Palmers Poison - His First Victim
Summary
William Palmer (6 August 1824 – 14 June 1856), also known as the Rugeley Poisoner or the Prince of Poisoners, was an English doctor found guilty of murder in one of the most notorious cases of the 19th century. He was convicted for the murder of his friend John Cook, and was executed in public by hanging the following year. He had poisoned Cook with strychnine, and was suspected of poisoning several other people including his brother and his mother-in-law, as well as four of his children who died of "convulsions" before their first birthdays. Palmer made large sums of money from the deaths of his wife and brother after collecting on life insurance, and by defrauding his wealthy mother out of thousands of pounds, all of which he lost through gambling on horses.
Part 1 - His First Victim
Born in Rugeley, Staffordshire, William Palmer was the sixth of seven children to Sarah and Joseph Palmer. His father worked as a sawyer, and died when William was 12, leaving Sarah with a legacy of some £70,000.
As a seventeen-year-old, Palmer worked as an apprentice at a Liverpool chemist's, but was dismissed after three months following allegations that he stole money. He studied medicine in London, and qualified as a physician. After returning to Staffordshire later that year he met plumber and glazier George Abley at the Lamb and Flag public house in Little Haywood, and challenged him to a drinking contest. Abley accepted, and an hour later was carried home, where he died in bed later that evening; nothing was ever proven, but locals noted that Palmer had an interest in Abley's attractive wife.
The Puzzle
Answer the following questions (All the answers may not be available on the internet):
What was Abley's final drink (number of letters) = A
In which Town was Albey buried (number of letters) = B
What was the name of William Palmer's childhood home (2 words) (number of letters) = C
Which year did William Palmer qualify as a Doctor? = 18DE
The coordinates of the cache are at the following:
N 52° 47.(D)(E)(A-D) W 001° 59.(A)(B-D)(B-1)
You can check your answers for this puzzle on GeoChecker.com.
This cache was inspired by The Mighty Shark and his excellent cache Gaskin's Wood please check it out!
Happy Caching!
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CONGRATULATIONS TO:
FTF: PazaUK, andy0004uk, emilina & witch24
STF: Coast to coasters
TTF: The Haywood Hornet
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