Propelled by the bizarre murder story of Burke and Hare, I became interested in the equally bizarre story of William Palmer (1824-56) who studied medicine in London, and qualified in Aug 1846. He returned to his Midlands home town of Rugeley to practice as a doctor, and married Ann Thornton in Oct 1847. His new mother-in-law had inherited great wealth from her late husband, but died in Jan 1849 from apoplexy, two weeks after coming living with the Palmers. But the gambler Dr Palmer was disappointed with the inheritance he and his wife gained from the death, having expected much more.
There were many other unexpected deaths in the Palmer family. After just one premium was paid on her life insurance, his 27 year old wife Annie sickened from cholera and died in 1854. Only the first child of the Palmers’ five babies survived infancy, and outlived his father. The next four babies died of convulsions.
Soon after William bought a new life policy for his alcoholic older brother Walter, Walter also died. But the insurance company refused to pay out, threatening a criminal investigation (which they failed to pursue). It is uncertain how many of William Palmer’s illegitimate babies also took ill and died unexpectedly.
In Nov 1855, close friends 31-year-old surgeon William Palmer and rich 28-year-old horse-owner John Cook went to the Shrewsbury races. Cook’s horse won the huge sum of £3,000, at the same time that Palmer’s failures pushed him deeper into debt. When John Cook went into convulsions while celebrating, Dr Palmer supervised the medical care.
Back in Rugeley, John Cook’s stepfather William Stevens already distrusted Palmer, especially once he found his stepson’s betting papers were missing. The housemaid said Palmer had given Cook pills and had also sent him a poisoned broth. After suffering a week of excruciating pain, Cook accused Palmer of poisoning him, then died. No one yet knew that Palmer was already claiming Cook’s recent winnings as his own, but people were already gossiping.
William Stevens requested that his stepson's body be exhumed, due to the long list of earlier deaths, Palmer’s large debts, angry creditors and Cook's stolen horse-money.
The autopsy was performed by local pathologists, with Palmer present as a colleague, not as a suspect. During the examination, Palmer tampered with Cook's stomach by “accidentally” bumping into a physician as he was lifting out the stomach. The remaining material was placed in a sealed jar, but Palmer slit open the seal as well. Then a pharmacist admitted selling Palmer strychnine the week before. As suspicion bloomed, wife Annie and brother Walter’s bodies were also exhumed.
In Dec 1855, Dr Palmer was arrested and charged with Wilful Poisoning. The 1856 trial was held at Old Bailey.
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At the 12 days trial, the coroner called toxicologist Dr Alfred Taylor who tested the small remaining sample of Cook's stomach contents. He found only a small, non-lethal amount of antimony, the active ingredient of normal medicines. But on the basis of reported symptoms prior to death, Dr Taylor concluded that Cook had been poisoned by strychnine. Taylor was already renowned as a great authority on forensic medicine, so he was not afraid to make grand claims for toxicology in his textbooks and in court.
The prosecution noted that Dr Palmer's tampering at the autopsy made thorough chemical analysis impossible. Furthermore Palmer's medical expertise made him a very devious poisoner, capable of murdering with minimal doses of strychnine, a hard-to-trace poison.
There were many other unexpected deaths in the Palmer family. After just one premium was paid on her life insurance, his 27 year old wife Annie sickened from cholera and died in 1854. Only the first child of the Palmers’ five babies survived infancy, and outlived his father. The next four babies died of convulsions.
Soon after William bought a new life policy for his alcoholic older brother Walter, Walter also died. But the insurance company refused to pay out, threatening a criminal investigation (which they failed to pursue). It is uncertain how many of William Palmer’s illegitimate babies also took ill and died unexpectedly.
In Nov 1855, close friends 31-year-old surgeon William Palmer and rich 28-year-old horse-owner John Cook went to the Shrewsbury races. Cook’s horse won the huge sum of £3,000, at the same time that Palmer’s failures pushed him deeper into debt. When John Cook went into convulsions while celebrating, Dr Palmer supervised the medical care.
Back in Rugeley, John Cook’s stepfather William Stevens already distrusted Palmer, especially once he found his stepson’s betting papers were missing. The housemaid said Palmer had given Cook pills and had also sent him a poisoned broth. After suffering a week of excruciating pain, Cook accused Palmer of poisoning him, then died. No one yet knew that Palmer was already claiming Cook’s recent winnings as his own, but people were already gossiping.
