Case overview
Between 1827 and 1828, William Burke and William Hare murdered at least 16 people in Edinburgh, Scotland, selling their bodies to Dr. Robert Knox for anatomical dissection. The crimes ended when lodgers discovered the body of Margaret Docherty in October 1828, leading to the arrest of both men and the exposure of a trade fueled by the demand for cadavers in medical schools.
The supply problem that created a market
In the early 19th century, Edinburgh’s medical schools required human bodies for anatomical study, but legal supply was severely limited. Only the bodies of executed criminals could be used for dissection, and executions were too infrequent to meet the needs of a growing student population. The shortage created a black market for corpses, commonly supplied by grave robbers known as resurrection men.
Dr. Robert Knox, a prominent anatomist who lectured to hundreds of students, needed a steady supply of cadavers. When William Hare approached him in late 1827 with the body of a lodger who had died of natural causes, Knox paid him seven pounds and ten shillings without asking questions. The transaction was quick, profitable, and required no grave robbing.
Burke and Hare realized they did not need to wait for lodgers to die naturally.
The victims and the method
The first murder occurred in early 1828. Burke and Hare targeted people who were vulnerable, transient, or unlikely to be missed: elderly pensioners, sex workers, people with disabilities, and those passing through Edinburgh without family ties. Many were lured with offers of food, shelter, or alcohol.
The method was deliberate. Victims were given whiskey until they were incapacitated, then suffocated. Burke would lie across the victim’s chest while Hare covered the nose and mouth, a technique that left minimal visible injury. The method was later referred to as burking.
Among the victims were Mary Paterson, an 18-year-old sex worker whose body was so recently dead and unmarked that several of Knox’s students recognized her; James Wilson, known as Daft Jamie, a well-known figure in Edinburgh with an intellectual disability; and Margaret Docherty, an elderly Irish woman whose murder led to their capture.
Knox paid between seven and ten pounds per body. There is no evidence he asked how the bodies were obtained, though some were delivered within hours of death and showed no signs of burial or decomposition.
The discovery and the arrests
On October 31, 1828, two lodgers at Hare’s boarding house, Ann and James Gray, became suspicious when they were abruptly told to leave their room during the day. That evening, Ann Gray found the body of Margaret Docherty hidden under a bed. The couple reported it to police.
By the time officers arrived, the body had been moved. It was later traced to Knox’s dissection rooms. Burke, Hare, and their partners, Helen McDougal and Margaret Hare, were arrested on November 2, 1828.
Investigators had no physical evidence linking the men to earlier deaths. Most of the bodies had already been dissected. There were no witnesses to the murders, and the method left little forensic trace. Prosecutors faced the challenge of building a case almost entirely on circumstantial evidence.
The deal that decided the outcome
Faced with limited evidence, the Lord Advocate offered Hare immunity from prosecution in exchange for testimony against Burke. Hare accepted. His wife, Margaret, was also granted immunity to testify.
Hare’s testimony detailed the murders, the victims, and the payments from Knox. He described the method, the locations, and Burke’s direct involvement. Without it, the Crown had no case.
Burke’s trial began on December 24, 1828, in Edinburgh’s High Court of Justiciary. He was charged with three murders: Mary Paterson, James Wilson, and Margaret Docherty. The prosecution focused on the Docherty case, where the evidence was strongest.
Helen McDougal was tried alongside Burke but acquitted due to insufficient evidence. Burke was convicted on Christmas Day after a trial that lasted 24 hours. He was sentenced to death by hanging, with his body to be publicly dissected.
Execution and public reaction
William Burke was hanged on January 28, 1829, before a crowd estimated at 25,000 people. His body was taken to the anatomical theater at Edinburgh University, where it was publicly dissected by Professor Alexander Monro. Portions of his skeleton and a book bound in his skin remain on display at the university’s anatomical museum.
Public outrage focused not only on Burke and Hare but also on Knox. Crowds gathered outside his home and lecture hall, accusing him of complicity. Though he was never charged, his reputation was destroyed. He left Edinburgh in 1842 and worked in obscurity until his death in 1862.
William Hare was released in February 1829 under the terms of his immunity deal. Reports of his movements are inconsistent. Some accounts claim he was recognized and attacked in the Scottish Borders, blinded with lime, and lived as a beggar in London. Others suggest he fled to Ireland or emigrated. No verified record of his death exists.
The legal and medical consequences
The Burke and Hare murders directly influenced the passage of the Anatomy Act of 1832, which expanded the legal supply of bodies for medical research. The law allowed unclaimed bodies from workhouses, hospitals, and prisons to be used for dissection, effectively ending the trade that had sustained Burke and Hare’s operation.
The case also shaped public attitudes toward anatomical science, creating lasting distrust of medical professionals and fears surrounding bodily autonomy after death. The phrase “to burke” entered common usage, meaning to suffocate or suppress quietly.
What remains unresolved
The exact number of victims is unknown. Burke confessed to 16 murders before his execution, but some historians believe the total may have been higher. Many of the victims were never formally identified, and records from the period are incomplete.
The role of Dr. Knox remains debated. While he was never charged, questions persist about what he knew and whether he deliberately avoided asking questions that would have exposed the murders. His defenders argue he was operating within a system with no legal supply. His critics point to the condition and timing of the bodies he accepted.
The fate of William Hare continues to draw speculation. Despite numerous alleged sightings and folklore, no conclusive evidence exists to confirm where or how he died.
Where to look next
- Book: “The Anatomy Murders” by Lisa Rosner
- Book: “Burke and Hare” by Owen Dudley Edwards
- Documentary: “Burke and Hare: The Body Snatchers” (BBC)
