Exploring fact and fiction of last hanging in Kings County

By Kirk Starratt

THE ADVERTISER

NovaNewsNow.com

Although the macabre incidents happened more than a century ago, the murder of Theresa Robinson and the subsequent trial and hanging of her husband, William Robinson, remain among the most notorious events in Kentville’s history.

With Halloween just around the corner, the Kings Historical Society is hosting a public lecture entitled “The Last Hanging in Kings County: Fact and Folklore” at the Kings County Museum in Kentville Thursday, Oct. 25. The lecture is an examination of one of the most infamous court cases in the county’s history. The guest speakers include Barry Cahill from Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management, who will be presenting the history of the case, at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic marine history curator Dan Conlin, who will delve into the folklore.

Conlin said the case represents a very gripping gothic drama where a woman was murdered in terrible fashion, had her body dismembered and her torso burned in a house fire. This was followed by a dramatic trial and hanging that has been talked about for generations.

There are ghost stories relating to the meadow where the Robinson house once stood and the murder occurred. The remnants of the foundation are still there. The farm, located near Burlington in a wilderness area on the North Mountain, was abandoned following the murder. The property was willed to the Nova Scotia Nature Trust.

In the very courtroom

The story of the case will be told in the very courtroom where the trial was held, in the Kings County Museum. Conlin said people, through their imaginations, would be transported back in time to the 1904 trial.

There was a heated argument between the Robinson’s on May 24, 1904. They were known to argue frequently and have a violent relationship. The next morning, their house was found burned and the dismembered body of Theresa was found in the rubble with her skull crushed. William couldn’t be found during this time. A bloodstained axe was found nearby; William later argued that it was used to kill chickens.

Members of the community formed a lynch mob and picked out a tree by the burned ruins of the Robinson home to hang William. He apparently caught word of the lynch mob and turned himself in.

William, who was regarded as a highly unpopular man, was formally charged with murdering his wife on June 17, 1904. People came from miles around to attend the subsequent trial and although the prosecution made a strong case, many onlookers, including William himself, accused defense lawyer A.E. Dunlop of failing to provide an adequate defense.

Insisted on innocence “If better represented, he may have gotten off,” Conlin said of the accused, pointing out that most of the evidence in the trial was circumstantial, there were no witnesses and William insisted he was innocent until the end.

When informed he was to be executed by hanging, William’s only reply was, “come to the necktie party, boys.”

As soon as the execution was carried out, a large, drunken crowd rushed the platform and cut the rope used to hang William into small pieces to take as souvenirs.

Conlin said that, following the disgraceful scene at the hanging, the decision was made to hold executions at the penitentiary in Halifax from that point forward.

Conlin went camping one night in the vicinity of the meadow where the murder occurred and said he had a Blair Witch-like experience. An elderly man had told him ghost stories about the area before the camping expedition.

The dismembered arms and legs of Theresa were never found. “Robinson’s brother said ‘mark my words, the limbs will never be found’,” Conlin said.

Legend has it that the limbs were hidden somewhere in the Brown Brook Ravene on the North Mountain. Although it’s quite a trout fishing spot, Conlin said nobody wants to be there at night because the arms and legs are said to come out in search of living flesh.

The lecture gets underway at 7 p.m. Admission is by donation. The White Family Funeral Home is sponsoring the event.