William Stevens requested that his stepson's body be exhumed, due to the long list of earlier deaths, Palmer’s large debts, angry creditors and Cook's stolen horse-money.
The autopsy was performed by local pathologists, with Palmer present as a colleague, not as a suspect. During the examination, Palmer tampered with Cook's stomach by “accidentally” bumping into a physician as he was lifting out the stomach. The remaining material was placed in a sealed jar, but Palmer slit open the seal as well. Then a pharmacist admitted selling Palmer strychnine the week before. As suspicion bloomed, wife Annie and brother Walter’s bodies were also exhumed.
In Dec 1855, Dr Palmer was arrested and charged with Wilful Poisoning. The 1856 trial was held at Old Bailey.
Drs Alfred Taylor (L) and Rees, testing for traces of poison.
Engraving, in The Times report of the trial of William Palmer
National Library of Medicine
At the 12 days trial, the coroner called toxicologist Dr Alfred Taylor who tested the small remaining sample of Cook's stomach contents. He found only a small, non-lethal amount of antimony, the active ingredient of normal medicines. But on the basis of reported symptoms prior to death, Dr Taylor concluded that Cook had been poisoned by strychnine. Taylor was already renowned as a great authority on forensic medicine, so he was not afraid to make grand claims for toxicology in his textbooks and in court.
The prosecution noted that Dr Palmer's tampering at the autopsy made thorough chemical analysis impossible. Furthermore Palmer's medical expertise made him a very devious poisoner, capable of murdering with minimal doses of strychnine, a hard-to-trace poison.
The defence put toxicology expertise on trial. Palmer's lawyers put opposing toxicological experts on the stand, and claimed that arrogant Dr Taylor had made damaging statements to the press.
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Dr Palmer was found guilty and sentenced to be hanged. Dr Taylor was besieged by public criticism, but he maintained his standing as an authority. In his 1859 book On Poisons in Relation to Medical Jurisprudence and Medicine, he justified himself in the Palmer trial.
Palmer’s trial had been one of the great Victorian legal shows, publicised in Britain & out. Scrutiny of the case was all the more intense because a public fear of poisoning had grown into a national paranoia by mid-century. Remember that the doctor had purchased large amounts of it, so strychnine was recorded as his favourite murder technique.
Dr Palmer was suspected of poisoning more than a dozen other people before Cook, but he was only ever tried for one murder. The jury found him guilty of Cook’s murder and he was quickly returned to Stafford to hang.
In 1856, 30,000 people gathered in a festive atmosphere outside Stafford prison, to watch the execution of the local town doctor. This Rugeley Poisoner was one of the last people to be publicly hanged in Britain.
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In the excellent book The Poisoner: Life and Crimes of Victorian England’s Most Notorious Doctor, Stephen Bates provided a broader portrait of Victorian England, the minimal training and often dangerous influence of doctors, the chaotic legal system and the class-spanning tug of horse racing. Alongside these came the emergence of new financial products such as life insurance, which featured centrally in some of Palmer’s plots. But without DNA analysis or detailed toxicology reports, what was it all worth?
In the C19th were respectable, middle class, personable and educated men ever believed to be murderers? Were doctors particularly protected from public scrutiny by their status and income? 4 out of the 5 Palmer babies died – was this normal? Why did the insurance companies sensibly not pay Dr Palmer out, yet the hospital and police did nothing? How did the Poison Panic influence the population in 1855-56?
Trial of William Palmer
In the Illustrated Times, May 27 1856
Palmer’s trial had been one of the great Victorian legal shows, publicised in Britain & out. Scrutiny of the case was all the more intense because a public fear of poisoning had grown into a national paranoia by mid-century. Remember that the doctor had purchased large amounts of it, so strychnine was recorded as his favourite murder technique.
Dr Palmer was suspected of poisoning more than a dozen other people before Cook, but he was only ever tried for one murder. The jury found him guilty of Cook’s murder and he was quickly returned to Stafford to hang.
In 1856, 30,000 people gathered in a festive atmosphere outside Stafford prison, to watch the execution of the local town doctor. This Rugeley Poisoner was one of the last people to be publicly hanged in Britain.
Murder pamphlet
In the C19th were respectable, middle class, personable and educated men ever believed to be murderers? Were doctors particularly protected from public scrutiny by their status and income? 4 out of the 5 Palmer babies died – was this normal? Why did the insurance companies sensibly not pay Dr Palmer out, yet the hospital and police did nothing? How did the Poison Panic influence the population in 1855-56?