0:01

Due to the nature of

0:03

this case, listener discretion

0:05

is advised. This episode

0:08

includes discussions of murder.

0:10

Consider this when deciding

0:12

how and when you'll listen.

0:15

In 16th century England,

0:18

some people believed witchcraft

0:20

was behind any bad

0:22

fortune like plagues, poor

0:24

harvests, or even deaf.

0:26

It went so far

0:28

that Parliament passed a

0:30

law that made witchcraft

0:33

a crime. Between 1560

0:35

and 1700, 513 people,

0:37

usually poor women, were

0:40

put on trial for

0:42

witchcraft, 112 of which

0:44

were put to death.

0:46

The laws were repealed

0:48

in 1736. But sorcery

0:50

was still in the

0:52

public consciousness nearly 60

0:54

years later, when a

0:56

woman named Mary Bateman

0:58

became known as the Yorkshire

1:01

witch. The charms she

1:03

crafted certainly convinced many

1:05

of her magical power,

1:07

but was Mary a

1:10

sorceress? Or just a

1:12

scammer. I'm Vanessa Richardson,

1:14

and this is Serial Killers, a

1:16

Spotify podcast. You can find us

1:18

here every Monday. Be sure to

1:20

check us out on Instagram at

1:22

Serial Killers Podcast. We'd love to

1:25

hear from you. If you're listening

1:27

on the Spotify app, swipe up

1:29

and give us your thoughts. This

1:31

week, we're examining the story

1:33

of Mary Bateman, known as

1:35

the Yorkshire Witch. Mary started

1:37

out innocently enough, telling fortunes

1:39

to wealthy women in her village.

1:41

But soon, Mary

1:44

learned how she

1:47

could use her

1:50

supposed powers to

1:52

lie, steal, and

1:55

even kill. Stay

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3:33

Mary Bateman's death is well

3:36

remembered. But despite this, the

3:38

details surrounding her birth are

3:40

frustratingly vague. All we know

3:42

is that she entered the

3:44

world in December 1767, or

3:46

January 1768. Let's imagine that

3:48

the winds blew a bit

3:50

more ominously that day, as

3:52

the people of Asenby England

3:54

welcomed the wicked cries. of

3:57

a future witch. In childhood,

3:59

Mary was nothing if not

4:01

mischievous. Born to farmers, she

4:03

was the third of six

4:05

children, which might have left

4:07

her feeling overlooked as she

4:09

tended to her wide array

4:11

of daily chores to support

4:13

her family. Perhaps it was

4:15

a reaction to a lack

4:17

of parental attention and frustration

4:20

with her tiresome life that

4:22

led Mary to wickedness at

4:24

a young age. Like another

4:26

certain well-known witch, Mary couldn't

4:28

resist a beautiful pair of

4:30

shoes. In 1773, when she

4:32

was just five, she laid

4:34

eyes on a particularly stunning

4:36

leather pair. She promptly stole

4:38

them, then stashed them in

4:41

her father's barn. Her efforts

4:43

to hide her loot suggests

4:45

that Mary understood what she

4:47

did was wrong, so we

4:49

know she had a moral

4:51

compass. It's just that she

4:53

didn't ever seem interested in

4:55

following it. Months later, Young

4:57

Mary retrieved the loafers from

4:59

her secret storage spot and

5:02

brought them to her parents.

5:04

She acted like she just

5:06

happened to find them and

5:08

pick them up. Of course,

5:10

that was a total lie.

5:12

Even at this young age,

5:14

Mary was already displaying some

5:16

worrisome tendencies. For three days

5:18

every July Mary's parish was

5:20

transformed by the toply fair

5:22

Visitors and locals alike loitered

5:25

down cobbled streets between the

5:27

troves of trinket stalls food

5:29

vendors and street performers Usually

5:31

buttoned up people tossed aside

5:33

their regular ethics to make

5:35

the most of the frivolity

5:37

Men fought in public brawls

5:39

and boisterously courted maidens. Meanwhile

5:41

the streets teamed with merchants

5:43

eager to make a quick

5:46

buck. Among them were a

5:48

few who fascinated Mary. Every

5:50

year these visitors traveled to

5:52

the annual event to help

5:54

others spend their money. Mary

5:56

watched and chanted as they

5:58

sold potions and told fortunes.

