laced with poison. Rebecca's condition worsened however and she finally died in 1808. In October 1808 William Perigo accused Bateman of poisoning his wife, as well as defrauding money from them for the two years preceding to pay for "charms" and cures. Although Bateman proclaimed her innocence, a search of her home turned up poison as well as many personal belongings of her victims including the Perigo couple. Trial and execution Bateman's trial took place in York in March 1809. According to The Criminal Chronology of York Castle by William Knipe, which was written in 1867, the trial lasted 11 hours, though the jury took only a few moments to find her guilty of the charges of fraud and the murder of Rebecca Perigo. The book also claims that immediately following the sentence of death from the judge, Bateman said that she was 22-weeks pregnant and thus avoided hanging. The judge subsequently requested that the Sherriff gather a panel of 'matrons' to assess Bateman's claim. Twelve married women were sworn into the jury and conducted a physical examination of Bateman, concluding that she was not pregnant. William Knipe's 1867 account suggests Bateman had a daughter at home as well as an infant child in the prison with her. She reportedly mailed her wedding ring back to her husband to give to the daughter. Bateman was hanged alongside two men on Monday 20 March 1809. Dissection After her execution, her body was transferred to Leeds General Infirmary, which publicly displayed her body, charging 3 pence per visitor. Her body was dissected by William Hey, who spread the event across three days. On day one medical students paid to view the corpse, on day two “about 100 tickets were available to gentlemen [professional Leeds men] who paid five guineas”, and on day three women could buy a day ticket to attend Hey's lectures on the body. Strips of her skin were tanned into leather and sold as magic charms to ward off evil spirits. The tip of her tongue was collected by the governor of Ripon Prison. Two books from the library of Mexborough House were covered in her skin – Sir John Cheeke's Hurt of Sedition: How Grievous it is to a Common Welth (1569) and Richard Braithwaite’s Arcadian Princess (1635); the books went missing in the mid-nineteenth century. Legacy Bateman's death caused a sensation at the time and details were