10 Most Shocking Unsolved British Crime Mysteries

7. Abduction Of Elizabeth Canning

Elizabeth Canning was an eighteen year old maid who claimed to have been abducted in a case that dived London society in 1753. Her story went that she had been grabbed by two men who forced her into a carriage and took her to a brothel eleven miles away in Enfield. The brothel was overlorded by a sinister madam named Mother Wells, who Elizabeth claimed tried to force her to become a prostitute. She refused and as a result found herself locked away in the attic with nothing but a jug of water and bread crusts to live on.

Elizabeth also reported that an old gypsy woman named Mary Squires was staying at the brothel and had stolen some of her clothes to sell. After nearly a month of imprisonment, Elizabeth was able to escape through a window and made her way back to London where she reported her tale. Following her story, Mother Wells and Mary Squires were both arrested and tried at the Old Bailey. Wells was found guilty of running a brothel and sentenced to be branded as penalty. Squires was found guilty of theft and sentenced to hang but the Lord Mayor Of London, Sir Crisp Gascoyne did not believe that she was guilty and intervened. Squires had a reputable alibi in the form of a priest who claimed that she was in Dorset at the time of the supposed theft. The mayor appealed the case to King George II who granted Mary Squires a pardon in light of her alibi.

In a sudden twist of events, Elizabeth Canning found herself charged with intentionally swearing a false oath for which she was sent to prison at Newgate. The case of Elizabeth Canning divided society with some people believing that Elizabeth was innocent while others believed that she had fabricated the story to cover up a secret pregnancy or abortion. However, exactly who was telling the truth in the case was never fully uncovered and remains unsolved to this day.