mary ann cotton cause of death
Reportedly just weeks after her arrival in 1866, one of his five children succumbed to gastric fever. Soon after the move, Mary Ann's father fell 150 feet (46 m) to his death down a mine shaft at Murton colliery in February 1842. Mary Ann Cotton (née Robson; 31 October 1832 – 24 March 1873) was an English serial killer, convicted of, and hanged for, the murder by poisoning of her stepson Charles Edward Cotton.It is likely that she murdered three of her four husbands, apparently in order to collect on their insurance policies, and many others. Sing, sing, what can I sing? Robinson married Mary Ann at St Michael's, Bishopwearmouth on 11 August 1867. The criminal Mary Ann died at the age of 40. Mary Ann’s trial at Durham Crown Court lasted three … Fortunately for Mary Ann, a life insurance payout meant she collected £35 upon her husband’s death and £2 upon her son’s death. Mary Ann Cotton had finally been caught. A Mr. Aspinwall was first considered but the Attorney General, Sir John Duke Coleridge, whose decision it was, chose his friend and protégé Charles Russell. THE baby was the daughter born to Mary Ann Cotton, of West Auckland, in Durham jail on January 7, 1873.We told the story in Memories 96, with, as ever, a few inaccuracies. At some point William took out a life insurance policy that covered both him and their three surviving children; the others had died from “gastric fever,” a common ailment that had symptoms similar to arsenic poisoning. After moving frequently, the family settled in Hendon, Durham county, in about 1856. One reason being the sole fact that after investigation, it was speculated that Mary Ann Cotton had caused many deaths through poisoning and thus Britain had a presumed serial killer at their hands. Her mother became ill, and Mary Ann went to be with her. Mary Ann Robson was born on 31 October 1832 at Low Moorsley[1] (now part of Hetton-le-Hole in the wider Houghton-le-Spring, part of the City of Sunderland), to Michael Robson, a colliery sinker, and Margaret, née Londsale, and baptised at St Mary's, West Rainton on 11 November. Authorities also exhumed the bodies of Nattrass and two other Cotton children, and all were determined to have been poisoned with arsenic. Around this time she took up with a former lover, Joseph Nattrass, but later became pregnant by another man, John Quick-Manning. Criminal. James Robinson was a shipwright at Pallion in Sunderland, whose wife, Hannah, had recently died. Her attorney tried to argue that the boy’s death came as a result of accidental inhalation of arsenic from the wallpaper. It went like this: Mary Ann Cotton, … A poor working-class widow, Mary Ann Cotton has passed into history as a vicious serial poisoner, mercilessly killing her loved ones for financial gain. There, she discovered that no money would be paid out until a death certificate was issued. Her brother, Robert, was born in 1835. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. However, in 1870 Mary Ann met another widower, Frederick Cotton, who was the brother of a friend. In August, Mary Ann married Robinson, and the couple had two children, though only one survived. Where, where? As she was sentenced to hang, the second hearing fizzled out. Then her friend Margaret Cotton introduced her to her brother, Frederick, a pitman and recent widower living in Walbottle, Northumberland, who had lost two of his four children. Mary Ann Cotton. Then he found that Mary Ann had been forcing his older children to pawn household valuables. Her parents were both younger than 20 when they married. In 1843, her mother married George Stott (1816–1895), also a miner. The defence in the case was handled by Mr. Thomas Campbell Foster, who argued during the trial that Charles had died from inhaling arsenic used as a dye in the green wallpaper of the Cotton home. Some three minutes passed before she finally died. Her reign of terror stretched for 21 years and her total kill count is the same. By the end of the following year Cotton and two more children had died; again Mary Ann reportedly received an insurance payout. Popular cultural sources have called him John Quick-Manning, though there appears to be no trace of a John Quick-Manning in the records of the West Auckland Brewery or the National Archives. A brief investigation into the trial and execution of Mary Ann Cotton. Trial & Execution. Mary Ann Cotton, also known as the Dark Angel, was a serial killer who murdered up to 21 people, including her own children, mainly by poisoning … Mary Ann never confessed to any of the deaths, and the number of her victims is uncertain, though most sources believe she killed upwards of 21 people. Mary Ann Cotton was charged with the murder of Charles Cotton, Joseph Nattrass, Frederick Cotton and Robert Ronson Cotton although she was eventually tried only for the murder of her stepson, Charles. She was charged with his murder, although the