William Henry Bury was born on May 25, 1859, in Stourbridge, Worcestershire, England. He was the youngest of four children in the Bury family. His father, Henry Bury, worked for a local fishmonger named Joscelyne. Tragically, Henry died in a horse and cart accident when William was just an infant. This accident occurred on April 10, 1860, when Henry fell under the wheels of his cart after the horse bolted.

Following her husband's death, William's mother, Mary Jane, may have suffered from post-natal depression. She was committed to the Worcester County Pauper and Lunatic Asylum on May 7, 1860, just weeks after her husband's death. Mary Jane stayed in the asylum until her death at age 33 on March 30, 1864. William's eldest sibling, Elizabeth Ann, died in 1859 at the age of seven. The other two children, Joseph Henry and Mary Jane, also passed away before 1889. After being orphaned, William was raised by his maternal uncle, Edward Henley, in Dudley.

In 1871, William was enrolled at the Blue Coat charity school in Stourbridge. After his education, at the age of sixteen, he found work as a factor's clerk in a warehouse at Horseley Fields in Wolverhampton. He worked there until the early 1880s but left after failing to repay a loan. William then took a job with a lock manufacturer called Osborne in Lord Street, Wolverhampton, but was dismissed in either 1884 or 1885 for theft.

For the next few years, it's unclear what William did, but he lived an unsettled life in the English Midlands and Yorkshire. By 1887, he was earning money as a hawker, selling small items like pencils and key rings on the streets of Snow Hill in Birmingham.

In October 1887, Bury moved to Bow, London, where he began working selling sawdust for a man named James Martin, who possibly ran a brothel. He initially lived in a stable but later moved into the house with Martin. There, he met Ellen Elliot, who worked as a servant. Ellen was born on October 24, 1856, in Walworth, London. She worked in various jobs, including as a needlewoman and in a jute processing factory. Ellen had an illegitimate daughter who died in a workhouse in December 1885.

William and Ellen left Martin's employ in March 1888 and rented a room, where they lived together until they married on April 2, 1888, at Bromley Parish Church. Their marriage was troubled. They faced financial difficulties and William struggled with alcohol. After a few weeks of living together, Elizabeth Haynes, their landlady, reported that William was violent when drunk.

The couple moved multiple times as William’s debts grew. By January 1889, they decided to move to Dundee, Scotland. William had told Ellen that he found a job in a jute factory there, but this was not true.

William and Ellen later arrived in Dundee on January 20, 1889, and rented a room above a bar. They moved again shortly after, living in a basement flat under a shop on Prince's Street. William continued to drink heavily, spending time with local men. 

On February 4, 1889, William Henry Bury killed his wife, Ellen. That day, he bought rope and spent time at the Sheriff Court, observing proceedings. Later that evening, after a night of heavy drinking, he reported to the police that Ellen had committed suicide by hanging. He claimed to have woken up to find her dead on the floor with a rope around her neck.

However, police investigations revealed a different story. Bury had not called for a doctor and had hidden her body in a wooden crate. When police searched their flat, they found Ellen's mutilated remains stuffed inside the crate. Blood-stained clothing and other evidence suggested foul play. The medical examiners concluded that she had been strangled from behind and then mutilated with a knife.

Bury was arrested, and upon further inquiry, he revised his story to admit that he had stabbed Ellen’s body once. His possession of her jewelry raised suspicions, and graffiti found at the crime scene hinted at a notorious serial killer known as Jack the Ripper. Despite Scotland Yard investigating Bury in connection to the Ripper murders, he was charged solely for Ellen’s murder.

At his trial on March 28, 1889, Bury pleaded not guilty. Testimony from witnesses pointed to his violent behavior and troubled marriage. The jury initially recommended mercy due to conflicting medical evidence but ultimately found him guilty. Bury was sentenced to death.

On April 1, 1889, his lawyer petitioned for clemency, but the request was denied. William Bury was executed by hanging on April 24, 1889. He confessed to a minister shortly before his death, stating he killed Ellen during a drunken argument. He had initially planned to dispose of her body but changed his story when he realized she was missing.