July 30, 1853 - Frederick Bailey Deeming
Deeming's crimes spanned two continents, encompassing the deaths of an entire family in England and a second wife in Australia, before his arrest in Melbourne brought the case to a swift and internationally watched close. His habit of adopting aliases while simultaneously drawing attention to himself through erratic and conspicuous behavior made him both difficult to track and, ultimately, easy to catch. The speed of his trial and execution — less than three months from discovery to hanging — reflected not only the efficiency of colonial justice but the intense press scrutiny that followed the case across the world. His death mask sits today in three separate institutional collections, a measure of how durably the case lodged itself in the public record.
From Wikipedia
Frederick Bailey Deeming (30 July 1853 – 23 May 1892) was an English serial killer who was convicted and executed for the murder of his entire family in Rainhill, Merseyside, England, and his second wife in Melbourne, Australia. He is remembered today because he was suspected by some of being the notorious serial killer Jack the Ripper.
Less than three months elapsed between the discovery of the second vicitm's body in Melbourne, in March 1892, and Deeming's execution for her murder in May 1892; a remarkably short time by comparison to modern western legal standards. This was not only due to efficient police work, but also a result of the considerable international media interest Mather's murder attracted - Gurvich and Wray list numerous newspaper reports on the Windsor murder. Another factor was Deeming's behaviour in public, for while he often used different names, he usually drew attention to himself with behaviour variously described as aggressive, ostentatious, ingratiating and overly attentive to women.
Three copies of his death mask exist. One is on display at the Old Melbourne Gaol in Melbourne, where he was executed, whilst another is in the collection of the State Library Victoria alongside a cast of his right hand and photographs, books, newspaper articles and letters relating to the case. The third is in the collection of the Metropolitan Police's Crime Museum at New Scotland Yard in London - previously displayed there, it is now on display at the Metropolitan Police Museum in Sidcup.
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