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SOUTH FLORIDA 74, PORTLAND 68Access Hollywood star Kit Hoover SPLITS from husband Crowley Sullivan after 25 years of marriage Have YOU got a story? Email tips@dailymail.com By BRIAN MARKS FOR DAILYMAIL.COM Published: 21:09, 4 December 2024 | Updated: 22:25, 4 December 2024 e-mail 3 View comments Access Hollywood star Kit Hoover and her husband Crowley Sullivan have split. The 54-year-old anchor and Sullivan, who is the CEO of Athlete Advantage, were reported to be separating on Wednesday, according to People . The shock reveal follows a quarter-decade of marriage for the couple. DailyMail.com has reached out to representatives for Hoover for comment. The separating couple share three children: daughters Campbell and Hayes and son Crowley Jr. 'She’s been telling people she is single and getting divorced,' a source claimed to Us Weekly . Access Hollywood star Kit Hoover, 54, and her husband Crowley Sullivan have split, People reported on Wednesday Hoover and Sullivan's marriage dates back to 1999, but the couple had been dating for years beforehand; pictured in 1995 Hoover and Sullivan's marriage dates back to August 1999, but the couple had been dating for years beforehand. The television anchor — who co-hosts Access Daily with Mario Lopez — appears to have telegraphed news of her split, as her estranged husband has been absent from her Instagram posts in recent months. Read More Donald Trump’s notorious 2005 Access Hollywood tape can be used at his defamation trial She also appears to have stopped wearing her wedding ring in recent photos. Notably, Hoover shared a gushing anniversary tribute to her account back in August 2023 for the couple's 24th wedding anniversary, but the event was completely absent from her Instagram when they would have celebrated their silver jubilee this year. 'Holy Cow – We are 24 years old in this pic and NOW – Happy 24th anniversary Honeybun!!! Thanks for loving this lunatic and for our beautiful family that is my EVERYTHING. I love you,' she caption her throwback photo while adding the hashtags '#stillhavingfun,' '#stilltheone,' '#grateful' and '#joyfulliving.' In 2021, she celebrated 22 years of marriage with a throwback photo of the couple that she dated to 1995. One of her last mentions of her estranged husband was in May of this year, when she marked his birthday on social media. 'Happy Birthday to our Head Coach. We love you. GO GREEN!!!' she captioned a photo of Sullivan — who was wearing his wedding ring — and an image of him beaming with their three children. 'She’s been telling people she is single and getting divorced,' a source claimed to Us Weekly Hoover appears to have telegraphed her split, as Sullivan has been absent from her Instagram posts in recent months She also appears to have stopped wearing her wedding ring; pictured with Joe Manganiello Then, in June, she praised Sullivan while celebrating Father's Day. 'Happy Father’s Day to the leader of our wild band,' she wrote on Instagram. 'You’re an incredible Frontman. We love you Dah-Dah-Dadio.' In 2021, Hoover opened up to Woman's World about how she managed to balance her busy career with her marriage and family life. 'I love my work and I’m so grateful for it, but being a working mom, wife and daughter, it’s impossible to do everything well all of the time,' she said. 'There are times you can’t be where you need to be and so different aspects might suffer, but if I try to be present where I am, things usually work out. If you focus on what’s most important, I think it all comes out in the wash.' Hoover added that it was low-key moments at home with her family that brought her joy. 'My husband, kids and I have never been big TV watchers, but we’ve been having a blast bingeing shows these days!' she admitted. 'It’s great for our relationship because it really just gives us the time together as a family to do something fun. And in the tough moments, remembering that connection just brings us closer.' Share or comment on this article: Access Hollywood star Kit Hoover SPLITS from husband Crowley Sullivan after 25 years of marriage e-mail Add comment

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PEQUOT LAKES — For the second straight weekend Crosby-Ironton pulled off a first-place sweep at a dance competition. This time C-I won both the kick and jazz divisions at the Pequot Lakes/Pine River-Backus Invite Saturday, Nov. 23. ADVERTISEMENT Total team points were unavailable for the kick category, but C-I received three rank points for kick and jazz. “t was another great day of competition at the mixed class invite,” C-I head coach Rachel Norwood said. “We had a few execution and timing errors in our performances, but we feel good about where our scores have been landing overall. We will continue to work on cleaning, confidence and performance quality in the coming weeks before our first conference meet.” C-I collected 305 total points for its jazz win. Aitkin placed fourth in jazz with 12 rank points and 269 total points. Little Falls landed in fifth with 15 rank points and 261 points and PLPRB finished sixth with 16 rank points and 253 total points. “Our teams performed really well,” Aitkin head coach Colleen Christensen said. “Our scores improved in nearly every category over last week and we had fewer errors. We spent a lot of practice this week drilling the choreography and working on execution and routine effectiveness so we were pleased to see that our hard work was awarded with higher scores, especially in those areas. We don't compete again until Dec. 14, so the upcoming weeks will be focused on cleaning and refining the choreography, adding difficulty and improving our technique and stamina." Aitkin placed third in kick with 10 rank points followed by Little Falls in fourth and PLPRB in sixth.

