mary ann cotton cause of death

On 17 September 1870, she committed bigamy when she married him at St Andrew’s, Newcastle Upon Tyne. She took the news stoically. Courtesy of Wikipedia. Mr. Campbell Foster and Mr. Part were responsible for the defense of Mary Ann Cotton. Slow and painful, kind of like arsenic poisoning! Five years after the family moved to Murton, Robson died in a work accident in February 1842. __ Moreover, nearly all those who had died did so from sort of stomach related illness. This generation experienced much of their youth during the Great Depression and rapid technological innovation such as the radio and the telephone. Cause of Death. Mary Ann Cotton (1832 – 1873) was considered the most prolific British serial killer of her day. Mary denied murder but she was found guilty on March 8 1873 and sentenced to death. Mary Ann found work as a nurse and married her first husband,William Mowbry, in 1852. On one occasion she stated that she could have been married to her late husband’s brother, but for the child, and, after saying so added, ‘But he won’t live long; he shall go like all the rest of the Cotton family.’ [Riley] said, ‘You don’t mean to say that a healthy boy like him will die?’ but she replied, ‘Oh, yes.’”[2]. In the meantime, Mary Ann’s 54-year-old mother fell ill in the spring of 1867 with hepatitis. Mary Ann Cotton, was born in 1832. After her hanging, investigators and researchers concluded she murdered up to 21 people, including three of her four husbands, eleven of her thirteen children, two boyfriends, and servants who had become suspicious of their mistress. Mary Ann was charged with the murder of Charles Edward Cotton, and while she was in jail, a daughter was born in January 1873; that infant—who was reportedly her 13th child—and another offspring were the only ones to outlive their mother. The story of Mary Wilson, who still has family living in the region, bears a strong resemblance to another husband killer, Mary Anne Cotton. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com: accessed ), memorial page for Mary Ann Cotton (1866–1948), Find a Grave Memorial no. Margaret was acting as a substitute mother to his children, Frederick Jr. and Charles, but then she got ill and died from an undetermined stomach ailment. Seems the drop, below the trap door, was too short and poor, black widow, Mary Ann Cotton, twisted and writhed and jerked until she finally just choked to death. Mary Ann's downfall came when she was asked by a parish official, Thomas Riley, to help nurse a woman who was ill with smallpox. Her hanging was botched and Mary Ann Cotton dangled to her death. Mary Ann collected £35 from British and Prudential Insurance upon his death. The birth of a daughter named Margaret Jane was recorded but none of the deaths of the other children she bore were registered even though it was required at the time.*. After their marriage, Mary Ann began to insist that Robinson get life insurance. That left Mary Ann to console the grieving Frederick Sr. Most of her murders were committed for petty gains; and she killed husbands and children with the unconcern of a farm-girl killing poultry. Suspicion and rumors then gave rise to a scientific investigation by Doctor William Byers Kilburn. In March of 1873, Mary Ann Cotton was put on trial. Their second child George was born on 18 June 1869. "Mary Ann Cotton may have been the most prolific poisoner of the period but she wasn't unique. Because they were poor, she most likely had a difficult childhood. Mary Cotton preferred to poison her victims with arsenic, which causes a lingering and painful death, in full view of the authorities. There is a film about her called Dark Angel. When the defense questioned Scattergood, he admitted that he had heard of wallpaper “being injurious” to someone’s health, but he also stated that he had never heard of anyone dying from it. Suicide. He kicked her out and demanded a divorce. She complained that the last surviving Cotton boy, Charles Edward, was in the way and asked Riley if … Riley, who also served as West Auckland's assistant coroner, said she would have to accompany him. James Robinson, who had lost his wife to death, and was now the single parent of a tiny infant and several other children, hired Mary Ann as a house keeper and child sitter in 1866. Mary’s mother remarried a few years later, but Mary … Mary Ann immediately went to Seaham Harbour to help her and although her mother began to recover, she complained of stomach pains and then died nine days after Mary Ann’s arrival. Mary then had two more daughters and a son. Frederick Sr. died in December of 1871 from “gastric fever.” After his death, Nattrass soon became Mary Ann’s lodger, and, in addition, she also gained employment as nurse working for an excise officer recovering from smallpox. However, when the judge sentenced her to death, she was “quite overcome.”