Highlighted list of files

Mary Bentley was convicted at Leeds on 16 July 1913 for murder and sentenced to death (commuted) for killing a five-year-old child whilst intoxicated

Mrs Brownhill needed an operation to save her life but because there was nobody to look after her adult "imbecile" son whilst she should have been receiving medical care, she gave him drugs and gassed him. She was convicted at Leeds on 1 December 1934 for murder and sentenced to death (commuted)

The victim was the four-week-old child of Mrs Eastwood's husband from a previous relationship. She alleged that she had left him in a convent but instead dropped him from a moving train. She was convicted at the Central Criminal Court (the Old Bailey) on 24 June 1938 for murder and sentenced to death (commuted)

Strangled her child after the father, a married man, deserted her. She was convicted at Kingston-on-Thames on 2 July 1930 for murder and sentenced to death (commuted). Although she escaped the death penalty, she died a year later from injuries incurred in a fire at Aylesbury Prison

Drowned her seven-month-old child after the father, a soldier, deserted them. She was convicted at Durham on 7 July 1920 for murder and sentenced to death (commuted). Medical reports show that she suffered severe pre- and post-natal depression

Jones, who was described as "a bit slow", stated that she did not know why she had drowned her seven-month-old child. She was convicted at Mold, Flintshire on 31st January 1921 for murder and sentenced to death (commuted)

Killed her illegitimate son because she was receiving no financial support from the father who was, however, supporting a child from another liaison. She was convicted at Liverpool on 10 June 1940 for murder and sentenced to death (commuted)

In 1914 Margaret Neale killed and decapitated her child, hiding the head under her bed. She served nine years and was released on licence. She was convicted at Maidstone on 15 June 1915 for murder and sentenced to death (commuted)

Killed, with a pair of scissors, the child she had just delivered. There is reference to a previous manslaughter conviction in 1918. Neath was convicted at Leeds on 5 March 1921 for murder and sentenced to death (commuted). She contracted tuberculosis in prison and died three years after her release in 1929

Killed the daughter of Walter Gibbins, by starving her over a prolonged period. He was aware of the situation but was terrified of his partner. He later committed suicide. There is some suggestion that another child was also killed in the same way. Proctor was convicted at Leeds on 11 March 1918 for murder and sentenced to death (commuted)

A brutal murder whereby Mrs Rhodes killed her husband with a large hammer and tried to burn him. Although she claimed self-defence, there was some suggestion of premeditation She was convicted at Leeds on 25 July 1933 for murder and sentenced to death (commuted)

A children's nurse who killed the child she was hired to look after because she felt she could take better care of her than her mother and did not want to leave her after the mother sacked her. She also killed the younger sister because she did not wish to "leave her in the hall". Sadler, who was convicted at the Central Criminal Court on 8 January 1924 for murder and sentenced to death (commuted), tried to commit suicide. Her papers are full of medical opinion as to whether she was insane

Alice Turney killed her four-month-old baby. Although adult, she had the mental age of an eleven year old. Turney was convicted at the Central Criminal Court on 4 December 1923 for murder and sentenced to death (commuted). She served three years and, after release, married and had a child

Convicted at Nottingham on 27 February 1936 for murder and sentenced to death, Dorothea Waddingham was hanged the same year. She had murdered an 87-year-old widow and her daughter, in a nursing home she ran with Ronald Sullivan, who although accused was found innocent. Waddingham had previously encouraged the widow to change her will, leaving all she possessed to pay for her upkeep in the nursing home

Williams killed her 4½-year-old son so that her husband would return to her. She was convicted at the Central Criminal Court on 9 December 1913 for murder and sentenced to death (commuted). After release from prison she was declared temporarily insane, but later worked as a mental nurse