The Crimes of Sarah And John Mankin

I am back and with another 1800's crime! this trime we dive into the horrific baby farming trade popular in the 19th century.
TRIGGER WARNING: This episode discusses distressing topics.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hello, I'm Lexie, and thisis what you should know. I am
back. Did you miss me,because I definitely missed you all so much.

(00:21):
They say the three most stressful thingsyou can do in your life is
move house, get married, andchange jobs. And I did all of
that in April, but that isokay. I had my husband by my
side as we moved States and ithas been a blast. Stressful, but
a blast. Nonetheless, I won'tdally too much because I imagine you are

(00:41):
just itching to get into it,and so am I. So we are
back in the eighteen hundreds with arequested case. Thank you so much for
the suggestion, Lyndall. It tookme a hot minute, but I found
the information on nineteenth century baby farmingin Australia. I do give a decent
heads up. This episode contains distressingand disturbing content and if that isn't for

(01:03):
you, that is fine. Otherwise, strap in, this is what you
should know about the crimes of Sarahand John Mankin. Now, there may
be a few of you who alreadyknow what baby farming is, but for
those of us who have absolutely noidea or may mistake it for acute nineteen
eighties term of buying a cabbage patchkid. Let me explain. Baby farming,

(01:26):
as it was known in a moreinsulting manner, was the historical practice
of someone accepting custody of an infantor child in exchange for money. In
late Victorian times, this would varyfrom periodical payments to care for the child
and all the way through to acceptinglarge lump sums to adopt permanently. This

(01:48):
is fairly like the idea of beinga foster parent in today's society. However,
reasons from the eighteen hundreds would differvastly to why someone would have a
child in care Nowadays. There wouldbe wealthier families who would send infants to
live with a wet nurse until thechild was a toddler. Other situations would
include young women falling pregnant unexpectedly,and rather than live with the horrifying shame

(02:12):
of being an unwed mother with nostatus in the eighteen hundreds, they would
give birth in secret and then sendthe child away For the baby farmers,
they would adopt a baby for alump sum. Horrifyingly, it was more
profitable for the baby farmer if theinfant or child they adopted died. Since
the small payment could not cover thecare of the child for long. This

(02:32):
would lead to these defenseless children beingabused, neglected, or sometimes outright murdered,
which really isn't too different from someof the rare horror stories you hear
of children in foster care today.But now you have an understanding on the
idea of what this episode is about. I'll give you one last warning that
this is the point of no return. If this is not something you feel

(02:54):
you can listen to, click off. I promise I won't be offended.
This is a very touchy subject forsure. Let's start with who. Sarah
Menkin is born Sarah Sutcliffe on thetwentieth of December eighteen forty five in Sydney,
Australia. She was the only daughterof Emmanuel Sutcliffe, a convict from
York. Now this was the eighteenhundreds. His conviction was for the theft

(03:16):
of fabric and being connected to abad gang, and his punishment would be
seven years of hard labor. InAustralia, Emmanuel would be lazy, surly
and rebellious against the colonial guardsmen whowould do their best to keep the convicts
in line. Sarah's mother, EllenMurphy, would almost be the polar opposite

(03:36):
of Emmanuel, moving to Australia asa free settler on the fourth of April
eighteen forty three. Ellen's initial worriesof arriving in Australia and hoping to find
herself a job with current skills asa straw hat maker and servant were soon
replaced with safety as she was greetedat the dock by hordes of men,
cat coling, yelling, obscenities,and the occasional proposal of marriage. There

(03:59):
is a chance Ellen may have metEmmanuel that day on the dock, but
it has never been confirmed in records. However, it is confirmed that they
did marry roughly a year later,and would move to Palmyra, Sydney on
the twenty sixth of October eighteen fortyfour. Sydney living would only last for
fourteen months, and eventually, ineighteen forty six, the Sutcliffe family moved

(04:23):
to Camden Town, where Ellen wouldgive birth to her second child, George,
on the twenty sixth of October eighteenforty seven. So fice to say
Sarah's childhood would have been typical forthe time likely living in rural outposts as
the country expanded and built on moreof the stolen land. But this wouldn't
stay peaceful and progressive for its time, as on the twenty second of December

(04:46):
eighteen fifty seven, George Sutcliffe,the only son of Ellen and Emmanuel and
younger brother of Sarah, tragically drownedat the age of nine. It is
theorized that this would have been theturning point for Sarah, was she tasked
with watching her younger brother. DidEmmanuel take out his grief on his remaining
child, We don't entirely know.What we do know is that later in

