Maria de Roux was born in Lucerne, Switzerland, in 1821. Her native tongue was French, but she had received a good education and also learned to speak fluent English. In due course, she emigrated to England and, in 1846, managed to obtain employment as a maid to Lady Blantyre, the daughter of the Duchess of Sutherland. Maria was now moving in much more exalted circles and, on one occasion, even met Queen Victoria.
That same year, 1846, when Maria was twenty-five years old, she travelled with her employer to Boulogne. It was there that she met Patrick O’Connor, an Irishman with a fondness for drink, who was, at fifty, exactly twice Maria’s age. Patrick O’Connor worked as a customs officer on the docks in London, but also made a great deal of extra income by lending money at rather exorbitant rates of interest. As a result of this, not only did he have rather a lot of money, but he also held a large amount of shares in railway companies.
In fact, there was another man in Maria de Roux’s life, and he too had a connection with the railways. At twenty-seven, Frederick George Manning was much closer to Maria’s own age but he had been employed as a lowly guard on the Great Western Railway, a job which he had lost when he was suspected of having been involved in a number of robberies. After this, Frederick had worked as a publican but had also lost that position, due to discrepancies in the accounts.
Both Frederick and Patrick paid court to Maria and each man asked her to marry him. Maria had a difficult decision to make. True, Patrick was a wealthy man who could provide her with all the luxury she desired, but he was a drunkard and much older. Finally, Maria’s mind was made up when Frederick told her that he would, in time, come into a large inheritance of his own. So it was that, on 27 May 1847, Maria married Frederick at St James’ church in Piccadilly. From that day on, she would be known as Maria Manning, and the newlyweds moved into 3 Miniver Place, Bermondsey.
In due course, Maria discovered that Frederick had lied to her and there was no inheritance in his future. Still, she was by far the more dominant partner in their marriage, and she now decided that she could have the best of both worlds. She remained married to Frederick, but continued to see Patrick and, indeed, often invited him to join her and Frederick for dinner. Maria and Patrick were almost certainly lovers; she supplying him with sexual favours in return for his patronage.
On 23 July 1849, Frederick Manning called at a builder’s premises, at 4 Russell Street. There he spoke to Mary Wells and asked her if he might buy 6d worth of lime, saying that he wished to use it to kill an infestation of slugs in his garden. The purchase was agreed and Frederick asked that it be sent around to his house, writing directions down on a piece of scrap paper. Two days later, on 25 July, Richard Welsh, who worked for Mary and her father, duly delivered the lime to Miniver Place. He was asked to deposit the lime into a basket in the kitchen.
On 25 July, the same day that the lime was delivered to Miniver Place, Frederick was making another purchase. On that date he entered Mr Evans’ ironmonger’s shop in King William Street, where he ordered a specially made crowbar. He was served by William Danby, who said he would deliver it in a few days time. The crowbar was delivered three days later,
on 28 July.
Just over a week later, on Wednesday 8 August, Maria Manning was making a purchase of her own. Going into another ironmonger’s shop, on Tooley Street, she spoke to an assistant named William Cahill and said she wished to purchase a shovel. She specifically asked for a short-handled one, and finally chose one priced at fifteen pence. The shovel was delivered to Miniver Place, by Cahill himself, at around 7.00 pm.
That same day, Patrick O’Connor was invited to dine at the Mannings’ house. When he did call, however, he brought a friend, Mr Pierce Walsh, with him. The friend was made welcome, but at some time during that evening, Maria took Patrick to one side and asked him if he would like to call again the following night, adding that he might come alone so that they could be more intimate. Patrick took the rather obvious meaning, and agreed to return, alone, the next night. However, sometime on that date, Thursday 9 August 1849, Patrick O’Connor vanished.
On the evening of Sunday 12 August, two gentlemen called on the Mannings at Miniver Place. The door was opened by Maria Manning and the two gentlemen identified themselves as Mr William Patrick Keating and Mr David Graham. They explained that they were friends of Partick O’Connor, and indeed worked with him in the Customs House at the docks. They asked, politely, if the Mannings had seen anything of Patrick O’Connor since 9 August.
