Today is Tuesday, March 24th, 2020.

On this day in 1873, convicted serial killer Mary Ann Cotton was executed for fatally poisoning

her stepson Charles Edward Cotton. Welcome to today in True Crime, a parcast original.

Due to the graphic nature of today's crimes, listener discretion is advised.

Extreme caution is advised for listeners under 13.

Today we're covering the hanging of Mary Ann Cotton. Her punishment was witnessed by 20 reporters whose names

have all been lost to time. In this episode we'll look at the event through the eyes of

a journalist with the Dundee Courier and Argus, who

will call Ernest.

Let's go back to Durham Prison in northeast England just before 8 a.m. on March 24th, 1873. A row of reporters chatted amongst themselves. Twenty men from all of the local newspapers

swapped tips and speculated on what they were about to see.

The air thrummed with excitement, their happy enthusiasm, a sharp counterpoint to the gallows

at the center of the room.

That day, Ernest would witness history.

The Black Widow, Mary Ann Cotton, would be hung right before his eyes.

For weeks, the Dundee Courier and Argus

had covered her trial, painting Mary as a wicked heartless woman.

And now the villain would finally be put to rest.

Ernest had been covering Beats long enough to have a bit of skepticism about sensational stories like Mary's.

He understood that Mary probably wasn't nearly as bad as she'd been

depicted, but his job wasn't to report the news. It was to sell papers. Ernest felt a pang of surprise when a pretty, scared-looking 40-year-old woman was led

out by her executioner.

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