John Charles Tapner was born on 8 March 1823 in Woolwich, London, a district in southeast England. He later relocated to the island of Guernsey, part of the Channel Islands, where he settled in the parish of St Martin. Married and working-class, Tapner was known to be involved in a secret relationship with his sister-in-law, who was also his mistress. She resided in the home of Elizabeth Saujon, a 74-year-old widow living in St Peter Port.

Tapner’s domestic situation was complex and scandalous for the time. His extramarital affair was not widely publicized until after his arrest, but it would later become a central point in theories regarding his possible motive for the crime. It is unclear whether he held any form of employment while in Guernsey, but there are no records of him being involved in violent crime before the incident that led to his conviction.

On the evening of 18 October 1853, the quiet streets of St Peter Port were lit up by a devastating house fire. Inside the burning home, the body of Elizabeth Saujon, age 74, was discovered. Investigators quickly determined that she had not died from the fire but had instead been knocked unconscious prior to the blaze. The fire appeared to be an attempt to destroy evidence or mask a murder.

Attention soon turned to John Tapner, a resident of St Martin, who was known to have been in St Peter Port on the night of the fire. Suspicion grew rapidly when some of Saujon’s belongings were found hidden near Tapner’s home, raising serious questions. Compounding this suspicion was the fact that Tapner’s mistress, his wife’s sister, had been living with the victim at the time of the incident.

When arrested, Tapner denied killing Saujon or setting the fire. He admitted to being in the area that night, but there was no clear motive established for why he would commit such an act. The prosecution relied on circumstantial evidence, including the hidden items and his proximity to the victim’s residence. Still, there was no direct witness nor definitive forensic link tying Tapner to the murder weapon or the act of arson.

Tapner was tried before Guernsey’s Jurats, senior magistrates who acted as both judge and jury. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to death by hanging, despite ongoing public concern that the evidence was not strong enough to support a death sentence.

His case quickly drew widespread attention, not just for the tragic circumstances but also due to the unusual legal structure of Guernsey. Victor Hugo, the famous French writer and future Guernsey resident, led a petition for clemency, joined by 600 local citizens, urging the British Home Secretary, Lord Palmerston, to commute the sentence. The petition cited the uncertainty of the motive and the lack of clear evidence.

Despite the plea for mercy, Lord Palmerston rejected the petition, and the execution proceeded. Tapner was hanged on 10 February 1854 in St Peter Port. The execution was particularly grim, performed by non-professionals, the process was mishandled, and Tapner died by strangulation rather than a clean neck break.