Death, 160 year old coincidence?

Here’s a revised version with a more gripping and eerie tone:

Mary walked the moonlit path through the woods, the same path she had taken countless times before. But tonight, the familiar trail felt different, darker, as if the very earth beneath her feet was holding its breath. It led to her grandfather’s house, where she would spend the night after a lively evening of dancing and laughter with her friends.

But earlier that month, she had confided in her closest friend about a chilling sense of unease, a feeling that something sinister was lurking in the shadows, waiting. She couldn’t shake the impression that an unseen presence was following her, tracking her every step. Little did she know, her instinct was far more than a mere premonition—it was a warning.

As she made her way home, the dim light of the moon barely illuminated the path ahead. Her footsteps were the only sound, her humming an unconscious attempt to ward off the growing sense of dread. The night seemed unnaturally still. Then, from the darkness ahead, she saw it—a shadow, shifting in the trees. At first, she thought it was nothing more than a trick of the light, a harmless silhouette of a tree. But the shape began to move, pulling itself free from the shadows with an eerie, deliberate pace.

Her breath caught in her throat, and a nervous laugh escaped her lips. "Oh, it’s you! You scared me," she said, her voice trembling, though she tried to sound nonchalant.

But that fleeting moment of relief would be her last.

No one would ever see Mary alive again.

This version heightens the tension and adds a darker, more foreboding atmosphere. Let me know if you’d like further adjustments!

We now take a step back in time to the year 1817. Set against the backdrop of post-Napoleonic wars, social unrest, and riots, ordinary people struggled to carry on with their lives as food shortages and unemployment soared.

Mary Ashford, a 20-year-old native of Erdington, England, had traveled to Birmingham that day. She took her place on High Street, near Digbeth, to sell her family’s eggs and butter, hoping to provide a small but steady income for her household.

One of many images made of Mary after her murder.

Here’s the revised version with improved grammar and readability:

A walk of around seven miles, which would still be a challenge today, highlights the daily struggles faced by people in the 1800s. Birmingham was a rapidly growing industrial city, and Mary’s route from Langley Heath (Sutton Coldfield) would have taken her through a bustling area, passing many people and into the heart of the market. In those days, the markets were full of people, livestock, thieves, sellers, and buyers, all jostling for whatever money could be made. Mary, being slight of build, would no doubt have been well accustomed to this environment and capable of handling herself amidst the pushing and shoving.

After a busy day of trading, Mary began her journey towards her long-time friend, Hanna Cox, who was spending the evening with her mother, likely on Edwards Road. Mary had left a bundle of clothing at Hanna’s house earlier that morning, and the pair had changed with excitement before leaving around 7 p.m., heading for the Tyburn House. Since it was Whit Monday, a great feast and party had been planned for the area, and Mary and Hanna were eager to attend and dance the evening away.

However, that evening, a man—known as a womaniser and generally disliked by many locals—was also in attendance. In various accounts of the story, Abraham Thornton is described either as the son of a builder or the son of a wealthy local landowner, currently living with his family in Castle Bromwich.

Abraham Thornton.

Mary Ashford entered the Tyburn Inn, cutting a slender figure and a youthful beauty that she was known for throughout the area, indeed she was even said to have had several suiter’s at the time, she had soon caught the eye of Mr Thornton, so bewitched by her beauty was he that he enquired about her identity with his acquaintances and being informed Mr Thornton exclaimed

Abraham and Mary

‘I have been intimate with her sister, and I will with her’ or die by it’

This account was overheard by several people nearby, who later testified in court. The pair were soon introduced and were seen dancing together closely throughout the evening. By 11 p.m., however, Mary was ready to leave, having likely been awake since before 6 a.m. that day. Mr. Thornton, however, was insistent that she stay and spend the evening with him. Mary resisted, and with her friend Hanna, they both left, closely followed by Thornton and his friend. The four of them wandered along Chester Road in the direction of Erdington.

At Grange Lane (Road 2025), Mary and Hanna parted ways. Despite Mary’s warnings and concerns, Thornton continued to follow her, while his friend, having accompanied the ladies this far, went on his separate way.

