Dinah and Elizabeth, murdered by poison
SACRED
To the Memory of
DINAH the Wife of
JAMES MAXEY
Aged 45 Years
Also ELIZth SMITH
(her daughter by a former husband)
Aged 22 Years
Who on 20th March 1813
were suddenly deprived of life by
means of Poison secretly administered
to them, they were buried in one grave
There the wicked ceased from troubles
and there the weary are at rest.
Job 3. V17
There then follows some lines, some beneath the ground, the others unreadable, that are known to have suggested that the murderer of the women should come forward and admit their crime.
After enjoying their first cup of tea of the morning on 19th. May 1813, within a short time Dinah and Elizabeth were writhing in agony, clutching their stomachs
Mr Chander, surgeon of St. Faith’s, went to the house of James Maxey, and found the two women labouring under the most excruciating pain, with violent retching's, and in spite of his medicine, their symptoms increased.
On hearing that her sister was ill, Martha Yemms rushed to see Dinah and Elizabeth and was horrified to see how unwell both were. When she asked Dinah what she thought was wrong, she answered: “Oh, my dear sister I am poisoned, I am dying. I am poisoned with something that was put into the tea kettle, it appeared white". Martha asked her sister who she thought had poisoned her, she answered: “I think my husband, it cannot be anybody else because nobody has been here but ourselves".
All through the day and the night, the mother and daughter were in complete agony, and Mr Chander’s medicine proved to be no match for their escalating pain. Common ‘cures’ for the symptoms the women were showing, retching, vomiting, diarrhoea, convulsions, brown blotches and bringing up blood, would have involved more vomiting, this time induced with mixtures of milk, vinegar, linseed, sugar water and egg whites. But nothing could halt the progress of the poison which turned stomachs into a soft, pulpy, cheese-like condition in a matter of hours.
The next morning, Mr Chander returned and the women’s condition had worsened. Elizabeth was fading fast and, by the afternoon had slipped away. Martha was in the house when Elizabeth died, as was James, who came to see his step-daughter in her death bed, wringing his hands and weeping.
When Mr Chander came to the house in the early evening it was clear Dinah was entering the last few hours of her life, she told the doctor: “I am certainly poisoned, and dying". He asked who she thought had administered the poison but she refused to say: Just before midnight, Dinah died.
James spent the night in the house with his dead wife and step-daughter The next morning their bodies were collected and they were taken for post mortem. When the bodies were opened there was no doubt that the two women had met their end by poison with the mortician concluding that the poison in question had been a mineral compound, perhaps arsenic.
Ten days later, James Maxey was arrested and taken to Norwich Gaol, charged with the poisoning his wife and stepdaughter. On 1st. September he stood trial in Norwich for murder.
Witnesses appeared to give evidence, including William Hemmington of Hainford, who had employed James as a blacksmith for 15 years. He told the court that he had recently bought some “corrosive sublimate” for his business which he had used some of and placed the rest in a container in a cupboard in his workshop.
After the death of Dinah and Elizabeth, he checked the container, as he said a cat and dog had been poisoned near the workshop and he wanted to check his supply. When he looked, he was missing around a quarter of an ounce of poison. Hemmington was asked if James had known just how dangerous the poison was, and he answered: “No, I believe he did not know the properties of it.” He also attested to his employee’s conduct at work, saying he had given him no trouble in 15 years.
Elizabeth Furniss told the court she had been at the house as the pair had their tea, and both had told her that the water had looked “somewhat white”.
Acquaintance Sarah Steward had visited Dinah and Elizabeth shortly after they’d taken tea and had made some peppermint water for them as they were complaining of stomach pain. She used the water from the kettle which the tea was made from and, before she passed the drink to the women, she took a sip to test if it was cool enough. She told the court that a few minutes after she took a single sip her stomach felt "Fit to fly open", and she could not get about for nearly a month afterwards.
When James took the stand, he told the judge that he had never kept poison and knew nothing whatsoever as to why the two most important women in his life had died in such a terrible way.
The judge explained to the jury that although there was a great deal of circumstantial evidence, "All the links of the chain must be entire and its connection with the accused party obvious and necessary, before a verdict of guilt could be justly and conscientiously grounded upon him.” The judge then said that Dinah Maxey unquestionably did receive an impression that it was her husband who had administered the poison, however, she seems to have had no suspicion although she afterwards said she could not think it was anyone else, because there had been no other persons there. The judge continued that James never attempted to flee the house where his wife and step-daughter had died and he had slept in the house with their bodies, which was much in favour of the prisoner, for if he had been guilty of the crime his conscience, probably, would not have allowed him to have done so. Dinah’s assertion that her poisoner was her husband was, continued the judge, opinion and not fact and he felt that there was not enough evidence to prove James' guilt. The jury, unsurprisingly, agreed.
James Maxey went back to the house where the two women had died He ordered this gravestone that told their story and appealed for the guilty party to come forward. They never did.
Hainford villagers continued to whisper about James and he lived for the rest of his life under a veil of suspicion. It is not apparent if James is buried with Dinah and Elizabeth.
The gravestone, now partially hidden beneath bramble and undergrowth, is in the churchyard of the ruined disused old All Saints at Hainford, Norfolk.
