The Merry Widow of Windy Nook
In 1950s Tyneside, Mary Elizabeth Wilson buried multiple husbands under the guise of natural causes. This is the story of how a series of jokes about funeral sandwiches and a forensic breakthrough involving phosphorus led to the final death sentence for a woman in England and Wales.
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Mary Elizabeth Wilson joked that wedding sandwiches would be reused for her husbands' upcoming funerals.
The Windy Nook community grew suspicious after two husbands died shortly after their weddings.
Forensic analysts detected phosphorus in the victims by its distinct garlic-like odor and luminescence.
Common nineteen fifties beetle pastes and rodenticides provided the phosphorus used in the murders.
Microscopic traces of wheat grain and bran in the remains linked the deaths to commercial poisons.
Wilson was the last woman sentenced to death in England and Wales before her commutation.
- 01Intro1 min
- 02The Merry Widow of Windy Nook3 min
- 03The Phosphorus Trail2 min
- 04The Chemist's Proof3 min
- 05Outro1 min
- Mary Elizabeth Wilson
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