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    The Rhynie Poisoning Case: The True Crimes of Alexander Newland Lee: Needle-Lee Cases, #2
    The Secret Art of Poisoning: Needle-Lee Cases, #1
    Ebook series2 titles

    Needle-Lee Cases Series

    By Samantha Battams

    ()

    About this series

    Was Lee a callous murderer, or innocent as he maintained?

     

    At the end of the First World War, Alexander Newland Lee was accused of poisoning his wife and three children.

    Born at World's End, Lee was a destitute labourer who severely injured his hand in a farm accident. Recovering at The Willows Hospital in the Barossa Valley, he fell in love with nurse Dolly Scholz, an attractive young woman of Prussian-German descent. The setting was post World War I, a time when her community was ostracised.

     

    When Lee was arrested for murder at Rhynie and put on trial, the case attracted strong interest from members of the community. They crawled over the gates of the Supreme Court to try to get a seat in the public gallery and a glimpse of the accused. It was deemed one of the most sensational criminal cases in South Australian history, and people waited outside the court in their hundreds to learn of Lee's fate.

     

    Strangely, a generation earlier, his Auntie Martha Needle, known as 'The Richmond Poisoner,' was hanged in the Old Melbourne Gaol for a similar crime. Did Lee know about his infamous Auntie?

     

    Alexander always maintained his innocence, claiming that his wife had committed the crimes.

     

    Lee's death sentence led to the first protest against capital punishment in South Australia, in what the press dubbed a 'Proposed Execution Holiday.' The date of the hanging was set for 15 July 1920, the day H.R.H. Prince of Wales was visiting the state.

     

    This story explores Lee's crimes and trial set amidst the post WWI social context.

     

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSamantha Battams
    Release dateFeb 13, 2019
    The Rhynie Poisoning Case: The True Crimes of Alexander Newland Lee: Needle-Lee Cases, #2
    The Secret Art of Poisoning: Needle-Lee Cases, #1

    Titles in the series (2)

    • 1

      The Secret Art of Poisoning: Needle-Lee Cases, #1
      The Secret Art of Poisoning: Needle-Lee Cases, #1

      The Secret Art of Poisoning: Needle-Lee Cases, #1

      Samantha Battams
      0 ratings
      0 ratings

      How did a serial killer from the 19th century almost get away with murder? At the end of the 19th century, Martha Needle became known as 'The Black Widow' of the Richmond poisoning case after secretly poisoning her husband and children. The Black Widow was a media sensation in her day, as infamous as Ned Kelly (even sharing the same lawyer). After poisoning her husband and two of her children, Needle became obsessed with the kind-hearted son of a Danish immigrant and began picking off his brothers one by one. Reported as far afield as the New York Times, Martha's story was front page news in Australia, edging out many stories of the day that remain in the public consciousness today. And yet very few remember Martha Needle's name. Stranger still a generation later Martha Needle's nephew Alexander Lee seemed to follow in his aunt's footsteps when he poisoned his wife and three of his children. What strange quirk of fate led these two relatives connected through family to commit virtually the same crime? And was their fate at the end of a rope the true end of the story? This story explores these crimes and the social and historical context surrounding them.

      How did a serial killer from the 19th century almost get away with murder? At the end of the 19th century, Martha Needle became known as 'The Black Widow' of the Richmond poisoning case after secretly poisoning her husband and children. The Black Widow was a media sensation in her day, as infamous as Ned Kelly (even sharing the same lawyer). After poisoning her husband and two of her children, Needle became obsessed with the kind-hearted son of a Danish immigrant and began picking off his brothers one by one. Reported as far afield as the New York Times, Martha's story was front page news in Australia, edging out many stories of the day that remain in the public consciousness today. And yet very few remember Martha Needle's name. Stranger still a generation later Martha Needle's nephew Alexander Lee seemed to follow in his aunt's footsteps when he poisoned his wife and three of his children. What strange quirk of fate led these two relatives connected through family to commit virtually the same crime? And was their fate at the end of a rope the true end of the story? This story explores these crimes and the social and historical context surrounding them.

    • 2

      The Rhynie Poisoning Case: The True Crimes of Alexander Newland Lee: Needle-Lee Cases, #2
      The Rhynie Poisoning Case: The True Crimes of Alexander Newland Lee: Needle-Lee Cases, #2

      The Rhynie Poisoning Case: The True Crimes of Alexander Newland Lee: Needle-Lee Cases, #2

      Samantha Battams
      0 ratings
      0 ratings

      Was Lee a callous murderer, or innocent as he maintained?   At the end of the First World War, Alexander Newland Lee was accused of poisoning his wife and three children. Born at World's End, Lee was a destitute labourer who severely injured his hand in a farm accident. Recovering at The Willows Hospital in the Barossa Valley, he fell in love with nurse Dolly Scholz, an attractive young woman of Prussian-German descent. The setting was post World War I, a time when her community was ostracised.   When Lee was arrested for murder at Rhynie and put on trial, the case attracted strong interest from members of the community. They crawled over the gates of the Supreme Court to try to get a seat in the public gallery and a glimpse of the accused. It was deemed one of the most sensational criminal cases in South Australian history, and people waited outside the court in their hundreds to learn of Lee's fate.   Strangely, a generation earlier, his Auntie Martha Needle, known as 'The Richmond Poisoner,' was hanged in the Old Melbourne Gaol for a similar crime. Did Lee know about his infamous Auntie?   Alexander always maintained his innocence, claiming that his wife had committed the crimes.   Lee's death sentence led to the first protest against capital punishment in South Australia, in what the press dubbed a 'Proposed Execution Holiday.' The date of the hanging was set for 15 July 1920, the day H.R.H. Prince of Wales was visiting the state.   This story explores Lee's crimes and trial set amidst the post WWI social context.  

      Was Lee a callous murderer, or innocent as he maintained?   At the end of the First World War, Alexander Newland Lee was accused of poisoning his wife and three children. Born at World's End, Lee was a destitute labourer who severely injured his hand in a farm accident. Recovering at The Willows Hospital in the Barossa Valley, he fell in love with nurse Dolly Scholz, an attractive young woman of Prussian-German descent. The setting was post World War I, a time when her community was ostracised.   When Lee was arrested for murder at Rhynie and put on trial, the case attracted strong interest from members of the community. They crawled over the gates of the Supreme Court to try to get a seat in the public gallery and a glimpse of the accused. It was deemed one of the most sensational criminal cases in South Australian history, and people waited outside the court in their hundreds to learn of Lee's fate.   Strangely, a generation earlier, his Auntie Martha Needle, known as 'The Richmond Poisoner,' was hanged in the Old Melbourne Gaol for a similar crime. Did Lee know about his infamous Auntie?   Alexander always maintained his innocence, claiming that his wife had committed the crimes.   Lee's death sentence led to the first protest against capital punishment in South Australia, in what the press dubbed a 'Proposed Execution Holiday.' The date of the hanging was set for 15 July 1920, the day H.R.H. Prince of Wales was visiting the state.   This story explores Lee's crimes and trial set amidst the post WWI social context.  

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