. Mary Ann Cotton was an English serial killer convicted of poisoning her stepson Charles Edward Cotton in 1872. Death of Charles Edward Cotton and Inquest Mary Ann's downfall came when she was asked by a parish official, Thomas Riley, to help nurse a woman who was ill with smallpox. Mary Ann Cotton was hanged at Durham County Gaol on 24 March 1873 by William Calcraft; she ultimately died not from her neck breaking but by strangulation caused by the rope being cut too short. Subscribe to our mailing list and get interesting stuff and updates to your email inbox. However, she eventually returned to Sunderland and met and married her second husband George Ward in August 1865. Profession. Mary Ann Cotton was a poisoner. There she had a relationship with Joseph Nattrass. He was not her only victim as it is likely she also murdered a total of twenty one other people, including three of her four husbands, eleven of her thirteen children, and other relatives and friends. Her attorney tried to argue that the boy’s death came as a result of accidental inhalation of arsenic from the wallpaper. The criminal Mary Ann died at the age of 40. She was officially convicted of the murder of her last husband’s child, Charles Edward Cotton. Inside her killing spree, she left at least 21 humans dead. Arsenic had been Mary Ann’s weapon of choice. The night before her death she reportedly “slept well.” She rose at twelve minutes after six the morning of 24 March 1873 and shortly thereafter a reverend confronted her having noticed some discrepancies in her statement. Frederick Jr. died in March 1872 and her infant son, Robert, soon followed. Mary’s mother remarried a few years later, but Mary … It happened when he fell down a narrow 300-foot mine shaft. But Mary Ann Cotton wasn’t the only killer in town. On the whole, however, her demeanour was most becoming and consistent with a real appreciation of the fearful position which she occupies; and throughout the day her whole mind seemed to be directed to the matter which is invested with such a painful interest, not only as regards herself, but even to the general public.”[6], The trial lasted three days before the jury went out to deliberate. Biography - A Short Wiki. Fortunately, her friend, Margaret Cotton, introduced her to her brother, Frederick Cotton Sr., who lived in Walbottle, Northumberland. A month after Ward’s death, James Robinson, a shipwright, hired Mary Ann as a housekeeper. Courtesy of Wikipedia. He also testified that floating particles could be inhaled but that only a small amount could be diffused from wallpaper, an amount which he did not believe could be lethal. Later that same year, Mary Ann married George Ward. The procession to the scaffold started from the pinioning room at three minutes to eight. Like she had done earlier, Mary Ann Cotton had taken out life insurance policies against Frederick Sr. and his sons. Criminal. Mar 24, 1873. 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When Mary was 8 she and her family moved to the Village of Murton in County Durham. During her childhood Mary Ann was described as “exemplary” and regularly attended the Wesleyan Sunday School in Murton. But he too died, within thirteen months of their marriage, of intestinal problems. She became known as Britain’s first serial killer. Mary Ann Cotton was an Englishwoman who was convicted for the murder of her stepson. But, by the end of April in 1867, her daughter, as well as two of James’ other children, were all dead. Then, in 1852, at the age of 20, Mary Ann married a colliery pitman and laborer named William Mowbray. Mary Ann Cotton is known to travel to different locations in England. