Williamina Dean was a New Zealander who was found guilty of infanticide and hanged.
17 Facts About Minnie Dean
1.
2.
Minnie Dean was the only woman to be executed in New Zealand.
3.
Minnie Dean McCulloch was born in Greenock, in western central Scotland.
4.
Minnie Dean claimed she was the widow of a Tasmanian doctor, although no evidence of a marriage has been found.
5.
The family moved to Winton, where Charles Dean took up pig farming while Minnie began to earn money by baby-farming: taking in unwanted children in exchange for payment.
6.
Minnie Dean received payment either weekly or in a lump sum.
7.
At the time, lax childcare legislation meant that Minnie Dean did not have to keep records of the children she agreed to take in, so proving that the children had disappeared was difficult.
8.
In 1895, Minnie Dean was observed boarding a train carrying a young baby and a hatbox, but was later observed leaving the same train without the baby and only the hatbox.
9.
Minnie Dean's garden was dug up, and three bodies were uncovered.
10.
On 21 June 1895, Minnie Dean was found guilty of Dorothy Carter's murder, and sentenced to death.
11.
Between June and August 1895, Minnie Dean wrote her own account of her life.
12.
Minnie Dean is the only woman ever executed in New Zealand.
13.
Minnie Dean is buried in Winton, alongside her husband, who died in a house fire in 1908.
14.
Minnie Dean's crimes led to the Infant Life Protection Act 1893 and the Infant Protection Act 1896.
15.
Minnie Dean is referenced in Dudley Benson's 2006 song "It's Akaroa's Fault".
16.
The headstone reads "Minnie Dean is part of Winton's history Where she now lies is no mystery".
17.
Minnie Dean's family had been considering it but claimed that this was not their doing.