← My Victorian Nightmare
My Victorian Nightmare
Ep. 99 - The HORRIFYING Confession of a Haunted Killer: Thomas Bedworth
00:45:17
Loading summary
Transcript7 lines
- [00:00]
A
Where is Daredevil? A minor. Don't miss the return of Marvel Television's Daredevil Born Again. So what's next? I feel liberated. We're gonna take this city back over medicated in an all new season. Now streaming only on Disney plus. They're hunting us. It's time we started hunting them. I can work with them. This should be tons of fun. Marvel Television's Daredevil Born Again. Now streaming only on Disney.
- [00:30]
B
You survived the Miami weekend, nailed the speech and maxed out your credit card in the name of friendship. Now you've got one hangover, four pastel dresses, and zero reasons to wear them again. Sell them on Depop. Just snap a few photos and we'll take care of the rest. And you at least get some of your dignity money back. Someone on Depop wants what you've got. Start selling now, Depop. Where taste recognizes taste.
- [01:03]
A
Hello, and welcome to my Victorian Nightmare. I'm your host, Genevieve Manion, and I'm here to talk about mysterious deaths, morbid fascinations, disturbing stories, and otherwise spooky events from the Victorian era. Because to me, there's just something especially intriguing, creepy and oddly comforting about horror and mayhem from the 19th century. So listener discretion is advised. Hello, friends, and welcome to my 99th episode. And have I got a bone chilling episode for you today. On a bright Summer morning in 1815, the body of a young woman named Elizabeth Beesmore was found in her home in London. Her killer, Thomas Bedworth, a man consumed by obsession and rage, was already on the run. But he didn't get far before Elizabeth caught up with him. In his confession, Thomas claimed to see her and hear her screaming, demanding to know why he killed her and refusing, refused to leave. Was it the crushing weight of guilt that infected his mind? Or did the ghost of Elizabeth Beesmore follow her killer all the way to the gallows for you? Today, dear listener, I will discuss one of the most unsettling true crime stories in English history. The seriously true story and signed confession of Thomas Bedworth, a man who claimed to be compelled to confess to murder by the ghost of his victim. But first, guys, I am almost to my 100th episode and I have no idea what I'm going to talk about. I feel all of this pressure to make it extra special, but I am collapsing under the pressure. Let me know if there's anything that you want to hear about on the 100th episode. Don't worry, I will get it together. I will lock in. I will figure it out eventually. If no one offers ideas, but I just want to do a good job. I want to live up to the moment, but in general I love when you guys give me suggestions. Some of my favorite episodes are from stories or topics that you guys told me to dig into. So please do either in the comments or email me@myvictorianightmaremail.com and thank you to everyone who has joined the Patreon. Without you my show could not continue. It is as true now as it has been since the beginning. If you too would like to receive receive the show ad free a day early. Receive witchy content, True crime extras and dark poetry. Click the link to the Patreon in the show notes and the very best present that you could give me for my 100th episode. If you want to give me a present for that does that kind of thing warrant presents? You could subscribe to the newsletter for obviously free. I showed people what my little padded cell pod studio looks like in last week's newsletter and I discussed some very important news about Toby. He's learning to keep his tummy cool in the hot we the darndest of places. You will find the link to subscribe in the episode notes as well. And thank you everyone who told me how you got here. I was hoping to do some ROI research to see if I'm putting way too much effort into certain things, which I thought I was like Instagram. I just wanted to see how you find me. What I didn't expect was to hear so many sweet stories of how you found me. Friends told you and you listened together. Your kids told you. Some folks were feeling exactly as I was when I started the show, just in need of some comforting darkness. And you found that in my show. That is always so touching to hear. So thank you for letting me know. Many of your answers were quite touching. So thank you. This episode of My Victorian Nightmare is brought to you by Alloy Health. I remember my poor mother eating bags and bags of dry soybeans back in the 90s after hearing that that might help her menopause symptoms. She thought they did help with her hot flowers flashes a bit, but they didn't help enough. Luckily now women have much better options for treating perimenopause and menopause symptoms than eating fists full of soybeans. Unlike my mom who had to deal with this all on her own, I now have aloe that offers unlimited access to expert physicians that won't ignore me and so many other women like doctors have done in the past, but offer science backed