Elizabeth Lillian Woolcock (née Oliver; 20 April 1848 – 30 December 1873) was an Australian murderer who was hanged in Adelaide Gaol for the murder of her husband Thomas Woolcock by mercury poisoning. She remains the only woman ever executed in South Australia and is buried between the outer and inner prison walls of Adelaide Gaol. It has been argued that she may have been a victim of domestic violence and suffered from battered spouse syndrome.The information in this article comes from the book "Dead Woman Walking" detailing the research of Allan Peters, the South Australian Police Historical Societies historian.
Life Elizabeth was born on April 20, 1848, and lived with her family in Burra Burra in South Australia. In January 1852, Elizabeth's father joined the Victorian gold rush and the family moved to Ballarat, taking residence in a tent on the goldfields. When Elizabeth was four years old, her mother moved to Adelaide, leaving the girl to be raised by her father.
In 1855, seven-year-old Elizabeth was raped and left for dead by an itinerant Indian. Two years later her father died of consumption.
In 1865, after receiving news that her mother was alive and looking for her, Elizabeth travelled to Moonta, South Australia and moved in with her mother and stepfather. She taught Sunday school at the Wesleyan Church.
Thomas Woolcock Thomas Woolcock emigrated from Cornwall and settled in Moonta with his wife and two children in 1865; the next year, his wife and one son died of fever. A widower left with his namesake son Thomas to look after, he hired Elizabeth as a housekeeper. Elizabeth's stepfather disliked Woolcock, and when he heard rumours of more than a work relationship going on between the man and Elizabeth, he threatened to cripple her if she kept seeing him. To stop the gossip, Woolcock married 20-year-old Elizabeth in his cottage's front parlour on October 2, 1867.Since the trial, the area surrounding Thomas Woolcock's cottage has been known locally as "Poison Flats". The cottage has been restored by its current owner and occupant, and apart from minor changes, the cottage has remained much as it was in the 1870s. The cottage has had a reputation for being haunted since Woolcock's death, however the current owner has never experienced anything out of the ordinary and has named the cottage "Serenity".
Woolcock turned out to be a heavy drinker, a bully, and a wife-beater. Elizabeth attempted to leave him several times, but he continued to find her and bring her back to Moonta. Feeling depressed and alone after her mother and stepfather moved to Adelaide, Elizabeth attempted suicide. She was given Morphine to help with insomnia and melancholy. The situation improved somewhat when Woolcock took in a boarder whose presence lessened the abuse she suffered, but eventually the two men had a dispute and the boarder left. Not long afterward, the family dog died after being poisoned and Thomas suspected the boarder and reported him to the Police. Around this time Elizabeth was seeking medication, mainly morphine, for her ailments, but the chemist refused to prescribe any and she resorted to sending her stepson to pharmacies with notes. She visited a chemist, claiming she needed morphine to "get ink stains out of a skirt", then claimed it was for scurf in her hair. Her desperation to acquire drugs became common knowledge in the community.
Woolcock's death A month after the dog died, Woolcock became ill with stomach pains and nausea, Elizabeth called in three doctors over the following weeks who each diagnosed different illnesses and prescribed different medications. Dr. Bull prescribed syrup and pills laced with a third of a grain of Mercury each (21 mg) for a sore throat, but Woolcock became considerably worse and Elizabeth then called in Dr. Dickie who diagnosed a gastric disorder and prescribed Rhubarb tablets and cream of tartar, which had no effect. Finally, Dr. Herbert treated him for excessive 'Salivation by Mercury'. This treatment worked and Woolcock improved, but two weeks later he could no longer afford Dr. Herbert's fees so returned to Dr. Dickie, who resumed the treatment for a gastric problem. When his condition failed to improve, Elizabeth suggested returning to Dr. Bull, but according to neighbors and friends who were present and later testified at her trial, Woolcock replied: "I certainly don't want Dr. Bull again, as it was his medicine that made me bad in the first place".
At 3 am on 4 September 1873, Thomas Woolcock died. Dr. Dickie initially stated his patient had died from "pure exhaustion from excessive and prolonged vomiting and purging". Woolcock's cousin, Elizabeth Snell, suggested to the doctor that as everyone knew Woolcock's wife had been getting "Morphia" she could have poisoned him with it, and rumours of foul play began spreading. An inquest was ordered.
Inquest and trial The inquest was opened in the front parlor of Woolcock's cottage. Dr. Dickie testified on the drugs taken by the deceased and the chemist, Mr. Opie, testified regarding Elizabeth's attempts to get morphine. Elizabeth stated she had nothing to gain from her husband's death. An autopsy was ordered and performed in the cottage that day while Elizabeth waited outside.
The next day the inquest resumed at the Moonta courthouse where Dr. Dickie described the state of the body and suggested that mercury poisoning was a strong probability, Dr. Herbert concurred. Dr. Bull admitted prescribing pills with mercury but insisted Woolcock only took one. Police told the inquest that they had exhumed the Woolcocks' dead dog and found the body too contained large traces of mercury (a known treatment for Ringworm). Several jars considered 'poison' were found in the cottage and the jury decided that Woolcock was poisoned by his wife, and she was arrested.
Elizabeth pleaded not guilty and the trial in Adelaide was a sensation with crowds filling Gouger Street outside the Supreme Court. Elizabeth was provided with an inexperienced lawyer who failed in court against the accomplished Crown Solicitor, Richard Bullock Andrews QC, who argued that Elizabeth had poisoned the dog as an experiment, the ringworm powder was the means and that motive was an affair with the boarder. Defendants at this time were barred from testifying on their own behalf so Elizabeth was unable to answer the accusations. Following a three-day trial the jury, after deliberating for 20 minutes, found her guilty with a recommendation for mercy on account of her youth. The plea for mercy was declined by Governor Anthony Musgrave and she was sentenced to death.
Execution and confession On 30 December 1873, dressed in a white frock and carrying a posy of fresh flowers, Elizabeth gave a letter to be opened after her death to her minister, the Reverend James Bickford, and then walked calmly to the gallows.
The letter, describing her life, was badly written with poor spelling and inaccuracies including even getting her own age wrong: