Although Sarah lived with John Puryer as his wife, their relationship was rather more complex than that, for Sarah was actually married to John’s brother. That relationship had ended and Sarah had now moved in with her brother-in-law at his home in French Gardens. The couple then lived together for a number of years and had five children together, two of whom survived beyond infancy.
Sarah and John did not, however, live happily together. There were many arguments, some of them fuelled by drink, and both seemed to have something of a temper. These arguments came to a head, apparently, on Friday 30 March
1810.
It was on that day that John arrived home, much the worse for drink. Yet another argument followed and though there were no witnesses for what actually passed between the couple, Sarah would later say that at the height of the row, John had thrown her down a flight of stairs. Not content to simply take this punishment, Sarah then went back upstairs to continue the heated discussion. The argument grew ever more desperate until, according to John, she took a lighted candle from its holder and thrust it into his left eye. This was then followed by Sarah hurling a mallet at John, which struck him on the back of the head, causing quite a nasty injury.
On the day after this argument, Saturday 31 March, John Puryer was in Whitechapel market and it was there that he saw an old friend, Mary Reeves. John told Mary about the argument and explained that at the time Sarah had attacked him he was in bed, trying to get to sleep, implying perhaps that he was innocent of any act of incitement.
For the next few days, little was seen of John Puryer but then, on Monday 9 April, one of his sisters-in-law went to see Dr James Crockford and explained that John appeared to be seriously ill and needed to be admitted to hospital. Dr Crockford did go to visit John and said that he would need to be seen by a colleague, Mr Weston, a surgeon.
The treatment John Puryer then received is, perhaps, indicative of the state of medical knowledge at this time. That same day, despite his sickness, John walked to Mr Weston’s house and explained, with much difficulty, that he could not open his mouth properly and had been sent there by Dr Crockford. Mr Weston examined John, found a contused wound on the back of his head and concluded that he was almost certainly suffering from lockjaw. Explaining to John that his life was in danger, Mr Weston then wrote a letter to Mr Ashley Cooper at Guy’s Hospital and told John to take it to that gentleman without delay.
Still seriously ill, John Puryer struggled to the hospital with his letter of admittance from Mr Weston. Once there, John found that Mr Cooper was not there, but his servant read the letter and then asked him to come back on Friday 13 April, six days from then.
Growing worse all the time, John made the painful journey back to Mr Weston and explained that Mr Cooper wasn’t there; and that his servant had said that he should come back in six days. Mr Weston was astounded and explained to John that if he did not gain admission to the hospital, and treatment within hours, he would certainly die. John Puryer did not return to Guy’s Hospital, though. His strength barely carried him back to his home in French Gardens, and it was there, in the early hours of Tuesday 10 April, that he passed away.
Forty-five-year-old Sarah Puryer was immediately arrested and charged with murder. She appeared before Mr Justice Grose, on 6 June, to answer that charge and explained to the court that she had only acted in self-defence. John had come home very drunk on that fateful day at the end of March, had thrown her down the stairs and she was afraid that his assault on her would continue. The incident with the candle had been an accident, caused through the struggle, and when she had thrown the mallet, she had not intended to cause him any serious injury, let alone kill him.
Sarah called no fewer than three character witnesses who all confirmed that she was usually a most dutiful wife and mother. This, apparently, did have the desired effect, for Sarah was adjudged to be not guilty of murder, though the jury did find her guilty of manslaughter.
Had she been found guilty of murder, Sarah would, of course, have faced the death penalty. As it was, she might well have faced a lengthy prison sentence, but it appears that the judge, too, believed that there had been a good deal of provocation from the dead man. Thus, Sarah Puryer escaped with the relatively light sentence of just two months in Newgate gaol.