Morris Cohen

Morris Cohen died in a fire in a warehouse at 13A Harris Street, Cheetham on 8 April 1921.

A 33-year-old rag merchant was tried for his murder but acquitted.

The rag merchant had run a rag business at 13A Harris Street.

Morris Cohen had been an auctioneer and general dealer.

It was alleged that the rag merchant had been financially embarrassed and had insured his stock for many times its value and then deliberately set fire to his premises. The premises had been insured for £6,500, the insurance having been doubled between 8 December and 20 December 1920.

Morris Cohen's remains were found in the debris by firemen, with his cause of death being given as burns.

At the trial a model of the premises was made at the scale of ½" to the foot.

The fire was said to have broken out under suspicious circumstances. It was said that the first indications that the premises were afire was a loud explosion, followed by a rush of black smoke. The contents were described as not inflammable.

A girl clerk stated that on the Friday afternoon that they had been leaving the building at about 5pm when she saw Morris Cohen whisper to the rag merchant and then go back into the warehouse.

She said that they were then looking at the rag merchant’s car when there were explosions, and flames suddenly burst out of the warehouse.

A police inspector that examined the building after the fire said that he found tins of petrol and old lace curtains soaked with motor spirit there.

It was also noted that although the total insurance on the building was for £6,500, that the stock had only been valued at £750, and that the insurance had been increased by £4,500 since December 1920.

A police sergeant said that the body of Morris Cohen was not found for 40 minutes and that no one had mentioned that there had been anybody on the premises, and that when he reported the matter to the rag merchant, that he claimed that there had been nobody working on the premises and nobody there that he had known about.

At the inquest on 16 April 1921, the jury returned the verdict that Morris Cohen died from burns caused by fire, that the fire was ignited by him, and that the rag merchant had been acting in collusion with him and was a principal in the second degree and as such the rag merchant was sent for trial for murder.

The rag merchant was tried at the Manchester Assizes on Wednesday 6 July 1921, but acquitted. No evidence was offered against a charge of murder and he was acquitted on the charge of arson and of setting fire to his business premises.

When the verdict was announced it was met with applause.