TULSA, Okla. — Tulsa fired football coach Kevin Wilson on Sunday and will elevate wide receivers coach Ryan Switzer on an interim basis for the remainder of the season. The Golden Hurricane lost to South Florida 63-30 on Saturday, dropping their record to 3-8. The school’s decision concludes Wilson’s two-year tenure with a 7-16 record, including 3-12 in American Athletic Conference play. “With the rapidly evolving landscape of college athletics, we know the importance of positioning our football program and athletic department to thrive and excel in the upcoming years,” athletic director Justin Moore said in a statement. “Our standard will be to play in bowl games every season, compete for conference titles, and build a program that everyone connected to the Golden Hurricane will be proud of.” Wilson spent six years as Indiana’s head coach, going 26-47 from 2011 to 2016. He then joined Urban Meyer’s staff at Ohio State and stayed on under Meyer’s successor, Ryan Day, before taking over at Tulsa.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Baker Mayfield catapulted into the end zone on a spectacular 10-yard scramble for one of Tampa Bay's four rushing touchdowns, and the Buccaneers beat the Giants and new starting quarterback Tommy DeVito 30-7 on Sunday, snapping a four-game losing streak and extending New York's skid to six. The Giants' decisions this week to bench and then release quarterback Daniel Jones did nothing to help the NFL's lowest-scoring offense. DeVito threw for 189 yards, mostly in the second half with New York well on its way to its sixth straight loss at home, where it is winless. Meanwhile, the Buccaneers dominated in every phase in a near-perfect perfect performance that featured TD runs of 1 yard by Sean Tucker, 6 yards by Bucky Irving and 1 yard by Rachaad White. After recent losses to the Ravens, 49ers and Chiefs, Tampa Bay (5-6) moved within one game of idle Atlanta in the NFC South. Tampa Bay scored on five of its on first six possessions to open a 30-0 lead, and none was more exciting than Mayfield's TD run with 12 seconds left in the first half. On a second-and-goal from the 10, he avoided pressure and went for the end zone. He was hit by Cor'Dale Flott low and Dru Phillips high around the 2-yard line, and he was airborne when he crossed the goal line. The ball came loose when he hit the turf but he jumped up and flexed — seemingly mocking DeVito's go-to celebration — as the Bucs took a 23-0 lead. Mayfield, who sustained a stinger in the fourth quarter, finished 24 of 30 for 294 yards. Favorite target Mike Evans returned to the lineup after missing three games with a hamstring injury and had five catches for 68 yards. Irving had 87 yards rushing and six catches for 64 yards. The Bucs held New York to three first downs and 45 yards in the first half, and they finished with 450 yards to the Giants' 245. DeVito had a 17-yard run in the fourth quarter to set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Devin Singletary. The brash New Jersey native, who gave the Giants a spark last year, did little in his first action this season. He was sacked four times, including once in the fourth quarter, which forced him to go to the bench for one play. Buccaneers: LT Tristan Wirfs (knee) did not play and Justin Skule replaced him. ... Tampa Bay lost OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka to an ankle injury in the second quarter and safety Jordan Whitehead to a pectoral injury in the fourth quarter. Giants: LT Jermaine Eluemunor (quad) and OLB Azeez Ojulari (toe) were hurt in the first quarter and did not return. Buccaneers: At Carolina next Sunday. Giants: At Dallas on Thanksgiving ___ AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nflDucks coming off disappointing loss face Seattle in a home-and-homeBitcoin Rebounds On Powell's Gold Comparison, Trump's SEC Nominee

