The poisoner

There is an old saying that court trials are as much theatre as justice and it’s certainly true in the case of Thomas Hall, where crowds lined up for seats and tickets had to be sold to see his trial.
Thomas Hall was born in Hull, Yorkshire, England, but, like with much of his life, there are few records that give us precise facts. His father Thomas Williamson Hall and wife Sarah Young came to Timaru in New Zealand about 1865 and Thomas was about 16 or 17.
He worked on a sheep station, managing it for his uncle John Hall who would later be premier of New Zealand.
Thomas didn’t like it however, his family was well enough off and he did not like the harshness of sheep country life. He reinvented himself as a businessman but was, in fact, a conman.
He was described as good looking, talked well and was always ready for any amusing enterprise.
Thomas became a partner in a land agents and lending money business and began courting Kate Emily Espie. He married her on May 26, 1885.
She was the stepdaughter of the rich Captain Henry Cain.
Thomas drew up Kate’s will within a month of marrying her. And a month later he took out two life insurance policies, one was for £3,000 payable on her death; the other, for the same amount, was payable if she died in seven years.
Henry died a year later and Thomas had appeared a dutiful son-in-law to him. Cain had frequently mentioned that the whisky Thomas gave him was the reason he was sick.
After Henry’s death Thomas took on a live-in companion for Kate, Margaret Houston.
Kate gave birth to their son Nigel and fell ill, and it worried the family doctor Patrick McIntrye who could not work out what was wrong.
Thomas was just as caring with Kate as he had been with Henry, preparing food and tea for her. When a visiting friend accidentally drunk some tea meant for Kate, she fell ill herself, And the rumours began.
It was then Dr McIntyre suspected antimony poisoning, and once a sample of Kate’s stomach contents were analysed, his suspicions were confirmed.
Both Thomas and Margaret were arrested on a charge of attempted murder. But not without some drama. Thomas was caught with the poison in his pocket. He tried to throw it into the fire but was wrestled to the ground by police.
His business also went bankrupt and was discovered the bank accounts were badly overdrawn and he was also charged with fraud. He had been shuffling money around to make it appear he was more successful. But he badly needed money - and the insurance policy was attractive.
The crowds at the depositions hearing in Timaru were huge. The evidence was overwhelming against Thomas, but Margaret’s was circumstantial.
At trial she was acquitted while Thomas was found guilty (in just eight minutes) and sentenced to life imprisonment.
But by then there was concern over Henry’s death and the body was exhumed to find unmistakable signs of poisoning. Thomas was charged with that too and found guilty but it was overturned on appeal.
Hall served his term and was released from Mount Eden prison in 1907.
A relative gave him an annuity to get out of New Zealand and stay away. He was believed to have gone to Australia and lived there under an assumed name.
The day and place of his death are unknown as Thomas Hall but he is believed to have been using the name Peter Newstead and died in the seaside town of Yeppoon.​