Sleight, Charles

Hearing. After 16 years' experience teaching at the Brighton Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, he applied for and won a new teaching position at the Deaf and Dumb Institution in Dock Street, Hull, Yorkshire, in 1870. He boarded with a married deaf couple, John and Maria Hailstone (q.v.) in rooms located above the school. After a few months, Sleight began to show irregular behavior, including unwanted kissing and fondling of Maria Hailstone. On the early morning of March 27th 1871, while John was away at work and Maria remained in bed, Sleight entered her room and attempted to seduce her. When she resisted, he tried to rape her, then in rage took out a razor and slashed her, nearly decapitating her and leaving her dead. He then walked down to the police station and turned himself in. He was tried on April 4th, 1871, and found not guilty on grounds of insanity, and committed to a high-security mental institution for the rest of his life.