Share Tweet Share Share Email Unfortunately, many people had no idea that Alpha Heat Vest existed even though it has been on sale for sometime now. Truly, the market is big and most big companies have been running ads making some quality brands look as if they aren’t in existence. Alpha Heat Vest is a low-cost option that might not compete favourably with some high-end heated vest in the market but the amazing thing is that it is one of the best sellers. No doubt, most low-cost Heated Vest are nothing to write home about. The worst part of it is that most of them are designed from unknown companies and smuggled into the United States, making money out of nothing while buyers end up wasting their money. Many people have been struggling to get the right one without paying a premium, leaving many people on the internet looking for the right brand. Alpha Heat Vest has its shortcomings but one thing that is true is that it is the best selling this winter. 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Disgraceful and cynical are some of the words Premier Chris Minns has used to describe a reported vote to refer him to the state's corruption watchdog. or signup to continue reading An inquiry into the pitch to sell the Australian Turf Club's Rosehill Racecourse in Sydney's west and turn it into tens of thousands of homes will deliver its report on Friday. But late on Wednesday the NSW premier responded to media reports the committee conducting the inquiry will call for him to be referred to the Independent Commission Against Corruption, describing them as allegations based on no fact or evidence. "It's disgraceful to politicise the ICAC with unsubstantiated rumours," Mr Minns said. "This is an old fashioned smear from a group of politicians opposed to changes at Rosehill," he added. The unsubstantiated allegations were a cynical attempt at political point scoring, Mr Minns said. Independent MP Mark Latham, a member of the committee, and of the turf club, claimed via social media on Thursday there is evidence to justify the ICAC referral, based on a meeting the premier had in October 2023. Mr Minns described the turf club's head of membership and corporate affairs Steve McMahon as a friend of more than 20 years in August, after Mr McMahon appeared at the committee inquiry earlier that month. The committee was told Mr McMahon pitched the idea to the turf club's chairman Peter McGauran on October 26, 2023. The premier had a "meet and greet" with the turf club four days later according to ministerial diaries. Mr McMahon told the inquiry the meeting was to discuss the idea and the process for pitching it to the government, before investing member resources in a proposal. "You want to make sure that (the government) are not going to be automatically opposed to such a thing," he said. Mr Minns told budget estimates in August the proposal was announced before turf club members voted on the sale in the interest of transparency. DAILY Today's top stories curated by our news team. WEEKDAYS Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation. WEEKLY The latest news, results & expert analysis. WEEKDAYS Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening. WEEKLY Get the editor's insights: what's happening & why it matters. WEEKLY Love footy? We've got all the action covered. WEEKLY Every Saturday and Tuesday, explore destinations deals, tips & travel writing to transport you around the globe. WEEKLY Going out or staying in? Find out what's on. WEEKDAYS Sharp. Close to the ground. Digging deep. Your weekday morning newsletter on national affairs, politics and more. TWICE WEEKLY Your essential national news digest: all the big issues on Wednesday and great reading every Saturday. WEEKLY Get news, reviews and expert insights every Thursday from CarExpert, ACM's exclusive motoring partner. TWICE WEEKLY Get real, Australia! Let the ACM network's editors and journalists bring you news and views from all over. AS IT HAPPENS Be the first to know when news breaks. DAILY Your digital replica of Today's Paper. Ready to read from 5am! DAILY Test your skills with interactive crosswords, sudoku & trivia. Fresh daily! Advertisement AdvertisementCapitals Reveal Alexander Ovechkin Will Miss Multiple Weeks With Signifcant Injury

Georgia's Dasha Vidmanova, Columbia's Michael Zheng win NCAA singles titles‘That Unwavering Commitment as a Father Is Beyond Words’: Abhishek Bachchan Gets Candid About Being Aaradhya Bachchan’s Dad on Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati 16’