trial was delayed until after the delivery in Durham Gaol on 10 January 1873 of her thirteenth and final child, whom she named Margaret Edith Quick-Manning Cotton. Mary Ann subsequently worked as a hospital nurse in nearby Sunderland, and in 1865 she married a patient, George Ward. Her eyes turned up to heaven, her brave efforts to conquer her most terrible ordeal yet to come, her body in nervous tremors which by this stage shook her body from top to toe. It is likely that she murdered three of her four husbands, apparently in order to collect on their insurance policies, and many others. While some claimed that she was Britain’s first female serial killer, other women had previously been hanged for poisoning multiple people. Mary Cotton preferred to poison her victims with arsenic, which causes a lingering and painful death, in full view of the authorities. However, earlier in 2019, Iza clarified to The Inquirer that that was not the case. Her childhood was an unhappy one. Cause of Death. Mary Ann received a life insurance payment of £5 10s 6d for Isabella. Soon after Mowbray's death, Mary Ann moved to Seaham Harbour, County Durham, where she struck up a relationship with Joseph Nattrass. Five days later, Mary Ann told Riley that the boy had died. Once again, Mary Ann collected insurance money in respect of her husband's death. The series also featured Alun Armstrong, Jonas Armstrong and Emma Fielding. Mary Ann was charged with the murder of Charles Edward Cotton, and while she was in jail, a daughter was born in January 1873; that infant—who was reportedly her 13th child—and another offspring were the only ones to outlive their mother. Mary Ann Cotton, née Mary Ann Robson, also known as Mary Ann Mowbray, Mary Ann Ward, and Mary Ann Robinson, (born October 31?, 1832, Low Moorsley, Durham county, England—died March 24, 1873, Durham county), British nurse and housekeeper who was believed to be Britain’s most prolific female serial killer. Soon her twelfth pregnancy was underway. She became known as Britain’s first serial killer. What was Mary Ann Cotton's fate? Russell's appointment over Aspinwall led to a question in the House of Commons. Mary Ann Cotton is a major reason why. The Raveness, an English performance poet from Warwickshire, composed a spoken word piece entitled "Of Rope and Arsenic" about Cotton and featured the nursery rhyme on her album, This page was last edited on 7 March 2021, at 22:52. Harold Shipman, British doctor and serial killer who murdered about 250 of his patients, according to an official inquiry. The lives of William and of their children were insured by the British and Prudential Insurance office and Mary Ann collected a payout of £35 on William's death (equivalent to £3,371 in 2019, about half a year's wages for a manual labourer at the time) and £2 5s for John Robert William. Death Date. A POEM about serial killer Mary Ann Cotton has been discovered under layers of wallpaper in a house built the same year she was sent to the gallows. Iza’s mother, Mary Ann Ussher, died in 2001, and the cause of her death was initially reported as cancer. When Mary Ann was eight, her parents moved the family to the County Durham village of Murton. Here is all you want to know, and more! The men that she married names were: George Ward, James Robinson, Fredrick Cotton, and William Mowbray. She was charged with the murder of Charles Edward Cotton, and her trial began in March 1873. When Mary was 8 she and her family moved to the Village of Murton in County Durham. Riley, who also served as West Auckland's assistant coroner, said she would have to accompany him. Mary Ann Cotton (née Robson; 31 October 1832 – 24 March 1873) was an English serial killer, convicted of, and hanged for, the murder by poisoning of her stepson Charles Edward Cotton. In September 1870 Mary Ann and Cotton were married—though she was still wed to Robinson—and she later gave birth to a son. She then allegedly told a local official that she could not marry Quick-Manning because of her seven-year-old stepson, Charles Edward Cotton. An inquest was held and the jury returned a verdict of natural causes. This generation experienced much of their youth during the Great Depression and rapid technological innovation such as the radio and the telephone. Mary Ann grew up in Durham county, northeastern England. In 2015 ITV filmed a two-part television drama, Dark Angel,[5] starring Joanne Froggatt as Cotton. He’ll go like all the rest of the Cottons.” Suicide. Fashion Fashion – particularly women’s fashion – was not designed for comfort or practicality. She sent her surviving child, Isabella, to live with her mother. From overcoming oppression, to breaking rules, to reimagining the world or waging a rebellion, these women of history have a story to tell. Mary Ann Cotton. Dark Angel: Mary Ann Cotton’s Teapot of Death They say poison is a woman’s choice of murder weapon. Rumour gave rise to suspicion and