Dinah and Elizabeth, murdered by poison
SACRED
To the Memory of
DINAH the Wife of
JAMES MAXEY
Aged 45 Years
Also ELIZth SMITH
(her daughter by a former husband)
Aged 22 Years
Who on 20th March 1813
were suddenly deprived of life by
means of Poison secretly administered
to them, they were buried in one grave
There the wicked ceased from troubles
and there the weary are at rest.
Job 3. V17
There then follows some lines, some beneath the ground, the others unreadable, that are known to have suggested that the murderer of the women should come forward and admit their crime.
After enjoying their first cup of tea of the morning on 19th. May 1813, within a short time Dinah and Elizabeth were writhing in agony, clutching their stomachs
Mr Chander, surgeon of St. Faith’s, went to the house of James Maxey, and found the two women labouring under the most excruciating pain, with violent retching's, and in spite of his medicine, their symptoms increased.
On hearing that her sister was ill, Martha Yemms rushed to see Dinah and Elizabeth and was horrified to see how unwell both were. When she asked Dinah what she thought was wrong, she answered: “Oh, my dear sister I am poisoned, I am dying. I am poisoned with something that was put into the tea kettle, it appeared white". Martha asked her sister who she thought had poisoned her, she answered: “I think my husband, it cannot be anybody else because nobody has been here but ourselves".
All through the day and the night, the mother and daughter were in complete agony, and Mr Chander’s medicine proved to be no match for their escalating pain. Common ‘cures’ for the symptoms the women were showing, retching, vomiting, diarrhoea, convulsions, brown blotches and bringing up blood, would have involved more vomiting, this time induced with mixtures of milk, vinegar, linseed, sugar water and egg whites. But nothing could halt the progress of the poison which turned stomachs into a soft, pulpy, cheese-like condition in a matter of hours.
The next morning, Mr Chander returned and the women’s condition had worsened. Elizabeth was fading fast and, by the afternoon had slipped away. Martha was in the house when Elizabeth died, as was James, who came to see his step-daughter in her death bed, wringing his hands and weeping.
When Mr Chander came to the house in the early evening it was clear Dinah was entering the last few hours of her life, she told the doctor: “I am certainly poisoned, and dying". He asked who she thought had administered the poison but she refused to say: Just before midnight, Dinah died.
James spent the night in the house with his dead wife and step-daughter The next morning their bodies were collected and they were taken for post mortem. When the bodies were opened there was no doubt that the two women had met their end by poison with the mortician concluding that the poison in question had been a mineral compound, perhaps arsenic.
Ten days later, James Maxey was arrested and taken to Norwich Gaol, charged with the poisoning his wife and stepdaughter. On 1st. September he stood trial in Norwich for murder.
Witnesses appeared to give evidence, including William Hemmington of Hainford, who had employed James as a blacksmith for 15 years. He told the court that he had recently bought some “corrosive sublimate” for his business which he had used some of and placed the rest in a container in a cupboard in his workshop.
After the death of Dinah and Elizabeth, he checked the container, as he said a cat and dog had been poisoned near the workshop and he wanted to check his supply. When he looked, he was missing around a quarter of an ounce of poison. Hemmington was asked if James had known just how dangerous the poison was, and he answered: “No, I believe he did not know the properties of it.” He also attested to his employee’s conduct at work, saying he had given him no trouble in 15 years.
Elizabeth Furniss told the court she had been at the house as the pair had their tea, and both had told her that the water had looked “somewhat white”.
Acquaintance Sarah Steward had visited Dinah and Elizabeth shortly after they’d taken tea and had made some peppermint water for them as they were complaining of stomach pain. She used the water from the kettle which the tea was made from and, before she passed the drink to the women, she took a sip to test if it was cool enough. She told the court that a few minutes after she took a single sip her stomach felt "Fit to fly open", and she could not get about for nearly a month afterwards.
When James took the stand, he told the judge that he had never kept poison and knew nothing whatsoever as to why the two most important women in his life had died in such a terrible way.
The judge explained to the jury that although there was a great deal of circumstantial evidence, "All the links of the chain must be entire and its connection with the accused party obvious and necessary, before a verdict of guilt could be justly and conscientiously grounded upon him.” The judge then said that Dinah Maxey unquestionably did receive an impression that it was her husband who had administered the poison, however, she seems to have had no suspicion although she afterwards said she could not think it was anyone else, because there had been no other persons there. The judge continued that James never attempted to flee the house where his wife and step-daughter had died and he had slept in the house with their bodies, which was much in favour of the prisoner, for if he had been guilty of the crime his conscience, probably, would not have allowed him to have done so. Dinah’s assertion that her poisoner was her husband was, continued the judge, opinion and not fact and he felt that there was not enough evidence to prove James' guilt. The jury, unsurprisingly, agreed.
James Maxey went back to the house where the two women had died He ordered this gravestone that told their story and appealed for the guilty party to come forward. They never did.
Hainford villagers continued to whisper about James and he lived for the rest of his life under a veil of suspicion. It is not apparent if James is buried with Dinah and Elizabeth.
The gravestone, now partially hidden beneath bramble and undergrowth, is in the churchyard of the ruined disused old All Saints at Hainford, Norfolk.