(05:08):
life, Sarah was known for herown violence and short temper. It is
strongly believed that this disposition was inheritedfrom her father, who was still bitter
about his time as a convict.But was this learned behavior or reactive behavior
from having to face the brunt ofit. By the eighteen sixties, the
Sutcliffe family had moved back to Sydneyfor reasons unknown, and at the age

(05:30):
of nineteen, Sarah moved away fromher parents and married a man by the
name of Charles Edwards. On thetwenty ninth of April eighteen sixty five.
From this marriage, only one childwould be born, a girl named Minnie
Josephine, either in eighteen sixty sixor eighteen sixty seven. However, her
birth was not registered, which iswhy we can't pinpoint what year exactly she

(05:55):
was born. Due to the time, not a lot is known about Sarah's
first husband. To compact that therewere two Charles Edwards in the area with
the same job title of mariner.The only thing that can be confirmed is
that when Sarah's daughter Minnie eventually married, Charles was dead. We then have
the second half of this deadly duo, John Mankin, who was born on

(06:17):
the fourteenth of February eighteen forty fivein Dapto, New South Wales to William
Manko and Ellen Bolton. He wasthe fourth of eleven children. A lot
isn't clearly known of John's father,William, as there were two by the
name that arrived in Australia at roughlythe same time as convicts. It is

(06:38):
theorized that the William Mankin that ismost likely to be John's father was an
army deserter sentenced to seven years hardlabor. Unfortunately, things would not become
easier on which William was, which, as not only were there multiple William
Mankins in Australia around the same time, but they all seemed to name one
of their sons John, and allwould go on to multiple children. However,

(07:00):
one William Menkin died on the twentiethof January eighteen eighty seven from diarrhea
and debility. It was his granddaughterwho was the informant of his death certificate,
and she did not know the nameof his father or the surname of
his mother. But William's life wasn'tjust a conviction and death. He actually

(07:20):
did really well for himself and builta middle class life for his family by
working hard and becoming a hotel owner. Ellen Bolton, John's mother has a
much clearer history, starting with herconviction of sacrilege, which just means she
stole a Bible and a prayer bookfrom the Shenstone Church. But her life
would be far from easy. Herfather was executed for treason, her mother

(07:43):
was sentenced to labor, and Ellengrew up in an orphanage, all leaving
her with her own trauma. Butcollectively, William and Ellen Menkin both worked
hard to provide a happy and stablelife for their children. However, whether
it is for the better or theworse, there is always a black sheep
in the family, and in thisfamily it was John starting his career in

(08:05):
crime. John played guilty for sheeptheft in February of eighteen sixty four,
where he was sentenced to six monthsof hard labor at the Parramatta Jail.
John would be in and out ofjail for various crimes that were sadly not
recorded. He would, however,eventually appear in the insolvency court in eighteen
seventy where he would have to surrenderall of his assets, coming to a

(08:30):
total of two pounds. It reallyis a shame that there isn't many records
before their crimes, as it isonly plainly stated that John would meet and
marry Sarah a year after his insolvency. What is quite strange with this situation
is that Sarah used her married nameEdwards, even though she was listed as

(08:50):
a spinster on her certificate rather thana widower or a divorcee, and for
that reason it is theorized that shewas a bigamist, which was relatively popular
in the eighteen hundreds given the frequencyof desertion and difficulty of obtaining a divorce.
A year after their marriage, Sarahwould give birth to their first child,
William Sutcliffe Mencon. Two years after, on their actual anniversary, Sarah

(09:15):
gave birth to blanch Ellen Gertrude Mankin. Sarah would become pregnant again almost immediately
after, as less than nine monthslater she would give birth to a third
child, Florence Eileen Elise Mankon.This meant that she would have three children,
all under the age of three,which I can only begin to imagine
would have been difficult, But thiswould not stop Sarah and John, as

(09:39):
over the next sixteen years they wouldgo on to have another seven children.
In eighteen eighty one, John wasarrested again for stealing and butchering a lamb
and was sentenced to three months prison. It is unknown how Sarah managed to
survive while supporting all her children.You would think the responsibility of parenthood would
cause John be more cautious, butthis was simply not the case, as

