Mary Elizabeth Wilson

Identification

Mary Elizabeth Wilson (c. 1893 - 1963), also known as the Merry widow of Windy Nook, was a murderer.

Background

Wilson was born at Hebburn, South Tyneside. She married her first husband John Knowles in around 1912. They settled at a house in Windy Nook, Gateshead. Her lover John Russell eventually moved in with them.

In 1955, Knowles died. Wilson waited five months before marrying Russell.

Wilson’s second husband died in 1956 or early in 1957. The attending physician declared that both men had died of natural causes. Wilson inherited their money, £42.

In June 1957, Wilson married her third husband, Oliver Leonard, a retired estate agent. He died only 12 days into their marriage, leaving her £50. She then married a fourth husband, Ernest Wilson. His estate included up to £100, a bungalow and a life insurance. Ernest died within the year. Wilson did not attend the funeral.

By this time, Wilson became a main figure of local gossip about the frequency at which her spouses died and her cheerful attitude toward the pattern. At her latest wedding reception, she joked that left-over sandwiches would be fresh enough to use in the next funeral. She also asked for a trade discount from the local undertaker for providing him with plenty of business.

The offence

Wilson was convicted of murdering two of her four husbands with beetle poison in 1956 and 1957. An exhumation of the bodies of her last two husbands revealed high levels of phosphorus.

Her defence claimed the substance was contained in their medication. The remains of her earlier two husbands were exhumed at a later date and pointed to the same cause of death. There was no reason given to have a second trial.

Her case included the possibility of additional deaths associated with her household, with police attention following exhumations of bodies of four men who died in her home within 26 months. The woman had been married to three of them in succession; the fourth was a lodger.

Investigation

Police became suspicious of Wilson after the pattern of deaths and her remarks. The police exhumed the bodies of four men who died in her home within 26 months.

Police pathologists found traces of phosphorous in both Oliver Leonard and Ernest Wilson. After exhumations, phosphorus was found in the remains of the earlier husbands as well.

On the evening that her third husband died, Wilson went around to the house of Mrs Grace Liddell, a friend who lived in Hebburn-on-Tyne, and asked if she could spend the night. Wilson told Mrs Liddell that her husband was “badly” and that the doctor had attended him. The next morning Mrs Liddell accompanied Wilson back to Windy Nook. When they arrived Wilson gave Mrs Liddell the key and told her to go in first. Mrs Liddell was stunned to be greeted by the sight of Ernest laid out on a table in the front room. Later that day Wilson went to the hotel where she and Ernest had held their wedding reception and told the manager that Ernest was ill in hospital.

A formal plea had not been entered and police had not yet made public details at the time police asked for more time to prepare for a hearing to determine whether Wilson should stand trial.

Arrest

Wilson was arrested and charged with both murders after police exhumed the bodies of four men who died in her home within 26 months and phosphorus was found in relevant remains.

Trial

Wilson appeared before Leeds Assizes in March 1958. After a six-day trial, the jury took ninety minutes to find her guilty of both charges and she was sentenced to death.

The condemned woman was described as stout Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Wilson, known as the merry widow of Windy Nook, convicted of poisoning two of her mates.

A prosecution account described difficulty in establishing a profit motive. Leonard and Wilson left 200 pounds ($560), which the defense dismissed as “paltry benefits.”

Wilson explained: “Men like me, and I like men,” during the course of her trial.

Her attorneys served notice of an appeal.

Two verbatim jokes were recounted in connection with the case:

• At a reception following her marriage to Ernest Wilson last October, she replied: “Keep them for the funeral,” after being asked what she was going to do with a large number of cakes and sandwiches left over.
• At the registrar’s office, she quipped: “There should be a discount for me.”

Sentencing

Wilson was sentenced to death after her conviction for two murders.

Because of her advanced age, she was allowed a reprieve. Her sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.

Appeals

Wilson had already had one appeal turned down by the court of criminal appeal. She was later granted a reprieve by the Home Secretary, which meant she would serve a life sentence, it was understood.

Outcome

Wilson’s death penalty sentence was not carried out because it was commuted to life imprisonment. Wilson died while incarcerated.

Aftermath

Wilson died at Holloway Prison on 5th December 1962.

Wilson was described as dying aged 70 in Holloway Prison in London.

Other details

Marriages and deaths mentioned

• John Knowles: married around 1912; died in August 1955; lived with Wilson for 41 years before expiring.
• John Russell: moved in as her lover; Wilson married him after waiting five months after Knowles’s death.
• Oliver Leonard: married in September of the following year; died in 1956 at the age of 76; later described as dying two weeks into their life together; in one account his death was confirmed as heart failure; phosphorus was found in his remains.
• Ernest Wilson: married after Oliver Leonard’s death; in one account Wilson was 66-year-old at the time of police inquiry; Ernest was described as 76, a retired engineer; his death was diagnosed as heart failure in connection with treatment for many years for heart problems; phosphorus was found in his remains.

Remaining household deaths associated with the case

Descriptions and claims

Police pathologists found traces of phosphorus. The defense claimed the substance was contained in medication, and it was suggested the two men may have been taking sexual stimulation pills known to contain phosphorous. The jury did not believe this and found Wilson guilty of the two murders and sentenced her to death.