The pair were then seen taking a stile across the fields, which are now home to a housing estate, heading toward Pype Hayes Park. They were absent for several hours. Thornton would later claim that the pair had made love in the open fields at the time, with Mary’s full consent, before parting ways.

Around 4 a.m., they were seen again near the stile by a Benjamin Cox, around Bell Lane (now Orphanage Road). After 4 a.m., Mary returned to Hanna’s home to collect her working clothes before setting off for home. Between 4 and 5 a.m., Mary was seen by several witnesses, sometimes hurriedly walking with a male and sometimes alone. Various accounts of Mary’s whereabouts during this early hour were recorded in different newspaper reports of the time.

What we do know for certain is that in the early morning of the 27th May, a labourer on his way to work had come across blood on the grass near to Pitt’s Mill on further searching he had then found items of clothing including a shoe, bonnets and various other items, he raced to fetch help and a search party was quickly organised, not long after the body of a young woman had been discovered in the flooded pit there.

Police quickly assembled and with surprisingly good detective work for the time, they were able to piece together the last few hours of the unfortunate victim, it appeared from imprints left in the ground, that She had been walking along the field when another figure, a male had been waiting in the hedgerow, what was not not known was if this person was known to her or had surprised her.

Mary had then run back the way she had come, appearing to circumvent the male until the footprints stopped. The males then continue with what was now congealed blood the sides of the footprints towards the flooded pit, here they were able to determine the had had then thrown the body of Mary into the water, one footprint on the bank having been deeper than the other.

After a post mortem was carried out, it was found that Mary had been alive at the time of her being thrown into the water, her lungs showed evidence of weed and algae from the pit showing that she had taken her last breath whilst there. Mary’s body was also covered in a number of mark around her wrist, kneck and head showing a sustained assault had taken place, the surgeon later remarked that Mary had been engaged in sex at or around the time of her death.

Now Mary was well thought of and at the court case it was she described as being of exemplary character and the manner in which she died stoked the unrest of not only the local area but the whole counttry.

Thornton a the time of her discovery was said to be at home, when an acquaintance approached him, perhaps the very same from earlier that evening had informed him of Mary’s death, he remarked that he had been with her at 4am, his friend pleaded with him to attend the police and turn himself in but instead of leaving straight away Thornton ate a hearty meal and talked with his friend about anything other than the death of Mary.

Thornton did eventually turn himself in and police were able to match the 2 separate shoe imprints to both Mary’s shoe and that of Thorntons shoe size, Thornton also had blood upon his trousers but continued to exclaim his innocence, the coroner F.B Hackett however believed that he was guilty and ordered him be remanded until the court date.

The court case took place to the watchful eye of the country, an innocent fair beauty brutally murdered and raped and then drowned by the callous and womanising Abraham Thornton, a man it seemed was not very well thought of.

For days the both sides argued their case, Thornton seemed destined for the gallows, he was in contact with Mary up until her death and witnessed by a number of people, he would not leave her alone all evening and even made the comment that he had been with her sister.

Then there was the issues of his show size being an exact match to those along side Mary’s showing that there had been a struggle at the time and finally the blood on his trousers.

Thornton how ever would claim the pair had indeed had sex and the blood was from that meeting, he also claimed that with a distance of some several miles he could not have been at the site of the murder and at home, his presence at home was confirmed by a butler/friend, with this he found not guilty and the judge ruled the evidence circumstantial.

So certain was everyone that he would be found guilty, they shock rocked the country as he was found not guilty, rumors began that his father had paid off witnesses at the time and the witness for his whereabouts being loyal to the family went along with his mater.

This was not to be the end however, later that year William Ashford, Mary’s brother successfully appealed against the decision and Thornton was again arrested, at the time a curious event occured, Thornton enacted and ancient right to trial by combat, an old Anglo-norman law that was still evidentially legal at the time, in fact it was not repealed for another 2 years in 1819.

