Mary Pearcey (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

Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer wa ...

, and Pearcey has been posited as a Ripper candidate.William Stewart, ''Jack the Ripper: A New Theory,'' Quality Press, 1939

Early life

Mary Pearcey was born Mary Eleanor Wheeler in 1866.
Mary Eleanor Wheeler Pearcey
'. 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 misinformation was first printed. 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 at Pearcey's urging. They lived in

Kentish Town Kentish Town is an area of northwest London, England in the London Borough of Camden, immediately north of Camden Town. Less than four miles north of central London, Kentish Town has good transport connections and is situated close to the ope ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Styles gave birth to a daughter also named Phoebe Hogg.

Murder of Phoebe Hogg

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

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

. 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 child was found dead in

Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. Finchley is on high ground, north of Charing Cross. Nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, Mill Hill and H ...

, 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

Melville Macnaghten Sir Melville Leslie Macnaghten (16 June 1853, Woodford, London −12 May 1921) was Assistant Commissioner (Crime) of the London Metropolitan Police from 1903 to 1913. A highly regarded and famously affable figure of the late Victorian and Edwa ...

wrote that Pearcey would later respond by chanting, "Killing mice, killing mice, killing mice!". Mary Pearcey was charged with murder. She maintained her innocence throughout the trial, but was convicted, and was hanged on 23 December 1890. Pearcey's murder case generated extraordinary press attention at the time.

Madame Tussauds Madame Tussauds (, ) is a wax museum founded in 1835 by French wax sculptor Marie Tussaud in London, spawning similar museums in major cities around the world. While it used to be spelled as "Madame Tussaud's"; the apostrophe is no longer us ...

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 Pearcey is on display at the

Crime Museum The Crime Museum is a collection of criminal memorabilia kept at New Scotland Yard, headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service in London, England. Known as the Black Museum until the early 21st century, the museum came into existence at S ...

in New Scotland Yard.

Execution

On 23 December 1890, Pearcey was hanged by James Berry. Berry noted her strong composure in the condemned cell, describing her as "the most composed person in the whole xecutionparty." 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 with me, I am pleased." In his memoirs, Berry described Pearcey's execution as "quiet and painless."

Jack the Ripper

Mary Pearcey, like many other famous Victorian-era murderers, has been suggested as a suspect in the

slayings. She was apparently the only female suspect mentioned at the time.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for '' A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

, creator of

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...

, speculated at the time that the Ripper might have been female, as a woman could have pretended to be a

midwife A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; co ...

and be seen in public in bloody clothing without arousing suspicion or notice."DNA hints at Jill the Ripper," Jade Bilowol, ''The Australian'', 17 May 2006 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 circumstantial, and there is no physical evidence or eyewitness reports linking Pearcey to the Ripper crimes.

F. Tennyson Jesse Fryniwyd Tennyson Jesse Harwood (born Wynifried (Winifred) Margaret Jesse; 1 March 1888 – 6 August 1958) was an English criminologist, journalist and author (she also wrote as ''Wynifried Margaret Tennyson''). Early life and marriage Fryn ...

, 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." 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.The Independent
/ref> This led to extensive discussion of Pearcey and her crime in the global press.

References

External links

Casebook.org Jill the Ripper suspect pageWebsite on Mary Pearcey
by author Sarah Beth Hopton {{DEFAULTSORT:Pearcey, Mary 1866 births 1890 crimes in the United Kingdom 1890 deaths 1890 murders in the United Kingdom 1890s murders in London 19th-century executions by England and Wales British female murderers English murderers of children English people convicted of murder Executed English women Murder in London People convicted of murder by England and Wales People executed for murder People from Kentish Town Violence against women in London Executed Jack the Ripper suspects