Rhoda Willis, also known under the alias of Leslie James, (14 August 1867 – 14 August 1907) was an English baby farmer convicted of

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

. She was the last woman to be executed in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. She was born in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

in 1867. She was sentenced to death at

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

Assizes The assizes (), or courts of assize, were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ex ...

for murdering the illegitimate child of a single woman named Maud Treasure on 3 June. While lodging with a Mr. and Mrs. Wilson at Cardiff, Willis induced them to adopt a child for £1. One day, when Willis came home drunk and fell out of bed, Mrs. Wilson went to her aid and discovered in the bed the dead body of another child wrapped in a parcel. The infant, which had been suffocated, was Maud Treasure's child, which Willis had undertaken to adopt and bring up for £6. Willis was executed by

hanging Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

prison on 14 August 1907, her 40th birthday. She was the only woman to be hanged in Wales in the 20th century and the last baby farmer to be executed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Rhoda 1867 births 1907 deaths People from Sunderland Criminals from Tyne and Wear People convicted of murder by England and Wales 20th-century executions by England and Wales English people convicted of murder English murderers of children Executed people from County Durham British female murderers Executed English women 1907 in Wales British people executed for murder Infanticide