Maria seemed to be the one who took the lead in answering the question. She confirmed that Patrick had enjoyed dinner with them on 8 August and had been invited to return the following night, but had not attended, nor had he bothered to let them know he was not coming. She also confirmed that she had visited Patrick’s lodgings at 21 Greenwood Street, Mile End, but had found that he was not at home.
For the time being at least, Keating and Graham accepted that story.
Unbeknown to the Mannings, another man had also called at their house, looking for O’Connor, on Sunday 12 August. William Flynn was another customs officer and he too had become worried when O’Connor did not turn up for work. Flynn had been to O’Connor’s lodgings and discovered that he had not returned home on the evening of 9 August, though an attractive woman had called, twice. Flynn discovered that this woman was Maria Manning, and that O’Connor had arranged to dine with her on 9 August. Calling at Miniver Place on 12 August, Flynn had found no-one home.
Far from satisfied, Flynn then took his suspicions to the police and the next day, Monday 13 August, Flynn returned to Miniver Place but this time he took a plain-clothed policeman, Henry Barnes, with him. Once again, it was Maria who opened the door. Flynn asked if he might speak to Mr Manning but was told that he was not at home. Flynn then stated that he was a personal friend of Patrick O’Connor’s, whereupon he and Barnes were invited in and seated in the front parlour.
Questioned further about O’Connor’s disappearance, Maria claimed, yet again, that she had not seen him since the evening of 8 August. She confirmed that she had been to O’Connor’s lodgings on the evening of 9 August, and again on 10 August, looking for him. Once again, for the time being, things were left at that.
The following day, Tuesday 14 August, Constable James Burton, accompanied by William Patrick Keating, Henry Barnes, and Mr Mead, another friend of O’Connor’s, returned to 3 Miniver Place. There was no reply to their knocking but by going around to the back of the house, an entry was forced. Not only was there no sign of the Mannings, but it appeared that they had moved out altogether.
The police investigation continued and, on Friday 17 August, Constable Burton and Constable Barnes were back at Miniver Place to search the premises and determine if any trace of where the Mannings had gone, could be found. It was whilst they were in the kitchen that Barnes noticed that some of the mortar between a couple of the flagstones was still wet. The mortar was scrapped away and one of the flagstones lifted. Immediately, a human toe was revealed and, when the soil was dug away, the rest of a body was discovered. Patrick O’Connor had been found and, from the wounds upon his head, it was clear that he had been the victim of a murder.
It was reasonable to assume that the Mannings had been responsible for Patrick O’Connor’s death and, since he was a wealthy man, also reasonable to assume that the motive might have been one of financial gain. The first port of call for the police was to talk to the neighbours. One of these, Mary Ann Schofield, who lived at 12 New Weston Street, told officers that she had a clear view of 3 Miniver Place from her house. She went on to say that, at around 3.15pm, on Monday 13 August, she had seen Maria Manning leaving in a cab. Later that day, at about 5.30 pm, Frederick Manning returned home, knocked on the front door, but there was no reply. Eventually, Frederick was seen going into the house next door, number 2.
The police now began to trace cabmen who may have taken either Maria or Frederick from Miniver Place. They soon traced William Kirk who said that, on 13 August, Maria Manning had approached him whilst he was waiting on the cab-stand. He took her back to 3 Miniver Place and then assisted her in bringing out two large trunks. From there, he drove her to a local stationer’s shop, where she bought some luggage cards. Then they travelled on to London Bridge station where Maria left the trunks and then drove on to Euston, where Maria paid the fare and left.
William Byford was another cab driver and he told officers that two days after this, on 15 August, he picked up a male passenger from Bermondsey Square. The man fitted the description of Frederick Manning and Byford had taken him to Waterloo Station. It was then around 8.00 pm and the man said, during the journey, that he needed to catch the 8.30 pm train.
The two trunks which Maria Manning had left at London Bridge station were soon traced, and taken to the police station. They were opened by Superintendent John Haynes, who found a number of items of female clothing, some of which appeared to be heavily bloodstained.
