f the law visited Dr. Knox’s establishment
nd found the body of Mrs. Docherty
tuffed in a tea chest. Shortly after, the
ficers visited the house in Tanner’s Close
ind found Hare and his wife still in bed.
They were both apprehended and lodged
n separate cells.

After a short delay the dastardly crew
were confronted with the body of their last
victim. Far from breaking down and con-
‘essing, not one of them admitted ever
yaving seen her before and, in fact, gave the
nissing Mrs. Docherty a different descrip-
-ion to that of the corpse.

Then followed the long legal battle that
srought the foul details of this trail of
sudden death before a startled world. The
Crown gathered all the evidence available,
out the prosecution was greatly handicapped
by the fact that all the bodies had been dis-
posed of in Dr. Knox's dissecting rooms.

The only body available was that of the
last victim, Mrs. Docherty. The various
accused made their declarations before
Sherriff Substitute Tate in accordance with
Scottish law, but these were found to con-
flict in many respects. Burke made five
separate declarations while McDougal made
two. The Lord Advocate found himself in
a very difficult position to adduce the evi-
dence necessary for a conviction, and felt
that it would be necessary to have some of
the gang turn King’s evidence against the
others. As Hare appeared to be the logical
one to bargain with, Mrs. Hare had to be
included, as Hare could not be compelled
to testify against his wife. Thereupon
lengthy statements were obtained from Hare
and his wife upon the assurance that any
disclosures they made would not be used
against them. From these statements and
the later confession of Burke, the whole
sordid story was pieced together, detail by
detail.

It must be borne in mind that the facts
in the Crown’s possession at the time were
relative to the Docherty murder and, even
in this case, a doubt could have been intro-
duced that Mrs. Docherty had been mur-
dered, owing to the method employed by
the murderers. In fact, at the trial, the
medical examiner was not able to say that
she had been slain but that the circumstances
were highly suspicious. The Lord Advocate
was not aware till some time later of the
other cases, and these only due to Hare's
revelations.

Two TURNED Kinoc’s EVIDENCE

This explanation is due the Lord Advo-
cate in understanding his decision to have
Hare and his wife turn King’s evidence,
which they both did with great alacrity.
It must also be appreciated that proving
murder merely by circumstantial evidence
was highly unpopular with juries of the
time. The fact that Helen McDougal was
freed on a “not proven” verdict, and that it
was alleged two of Burke’s jurymen were in
favour of acquittal, shows clearly that the
Lord Advocate made the best of a difficult
situation, although it did permit two of the
quartette to escape prosecution.

The trial of Burke and McDougal was an
epic one.

It commenced on December 24th, 1828, in

THIRTEENTH EDITION

the Justiciary Court House in Edinburgh’s
Parliament Close. The court was presided
over by the Lord Justice Clerk (Boyle) and
included Lords Pitmilly, Meadowbank and
MacKenzie. There were four counsel for
each of the two defendants, while the Lord
Advocate, Sir William Rae, headed the
group of four counsel for the Crown. Head-
ing the defence groups for Burke and
McDougal respectively. were Sir James
Moncrieff, Bt., Dean of Faculty, and Henry
Cockburn, Esq.

The trial, as can be imagined, created
tremendous excitement among the good
burghers of Edinburgh, and 300 extra police
officers were called out to cope with any
untoward situation that might develop. So
tense was the atmosphere that even infantry
and cavalry were standing by at Edinburgh
Castle. All avenues of approach to the

judicial buildings were crowded with spec-
tators long before daybreak, and every inch
of courtroom space was crowded to the
The trial lasted from 10 a.m. Decem-

\

limit.

| ftom an alehing by WEerkie
cL

Burke's lodging house. The arrows indicate (left)
the room from which the bodies were removed,
and (right) the main lodging rooms.

ber 24th to 8:30 a.m. Christmas Day, when
the jury retired.

The list of witnesses ran to 5} names but
only 18 were called, due partly to a hitch in
the Crown’s plans. :

TECHNICALITIES ARGUED BY DEFENCE

Indictments had been prepared against
both accused in relation to three murders,
those of James Wilson, Mary Paterson and
finally Mrs. Docherty. A lengthy argu-
ment followed, the defence contending that
Burke should not be charged with three
murders at a single trial, while counsel for
McDougal contended that the indictment
connected her name only with the murder
of Mrs. Docherty and, therefore, the Crown
should confine itself to that case. The Court
finally ordered that the Crown should select
one case on which to proceed and the Lord
Advocate elected to try the Docherty mur-
der first as this was the only one joining the
two defendants. No witnesses were called
by the defence after the Crown closed its
case, and the Lord Advocate addressed the
jury until three o'clock in the morning. The
defence counsel then commenced their
addresses. The jury retired and were out

55 minutes,-returning with a verdict of
“guilty” against Burke and “not proven”
against McDougal. Burke was then sen-
tenced to be hanged, publicly dissected and
anatomized. The Court also expressed the
hope that the condemned man’s skeleton
would be preserved in remembrance of his
atrocious crimes. McDougal was discharged.
During the 24-hour court sitting, a large
window was kept constantly open in an
attempt to clear the air of the effluvia of
jam-packed humanity, and, as the cold,
damp December air permeated the spec-
tators, it coupled with the evidence of Hare
and his wife to send many a shiver among
the audience. After giving their evidence
Hare and his wife were returned to prison
for their own safety. The public clamoured
for their trial and, as evidence of the wide-
spread interest, 8000 extra copies of Edin-
burgh’s Courant were sold on the streets.
The public were also asking for the “doc-
tors’ and there was a distinct feeling of
frustration when no member of the medical
profession was called at the trial. This can
be explained, however, by the fact that the
Docherty case was the only one in which
Dr. Knox had not inspected the body, the
acceptance having been made by his door-
man, Paterson.

McDougal brazenly returned to her house
to lie low for a few days. The desire for
drink, however, brought her out of hiding.
She was at once recognized and set upon
by a large mob, but the timely arrival of the
police saved her worthless life. She was
taken to the West Port watch house for safe
keeping but the mob besieged the building.
Smuggled out of the watch house in man’s
clothing, she was escorted to Liberton’s
Wynd station, where she remained until
December 28th and then left for the west
country. There she received a hostile recep-
tion and returned to Edinburgh, thence to
Neweastle, England, where she was once
more saved by the police from an infuriated
mob. She was last heard of in Australia,
where she died in 1868.

Mrs. Hare was released from custody on
January 19th, 1829, and, carrying a scrawny
infant in her arms was immediately attacked
with snowballs by a mob. The infant was
probably all that saved her. Rescued by
the police she was taken to Liberton’s Wynd
for her protection. Released later she went
to Glasgow. There, another mob quickly
heard of her and again the ever-watchful
police extricated her. Finally she was put
on a ship for Belfast, Ireland, to fade into
obscurity. re

Burke, while awaiting death made two
separate confessions in which he involved
Hare with some 16 murders. While trying
to give an impression of piety and reform-
ation, he nevertheless argued one day with
a visitor that Dr. Knox still owed him £5
as the balance payable on the Docherty sub-
ject. He explained that this amount would
purchase him a new coat and waistcoat to
make him presentable for his last public
appearance. The clothing he was wearing,
he said, was too shabby for a hanging.

Burke was taken to Liberton’s Wynd
station on January 27th, 1829, to await his
execution the following morning. That

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