treatments and prescriptions for my symptoms. They'll discuss solutions solutions for the hot flashes, skin issues, hair thinning that's been interesting to watch for me personally and weight gain. All you have to do is complete the intake form. Then you will be paired with a doctor to create a specialized treatment plan just for you. You'll get a three month supply and prescriptions delivered to your door with automatic refills. I cannot recommend aloe enough. Join the 95% of women who tried alloy and saw relief in the first just two weeks. Head to myalloay.com and use code Victorian and tell them all about your symptoms and you'll get a fully customized treatment plan and unlimited messaging with your doctor. Plus you'll get $20 off your first order. Today. Head to my a l l o y.com and use code Victorian to get $20 off your first order. Now let us have our spookiest Segment with Their own Eyes where I share with you the personal, haunting accounts of petrified Victorians. This story comes to us slightly before the official Victorian era though, in 1815, and it's not really a segment, it's gonna be the whole episode. I was having a little trouble this week looking for something that really interested me. I legit find what I'm gonna talk about on the show on the Wednesday before it's posted, and then I scramble for three days to get everything written, read and produced by like 9pm on Friday nights. And I was in such a pickle because I couldn't find anything that felt right. Sometimes I'm in the mood for murdery things. Sometimes I'm in the mood for spooky things. I wax and wane from week to week and I was in the mood for a bit of both this week, making things very difficult for myself. But then I stumbled upon a story unlike any I have ever discussed. I have yet to tell a story where a murderer seriously appeared to believe that he was haunted by the woman that he murdered and couldn't wait to get to the gallows to end his spectral torment. His entire confession before his execution is packed with grisly ghost encounters that he was desperate to escape and goosebumps. Ran all the way to the tip of my nose. What a sensation. So allow me to share with you this spooky tale of the bigamy, jealousy, murder and supernatural visitations of a murdered woman and the frequent appearance of her apparition. That last bit is literally part of the title of Thomas Bedworth's confession written on the night before his execution in September 18, 1815. He told his life story in this confession. So we know a little bit about the guy. Well, what he knew of himself to tell this entire story is from his point of view. The man was born in 1864 in blockage in Staffordshire, England. And according to him, in his childhood he often found himself in trouble of his own making. He said that his parents did what they could to keep him on the straight and narrow, but he was just a naughty little boy. He couldn't keep his hands out of the cookie jar despite their best efforts. He was, however, able to cool his naughty jets by the age of 14 when he apprenticed with a brindle bit and stirrup maker. And that taught him some responsibility and self respect. He locked in. And when his apprenticeship was complete at age 18, he packed himself up and moved to London to find work in a factory for a bit, then decided to enlist in the army. While enlisted in the army, he met a lovely young woman named Mary Boehner, and they had three lovely children together. But being restless of mind, he keeps saying this in his confession, that he is a very restless of mind man. He decided that he needed some different scenery and a new thing to do. So he joined another kind of regiment, something called the Fifeshire Fencibles. This was an English auxiliary regiment put together two Quell uprisings in Scotland and Ireland, especially Ireland. He took his wife and three kids along to brutalize the Irish and Scottish peoples in their own homes, but decided that he had had enough in 1803, 1804. And at this time he was like, I'm bored with the bogs, I'm bored with my wife and kids. I'm gonna go join the navy. So he left his wife and kids with a couple of friends and set sail. He said that he fought numerous celebrated engagements with the enemies of England on the open seas. And nine years he got bored with all of this and remembered, oh yeah, I left my wife and kids at Jake's house nine years ago. I wonder what kinds of people they've grown to be. So he decided to leave the navy and return to his family. And oh, was he delighted at the idea of a joyful homecoming with a solid pension and years ahead of him to spend in peace and tranquility with his loving family. But when he got there, he didn't find his three kids. He found three whole new kids. And that his wife married a whole new guy. While he was gone, she had bigamously married another dude and had three more kids with the guy. And it is unclear if this man was even aware that she had a husband already. And this is what it says in his confession. Bedworth's horrid reflections in consequence of this discovery of his wife's unfaithfulness