In 1828, Edinburgh,
Scotland was all abuzz by what was called the Burke and Hare murders…they were
a series of 16 murders committed over a period of about ten months…the killers
were ‘gentlemen’ named William Burke and William Hare…they took the corpses and
sold them to a Dr. Robert Knox…he used them for dissection at his anatomy
lectures…Edinburgh was a well-known place of anatomical study at the time and
when the demand for cadavers exceeded the supply, a Scottish law was passed
saying that corpses used for medical research could only come from those who
had the misfortune of dying in prison, or from those who were suicide victims,
or even orphans…the shortage of cadavers led to a thriving business in grave
robbing…as a result, there were measures taken to ensure that graves were left
undisturbed and this only made the shortage worse…one day, a lodger in Hare's
house died and he turned to his good friend Burke for advice and they decided
to sell the body to the good doctor...they received what they felt was a
generous sum...two months later, Hare noticed a lodger suffering from fever…he
and Burke murdered her and sold the body to Knox for a profit once again...industrious
men that they were, they discovered a new business for themselves…continue to
murder for money, so the killing spree continued…finally, their deeds were
discovered and police were contacted…despite police feeling that the men were
guilty, they had no evidence…finally Hare was offered immunity if he testified
which he later did…he confessed that he was involved in all 16 killings…Burke
was found guilty of one murder and was hanged…Dr. Knox faced no murder charges
based on the testimony of Hare, although many in the court of public opinion
believed him guilty in some sort, and his reputation was damaged forever…the gruesome
killings did raise public awareness of the need for bodies for medical research...later,
the Anatomy Act of 1832 was passed…and what happened to William Hare? Rumors
say he would up as a blind beggar on the streets of London, once having been ganged
up on and thrown into a lime pit...his date of death is uncertain.
(Originally published 11/01/17)