(10:01):
he would be released only to commitmore crimes and return to jail. On
the thirteenth of November eighteen eighty three. Sarah's seventh child, Leslie Ronald Joseph
Mankin died from convulsions caused by syphilis. The same would happen again just a
year later, as their daughter Lindawould die at the same age of eight

(10:22):
months old from the same thing.At this point, Sarah had not attended
either funerals. It was in eighteeneighty eight that a third child would die
suddenly. Harold Campbell Mankin, bornjust three months earlier, would die from
infantile atrophy. As it was writtenby the doctors, Harold had failed to
thrive, which is just another sideeffect of congenital syphilis. Now you may

(10:46):
be wondering, how the heck cana baby contract syphilis. Honestly, while
it's horrifying, it's relatively savable.Sarah herself would have had the disease and
the babies would have contracted it whiledeveloping in the womb. It is theorized
that Sarah may have contracted the diseasefrom her first husband, Charles, who
was a mariner. That is broughtup as many sources like to point out

(11:09):
that semen tend to sail around andfind sexual partners where they can. This
would include on convict ships, wheresemen would engage sexually with the convicted women,
where the disease would have spread fromone person to another. Due to
the deaths of these children, itis theorized that both John and Sarah may
have become detached from their emotions surroundingdeath of children, leaving them effectively numb

(11:33):
to the thought which is just beyondme because the thought of something like that
happening to a small child, Idon't like to think about it, because
I'm emotional and I will cry.From Christmas of eighteen ninety one, John
no longer worked, leaving those nearbyto wonder if he had become sick,
as it is he would also havebeen infected by Sarah. But as he

(11:54):
didn't work, the family became completelyreliant on Sarah working as a lady's nurse
and an influx of mothers and babiesthat would have entered their life from about
eighteen eighty eight onwards. It wasthe twelfth of February eighteen ninety two when
nineteen year old Agnes Ward, adomestic servant living in Cook's River, gave
birth to a male child at theresidence of missus Elizabeth Terry, a midwife

(12:18):
at Fleet Street. Summer Hill.The birth was registered at Ashfield, with
the child named Charles Ward. Agneswas not married and did not have wealth,
so on the twenty seventh of Aprilshe paid an advertisement in the evening
News for a kind lady to adopther baby boy. The hope from Agnes
was that this would provide her sonwith the best opportunities possible, knowing that

(12:41):
she would not be able to provide. The next day, John and Sarah
Mankin and their daughter Daisy met withAgnes at missus Terry's residence. They agreed
to adopt the infant for a fivepound fee and promised to be very kind
to it. John appeared to bea convincing liar, as he claimed he
was taking the child to fill thegap caused by the death of his own

(13:03):
child named Johnny, and this childwould take the dead child's place. I
don't think any child could ever takethe place of your own deceased child.
But as I love to add adisclaimer, I am not a parent,
so I don't know, but Ialso don't think it would work that way
anyway. I don't know, Leaveme a comment, send me an email.

(13:28):
John told Agnes that they were livingin Kettle Street in Redfern, but
were shortly to move to take apiggery and promised to send then you address
just in case Agnes wanted to visither son. Clara Risby worked as a
domestic servant in Willomeloo. However,her life was impacted when she gave birth
to a baby girl on the fifteenthof April eighteen ninety two at the Benevolent

(13:50):
Asylum. On May fourth, sheplaced an advertiser in the Evening News seeking
a kind person to adopt a babygirl for life, offering a premium of
five pounds. Much like many otherswho took to this option, it was
in hope that her child would livea good life, as she would not
be able to provide that while workingas a single mother without status. The

(14:15):
Mankins sent her a letter using thefalse surname McLoughlin, showing their interest in
adopting the baby girl. Clara andher married stepsister Mary took the baby to
the Mankin's house on the sixteenth ofMay, where the baby was adopted.
Sarah doated on the baby girl andsaid she would look after the child as
if it was her own, andJohn chimed in, telling them, he

(14:37):
had money left to him and theywere going to take a poultry farm in
Rockdale. Clara's stepsister left her addresswith the couple, who promised to let
her know then new address. Claravisited and saw her daughter on the eighteenth
of May. On her next visit, she was told that Missus McLoughlin aka
Sarah Mankin was out with the child. Clara attempted to visit a third time

