With the scary season upon us RCSI Heritage Collections decided to have a look in the archives and see what Halloween-esque material we could find to share with you. And oh how the archives did not let us down!
The year is 1856.
The town is Rugeley, Staffordshire.
The crime is the..
Poisoning of John Cook by his friend William Palmer!
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| High Street, Rugeley. Palmer's house is in the centre background with the bay window. The crime scene is the Talbot Arms Hotel, to the left foreground. |
William Palmer was born in Rugeley in 1824 and was the sixth of eight children. At 17 years old he was apprenticed to a Liverpool chemist but was dismissed after three months for stealing. Palmer travelled to London where he qualified as a physician in August 1846. He returns home and soon people he drinks with (George Abley), he is related to (his mother-in-law Ann Thornton) and who are horse racing acquaintances (Leonard Bladen) start to become seriously ill with stomach pains eventually dying in pain. Conveniently those that die have mysteriously lost the earnings, inheritance or horse racing winnings their families would have been entitled to. Yet Palmer is able to pay off some of his own debts and continue betting. Slightly suspicious one would think.
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| William Palmer (1824-1856) aka The Rugeley Poisoner |
Palmer had five children with his wife Ann, the first born in 1848 or 1850 and the final born in 1854. All but the first child, William, died within the first three months of their lives. Palmer having run up large amounts of debt took a life insurance policy of £13,000 out on his wife in 1854. On 29th September that year Ann died from stomach pains at the age of 27. One year later and Palmer's debts to two creditors had risen to £12,500 and £10,400 so he tried to take a life insurance policy out on his brother, Walter Palmer. Walter was a drunk and his brother provided him with a bottle of gin and brandy a day. Walter died in August 1855. The insurance company weren't willing to pay out straight away so undertook an investigation.
While the investigation was underway, Palmer's debts continued to mount and he needed money fast. So he turned to a friend, not in the way a normal person would and ask for a lend. No, he turned to his friend John Cook who was a sickly young man with an inheritance of £12,000. In November 1855 these two friends attended numerous horse races making bets, which Palmer lost but Cooks won. After taking a room in the Talbot Arms Hotel, Cook began to complain of stomach pains and his brandy 'burning his throat'. By 17th November Cook was so ill Palmer took on the duties of caring for his friend. and collecting his winnings. Palmer then bought three grams of strychnine and on 21st November Cook died in agony.
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| Trial of Palmer at The Old Bailey in London, May 1856 |
Cook's stepfather was suspicious of his step son's death so requested an inquest. The post-mortem took place in the Talbot Arms and was a farcical affair with the medical assistant being drunk and Palmer taking the stomach contents 'for safe keeping' before they could be tested.
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| Palmer sitting in the dock |
Nevertheless Palmer was charged with the murder of James Cook and was held at Stafford Gaol. An act of Parliament, the Central Criminal Court Act 1856, was passed to allow Palmer's trial take place in London at The Old Bailey as it was felt that a fair jury could not be found in Staffordshire. The trial went on for twelve days from 14th to 27th May 1856.
Each days happenings is recorded in a pamphlet in the College's pamphlet collection entitled Illustrated and Unabridged Edition of The Times Report of the Trial of William Palmer for Poisoning John Cook (RCSI/Pamp/204a) . The fabulous illustrations that accompany this blog are part of the newspaper report on this scandalous case.
Each days happenings is recorded in a pamphlet in the College's pamphlet collection entitled Illustrated and Unabridged Edition of The Times Report of the Trial of William Palmer for Poisoning John Cook (RCSI/Pamp/204a) . The fabulous illustrations that accompany this blog are part of the newspaper report on this scandalous case.
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| The jurors' sleeping apartment at the London Coffee House |
Palmer was found guilty by the jury and sentenced to death by hanging on 14 June 1856 outside Stafford Prison. The report states
He [Palmer] maintained his firmness and perfect calmness after the delivery of the verdict; and when the sentence was passed, he looked an interested, although utterly unmoved spectator.
Over 30,000 spectators turned out to witness the public execution of William Palmer aka The Rugeley Poisoner or the Prince of Poisoners, the number of whose victims will never be known but can only be guessed at.
- Researched and written by Meadhbh Murphy