William Newton Allnutt

William Allnutt was 12 years old when indicted at the Old Bailey for the murder of Samuel Nelme. Samuel Nelme was his grandfather. William and his mother had been living with Samuel for the last two years since William's father had died. His father was insane and 37 when he died and William also was quite insane. He would sleepwalk and yell out things in the night and he also heard voices. These voices told his to put arsenic into the sugar bowl that Samuel used and this killed him. His mother said she had had a lot of trouble with him doing quite crazy things and getting into trouble and after many doctor's testimony at the trial William was found guilty and sentenced to death. William was 4'11" tall, had light brown hair, dark brown eyes, a long face, sallow complexion, healthy build and freckled. 14/10/1851: TOL 17/4/1853: Died of Pethisis (Tuberculosis). At the time of the trial William also had Scrofula, which is tuberculosis affecting the lymph nodes, especially in the neck. The doctor's suggested this may also have affected his brain function at the time of the murder.