Mock retrial 'acquits' man of 1856 double murder

Peppermint Billy's hanging attracted 25,000 onlookers

The last man to be publicly hanged in Leicester has been "cleared" of murder in a reconstruction of his trial.

William "Peppermint Billy" Brown was sent to the gallows in 1856 after being convicted of the gruesome double killing of 70-year-old Edward Woodcock and his grandson James, aged nine.

History enthusiasts re-enacted his trial, 167 years to the day from his conviction, re-examining the evidence.

The 21st Century jury found Brown should have escaped the noose.

Leicester historian Jo Vigor Mungovin organised the dramatised retrial, which took place at the city's Guildhall on Friday, after spending years researching the case.

She said: "This was a very gruesome murder of a tollgate keeper and his son that led to William Brown being the last man hanged publicly in Leicester, before a crowd of 25,000 outside the Leicester county jail, now the Welford Road Prison.

"Peppermint Billy - nicknamed because his father sold peppermints at market - was a trouble-maker and a former convict who had returned from deportation to Tasmania, but there have always been doubts about his guilt over this crime.

"They were heinous killings that gripped the public at the time and the case is no less compelling today.

"So we decided to stage our own retrial in front of an audience, with a judge, a jury - but this time no executioner."

Jo Vigor Mungovin traced the descendants of those involved in the 1856 trial

"We used the original transcripts of the trial as well as new evidence I found in my research."

Ms Vigor Mungovin took the role of Brown's lawyer for the retrial and presented evidence about other potential suspects in the Melton Mowbray area, where the murders happened, and cast doubts over the knife said to be the murder weapon,

"My son Andrew, 25, played the part of William, so I was rather glad to get that not guilty verdict," she said.

"It was a lot of fun but it was also quite emotional because we reflected that William was given no real defence when he went on trial and should not have been hanged.

"Now, at last, there is justice for Peppermint Billy."

Descendants of some of the participants in the original trial were traced by Ms Vigor Mungovin and agreed to take part in the event.

A £20 reward was offered to catch the culprit

They included John Woodford, the great-great-great grandson of Constable Alfred Routen who was the first police officer to arrive at the murder scene.

Mr Woodford flew 2,700 miles (4345km) from his home in Nova Scotia, Canada, to play the part of the officer after he was found using a lineage tracing website.

The town planner said: "When I got this strange email from a British woman about a murder in the 19th Century - which I knew nothing about - I thought: "No way, this has to be a joke,"

"But I did know I had family from Leicestershire so I listened to what Jo had to say and became fascinated."

"I like my history, and so does my wife Joy, and when Jo asked if I wanted to be part of the retrial we thought "I can't believe we are doing this but, yeah, why not?"

The couple agreed to fly to the UK and have combined the retrial with a family holiday.

"John was absolutely brilliant but it was so strange hearing him reading Alfred's words in his Canadian accent," Ms Vigor Mungovin said.

John Woodford and his wife Joy flew from Canada to take part in the mock retrial