Mary Ann Cotton: One of England’s Worst Female Serial Killers
Mary Ann Cotton was born on October 31, 1832 to Margaret Longsdale and Michael Robson at Low Moorsley, County Durham. She had a sister named Margaret, born in 1834 but died a few months later and a brother, Robert, who was born in 1835.
At the age of 8, Mary’s parents moved them to the village of Murton. As a child Mary was described as innocent, with average intelligence and had a very clean and tidy appearance.
Soon after the family moved to Murton, her father died after falling 150 feet down a mine shaft at Murton colliery in February 1842. The family had been living in a miner’s cottage due to Michael working there, but after his death, Mary’s mother with her children had to be evicted. In 1843, Mary’s mother married a man named George Scott who was also a miner.
At the age of 16, Mary became a nurse in the village of South Hetton, in the home of Edward Potter, a manager at Murton colliery. Over the next couple years, the children had been sent to boarding school in Darlington, Mary went back to her stepfather’s to train as a dressmaker.
In 1852, Mary married a colliery labourer named William Mowbray and the couple moved to South West England. While there are rumours that the couple was said to have multiple children who died while living here, none of these deaths were recorded. The only birth that was recorded at this time was their daughter, Margaret Jane, born in 1856.
William and Mary moved back to North East England where William worked as a fireman, then as a colliery foreman. The couple had another daughter, Isabella, born in 1858. Their first daughter, Margaret Jane, died in 1860. The couple then went on to have another daughter, also named Margaret Jane, born in 1861 and a son, John Robert William, born in 1863, though he died the following year from gastric fever.
William, Mary’s husband, died in January 1865 from an intestinal disorder. The lives of William and the children had been insured, and Mary collected a payout of £35 on William’s death and £2 5s for the death of her son, John.
After William died, Mary moved to Seaham Harbour where she met Joseph Nattrass. Around this time, her daughter Margaret Jane (the second one) died of typhus fever. She then went back to Sunderland and got a job at the infirmary, sending her only surviving child, Isabella, to live with her mother.
She married one of her patients, George Ward on August 28, 1865. Though George was sick, and died on October 20, 1866, after he suffered from paralysis and intestinal problems. The doctor at the time had said that George was very ill, but he had also been surprised at how sudden his death was. Mary Ann Cotton collected the insurance money.
A man named James Robinson hired Mary as a housekeeper in November 1866. His wife, Hannah, had recently died and the following month, in December, James’ son died from gastric fever. He leaned on Mary for comfort and soon enough she became pregnant.
During this time, Mary’s mother, became ill with hepatitis, so Mary went to go be with her. She died within days of Mary visiting, at the age of 54 in the spring of 1867.
Mary’s daughter, Isabella, who had been staying with her mother, was brought back with Mary to James’ house, but soon died, as well as two of James’ children Elizabeth and James. All three children were buried at the end of April and early May of 1867. Mary collected a life insurance payment.
James and Mary Ann got married on August 11, 1867, and their child, Margaret Isabella was born in November. She became ill and died in February 1868, at just a few months old. The couple’s second child together, a boy named George, died on June 18, 1869.
James soon became suspicious of Mary Ann, as she had been asking him to get life insurance on himself. He also found out that she had run up debts and was stealing money. Mary Ann had been forcing James’ older children to pawn off household valuables. Upon these discoveries, James kicked Mary out of the house, and got custody of their son George.
Mary Ann was living on the streets at this point, but soon enough, her friend Margaret Cotton introduced her to her brother, Fredrick, a widower who had lost 2 out of his 4 children. Margaret Cotton had been acting as the children’s mother figure, but in late March of 1870 she became ill and died, leaving Mary Ann to console Fredrick. It didn’t take long for Mary Ann to become pregnant by him, this being her 12th pregnancy.
Fredrick and Mary Ann were married on September 17, 1870, and their son, Robert was born in early 1871. Mary Ann then learned that her past lover, Joseph Natrass was no longer married and didn’t live too far away. She rekindled their romance, and Fredrick died in December 1871, from gastric fever.
After her 4th husband died, Mary found a lover named either John Quick-Manning or Richard Quick Mann, though there have been no trace of a John Quick-Manning in any records. Either way, Mary became pregnant by him.
Mary’s son, Robert died in 1872, and Joseph Nattrass died from gastric fever after changing his will in Mary’s favour.
Mary Ann was asked to help nurse a woman who had smallpox, however she complained she would not be able to, because Charles Edward Cotton, Fredrick’s son, was in the way. She asked if Charles would be able to work as well. Mary Ann supposedly told parish official, Thomas Riley, that Charles would not trouble her long as he would “go like all the rest of the Cottons.”
Five days after this encounter, Mary Ann told Thomas Riley that Charles had died. However, Thomas Riley was extremely suspicious of this and asked the doctor to not write a death certificate right away, as they needed to investigate.
Mary went straight to the insurance office, but soon found out that no money would be paid to her until a death certificate was issued. An inquest was held and a jury determined that the boy died from natural causes. Mary Ann said that Thomas Riley had made accusations against her because she had previously rejected his romantic advances.
However, news broke out that Mary Ann had moved around England frequently, had lost multiple husbands, a lover, a friend, her mother and 11 of her children all from stomach fevers.
The doctor who had been looking after Charles, kept samples and tested them to show that there were traces of arsenic present. This doctor informed police and Mary Ann was arrested. She was charged with the boy’s murder, though her trial was delayed until after she gave birth to her 13th child on January 10, 1873. The child’s name was Margaret Edith Quick-Manning Cotton.
Mary Ann’s trial began on March 5, 1873. The defence argued that Charles had died from inhaling arsenic used as dye in the green wallpaper of the Cotton home. However, the jury deliberated for 90 minutes and came back with a guilty verdict.
Mary Ann Cotton was hanged on March 24, 1873 by William Calcraft. She did not die from her neck breaking however, rather from strangulation caused by the rope being too short, possible on purpose.
Of Mary’s 13 children, only two survived: Margaret Edith who lived until 1954, and her son George from her marriage to James Robinson.
