Cause of death Hanged Name Sarah Malcolm Religion Roman Catholic | Known for killing three women Nationality British | |
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Died 1733, London, United Kingdom | ||
Sarah Malcolm (died 1733) was a British murderer who was sketched by William Hogarth as she awaited execution for a multiple murder.
Life
Malcolm was brought up in Dublin but was born in Durham in about 1710. She came to London and found work, and she came to know an old lady named Lydia Duncomb. Duncomb lived with another lady and their shared maid. After they were all found murdered in February 1733, Malcolm was brought in for questioning.
Malcolm confessed to being involved but said that she was part of a group of four. If she could have implicated the other three then she might have escaped a death sentence but the investigators were not convinced. The evidence was that her clothing had blood stains and they found 45 guineas hidden in her hair. Malcolm was sentenced to be hanged after the jury took 15 minutes to decide her guilt.
Malcolm was hanged in Fleet Street in London in early March 1733 having confessed to the robbery, but denying the killing. She is remembered because William Hogarth sketched her before she was killed and later arranged for both an engraving and later an oil painting to be made of her. Hogarth was not alone in exploiting her notoriety as others went to see if they could gain a confession that they could publish.