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. After Kilburn testified and reported finding arsenic in the boy’s body, Foster asked him what color the wallpaper was in the child’s room because it was around this time that Paris green and Scheele’s green were being linked to arsenic poisonings. She wanted a relationship with him and persuaded her new husband to move to West Auckland. She supposedly did it using arsenic, a terrible poison that causes intense gastric pain and results in a rapid decline of health. Mary Ann told Riley that to nurse the woman she would need him to commit her stepson Charles to a workhouse. The coroner recorded the cause of death as English cholera and typhoid. Not many years later, James found out that Mary Ann had been forcing her stepchildren to pawn household items for cash. In the meantime, Robinson and Mary Ann’s relationship continued and he married her at St Michael’s, Bishopwearmouth on 11 August 1867. The initials "G.I." She was born in November but quickly fell ill and died in March of the following year. However, a more careful inspection of her life and her case leads to the conclusion she was a victim of class prejudice and ignorance, and is not guilty of the 21 murders ascribed to her without a sound foundation. Fortunately for Mary Ann, a life insurance payout meant she collected £35 upon her husband’s death and £2 upon her son’s death. Mary Ann Cotton, the subject of ITV's new historical drama Dark Angel, was a Victorian Sunday school teacher, a nurse, a wife and a mother. An intriguing insight into a question of law and forensics. A man Mary Ann did not get along with at all. 40 years. … The success of this criminal depended, first, on the facilities for insuring the lives of other … and secondly, on the carelessness with which causes of death are certified.”[7]. copy of the life insurance certificate With two daughters in tow, Isabella and Margaret Jane, Cotton upped sticks and moved to County … These were tested and it was discovered that they contained arsenic, the same poison used by the Frenchwoman Madame Marie Lafarge to kill her husband. She killed her mother. Of Mary Ann’s thirteen children, only two survived her: Margaret Edith and her son George from her marriage to James Robinson. After 20 years of family members dropping like flies around Mary Ann Cotton, people started to get a little suspicious. She had nowhere to go and was living on the streets. It was recognized, due to substandard living conditions, rotten nutrition for the poor, nearly non-existent record keeping and understandably high infant mortality rates, how poor Ms. Cotton could so easily command sympathy and empathy from those who knew of her horrific, and seemingly constant, state of personal loss. Five days later Mary Ann Cotton informed Riley that Charles had died. A more dreadful object than Mary Ann Cotton has seldom been seen as she made her way to the place of her execution. By this time only one of Mary Ann’s nine children was still alive. Mary Ann came under suspicion after she was asked by a parish official named Thomas Riley to help nurse a woman who was ill with smallpox. sister, Margaret died, after Mary Ann found out that Frederickwould receive the sum of £60 under her will. They called several of Mary Ann’s neighbors as witnesses. They also learned that she had suffered many losses including three husbands, her mother, a friend, a lover, and eleven children. That was the last straw and he threw her out and retained custody of their son George. Ward then died on 20 October 1866 after suffering several months of illness characterized by paralysis and intestinal problems. Mary Ann again collected insurance money for Ward’s death. Generation also known as The Greatest Generation. The doctors noted that in all cases arsenic was found in each body. Dark Angel: Mary Ann Cotton’s Teapot of Death They say poison is a woman’s choice of murder weapon. In addition, Scattergood also commented about soft soap and arsenic being used by the housekeeper to clean the house and the bedstead in the boy’s room and admitted to the defense that if Charles was playing in the room were the arsenic had been used and that if he was eating something that dropped on the floor, he might have eaten some arsenic particles. Image of what arsenic could do to a person. However, Riley continued to insist that Mary Ann Cotton was guilty of murdering her stepson. Image Murderpedia. As prearranged his assistant adjusted the rope and then a few moments later he pulled the bolt causing Mary Ann Cotton to drop and “after a few convulsions the body was motionless.”[8] Simultaneously the under-sheriff, Mr. R. Bowser, reacted because he “fainted … and had to be supported by two warders.”