One of the most notorious and brutal crimes of nineteenth century England was the murder of Julia Martha Thomas by her maid, Kate Webster. Julia Martha Thomas was a widow in her fifties who lived in Richmond of southwest London. While searching for a maid to employ, Mrs. Thomas made a mistake that would cost her her life. She hired Kate Webster without first looking into her background and was completely unaware of her criminal history (Strange). When Kate began working, she and Mrs. Thomas often got into quarrels with one another which eventually became very severe. One afternoon, in a drunken rage, Kate not only killed, but dismembered and fed parts of her mistress’ corpse to street children. Known as the Richmond Murder, this gruesome case
…show more content…
Kate Webster’s actions during the homicide as well as after were very influential. Within only a few weeks of Kate’s arrest, and even before she had gone to trial, Madame Tussauds, a museum, made a wax statue out of her and displayed the "Richmond Murderess" for the public to view. Kate’s trial was a sensation and was widely reported in the press (Revolvy). While it was ongoing, it was celebrated by street ballads, which were musical narratives set to the tune of popular songs. One ballad was titled "Murder and Mutilation of an Old Lady near Barnes" and was written shortly after Kate’s arrest. The day after Kate’s execution, there was an auction of Mrs. Thomas’ property. Huge crowds of people attended and everyone wanted a souvenir. People who couldn’t buy any property would take pebbles and twigs from the garden. Repulsion against Kate was developed because of her attempts to pretend to be Mrs. Thomas. Victorians believed that she had diminished middle-class identity because she impersonated a woman of higher-class which she was not part of. It was also claimed that Kate Webster had violated the expected standards of women during the era because females were generally seen as moral, passive and physically weak or restrained, none of which were traits Kate possessed
Kate Webster’s actions during the homicide as well as after were very influential. Within only a few weeks of Kate’s arrest, and even before she had gone to trial, Madame Tussauds, a museum, made a wax statue out of her and displayed the "Richmond Murderess" for the public to view. Kate’s trial was a sensation and was widely reported in the press (Revolvy). While it was ongoing, it was celebrated by street ballads, which were musical narratives set to the tune of popular songs. One ballad was titled "Murder and Mutilation of an Old Lady near Barnes" and was written shortly after Kate’s arrest. The day after Kate’s execution, there was an auction of Mrs. Thomas’ property. Huge crowds of people attended and everyone wanted a souvenir. People who couldn’t buy any property would take pebbles and twigs from the garden. Repulsion against Kate was developed because of her attempts to pretend to be Mrs. Thomas. Victorians believed that she had diminished middle-class identity because she impersonated a woman of higher-class which she was not part of. It was also claimed that Kate Webster had violated the expected standards of women during the era because females were generally seen as moral, passive and physically weak or restrained, none of which were traits Kate possessed