The judge for the retrial agreed with Thornton that the evidence was not overwhelming and allowed this to go head, for whatever reason William declined, I would surmise here that given the idea of Thornton being a wealthy lad about town was all to well equipped to fight a duel with pistols of swords as fencing and shooting were active pastimes of the upper classes. Thornton was set free, but now understanding that he was perhaps the most despised person the country booked a one way ticket to America where he disembarked at New York and vanished into obscurity.

medieval trial by combat

Mary’s headstone can still be seen at the Holy Trinity Church, Sutton Coldfield.

160 years later, another murder was to take place that eerily matched the circumstances of Mary Ashford.

On May 27th 1974, Barbara Forrest a 20 yo care work then working at the Pype Hayes children’s home was out enjoying the day with her boyfriend whilst he filmed at a church services, some newspaper reports stated that Barbara was out a discotheque in Handsworth area and with her boyfriend they went to Colmore Road, Birmingham where she would catch the no 67 bus to the staff quatre’s at the Pype Hayes home, Barbara never arrived and she was missing for approximately a week.

In what was to become an unsettling coincidence, the body of Barbara Forrest was discovered at around 7pm on the June 4th, she had been strangled and sexually assaulted before her murder and attempt at hiding her body.

Police carried out a widespread search for information, staging a number of recreations with a police woman wearing clothing that Barbara would have worn that evening, they carried out extensive door to door enquiries and even patrolled the number 67 bus route asking those on board for any help or information.

Police even sent divers into the lakes at Pype Hayes in the hope of clues but for 3 months very little was found, then her co worker Michael Thornton was arrested and charged with her murder, quite how and why Michael was arrested is not recorded anywhere or what evidence the police went by in order to bring about this charge remains a mystery in itself.

Michael was detained and blood was discovered on some items of his clothing, but being 1984 DNA testing and linking for crime was not yet available, despite this Michael had provided an alibi for the evening of the murder but that alibi provided by his mother was found to be false, Michael had stated that he had been in London that day with a friend drinking and they had travelled home together, however it seems that he would of been in Birmingham at the time of the murder.

Michael Ian Thornton, suspect.

Some days later, a 15yo girl came forward and claimed that she had been the victim of an attempted attack not far from Colmore Road, she had been approached by a male in a blue car who had asked her to get in under the offer of a lift, when she declined the man left, but feeling uncomfortable waiting there, she left and was followed by an unknown male who attempted to attack her, she was able to free herself and leave the area and this man was never traced nor did it seem the information taken into account or linked to Barbara’s death, no one was ever linked or traced in respects of the death.

At the time of the court case, the Judge ruled that the evidence provided was purely circumstantial and found not guilty, Michael Like Abraham had disappeared into obscurity and would not be close to 90 years old.

Summary.

Here is the odd thing about these two seemingly separate cases.

• Both Mary and Barbara were 20yo at the time of their deaths, both had been out at a dance and both had been seen by close friends that evening.

• Both accused had the surname Thornton and both were found not guilty as the evidence was circumstantial.

• Mary died on Whit Monday and Barbara the day after and some claim they ever shared the same birthday.

• They both met their end in a similar way and only yards apart.

• Both had reported to friends of feeling uneasy or anxious about the coming weeks, feeling as if something bad was going to happen to them.

  160 years separate these two unfortunate women, both had their lives taken before they had really begun and the killer was never found, were they a coincidence, or where they fated to play over the same events 160 years later.

• As late as 2013, Barbara Forrest’s sister was continuing to fight for justice, carrying out an interview with the Birmingham Mail, she called upon the West Midlands police force to carry out further DNA testing and to re-open the case, in response, the police stated that each cold case was subject to periodical reviews and each would be looked at, in the case of Barbar, no further testing or investigation was currently warranted and no further DNA testing was available.

This case still remains a series of strange coincidences, 2 women, the same age and bearing a striking resemblance to each other, both met their fate in near identical ways, by 2 men who shared the same surname and both had ‘circumstantial’ evidence pitted against them. Do we believe these are just uncanny resemblances of history repeating itself.