US coach Emma Hayes admits to anthem uncertainty ahead of England stalemateFrance's President Emmanuel Macron listens to Chile's President Gabriel Boric (not pictured) as he delivers a statement during a visit to the Chilean Navy icebreaker 'Almirante Viel', in Valparaiso, Chile November 21, 2024. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado PORT-AU-PRINCE - Haiti's foreign minister met with the French ambassador to the nation on Thursday over what the ministry branded as "unfriendly and inappropriate" comments by French President Emmanuel Macron as he left the G20 summit in Brazil. Macron had on Wednesday described the decision of the Caribbean country's transitional presidential council to oust the prime minister earlier this month amid an escalation in gang warfare as "completely dumb." "Honestly, it is Haitians who killed Haiti by letting in drug trafficking," Macron was filmed saying in Brazil, before hailing ex-Prime Minister Garry Conille, who was ousted amid divisions with the council, as a great leader. "They are completely dumb, they should never have fired him," he said. His remarks sparked outrage in Haiti, a former French colony. After Haiti freed itself from slavery and declared independence in 1804, it paid France a "debt" for lost property - including slaves - over more than a century that some activists say amounted to over $100 billion. Activists are seeking French reparations for the debt, which many blame for Haiti's economic and political turmoil. Haiti's former Prime Minister Conille, who before taking the post earlier this year had been a top U.N. official, was replaced by entrepreneur and former senate candidate Alix Didier Fils-Aime, a fresh blow to stability in a nation with a deeply fragmented political class while around half the population faces severe food insecurity. Haiti's leadership has been wracked by infighting and three members of the transitional presidential council - tasked with restoring security and paving the way for elections - have been accused of corruption. They remain in their posts. Speaking in Chile on Thursday, Macron appeared to soften his tone, vowing that "France will never turn its face from a crisis ... There will never be a double standard in face of tragedy, be it in Haiti, Venezuela or at the gates of Europe." France has pledged 4 million euros ($4.2 million) to a U.N. fund financing a deeply under-resourced security mission mandated to help restore security in Haiti, as well as funding for French and Creole classes for its troops. Haiti's foreign ministry said that in the meeting French Ambassador Antoine Michon promised France would stay by Haiti's side to help restore security and carry out elections. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you. Read 3 articles and stand to win rewards Spin the wheel now

US coach Emma Hayes admits to anthem uncertainty ahead of England stalemateIt was no exaggeration. Acting Sergeant William Smith had been stoned to death, left with one of his eyes hanging out of its socket, in a crime – the death of only the second Durham policeman in the line of duty – that incensed the district. Three local men were quickly arrested. Two were convicted and sentenced to death, but only one hanged, and he died protesting that the guilty man was getting away with murder. Indeed, as the case unfolded, gossip, rumours and indignation swept the area as the clamour grew over the flimsiness of the evidence that was sending a man to the gibbet. The victim, Sgt Smith, was, by all accounts, universally liked in the Gaunless Valley. He was originally a shoemaker from Stokesley, but had been in the Durham force for 16 years. He had served his early years at Barnard Castle and Egglestone, and had spent eight years stationed at Woodlands. Two months before the fateful night he had been promoted to acting sergeant and given the Butterknowle beat, which included policing the pubs. Closing time on Saturdays was 10pm, and on the night in question – February 23, 1884 – he was patrolling to ensure landlords were abiding by their licences. It was a dark, moonless night. "It was raining fast," said one witness. The Diamond Inn, Butterknowle, where, in 1884, the three miners had been drinking much of the day before the murder. Picture: Google StreetView Sgt Smith had just checked the Diamond Inn, on the main street in Butterknowle, where the day's pigeon shooting competition had just wound up. He then proceeded down the steep bank towards the Stag's Head in The Slack. On the side of the road stood the engine house of the abandoned Diamond Colliery, its huge pitheap overshadowing it. There he met his end. "The distinctive features of the place where poor Sgt Smith met his doom must remind the spectator of the favourite murder scenes of the modern sensational novel writer," reported a newspaper. "A wild country is the dreary expanse known as Cockfield Fell. As the visitor emerges from Cockfield village, a stupendous panoramic picture is opened up before him. The fell is