6:00

These were tricks of a

6:02

trade Mary didn't yet fully

6:04

comprehend, but she did understand

6:06

that their exaggerated stories were

6:09

lucrative. So Mary started telling

6:11

myths of her own. We

6:13

don't know exactly what kinds

6:15

of stories she told the

6:17

locals in her small town,

6:19

but by the time she

6:21

was 12, she'd earned a

6:23

reputation as one of Asenby's

6:25

most notorious liars. Eventually, her lying

6:27

got so bad that her parents

6:30

didn't know what to do with

6:32

her. At their wits end, they

6:34

sent Mary off to the bustling

6:36

town of Thursk to work for

6:38

a family as a maid in

6:40

1780. But Mary, who was around

6:42

12 years old, had no intention

6:45

of changing her ways. In fact,

6:47

her new job did little to

6:50

incentivize any improvement in her behavior

6:52

at all. She woke every day before

6:54

sunrise. She washed floors, lit

6:56

fires in all the rooms,

6:59

emptied chamber pots, fetched hot

7:01

water, and prepared the kitchen

7:03

for breakfast, all before her

7:05

employer woke up. She had

7:07

to complete her chores without

7:09

question, and if she didn't

7:11

do them properly, Mary faced

7:13

the risk of a beating.

7:15

Other girls of Mary's station

7:17

accepted these terms in exchange

7:20

for room and board. For

7:22

them, such difficult circumstances were

7:24

simply a fact of life. But

7:26

Mary wasn't so resigned to such

7:28

an existence. She tended to her

7:30

responsibilities well enough, but when no

7:33

one was around, she likely stole

7:35

things. And if her mistress ever

7:37

questioned her about it, she lied

7:39

to weasel her way out of

7:42

punishment. It was a repeat play

7:44

out of the shoe incident from

7:46

years earlier, only the stakes were

7:48

far higher. After several years,

7:50

it's possible that her thieving

7:53

ways became so bad that

7:55

the family fired Mary. So,

7:57

she went to another family,

7:59

then another... After that, each

8:01

time she was supposedly dismissed for

8:03

the same reasons. She was a

8:06

liar and a thief. In 1787,

8:08

19-year-old Mary found one final job

8:10

as a maid, but perhaps when

8:13

she was caught stealing from her

8:15

mistress, she was fired again. And

8:18

this time, she was forced to

8:20

leave without packing, which meant she

8:22

had no money and no clothes.

8:25

The dead end marked a turning

8:27

point for Mary. While she didn't

8:30

enjoy working as a maid, it

8:32

had at least been a living.

8:34

Now without recommendations from past employers,

8:37

she needed to find a new

8:39

job, something in a field where

8:42

she hadn't blackened her name. So

8:44

in 1788... 20-year-old Mary moved yet

8:46

again, this time to Leeds, a

8:49

town about 40 miles southwest of

8:51

Thursk. Similar to the toply fair

8:54

she loved in her childhood, there

8:56

was a sense of boisterous freedom

8:58

to Leeds growing metropolis. What's more,

9:01

a reputation would take far longer

9:03

to tarnish in such a big

9:06

town. That idea might have occurred

9:08

to Mary as she desperately searched

9:10

for a job. Luckily, she found

9:13

one when one of her mother's

9:15

friends referred her to a seamstress

9:18

who specialized in making Manchua's, a

9:20

kind of fashionable overgown. Mary likely

9:22

learned how to sew in early

9:25

childhood, but now at 20, she

9:27

finally had the opportunity to put

9:30

that skill to use. Recognizing it

9:32

was her way out of a

9:34

life of servantry, Mary treated the

9:37

new gig with more respect and

9:39

diligence than she showed in her

9:42

old jobs. At least, it certainly

9:44

seems that way, because as far

9:46

as we can tell, Mary was

9:49

never caught stealing from this boss.

9:51

Though that might be because she

9:54

decided her deceptive smarts were better

9:56

applied elsewhere. Not long after she

9:58

started her new job, Mary... took

10:01

up a side hustle, telling fortunes

10:03

for servant girls who came into

10:06

the shop. Twenty-year-old Mary copied the

10:08

fortune tellers she'd watched during childhood,

10:10

spinning eccentric stories to convince gullible

10:13

maids that she had special abilities.

