184:, apparently smothered. After the adult body was initially speculated to be that of an 'unfortunate' in the press, it was eventually identified as Phoebe Hogg, with the toddler's body being that of her daughter. Mary Pearcey had been seen pushing baby Tiggy's perambulator around the streets of North London after dark. The police searched her house, and found blood spatter on the walls, ceiling, a skirt and an apron, as well as matted hair and blood on a fireplace poker and a carving knife. When questioned by the police, she said that she 'had a problem with mice and was trying to kill them'. Sir
260:, the British criminal historian, explained the theory in her study of Pearcey's case: "It was no wonder that, simultaneously with the discovery of the crime, legends should have sprung up around her figure. The rumour even arose that the notorious Jack the Ripper had been at work in the locality, and though this was quickly disproved, yet the violence and horror associated with the crime was such as to make it understandable how the rumour arose in the first place. Even in the earliest paragraphs which announced the discovery of the crime, several false statements were suggested."
150:
It has been erroneously stated that her father was Thomas
Wheeler who was convicted of and hanged for the murder of Edward Anstee. However, author Sarah Beth Hopton was unable to find any evidence of connection between the two people, and also found a retraction of the newspaper article in which the
154:
Mary
Wheeler 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 lover, Phoebe Styles. Styles became pregnant, and Hogg married her
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When prompted to make a final statement
Pearcey said, "My sentence is a just one, but a good deal of the evidence against me was false". At first she declined the assistance of female prison warders, but after further prompting, accepted their assistance saying, "Oh, well, if you don't mind going
263:
In May 2006, DNA testing of saliva on stamps affixed to letters allegedly sent by Jack the Ripper to London newspapers, and thought by some modern writers to be genuine, appeared to come from a woman. This led to extensive discussion of
Pearcey and her crime in the global press.
131:(26 March 1866 – 23 December 1890) was an English woman who was convicted of murdering her lover's wife, Mrs. Phoebe Hogg, and child, Tiggy, on 24 October 1890 and hanged for the crime on 23 December of the same year. The crime is sometimes mentioned in connection with
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On 24 October 1890, Mrs. Hogg, with her baby, called on
Pearcey at her invitation. At around 4:00 p.m., neighbours reportedly heard screaming and sounds of violence. That evening, a woman's corpse was found on a heap of rubbish in
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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 Pearcey is on display at the
569:
Aston, Mark – "A Carriage of
Convenience: The Case of Mary Pearcey and the Hoggs of Kentish Town, 1890. pp. 98–106 in 'Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Hampstead, Holborn and St Pancras', Wharncliffe Books, 2005.
254:, which specifically named Pearcey in connection with the crimes. All evidence given is circumstantial, and there is no physical evidence or eyewitness reports linking Pearcey to the Ripper crimes.
599:, Heinemann 1924; see edition put out by (Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Co. – Dolphin Books, 1924, 1958, 1965), 240p., Chapter IV: "Murder for Jealousy – Mrs. Pearcey", pp. 154–183.
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and be seen in public in bloody clothing without arousing suspicion or notice. This theory was then expanded upon in 1939 by
William Stewart in his book
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Mary
Pearcey was charged with murder. She maintained her innocence throughout the trial, but was convicted, and was hanged on 23 December 1890.
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was found about a mile away, its cushions soaked with blood. An eighteen-month-old child was found dead in
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The
Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern True Crime
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Mary Pearcey, like many other famous Victorian-era murderers, has been suggested as a suspect in the
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wrote that Pearcey would later respond by chanting, "Killing mice, killing mice, killing mice!".
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359:"Rippercast: The Whitechapel Murders Podcast: Mary Pearcey and 'Jill the Ripper'"
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In his memoirs, Berry described Pearcey's execution as "quiet and painless."
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slayings. She was apparently the only female suspect mentioned at the time.
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Pearcey's murder case generated extraordinary press attention at the time.
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399:"The Hampstead Murder: Subversion in Press Portrayals of a Murderess"
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wax museum of London made a wax figure of Pearcey for their
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El Monstruo de Londres: La Leyenda de Jack el Destripador
135:, and Pearcey has been posited as a Ripper candidate.
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701:People convicted of murder by England and Wales
580:"The Black Perambulator", pp. 258–264 in
508:"DNA hints at Jill the Ripper," Jade Bilowol,
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671:19th-century executions by England and Wales
385:The Murders of the Black Museum: 1870–1970,
215:On 23 December 1890, Pearcey was hanged by
484:. London: Percy Lund & Co. p. 90.
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625:Casebook.org Jill the Ripper suspect page
274:List of proposed Jack the Ripper suspects
582:The World's Greatest Unsolved Mysteries
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604:The Mammoth Book of Illustrated Crime
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155:at Pearcey's urging. They lived in
706:British people executed for murder
686:English people convicted of murder
661:1890 murders in the United Kingdom
151:misinformation was first printed.
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721:Executed Jack the Ripper suspects
651:1890 crimes in the United Kingdom
716:Violence against women in London
481:My Experiences as an Executioner
319:The Identity of Jack the Ripper,
533:, Montevideo, Uruguay (2008),
461:"1868–1899 Private Executions"
332:Jack the Ripper: A New Theory,
294:"All Results for Mary Pearcey"
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681:English murderers of children
252:Jack the Ripper: A New Theory
345:Mary Eleanor Wheeler Pearcey
632:by author Sarah Beth Hopton
606:, Carroll & Graf 2002,
595:Tennyson Jesse, Fryniwyd –
365:(Podcast). 15 February 2010
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495:Catalyst: Jack the Ripper
412:: 5–20 – via SOLON.
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711:People from Kentish Town
676:British female murderers
223:with me, I am pleased."
666:1890s murders in London
630:Website on Mary Pearcey
459:Clark, Richard (1995).
691:Executed English women
597:Murder and Its Motives
446:Murder and Its Motives
444:. "Days of my Years".
406:Law, Crime and History
387:Bloomsbury Books, 1982
240:Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
207:in New Scotland Yard.
143:Mary Pearcey was born
478:Berry, James (1892).
465:Capital Punishment UK
363:casebook.org/podcast/
167:Murder of Phoebe Hogg
426:(2011). "Violence".
397:Darby, Nell (2018).
145:Mary Eleanor Wheeler
87:Execution by hanging
35:Mary Eleanor Wheeler
383:Gordon Honeycombe,
334:Quality Press, 1939
186:Melville Macnaghten
83:Cause of death
442:Jesse, F. Tennyson
317:Donald McCormick,
200:Chamber of Horrors
539:978 9974-8051-7-0
330:William Stewart,
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129:Mary Pearcey
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69:(1890-12-23)
25:Mary Pearcey
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656:1890 deaths
646:1866 births
543:pp. 203–204
217:James Berry
93:Nationality
640:Categories
280:References
139:Early life
41:1866-03-26
211:Execution
174:Hampstead
147:in 1866.
369:10 April
268:See also
182:Finchley
303:10 July
248:midwife
115:Penalty
97:English
49:Ightham
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161:London
110:Murder
75:London
402:(PDF)
608:ISBN
586:ISBN
572:ISBN
535:ISBN
371:2010
305:2024
64:Died
53:Kent
31:Born
159:in
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