#james mcdermott

En la grava crecen peonías.

The XIX Century Karla Homolka?

In the Summer of 1843, the murder of Captain Thomas Kinnear and his housekeeper and alleged lover Nancy Montgomery shocked Canada. Not only because of the brutality of the crime --Kinnear was shot, Nancy hit in the head with an axe, strangled with a scarf and dismembered-- but also because one of the culprits was a 16 year old girl.

Grace Marks, an irish immigrant, had been working as a maid for Kinnear at the time of the murders. She eventually confessed to participating in the crime but placed most of the blame on James McDermott, the 20 year old stable hand. He also confessed, but claimed that Grace’s involvement had been bigger than what she’d said, and that it was she who planned and pressured him to kill Nancy, out of jealousy for her superior role in the household, and Kinnear so they could take his money.

Both Grace and James were found guilty and sentenced to hanging. Because of her age and sex, Grace’s sentence was commuted to life in prison. James was hanged on November 21st, 1843, 18 days after his conviction. Years after her sentence, Grace started showing signs of severe mental illness and claimed to be haunted by the faces of her victims. She was eventually released 30 years after her conviction, changed her name and moved to New York where her trace was lost.

The story inspired Margaret Atwood’s 1996 novel Alias Grace, and its release was the first contact many canadians had with this piece of their history. There’s a debate to this day whether Grace was guilty or merely a victim of a puritan society that disliked immigrants and didn’t respect women’s rights. Many have compared her to serial killer Karla Homolka, and portray her as a woman who pretended to be mentally ill to reduce her role in a crime she actively participated in.

Alias Grace - Characters (4/7) Kerr Logan as James McDermott