10:15

In turn, the young women gushed

10:18

about Mary to their wealthy mistresses,

10:20

who came to witness the magic

10:22

for themselves. Doing this, Mary learned

10:25

how to best exploit the fears

10:27

and biases of others in her

10:30

favor. She liked to tell some

10:32

of her clients that someone in

10:34

town had placed an evil wish

10:37

upon them. Then she promised that

10:39

she could remove the curse for

10:42

a price. Eager to rid themselves

10:44

of any dark magic, Mary's clients

10:46

usually paid up. For other seekers,

10:49

Mary relied on old wives tales

10:51

to peddle magical advice. For example,

10:54

she might tell a woman who

10:56

wanted to get pregnant that she

10:58

should rock an empty cradle to

11:01

make her wish come true. These

11:03

kinds of superstitions had floated about

11:06

England for centuries, and now they

11:08

provided a reliable way for Mary

11:10

to convince others of her mystical

11:13

powers. So in this way, Mary

11:15

spent her first few years in

11:18

leads perfecting her cons. The result

11:20

was that by late 1792, the

11:22

24-year-old enjoyed a good reputation as

11:25

a witch. However, the nature of

11:27

her cons shifted slightly when she

11:30

met John Bateman, a well-mannered wheelwright,

11:32

in early 1793. Though Mary's witchcraft

11:34

side hustle was certainly controversial, John

11:37

didn't seem to mind. Either that,

11:39

or he didn't know about it.

11:42

So, the two hit it off

11:44

rather quickly. After only three weeks

11:46

of courtship, the couple married in

11:49

February of 1793. They promptly moved

11:51

into a furnished room at High

11:54

Court Lane and were happy for

11:56

a spell. But before long, Mary's

11:58

darker side emerged. According to Summer

12:01

Streven's author of The Yorkshire Witch,

12:03

the life and trial of Mary

12:06

Bateman, within two months of the

12:08

wedding, Mary broke into a man's

12:10

private box at their building and

12:13

stole his watch, some silver spoons,

12:15

and two guineas. It didn't take

12:18

long for the man to confront

12:20

Mary and threatened to bring the

12:22

matter to authorities. In the 1700s,

12:25

theft of more than 40 shillings

12:27

in value from a dwelling house

12:30

was a capital offense, and Mary

12:32

risked hanging if found guilty. So

12:34

she had little choice but to

12:37

return the pilfered items. It wasn't

12:39

ideal. Mary knew that if she

12:42

wanted to continue enriching herself with

12:44

other people's money, she'd have to

12:46

be more clever about it in

12:49

the future. So, with that in

12:51

mind, she turned her sights to

12:54

linen stores. She'd visit the merchants,

12:56

claiming that her employer had instructed

12:58

her to select three silk petty

13:01

coats. Of course, her employer didn't

13:03

exist. Mary gave the shop owners

13:06

a made-up name. With the valuable

13:08

garments in hand, Mary assured the

13:10

merchants that her mistress would look

13:13

them over, then return to and

13:15

pay for the other one. After

13:18

leaving the shop, Mary's plot was

13:20

half done. She'd return days later

13:22

with two of the pieces, as

13:25

promised, then direct that the third

13:27

be charged to the account of

13:30

the made-up mistress. It took quite

13:32

some time for the cashiers to

13:34

realize they'd been tricked. That only

13:37

happened once they asked around and

13:39

learned that Mary's mistress wasn't real.

13:42

By then, Mary was long gone,

13:44

able to wear or sell her

13:46

expensive new petticoat. It was her

13:49

most elaborate swindle to date, and

13:51

it was so successful that she

13:54

started thinking about new schemes she

13:56

could carry out. Mary Bateman was

13:58

just getting started. This

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and coverage match limited by state

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law, not available in all

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states. By 1793, 25-year-old Mary Bateman

14:36

had spent four years in Leeds

14:39

establishing a reputation for herself as

14:41

a soothsayer, but she returned her

14:43

focus to petty theft and cons

14:46

when she married John Bateman that

14:48

same year. Perhaps his financial support

14:50

meant she no longer had to

14:53

maintain her seamstress job, so, left

14:55

to her own devices, Mary reverted

14:57

to old habits. Her husband further

15:00

enabled Mary's thievery by moving across

15:02

town with her every time she

15:04

fell out of favor with their

15:07

neighbors. But around 1795, 27-year-old Mary

15:09

faced a new kind of dilemma.

