John Thurtell was born in Norwich on 21 December 1794. His father
Thomas was Alderman in Norwich and later Mayor. Aged 15, John received a
commission in the Royal Marines, but a year later he was discharged for
misconduct, By 1819 he was a bombasin manufacturer and a boxing match
promoter. He left Norwich under a cloud for London and met up with
solicitor and gambler William Weare. A confrontation took place over a
game of cards in which Weare won £300 and Thurtell claimed that Weare
had cheated him out of the money.
Thurtell killed Weare and was
charged with murder along with William Probert and Joseph Hunt. Probert
turned evidence against the other two, although some believed that he
was the main guilty party. He would later be hanged for horse stealing.
Joseph Hunt was sent to Australia where he settled down in life and
became a Police Constable. John Thurtell was executed for the murder at
Hertford Gaol on 9 January 1824.
The Hertfordshire Tragedy
The
murder took place near to William Probert's house on a site on Oaks
Close off Gills Hill and it is now known as Murder Lane. The story is
known as the Hertfordshire Tragedy, because of the brutal way in which
William Weare was murdered and because of the way that William Probert
escaped punishment.
Later on he was executed for Horse Stealing,
but John Thurtell made his peace with him. It was also the last court
case to be tried where the defendant was guilty until proved innocent.
This free website was made using Yola.
No HTML skills required. Build your website in minutes.
