Rhoda Willis

Case identification

Rhoda Willis (also known as Leslie James) was a baby farmer convicted of murder.

Background

Rhoda Willis was born in Sunderland in 1867. She was described as being originally from Sunderland and having been given a good education at a girls boarding school in London.

Around the age of 19, Rhoda met and later married Thomas Willis, a marine engineer from Sunderland. The couple moved to the Grangetown area of Cardiff, where Rhoda gave birth to a daughter. Thomas later died of natural causes, leaving Rhoda on her own to bring up their child.

Rhoda took up with Mr. E S Macpherson, also described as a marine engineer. Rhoda and Macpherson lived together for some time in Paget Street, Cardiff, with Rhoda bearing him two daughters before they decided to separate. Rhoda then went to live with her brother in Birmingham, and the two children stayed with their father. She later returned to Cardiff and had begun to drink heavily and was described as going “down hill”.

In 1907, Rhoda was knocked down by a bicycle and sustained a head injury, which necessitated a lengthy stay in the workhouse infirmary. After her release, she was convicted of her first criminal offence, the theft of a medal, for which she received a short prison sentence.

The offence

Rhoda Willis placed an advert in The Evening Press “married couple” and “Christian people” looking for a baby to adopt. She gave a Box No to reply to.

A reply came from Mrs. Lydia English. Lydia’s sister Maude Treasure was pregnant and unmarried. It was agreed that Leslie James, as Mrs. English knew her, would take the baby when it was born and give it a comfortable life.

The baby, referred to as “Baby Treasure”, was born on the 3rd June 1907. A telegram was sent out to Mrs. James, who met the sisters at Hengoed station on 4th June. Baby Treasure and a pre-arranged £8 adoption fee were handed over, and Rhoda wrote a receipt.

Rhoda collected the infant and took her by train back to lodgings at Portmanmoor Road, Cardiff. Later, on the train journey, Rhoda confessed to smothering the baby, claiming that “I wilfully killed the child. I killed it in the train between Llanishen and Cardiff.” The landlady, Mrs. Wilson, discovered a bundle at the foot of the bed when Rhoda was put to bed after returning from a day out “much the worse for drink”.

When the bundle was opened, the landlady found the twisted and lifeless naked body of a female infant. An examination found the child had been dead for between 12 and 24 hours. The infant died from asphyxiation, possibly from smothering under thick clothing with more than ordinary pressure applied.

Investigation

After Mrs. Wilson sent for the police, Rhoda was arrested and charged with murder.

Examination of the baby showed it had been dead for between 12 and 48 hours when it had been discovered, but had been healthy at birth.

The prosecution showed that she had died from asphyxia, having been smothered. The defence claimed that the suffocation could have been accidental.

The evidence included handwriting analysis: handwriting experts traced the writing on the note found with the dumped baby outside the Salvation Army House to Rhoda, by matching it with the writing in a letter sent by Rhoda to Lydia English and the receipt for the £8.

Rhoda had also sent a letter to Lydia English after the baby’s death. The letter said:

"I am leaving for the North. Have just given baby a nice bath. She is lovely."

Arrest

Rhoda was arrested at the scene when the landlady sent for the police after discovering the body of the newborn baby girl.

Trial

Rhoda was remanded in custody to the next Glamorgan assizes.

She was tried at Swansea before Mr. Commissioner Shee on Tuesday and Wednesday, the 23rd and 24th of June 1907, on the one charge of murder of Maude Treasure’s unnamed baby. She pleaded not guilty and claimed the child had been ill and therefore died of natural causes.

The jury deliberated for 12 minutes on the second day of the trial and returned a guilty verdict.

Commissioner Shee addressed Rhoda upon agreeing with the verdict. His remarks included:

"Don't let anyone suppose that because you are convicted of murder that nobody pities you, nobody prays for you. "I implore you to employ the short time that is left to you to prepare for death and for that mercy which you will undoubtedly find in Heaven, but which you cannot expect here. "The sentence of the court upon you is that you be hanged by the neck until you are dead, and that your body be buried within the precincts of the prison in which you shall have been confined before your execution, and may the Lord have mercy on your soul!"