15:11

That year, one of her victims

15:13

threatened to expose her as a

15:16

thief, so she cut a deal

15:18

with him. If he stayed quiet,

15:20

she'd make it worth his while.

15:23

There was just one problem. She

15:25

didn't have any money to pay

15:27

him off. Desperate to save herself,

15:30

Mary decided she'd sell the furniture

15:32

in the lodging room that her

15:34

and John rented. Mary knew John

15:37

wouldn't be on board with her

15:39

plot, so she devised a plan

15:41

to get him out of the

15:44

way, for the time being. She

15:46

forged a note claiming that John's

15:48

father was on his deathbed. Then

15:51

she found John at work and

15:53

handed him the letter. Distrought, John

15:55

rushed to his father's side in

15:57

a neighboring town, a full... 40

16:00

mile trek. When he arrived, John

16:02

was relieved to see his father

16:04

up and about, but relief turned

16:07

to confusion when his bewildered dad

16:09

revealed that he'd never been sick

16:11

in the first place. Mary's letter

16:14

had been a cruel trick. When

16:16

John returned to Leeds, he was

16:18

shocked to find that all of

16:21

the furniture from their room was

16:23

gone. Mary had sold it all.

16:25

Like in childhood, Mary's willingness to

16:28

wrong others, as long as it

16:30

benefited her, suggests that she still

16:32

paid no attention to her moral

16:35

compass. Now older, however, Mary's actions

16:37

were harder to excuse. Still, when

16:39

John asked her about the furniture,

16:41

Mary explained that she'd owed money

16:44

to someone, and she had no

16:46

choice. Selling their belongings was just

16:48

the quickest way to pay off

16:51

the debt, she said. The incident

16:53

with his father likely put a

16:55

strain on their marriage, but John

16:58

apparently remained true to his wedding

17:00

vows. He stayed with Mary despite

17:02

her faults, perhaps believing that she'd

17:05

see the error of her ways

17:07

and do better. He had no

17:09

idea that Mary's long list of

17:12

deceitful acts was only going to

17:14

grow, and all it took was

17:16

a small spark. On February 13th

17:19

1796, a fire started at a

17:21

flaxmill in an industrial district on

17:23

the edge of Leeds. Firefighting teams

17:25

showed up, but there wasn't much

17:28

they could do. Ten people died

17:30

in the blaze, and still more

17:32

were injured and had to be

17:35

rushed to nearby hospitals. After the

17:37

tragedy, locals hurried to support those

17:39

affected. They saw an opportunity to

17:42

help their neighbors. But 28-year-old Mary

17:44

saw an opportunity to make a

17:46

profit. Pretending to be a charitable

17:49

volunteer, Mary went to the doors

17:51

of aristocrats, asking them to donate

17:53

bedsheets to lay the debt upon.

17:56

She also pretended to be a

17:58

nurse. and asked for fine linens,

18:00

claiming they'd be supplied to the

18:03

wounded who were stuck in the

18:05

infirmary. Once she had the linens,

18:07

Mary took the fabrics to a

18:09

local pawn shop, where she sold

18:12

them for a tidy sum. No

18:14

one ever noticed what she did.

18:16

They only remembered her selfless efforts

18:19

to collect the sheets. So whenever

18:21

people thanked her for her service,

18:23

Mary acted as though she was

18:26

genuinely devoted to the cause. Still

18:28

not everyone ignored Mary's cons. People

18:30

definitely talked and she faced her

18:33

share of derision over the years.

18:35

Eventually it got to be too

18:37

much for John. His wife had

18:40

sullied their name with her schemes.

18:42

When it was just the two

18:44

of them, he might have put

18:47

up with it, but they'd had

18:49

two children recently and he wouldn't

18:51

have wanted them saddled with Mary's

18:53

baggage. So perhaps seeking to leave

18:56

behind Mary's burned bridges. John made

18:58

an executive decision. In 1796, he

19:00

enlisted in the armed forces. Specifically,

19:03

he joined the supplementary militia, which

19:05

aimed to protect England from various

19:07

threats. Mary had little choice but

19:10

to follow John and stay in

19:12

military quarters. While there, she might

19:14

have dabbled in witchcraft and fortune-telling

19:17

to make a little extra money,

19:19

but it's also likely she kept

19:21

herself busy raising their children. Caring

19:24

for the kids would have consumed

19:26

much of Mary's time while John

19:28

was with the military, but before

19:31

she knew it, John was ready

19:33

to return to Leeds. In 1799,

19:35

he left the militia and moved

19:37

31-year-old Mary and their two children

19:40

back to the city. Maybe John

19:42

thought that enough time had passed

19:44

for his wife's reputation to recover.