(15:03):
on the twenty fourth of May,but to her horror, she found the
house empty. It was around thistime that the Menkin family had hit a
small snag in their operation. Yousee, the George Street address was being
rented by them for seventeen shillings perweek, but had fallen behind on their
rent. This caused their landlord tobe a frequent visitor. Following up what

(15:24):
was owed in the book The BabyFarmers, a chilling tale of missing babies,
shameful secrets and murder in the nineteenthcentury Australia by Annie Cossons, she
alleges that the last time the landlordhad called in, he caught the couple
hiding and whispering to each other allwhile he knocked on the door. However,

(15:45):
a few days later, they managedto slip away by moving out in
the dead of night without a word. But it wasn't just the landlord they
were avoiding, but also the curiosityof the new mothers who had given them
their babies and money. Paul Muzzleswouldn't know what had become of their babies
for quite some time, let alonethat the backyard of the George Street home

(16:07):
had become an impromptu graveyard. Thenext house the Mancons lived in was twenty
five Byron Street. The next housethe Mancons lived in was twenty five Barron
Street, Mcdonaldtown, which was onlyone suburb over from their previous dwelling.
This would be their loss before beingcaptured. It is believed that there were
four more babies taken in by theMancon family before this move. This would

(16:30):
include the daughter of a domestic servantby the name of Agnes Todd. She
paid the Mancons a premium of threepounds and never saw her daughter again.
Eighteen year old Amber Murray adopted herson Horace to the Mancons for a premium
of three pounds. Sadly, itmay have been due to age or illiteracy,
but Amber did witness something strange asshe had the mancons signed the adoption

(16:55):
papers, something they were not accustomedto. John first signed as John Leslie,
which he then scratched out and signedas Hill. That day was the
last time Amber would see her son. Mary Stacy, a domestic servant,
put her daughter up for adoption.This little girl would have been taken in
for just two pounds. Mary Stacywould be the first to be brave enough

(17:18):
to raise the alarm with the police, as she had been told the family
would be moving to Hurtzville. Shebelieved them initially, but after attempting to
visit her daughter, she had spenttwo days searching the suburb for her baby
with no luck. Sadly, forMary Stacy, the Mankin family had used
false names, and she knew themas the Ray family. On the tenth

(17:41):
of June eighteen ninety two, adomestic servant simply known as Minnie Davis gave
birth to a baby girl. Thechild was named after her mother, and
the birth was registered in Newtown withthe father's details included. On the twenty
first of June, an advertisement.On the twenty first of June, an
advertisement was placed in the Sydney MorningHerald, for a kind person to adopt

(18:03):
her child, the same as usualwood ensue, except this would not be
an outright adoption. Instead, Minniewould pay ten shillings a week and was
told the parents they could see thebaby whenever they liked. Minnie and her
partner would visit every Saturday to seethe baby and pay the weekly fee.
It was during one of the visitsthe couples discovered the Menkin's real surname when

(18:27):
they saw a printed card reading MissusMankin, Ladies nurse and qualified midwife.
It was directly after this when Sarahadmitted to deceiving them. On the twenty
third of July, Minnie was informedthat her daughter had a cold, which
escalated the following Saturday to the childbeing very ill. Sarah had soothed Minnie

(18:47):
by telling her that she would takethe baby to see the doctor on Monday.
Sadly, a few days later,Minnie and her partner received telegram saying
that the child had died. Theparents arrived the Thursday to grieve and bid
farewell to their daughter. It waseffectively a poor man's wake. The deceased
child was laid out on a board, enshrouded in a long white gown.

(19:11):
John had said to Minnie, perhapsit's better that it did die, which
if I was Minnie or her partner, I would have gone down for murder
on that statement, because that babywas not failing to thrive until it arrived
at the Mankins. But they morejust asked what the cause of death was,
hoping to find some solace and understandingon what happened. Sarah the Monster

(19:34):
joined in and told them it wastedaway. I will have no bother in
getting a certificate from the doctor.John chimed in, claiming the coffin had
been ordered and he would bury theinfant for two pounds. Like I suppose
that in itself would be a littlepackage deal, But because I know the
truth of the matter, it actuallymakes me more than a little angry swindling

(19:57):
this poor grieving couple for more moneyafter murdering their baby. That being said,
it wouldn't be long until the truthwas found out. You see,
the Mankins had been particularly careless intheir operations. On the sixteenth of August,
they had left their home in BurronStreet, where the landlord, mister

