| 词条 | Mary Elizabeth Wilson |
| 释义 |
| name=Mary Elizabeth Wilson | image= | image_size= | caption= | birthname=Mary Elizabeth Cassidy | alias=Merry Widow of Windy Nook | birth_date=1889 | birth_place=Catchgate, Stanley, Durham, England | death_date={{death year and age|1963|1893}} | death_place=HM Prison Holloway, London, England | cause= | conviction=2 counts of murder poisoning | sentence=Death Commuted to Life Imprisonment | victims=2-4 | country=England | states=Tyne and Wear | beginyear=1955 | endyear=1957 | apprehended= }} Mary Elizabeth Wilson (c. 1889 – 1963), also known as the Merry Widow of Windy Nook, was a serial killer and the last woman to be sentenced to death in Durham, in 1958.[1] However, the sentence was not carried out as it was commuted to a prison sentence. Wilson's maiden name was Mary Elizabeth Cassidy, she was born on 11th June 1889, in Catchgate, Stanley, Co. Durham, and christened on 30th June 1889 at Our Blessed Lady and St. Joseph, Brooms, Co. Durham. She married her first husband John Knowles around November 1914. They settled at a house in Windy Nook, Gateshead. Her lover John Russell eventually moved in with them. In 1955, Knowles died. She waited five months before marrying Russell. Her second husband died in 1956 (or early in 1957). The attending physician declared that both men had died of natural causes. Wilson inherited their money, £42.[2] In June 1957, Wilson married her third husband, Oliver Leonard, a retired estate agent. He died only 12 days into their marriage, leaving her £50. She soon married a fourth husband, Ernest Wilson. His estate included up to £100, a bungalow and life insurance. He died within the year. This time, she did not even bother to attend the funeral.[2] By this time Wilson had become a main figure of local gossip, concerning both the frequency at which her spouses died and her rather cheerful attitude towards the pattern; she had joked at her latest wedding reception that left-over sandwiches would be fresh enough to use in the next funeral. She had also asked for a trade discount from the local undertaker, for providing him with plenty of business. These instances of morbid humour brought her to the attention of the police.[2] An exhumation of the bodies of her last two husbands revealed high levels of phosphorus. Her defence claimed the substance was contained in their medication.[2] Wilson was convicted of murdering two of her four husbands with beetle poison in 1956 and 1957.[3] The remains of her earlier two husbands were exhumed at a later date and pointed to the same cause of death. There was no reason, however, to have a second trial.[2] While Wilson was sentenced to death, her advanced age allowed her to get a reprieve. Her sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. She died while incarcerated at Holloway.[2] Notes1. ^{{cite web|title=Brassed off by the cold and back again |url=http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/features/columnists/memories/darlington/3861932.Brassed_off_by_the_cold_and_back_again |work=The Northern Echo |date=19 November 2008 |author=Chris Lloyd |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120928102916/http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/features/columnists/memories/darlington/3861932.Brassed_off_by_the_cold_and_back_again/ |archivedate=28 September 2012 |df= }} 2. ^1 2 3 4 5 {{cite web|title=Cops have last laugh|url=http://www.sundaysun.co.uk/news/north-east-news/2004/11/28/cops-have-last-laugh-79310-14928699|date=28 November 2004|author=Sarah Robertson|work=Sunday Sun}} 3. ^{{cite web|work=The Palm Beach Post|date=30 March 1958|title=Merry Widow Is Sentenced To Be Hanged|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gAcjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=i80FAAAAIBAJ&dq=widow%20of%20windy%20nook%20to%20hang&pg=1952%2C5937547}} References
25 : 1889 births|1963 deaths|19th-century English people|20th-century English criminals|19th-century English women|20th-century English women|British female serial killers|English people convicted of murder|English prisoners sentenced to death|English serial killers|Murderers for life insurance money|People convicted of murder by England and Wales|People from Gateshead|People from Hebburn|Poisoners|Prisoners sentenced to death by England and Wales|Serial killers who died in prison custody|Violence against men in the United Kingdom|1956 crimes in the United Kingdom|1957 crimes in the United Kingdom|1955 crimes in the United Kingdom|1950s murders in the United Kingdom|1955 murders in Europe|1956 murders in Europe|1957 murders in Europe |
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