19:47

Maybe people had forgotten about Mary's

19:49

schemes and cons. But it wasn't

19:51

to be. As soon as she

19:54

got back to her old haunts,

19:56

Mary conjured up her old business.

20:00

It started small. She prepared

20:02

love spells, sold trinkets, and

20:04

told fortunes for eager customers.

20:06

She also advertised herself as

20:09

a professional agent for screw-or-down

20:11

charms. Mary explained the term

20:13

like this. In a world

20:15

where people lurked around every

20:17

corner, wishing to do harm

20:19

to others, Mary had access

20:22

to someone who could screw

20:24

them down with a magic

20:26

spell. It was a sort

20:28

of preemptive strike, and it

20:30

preyed on her customers' paranoia

20:32

and gullibility. If anyone ever

20:35

did question her, Mary had

20:37

an answer ready. She told

20:39

skeptics that much of her

20:41

power and the knowledge she

20:43

had came from a mysterious

20:46

woman known only as Mrs.

20:48

Moore. According to Mary, Mrs.

20:50

Moore was the seventh child

20:52

of a seventh child who

20:54

possessed the gift of second

20:56

sight or divine intuition. She

20:59

was the one advising Mary

21:01

from the shadows. She saw

21:03

all. She knew all. She

21:05

didn't exist. Most ate up

21:07

the lie, believing that Mary's

21:09

source was as powerful as

21:12

she claimed. Eventually, young maids

21:14

whispered to their mistresses and

21:16

friends, spreading the word about

21:18

Mary's services once again, now

21:20

with an added element of

21:22

mystery. In short, Mrs. Moore

21:25

was Mary's master stroke. She

21:27

manipulated her clients, playing them

21:29

for fools, watching as they

21:31

danced to her tune. And

21:33

as she pulled in more

21:35

and more believers, it occurred

21:38

to Mary just how powerful

21:40

she was becoming. She could

21:42

make people do anything she

21:44

wanted. And who was there

21:46

to stop her? No one.

21:52

After returning to leads with

21:54

her family in 1799, 31-year-old

21:56

Mary Bateman began practicing witchcraft.

21:59

again, or so she claimed.

22:01

Just like she had when

22:03

she worked as a seamstress,

22:06

Mary found that people were

22:08

easy to dupe with a

22:10

well-told lie. When fearful customers

22:12

came to her for advice,

22:15

she eagerly answered, citing the

22:17

mysterious and fictitious Mrs. Moore

22:19

as her source. And some

22:22

fell helplessly under Mary's spell,

22:24

with disastrous consequences. Around 1800

22:26

a woman by the name

22:28

of Mrs. Greenwood came to

22:30

Mary with grave marital concerns.

22:32

She told Mary she'd been

22:34

worried for her husband's safety

22:36

since he'd left for a trip.

22:38

Playing on Mrs. Greenwood's fears,

22:41

Mary announced that Mr. Greenwood

22:43

had in fact been imprisoned

22:45

during his travels. According to

22:48

Mary, his only hope was

22:50

Mrs. Moore, only she could

22:52

secure his release. And her

22:54

help, well... It didn't come cheap.

22:56

In order for Mrs. Moore

22:58

to properly screw down the

23:01

jail guards, Mary requested four

23:03

pieces of leather, four pieces

23:05

of blotting paper, four brass

23:07

screws, and four pieces of

23:09

gold. It's likely that Mary

23:11

only cared about the gold,

23:13

but she had to convince

23:15

Mrs. Greenwood there was a

23:17

recipe that would save her

23:19

spouse. but providing a specific

23:21

recipe for success, likely instilled

23:23

in her victim a temporary

23:26

sense of power over her

23:28

fate as well. Dr. Ellen

23:30

J. Lange termed this very

23:32

phenomenon the illusion of control.

