Mary Pearcey

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Mary Pearcey was an Englishwoman who was convicted of murdering her lover's wife, Mrs. Phoebe Hogg, on 24 October 1890 and executed for the crime on 23 December of the same year. The crime is sometimes mentioned in connection with Jack the Ripper, and Pearcey has been posited as a Ripper candidate.[1][2]

Contents

[edit] Early life

Mary Pearcey was born Mary Eleanor Wheeler, apparently in 1866. Her father, Thomas Wheeler, was convicted of the murder of Edward Anstee and executed on 29 November 1880. She grew up with her mother and an older sister.

Mary was said to have grown into a relatively attractive woman with "shapely hands".[citation needed] Reports of the time estimated her height at 5 feet and 6 inches (1.68 metres).[citation needed] She reportedly had "lovely russet hair and fine blue eyes".[citation needed] However she was also said to suffer from recurring periods of depression and to be a heavy drinker, though not an alcoholic.[citation needed]

Mary took the name "Pearcey" from John Charles Pearcey, a carpenter with whom she had lived; he left her because of her infidelity. She later took up residence with a furniture remover, Frank Hogg, who had at least one other paramour, Phoebe Styles. Phoebe became pregnant, and Hogg married her at Mary's urging. They lived in Kentish Town in London. Phoebe gave birth to a daughter also named Phoebe Hogg. The two women seem to have been friends: Mary doted on the younger Phoebe and cared for the elder Phoebe while she recuperated from a miscarriage.[citation needed]

[edit] Murder of Phoebe Hogg

On October 24, 1890 Mrs. Hogg, with her baby, called on Mary at Mary's invitation. The neighbors heard screaming and sounds of violence about 4:00 that afternoon. That evening a woman's corpse was found on a heap of rubbish in Hampstead. Her skull had been crushed, and her head was nearly severed from her body. A black perambulator was found about a mile away, its cushions soaked with blood. An eighteen-month-old baby was found dead in Finchley, apparently smothered. The deceased were identified as Phoebe Hogg and her child. Mary Pearcey had been seen pushing the perambulator (Phoebe's) around the streets of north London after dark.[citation needed] The police searched her house, and found blood spatters on walls, ceiling, a skirt, an apron, and other articles, blood stains on a poker and a carving knife.[citation needed] Mary Pearcey was charged with murder and convicted. She continually protested her innocence throughout the trial, yet was hanged on December 23, 1890.

As with many other crimes by women, Pearcy's murder case generated extraordinary press attention at the time. Madame Tussauds wax museum of London made a wax figure of Pearcey for their Chamber of Horrors exhibit, and also purchased the pram used in the murder and the contents of Pearcey's kitchen. When the Tussaud exhibit of these items opened, it attracted a crowd of 30,000 people. The noose used to hang Pearcy is on display at the Black Museum of Scotland Yard.

[edit] Jill the Ripper?

Mary Pearcey, like many other famous Victorian-era murderers, has been suggested as a suspect in the Jack the Ripper slayings. She was apparently the only female suspect mentioned at the time.[3] Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes speculated at the time that the Ripper might have been female, as a woman could have pretended to be a midwife and be seen in public in bloody clothing without arousing suspicion or notice.[4] This theory was then expanded upon in 1939 by William Stewart in his book Jack the Ripper: A New Theory, which specifically named Pearcey in connection with the crimes. All evidence given is circumstancial, and there is no physical evidence or eyewitness reports linking Pearcey to the Ripper crimes.

In May, 2006, DNA testing of saliva on stamps affixed to letters allegedly sent by Jack the Ripper to London newspapers, and thought to be genuine, appeared to come from a woman.[4] This led to extensive discussion of Pearcey and her crime in the global press.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Donald McCormick, The Identity of Jack the Ripper, Jarrolds, 1959
  2. ^ William Stewart, Jack the Ripper: A New Theory, Quality Press, 1939
  3. ^ Catalyst: Jack the Ripper
  4. ^ a b "DNA hints at Jill the Ripper," Jade Bilowol, The Australian, May 17, 2006

[edit] Further reading

  • "The Black Perambulator", pp. 258-264 in The World's Greatest Unsolved Mysteries, Edison, New Jersey, Alva Press (Div. of Book Sales, Inc.), 2001, 2002, ISBN 0-7858-1483-3.
  • Tennyson, Fryniwyd - Murder and Its Motives, Heinemann 1924, p. 180
  • Wilson, Colin - The Mammoth Book of Illustrated Crime, Carroll & Graf 2002, ISBN 0-7867-0922-7, p. 58
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