Mary Ann Cotton

Mary Ann Cotton, known as the Black Widow, was convicted and executed for poisoning her stepson and is one of Britain's most prolific poisoners. Despite only receiving one conviction for murder, she is believed to have been a serial killer who killed at least three of her four husbands and eleven of her thirteen children.

Her crimes were discovered after she tried to have her stepson sent to a workhouse and when that was unsuccesful, registering his death. An investigation followed which noted a pattern of unusual deaths attached to her. An autopsy revealed that he had arsenic in his system and Cotton was subsequently arrested and sentenced to death. She was hung at Durham Gaol but the rope was set too short, some say deliberately so that rather than a quick death, she slowly died of strangulation.

Early life and crimes

Mary, born Mary Ann Robson, was born on 31^st October 1832 in County Durham. The family moved when she was eight and not long after, her father fell down a mine shaft at Murton Colliery. The children would later go to boarding school in Darlington before returning to her mother, who had remarried. Mary and her siblings moved into her stepfather's home, who was also a miner. 

At 20, Mary married a colliery labourer, William Mowbray, and the pair moved to the West Country. It was later revealed that they had five children together, though only one, a daughter, was ever registered. It was determined that the others died shortly after childbirth. They didn't spend long living in the West Country, moving back to the North East, where it was reported that they had more children, two of which also passed away as babies. William Mowbray died in 1865, he and the children were insured and Mary received a payout of £35 – which would be valued at around £3,500 today. Soon after Mowbray’s death, another of the children passed away.

The same year that William Mowbray died, Mary met and married George Ward. He began to suffer ill health not long after their wedding and died the following year. Once again, Ward was insured and Mary received a payout. 

After the death of her second husband, Mary moved to Sunderland, where she entered the employ of James Robinson as his housekeeper. Shortly after starting work, the pair began an affair and Mary fell pregnant. During her pregnancy, she went to visit her mother who mysteriously died nine days later after complaining of stomach pains. Around this time, one of Mary's daughters and two of James Robinson's children also died from stomach problems. Mary's daughter was insured and so she received a payment following her death. 

As was custom at the time when pregnancy occured out of wedlock, James Robinson married Mary in 1867, welcoming a daughter together. Their child would die a few months later and they had a second child in 1869.  After the wedding, Mary insisted that James take out life insurance, however, he was aware that she was in debt and that the amount was rising. Unwilling to give her any more money, he threw her out and kept custody of their remaining child, which he planned to raise alongside his children from his previous relationship.  

Mary ended up living on the streets and became increasingly desperate in her search for employment. A friend introduced her to Frederick Cotton, a recently widowed man who was struggling to care for his family and household. Needing the help, he employed her as housekeeper and much like her previous situation, Mary soon fell pregnant and the pair married, despite her still being legally married to James Robinson. Mary took out an insurance policy on Cotton, who died a few months after their marriage. Receiving a payout and with a roof over her head, Mary set up home at the Cotton house as if it were her own. Not long after Cotton's death, she became reacquainted with an old lover, who moved into the house as a lodger. They rekindled their relationship and had a child together, leading to Mary taking out an insurance policy on him, the child and Cotton's children, which had been left in her care. Predictably, her lover and two of the children, the one she shared with Cotton and one of his sons from his previous marriage, died in quick succession. Mary collected the life insurance and started on her next plan, getting rid of Frederick Cotton's last living son. 

Downfall and inquest

Rather than turn straight to murder, this time Mary attempted to have Cotton's son, Charles, committed to the local workhouse, however this was unsuccesful, so when she reported his death, officials were suspicious and went to the police. Mary of course, wasted no time making her way to the insurer to collect on Charles' life insurance policy. This, along with how quickly he was reported dead after an application to the workhouse led the police to launch their own investigation into his death. 

Despite making her claim immediately, Mary was shocked to learn that she would not be granted the payout until a death certificate was issued. An inquest was held which determined that Charles had died of natural causes, allowing her to receive the payment. She might have thought she had gotten away with it again, but local reporters and the police continued to investigate, revealing that she had lost several partners, children and her own mother in similar circumstances.
Charles' remains were re-examined and arsenic was found in his system. This was all the police needed to make an arrest. Mary was charged with his murder and gave birth to her thirteenth child while in prison. 

Trial and execution

Mary was tried at Durham on 5^th March 1873. The jury returned with a guilty verdict after only 90 minutes and Mary was sentenced to death by hanging. She denied all charges and several petitions were presented to the home secretary for her release. Her execution went ahead as planned and she was hanged at Durham County Gaol on 24^th March 1873, where she died of strangulation due to the rope being rigged too short.

A nursery rhyme was composed after her hanging.

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