23:34

Published in the Journal

23:36

of Personality and Social Psychology,

23:38

Lange's research explains how people

23:40

are able to expect a

23:42

higher likelihood of a positive

23:44

outcome than logic would allow.

23:46

In other words, during situations

23:49

where the outcome is unknown,

23:51

illusions of control grant people

23:53

a greater sense that they

23:55

have influence over what happens

23:57

to them. Though Mrs. Greenwood

23:59

couldn't personally... control what happened

24:01

to her husband, she could

24:03

fulfill Mary's request, thinking it

24:05

might help him. So with

24:07

her instructions clear, Mrs. Greenwood

24:09

leapt into action. But she

24:11

wasn't fast enough, and Mary

24:14

was eager for her payday.

24:16

So she announced that Mrs.

24:18

Greenwood would take her own

24:20

life if she didn't save

24:22

her husband. Now terrified for

24:24

her own life as well

24:26

as her husband's, Mrs. Greenwood

24:28

secured most of the ingredients

24:30

for Mary's spell, but she couldn't

24:32

get her hands on the gold.

24:35

That's when Mary encouraged her to

24:37

simply steal it. Luckily, this particular

24:39

request triggered Mrs. Greenwood's

24:41

better judgment. She realized

24:43

Mary was tricking her and

24:46

walked away. Maybe a

24:48

little humiliated, but somewhat

24:50

wiser, but somewhat wiser too.

24:53

Mary's next victim wouldn't be

24:55

so lucky. Barzali Sted was

24:57

a nervous man. After failing in

24:59

the business world, he worried that

25:02

his creditors would soon come to

25:04

his door, seeking money he didn't

25:06

have. With nowhere else to turn,

25:08

Barzali brought his concerns to Mary.

25:11

Of course, she had little interest

25:14

in helping him find solutions

25:16

to his problems. True to

25:18

form, Mary exploited Barcelona's fears,

25:21

charged him for mystical advice,

25:23

and then convinced him to

25:25

join the army. But like

25:27

every great magician, Mary was

25:30

a master of misdirection. As

25:32

it happened, Barcelona wasn't her

25:35

main priority. The real subject

25:37

of her latest scheme was

25:39

the desperate man's pregnant wife,

25:41

who will call Roberta. Shortly

25:43

after convincing Barcelona to enlist,

25:45

Mary told Roberta that her

25:47

husband was having an affair.

25:49

She claimed to know that

25:51

Barcelona had impregnated this woman

25:53

and that he would soon

25:55

run away with her. Roberta was

25:58

mortified and heartbroken. Naturally,

26:00

Mary promised her that mystical

26:02

intervention was the answer to

26:04

her woes. To seal the

26:06

deal, Mary called in the

26:08

help of Mrs. Moore. Mary

26:11

told Roberta that Mrs. Moore

26:13

would screw down Barcelona's lover

26:15

so she was no longer

26:17

in the picture, but it

26:19

could only happen if Roberta

26:21

paid three crowns. According to

26:23

author Summer Strevens, this would

26:25

have been over a week's

26:28

wages for a skilled craftsman

26:30

at the time. And impatient

26:32

as ever, Mary told Roberta

26:34

that she only had until

26:36

Barcelona left for the military

26:38

to act. Otherwise, all hope

26:40

would be lost. Though Roberta

26:42

and her husband were already

26:45

struggling financially, she decided it

26:47

was best to invest in

26:49

the help of Mary and

26:51

Mrs. Moore. So she scraped

26:53

together the cash. Then there

26:55

was just one other ingredient

26:57

the witch needed. Two lumps

26:59

of coal. According to Mary,

27:02

they were to be placed

27:04

on the doorstep of Varsalai's

27:06

mistress. Mary told Roberta that

27:08

when the other woman found

27:10

the coal at her door,

27:12

she'd bring them to her

27:14

fire. That's when magic smoke

27:17

would rise up and taint

27:19

all of the woman's fresh

27:21

clothes. With nothing to wear,

27:23

she'd be unable to pack

27:25

a bag to elope with

27:27

Barcelona. And with that, Roberta's

27:29

marriage would be saved. Obviously

27:31

it was all nonsense. A

27:34

tale that Mary made up

27:36

as she went along, but

27:38

Roberta was totally convinced. So

27:40

she supplied the coal and

27:42

the money just in the

27:44

nick of time. Satisfied with

27:46

her payment, Mary told her

27:48

client that the spell was

27:51

complete, and the next morning,

27:53

Barcelona's stead left for the

27:55

military without taking on a

27:57

new bride. Roberta was overcome

27:59

with a sense of relief.