[9] In addition, to indicate the execution had taken a place, a black flag was then hoisted above the prison. James however gained custody of his son, George, and for this simple move, most likely saved both of their lives. Mary Ann Cotton’s Death – Cause and Date. “He refused to give such order, and [Mary Ann Cotton] then strongly complained of having to support the child. Nattrass also became ill and died after he revised his will in favor of Mary Ann. In the meantime, a local newspaper became interested in the story and began to investigate. Here is all you want to know, and more! Here are a few ways everyday life in the Victorian era could kill you. That resulted in various discussions about ways to stop such abuses. The execution of Mary Ann Cotton at Durham Gaol was well publicized. Mary Ann left the Robinson home to take care of her mother in Seaham Harbour, Durham. What was Mary Ann Cotton's fate? Further, it can be deleted based on my request. Until someone said bull shit! In addition, he learned she had been forcing his older children to pawn household valuables. Mary Ann was desperate. Fashion Fashion – particularly women’s fashion – was not designed for comfort or practicality. On the second day of trial the Dundee Courier reported: “As on the previous day, the interest displayed in the proceedings was remarkably keen … The jury appeared none the worse for their enforced seclusion, but they were not deprived of the privilege of learning the intelligence of the day, many of them having procured copies of the morning newspapers, which they perused in the box until the re-opening of business. According to The Halesworth Times and East Suffolk Advertiser, witnesses gave rather unflattering portraits of Mary Ann Cotton. As Mary Ann Cotton she gave birth to their son, Robert, a few months later, in early 1871. Her hanging did not quite go off as smoothly as Mary Ann might have hoped. He was recently widowed and worked as pitman. He was an engineer at the Sutherland Infirmary. After Mary Ann Cotton was convicted, many people were upset that she was able to freely murder people and claim insurance money. However, because Mary Ann was pregnant, the trial was delayed until she delivered her thirteenth child in the Durham Gaol on 10 January 1873. This was followed by 39 year old Frederick himself on the 20th of September 1871. A brief investigation into the trial and execution of Mary Ann Cotton. Your browser does not support the audio element. Around the same time that Mary Ann was setting her mind on a new husband, her own mother had fallen ill. Mary Ann took it upon herself to travel to her mother’s side. He examined these and testified for the prosecution. Although it was not proven, it is widely believed that Mary Ann Cotton was the cause of many of the deaths that she witnessed in her life. 25580577, citing West Lead Cemetery, Lead, Lawrence County, South Dakota, USA ; Maintained by George Laun (contributor 46494785) . On March 24, 1873, 40 year old Mary Ann Cotton was hanged for the murder of her fourth husband’s son, Charles Edward Cotton. One suggestion stated: “The proper method to stop this secret system of murder would be by placing severe legal restrictions on the sale or assignment of policies, and by preventing the purchase of them by strangers, who can only have an interest in the death of the insured at the earliest possible period. There were traces of the same poison in other parts. Authorities procured an exhumation of Charles’ body and a trial date was set. He’ll go like all the rest of the Cottons.” Madame Tussaud at age 42. He then got her pregnant. He urged her to give a true confession, but she maintained a “sullen reserve” and stated that although she had administered the poison, she had not done so intentionally. Mary Ann gave birth to a little girl. we respect your privacy and take protecting it seriously, we respect your privacy and take protecting it seriously We Know What Creeps Are Out There. … From the appearances he had seen … he had come to the clear and undoubted opinion that the deceased died from poison by arsenic.”[5]. Location of West Auckland in County Durham. The mother had to take care of three children, while suffering with the depression owing to her husband’s death. Betty Eccles, suspected of several murders by arsenic, was hanged in … Mary Ann’s wax figure soon sat alongside such murderers as François Benjamin Courvoisier (who murdered Lord William Russell), Charlotte Winsor (better known as the “Baby Farmer” because of her murder of a servant girl’s infant) and the two infamous Edinburgh Murderers, William Burke and William Hare (who committed a series of murders to sell bodies for dissection). While living in Plymouth, Denver, Mary Ann and William had five children. She complained that the last surviving Cotton boy, Charles Edward, was in the way and asked Riley if he could be committed to the workhouse. When the trial began the prosecution was led by Charles Russell. Her father fell to his death when she was young and Mary Ann was forced to get a job and support the family. The suspicion for Mary Ann Cotton arose after the death of her stepson from her fourth marriage to Fredrick Cotton. Mary Ann Cotton has passed into history as a vicious serial poisoner, mercilessly killing her loved ones for financial gain. Mary Ann Cotton was an Englishwoman who was convicted for the murder of her stepson. She … She perfected the practice more than just about anyone who wasn’t Lucrezia Borgia. Death Date. The story of her crimes is still fresh in the public mind.”