Mary Ball (poisoner)

Mary Ball (1818–1849) was a Nuneaton housewife who poisoned her husband with arsenic. She was hanged in Cuckoo Lane, outside Coventry Gaol, before a crowd of about twenty thousand. She was the last person to be publicly executed in Coventry.[1][2][3][4]

Mary Ball
a broadside published after the execution
Born
Mary Wright

(1818-06-28)28 June 1818
Died9 August 1849(1849-08-09) (aged 31)
Cuckoo Lane, Coventry
Cause of deathexecution by hanging
Resting placeCoventry Gaol
Occupationhousewife
Known forlast person to be executed in Coventry
Criminal statusexecuted
Spouse
Thomas Ball
(m. 1838; died 1849)
Motiveunhappy marriage
Criminal chargemurder
Penaltydeath
Details
VictimsThomas Ball
Date20 May 1849
Black Plaque marking the site of Balls execution

A plaque on the former County Hall in Coventry marks the nearby site of her execution.

References

  1. Mullen, Enda (16 February 2020). "Is this the exact spot where Coventry's last public hanging took place?". CoventryLive. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  2. "Tales from the Archives: Mary Ball, Murderer? - The Herbert Art Gallery & Museum". www.theherbert.org. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  3. Bell, Neil R. A. (2016). The A-Z of Victorian crime. Trevor N. Bond, Kate Clarke, M. W. Oldridge. Stroud, Gloucestershire. ISBN 978-1-4456-4787-6. OCLC 1012128380.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. McGrory, David (2003). A history of Coventry. Chichester, West Sussex, England: Phillimore. ISBN 1-86077-264-1. OCLC 54903656.
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