Last Woman Hanged

One woman.
Two husbands.
Four trials.
One bloody execution.
The last woman hanged in New South Wales.

In January 1889, Louisa Collins, a 41-year-old mother of ten children, became the first woman hanged at Darlinghurst Gaol (jail) and the last woman hanged in New South Wales.

Both of Louisa's husbands died suddenly. The Crown was convinced that Louisa poisoned them with arsenic and, to the horror of many in the legal community, put her on trial an extraordinary four times in order to get a conviction. Louisa protested her innocence until the end.

Now, in Last Woman Hanged, writer and journalist Caroline Overington delves into the archives to re-examine the original, forensic reports, court documents, judges notebooks, witness statements and police and gaol (jail) records, in an effort to discover the truth.