Amelia Dyer: Britain’s Baby Butcher, Part V

Bargeman discovers corpse
of infant.

Just day’s before Amelia dumped the carpetbag containing Doris Marmon and Harry Simmons’ bodies into the Thames a bargeman had fished a package out of the river near this spot. It contained the body of an infant girl, Helena Fry.

The small Reading police force discovered a faintly legible address and the name “Mrs. Thomas” on the brown parcel paper that the baby was wrapped within.

This address was a former residence of Amelia Dyers.

The police then put Amelia under surveillance but they worried she would just disappear, so they arranged a meeting with her with a decoy—a young mother looking for adoptive services.

On April 3, 1896, the police arrived at her home while Amelia waited for this decoy. They smelled the decay of death but found no bodies.

They did find many distraught letters from mothers inquiring about their children, mounds of baby clothes and many more pawn receipts. They also found telegrams describing adoption arrangements and newspaper ads.

Pulling the carpetbag out.

Amelia was arrested on April 4^th for the murders of Doris Marmon and Harry Simmons. The Thames was searched, and 2 more bodies were found. Each child had been strangled with white seamstress tape.

Amelia told the police callously "that was how you could tell it was one of hers.”

Eleven days after Eveline Marmon watched tearfully as Amelia boarded a train with her daughter the police called her in to identify a small body.

On May 22^nd, Amelia pleaded guilty to the murder of Doris Marmon.

She used an insanity defense –offering her stays in mental institutions as proof-- but since the prosecution argued these stays coincided with her efforts to avoid the authorities and that they were short-lived, her defense was not believed.

Dyer sentenced to death.

The jury took 4 and half minutes at the Old Bailey to find Amelia Dyer guilty. On June 10, 1896, she was hanged at Newgate Prison. When asked if she had anything to say she said nothing.

Her loathsome actions along with other baby farm killers of the time that were hanged-- Margaret Waters, Annie Walters, and Amelia Sach to name a few-- did eventually led to welfare and other social reforms being instated.

Even though Amelia Dyer is Britain's most prolific serial killer her crimes were mostly forgotten until recent years when her records where placed online by the National Archives.

It is estimated that Amelia over her, 30-year career as a baby farmer was responsible for the deaths of over 400 infants.

Amelia's Ghost

Often prisons are haunted and Newgate which once stood just inside London is no exception to this rule. This structure built by the Romans was torn down in 1910 to make room for the Central Criminal Courts.

The original Roman gate, Newgate Prison before
it was demolished and prisoners being hanged
on the gallows.

Dead Man's Walk

On the side of the wall were Newgate once was is a narrow pathway that still exists today. It initially led from the prison to the quicklime pits where executed prisoners were buried.

It is not surprising since this pathway also was used to take condemned prisoners from their cells to the gallows that it was dubbed, “Dead Man’s Walk.”

A young warden, a Mr. Scott, at the time Amelia Dyer was hanged—later became Newgate’s chief warden.

He often told one grim tale of the prison being haunted.

Amelia Dyer after her arrest.

He was present at the hanging of Amelia Dyer in June of 1896. As Amelia was taken to the scaffold, she stopped and looked at Mr. Scott. She then said in a low voice, “I’ll meet you again, sir.”

Not long before Newgate was closed down, several wardens including Mr. Scott were gathered together, with a bottle of whiskey, to celebrate the end of their employment at the prison.

The room they stood within was next to the Women’s Felon Yard. A door, with a window in it, looked out over this yard.

As one fellow raised his glass for a toast, Scott became aware that someone was watching him. He then heard the words in his head, “I’ll meet you again someday, sir.”

He looked out the door’s window and saw the unmistakable face of Amelia Dyer. She looked at Scott for a moment and then left.

Scott rushed to the door and opened it but nothing was there except for a woman’s handkerchief that floated to the ground and landed at his feet.

There were no female prisoners in Newgate at this time—there had not been any for several years.

One photograph that was taken of Mr. Scott outside the prison’s execution shed has a distinct image of Amelia’s face peering over his shoulder.

Execution Shed

Some witnesses claim to have seen Amelia's ghost in Dead Man's Walk recently. Several ghosts have been spotted along this pathway.

In Part l of Amelia Dyer: Britain’s Baby Butcher illegitimate babies are left out in the cold and baby farming begins.

Sea Captain Sued for Slandering Ghost

Throughout history there have been several fascinating lawsuits brought that involved ghosts or hauntings. The following is a favorite.

This lawsuit was brought before the Court of the King’s Bench in 1688. This case, Booty vs. Barnaby is  bizarre but true.

On the afternoon of May 15, 1687, a sea captain by the name of Barnaby and his crew went ashore on the island of Stromboli in Italy. While shooting rabbits they spotted a man being chased across the island by a dark figure dressed in black.

Barnaby was amazed for as this pursued man drew closer he recognized him as being one of his neighbors back home in England—a Mr. Booty.

Stromboli volcano

The Captain and his crew watched these two figures—run faster than was humanly possible—right into the fiery flames of a volcano. They then heard unearthly screams.

This sight was so odd the captain had his crew note the time, 3:30 p.m. Once back onboard the ship he requested each man write down or remember what they had seen. He felt the devil himself had chased his neighbor into hell.

Once back in England, his ship at anchor in Graves-end the captain’s wife came onboard in October. In passing she mentioned that a neighbor of theirs, Mr. Booty had died.

Gravesend 1600s

Her husband then told her what he and his crew had seen. “We all saw him run into hell.” His wife then told him that Mr. Booty had died on the exact date he had been chased across the island.

