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The mystery of Minnie Dean: Was the only woman executed by law in New Zealand innocent?

Greg Dixon
By
Contributing writer·New Zealand Listener·
10 mins to read


Scene of the Crime: In 1895, the notorious Southland “baby farmer” Minnie Dean was hanged for infanticide. But 130 years on, it is still uncertain what really took her to gallows: murder, mishap or a moral panic.

A bell tolled slowly and solemnly as the notorious Minnie Dean walked to the gallows. At just before 8am on August 12, 1895, the Invercargill sheriff Walter Martin demanded, as protocol required, that the town’s gaoler, a Mr Bratby, “produce the body” of

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