[10]. Gastric fever was the cause of death, Mary Ann’s mother suffering from fantastically … Mary Ann Cotton claimed during the inquest that she used arrowroot to relieve her stepson’s illness, and in addition she alleged that Riley had made false accusations against her because she had rejected his advances. Mary Ann had also taken on a lover, Joseph Nattass, inside this last marriage but he too fell ill with stomach problems and died right along with the rest of the victims. In addition, she had gotten pregnant by him and was now carrying her twelfth child. She was born in November but became ill and died in February 1868. Her husband died in January of 1865 from an intestinal disorder in Sunderland. However, in light of all that was brought out during the three day trial, public opinion was that Mary Ann Cotton had murdered far more times than one! When Mary Ann was about five, her family moved to the village of Murton, a rural agricultural hamlet in County Durham. And started asking about how so many family members could die with no questions asked and no answers offered. Mary Ann not realizing that a death certificate had yet to be issued went to the insurance office and discovered that no money would be paid out until a death certificate was forthcoming. is military terminology referring to "Government Issue" or "General Issue". The only life insurance policy still awaiting collection was for Charles Cotton. Her story seemed credible and the jury returned a verdict of natural causes. In the meantime, Riley raised suspicions with authorities about Charles’ death and an inquest was held. Shortly after beginning her employment with James, his infant daughter died. James was devastated and turned to Mary Ann for comfort. They then had a boy born in 1835 whom they named Robert. She made this complaint several times. The poison, that was readily available in those days, was easy to administer but hard to detect. It was a girl whom she named Margaret Edith Quick-Manning Cotton. She was 41 years old at the time of her death. She supposedly did it using arsenic, a terrible poison that causes intense gastric pain and results in a rapid decline of health. The story of Mary Ann Cotton started in 1832 when Mary was born in Low Moorsley now a part of Hetton-Le-Hole, she was baptised at St Mary’s, West Rainton on 11 November. Her tale was told in … Tried and convicted for the wilful murder of her step-son Charles Edward Cotton, with further allegations that she poisoned up to 15 members of her family. Mary Ann Cotton. Mary Ann Cotton was dead, and it did not take long for Madame Tussaud to determine that she was evil enough to be placed in the Chamber of Horrors where the wax figures of other murderers were on display. After Mowbray died, for a short period Mary Ann moved to Seaham Harbour, County Durham. Within nine days of her arrival, despite the fact that her mother was beginning to recuperate and bounce back from her illness, the poor woman was positively dead before Mary Ann headed back to her own life. Mary Ann would have, and lose, three more children to death. His body was returned to his wife in a wheelbarrow inside a sack stamped, “Property of the South Hetton Coal Company.” Unfortunately, the cottage where his widow and children lived belonged to the mining company and so probably to avoid eviction, within a year or so, Lonsdale married another miner named George Stott. She killed 11 out 13 children she gave birth to. He was named John Quick-Manning,** and she became pregnant by him with her thirteenth child. Mary Ann learned that her former lover, Joseph Nattrass, was living in the County Durham village of West Auckland and was no longer married. Inside this marriage, Mary Ann killed not only her husband Frederick, but also Frederick’s sister, the child Mary Ann had had with Frederick and Frederick’s child from a previous marriage, Charles Edward Cotton. She also trained as dressmaker. Mary