Some people view marriage as a partnership. Others view it as a meal ticket.
James Greenacre was certainly a person who viewed marriage as a meal ticket.
He was born in 1785 and worked as a grocer in the area of Edgeware, England.
In the winter of 1836, Greenacre proposed marriage to a seemingly wealthy young woman, Hannah Brown. They were set to marry on Christmas Day.
Christmas Eve, Greenacre set out in a carriage and headed towards Hannah’s lodgings. He picked her up, and brought her to his residence. They were supposed to discuss the finer details of the wedding.
No one saw Hannah alive again.
Shortly after Hannah had disappeared, body parts began appearing around the area, wrapped in cloth. Over the course of a few weeks, the body began reappearing in bits and pieces. When the head was found, bruising was found around the eye. It was determined to have been done prior to the young woman’s death.
Now that the body had been reassembled, she was able to be identified. Hannah’s brother, having reported her missing when she missed her wedding, was brought in and identified the body as that of his sister. He also knew who was likely responsible.
He told police that Hannah had gone with her betrothed on Christmas Eve – a man named James Greenacre – and had never been seen since. He was likely the last person to see her alive.
On March 24th, 1837, he was taken into custody. But he wasn’t alone. With him was his mistress – Sarah Gale – and her young child.
The lodgings were sparse. Most of the belongings packed. It was discovered that Greenacre and Gale had packed much of their belongings and had sent luggage and trunks to be packed on a passenger ship. They were attempting to flee to America.
The luggage was retrieved and investigated. Investigators found pieces of cloth matching the cloth that Hannah’s body had been wrapped in. They also found pieces of her clothing, and her jewelry among Sarah Gale’s things.
At the time of their arrest, Greenacre appeared smug. He claimed that Hannah had simply fallen out of her chair and hit her head. He figured that would be enough to get him out of trouble. Unsurprisingly, no one believed this story.
Eventually, the real story came tumbling out of his mouth.
He was livid with Hannah. She wasn’t nearly as wealthy as she appeared to be. He’d simply wanted to marry her for her money – just as he’d done three times previous. She was supposed to be his meal ticket. And she wasn’t worth his time. Incensed, he hit her over the head with a wood roller, and decided to dispose of her bit by bit. He would drop parcels in broad daylight, figuring that it would make him appear less suspicious than if he’d worked conspicuously at night.
With this confession, he took the blame for the murder, and absolved Sarah of any wrongdoing.
James Greenacre was charged with the “wilful murder of the deceased”, while Sarah Gale was charged with “being an accessory after the fact”. The trial date was set for April 10th, 1837.
After two days of trial, the jury retired to deliberate. After only fifteen minutes, they had made their decision. They found James Greenacre guilty of murder, and Sarah Gale guilty of being an accessory.
Sarah tried to see Greenacre prior to their sentencing, but was denied. She was sentenced to transportation – in which she was exiled with her child.
James Greenacre was sentenced to death by hanging. He was executed on Tuesday, May 2nd, 1837 at Newgate Prison.
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Sources:
The Mammoth Book of Bizarre Crime – Robin Odell
James Greenacre and Sarah Gale – The Ex-Classics
James Greenacre Wikipedia page