Kate Webster and the Barnes Mystery

In 1879, Victorian widow Julia Martha Thomas was brutally murdered by her maid Kate Webster, who dismembered her, boiled the flesh from her bones, and dumped the remains in the River Thames. After pawning her employer's possessions and impersonating her to neighbors, Webster quickly raised suspicions, which led to her arrest, conviction, and hanging later that year. Yet, Thomas's skull remained missing, leaving part of the case incomplete. In 2010, more than 130 years later, her skull was unearthed during home renovations in Barnes, confirming the final piece of one of London's most infamous murders.

Previous Fact Next Fact