Jane Scott, the Preston Poisoner
Georgian Preston was left shocked when 22-year-old Jane Scott killed both her parents.
Almost too weak to stand, 22-year-old Jane Scott was carried to the gallows at Lancaster Castle. She was to hang for the murder of her parents, a crime that shocked Georgian Preston.
But how did an ordinary young woman come to such an end? One of three children, Jane was born into a modest but respectable household. Her father, John Scott, was a Methodist preacher and shopkeeper and Jane later said her parents had been kind and brought her up well.
However, when she was 15, Jane fell pregnant. She claimed to have been seduced by a local man. Her son was baptised in 1821, but his fate is unknown. Soon after, she began to drink, steal from her parents and drift from her family’s faith.
Jane gave birth twice more, in 1824 and again in 1825, but both children died in infancy.
Author's summary: Jane Scott's life took a turn for the worse after falling pregnant at 15.