and the very means he adopted as a consolation became a train of circumstances tending to the commission of the crime, which with bitter tears he repented and atoned for by an ignominious death. It would appear that either he kicked his old wife and all of her kids in this guy out of his house, or he found a new one. But it definitely appears as though he did not remain with her after this. It does not seem like he got a divorce, though. I've mentioned before that getting a divorce in this time, even if you were incredibly wealthy, it was a very difficult and expensive task. So lots of folks just preferred to go. Go their separate ways, but remain married as far as the state was concerned. He claimed that he lamented the situation very much, but soon found his mind calmer and resigned to getting a simple job and just kicking back. But at this time he also became intimately acquainted with another woman named Elizabeth Beesmore. However, rather scandalously, this woman was his wife's sister and she was also married and had a child of her own. It is not clear how they met or knew each other. Maybe they met at a cocktail party. I cannot say. Her husband had abandoned her and their baby and left her destitute. He specifically told her that it was over and he was leaving forever. Again, this is how it was done in these days. You could just peace out on a marriage and a child. NBD Thomas saw a kindred spirit in her. Your husband ran out on you? My wife married another guy and had a bunch of kids with him and they both left us broken hearted. He proposed that she move in with him and her baby and they could live as a wedded couple without the formal ceremony as long as she solemnly swore that if her other husband ever came back, she would not go anywhere near the guy. She wasn't even to talk to him if he tried to seek her out. And she was perfectly fine with this. She and Thomas lived happily together for two years until her ex that she was still married to, who had skipped town entirely, had now moved back to town for a job and found out that that the wife he abandoned was now living with another guy. He went to discuss things with her and she told him to get f cked. Essentially, when he tried to get in contact with her, she said, I got a good thing going with Thomas. He told me not even to Talk to you. She slammed the door and she told Thomas that he tried to get in touch with her. And in doing so, she asked if they could renew their cohabitating vows together. She wanted to be sure that Thomas knew nothing was ever going to happen again with this guy. But then her legitimate husband lost his his job and demanded that she pay him because they were still married. In other words, he wanted her to give him money from Thomas job and pension or he would cause trouble. Bigamy was and still is illegal. The cojones. He abandons her and his own son, then threatens her to give him money or he'd essentially get her imprisoned. Unfortunately, she complied in secret. She paid him off with her her boyfriend husband's money just to keep the peace. But Thomas found out that she was giving him money and staying in contact with him. And as his confession states, quote, here commenced a dreadful spirit of jealous bickering and hate between the unhappy Bedworth and Elizabeth Beesmore. Unable to endure the insults offered to his feelings by the renewed acquaintance of John Beesmore and his wife Bedford, determined no longer to be the man means of her husband's support. So he peaced out. He left her and took his pension with him. He put himself up in humble lodgings and was utterly distraught and again thoroughly heartbroken. Elizabeth found where he had gone and went to apologize for everything. She was in a difficult spot and again she was destitute, with a child and a pure bastard of a husband breathing down her neck. She begged him for some money and he gave it to her. She left and after she did, he got upset about the fact that he felt that he was manipulated into giving her money. And a multitude of conflicting thoughts and emotions filled his mind and heart. And so he at length flew for relief to that source of treacherous consolation, the gin shop. He went on a bender. He just drank himself into a stupor. He didn't go to work. He had taken up a new job as a shoemaker at the time. He began drunkenly stumbling over to her place to scream outside her window at all manner of ungodly hours, ravaged by drink and the conflicting thoughts and emotions which ensnared his constitution. I'm just riffing at this point. That wasn't in his confession. It just says that he started showing up drunk to her place often and at odd hours, always wasted. She tried at first to receive him cordially and even compassionately, but the repeated showings up at 4am to scream outside her window was getting to her and she had had enough. She told him that she was about to move back in with her jerk husband and told him never to disturb her again. And this is what is written in the confession. He answered her coolly that it was not his intention to disturb her. He only wished to