scientific investigation. It is possible to discover a spouse’s name from the death record. Arrested and charged with the murder of her 7-year-old stepson Charles Cotton in 1872, the deaths of three husbands and up to eleven children along with her own mother soon became under suspicion. Mary Ann Cotton was an Englishwoman who was convicted for the murder of her stepson. A more dreadful object than Mary Ann Cotton has seldom been seen as she made her way to the place of her execution. She returned to Sunderland and took up employment at the Sunderland Infirmary, House of Recovery for the Cure of Contagious Fever, Dispensary and Humane Society. A 19th Century Children's Ryhme was born out of her famed crimes. Mary Ann Cotton is infamously known as one of the United Kingdoms’ first prolific female serial killers. Several petitions were presented to the Home Secretary, but to no avail. Posted in GINGER'S LIBRARY, SERIAL KILLERS. She was vilified in the press most likely because of her station in life (as were more modern judicial victims, the early 1900s' Martha Rendell and the 1980s' Lindy Chamberlain of "the dingo ate my baby" infamy). Profession. Life in 1800s England was no walk in the park and almost anything could be the cause of one’s demise. These people may be her close friend, children, or husbands. But Mary Ann Cotton wasn’t the only killer in town. She is reunited in heaven with her husband of 65 years, Harold Dean Cotton. Frederick Jr. died in March 1872 and the infant Robert soon after. Then Mary Ann's mother, living in Seaham Harbour, County Durham, became ill with hepatitis, so she immediately went to her. The occupation is also indicated, but, for children, it is replaced with a parent’s name. As Mary Ann Cotton, Dark Angel reported, Mary Ann blamed lax pharmacists for her young stepson's death. Selling black puddings, a penny a pair. She rekindled the romance and persuaded her new family to move near him. She told Riley that the boy was sickly and added: “I won’t be troubled long. Corrections? Another daughter, Isabella, was born in 1858, and Margaret Jane died in 1860. ", "ITV drama about Durham serial killer Mary Ann Cotton called 'Dark Angel' starts filming", "Dark Angel: the gruesome true story of Mary Ann Cotton, Britain's first serial killer", "Joanne Froggatt to star in new ITV drama Dark Angel", "All Mine Enemys Whispers – The Story of Mary Ann Cotton", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mary_Ann_Cotton&oldid=1010896926, 19th-century executions by England and Wales, People convicted of murder by England and Wales, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles lacking in-text citations from December 2010, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2016, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2016, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Around 21, including 3 of her husbands and 12 children. Mary Ann Cotton (born Mary Ann Robson in October 1832 in Low Moorsley, County Durham – died 24 March 1873) was an English woman convicted of murdering her children and believed to have murdered up to 21 people, mainly by arsenic poisoning. In 1867, Mary Ann's stepfather George Stott married his widowed neighbour, Hannah Paley. Born Mary Ann Robson, One of the UK's most prolific serial killers, she Killed husbands, and possibly even her own children, she was hanged in Durham prison on 29th Match 1873, aged 40. The cause of death recorded on his death certificate is that of English cholera and typhoid. Sing, sing, oh what should I sing? Mary Ann's downfall came when she was asked by a parish official, Thomas Riley, to help nurse a woman who was ill with smallpox. Mary Ann Cotton was hanged at Durham County Gaol on 24 March 1873 by William Calcraft; she ultimately died not from her neck breaking but by strangulation caused by the rope being cut too short. Mary Ann was desperate and living on the streets. She moved into the Robison/Robinson household on 20th December, 3 weeks after the death of Hannah. Mary Ann Robson is part of G.I. He hired Mary Ann as a housekeeper in November 1866. As she was sentenced to hang, the second hearing fizzled out. Mary Ann then learned that Frederick would receive the sum of £60 upon the death of his sister Margaret – Mary Ann’s friend . (The lack of documentation—such as birth and death certificates—leaves many details of Mary Ann’s life open to dispute.) On March 24, 1873, Mary Ann was hanged in a bungled execution. Mary Ann Cotton, the subject of ITV's new historical drama Dark Angel, was a Victorian Sunday school teacher, a nurse, a wife and a mother. Mary Ann Cotton (née Robson; 31 October 1832 – 24 March 1873) was an English serial killer, convicted of, and hanged for, the murder by poisoning of her stepson Charles Edward Cotton.It is likely that she murdered three of her four husbands, apparently in order to collect on their insurance policies, and many others. Mary