Mary Wheeler was an English lady who was found guilty of killing her lover’s wife, Mrs. Phoebe Hogg, and their child, Tiggy, on October 24, 1890, and executed on December 23, 1890. The incident has been linked to Jack the Ripper, and Wheeler has been suggested as a possible Ripper suspect.
After the murder of Mary Jane Kelly, Detective Abberline was one of the first to suggest that the Whitechapel Murderer could be a woman. Kelly’s murder victim was seen alive and severely hung hours before her corpse was found, according to one of the witnesses questioned after her death.
The Early Life of Mary Wheeler
Mary was born on the 26th of March 1866 in Kent, England. She was born to her father, Thomas Wheeler, and her mother Charlotte Wheeler, her mother was a teacher.
Her father was mistakenly identified as Thomas Wheeler, who was condemned and executed for the murder of Edward Anstee. Author Sarah Beth Hopton, on the other hand, was unable to uncover any proof of a link between the two individuals, as well as a retraction of the newspaper article in which the false information was originally published.
Mary Wheeler adopted the surname Wheeler after living with a carpenter named John Charles Wheeler.
Because of her adultery, he had to leave her. She subsequently moved in with Frank Hogg, a furniture removalist who had at least one other girlfriend, Phoebe Styles. Styles got pregnant, and at Wheeler’s request, Hogg married her.
They resided in London’s Kentish Town. Styles has a daughter called Phoebe Hogg as well.
The Murder of Phoebe Hogg
Mrs. Hogg came to Wheeler with her infant on October 24, 1890, at her request. Neighbors reported hearing shouting and noises of fighting about 4:00 p.m.
A woman’s body was discovered in a trash dump in Hampstead later that evening. Her head had been almost separated from her body after her skull had been smashed. A black perambulator with blood-soaked cushions was discovered approximately a mile distant.
In Finchley, an eighteen-month-old kid was discovered dead, presumably suffocated. Following early speculation in the news that the adult corpse was that of an unfortunate, it was ultimately recognized as Phoebe Hogg’s, with the toddler’s body being that of her daughter.
After dark, Mary Wheeler was spotted pushing baby Tiggy’s perambulator through the streets of North London. Blood splatter was discovered on the walls, ceiling, skirt, and apron, as well as matted hair and blood on a fireplace poker and carving knife.
When questioned by the authorities, she claimed to have a mouse issue and was attempting to kill them. Wheeler would subsequently react by shouting:
“Killing mice, murdering mice, killing mice!”
according to Sir Melville Macnaghten.
Mary Wheeler has been accused of murder. Throughout the trial, she maintained her innocence, but she was found guilty and executed on December 23, 1890.
Wheeler’s murder case drew a lot of media interest at the time. The pram used in the murder, as well as the contents of Wheeler kitchen, were bought by the Madame Tussauds wax museum in London for their Chamber of Horrors display.
The opening of the Madame Tussauds display of these artifacts drew a throng of 30,000 people. The noose that was used to hang Wheeler is on exhibit at Scotland Yard’s Black Museum.
The Execution of Mary Wheeler
James Berry hung Pearcey on December 23, 1890. Berry praised her calm demeanor in the condemned cell, calling her the most collected member of the execution party.
“My sentence is a just one, but a fair part of the evidence against me was fraudulent”
Pearcey remarked when asked for a final comment. She first refused female jail warders’ help, but after more prodding, she agreed, stating,
“Oh, well, if you don’t mind coming with me, I am delighted.”
Berry characterized Pearcey’s execution as peaceful and painless” in his memoirs.
Could Mary Wheeler be Jack/Jill the Ripper?
Mary Wheeler, like many other well-known Victorian-era serial killers, has been named as a suspect in the Jack the Ripper murders. She was the sole female suspect named at the time, according to reports.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, suggested at the time that the Jack the Ripper might have been a woman since she could have claimed to be a midwife and been seen in public in bloody clothes without raising suspicion or attention.
William Stewart elaborated on this idea in his book Jack the Ripper: A New Theory, published in 1939, in which he explicitly identified Wheeler as a suspect in the murders.
Wheeler is linked to the Jack the Ripper murders only based on circumstantial evidence. No physical evidence or eyewitness accounts are connecting him to the crimes.
Originally Published on Medium by me (Bryan Dijkhuizen)
