Bio

Mary Edmondson was born in 1733. She was the daughter of a farmer who lived near Leeds in Yorkshire.

As a young woman she was sent to live with her widowed aunt, Mrs Walker. Some sources say the aunt lived at Rotherhithe, while others name Rotherham. With her aunt she lived for about two years.

During that time she behaved in a decent way. She regularly attended church and was described as religiously minded.

Murder Story

Mary Edmondson was born in 1733. The murder happened on February 23, 1759, in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. The victim was her widowed aunt, Susanna Walker. A lady named Toucher had spent the evening with Mrs Walker, and Mary escorted her across the street. Soon after Mary returned, a woman who cried oysters saw the door open and heard Mary cry out, "Help! Murder! They have killed my aunt!" Neighbours and some gentlemen from a public house went to the house. They found Mrs Walker lying on her right side with her throat cut and her head near a table covered with linen. Mary ran to the house of Mrs Odell, wringing her hands and bewailing the misfortune. Mary said four men had entered at the back door, one of whom put his arms round her aunt's neck, and another, a tall man dressed in black, swore he would kill her if she spoke. A neighbour, Mr Holloway, saw that Mary's arm was cut. Mary said one of the men had jammed it in the door while leaving. Holloway judged from appearances that no men had been in the house and suspected Mary. On that charge she fell into a fit and was removed to a neighbour's house, where a surgeon bled her. The coroner's inquest the next day returned a verdict of wilful murder, and Mary was committed to prison on the coroner's warrant.

Mrs Walker's executors caused the house to be searched. They found that items Mary said were stolen were not missing. Mrs Walker's watch and some other articles were found under the floor of the necessary-house. Mary was committed to the New Jail, Southwark, until the next assizes for Surrey. She was tried at Kingston and convicted on evidence described as circumstantial. She made a defence, but it was not judged to have enough probability to carry weight. She was condemned on a Saturday to be executed on the Monday following and was lodged in the prison at Kingston. She wrote to her parents, solemnly avowing her innocence, and she asked that the minister preach a sermon on the occasion of her death. She asserted her innocence on the Sunday when visited by a clergyman. On Monday morning she rode in a post-chaise with the keeper to the Peacock in Kennington Lane, drank a glass of wine, and was then put into a cart and taken to Kennington Common. There she spoke to the crowd, saying, "It is now too late to trifle either with God or man. I solemnly declare that I am innocent of the crime laid to my charge. I am very easy in my mind, as I suffer with as much pleasure as if I was going to sleep. I freely forgive my prosecutors, and earnestly beg your prayers for my departing soul." Mary Edmondson was executed by hanging at Kennington Common on April 2, 1759. After the execution her body was taken to St Thomas's Hospital, Southwark, and dissected in accordance with the laws respecting murderers. The case was classified as a murder connected with robbery and involved one victim.