(20:17):
Mulvey, attempted to find new tenantswith little to no success. Due to
everyone complaining of a horrible stench.Honestly, between this and Frederick Deeming it,
I wonder how many places had ahorrible stench which made it impossible for
them to rent out. You haveto admit it's a little strange, right.
Wanting to do the right thing,the landlord hired two men to lay

(20:41):
new drainage pipes, assuming that wasthe issue. The two men started the
process of digging a trench in themorning of the eleventh of October, and
it wouldn't be long until one ofthe laborers dug up a small bundle that
was buried only six inches underground.Now, it wasn't initially believed to be
anything sinister. In fact, thelaborer believed it was a cat that had

(21:03):
passed away and reburied it to theside of the trench he was digging.
The next day, the second laborerfound a second bundle just to meet her
away from the first, and foundthis to be more than just a little
suspicious and decided to investigate what thebundle was. This poor man opened the
bundle to find decomposing remains of ababy. Both men then hurried to Newtown

(21:27):
Police station to advise of their discovery, Senior Constable James Joyce and Constable Alexander
Brown arrived at Buck twenty five BurrowStreet in a horse drawn police fan,
where they found not just the one, but two decomposing babies. The bodies
were delivered to the South Sydney Morgue. Taking their next steps, police spoke

(21:51):
with the neighbors for information on theprevious tenants. Elizabeth Hill was surprised when
Constable Joyce knocked on her door,but gladly told him everything she knew,
which was later recounted by her neighbor, Missus Parry, who was quoted saying,
I've never been so surprised in allmy life when the Constable stood on
my doorstep and announced two dead babieshad been dug up in mister Mulvey's backyard.

(22:15):
They wanted to know if mister Mulveyand his wife had any children.
I assured them that the babies couldnot belong to them, likely not.
I said it must be the Menkin'sbecause she called herself a midwife and a
lady's nurse. Mind you, Ionly ever saw them with one baby about
three months old, but it wasn'ttheirs, Missus Menkin was nursing it for

(22:38):
a young couple. I saw twotimes when they visited. They seemed decent
enough pair, neatly dressed. Onetime, when I asked about the baby,
missus Menkin told me the young couplehad taken it away. At any
rate, I didn't see any otherbabies, although they left in a bit
of a hurry in August. Atthis the constables became quite excited, though

(23:00):
I couldn't tell them where the Mankanshad gone. This is where the larger
of the mistakes had taken hold.For Sarah and John. Not only had
they become used to the smell ofdecomposition, but they had used their real
surnames when renting twenty five Barron Street. The constables were excited because getting a
conviction on such a grim crime wasnear impossible. The few that had previously

(23:26):
been reported to the authorities were letgo due to insufficient evidence, but this
time they had more than enough tomove forward. The mancens were tracked down
and arrested. It was in thatsame year that the Children's Protection Act was
passed, making it illegal to notregister the birth or adoption of a baby.
Not that this would entirely prevent womenfrom failing to do so, as

(23:49):
this would not bring in any supportto the mothers, only further scrutiny.
However, it was due to thisnew act the coroner had to investigate suspicious
deaths of children, including the twobabies Fountain Burron Street. On the second
of November, Senior Constable James Joyceand Constable Alexander Brown commenced digging in the

(24:10):
yard of Burron Street, where theyfound an additional five babies bodies. This
triggered John Mankin and his daughters tobe arrested on the third of November.
Sarah Menkin was already at the station, having been arrested at Paramatta. During
the questioning, Blanche disclosed that hermother had three infants to care for at
one time. John and Sarah Menkinwere charged on suspicion with causing the death

(24:33):
of an illegitimate female child, theoffspring of Horace and Minnie, on or
about the end of July or thebeginning of August. Their daughters, Blanche
and Florence Mankin, were also chargedon suspicion of being concerned in the death
of the child in question. Itwas from this point that the police announced
their intention to investigate the yards ofthe houses the family had occupied during last

(24:56):
three or four years, as itwas the question and that the Mancons had
been engaged in baby farming. Thiswould be confirmed as the bodies of fifteen
infants had been found in the yardsof the homes that the Mankons had lived.
In twenty five. Barron Street hadonly been occupied for just two months
and the bodies of seven infants wererecovered from the yard. The first infant

