20-year-old Maria Davis with her friend Charlotte Bobbette 23-year-old would leave Maria's son 15-month-old Richard on Brandon Hill in Clifton, England. Maria left him there to be found and taken care of by someone else. She didn't think that the cold and bitter night would kill her son.
The women did not intend for Richard to die. Maria was a young widow and was desperate, her husband had died in Ireland around the time their son was born. She didn't believe she could have taken care of her child. Compared to London there was no Foundling Hospital in Bristol for Maria to bring Richard. She had tried to leave him at the work house, but had tried to do that before and was rejected. She may not have had relatives to step in and help.
The women would be set to hang on April 12, 1802. They knew that after their execution that their bodies were going to be handed over for dissection after their death like many criminals before and after their executions. They and their family pleaded for them to have a burial and not to be disected. Their pleas weren't heard and they were taken to the Medical School. The Medical School still have their bodies to this day.
I couldn't find the date that Richard had died.
SOURCES:
The Ipswich Journal April 17, 1802
The Morning Post April 19, 1802
The Bury and Norwich Post April 21, 1802
Capital Punishment UK Maria
Capital Punishment UK Charlotte
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