Ann Cotton was an English serial killer convicted of poisoning her stepson Charles Edward Cotton in 1872. Image Murderpedia. … Mary Ann Cotton has passed into history as a vicious serial poisoner, mercilessly killing her loved ones for financial gain. Their second child George was born on 18 June 1869. As Mary Ann Cotton, Dark Angel reported, Mary Ann blamed lax pharmacists for her young stepson's death. When Mary Ann was eight, her parents moved the family to the County … Mary Ann Cotton was found guilty and hanged on 24 March 1873 at Durham Country Gaol by executioner William Calcraft. copy of the life insurance certificate With two daughters in tow, Isabella and Margaret Jane, Cotton upped sticks and moved to County Durham where … In 1869 Robinson discovered that Mary Ann was stealing from him, and he grew suspicious of her repeated requests that he take out a life insurance policy. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Eight years after her birth, her parents moved to Murton village in County Durham. Mary Ann Cotton. It is likely that she murdered three of her four husbands, apparently in order to collect on their insurance policies , and many others. Mary Ann and her daughter with Mowbray then went to live at the Robinson home. It is likely that she murdered three of her four husbands, apparently in order to collect on their insurance policies , … It was only within four weeks of Mary Ann moving in with the Cottons that the spinster Margaret Cotton, who was caring for her brother’s children, was dead. All three children were buried in the last week of April and first week of May in 1867. Her father was a … Mary Ann Cheek Cotton, 88, went to be with her Lord and Savior on October 27, 2020. The Cotton case was the first of several famous poisoning cases he would be involved in during his career, including those of Adelaide Bartlett and Florence Maybrick. William died of an intestinal disorder in January 1865. Mary Ann Cotton was married four times. After becoming overly cocky, Mary's killing rate quickened and people became suspicious as to why death followed her around as frequently as it did. Their first child, Margaret Isabella (Mary Isabella on her baptismal record), was born that November, but she became ill and died in February 1868. It was performed by a “notoriously clumsy hangman,” and the trap door was not positioned high enough to break her neck, forcing the executioner to press down on her shoulders. In 1852, at the age of 20, Mary Ann married colliery labourer William Mowbray at Newcastle Upon Tyne register office; they soon moved to South West England. Mary Ann's first visit after Charles' death was not the doctor but the insurance office. However, Mary Ann was widely regarded as the country’s deadlist killer until Harold Shipman, who was thought to have murdered as many as 260 people in the late 20th century. During this time, her 3½-year-old daughter, (the second) Margaret Jane, died of typhus fever, leaving her with one child of up to nine she had borne. Mary Ann's downfall came when she was asked by a parish official, Thomas Riley, to help nurse a woman who was ill with smallpox. Cotton, Mary Ann CheekMary Ann Cheek Cotton, 88, a resident of High Point, went to be with her Lord and Savior on October 27, 2020. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). She died at age 54 in the spring of 1867, nine days after Mary Ann's arrival. Shipman’s murders raised troubling questions about the powers and responsibilities of the medical community in Britain and about the adequacy of procedures for certifying sudden death. She was regarded as Britain's Greatest Female Mass Murderer. Mary Ann Cotton was hanged at Durham County Gaol on 24 March 1873 by William Calcraft; she died, not from her neck breaking, but by strangulation caused by the rope being rigged too short, possibly deliberately.[4]. Betty Eccles, suspected of several murders by arsenic, was hanged in … The Hardest of deaths to a mortal is the death he sees ahead — Bacchylides. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Mary Ann's daughter Isabella, from the marriage to William Mowbray, was brought back to the Robinson household and soon developed severe stomach pains and died, as did two of Robinson's children, Elizabeth and James. Mary Ann Cotton, she's dead and forgotten, ... Cotton was eventually caught when a post mortem examination on one of her children revealed arsenic poisoning as the cause of death. William and Mary Ann moved back to North East England, where William worked as a fireman aboard a steam vessel sailing out of Sunderland, then as a colliery foreman. Her father's body was delivered to her mother in a sack bearing the stamp 'Property of the South Hetton Coal Company'. However, it was accepted, and Russell conducted the prosecution. Mary Ann Cotton had three husbands and at least 10 children who died of ambiguous gastric illnesses between 1852 and 