(25:21):
was male aged from five to eightmonths, buried from three to six months.
The second was a female infant stillborn. The third was a male infant
aged from two or three months,buried from four to six months. The
fourth was determined by the inquest juryto be the female child of Minnie Davis
and Horace, and the fifth wasa female infant estimated to be ten days

(25:44):
old, buried for roughly three months. It was at the inquest into the
bodies found at Barron Street at theCoroner's Court that Claris Mencon gave evidence that
the family's relocation from George Street toBarron Street was married out between seven and
eight o'clock at night, taking withthem six babies, two in a cradle

(26:06):
two an estroller, one carried byher mother and another carried by Daisy.
However, at the trial of herparents on the sixth of March eighteen ninety
three, Claris claimed to have norecollection of saying that she saw six babies
being taken to Barron Street when thefamily moved there. The house at Zemia
Street resulted in locating one body beingfound. Next on the list was the

(26:30):
house at George Street, where fourinfants bodies. The body marked D was
later identified as Horace Amber Murray,for whose murder the Menkin was later charged.
It was also speculated that the bodymarked C was provisionally determined to be
Agnes Wood's son. The next infantwas found at eleven Olderson Street, buried

(26:52):
two feet deep, wrapped in blackcloth and estimated age was between two to
six weeks. The time since burialwas est mated from six to twelve months,
and the gender was listed as impossibleto ascertain. And finally, the
house on Levy Street brought up theremains of two infants in the yard near
the kitchen wall. The infants wereburied together, but not Mountchells could be

(27:15):
confirmed as little remained but bones fromthis came inquests into the attempt to identify
the infants and what caused their deaths. This even went as far as to
publish the sexes of the infants,as well as what clothing they were buried
with as to ask the public forany insights that could help shed light on
who they belonged to. At onepoint, after the jury were sworn in,

(27:38):
the inquest visited South Sydney Morgue toview the bodies of the infants.
It was whilst there that the femaleprisoners became greatly affected, crying crocodile tears.
Starting the sixth of March eighteen ninetythree, John and Sarah Menkin were
put on trial at the Central CriminalCourt. They were charged with having for

(28:00):
ooniously and maliciously murdered Horace Amber Murray. They were also charged with having murdered
a certain male infant whose name isunknown, on or around the same time
at the same place. The Mankinspleaded not guilty to the charges and were
defended by Ptolemus Williamson. The juryhad been sworn in and the trial formerly

(28:21):
began. Sarah and John were broughtup from the cells below, and John
made himself comfortable by crossing his armsand legs sitting in the dock. During
the Crown Prosecutor's address and the witness'sevidence, John put on a front of
confidence through his body language, refusingto show any shame, unlike Sarah,
who hid her face with a handkerchiefthroughout the day. Witnesses included Amber Murray,

(28:44):
who detailed a sequence of events leadingto her handing over her infant to
the Mankins. She identified the clothesfound on the remains of the child as
those that her son was wearing whenhe was handed over. On the second
day of the trial, Edward Jordan, a horse trainer who was locked up
in Newton Police station with John Menkin, gave evidence. During the confinement.

(29:06):
He alleged that John told him thatseven babies had been found, but there
was an eighth not yet discovered.John allegedly added that when the eighth was
found, he would never see daylightever again, and that was what a
man got for obliging people. Edwardalso claimed that Menkin told him no doctor

(29:26):
could prove that he had poisoned anyof them because he never went near a
chemist. What an actual scumbag.The issue the prosecution was facing in this
case was proving that it was actualmurder without any evidence. Deal listening maybe
thinking the same as me and wonderinghow them being buried in their backyard isn't
evidence enough. Well, that isbecause that was a practice some would participate

(29:52):
in as they did not have thefunds to bury their loved ones in a
cemetery. Now, on top ofthat, the bodies were in such a
state of decay and forensic testing wasin its infancy, so there was no
way to prove how the babies haddied. This meant that there was insufficient
evidence for Amber Murray and the fourother unmarried mothers. However, what would

(30:14):
act as evidence in this situation wasAmber's midwife and Edward Jordan as a prison
informant. The mencons were taking exceedinglylow premiums, only taking between two to
five pounds to adopt a baby forlife. This would not have been nearly
enough to help feed and clothe thebabies they took in, thus giving way
to proposed motive to kill the babiesso they could keep the small amount of

