The story of the Red Barn Murder is not just a gruesome crime; it is a dark, quintessential English legend that consumed the public imagination in the 19th century and continues to shock today. It is a tale of a naive young woman, a charming rogue, and a revelation from beyond the grave, all set in the quiet, doomed village of Polstead, Suffolk.
The Ill-Fated Romance
Our story begins with Maria Marten, a 24-year-old woman whose life had already seen tragedy. By 1826, she had two deceased children and a reputation that made her vulnerable in her small, close-knit community. She found herself drawn to William Corder, the younger son of a prosperous local farmer.
Corder, though only 22, had a deeply tarnished character. Nicknamed "Foxey" at school, he was a known fraudster, a "ladies' man," and had already been disgraced for petty crimes like pig-stealing and cheque forgery. One chilling prophecy, made by a former partner-in-crime, hung over him: "I'll be damned if he will not be hung some of these days."
Despite his flaws—or perhaps because Maria desperately sought security—their passionate relationship was shrouded in secrecy. When Maria gave birth to Corder's child in 1827 (a child who also tragically died), Corder promised marriage.
The Elopement and The Disappearance
In the summer of 1827, Corder proposed an elopement. He played on Maria's fear of social ruin and the workhouse, claiming parish officers intended to prosecute her for having illegitimate children. He arranged a clandestine meeting at the Red Barn, a local landmark named for its half red clay-tiled roof, from where they would travel to Ipswich to marry.
On Friday, May 18th, 1827, Corder appeared at the Martens' cottage. Claiming a constable had a warrant for her arrest, he hurried Maria away. Ever the manipulator, he instructed her to change into men's clothing at the Red Barn to avoid detection. Maria, trusting him, walked to the barn—and was never seen alive again outside of her family.
For months, Corder kept up the deception. He wrote letters to the family, claiming they were married and living happily on the Isle of Wight, offering increasingly elaborate excuses for Maria’s silence—a lame hand, an illness, lost letters.
A Prophecy from a Nightmare
As the months passed, suspicion grew in Polstead. Then, something truly extraordinary occurred: Maria’s stepmother, Ann Marten, began to be tormented by recurring dreams. In these vivid nightmares, she saw Maria murdered and buried in the Red Barn, even pointing to the precise spot where the body lay.
Finally, on April 19th, 1828, nearly a year after Maria’s disappearance, Ann convinced her husband, Thomas, to investigate. Thomas Marten took his spade to the Red Barn floor and, buried in a sack in a grain bin, found the badly decomposed remains of his daughter. Identification was a grim process, confirmed by her hair, clothing, a missing tooth, and, most damningly, a green handkerchief belonging to William Corder tied around her neck.
The Hunt for the Murderer
The discovery of the body and the incriminating evidence pointed immediately to Corder. The police, assisted by London officer James Lea (who would later gain fame investigating "Spring-heeled Jack"), tracked Corder to a ladies' boarding house in Brentford. To the public's astonishment, Corder was found living there with his new wife, Mary Moore, whom he had met through a lonely hearts advertisement in The Times.
Corder was arrested and denied all knowledge of Maria. However, a search of the premises revealed a pair of pistols and, critically, a passport from the French ambassador, suggesting he had been preparing to flee the country.
The Sensational Trial and Execution
The trial began on August 7th, 1828, at Shire Hall in Bury St Edmunds. Admittance was by ticket only, and the press sensationally prejudiced the case. The prosecution argued Corder never intended to marry Maria, instead suggesting she knew about his criminal activities, giving her a hold over him he wished to silence.
Key Testimony: Ann Marten recounted her prophetic dreams. Thomas Marten described the harrowing exhumation. Maria's 10-year-old brother, George, testified to seeing Corder with a loaded pistol before the disappearance and a pickaxe afterwards.
The Defence: Corder, taking the stand, offered a desperate version of events. He claimed they argued and that he left the barn only to hear a pistol shot, running back to find Maria dead by an apparent suicide or accident.
The jury returned a Guilty verdict in just thirty-five minutes. Corder was sentenced to be hanged and, in a grim post-mortem punishment, to have his body "dissected and anatomised." Before the execution, Corder finally confessed, admitting he shot Maria in a fit of anger.
On August 11th, 1828, William Corder was hanged before an estimated 20,000 spectators. His final words were, "I am guilty; my sentence is just; I deserve my fate; and, may God have mercy on my soul."
The Ultimate Macabre Souvenir
The morbid fascination with Corder did not end with his death—it intensified.
The Public Dissection
Following the hanging, Corder's body was taken back to the courtroom, slit open along the abdomen, and displayed for public viewing. Over 5,000 people queued to file past the grotesque spectacle. The next day, a select audience of Cambridge University students and physicians witnessed the dissection. It's highly likely they experimented with galvanism (the application of electric currents) on the corpse, attaching a battery to his limbs to demonstrate muscle contraction—a scene right out of a Frankenstein novel. Phrenologists examined his skull, declaring him profoundly developed in areas like "secretiveness, acquisitiveness, destructiveness," and lacking in "benevolence or veneration."
The Skin-Bound Book
The most enduring and bizarre artefact is the book. The skin from Corder’s corpse was reportedly tanned by surgeon George Creed and used to bind a copy of the official history of his own trial. This macabre volume, along with a bust of Corder, is now displayed at Moyse's Hall Museum in Bury St Edmunds.
The Skeleton
Corder’s skeleton was reassembled and publicly exhibited as a teaching aid, a grim reminder of his crimes, for over a century. It was removed and cremated in 2004, finally ending the criminal's physical journey 176 years after his execution.