disturb himself with her presence. Sick burn, I guess, if you're drunk. And would immediately leave her and proceed to the only enjoyment he had left, namely liquor. He then went back to his home, drank some more and passed out. When he woke up the next day and this is a fun description. I love this confession. Just as a literary piece on awakening. The next morning, 20 June, his mind was on the rack. Which literally is where the term to rack your brain comes from, which means to torture your brain on the rack. In other words, your is tortured. I wracked my brain and still can't remember such and such. This might be obvious to some of you. It wasn't to me. So he is mythically hungover. He is still swimming with consternation, indignation, and now a level of jealousy that he hadn't felt before. All understandable. I actually really get where he's coming from. This all sounds so heartbreaking, but that's where my understanding stops. Because it was at this point that he started planning to kill her. He paced back and forth in his home thinking exactly how he would do it. He thought his shoemaker's knife would be best. He put it in his pocket and made his way out into the night toward her place. Along the way he actually ran into one of her friends and she asked if he wanted to get a drink. And he thought I'm kinda on my way to murder your friend, but sure, why not? Seriously. So he went and got a drink with this gal. And it's a shame because maybe there could have been a spark there. Sounds like a kindred spirit, at least. They drank some gin and after a while parted ways. He realized he wanted to be much drunker to make it easier for him to murder Elizabeth. He thought that that would help. So he bar hopped a bit. He found some beer and then he was on his way toward her home again. It has been in the nineties in New York this past week and I don't even want to think about the nightmare of trying to sleep on on anything other than my luxurious cool Blissey pillowcase. Even with the air conditioning on, the humidity just makes me feel so toasty. And Blissey's 100% silk pillowcases cool me right down. They do not feel like plasticky satin. They feel smooth and breathable because they are silk is actually more breathable than cotton, which can actually clog your pores. So Blissey pillowcases aren't just cooler, they're actually actually great for your skin. They also can help reduce fine lines, wrinkles and even prevent breakouts. They're hypoallergenic and even dermatologist tested and recommended. Not to mention, I usually have to blow dry my hair to keep it from getting too curly and crazy in the summer humidity. But if I want the air conditioning on while I blow dry my hair, I blow out the fuses in my 100-year-old apartment. But this pillowcase is actually solving this problem. Silk pillowcase places actually reduce hair frizz and breakage. And I've noticed that just sleeping on this pillow is keeping my hair frizz free all day. Despite New York feeling like an armpit from June to September. And great news, no handwashing required because you're a listener. Blissey is offering 60 nights risk free plus an additional 30% off when you shop at blissey.com forward/m v n P O D. That's b l I issy.com mvnpod and use code mvnpod to get an additional 30% off. Your skin and hair will thank you When Thomas arrived at Elizabeth's home, the events that unfolded are a bit bizarre. It must have been very late at night and up until this point Elizabeth had been sending him away when he showed up drunk. But this time he convinced her to let him in, but he was far too drunk to kill anybody. He passed out and she even let him sleep in her bed. I don't know if anything romantic happened, but she did send for more gin for him at his request. She told him to go to sleep, which he did. But in the morning he woke to her now young son who was likely around three or four, hitting him and yelling at him to get out of the house. He clearly understood that Thomas was not okay, but Elizabeth sent the boy out of the room. Now this is where things get a bit more confusing. He got up with the intention to leave. He didn't try to kill her, but she had taken and hidden his shoes and coat. Now again, this is all his confession of events and he was not in a good headspace during these particular events, so who knows what's going on here. Perhaps she was afraid if he went outside he was he'd fall and kill himself or end up getting arrested. It's strange that she would try to keep him in the house to me but despite the fact that he had no shoes or coat, he still left anyway and went to get more drunk on straight gin at a local pub, which let him in without shoes. So he got even more drunk and came back again and she let him in again. Bad news, girl. She gave him some tea and he demanded that she add some gin to it. He passed out again and it's hard to understand and how at this point he wasn't alcohol poisoned. But when he eventually woke up, he demanded his shoes and coat. And by this point she was like, yeah, sure, get the hell out of here. But she told him to please go straight