1873: A Tearful Confession in Custody Cracked the Case: Two Men Hanged at Perth Gaol for Eating their Victim
Young Edward Dunn vanished near his family’s farm at Port Gregory, north of Champion Bay in Western Australia in October 1865. Search parties tracked his footprints for a short distance before they disappeared, and no trace of him surfaced until the following April, when fragments of clothing, a skull and other remains were pulled from a well.
The mystery stood unsolved until 1873, when one of the accused broke down in a Geraldton lock-up and told police what had happened: a group of men had come across Dunn, killed him, then cooked and ate portions of his body before hiding his remains down the well. Two men were convicted of murder, admitted their guilt, and were hanged at Perth Gaol on this date, eight years after the killing.