Rhoda was removed to the condemned cell at Cardiff prison, because Swansea prison did not have female facilities.

Sentencing

The court sentenced Rhoda to be hanged by the neck until she was dead, and her body to be buried within the precincts of the prison in which she would have been confined before her execution.

Appeals

No appeal outcome was recorded in the provided material.

The Criminal Appeal Act was mentioned as having been passed earlier in the year but being decided by Parliament to apply only to persons convicted after the 18th of April, 1908.

Outcome

Rhoda Willis was executed by hanging at Cardiff prison on 14 August 1907.

The execution was set for 8 a.m. on Wednesday, the 14th of August 1907, which was described as being her 44th birthday.

Henry Pierrepoint and his brother and assistant, Thomas, tested the drop on the Tuesday prior to the execution. Rhoda stood 5’ 2” tall and weighed 145 pounds, with her drop being calculated at 5’ 9”.

Present at the execution were the Under Sheriff, Mr. T T Williams, the governor, Mr. H B Le Mesurier, the chaplain Rev. Arthur Pugh, and the prison surgeon Mr. J D Williams. The press were not admitted for the female execution.

A large crowd gathered outside the prison to witness official notices of the execution being put up on the prison gates at around 8.30 a.m. The event was photographed by the press and a few of the onlookers.

The material described Rhoda Willis as the only woman to be hanged in Wales in the 20th century and the last baby farmer to be executed.

Aftermath

A petition for a reprieve was drawn up by Cardiff City Council to be sent to the Home Secretary, Herbert Gladstone. Alderman John Jenkins MP promised to obtain a meeting with Gladstone to explain the Council’s position. Herbert Gladstone confirmed that the law would take its course on Wednesday as planned.

Rhoda asked the governor, Mr. H B Le Mesurier, if she could have a meeting with her former partner, Mr. Macpherson, and he allowed it. Rhoda gave him a lengthy letter. The material described it as full of remorse and regrets, while stating that she was resigned to her fate and hoped God would forgive her. She also entreated him to keep the details of her fate from their two daughters.

On the Tuesday evening prior to the execution, Rhoda asked for another meeting with her solicitor, Mr. Lloyd, and he agreed to be at the prison at 6 a.m. the next morning. Rhoda made a full confession to Mr. Lloyd in the condemned cell in an interview lasting nearly half an hour, including that she had killed the baby on the train between Llanishen and Cardiff. She asked him to let the trial judge and jurors know of her confession so they would not have the execution of an innocent woman on their consciences.

To avoid any contact with the group of seven men and one woman being released from the prison on the Wednesday morning at the end of their sentences, the governor bought forward their release to 7 a.m.

A large crowd gathered outside the prison and the execution notice was photographed and observed by onlookers.

Henry Pierrepoint remarked upon Rhoda’s appearance in his diary as she was led across the yard to the execution shed, described as having golden hair glinting in the morning sunshine.

Other details

The name “Rhoda Willis” was stated as Rhoda’s real name, with the assumed name being Leslie James.

Rhoda wrote out a receipt for the £8 adoption fee.

Rhoda’s solicitor, Mr. Lloyd, drew up Rhoda’s will and purchased it for her to sign and be witnessed by the matrons looking after her. She left what little she had to Mr. Macpherson to help him care for their daughters.

Rhoda’s execution was described as making her the seventh person to be executed at Cardiff prison, which was opened in 1854.

The material stated that she continued to protest her innocence after the guilty verdict, and she confessed to her solicitor the evening before her execution.

The material contained a note that a head injury occurred in 1907 and suggested it “may have precipitated her criminal behaviour,” while also stating that there was no record of any offence prior to the injury being sustained.