Jessie King

Jessie King (or Kean) (27 March 1861 - 11 March 1889) was a Scottish laundress and baby farmer in Edinburgh who was found guilty of murdering three children. She was the last woman to be hanged in Edinburgh.

In the years after her death, scholars have debated when King was actually guilty or not. When their house was raided, a second dead infant, a baby girl named Violet, She was buried near what is now St. Andrew's House. Pearson died in Glasgow in 1890.

Doubts of guilt Some scholars have suggested that Pearson was actually the killer of the children. The second child was found in a spot that King would not have been able to access, while another child was wrapped in Pearson's coat. Pearson's testimony was also vital to King's conviction.

Additionally, modern scholars believe King may have suffered from some form of mental illness.