home again. All of this is his interpretation, but if it's all true, it just sounds like she was genuinely concerned for him or genuinely still needing some money and realizing that she's gonna have to try to keep this guy in her life somehow. Or maybe she did still love him and it was breaking her heart to see the state of him. Maybe a mix of all of these things. It all just sounds like such a terrible situation. He was making his way to the door and according to the confession, this is what happened. She replied that she must first put on his handkerchief. Each remained for a moment in mute anxiety. The unhappy woman, however, broke the pause by clasping her right arm around his neck and embracing him at the same time saying, oh, my dear Bedworth. These were her last words uttered in the last minute of her life. She then kissed him and this enraged him. His jealousy inflamed, he felt used. He felt that she was trying to manipulate him. And as it's written, while her kiss was warm upon his cheek, he suddenly drew the knife from his right hand pocket. And as he supported her head with his left arm, he by one rapid and determined cut across her throat, nearly severed her head from her body. She fell lifeless to the ground. A groan. Good God. He claimed that instantly he felt remorse. He was then filled with thoughts of suicide, but also fear. He then realized if he wasn't going to kill himself, he needed to escape. He said that he felt grateful that he didn't kill himself so that God could get his retribution for what he had done in his own time. That choice of words is just fascinating to me. He put the bloody knife in his pocket while watching the blood flowing from her throat. And then out into the bright morning sunshine he went. Thomas walked all day through London until dark and decided to walk over to London Bridge. It sounds like he was kind of in a state of shock for most of the day because it wasn't until the evening and while crossing over the bridge that it occurred to him that he might be covered in blood. He, after all, just shoved a bloody knife directly in his pocket and was standing 2 inches away from a woman whose throat he cut. Surprisingly, he said that he found no blood on him except for a small amount on an apron that he wore. He tossed it into the Thames and kept on walking. He walked all over London, across bridges, through parks, and when he made it to Regent's park, he threw the knife into a canal there. It's astounding that after drinking like he was, he claimed to not only walk all through the day, but all through the next night. He finally stopped in a hay field and decided that he would sleep under the stars. And if you would follow me through this moonlit farm, I want to show you something. It is June 20, almost exactly 211, 11 years ago in 1815. We are in Hampstead, which is a very fancy part of London. It was home to T.S. eliot, Sigmund Freud, and is currently home to Tim Burton, Ricky Gervais and Elizabeth Taylor. A good amount of Hampstead looked just like this. Fields of grain and hay, farmland until the North London Railway popped up here in about the 1860s. By the 1870s and the 1880s, that that's when the luxurious homes began going up, housing prime ministers and others, statesmen and the like. But now it is quite pristine. A watcher step cow pie or maybe a sheep pie. I am not an expert in these kinds of pies and I don't pretend to be. Now nestle with me beside this hay bale. And here I brought us some bottles of hard cider. Nice and cold. Seemed perfect for a hayfield on a toasty June evening. I was gonna bring us a gin cocktail, but it didn't seem right, considering how it seemed to contribute to all of the horribleness in story. Okay, now, shh. Just yonder you will see a very hungover, still shaken, though now more relaxed, Thomas Bedworth, laying in the hayfield, contemplating the stars, perhaps. Or I suppose that means he has finally fallen asleep. Oh. Is it just me or did you just feel a freezing gust of wind blow from seemingly out of nowhere? Strange on such a toasty evening. Okay, hold my hand because I'm about to get very scared and so might you. Do you hear that? Thomas has just bolted up in the field. And as his confession states, he was suddenly disturbed by the deep groaning of the one as in great agony, whose voice was exceedingly like that of the deceased. And he passed the remainder of the night in Much disquietude and alarm. And indeed, he has jumped to his feet. He is searching around for whence that horrifying voice came. And this is where we will make our way back before he finds us and maybe tries to kill us too. Let's get out of here. You're on. Take that. I'll recycle the bottles. That allegedly was the very first encounter that Thomas would have with the disembodied spirit of Elizabeth Beesworth. And surprisingly, after that, he stayed in the hayfield. He figured it must have simply been his conscience terrorizing him. Good assumption. He chose to stay on this wandering path the whole next day in hopes of making his way out of town so folks won't find him when they