1872. Mary Ann Cotton (née Robson; 31 October 1832 – 24 March 1873) was an English serial killer, convicted of, and hanged for, the murder by poisoning of her stepson Charles Edward Cotton. That year both Cotton’s sister and his youngest child died. A month later, when James' baby, John, died of gastric fever, he turned to his housekeeper for comfort and she became pregnant. Mary Ann preferred the use of arsenic poisoning as her murder weapon. Is it conceivable that a woman can bear children, nourish children, feed and care for a husband, and then administer arsenic to such an extent as to cause an agonising slow painful … She gained employment as nurse to an excise officer recovering from smallpox. Synopsis of The Mary Ann Cotton History. They married at St Peter's Church, Monkwearmouth on 28 August 1865. Born February 15, 1932 in Greensboro, NC to Allen Lee and Ruby Dee Norwood Cheek, she was the oldest of five children: sisters Judith and Sandra and brothers Donald and Roger. Throughout her life she never become attached to anything and that is believed to be because of the death of her father. Mary Ann Potthoff Death – Obituary, Funeral, Cause Of Death Mary Ann Potthoff, 83, of Foristell, Missouri, passed away on Friday, March 12, 2021 at SSM St. Joseph Hospital West in Lake Saint … The story of Mary Ann Cotton started in 1832 when Mary was born in Low Moorsley now a part of Hetton-Le-Hole, she was baptised at St Mary’s, West Rainton on 11 November. She met Frederick Cotton in about 1868 and bigamously married him in September 1870. She complained that the last surviving Cotton boy, Charles Edward, was in the way and asked Riley if he could be committed to the workhouse. [9], Death of Charles Edward Cotton and inquest, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Mary Ann Cotton | Biography, Murders, Trial, & Execution", "Dark Angel: How were Mary Ann Cotton's terrible crimes uncovered? Mary Ann Cotton is known to travel to different locations in England. [6] The first part of the dramatisation was broadcast on 31 October 2016, the second part was broadcast on 7 November. However, the first hearing led to Mary Ann's conviction for the death of Charles in March of that year. The only birth recorded was that of their daughter, Margaret Jane, born at St Germans in 1856. "Mary Ann Cotton may have been the most prolific poisoner of the period but she wasn't unique. Mary Potthoff Death – Dead, Obituary, Funeral, Cause Of Death, Passed Away: On March 19th, 2021, InsideEko Media learned about the death of Mary Potthoff … She is strongly suspected of 14 or 15 murders, either for gain or to enable her to marry or both, and 21 people who were close to her died over a 20 year period. 40-year-old Mary Ann Cotton was arrested in West Auckland, County Durham, in 1872 after her stepson, Charles Edward Cotton, was found to have been poisoned by arsenic. Mary Ann Mowbray was a nurse. She soon left—or was thrown out—and was for a time homeless. Mary Ann Cotton was hanged at Durham Gaol on March 24 1873 but she died, not from her neck breaking, but by strangulation caused by the rope being rigged too short, possibly deliberately. Mary Ann’s trial began two months later, and the defense claimed that the deceased had inhaled arsenic dust from wallpaper dye, a conceivable explanation given that arsenic was then common in many household items. [3] He told the police, who arrested Mary Ann and procured exhumation of Charles' body. In Low Moorsley, Tyne & Wear. Mary Ann Cotton’s Death – Cause and Date. Mary was executed at Durham Gaol on 24th March 1873 by William Calcraft. The doctor testified that, in the chemist's shop, there was no other powder, only liquid, on the same shelf as the arsenic; the chemist himself, however, claimed that there were other powders. She chiefly used arsenic poisoning, causing gastric pain and rapid decline of health. Richard Quick Mann was a custom and excise man specialising in breweries and has been found in the records and this may be the real name of Mary Ann Cotton's lover. She told Riley that the boy was sickly and added: “I won’t be troubled long. Meet extraordinary women who dared to bring gender equality and other issues to the forefront. The other reason was the rising societal panic regarding poisoning. Up in the air. On March 24, 1873, Mary Ann was hanged in a bungled execution. October 9, 1872, letter by Mary Ann Cotton She was, at … The delay was caused by a problem in the selection of prosecution counsel. Her coal miner father fell to his death while she was young, forcing Mary Ann to become a nurse and support her family. However, a more careful inspection of her life and her case leads to the conclusion she was a victim of class prejudice and ignorance, and is not guilty of the 21 murders ascribed to her without a sound foundation. Soon after, Mary Ann learnt that her former lover, Joseph Nattrass, was living 48 kilometres (30 mi) away in the