The investigation thus far seemed to indicate that the Mannings had fled London on different days, and in different directions. Maria, it appeared, had headed north, on 13 August, whilst Frederick had travelled south, two days later. Details of both suspects were now telegraphed to police forces throughout the country, as were details of the various share certificates Patrick O’Connor had been known to possess and which were now, apparently, missing from his lodgings.
In fact, one of the two fugitives was already in police custody. Maria Manning, using the surname Smith, had travelled up to Edinburgh where she had tried to sell a share certificate to a stockbroker. Having already been informed that some railway scrip had been stolen in London, they had grown suspicious of the woman with the French accent, and contacted the police. Mrs Smith had been taken into custody and was now interviewed and questioned as to whether she was really Mrs Manning. Eventually, her true identity was revealed and Maria Manning was taken back to London and lodged in Horsemonger Lane Gaol.
Frederick Manning was, however, still at large. Details of the murder of Patrick O’Connor were widely reported in all the national newspapers and one such article was read by a gentleman staying at a hotel in Jersey. By coincidence, he was an acquaintance of Frederick Manning and, upon his return to London, that gentleman told the police that the man they wanted was now staying at a hotel in St Laurence. As a result of that information, Frederick Manning was arrested on 31 August. He too was sent back to London and the confines of the prison at Horsemonger Lane.
In mid-October, the Mannings were moved to Newgate prison, to await their forthcoming trial at the Old Bailey. That trial opened, on Thursday 25 October, before Lord Chief Justice Cresswell. The proceedings lasted for two days.
One of the first witnesses was Constable Henry Barnes, the officer who had found the body on 17 August. He began by stating that he had first noticed the damp plaster between two flagstones. Assisted by Constable Burton, Barnes lifted one of the flagstones and began to dig into the earth beneath. After a few inches, he found a human toe. Digging further, he came upon the loins of a man and, eventually, an entire corpse was revealed. The man, later identified as Patrick O’Connor, was entirely naked. He lay face down in the earth but his legs had been bent back and tied around the haunches with strong cord. The body had been buried in quick lime, no doubt to aid decomposition.
Although the body was almost certainly that of Patrick O’Connor, a formal identification needed to be made. The head had been badly pulped so no facial recognition could be made. In order to affect an identification, the police removed a set of false teeth from the dead man. These teeth were then shown to William Comley, a dentist from Osborne Street, Whitechapel, who confirmed that they were a set he had made for Mr O’Connor.
The body had been examined, in situ, by Dr Samuel Meggitt Lockwood. He found a small, hard protuberance over the right eye and subsequent investigation showed this to be a bullet. Examining the back of the head, Dr Lockwood found extensive fracturing and sixteen separate pieces of bone were removed from the skull. The wounds to the head could well have been produced by a crowbar found inside the house. In Dr Lockwood’s opinion, though the wound from the bullet would have eventually caused death, it was more likely that Mr O’Connor had been shot in the head and then finished off by repeated blows from the crowbar.
Ann Harmes lived at 21 Grenwood Street, Mile End, and she testified that Patrick O’Connor had lodged at her house for almost five years. She remembered seeing him leave, early on the evening of 9 August. Some time later, at approximately 5.45 pm, Maria Manning came to the house. She had been there many times before, so she was allowed to go up to Mr O’Connor’s rooms without argument. She stayed there, alone, until 7.15 pm. The following day, 10 August, Maria returned at 5.45 pm and again left at 7.15 pm. This testimony was confirmed by Emily Harmes, Ann’s sister, who lived with her in Greenwood Street.
William Massey was a medical student and he had lodged with the Mannings, in Miniver Place, until 28 July 1849. He reported various conversation with Frederick Manning which seemed to indicate that the murder of Patrick O’Connor was a premeditated act. Frederick had told Massey that he believed O’Connor to be worth at least £20,000 and spoke of trying to defraud him out of a considerable sum. He asked Massey if chloroform or laudanum could be used to render someone insensitive, so that they might be made to sign a promissory note. Frederick also asked where the most vital part of the head was and also if he knew whether a gun might make a great deal of noise if fired in a confined space.
