Maria Pearson (murderer)

Maria Pearson (died 1684) was a woman executed for murder in England. She was convicted of killing her neighbor, Anne Harker, in Cottingham, Yorkshire, in August 1684, and was subsequently hanged. The primary source of information regarding her case comes from the records of the York Assizes, offering details about the accusation, trial, and conviction. While the specifics of her motivations and the details of the crime are limited in publicly available sources beyond the court records, her case serves as a documented instance of capital punishment in 17th-century England.