Background
Catherine Flannagan, aged 55, and Margaret Higgins, aged 41 (her age is also given as 45), were sisters who emigrated from Ireland during the potato famines of 1845–1849 and came to live in the Liverpool slums. They embarked on a plan to make money from life insurance and burial societies, which were popular in the late nineteenth century as they assured the poor of a “good send-off.”
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The Crimes
Life in Skirving Street
In the early 1880s, the pair, who were both single at the time, ran a rooming house at 5 Skirving Street in Liverpool. The household consisted of Catherine and her son John, Margaret, Patrick Jennings and his daughter Margaret, Thomas Higgins—a widower—and his eight-year-old daughter Mary.
First Victim: John Higgins
John Higgins was the first known victim. The previously healthy 22-year-old died in December 1880. Catherine had been telling neighbours for some time that he was in poor health, although there was no evidence that he actually was. His insurance policies netted £71.
Marriage and Death of Mary Higgins
A romance developed between Thomas Higgins and Margaret, leading to their marriage in October 1882. Thomas’ daughter Mary died within six months of the wedding. Margaret collected her life insurance of £22.
Death of Margaret Jennings
The next known victim was 19-year-old Margaret Jennings, who died in January 1883.
Moving Houses Due to Gossip
Local gossip about the deaths at Skirving Street forced the sisters to move house twice.
Life in Ascot Street and Thomas Higgins’ Death
By late 1883, they were living at 27 Ascot Street in Liverpool, where Thomas began suffering severe stomach pains. His doctor attributed these to dysentery caused by excessive drinking. Thomas died in early October of that year.
At 45 years old, Thomas Higgins had been insured by the sisters for a total of £108 19 shillings. This may not sound like much money now, but it was substantial in 1884—roughly equivalent to £8,000 today. Thomas’ brother, Patrick, became suspicious about the death and visited several local insurance companies, discovering a total of five policies on his brother’s life. He reported this to the police, and along with the coroner’s officer, they visited Ascot Street on the day of Thomas’ funeral while the wake was in progress. Catherine managed to escape from the house, but Margaret was arrested.
Discovery of Arsenic Poisoning
A post mortem revealed that Thomas had died from arsenic poisoning. The source was fly papers, from which the sisters leached arsenic by immersion in water. Other suspected victims were exhumed, and arsenic was found in their bodies. Catherine was subsequently arrested, and on 16 October, both women were charged with murder.
Trial
On Thursday, 7 February 1884, a Grand Jury at Liverpool Assizes returned true bills against Catherine and Margaret for the murders by arsenic poisoning of Thomas Higgins, Margaret Jennings, and John Flannagan.
The trial opened at St. George’s Hall on Thursday, 14 February, before Mr. Justice Butt. The case of Thomas Higgins was heard first. It took the jury 50 minutes to reach guilty verdicts on both women on the evening of Saturday, 16 February. Margaret collapsed in the dock as she was sentenced. As both women had been sentenced to death, the other murder charges were not proceeded with, as was customary.
The pair were returned to Kirkdale Gaol in Liverpool to await execution. Here they were ministered to by Father Bonté, the Catholic chaplain of Kirkdale.
Execution
Bartholomew Binns and Samuel Heath arrived at Kirkdale on the afternoon of Saturday, 1 March, with Binns being allowed an assistant as it was a double execution. Binns supervised the erection of the gallows in a prison yard.
The two women were weighed and measured: Catherine was 4 feet 11¾ inches tall and weighed 113 lbs; Margaret was 5 feet 3¾ inches tall and weighed 130 lbs. Catherine was to be given a drop of 9 feet 6 inches, and Margaret was to receive 9 feet 8 inches. This should have resulted in drop energies of 1074 ft. lbs and 1256 ft. lbs respectively. It is unclear why Binns wanted to give Margaret such a long drop.
The Execution Process
The hangings were carried out at 8 a.m. on Monday, 3 March 1884. At 7:45, the pair were taken from the condemned cells to the reception room to be pinioned. The prison bell began tolling as the pair were led into the prison yard.
The procession was led by Mr. Cranston, the Chief Warder, followed by Major Leggett, the governor; Mr. Wilson, the Under Sheriff; Dr. James Barr, the gaol surgeon; Dr. Hammond, his counterpart from nearby Walton prison; Catherine and Margaret, assisted by two female and two male warders; and finally, Binns and Heath.
It was snowing outside. Both women wore long dresses: Catherine had chosen black, her sister a dark brown one. They had to be assisted up the steps of the scaffold but coped calmly with the preparations.
Binns hooded and noosed Catherine, while Heath dealt with Margaret. The running noose ropes of ¾ inch diameter hemp were arranged with the eyelets beneath the women’s chins. The drop was sufficient in both cases to break their necks, and heart action ceased within seven minutes.
Discrepancy in Drop Length
In fact, the actual drops, as measured afterward, were considerably longer than Binns had allowed. Catherine’s drop was 10 feet 9 inches, and Margaret’s was 11 feet and ¾ of an inch. It is not known whether Binns had set them incorrectly or whether the knot slipped where the rope was attached to the beam, as had happened during the execution of Patrick O’Donnell at Newgate, as testified by the Chief Warder, Mr. Ward, in evidence to the Aberdare Committee.
Binns had tied the rope in such a way that it slipped 15 inches. It is more likely that the knots slipped, as the length of drop these two women received would have likely resulted in decapitation otherwise.
Public Reaction and Aftermath
A large group of people had gathered outside the gaol to see the black flag unfurled despite the continued snowfall.
A formal inquest was heard before the county coroner at 10 a.m. Waxworks of the pair were soon on display in Madame Tussaud’s waxworks.
Further Investigations
In the hope of obtaining a reprieve, Catherine implicated three or four other women in a number of poisonings in the area. There may have been as many as 17 victims in total. The police investigated these claims but found insufficient evidence to mount a prosecution.
In February 1884, William Marks, the prosecuting solicitor for Liverpool, wrote to the Director of Public Prosecutions stating that six victims were probably poisoned, but it would be difficult to prove anyone other than Higgins and Flannagan were responsible for these deaths.
Note: The spelling of Catherine’s surname is given as both Flanagan and Flannagan by different newspapers.
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