Catherine Churchill - for the murder of her husband.

Fifty five year old Catherine Churchill was a farmer’s wife who lived at Knowle St. Giles near Chard in Somerset.

One morning in early March 1879, Eliza Whatley, a neighbour of the Churchill’s was taking her husband, George, his breakfast, where he was working in one of his fields. As she walked past the Churchill’s cottage she heard a male voice shouting “Murder, murder.” This was followed by groaning and then the same voice shouting “You brute”. Eliza looked towards the cottage where she saw the head and upper body of a woman in a “stooping position” and apparently dragging something heavy across the living room floor.

Around 10.00 a.m. that day Catherine Churchill asked George Whatley for his help, telling him that her 82 year old husband, Samuel, had fallen into the fire. George went to the cottage with Catherine and found her husband lying on his back with his head in the grate. The back of Samuel’s head and his one shoulder were badly burned. Catherine had gone to the Ship Inn around 9.00 a.m. and this had been witnessed. It was only when she returned that she asked George for assistance. Was she trying to produce an alibi, perhaps?

The police were sent for by another neighbour, Charles Forsey, who found the death suspicious. Catherine told the police that they had got up around 8.00 a.m. and that she and Samuel had had breakfast together. Samuel had then sat down by the fire to smoke a pipe and she had gone out the Ship Inn. When she returned Samuel was lying in the fire and she had thrown some water over him to stop his clothes burning. The policeman found Samuel’s pipe and noticed that there was blood on it and also on the floor near the fireplace. He also found a billhook under a chair that had bloodstains on the blade.

Samuel’s body was examined by Dr. Munden, who found cuts to the hands and determined that they were fresh, as was the blood on the billhook. Catherine suggested that Samuel had cut his fingers chopping wood the previous day.

Samuel’s daughter by his first marriage, Sarah England, found a blood stained woman’s dress in the upstairs bedroom, which she turned over to the police, who then arrested . Catherine and charged her with murder. She came to trial before Baron Huddlestone at the Somerset Assizes held in Taunton in early May 1879.

Evidence was given by neighbours of physical and verbal abuse that Samuel had suffered at the hands of Catherine and their son, Samuel Waldron. Dr. Munden told the court about the blood stain evidence, but at that time it could not be scientifically proven whether the blood was human or animal. Samuel had apparently killed and butchered a pig sometime before his death. Why he would use a billhook for this is unknown, as it is an implement for cutting hedges and undergrowth and certainly not suitable for butchery, nor, as Catherine had claimed, chopping wood.

Much was made of Samuel’s will which he had recently changed. The prosecution alleged that this was the motive for the murder and that Catherine had thought that he was going to see his solicitor that morning in nearby Chard to change it again. They postulated that she suspected that Samuel was going to leave everything to his daughter. In fact that was not the case, he had left Sarah England just £5 and willed the rest of his estate, including his cottage, to Catherine for her life.

The defence, led by Mr. Aubyn, sought to show that the death was an accident, caused by Samuel having a fit and falling into the fire. He also questioned the validity of the blood evidence. However this was not enough to convince the jury, who returned a guilty verdict. The jurors initially wanted to bring in a verdict of guilty to manslaughter but were instructed by Baron Huddlestone that they had to find her guilty of murder or acquit her completely. All Catherine could do was to flatly deny everything.

There were the usual efforts made locally to obtain a reprieve for Catherine, but without success. She was visited in Taunton Gaol by he family and continued to maintain her innocence.

At 7.45 a.m. the prison bell began to toll and at 8.00 a.m. on Monday, the 26th of May, 1879 Catherine was hanged by William Marwood on a gallows erected in the prison’s van house. She died without a struggle. Some 500 people had congregated outside Taunton Gaol to see the black flag raised, signifying that the execution had been carried out. The notices of execution were posted on the main gate. Reporters were not admitted.

The coroner, Mr. William Munkton, held the formal inquest at 10.00 a.m. The coroner’s jury were taken to the van house where Catherine’s body was laying in a rough wood coffin. As was required by law, Edward Kitley, the deputy governor, identified the body to the jurors and William Liddon, the prison surgeon, certified that she was dead.

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