Another daughter, Isabella, was born in 1858, and Margaret Jane died in 1860. The defence in the case was handled by Mr. Thomas Campbell Foster, who argued during the trial that Charles had died from inhaling arsenic used as a dye in the green wallpaper of the Cotton home. We were unable to submit your feedback at this time. Mary Ann's first visit after Charles' death was not the doctor but the insurance office.
It may well be that the name of the excise man was in fact Richard Quick Mann. Of Mary Ann's 13 children, only two survived her: Margaret Edith (1873–1954) and her son George from her marriage to James Robinson. Resend Activation Email. He threw her out, retaining custody of their son George. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. Mary Ann's downfall came when she was asked by a parish official, Thomas Riley, to help nurse a woman who was ill with smallpox. She poisened them with arsenic.
Mary Ann’s first port of call after Charles’ death was not the doctor’s but the insurance office. The only birth recorded was that of their daughter, Margaret Jane, born at St Germans in 1856. Soon her twelfth pregnancy was underway. She may have murdered as many as 21 people, including 11 of her 13 children. In 1867, Mary Ann's stepfather George Stott married his widowed neighbour, Hannah Paley. When the trap door swung open, she wriggled in agony for three minutes, before choking to death.
Soon she became pregnant by him with her twelfth child. Mary Ann Robson was born on 31 October 1832 at Low Moorsley (now part of Houghton-le-Spring in the City of Sunderland) and baptised at St Mary’s, West Rainton on 11 November. The Cotton case would be the first of several famous poisoning cases he would be involved in during his career, including those of Adelaide Bartlett and Florence Maybrick. The Times correspondent reported on 20 March: "After conviction the wretched woman exhibited strong emotion but this gave place in a few hours to her habitual cold, reserved demeanour and while she harbours a strong conviction that the royal clemency will be extended towards her, she staunchly asserts her innocence of the crime that she has been convicted of." For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). James Robinson was a shipwright at Pallion in Sunderland, whose wife, Hannah, had recently died. To suggest a correction or addition, visit the memorial page and click Suggest Edits. She complained that the last surviving Cotton boy, Charles Edward, was in the way and asked Riley if he could be committed to the workhouse.
Soon Mary became pregnant by him with her thirteenth child. Mary Ann Cotton (née Robson; 31 October 1832 – 24 March 1873) was an English serial killer, convicted of, and hanged for, the murder by poisoning of her stepson Charles Edward Cotton.