Emily’s brother, Dr. William Burke was found guilty at the district court at Barnsley, Yorkshire. He was sent to be tried further at the Leeds Assizes. His was one of many cases that the assailants were accused of murder. Living in the Victorian Era the punishment by society was harsh and by the law, the death penalty.
In the case of Emily’s brother, who was a doctor and considered to hold a superior position, he was judged more harshly than those in with a lesser social standing. But his alcohol addiction did not obey the same rule.
His was one many murder cases of that particular year, in the local area of Barnsley, Yorkshire.