(30:38):
money without having to spend any further. This brought him with how the Menkans
would lie consistently to the mothers ofthese babies, including how they moved to
Hurstville, how Amber had been showna different sickly baby covered in sores,
and the concealment of the unnatural deathof Horace. Sadly, this was all
only circumstance. Auncil evidence. Theyhad no eye witnesses to call up,

(31:03):
or at least none that were willingto talk, But the prosecution was not
going to go down without a fightand called Constable Joyce to give evidence on
the twelve other deceased babies found inthe yards of the houses that the Mancons
had lived in. Constable Joyce wasthe first witness on the stand, and
as the days would go by,the Mancons would watch the parade of mothers

(31:25):
give evidence about their baby farming activities. Clara Risby also went on the witness
box, followed by Mary Stacy andAgnes Todd, showing that the Mankons had
been extremely busy during the month ofJune, taking on so many babies as
they could, before promptly disposing ofthem like they were nothing. Each mother

(31:47):
sobbed as they were counted parting withtheir children. They had been lied to
and now their babies were dead ratherthan living a better life that they had
been promised. Then came Missus Hill, briefly the neighbor of the Mankins,
giving evidence on the suspicious activities thatshe would witness where John would be in
the yard with picks and shovels,which was then followed by Edward Jordan claiming

(32:08):
that John admitted to burying babies inthe yard of Burron and George Street,
and almost as a final nail inthe proverbial coffin for the Mankins. On
day three, the defense did notcall any witnesses to the stand, nor
did John or Sarah explain their ownversion of events. The defense even tried

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to use technicalities to debunk what evidencehad been gathered, including that he believed
baby Horace had not been clearly identifiedand that the cause of his death could
not be proved. Finally, JusticeStephen turned to the jury and advised them
that the mankons failure to give evidenceshould not be used against them because the

(32:50):
law allowed them their right to silence. The jury retired at five pm and
returned to the court at ten amthe next morning. The former stated that
they had agreed to a verdict ofguilty for the murder of Horace Murray in
the respect of both prisoners. Theforeman added that they strongly recommended mercy for

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Sarah Menkin. Justice Stephens said hewould defer passing sentence pending determination by the
Supreme Court on points regarding admissibility ofcertain evidence at trial. It was greatly
debated and eventually agreed upon that theMenkins did not receive a fair trial,
and in certain publication it was boldlyclaimed that justice had been administered in the

(33:35):
dark. That being said, itwas also stated in other publications, specifically
other newspapers, that while the hangman'snoose was one of the worst ways to
go, no one deserved it morethan the Mankin family. The appeal against
the conviction was heard on the twentythird of March before a full bench of
the Supreme Court, which was madeup of Justice Windier, Justice Enis,

(34:00):
and Justice Fosters. The Queen's counsel, Sir Julian Solomon's led in support of
the appeal, with Francis Rogers,Queen's counsel, heading the team in the
support of conviction. The grounds forthe appeal were as follows. One,
just as Stephen was wrong in admittingevidence of all the bodies aside from the
bodies of the alleged children, tobe Horace Murray. Two the judge was

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wrong admitting the evidence of mothers apartfrom Amber Murray, who had given up
her children to their mankins. Three, That there was no evidence to prove
the body marked d was that ofHorace Murray. For and finally that there
was no evidence of the death orcause of death of Horace Murray, or

(34:43):
that he had been murdered. Afterarguments had been made and heard out in
full, the Bench advised they wouldconsider their decision. This would take roughly
a week, and on the thirtiethof March it was finally delivered and the
appeal had been dismissed, confirming theconvictions. The main judgment was twenty seven
pages in length, but to givethe short of it, Justice Windea agreed

(35:06):
with the conviction and was supported byJustice Foster. Justice Enis disagreed with how
the evidence was presented and that theother evidence should not have been included.
However, he agreed with his fellowjudges that the convictions against the Mankins should
stand. Think about that. Vori. Second, you have a Supreme Court

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judge agree with you that things weren'tdone correctly, but then turns around and
says that you should still hang forit. It's almost like taking a math
test where your calculations are wrong,but still somehow you get the right answer.
On the same day of the appealdismissal, John and Sarah Mankin appeared
and were sentenced in the Criminal Courtby Justice Stephen. John Menkin stood up

(35:51):
on the dock giving full attitude,whilst Sarah Mankin was assisted into her place
and hid her face with a handkerchief. When Justice Stephen if there was anything
they had to say as to whythe sentence should not be passed, John
replied defiantly, saying I have onlygot to say that we are innocent for
the sake of our children. Justas Stephen, whose voice was described as

