| Crown vs Felicia Dorothea Kate Dover | |
|---|---|
| Court | Leeds Winter Assizes 1882 |
| Decided | 8 February 1882 |
| Court membership | |
| Judge sitting | Lewis Cave |
| Keywords | |
| Arsenic poisoning Manslaughter Penal servitude Life imprisonment | |
The trial of Kate Dover of February 1882, before Mr Justice Cave, was a major event at the criminal court in Leeds Town Hall, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was attended by many people, and attracted much newspaper publicity. It followed the death of Kate Dover's 61-year-old employer and lover, Thomas Skinner from arsenic poisoning.[1] Known as the Queen of Heeley for her fashionable taste in clothes, Dover was 27 years old at the time, and was Skinner's housekeeper. She was convicted of manslaughter, and sentenced to penal servitude for life, which she served at Woking Female Prison. By 1901, she was out of jail. She lived her remaining years with her sisters in Rotherham.