in two huge parts, and at the bottom of the declivitous sides is a rivulet, taking a serpentine course far into the distance. "Clouds of white steam shoot continuously from occasional colliery chimneys; gaunt pit-shaft gear stands out conspicuously from the face of the valley; and the flame-emitting, conical-capped coke ovens of the Butterknowle Colliery Company add their quota to the singularity of the scene." The Northern Echo didn't have a photographer in 1884 so an artist drew the scene down Diamond Bank from Butterknowle where Sgt Smith was stoned On the night of the murder, Dr John Jamieson Middleton, physician and surgeon of Woodlands, was returning home with his assistant George Bowker Gorrick. Mr Gorrick was slightly ahead of the doctor as they toiled up the bank, and was startled when, in the shadow of the old engine house, he stumbled upon a sobbing man. "The poor polliss," sobbed the man. "He is killed." Then he fled. A stone with a mark on it on Diamond Bank is said to be the spot where Sgt Smith fell Mr Gorrick called Dr Middleton and, a few yards further up they came across Sgt Smith. Bricks and stones were strewn across the road, and Sgt Smith was barely breathing. One report said a piece of his skull came away in Dr Middleton's hand and one of his eyes was hanging from its socket. Hearing movement on the pitheap, Dr Middleton looked up. In the bright light of one of the coke ovens, he claimed he saw three distinct silhouettes. He went towards them, calling for help. Instead, he too was stoned, receiving "a staggering blow" to the chest. He turned and ran to the top of the bank screaming: "Murder!" The Slack seen from Cockfield Fell. Diamond Bank winds up the middle of the picture towards Butterknowle past the Diamond Colliery. It was from the colliery pitheap that Sgt Smith was stoned Despite the wet weather there were many people out that night, and a small group helped Dr Middleton and Mr Gorrick load Sgt Smith onto a door. They carried him back to his house near the Diamond Inn where, in the presence of his wife and with his six children still sleeping, he expired. He was 40. Police from Cockfield, Staindrop and Barnard Castle were quickly on the scene. Among the stones, teeth and blood, they found a pearl button, and within hours made three arrests. How The Northern Echo reported the attack on Sgt Smith Joseph Lowson, 25, and his brother-in-law William Siddle, 25, were found in bed together at Lands. Lowson had a speck of blood on his cheek and a pearl button missing from his shirt. Siddle was widely known to have been heavily fined the previous year for drunkenly attacking Sgt Smith at Woodlands Gala. The two were charged with murder, and Lowson allegedly whimpered: "Is he dead?" The third was Joseph Hodgson, 20, of Dent Gate, Langleydale. His clothes lay before the fire, various parts of them having been washed. All three were miners. All had been drinking most of the day in the Diamond. "There ought to be few difficulties in running the criminals to earth," said the Darlington and Stockton Times, showing how emotions were running high against the perpetrators. "Butterknowle is not London; the means of escape from justice are few. Several arrests have been made but, unless the police are tolerably certain that they have caught the bastards, there ought to be no hesitation whatever in placing every house in the entire district under strict surveillance." An inquest was held at the Royal Oak, just up the road from the Diamond Inn. The three men were committed for trial for murder at Durham Assizes – "I mean to say that man's telled nowt but lees," shouted Siddle as he was led away. The body was released for burial, with the funeral being held a week after the murder. The grave of murdered policeman Sgt William Smith in St John's Church, Lynesack Thousands watched the procession, a quarter-of-a-mile long, wind its way from Sgt Smith's house up to St John's Church, in Lynesack. At its head was the Woodlands Band, playing the funeral march; then came 82 policeman taking turns to carry the coffin. They were followed by Sgt Smith's 70-year-old father, struggling along, while his mother, wife and children rode in a carriage. Sgt Smith's headstone can still be seen in the churchyard. He was buried with his daughter, Elizabeth Jane, who died two years earlier. The trial began on May 1 before Judge Sir Henry Hawkins with the three prisoners in the dock. "Lowson is by far the most repulsive looking