28:01

In Roberta's mind, Mary had

28:03

saved her from ruin and

28:05

her gratitude. was a dangerous

28:08

weapon, one she unwittingly handed

28:10

to the so-called witch. And

28:12

Mary? She fully intended to

28:14

use it against the poor

28:16

woman. We're not sure how,

28:18

but Mary somehow convinced Roberta

28:20

to pawn off various items

28:22

from around her marital home

28:25

and give her the profits.

28:27

Apparently the original payment of

28:29

three crowns hadn't been enough.

28:31

It's entirely possible that while

28:33

grateful for the witch's help,

28:35

Roberta was also scared of

28:37

Mary's powers. And with her

28:39

husband away, there was no

28:42

one to notice or intervene

28:44

as she steadily sold off

28:46

every last belonging until she

28:48

was almost destitute. Weeks later,

28:50

nearly penniless, Roberta felt hopeless.

28:52

No matter how much she

28:54

gave Mary, it seemed it

28:56

was never enough. Seeing no

28:59

way out, she attempted suicide.

29:01

But she didn't die. Mary

29:03

was relieved. She wasn't done

29:05

exerting her wicked influence over

29:07

the vulnerable woman. Following her

29:09

brush with death, Roberta managed

29:11

to get financial assistance from

29:14

a charity known as the

29:16

Leeds Benevolent Society. Mary took

29:18

part of the payment. Then

29:20

she told Roberta that her

29:22

father-in-law was out to murder

29:24

her, but that Mrs. Moore

29:26

could stop him. So the

29:28

desperate woman pawned off her

29:31

remaining possessions to pay for

29:33

magical protection. Even then, Mary

29:35

wasn't done. She convinced the

29:37

fretful woman that her eight-year-old

29:39

daughter would soon take her

29:41

own life or be killed

29:43

by a seducer. Unless she

29:45

wore a special charm bracelet

29:48

Mary just happened to be

29:50

offering for sale. By this

29:52

stage, Roberta was in too

29:54

deep to see reason, too

29:56

afraid to understand she was

29:58

being conned, and when she

30:00

was completely tapped, Mary... lost

30:02

interest. That's when Roberta began

30:05

to finally question Mary's powers.

30:07

When she told neighbors everything

30:09

that the witch had done

30:11

for her, they didn't believe

30:13

Mary was the real deal.

30:15

They urged Roberta to run

30:17

from the nefarious Khan artist,

30:19

but she just couldn't do

30:22

it. So they suggested she

30:24

try a smaller act of

30:26

defiance instead. Each day, Roberta

30:28

wore charms on her clothing

30:30

that Mary insisted would keep

30:32

her alive. Roberta's neighbors told

30:34

her to remove them, just

30:36

to see what would happen.

30:39

The poor woman was terrified.

30:41

For weeks she'd followed Mary's

30:43

domineering instructions. Now, as she

30:45

reached to take off the

30:47

charms, her hands trembled. She

30:49

removed one trinket from her

30:51

pocket, another from her blouse.

30:54

terrified she'd fall ill at

30:56

any moment until finally, with

30:58

the final held breath, she

31:00

took off the last bobble.

31:02

A long silence followed as

31:04

she waited. To her surprise,

31:06

nothing happened, and suddenly it

31:08

was as though she'd snapped

31:11

out of a trance. Angry,

31:13

Roberta threatened to have Mary

31:15

arrested unless she returned all

31:17

the household items and money

31:19

that she'd given her in

31:21

the preceding months. Mary reluctantly

31:23

agreed. What choice did she

31:25

have? But as you can

31:28

probably guess, she didn't have

31:30

the money to repay her

31:32

latest victim. So Mary moved

31:34

to her next victim. A

31:36

pregnant woman will call Elizabeth.

31:38

The father of Elizabeth's child

31:40

had run away. Knowing this,

31:42

Mary figured she had a

31:45

perfect victim. People who were

31:47

uncertain about the future were

31:49

always easiest to manipulate. So,

31:51

keeping with tradition, Mary treated

31:53

Elizabeth's fear with prescribed superstitions.

