Constance Emily Kent was born on February 6, 1844, in Sidmouth, Devon, England. She was the fifth daughter and ninth child of Samuel Saville Kent, an Inspector of Factories for the Home Office, and his first wife, Mary Ann. Mary Ann was the daughter of a prosperous coachmaker, Thomas Windus, who was well-known for his work on the Portland Vase.

Constance grew up in a large family. Her father had a total of nine children with two different wives. After the death of Mary Ann in 1852, Samuel Kent remarried. Constance lived during a time when family dynamics were complex, especially with the addition of half-siblings.

Sometime during the night of June 29 to 30, 1860, almost four-year-old Francis Saville Kent vanished from his home, Road Hill House, in Wiltshire. His body was later discovered in a privy on the property, wrapped in a blanket and still wearing his nightshirt. He had multiple knife wounds and his throat was cut almost completely through.

Initially, his nursemaid, Elizabeth Gough, was arrested, but she was soon released. Detective Inspector Jack Whicher from Scotland Yard began to focus on Constance, Francis's 16-year-old half-sister. Constance was arrested on July 16, but public opinion led to her release without trial.

Five years later, in 1865, Constance was prosecuted for the murder. She had confessed her guilt to a clergyman named Arthur Wagner. In her confession, Constance stated that after her family was asleep, she took Francis from his room, left the house, and killed him in the privy with a razor she had stolen from her father. This act was suggested to be one of revenge, and claims were made that Constance might have been mentally unbalanced at the time of the murder.

There was much speculation about the truth of Constance's confession. Some believed her father might have killed Francis during a fit of rage. The case led to debates regarding the confession laws in the Church of England and whether clergymen had the right to withhold information received during confession.

In court, Constance Kent pleaded guilty, and her confession was accepted. As a result, she did not face the clergyman again for further questioning. Constance was sentenced to death, but it was commuted to life in prison due to her age and her confession. She served twenty years in various prisons before being released in 1885.

During her imprisonment, there were claims that Constance created mosaics for churches, but later research raised doubts about the existence of these mosaics. After her release, Constance moved to Australia, changed her name to Ruth Emilie Kaye, and became a nurse. She lived a long life and passed away at the age of 100 in 1944.