(36:15):
serious and stern, it was quotedas saying, you stand before me convicted
of the murder which was accompanied byalmost every incident that could possibly add to
its wickedness. You took money fromthe mother of horace. You beguiled her
with promises which you never meant toperform, having already determined the death of

(36:35):
the child. You misled her byfalse statements as to your name, you
deceived her as to your address.Finally, in order to render your detection
impossible, you buried the child inthe yard, as you would the carcass
of a dog. You were engagedin baby farming in its most hideous and
revolting aspect. Three yards of housesin which you lived testified with vastly evidence

(37:00):
that you were carrying on this nefariousand hellish trade, destroying the lives of
those infants for the sake of gain. These young women who testified against you
cold upon you, each of themcry where is my child? To that
cry you have never given an answer, and do not even now. Who
then, can doubt that the childrenmet with their deaths in one way or

(37:23):
by other criminal conduct on your part? And for what for a paltry sum
of five pounds or three pounds ortwo psums you can count as nothing against
the lives of sufferings, And Godknows the sufferings of these poor babies.
Surely two people stand before me whosehearts must be hard as adamant, utterly

(37:45):
indifferent to human suffering, and humanconscience must be utterly dead. I only
hope that in the time that remainedto you, your hearts will be softened,
and you will endeavor to find mercyat the hands of him who gave
you lives you have taken away.I do trust you will remember thirteen children.
I am not unjust in referring tothem. I only hope and trust

(38:08):
that though you have given no accountof them, the community calls upon you,
and you must account to God.Nothing remains for me but to pass
the sentence of death upon you.The sentence of the court upon you,
John Mankon, is that you wouldbe taken to the place of execution,
and there you be hanged by theneck until your body is dead. Justice

(38:30):
Stephen then turned his attention directly toSarah Mankon and was quoted as saying,
in your case, of course,I shall call for the execution recommendation to
mercy, where it will receive consideration. But the effect of consideration I am
not able to say. And mayGod have mercy on your souls. The
Mankins attempted to appeal their sentencing,but it was dismissed once again, leaving

(38:54):
them to their fates. But notone, but not one to give up.
John Maykin attempted to start a petition, which was signed by a few
Wollongong citizens to save his worthless life. However, the Executive Council, as
expected, was unconvinced by the petitionto save John's life and decided the law

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should take its course. John Mankinwas executed by hanging just after nine am
on Tuesday, the fifteenth of Augusteighteen ninety three at the Darlinghurst Jail.
Five days prior to her husband's execution, Sarah Mankin was transferred from Darlinghurst Jail
to Bathurst Jail, and in Mayof eighteen ninety five she was transferred back

(39:36):
to darling Hurst Jail and then returnedto Bathurst Jail in November of eighteen ninety
eight. During her second stay atBathurst, she was given a job as
hospital attendant at the jail. However, her health deteriorated during her incarceration,
occasionally suffering from intestinal hemorrhages. Sufficeto say she deserved it. By nineteen

(39:58):
o seven, two of Sarah's daughterFlorence and Minnie, had ample concerns for
their mother's health, and both wroteto the Attorney General requesting the release from
prison. Ultimately, their requests hadbeen refused. Sarah continued to move from
prison to prison, and in nineteeneleven, a new Attorney General took position

(40:19):
in office, prompting Sarah's daughters tostart another campaign for her release so that
she can spend her last days withher family. This time, after considering
her advanced age and declining health,the Attorney General recommended her release and Sarah
Mankin was discharged quietly and anonymously fromLong Bay Jail on the twenty ninth of

(40:42):
April nineteen eleven, into the careof her daughter Florence and her husband.
Sarah Mankin died on the thirteenth ofSeptember nineteen eighteen, aged seventy two years,
from senile decay and heart failure,which was possibly due to syphilis.
She was buried in the rock cemetry. I don't know why they released her.
She ended up with seven years onthe outside with her family. Those

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babies didn't even get more than afew days, so personal opinion, she
should have been left to rot ina cell. But on that note,
that is all I have for youthis week. I will be posting relevant
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to reach out to me or youwould like to find out how you can

(41:27):
help support the podcast. You cando so by sending me an email at
Whisker pod at gmail dot com.That is w Y s K A p
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time, stay safe and stay hydratedby