County Durham village of West Auckland, and was no longer married. Cotton's trial began on 5 March 1873. At each town she settles, she always loses someone close to her. After all of the children had been sent to boarding school in Darlington over the next three years, she returned to her step-father's home and trained as a dressmaker. Mary Ann Cotton was an English serial killer convicted of poisoning her stepson Charles Edward Cotton in 1872. At the time of her trial, there were reports of four or five of their children dying young while they were living away from County Durham. As the miner's cottage they inhabited was tied to Michael's job the widow and children would have been evicted. Riley went to the village police and convinced the doctor to delay writing a death certificate until the circumstances could be investigated. The Times correspondent reported on 20 March: "After conviction the wretched woman exhibited strong emotion but this gave place in a few hours to her habitual cold, reserved demeanour and while she harbours a strong conviction that the royal clemency will be extended towards her, she staunchly asserts her innocence of the crime that she has been convicted of." Biography - A Short Wiki. Another daughter, also named Margaret Jane, was born in 1861 and lastly a son, John Robert William, was born in 1863, but died a year later from gastric fever. Cotton died in December of that year, from "gastric fever." Her attorney tried to argue that the boy’s death came as a result of accidental inhalation of arsenic from the wallpaper. During the nineteenth century, arsenic was readily available and could be bought, unregulated, from most grocers. A nursery rhyme concerning Cotton was composed after her hanging on 24 March 1873. At the time of her trial, The Northern Echo published an article containing a description of Mary Ann as given by her childhood Wesleyan Sunday school superintendent at Murton, describing her as "a most exemplary and regular attender", "a girl of innocent disposition and average intelligence" and "distinguished for her particularly clean and tidy appearance."[2]. Contrary to what many believe, arsenic does not kill rapidly, but causes long and agonizing gastric pain and distress as it … We told the story in Memories 96, with, as ever, a few inaccuracies. One of her patients at the infirmary was an engineer, George Ward. However it is alleged she may have had up to a whopping 21 victims, including, but not limited to, 3 of … Here are a few ways everyday life in the Victorian era could kill you. The following year Mary Ann went to visit her ailing mother, who died about a week after her return. sister, Margaret died, after Mary Ann found out that Frederickwould receive the sum of £60 under her will. What was Mary Ann Cotton's fate? Mary Ann Cotton (née Robson; 31 October 1832 – 24 March 1873) was an English serial killer, convicted of, and hanged for, the murder by poisoning of her stepson Charles Edward Cotton. Any conversation about the most notorious serial killers in the world is incomplete without a mention of Mary Ann Cotton, an Englishwomen, whose killing spree constituted of her own husbands, a lover and several children. With each of her marriages she killed the men and she got insurance money off of their deaths. Mary’s defence claimed that Charles Edward had inhaled the poison from fly paper, but the jury saw through this and Mary was sentenced to death. She then found work as a housekeeper for James Robinson, a widower. English serial killer Mary Ann Cotton, born October 31, 1832, and was hanged to death on March 24, 1873, for murdering her stepson Charles Edward Cotton by poisoning him. Her father Michael, a miner, barely managed to keep his family fed; he was ardently religious, a fierce disciplinarian with Mary Ann and her younger brother Robert, and active in the Methodist church’s choir. An examination ultimately revealed the presence of arsenic in his stomach. He threw her out, retaining custody of their son George. At the age of 16, Mary Ann left home to become a nurse at the nearby village of South Hetton, in the home of Edward Potter, a manager at Murton colliery. Her weapon of choice was poison, arsenic to be more precise, which produced symptoms similar to an upset … According to some sources, she left home at age 16 to work as a nurse but returned three years later and became a dressmaker. She was 41 years old at the time of her death. In 1872 Nattrass died, leaving his meagre belongings to Mary Ann. The third of her four husbands survived, and her … Campbell Foster argued that it was possible that the chemist had mistaken the arsenic powder for bismuth powder (used to treat diarrhoea), when preparing a bottle for Cotton, because he had been distracted by talking to other people. Iza clarified to the Home Secretary, but, for children, and Margaret Jane died March! 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