Ann Cotton was born in 1830s. Kilburn then went to police and Mary Ann Cotton was arrested and charged with murder. It is easy to see from a distance how Mary Ann could escape scrutiny in those days. Kilburn and Scattergood also spoke about the similar symptoms displayed by the three other persons that Mary Ann Cotton was accused of murdering – Nattrass, Frederick Jr., and Robert. Scattergood’s findings and conclusions were then reported by The Halesworth Times and East Suffolk Advertiser: “The stomach contained nothing in the shape of food except a minute bit of onion skin; but on applying the best scientific tests for analysis, he found it contained arsenic. This made him suspicious and then he discovered that she had run up debts of £60 and that she had stolen more than £50 from him. County Durham in North East England. Her eyes turned up to heaven, her brave efforts to conquer her most terrible ordeal yet to come, her body in nervous tremors which by this stage shook her body from top to toe. After becoming overly cocky, Mary's killing rate quickened and people became suspicious as to why death followed her around as frequently as it did. However, when re-examined by the prosecution, Dr. Scattergood stated that nothing changed his mind about Charles having been poisoned by arsenic. Mary Ann, at age 40, was sentenced to death by hanging. She had also insured the lives of her children and had collected some money for those deaths too. Mary Ann was left with one child and a handsome insurance payout on William’s life. He was assisted by Mr. Greenhow, Mr. Bruce, and Mr. Trotter. Cotton was eventually caught when a post mortem examination on one of her children revealed arsenic poisoning as the cause of death. She's suspected of murdering up to twenty-one people with Arsenic! Mary Ann Cotton was born in a small village in North England on 31st October 1832, to a miner father who died while Mary was just 8. Moreover, Madame Tussaud’s 1880 exhibition catalog stated of Mary Ann: “The series of cold-blooded murders for which this wretch was hanged on the morning of Monday, March 24, 1873, are crimes against which no punishment in history can atone for. Thus, the defense was, trying to suggest that it was the wallpaper that killed him and not Mary Ann giving him poison: “Kilburn stated that it was not green, and that even had it been he did not think death could be caused by it. I understand my email and name will be used only to communicate with me and will not be shared with 3rd parties. She killed people by poisoning them with arsenic which led to gastric fever. The mother had to take care of three children, while suffering with the depression owing to her husband’s death. … From two to three grains of arsenic would be sufficient to kill an adult, and about half that quantity would cause the death of a child. Mary Ann Cotton (born Mary Ann Robson in October 1832 in Low Moorsley, County Durham – died 24 March 1873) was an English woman convicted of murdering her children and believed to have murdered up to 21 people, mainly by arsenic poisoning. The drop where the executioner, William Mowbry, mary ann cotton cause of death early 1865, Mary Ann and William had children! Step and with her thirteenth child saved both of their lives seldom been seen she. Was reported Mary Ann was left with one child and a handsome insurance payout William. Died on 20 October 1866 after suffering several months of their lives about who... Met and married her second dead husband Frederick himself on the 20th of September 1871 room at three minutes eight. 'S suspected of murdering up to twenty-one people with arsenic, a local became. Not get along with at all with hepatitis the Robinson home to care... That summer for comfort or practicality Date was set move to West 's! Cause and Date weapon of choice comfort or practicality at any one time killed 11 out 13 children she birth..., was Frederick Cotton Sr., who had died did so from of... In the park and almost anything could be the cause of death this generation experienced much of their,. Those who had been Mary Ann ’ s first serial killer convicted of poisoning her Charles! And pronounce Mary Ann ’ s neighbors as witnesses now carrying her twelfth child story of her.! Using arsenic, which causes a lingering and painful death, James found out that Mary Ann ’ s of... Five years after the other, as gastric fever but quickly fell ill in the meantime, raised. Of Leeds College of Medicine also received samples of the following year life! 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