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The Red Barn Murder was a notorious murder committed in Polstead, Suffolk, England, in 1827. A young woman, Maria Marten, was shot dead by her lover, William Corder. The two had arranged to meet at the Red Barn, a local landmark, before eloping to Ipswich. Maria was never heard from again. Corder fled the scene and, although he sent Marten's family letters claiming she was in good health, her body was later discovered buried in the barn after her stepmother spoke of having dreamt about the murder. Corder was tracked down in London, where he had married and started a new life. He was brought back to Suffolk, and after a well-publicised trial, found guilty of murder. He was hanged in Bury St Edmunds in 1828; a huge crowd witnessed Corder's execution. The story provoked numerous articles in the newspapers, and songs and plays. The village where the crime had taken place became a tourist attraction and the barn was stripped by souvenir hunters. The plays and ballads remained popular throughout the next century and continue to be performed today.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Maria Martin )〕 ==Murder== Maria Marten (born 24 July 1801) was the daughter of Thomas Marten, a molecatcher from Polstead, Suffolk. In March 1826, when she was 24, she formed a relationship with the 22-year-old William Corder (born 1803). Marten was an attractive woman and relationships with men from the neighbourhood had already resulted in two children. One, the child of William's older brother Thomas, died as an infant, but the other, Thomas Henry, was still alive at the time Marten met Corder. Although Thomas Henry's father wanted nothing more to do with Marten after the birth, he occasionally sent money to provide for the child. William Corder was the son of a local farmer, and had a reputation as something of a fraudster and a ladies' man. He was known as "Foxey" at school because of his sly manner. He had fraudulently sold his father's pigs, and, although his father had settled the matter without involving the law, Corder had not changed his behaviour. He later obtained money by passing a forged cheque for £93 and he had helped a local thief, Samuel "Beauty" Smith, steal a pig from a neighbouring village. When Smith was questioned by the local constable over the theft, he made a prophetic statement concerning Corder: "I'll be damned if he will not be hung some of these days". Corder had been sent to London in disgrace after his fraudulent sale of the pigs, but he was recalled to Polstead when his brother Thomas drowned attempting to cross a frozen pond.〔Brewers p.168–9〕 His father and three brothers all died within 18 months of each other and only William remained to run the farm with his mother. Although Corder wished to keep his relationship with Marten secret, she gave birth to their child in 1827, at the age of 25, and was apparently keen that she and Corder should marry. The child died (later reports suggested that it may have been murdered), but Corder apparently still intended to marry Marten. That summer, in the presence of her stepmother, Ann Marten, he suggested that she meet him at the Red Barn, from where he proposed that they elope to Ipswich. Corder claimed that he had heard rumours that the parish officers were going to prosecute Maria for having bastard children. He initially suggested they elope on the Wednesday evening, but later decided to delay until the Thursday evening. On Thursday he was again delayed: his brother falling ill is mentioned as the reason in some sources, although most claim all his brothers were dead by this time. The next day, Friday, 18 May 1827, he appeared at the Martens' cottage during the day, and according to Ann Marten, told Maria that they must leave at once, as he had heard that the local constable had obtained a warrant to prosecute her (no warrant had been obtained, but it is not known if Corder was lying or was mistaken). Maria was worried that she could not leave in broad daylight, but Corder told her she should dress in men's clothing so as to avert suspicion, and he would carry her things to the barn where she could meet him and change before they continued on to Ipswich.〔 Shortly after Corder left the house, Maria set out to meet him at the Red Barn, which was situated on Barnfield Hill, about half a mile from the Martens' cottage. This was the last time she was seen alive. Corder also disappeared, but later turned up and claimed that Marten was in Ipswich, Great Yarmouth, or some other place nearby, and that he could not yet bring her back as his wife for fear of provoking the anger of his friends and relatives. The pressure on Corder to produce his wife eventually forced him to leave the area. He wrote letters to Marten's family claiming they were married and living on the Isle of Wight, and gave various excuses for her lack of communication: she was unwell, had hurt her hand, or that the letter must have been lost.〔 Suspicion continued to grow, and Maria's stepmother began talking of dreams that Maria had been murdered and buried in the Red Barn. On 19 April 1828, she persuaded her husband to go to the Red Barn and dig in one of the grain storage bins. He quickly uncovered the remains of his daughter buried in a sack. She was badly decomposed, but still identifiable. An inquest was carried out at the Cock Inn (which still stands today) at Polstead, where Maria was formally identified by her sister Ann from some physical characteristics: her hair and some clothing were recognizable and a tooth she was known to be missing was also missing from the jawbone of the corpse. Evidence was uncovered to implicate Corder in the crime: his green handkerchief was discovered around the body's neck.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Red Barn Murder」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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