Murder of Jane Parkinson

By 1781 Jane Parkinson and Mathew Parkinson were married. She would become pregnant by July and did not want to keep it. It was not stated if Mathew knew of the pregnancy or the reasons for wanting the termination. It was illegal at the time and abortions were sometimes deadly to those who sought it. 

 On July 1st She would go to midwife Margaret Tinkler for an abortion in or near Durham, England. Margaret would only admit to giving advice. Two pieces of wood were trusted into Jane's privates and womb. This would cause deadly punctures for the woman.  Jane being in terrible pain and likely knowing she was dying would tell authorities that it was Margaret who had performed the deadly abortion. Jane would die from her injuries on July 23rd.

Margaret would maintain that she did not perform any abortions. That she only told Jane how to perform one. Margaret would be taken to trial in early August for murder. She would be found guilty at trial and set for execution. She would claim that she was 3 months pregnant to help extend her life. 

On November 20th Margaret was hanged at a place called whitesmocks in Durham. Her body would be autopsied. It was found that she was not pregnant and that she had swallowed two double-wire hair pins in days before her execution. It's believed she did this in an attempt to kill herself. 

SOURCES:
British Executions

Executions Today

Capital Punishment UK

Historical Division by Moses Aaron Richardson Page 270

The Newcastle Weekley Chronicle August 11, 1781

The Newcastle Weekley Chronicle November 24, 1781

The Bath Journal December 1781

INFANTICIDE: 16 Jul 1786 London, England Baby Boy Doe

On 16 Jul 1786, the body of a newborn baby girl was found on the side of London Bridge in London, England. It's not stated whether or not she was born alive.

SOURCES:

Unsolved Murders UK

Murder of Eunice Bolles

12-year-old Hannah Ocuish is the youngest and last female to be documented and lawfully executed in North Carolina. Her mother was a Pequot Native American and her father was African American. She was also said to have had some intellectual disability. She was working as an indentured servant for an Ichabod Rogers at the time.

Hannah and 6-year-old Eunice Bolles, the daughter of a wealthy farmer, spent time together in a strawberry patch a few miles north of New London, Connecticut. They did not get along though after Eunice went home she told her parents Hannah was mean and took some of her strawberries.

About six weeks later on July 21, 1786, Eunice was walking to school on the Norwich road in New London. Hannah spotted the 6-year-old alone and beat her to death with rocks for complaining about the strawberry incident. After killing the girl she tried to cover her with large stones trying to make it seem as if the wall collapsed on her. But it was obvious that the stones were placed there and Eunice had been murdered. 

Eunice's body was found at about 9 a.m. The authorities knew of Hannah and Eunice's trouble. They began to interview Hannah and she lied to them claiming to seen four boys harassing Eunice where she was found. Authorities did not believe her and took her to the Bolles home to see Eunice, where she broke down and admitted to killing her.

Hannah was tried in October for the murder. She was convicted and found guilty of the murder.  During the trial, her age was put into account, but since the murder was brutal and she attempted to conceal the body she was given the death penalty. She seemed unconcerned during the trial.

She was set to be executed on December 20, 1786. When it came closer to her execution date she was becoming fearful. On the day of December 20th, she was crying for most of the day. Thousands gathered to watch the young girl hang. Reverend Henry Channing gave a lengthy sermon before her hanging. She said little but did thank the Sherrif for showing her kindness. 

SOURCES:

Courant

Murderpedia

Today in Connecticut  History

Wikipedia
Connecticut History

Catharine Higgs Murdered Her Daughter Mary

The date of the Murder of  Mary could not be found. Her mother, Catharine Higgs had drowned her in a pool near the Bell-Inn in Belbroughton, England. Mary was about 2-years-old when she was murdered. Catharine was found guilty of Willful Murder. She was executed on March 14 of 1782.

SOURCES:
The Derby Mercury
The Bath Chronical 
Capital Punishment UK