Charles Bainbridge was a furniture dealer operating from premises at 14 Bermondsey Square. He told the court that the Mannings had contacted him as early as 20 July, seeking to sell all their furniture. A sum was agreed and the transaction finally completed on 14 August. On that same date, Frederick Manning asked Bainbridge if he might put him up once the house at Miniver Place had been emptied. He agreed to pay 10s per week and asked to stay for a fortnight but, after a couple of days, he left, saying he was going to the country for a couple of months.
The next witness was Superintendent Richard John Moxey of the Edinburgh police. He had arrested Maria Manning when she tried to sell some railway stock in Leith. At first, she persisted in saying that her surname was Smith but when Moxey searched her baggage, he found a bill with the name of FG Manning upon it. She was then taken into custody and later, after the London police had contacting him, Moxey charged her with murder. Later still, a trunk in Maria’s lodgings was opened and a large number of share certificates were found there. The police also found 73 sovereigns, a £50 Bank of England note numbered 11037, six £10 notes and a £5 note.
Sergeant Edward Langley told the court that, acting on information received, he travelled to Jersey to arrest the male prisoner, Frederick Manning. On 27 August, Langley entered Prospect House where he found Frederick in bed. After Langley had identified himself as a police officer, Frederick immediately asked, ‘Is the wretch taken?’ He went on to say that if his wife had been arrested, she must have had a good deal of cash upon her, suggesting that it might be as much as £1,400. Told that he was being arrested for murder, Frederick went on to say, ‘I am perfectly innocent. She shot him. She invited him to dinner. The cloth was laid when he came in. She asked him to go downstairs to wash his hands, and when at the bottom of the stairs she put one hand on his shoulder and shot him at the back of the head with the other.’
Evidence was then given on the disposal of one of Patrick O’Connor’s share certificates. On 11 August, Frederick Manning, purporting to be O’Connor, had gone to the offices of Killick and Company, share dealers. There he handed a certificate for twenty £20 shares in the Eastern Counties Railway Company to one of the clerks, Richard Hammond. The shares were handed over as security, with Manning asking for the sum of £110. The money was then handed over to Manning and consisted of a £100 Bank of England note, numbered 15043, a £5 note, and five sovereigns.
Archibald Griffiths was a clerk at the Bank of England. He testified that, on 11 August, the £100 note, numbered 15043 was cashed by a gentleman who signed it on the back, ‘Frederick Manning, 7 New Weston Street, Bermondsey.’ In exchange he was given fifty sovereigns and five £10 notes. Griffiths was able to confirm that the male prisoner in the dock was the man who had cashed the note.
Having listened to all the evidence, the jury took just forty-five minutes to decide that both prisoners were guilty of murder. Frederick Manning took the verdict quietly but his wife screamed abuse at the judge and jury, shouting, ‘You have treated me like a wild beast of the forest.’
The two prisoners were transferred back to Horsemonger Lane gaol to await execution. In the weeks remaining to them, Maria persisted in maintaining that she was innocent of any involvement in the murder but Frederick made a full confession. In that he repeated his claim that Maria had shot Patrick in the head whilst he was standing at the sink. The shot did not kill Patrick, so Frederick then finished him off by raining blows down upon his head with the crowbar. They then both helped to bury him in the makeshift grave.
Maria and Frederick Manning were hanged together, at Horsemonger Lane, on Tuesday 13 November 1849, by William Calcraft. It is said that the largest ever crowd for an execution assembled to watch the event; a crowd estimated at between 20,000 and 30,000, one of whom was the famous author, Charles Dickens. Later, Dickens would write a letter to The Times saying how appalling the spectacle was, and castigating the crowd for their boorish behavior.
The execution had one rather unexpected lasting effect. On the morning that she died at the end of the rope, Maria Manning wore a fashionable dress of black satin. So unpopular was Maria that for some thirty years afterwards, genteel ladies refused to be seen in black satin.