Alexander Pearce was born in 1790 in County Monaghan, Ireland, into a Roman Catholic farming family. A farm laborer by trade, Pearce lived during a time of widespread poverty and British colonial oppression in Ireland. He was arrested in 1819 in Armagh for the petty theft of six pairs of shoes and was sentenced to seven years of penal transportation to Van Diemen’s Land.

Upon arrival, Pearce was placed in the harsh penal system of Hobart, where conditions were brutal. Despite this, he frequently reoffended. His records include several instances of absconding and petty thefts. His behavior earned him a transfer to Sarah Island in Macquarie Harbour.

By 1822, Pearce had become accustomed to life on the edge of lawfulness. He had already gained a reputation among guards and fellow inmates for his rebelliousness and desperation.

On 20 September 1822, Pearce and seven fellow convicts—Alexander Dalton, Thomas Bodenham, William Kennerly, Edward Brown, Matthew Travers, Robert Greenhill, and John Mather—fled Macquarie Harbour into the bleak West Coast wilderness. The terrain was brutal, the food nonexistent. Roughly 15 days in, starvation pushed the group to draw lots for survival. Bodenham (or possibly Dalton, depending on the version) drew the short straw and was axed by Greenhill. Terrified, Kennerly and Brown bolted—only to die later of exhaustion or exposure. Dalton similarly perished.

This left Pearce with Greenhill, Travers, and Mather. Mather was next—killed and presumably eaten. Travers, bitten by a snake and clearly disabled, was held by the group for five days until pity turned grim—he was dispatched, too. Pearce, though unarmed initially, then overpowered and murdered Greenhill with the very same axe, consuming his flesh. He staggered into settled territory—around 113 days since his escape—and was taken in by a sympathetic shepherd before being recaptured.

In November 1823, Pearce escaped again—this time with a fellow convict, Thomas Cox. Their escape was short-lived; they were recaptured within ten days. Upon arrest, Pearce was found with body parts of Cox in his pockets. He later confessed to murdering Cox once he realized the man couldn’t swim across the river. This time, authorities had direct evidence: his confession, Cox’s remains, and previous suspicions about his earlier escape.

Pearce’s trial took place before the Supreme Court of Van Diemen's Land, where he became the first felon executed under the newly established court. On 24 June 1824, he was convicted of murder and sentenced to hang. Pearce received his last rites from Father Connolly and was executed by hanging on the morning of 19 July 1824.

After his death, his body was dissected for anatomical study. It’s believed his skull was eventually acquired by Samuel George Morton, a famous American collector of human skulls, and now resides at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia.