On the morning of July 3, 1751, residents of Walthamstow, just outside London, were pulled from their beds by screams. A young woman in her nightgown, Elizabeth Jeffries, ran into the street crying that her uncle had been killed. A neighbor entered the home of Joseph Jeffries and found the wealthy butcher barely alive, bleeding from wounds consistent with both gunshot and stabbing. He died the next day without ever regaining the ability to speak.
Elizabeth told authorities that an intruder had broken in, beaten her uncle, and escaped with silver and pewter valuables. Yet investigators found no sign of forced entry. The maid reported hearing nothing unusual. Both Elizabeth and her uncle’s gardener, a young man named John Swann, were questioned and briefly detained, but no evidence surfaced and they were released.
Elizabeth was not simply a grieving niece. She had been adopted by her uncle after her father’s death when she was five years old. He gave her a home, an education, and the social graces expected of a young lady, but he also took advantage of her vulnerable position with treatment unbefitting a gentleman. With no children of his own, he had made Elizabeth the sole beneficiary of a substantial estate, though her rebellious behavior and rumored encounters with young men led him to threaten changing his will in favor of someone else.
By the time she was 21, Elizabeth had formed a secret relationship with John Swann. Knowing her uncle would dismiss him and likely disinherit her if their relationship was discovered, the two developed a plan to remove him entirely. The investigation soon focused on a former employee. Weeks earlier, John Swann had met a struggling laborer named Thomas Matthews on the road through Epping Forest and offered him work as an assistant gardener for food and lodging only.
Matthews accepted, but was dismissed just four days later by the elder Jeffries. When Elizabeth suggested to magistrates that Matthews might be responsible for her uncle’s death, a search for him began. The case took a curious turn when a pub owner in London’s East End reported seeing two men matching the description of Swann and Matthews. The men had been heavily drinking, and when one threw his coat over a chair, the landlord spotted two pistols in its pockets.
He removed the weapons and called for the night watchman, and both men were arrested. Their bail was paid by none other than Elizabeth Jeffries. When Matthews was finally apprehended, he made an extraordinary confession. He claimed Elizabeth had offered him money to knock the old miser on the head, and that Swann had encouraged him with a promise of 700 pounds.
Matthews insisted he refused. Days after his dismissal, he told magistrates, Swann gave him a guinea to buy pistols. Matthews admitted he spent the money drinking, and when the two later acquired weapons together, their drunken behavior at the pub got them arrested. Matthews described being taken to a pub near the Jeffries home, where he said Elizabeth, Swann, and he discussed killing her uncle.
Late on the night of July 2, he said he entered the house through an unlocked back door and ate cold beef left for him in the pantry. After midnight, Swann reportedly whispered, “Now it’s time to knock the old miser my master on the head. ” Elizabeth, he claimed, had already concealed valuables in a sack in the cellar to stage a robbery. But Matthews stated that when the moment came, he could not go through with it.
He told the court that Elizabeth cried, “You may be damned for a villain for not performing your promise,” and that Swann threatened to blow his brains out. Swann allegedly then took the pistols from the terrified man, made him swear silence, and went upstairs alone. Matthews said he fled the house when he heard the shots. The magistrates believed him.
Elizabeth Jeffries and John Swann were arrested and charged with the murder of Joseph Jeffries. With court sessions closed until March, the pair was held at Chelmsford prison. The trial began on March 10, 1752, and drew enormous public interest. Swann was charged with petty treason for murdering his master, while Elizabeth faced charges of aiding and abetting the crime.
Both pleaded not guilty. Thomas Matthews was the principal witness for the prosecution, supported by several former servants who testified that Elizabeth’s behavior had become a point of contention in the household. Defense witnesses described her as kind and attentive toward her uncle, and during proceedings Elizabeth broke down, fainting on several occasions. The trial lasted over nine hours, and the jury returned guilty verdicts for both defendants.
Two days later, each was sentenced to death. While awaiting execution, Elizabeth corresponded with another condemned woman, Mary Blandy, who had been convicted of poisoning her father. The two educated young women exchanged letters, both facing the gallows for startlingly similar circumstances. On the evening of March 27, 1752, the day before her execution, Elizabeth made a full confession.
She confirmed that she and Swann had planned the crime together and cleared Thomas Matthews of any participation in the murder itself. The following morning, the two were taken to the gallows. Swann was dragged there on a sledge, a traditional punishment for those convicted of petty treason, while Elizabeth rode in a cart. The procession covered 23 miles under the guard of soldiers and the under-sheriff of Essex.
A crowd estimated at more than 7,000 had gathered to watch. Elizabeth, who stood barely over five feet tall, was placed on a chair atop the cart so the noose could be fitted properly. Neither was blindfolded. They did not look at each other.
When the horses moved forward, both were hanged. Elizabeth’s body was given to friends for burial. Swann’s body was placed in chains and displayed publicly for several days, intended as a warning to other would-be criminals.