a revolver was heard. Shea thought Glass had fired at him, and so he ran away. Next morning he went to the spot with a double barrelled gun, and saw the murderer dead, with a bullet wound in his forehead. Glass evidently thought Shea was a policeman, and was determined to commit suicide before permitting his arrest. The general opinion is that he was lying in wait for Brown. One of the victims was shot in the forehead, (while the other received her death-blow in the back of the ear. The murderer must have been close when he fired, as the hair of both victims is much singed. [later.] The bodies of Glass and bis two victims have just been viewed by the Coroner's Jury. They present a horrifying appearance, the heads of both the unfortunate girls being a mass of clotted blood. Glass's corpse is the most hideous figure imagin able. The face is all black and pulpy, and all its beholders aver they never saw depicted anything so revolting. It is more like the head of some monster than the head of a man, and every one in glancing at it fell back in horror. The case affords a striking example of how a man can by crime be converted, even in features, into a demon of demons. Geraldton, To-day, 2.30 p.m. After committing the murders Glass wrote the following note amd left it at his houses—' To James, Bess, and Sam,-— I charge you to look after your mother and younger brother and sisters, and may you all be happier and better than your heart-broken father.' In one of the pockets of Glass, when the dead body was discovered, the following letter was found .- —February 19th, 1893. To the Authorities : I have shot my daughters Lucy and Ellen, to prevent her marrying the biggest rowdy in Northampton, T. Brown, who is not only a prison bird, but has a mother and five sisters who have all been, if not now, common w ? . W. C Glass.' The inquest od the bodies of Lucy an-l Ellen Glass is just concluded. The jury found that they had died from gun-shot wounds inflicted by their father. The inquest on Glass's body will be held this afternoon.

The Inquirer and Commercial News   Fri 24 Feb 1893

I found this person on FamilySearch:
William Charles Glass
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/KHYB-XZ2
FamilySearch Family Tree
Birth: Nov 24 1839 - London, England
Death: Feb 19 1893 - Northampton, Western Australia, Australia
Parents: James Glass, Sarah Glass (born Frape)
Wife: Emily Dennis Glass (born Nancarrow)
Children: Lucy Glass, Elizabeth Glass, William Charles Glass, James Glass, Ellen Glass, Samuel Glass, Joseph Glass, and names of 5 more children
Siblings: Sarah Elizth. Glass, Priscilla Glass, William Glass, Emily Glass