inevitably come looking for him. Her son knew that he was there and he was old enough to say something. People would come looking for him soon, but he clearly wasn't thinking straight, just operating on a survival instinct. Run, escape and don't look back. They'll be coming for you soon. He chose to sleep in another field on the next night as well. And after laying himself down, he was disturbed by a dreadful noise similar to that which he had heard the night before. This was now accompanied by the voice of the murdered woman, who emphatically said, oh, Bedworth, Bedworth, what have you done? She said more. She said that she was angry and said that she had been hurried into a world that she was not prepared for. She said, quote, you have deprived me of all the happiness of this life. End quote. He began yell back at what he called the voice, demanding in the name of God that she be at peace, be at rest and leave him alone. The voice stopped, but he found that he could barely sleep. This is all playing out like a fever dream, isn't it? Like one big nightmare. I wonder if he thought that he might wake up from all of this. I had dreams exactly like this before where I had killed someone and I was just walking, going somewhere to get away. I think I've mentioned those dreams before. I'm convinced, convinced that maybe I killed someone in a past life, because I'm always certain in the dream that it is real. I know that I'm sleeping, I know that I'm dreaming. But in the dream I'm like, when I wake up, I'm still going to be running because I know I really did this. And I have had numerous dreams where I keep returning to that same road, that same running away from the murder that I did. The story just picks up right where it left off. Anyway. Back to this, this other horrifying situation. When he woke up after barely any sleep, he continued to wander until the night sky was filled with fireworks, or as the confession calls them, illuminations from the late battles. I would imagine this would be the end of the great French war that spanned between 1792-1815. The Battle of Waterloo was also fought on June 18, 1815. So only two days before all of this, Napoleon's reign as emperor had officially come to an end. That may be what those fireworks were about. So as his face and eyes were illuminated, he found himself temporarily distracted from the living nightmare he had created for himself. He chose to spend his night in a sheep pen and he, quote, had scarcely laid himself down when the murdered woman appeared to him with a dreadful noise and bitter exclamations. His entreaties and prayers were on this occasion also most earnest that she would commit herself to rest and cease to torment him. Now one could imagine all of the drinking that he had done for what sounds like weeks, perhaps even months, could have damaged his brain a bit. He was also barely sleeping, walking for miles and miles. He just murdered a woman that he claimed to have loved. Could all of just to be his conscience taking shape with full blown delusions? Well, I looked into this. I'm obviously not a doctor, I'm a vampire. But apparently there is something called alcohol induced psychotic disorder. This condition includes a wide range of psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thinking and mood disturbances. Psychosis may occur during a binge drinking episode or emerge during alcohol withdrawal. It's most common to have auditory hallucinations, though you hear things like he did more rarely. Folks may see things, but it does happen. Could these ghostly encounters be a withdrawal symptom? If so, they kept getting more and more and more serious and prolonged. He continued to walk and walk, and the next night, while walking up Highgate Hill, the murdered woman again stood before him. Imagination may paint, if it can, the horrible feelings of Bedworth. At this moment, she walked with him side by side until they reached the other side of the hill. And then, taking the hand of the miserable man, placed it upon her severed throat and groaned and mourned deeply. Driven to despair, there he fled into a field where he threw himself down, his face on some hay, hoping to elude at least the sight of his ghostly pursuer. Such, however, was the consequence of guilt that he felt her lying by his side and crouching against him. End quote. Christ, I love this so much. That is simply horrifying. So again he didn't sleep well that night, but he started realizing that he needed to to get the hell out of Dodge faster. Enough of this wandering around. There was no way he wasn't already being searched for. And he was right.
- [33:03]
C
This episode is brought to you by Palmolive. Family time isn't just the big moments. It's weeknight dinners, sitting around the table, everyone talking all at once. So when the plates are empty and the sink is full, use Palmolive Ultra. Palmolive's most powerful formula removes up to 90, 99.9% of grease, leaving your dishes sparkling clean. And the new convenient pump makes cleaning even easier, so you can spend less time tackling dishes and more time together.
