Real Crime/Paranormal/Conspiracy Theories Book III

Prince of Poisoners: William Palmer

William Palmer (6 August 1824 –14 June 1856), also known as the Rugeley Poisoner or thePrince of Poisoners, was an English doctor found guilty ofmurder in one of the most notorious cases of the 19th century.Charles Dickens called Palmer "the greatest villain that everstood in the Old Bailey".

Palmer was convicted for the 1855murder of his friend John Cook, and was executed in public by hangingthe following year. He had poisoned Cook with strychnine and wassuspected of poisoning several other people including his brother andhis mother-in-law, as well as four of his children who died of"convulsions" before their first birthdays. Palmermade large sums of money from the deaths of his wife and brotherafter collecting on life insurance, and by defrauding his wealthymother out of thousands of pounds, all of which he lost throughgambling on horses.

Early life and suspected poisonings

William Palmer was born in Rugeley,Staffordshire, the sixth of eight children of Sarah and JosephPalmer. His father worked as a sawyer and died when William was aged12, leaving Sarah with a legacy of £70,000.

As a seventeen-year-old, Palmer workedas an apprentice at a Liverpool chemist, but was dismissed afterthree months following allegations that he stole money. He studiedmedicine in London, and qualified as a physician in August 1846. After returning to Staffordshire later that year Palmer met plumberand glazier George Abley at the Lamb and Flag public house in LittleHaywood, and challenged him to a drinking contest. Abley accepted,and an hour later was carried home, where he died in bed later thatevening; nothing was ever proved, but locals noted that Palmer had aninterest in Abley's attractive wife.

Palmer returned to his home town ofRugeley to practice as a doctor and, in St. Nicholas Church, AbbotsBromley, married Ann Thornton (born 1827; also known as Brookes asher mother was the mistress of a Colonel Brookes) on 7 October 1847. His new mother-in-law, also called Ann Thornton, had inherited afortune of £8,000 after Colonel Brookes committed suicide in 1834.The elder Thornton died on 18 January 1849, two weeks after coming tostay with Palmer; she was known to have lent him money. An elderlyDr. Bamford recorded a verdict of apoplexy. Palmer was disappointedwith the inheritance he and his wife gained from the death, havingexpected it to be much greater.

Palmer became interested in horseracing and borrowed money from Leonard Bladen, a man he met at theraces. Bladen lent him £600, but died in agony at Palmer's house on10 May 1850. Palmer's wife was surprised to find that Bladen diedwith little money on him despite having recently won a large sum atthe races; his betting books were also missing, so there was noevidence of his having lent Palmer any money. Bladen's deathcertificate listed Palmer as "present at the death",and stated the cause of death as "injury of the hip joint, 5or 6 months; abscess in the pelvis".

Palmer's first son, William BrookesPalmer, was born towards the end of 1848 and christened in January1849. He outlived his father, dying on 29 April 1926. The Palmershad four more children, all of whom died in infancy. The cause ofdeath for each child was listed as "convulsions":

Elizabeth Palmer. Died on 6January 1851. She was about two and a half months old at the time ofdeath.