Hello and welcome back to Breakfast with Mom!
In 1871, a woman stood accused in a courtroom that did not fully recognize her as a legal equal—or, in many ways, as a full person. The charge against her was serious. But what mattered just as much as the alleged crime was who she was believed to be: a wife, a woman, and—according to the State—someone who had stepped far outside her proper role.
This is not just a story about guilt or innocence.
It’s a story about how justice works when society has already made up its mind.
True crime loves endings. A verdict, a sentence, a clean line between guilt and innocence. But history almost never gives us that, because when the courtroom doors closed in 1871… Elizabeth Wharton’s story didn’t end. It just got quieter. And quieter stories are harder to hear.
Sources:
https://mdhistory.msa.maryland.gov/msaref04/msa-sc-5339-68-192/pdf/bg-wharton-trial-0002.pdf
https://www.jamesarsenault.com/pages/books/3752/trial-of-mrs-elizabeth-g-wharton-on-the-charge-of-poisoning-general-w-s-ketchum-tried-at-annapolis-md
https://www.murderbygaslight.com/2021/08/a-baltimore-borgia.html
All the things:
Music: “Electronic Rock (King Around Here)” by Alex Grohl https://pixabay.com/music/search/electronic%20rock%20king
Logo Artwork: Strawbeary Studios https://www.youtube.com/@StrawbearyStudios/featured
Episode was researched, written and edited by Shanoa with the help of ChatGPT
Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090200010112
X (formerly Twitter): @breakfastmompod
