Martha Rendell
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Martha Rendell (c. 1871–6 October 1909) was the last woman to be hanged in Western Australia. She was convicted of murdering her de facto husband's son, Arthur Morris, in 1908. She was also suspected of killing his two daughters, Annie and Olive.
It was alleged that she killed the children by swabbing hydrochloric acid on the back of their throats. Martha however always protested her innocence, maintaining that she was treating the children for diphtheria. There was considerable public outrage at the time; the press portrayed her as a "scarlet woman" and "wicked stepmother". She was hanged at Fremantle Prison on 6 October 1909. She is buried at Fremantle Cemetery, in the same grave where Eric Edgar Cooke was interred more than half a century afterwards.
[edit] Trivia
An unusual image appears on a window of the church at the prison. The effect is caused by the uneven surface of the glass, and seems to show a woman's face facing left. The phenomenon is discussed on night tours of the prison as the face of Martha.
[edit] References
- Fremantle Prison a brief history, Cyril Ayris ISBN 0-9581882-1-1
- Daily News 05/10/1909
- West Australian 30/09/1909
- Murdering Stepmothers: The trial and Execution of Martha Rendell, Anna Haebich1997
