Inspiration for Belle Vue – 2: Murder at the Asylum

Intrigued by the nearby apartments that had been converted from the old Leavesden Asylum, I researched to find out about its history. What I hadn’t expected was that a murder had taken place there in 1899 and reading about it gave me an idea…

Mary Ansell was found guilty of poisoning her sister Caroline who was an inmate in the asylum. She was hanged at St. Alban’s Jail (though in this case there was considerable public pressure for a reprieve as she too was believed to lack ‘mental  capacity’)....