man of the three," reported a newspaper. "This morning he was dressed in a dirty brown Tweed suit, his black hair was cut close and his small menacing eyes were dull and heavy. Siddle, on the other hand, although bearing physical signs of having laboured hard, has by no means an unintelligent expression of features. Hodgson is a tall, silly-looking sort of lad who, when in drink, would readily come under the influence of evil companions." The court heard that at 9.50pm on the night in question the prisoners had "smurted", "snittered" or "sneatted" with Sgt Smith outside the Diamond Inn – the newspapers had trouble with the local dialect word for a verbal confrontation. It was alleged that Siddle, who had previous with the policeman, had been "fresh with liquor" and had been overheard to say: "If he follows us down I will lace him...let's go back and rib the polliss." The county analyst, William Stock of Darlington, confirmed that blood on Lowson's coat bore the "strongest possible resemblance" to human blood – although it could also have come from a pig! In his defence, Lowson called witnesses who had seen him that day cradling his young daughter who had a split lip. Looking up Diamond Bank where Sgt Smith was murdered Mr Stock also confirmed that the pearl button could have been ripped from Lowson's shirt, but the defence pointed out that it was the commonest kind of button on the market. Then the medical men took the stand. Dr Middleton's evidence began to fall apart when he identified the prisoners from the silhouettes he had seen in the light of the coke oven. But, pointed out the defence, no ovens were visible from the banked road. Dr Middleton and Mr Gorrick had been drinking. They had started at 3.30pm in Bishop Auckland and had arrived on the 8.10pm train at Cockfield Station. They had nipped into the Stag’s Head for a snifter but, despite having had five beers and a couple of whiskies, they claimed they were sober when they staggered up the bank at 10pm. The defence called witnesses from the Stag's Head who begged to differ, because they had seen the medical men boxing and sparring with each other on the tables in the bar. The jury deliberated for two hours. To a packed courthouse, with hundreds outside on the street, they announced that Hodgson was innocent and Siddle and Lowson were guilty. Justice Sir Henry Hawkins, who heard the case. One legal historian described him as "probably the worst judge on the English bench in the 19th Century". Picture: wikipedia Mr Justice Hawkins donned the black cap and passed sentence: "William Siddle and Joseph Lowson, you have been convicted of the crime of wilful murder. It was a cruel, cold-blooded, cowardly murder. Without one single moment's hesitation or warning you struck down your poor victim and hurried him to his end without any provocation. "The sentence upon you is that each of you be taken from the place where you now stand to the place from whence you came, and from thence to a lawful place of execution, and that there you, each of you, be hanged by the neck till you are dead. And may the Lord have mercy on your souls." Siddle and Lowson erupted, blaspheming in the dock. As Siddle was led away, he shouted to his friends: "They have sworn away my life lads; the thundering bloody liars and bastards." “Losing all control of themselves when found guilty, Siddle and Lowson conducted themselves in a most extraordinary and abominable manner, leaving room for no pity to be extended to them," said the Echo. "Foiled in their assertion of innocence, they gave vent to the most fearful imprecations against the Deity and the Court. The scene made all present shudder, Siddle calling forth the most blasphemous exclamations." How the Illustrated Police News depicted the stoning of the policeman The condemned cell at Durham jail was already occupied by William Smith, of Darlington, recently convicted of murdering his wife in Stockton, and so Siddle and Lowson were housed nearby. The date for their execution was set for May 19, the traditional three Sundays away from the verdict. Yet despite their foul language, and the foul nature of their crime, doubts were soon setting in. The D&ST reported: "The violent behaviour of the convicted prisoners will confirm the belief that they are ruffians of a very coarse type, and just the men to do the deed for which they are condemned to suffer. "The finding of the jury, however, is a strange one and those who read the evidence closely