- [33:30]
A
Shop now@palmolive.com all of London was becoming aware of the horrendous murder of Elizabeth, and he was the prime suspect. His description was being circulated all over London, wanted posters being hung all over town, and a reward was being offered for his apprehension. Despite this effort, he was able to apply for, essentially, a visa, something called a walking pass to Birmingham. In these days, you couldn't just wander wherever you pleased. You would be stopped by parish officials in towns to ensure that you lived there. You couldn't even walk through some towns unless you had documentation that you could. Walking passes were distributed especially to soldiers returning from war so that they could travel through other towns to get back home. And luckily for Thomas, the war had just ended, so a lot of passes were being issued very quickly, with less scrutiny than they usually would have gotten. It did take him three days to receive it, but he did get it. He picked it up and off he went now as quickly as he could toward West Central England. He must have been sweating as he walked into the police office to get his pass. That's where it was being created. With this fancy pass, he was well received in each town, likely being perceived as a soldier being offered food and lodgings. Each town he passed through, he walked and walked and walked. And then Terror, shame and remorse were the conflicting passions which accompanied him in this escape. But the violence of these having in a great measure subsided, reflection assumed a more rational seat in his breast. And now it was that he began to look with a steadier eye upon the deed he had perpetrated. His desire for escape was now subsiding and transforming into unbearable guilt. Despite how far he came and the possibility that it appeared that he may just escape for good, his guilt and terror at the idea that he was being followed overwhelmed him and he decided to turn himself in. He surrendered himself to police in Coventry on the 5th of July, he gave a full confession of everything, including how he was being followed by the ghost of his victim. The magistrate didn't know what to think of this. Perhaps it was all just the ravings of a madman. But they contacted their boys in London and oh my God, this guy really did kill someone, exactly as he said. And he believes he's haunted now. What a Tuesday. They locked him up, as he said they should, and preparations were made to return him to London. He made his confession again, which was exactly as it was made in Coventry. Once he returned to London, and in concluding his narrative, which has been related with the strictest accuracy from his own lips, the unfortunate culprit added, I have now been most justly condemned for this foul and barbarous murder. And after surrendering my forfeited life to public justice, I have only to look to that awful moment when I shall meet my heavenly judge, whose merciful pardon I hope for and implore through the merits of Jesus Christ the Redeemer. Amen. End quote. His trial was on the 15th of December. It's interesting to me that there was a full trial. He pleaded guilty straight away and made a full confession. But perhaps in this time the trial was more for the purpose of getting all of the particulars in order, statements officially made, witnesses called. There were a few, like Elizabeth's little boy, who was called to make his statement. The trial lasted less than an hour. The jury delivered confidently a verdict of guilty. But strangely, and I have never heard of this situation happening before, the judge, for whatever reason, declined to announce the verdict, perhaps for religious reasons, but in this case there was to be a court recorder there to then do this on his behalf. But they weren't there that day. So there was a good deal of back and forth who could legally announce the verdict and officially order time Thomas's execution. After a whole hubbub, it was determined that one of the common sergeants in the court had the authority and was okay doing this, the sergeant pronounced the sentence of death as Thomas Bedworth, after a painful investigation of the crime which has been laid to your charge, a humane and impartial jury of your country, hearing the evidence adduced against you, as well as your own voluntary confession, have thought it their duty to find you guilty of the horrid crime of murder. Now, that was just the beginning of the pronouncement. It didn't just continue to and you shall be hanged from the neck until you were dead. I won't read the entire Thing. But this was the judgment written by the judge who could not officially speak it out loud. Quote. It is now my painful duty to acquaint you that your time in this world is of very short duration. But you have the consolation to know that it is not too short or too late for repentance and for pouring out your soul to your Maker in supplication and prayer before you are called to appear at his awful tribunal. The mercy that is thus held out to you, you ill deserve. As in a moment of jealous rage you hurled into quick eternity the wretched victim of your passion and lust sent her to her dread account without a moment for repentance to her numerous sins, without even time to implore the mercy of her God for the base and guilty connection she had formed