On May 18 1827 Maria Marten, 26 year old daughter of mole catcher Thomas Marten, left her father's cottage at Polstead for the last time. She said a tearful farewell to her young son, her sister and her stepmother, then set out to meet William Corder, her 24 year old lover, in the Red Barn. At his request she went dressed as a man. Her family never saw or heard from her again. In April the following year Thomas Marten was prompted by his wife to search the Red Barn. He discovered a shallow grave which contained a body, recognisable from the clothing as that of Maria. Shortly afterwards, William Corder was arrested in London. He was taken to Polstead for the inquest and sent to Bury St Edmunds to stand trial.
Corder's trial took place on Thursday 7 and Friday 8 of August 1828. Throughout the trial he claimed his innocence. Nevertheless he was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death by hanging. His body was to be anatomised (dissected).
Shortly before the sentence was carried out, Corder confessed. He was executed on the Monday August 11, at the county gaol in Bury St Edmunds. Despite heavy rain thousands of spectators attended. The body was taken to the Shire Hall, where it was cut open and laid out on show. Thousands of people filed past to view it before it was removed for dissection at the West Suffolk Hospital. The skeleton was kept, and the scalp and part of the skin were preserved. The surgeon, George Creed, later had an account of the trial bound in leather made from Corder's skin.