will have some difficulty in discovering the grounds on which they have decided. From the first, the case has been shrouded in mystery and the only evidence obtainable was circumstantial. "And so weak did some of the links in the chain appear that no surprise would have been felt had the jury hesitated to pronounce a verdict. There is no evidence as to who participated in the attack, who struck the fatal blows, yet the jury have sought out one man as innocent and sent two to the gallows." The day after the verdict, the colliery district was up in arms. West Auckland held the first 'Indignation Meeting'; 1,000 gathered at Willington, 600 at Bishop Auckland; Cockfield Fell was full for an open-air meeting. All denounced the "weak and contradictory nature" of the evidence and "condemned the action of the court". The Echo's sister newspaper, the Evening Echo, printed a purported interview with the freed man, Joseph Hodgson, in which he claimed to have seen Lowson and Siddle stone Sgt Smith. But it was fake news. The interview was a hoax. Hodgson was keeping his own counsel; he had seen nothing and now said nothing. The Echo's name quickly became mud and its reporters were threatened. Looking up Diamond Bank from The Slack. The murder was perpetrated just around the bend in the road, near the Diamond Colliery Gradually, through letters from prison, Siddle's case became known. He proclaimed his innocence, saying that he had tried to protect his sister's husband, Lowson, who had become a father for the third time while in custody. Such was the profound excitement in the Durham coalfield that, just one day before the execution, the Home Secretary, Sir William Vernon Harcourt, stayed it and sent a counsel, Mr Cliffe, to Darlington to review the case. The first witness Mr Cliffe heard in the King’s Head Hotel was a new one, Edward Wilkinson, an elderly coffee shop owner from Middlesbrough, who was a well known local fantasist. But the information he collected from more reliable sources enabled the Home Secretary to make a sensational intervention: on May 22, he pardoned Siddle. It was practically unprecedented: of the 180 people sentenced to hang in Durham in the previous 70 years, 100 had been executed and only two, in 1832, had received a free pardon like Siddle. What made it truly sensational was that Siddle had been fined the previous year for assaulting Sgt Smith, and it had been widely assumed that he was the most guilty of the trio. But he had gone free. The next development was that Lowson, in prison, suddenly named Hodgson, who had been cleared by the court, as the perpetrator. This also caused a sensation because Hodgson was the youngest of the three and it was widely assumed he had been led astray. But Lowson wrote: "I am not the man that started with him (Sgt Smith) first. Hodgson is him that started first. They cannot hurt him now. He is right enough if they do destroy my body." And they – the authorities – were determined to destroy his body. There is a real feeling that the authorities were determined to find someone to pay for the murder of the policeman and the miners were almost a sub-class who could afford to lose one of their number. Lowson saw his wife, Jane and children, including the baby, for the last time on May 24. "The prisoner could not forbear exhibiting symptoms of the depression which the knowledge of his rapidly approaching doom has inspired in him, as he lifted up his smiling and unconscious little ones and kissed them again and again," said the Echo. Executioner James Berry, who pulled the lever the wrong way when trying to despatch Joseph Lowson On May 26,executioner Joseph Berry arrived on the afternoon train at Durham having just seen off the Boston poisoner, Mary Lefley, at Lincoln. He was mobbed as he walked through the streets, one member of the crowd asking him if there would be a mishap. "No, I hope not," replied Berry, "and no baby business. I hung a woman this morning and she cried and shrieked just as if she was going to be murdered!" Lowson was already going through agonies in his cell. "Although to all appearance wishful to become a brave hero and face death with impunity, he is downcast and occasionally trembles somewhat violently, more especially when he is dressing himself, knowing that tomorrow morning he will dress for the last time on this earth," said the Echo. Lowson was 25, powerfully built and 5ft 7in tall. He had been married five years, worked at Copley Colliery