Elizabeth Branch
Elizabeth Branch (1672–1740) was an 18th-century English murderer.
Early life
Elizabeth Parry was born either in Bristol or Norton St Philip in Somerset. Her father was a well-off ship's surgeon, from whom she received a £2,000 dowry upon her marriage to Benjamin Branch, a gentleman farmer.[1]
Cruelty to servants
Elizabeth quickly gained a reputation for violence. She and her daughter, Betty Branch, would torture small animals, apparently taking inspiration from stories of Nero. They would often beat and humiliate their servants, especially after the death of Benjamin in 1730, so that soon no local persons were willing to serve them.[1]
Murder and trial
On 13 February 1740, as witnessed by Anne James, the dairymaid, Elizabeth sent her 13-year-old serving maid Jane Buttersworth on an errand to a nearby farm. On her return, Elizabeth and Betty, irate at how long she had taken, beat her for almost seven hours until she died. They buried her secretly, but enough suspicion was aroused that her body was exhumed and examined, whereupon the wounds were found. Elizabeth and Betty were tried for murder on March 31 at the Somerset assizes. The jury returned a guilty verdict without retiring to deliberate, and the two women were hanged at Ilchester on May 3.[1]
References
- ^ a b c McKenzie, Andrea. "Parry, Elizabeth". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/65514. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)