William Sheward

William Sheward was a fifty seven year old tailor who murdered his fifty six year old wife Martha on 15 June 1851 by stabbing her to death with a pair of scissors. They had had a quarrel over money and he committed the crime in a rage, then set about dismembering the body which he successfully disposed of. He remarried in 1862 and by 1868 he was running a public house in Norwich. During a trip to London he got drunk and in a fit of remorse walked into a police station and confessed to the murder. He was able to say where his wife's remains were and a search produced body parts belonging to an elderly woman. When he sobered up he tried to retract his statement, but was convicted and hanged by William Calcraft on 20th April 1869 in Norwich.