with you. It is at this time that a note is made that Thomas burst into tears and struck the bar with his hands and lowered his head in shame. And oh, I have to read the last part because it is just so metal not to make light of any of this. It is just such poetry. This is what the common sergeant aret. There is now nothing left for me but to pronounce upon you the dreadful sentence of the law which you have so grossly violated, which is that you, Thomas Bedworth, be taken from hence to the place from whence you came, and from thence on Monday morning next to a place of execution where you shall be hanged by the neck until you are dead. Your body will then be delivered over to the search surgeons for dissecting and anatomizing according to the statute. And may the Lord God Almighty, through the merits and intercession of the Redeemer, have mercy upon your soul. From then Thomas continued to weep bitterly. He shook hands with those around him and he was sent back to the cells. A reverend came to him, and it was in this meeting with the Reverend that the finer points of his confession were taken down. Down. The history of his life, the history of the relationship with Elizabeth, his roaming, the haunting. His last request was, and this actually broke my heart a little bit for a few reasons, kind of brings a tear to my eye. His last request was that children who were imprisoned there, the convict schoolboys who were no doubt imprisoned, orphans and children mostly caught stealing, mostly homeless. Homeless, but now imprisoned. His request was that they come near his cell and sing a hymn with him. And I'm going to try not to cry here. I'm going to hold it together. The number of youths who united their voices in these gloomy vaults amounted to about 30 and such sounds floating through the dreary passages might well have supposed to impress not only the criminal but the children themselves with edifying thoughts. There's just something so overwhelmingly both sad and beautiful about this to me. Sad for Elizabeth, sad for this man that destroyed both of their lives, sad for those children, the injustice of their situation. But the small offering of compassion, I think, is what's getting to me. Compassion in the darkest of places always gets me. In the morning he was led to the gallows, where a good few hundred spectators were waiting. There is not a description of their behavior. These events were often loud and boisterous, but sometimes they would be met with solemn silence. Perhaps his was as there was no particular note to the spectator's behavior, he walked onto the scaffold and, as it is written, bowed in silence to all whom he observed. Within the dreary passage on the scaffold he manifested the same firmness, but directed his eyes imploringly towards heaven. While the executioner made his fatal preparations, the ordinary continued a few moments in prayer with him and the awful signal being given, he was launched off in the act of fervent supplication. His body would then be given over to anatomists to dissect and study. There is no record where his remains would have gone in the end, and there is no record digitized record of the burial place for Elizabeth Beesmore. If it exists, it would likely be preserved in a parish register of the time. She lived in the Drury Lane area, so she may be found in St Giles in the Fields parish churchyard, perhaps St Clement Danes churchyard. She was a woman with a hard life, dependent on men to help her survive, afraid she might be imprisoned if she didn't pay one of those men, the father of her child, who would no doubt not take care of her little boy if she was gone. He had already abandoned him once. My heart hurts mostly for her and that little boy. Hopefully. If it is true that her appearances weren't just delusions and she did haunt him from beyond the grave, she took some solace in justice being done and was was able to find peace in the world that she said she was not prepared for, I would really like to believe that all spirits eventually do. If you enjoyed this podcast and would like to hear more, please rate the show on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Leave me comments because I love them so much and for ad free listening. True Crime Extras Dark poetry and witchy Content Join the patreon@myvictorian nightmare.com Be kind to yourselves and I will see you in your nightmares.
- [44:20]
D
Athletic Brewing Company crafts award winning non alcoholic beers for those who want to be part of every round. With over 100185 flavor awards, they're exceptional NA beers that fit your lifestyle and any social occasion. Summer's full of good times and Athletic fits right in. Go to athleticbrewing.com to have brews delivered to your door or find them at a bar, restaurant or store near you near Beer Athletic Brewing Co. Fit for all Times
- [44:47]
E
Starting a business can seem like a daunting task unless you have a partner like Shopify. They have the tools you need to start and grow your business. From designing a website to marketing to selling and beyond, Shopify can help with everything you need. There's a reason millions of companies like Mattel, Heinz and Allbirds continue to trust and use them. With Shopify on your side, turn your big business idea into Sign up for your $1 per month trial@shopify.com specialoffer.