HomeMy WebLinkAboutElizabeth TilfordELIZABETH
TILFORD
THE SLOW YEAR-
LONG DEATHOxalic acid( Salts of a Lemon )arsenic( Arsenic Trioxide )Historical notes on her initial use of "salts of lemon" overnearly a year before switching to drugstore arsenic
1 of the 11-13women whowereexecuted inCanada
DEC 17,
1935
Execution Date
Convicted and hangedfor murdering herhusband, Tyrrell Tilfordvia poisoning witharsenic ( March 1935 ).She pleaded guilty, butwas found guilty later on.She was executed byhanging on the 17 ofDecember, 1935 at theOxford County Gaol.
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Over the course of nearly a year (1934–1935), she administeredsmall doses of "salts of lemon" (oxalic acid) to gradually weakenhis health.
On the 30 of March, it was said that she had ordered two ouncesof arsenic, saying she was gonna use it for rats. Later revealed sheused the arsenic to poison her husband.
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She mixed the odorless, tasteless white powder directly into hismeals and drinks, escalating the dosage until he succumbed tofatal poison accumulation in 1935.
To hide the weapon, she wrapped the remaining leftoverpackage of white arsenic in oilcloth and concealed it inside a jarof mustard pickles in her cellar.