The Armstrong Case

Like the vast majority of murders committed in Bermuda during the 20th century, this tragic affair arose out of a domestic situation. It was 1913, the eve of the First World War, and serious crime was still a rarity in Bermuda. As the details gradually emerged, the public became gripped by the case and they could talk about nothing else.

Bermudian Robert Montgomery Armstrong was strongly attracted to the wife of West Indian immigrant Chesterfield Paul, and one night the pair fought over her with fatal consequences. Armstrong inflicted a single blow with his knife, and Paul died almost immediately.

The attending doctor confirmed the cause of death and Armstrong was arrested.

Following questioning at the inquest, it came to light that no autopsy had been conducted, and so the presiding magistrate adjourned the hearing until one could be performed.

When the inquest resumed, the doctor who conducted the autopsy took a certain pleasure in producing the dead man’s heart on a sheet of blotting paper, which he then showed to each jury member, pointing out the single stab wound. For some jurors however the sight and smell of the putrid organ was just too much, and several were reported to have fainted.

The accused Armstrong would became the first man to be found guilty of murder in Bermuda in the 20th century, and he was also the first to be executed.

He was hung on Christmas Eve morning 1913, and he was afterwards buried on Skeeters Island.

Of further interest is the fact that his father, Thomas Armstrong, had also been accused of murder back in 1896. The charge in his case however was later reduced to one of manslaughter, of which he was convicted.

Many years later, in 1934, Martha Outerbridge, a sister of the deceased Chesterfield Paul, was charged with the murder of her ex-boyfriend. She too was found guilty and hung, and likewise she was buried on Skeeters or Murderers’ Island. Outerbridge incidentally, was the last woman to be executed in Bermuda.

First World War And Its Aftermath

Not surprisingly during the Great War (1914-1918), most of the military activity in Bermuda centred around the Royal Naval Dockyard, and the principal role of the police at this time appears to have been keeping rowdy sailors in check!

The First Detective

In 1919 Bermudian Charles Edward Simons was appointed as the Island’s first Detective Officer. He soon became a familiar figure to one and all as he pedal cycled around the Island in a white suit while investigating crime.

The First Overseas Recruits

The following year the Force underwent another major reorganisation. The Police Establishment Act of 1920 empowered the Chief of Police to recruit young men from the United Kingdom for the first time.

Eighteen men were selected from 500 applications received and they arrived in Bermuda in August of that year.

Five were ex-Royal Marines and the other 13 were ex-police officers; they brought the strength of the then Force up to 46. The new recruits arrived by steamer, which berthed in Hamilton, and after docking they were marched off to the old Hamilton Police Station on Parliament Street (now the site of the Government Administration Building). Literally within hours of arrival some of the men were detailed to walk the beat.

New Fingerprint Section

In 1924 the Governor, Sir Joseph Asser, wrote to the Chief of Police, JH Sempill, suggesting that the Force should introduce fingerprinting to aid detectives in the investigation of crime. Mr Sempill was already thinking on similar lines and afterwards arranged for three officers to attend courses of instruction with the New York City Police Criminal Identification Bureau.

Upon their return to Bermuda, and with the assistance of a fingerprint expert from New York, these same officers established the new Bermuda Fingerprint Section, the forerunner of today’s Scenes Of Crime Office. The first successful conviction in Bermuda obtained solely on fingerprint evidence was secured two years later.

Next week: Read about the founding member of the Nazi Party wandering freely about Bermuda during the Second World War, and the sensational Stapleton murder case.

The History of Policing In Bermuda will soon be available in softback and limited edition hardback versions through the Bookmart at Brown & Company, and other book distributors.