31:55

For the price of several

31:57

charms, Mary assured the young

31:59

woman that she could bring

32:02

back her absent lover. Of

32:04

course, she could do no

32:06

such thing. The charm failed.

32:08

The man did not return.

32:10

But Mary had no shame.

32:12

She assured Elizabeth that for

32:14

an additional payment, she could

32:16

secure her the love of

32:19

an affluent suit her. Shockingly,

32:21

that spell failed, too. Determined

32:23

to squeeze more blood from

32:25

this stone. Author Summer Streven's

32:27

writes that Mary offered the

32:29

woman medicines that would induce

32:31

an abortion. Daunted by the

32:33

prospect of raising a kid

32:36

on her own, the woman

32:38

accepted Mary's concoction. It did

32:40

the trick. She miscarried. However,

32:42

it also made her gravely

32:44

ill. emaciated and weakened by

32:46

the potion, Elizabeth died. She

32:48

was possibly Mary's first murder

32:51

victim, and no one thought

32:53

twice about it. Perhaps most

32:55

affected by the death was

32:57

Mary. She couldn't extort money

32:59

from a dead person. So

33:01

on she went in search

33:03

of new prey, desperate to

33:05

pay off Roberta's stead before

33:08

she was exposed. She found

33:10

her next targets when a

33:12

vulnerable woman came to Mary

33:14

begging for guidance. It was

33:16

a familiar story. Mrs. Cooper

33:18

was anxious about her husband's

33:20

loyalty. Hearing Mary could predict

33:22

the future, she sought mystical

33:25

answers, but Mary's prophecies were

33:27

anything but comforting. Mary told

33:29

Mrs. Cooper that her husband

33:31

would soon leave her. Worse

33:33

than that, she claimed he

33:35

would sell all of their

33:37

home furnishings in secret, then

33:39

leave her behind with no

33:42

wealth to support herself. The

33:44

only way Mrs. Cooper could

33:46

remedy the situation was to

33:48

keep her belongings with Mary

33:50

until Mr. Cooper changed his

33:52

mind. Mary would know when

33:54

it was safe, of course,

33:56

and promptly return the... to

33:59

her customer. Unwilling to risk

34:01

losing her marriage and her

34:03

money, Mrs. Cooper did as

34:05

Mary advised. She moved her

34:07

furnishings to Mary's place. In

34:09

reality, the most dangerous spot

34:11

she could have left them.

34:13

And as soon as Mrs.

34:16

Cooper left, the witch started

34:18

selling the lot. With the

34:20

cash she made, Mary quietly

34:22

paid off her debt to

34:24

Roberta Stead. Now in the

34:26

perverse game of musical chairs,

34:28

it was the Coopers left

34:30

standing. But as far as

34:33

Mary saw it, they were

34:35

lucky. They had gotten away

34:37

with their lives. Elizabeth hadn't

34:39

had that privilege. Not that

34:41

Mary cared. Death was nothing

34:43

when there was money to

34:45

be made. And though the

34:48

death of the expected mother

34:50

had been an accident, Mary's

34:52

next kill would be anything

34:54

but a fluke. Thanks

35:03

for tuning in to Serial

35:05

Killers, a Spotify podcast, we'll

35:07

be back Monday with another

35:09

episode. For more information on

35:11

Mary Bateman, amongst the many

35:14

sources we used, we found

35:16

the book The Yorkshire Witch,

35:18

the Life and Trial of

35:20

Mary Bateman, by Summer Strevens,

35:22

extremely helpful to our research.

35:24

Stay safe out there. This

35:27

episode was written by Lauren

35:29

Delil. edited by Joel Callan,

35:31

fact-checked by Bennett Logan, researched

35:33

by Mickey Taylor and Chelsea

35:35

Wood, sound designed by Alex

35:38

Button, with production assistants by

35:40

Ron Shapiro, Trent Williamson, Carly

35:42

Madden, and Bruce Kitovich. Our

35:44

head of programming is Julian

35:46

Barrow. Our head of production

35:48

is Nick Johnson, and Spencer

35:51

Howard is our post-production supervisor.

35:53

I'm your host, Vanessa Richardson.