and, "like many of his class", was a keen gambler. He was an eldest son, his mother having died when he was 14. "A few years ago his father, Robert, died under remarkable circumstances," reported the Echo. "He had got out of bed one night to get a drink and by mistake swallowed a quantity of acquofortis which he had in a cupboard. The effect of the poison was to some extent neutralised by the appliances of a medical man, who was at once in attendance, but the organs of the stomach were so weakened and impaired by it, that a short time afterwards he was choked by a piece of meat sticking in his throat." Lowson awoke at 6am on May 27 and took a good breakfast. At 7.45am "the harsh clang of the passing bell reverberated through the morning air, striking to the very soul of those within hearing". He was brought out of his cell at 7.55am and pinioned by the executioner. It was to be Berry’s third execution at the start of his seven year career in which he ended the lives of 131 convicts. And none, he said in his memoires, left such an impression as Lowson, who calmly joked as he pinioned him: "In a minute or two, I'll know more about (the afterlife) than any of you." The Northern Echo's special edition notes the composure of Lowson, which unnerved executioner Berry "Amid a silence, unbroken save by the tolling of the passing bell, the party proceeded upon their mournful journey, their footsteps sounding painfully distinct as they walked with slow and measured tread along the gloomy corridor," reported the Echo. "He walked with a firm and determined step, and seemed to have made up his mind to meet his fate without a murmur. "There was something awful and impressive in the solemnity of the occasion. The scene was one which a beholder can never forget. It was sad to contemplate that a young man just arrived at manhood's estate – a vigorous and healthy man – should be put to a violent and ignominious death. "Into the open air the procession passed. There in the middle of the gaol yard stood the grim scaffold, with the rope dangling from the beam. "On reaching the scaffold the culprit immediately placed himself in position and his cool, resolute bearing surprised all present. The executioner quickly adjusted the leg straps. As the white cap was placed over his face he said, in a calm voice: 'I wish to say that Hodgson struck the first blow and then I helped him. I hope that the country and the Crown will look after Siddle and see him safe home again'. "The executioner immediately pulled the lever and the unhappy man was launched into eternity. The length of drop was eight feet, death being instantaneous." Executioner Berry later remembered a different sequence of events. He had been so unnerved by Lowson’s nerveless composure that he pulled the lever the wrong way, sweat pouring off his brow as he tugged at it, until one of the warders pointed out the error of his ways. "Pulling it in the other direction, the doors went down with a clang and, still clinging to the lever, I saw Lowson plunge backwards and then disappear,” he wrote. "Releasing my hold, I dashed towards the wall and, panting for breath, I leaned against it." An hour later, Lowson's body was cut down, placed in a plain coffin and taken inside the prison for an inquest before burial. The Echo's reporter was present. "The face wore a perfectly calm, even smiling, expression and, but for being of a somewhat darkened hue, presented no appearance of his having died anything but a natural death," he wrote. "On the shirt neck being unfastened and turned down slightly by one of the jurymen, a narrow black indentation round the neck of the corpse where the fatal noose had been adjusted was all that indicated that death had been of a violent nature." Ten years later William Siddle died in the Winterton asylum at Sedgefield, aged 35. After being pardoned he worked at West Auckland Colliery. "Latterly he suffered considerably from a severe attack of influenza which so affected his mental condition as to necessitate his removal to the asylum where he died on Wednesday morning," said the Echo. He left a widow and family. In 2020, Lowson’s great-great-nephew Peter Lowson appeared, with Memories, on the BBC’s programme Murder, Mystery and My Family, and tried to convince two high court judges that his ancestor was innocent. They concluded that from this distance of time, it was impossible to say. READ MORE ECHO MURDERS:

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