Annie Holmes and Walter Horsford - Timeline

Annie Holmes and Walter Horsford - Timeline

Events in the lives of Annie Holmes and Walter Horsford

1860 / Annie Mash (later Holmes) born – daughter of gentleman farmer
2nd March 1870 / Walter Horsford born in Spaldwick to a farming family
2nd March 1871 / Walter Horsford baptised
1881 / Annie Mash marries (she takes on her husband’s 6 children by a previous marriage) and they run the farm
Around 1882/3 / Annie Holmes has a son Percy
Around 1884 / Annie Holmes has a daughter Annie
Around 1884/5 / Annie Holmes’ husband dies
1894 / Annie Holmes moves in with an uncle at Stonely after declaring the farm bankrupt
Around 1895/6 / Annie Holmes has an illegitimate child, possibly by a cousin
October 1897 / Walter Horsford marries a woman called Bessie
1897 / Annie Holmes moves to St Neots to start a new life
December 1897 / Annie writes to Horsford saying she thinks she is pregnant with his child
December 28th 1897 / Walter Horsford purchases, from a chemist who lives at Thrapston, a quantity of poison, alleging he wants to poison rats
Wednesday January 5th 1898 / Walter Horsford writes to Annie Holmes, the letter says: "You must remember I paid you for what I done.... Don't write any more letters, for I don't want Bessie to know."
Friday January 7th 1898 / Annie Holmes takes a powder and becomes very ill with convulsions – the doctor is called. He suspects poison and she dies soon afterwards. A note is found in the room from Horsford. He is sent a telegram telling him to attend the inquest
Saturday 8th January 1898 / Inquest is held. At this time no poison has been found at the scene. At the inquest Horsford denies having a relationship with Annie Holmes or sending her anything. A post-mortem is carried out and Annie Holmes is buried. A note is found from Horsford
Evening of Saturday 8th 1898 / Two women find, between the mattress and the bed, a packet of papers. These are later found to contain 35 grains of strychnine. The handwriting on the note matches Horsford’s. It says 'Take in a little water; it is quite harmless’
January 10th 1898 / Walter Horsford is arrested on the charge of perjury (lying) committed at the inquest, and it is resolved to re-examine the body
January 26th 1898 / Annie Holmes’ body is exhumed and examined and the organs sent to Dr Stephens in London for analysis. Evidence is found of strychnine poisoning. She is later reburied at Stow Longa
June 2nd 1898 / The trial begins at Huntingdon Assizes. Evidence includes the note from Horsford to Annie, the paper containing strychnine and an entry in a Chemist’s poisons register, twenty miles away, showing he had bought enough strychnine to poison all the rats on the farm. It is argued this points to pre-meditation
28th June 1898 / Walter Horsford hanged