The Captain's wife then shared this story with a friend in London. When her husband joined her at their home he was stunned to hear that a lawsuit had been brought against him for slander.

Mrs. Booty the widow of the deceased man upon hearing the rumors that her husband had been “condemned to hell” was so disturbed she had filed the lawsuit—claiming a 1,000 pounds in damages.

The suit was heard in the King’s court. The Captain had recorded the incident on Stromboli in his ship’s journal and at least 30 crew-members backed up his story with specific details.

They described the grey suit the man wore down to the placement of each cloth button—the suit they described was the one Mr. Booty was wearing when he died at exactly 3:30 p.m..

The court came to the conclusion that all the witnesses could not be mistaken. It ruled in favor of Barnaby stating he had not committed slander.

The Bryan Times
May 18, 1909

The judge was so impressed by the evidence presented he stated:

“Lord have mercy upon me and grant that I may never see what you have seen. One, two or three may be mistaken but not thirty.”

Later the London Chronicle noted that the case of Booty vs. Barnaby was the only time a ghost story was judicially accepted on record.

New Mexico Ghosts: Black Jack Ketchum

In my state, near Cimarron, New Mexico is the Philmont Scout Ranch. Men from all around the United States have very fond memories of their Boy Scout experiences at Philmont. 

Hiking at Philmont Scout Ranch

This ranch is located in the rugged Sangre de Cristo Rocky Mountains in the northern part of the state. It is the largest youth camp in the world. 

This story is about one scout who while camping at Philmont encountered the ghost of Black Jack Ketchum.

Thomas Ketchum, later known as Black Jack, worked as a cowboy in the Pecos River Valley in New Mexico. Turning to a life of crime, with his brother Sam Ketchum, they robbed a store and post office near Tucumcari, New Mexico, along the way they formed a gang and murdered several people. 

They joined forces with Butch Cassidy’s Hole in the Wall Gang, where they turned their attention to train robberies. The Ketchum brothers in September of 1897 robbed their first train at Twin Mountain.

Sam and the gang in July of 1899, without Black Jack, robbed this same train again. A posse took after Sam. They caught up to him in Turkey Creek Canyon near Cimarron. 

There they engaged in a gun battle when Sam was seriously wounded. His injuries slowed him down and, he was captured and sent to the Santa Fe Territorial Prison where he died of his gunshot wounds. 

In August of the same year, Black Jack hearing of his brother’s death tried to rob the same train at the same place single-handedly. The train conductor recognized him and shot him off his horse. 

Severely wounded, he was captured and transported to a medical facility in Trinidad, Colorado. His right arm had to be amputated. He was nursed back to health and sent to Clayton, New Mexico where he was tried in April of 1901, for attempted train robbery. He was found guilty.

Hanging of Black Jack Ketchum

People came from miles around to view the execution, but the town of Clayton had no experience with hanging a man. 

They forgot to remove a sandbag that had been used to test the rope—which caused the rope to be as rigid as a wire. So when Black Jack fell through the drop, he was immediately decapitated. 

The black hood tied around him was the only thing that prevented his head from rolling away. A photograph was taken that became a favorite postcard. His head was sewn back on his body for viewing, and then he was buried, in three pieces as people said, in Clayton’s boot hill.

Ketchum was the only person ever to be hanged in Union County, New Mexico, a territory at the time, for “felonious assault upon a train.” 

It was later determined, once New Mexico became a state in 1912, that this law was unconstitutional. But considering Thomas Ketchum was a murderer—justice was done.

Rock overhang.

Years later, a group of boy scouts was backpacking across Philmont Ranch. They visited a large rock overhang that was known to be one of Black Jack’s hideouts. They decided to camp there for the night. 

Their leaders pitched their tents several yards away at a designated campsite. The boys built a fire, and one of their group told stories about Black Jack and his gang of outlaws. As the fire turned to red coals, the campers one by one zipped themselves into sleeping bags, by the light of the full moon, and fell asleep.

One scout was startled awake by a noise in the bushes. He was too frightened to move or even call out to his companions. 

He watched as a cowboy, dressed all in black, came running out of the bushes. Part of his body was solid, and part appeared to be translucent. 

The boy cringed as the man neared. He was dirty all over, wore a tattered hat, his clothes were old-fashioned, and his teeth were yellowed. His face was unshaven, very red, and glistened with sweat—he held a revolver.

He appeared to be unaware of the campers as he turned and faced the small stream. 

The scout heard many men shouting, and then he heard guns fire. The cowboy shot six times into the trees and then ran toward the scout. 

He slowed as a shot rang out; he gripped his arm and stopped, towering over where the scout lay. Blood dripped from a gaping hole in his shoulder as he opened his gun and dropped the spent shell casings. They hit the boy’s sleeping bag and rolled to the sides.

He reloaded his gun and continued to fire into the trees. The cowboy turned back to the boy, and the expression on his face told the scout he had finally noticed him. 

The cowboy stepped back, confused and confounded he un-cocked his revolver. He looked at the scout intently and stated, “You are not supposed to be here,” he then disappeared into thin air.

The scout too frightened to fall back asleep, kept vigil. Early the next morning, he shook his fellow scouts awake. As they broke camp, he told them about what he had seen. 

The group amused replied he must have been dreaming. But as he rolled up his sleeping bag, he found six shell casings in the dirt.

When the boys returned to base camp, they visited an old saloon in town. There was a photograph of Black Jack Ketchum hanging on the wall. 

The scout went pale as he realized that it was the man he had seen at the hideout. When he tried to explain this to his friends, they brushed him off again. 

After the scout returned home, he had a gun expert check the castings. This man told him they were from the late 1800s, but he had never seen any in such mint condition before.