Born around 1785 in the New Moat area in April 1811 John Griffith found himself at the Haverfordwest assizes on trial for the murder of his second wife Mary Griffith (nee Thomas).

Social pressure meant that John Griffith had been given no choice but to marry Mary (known locally as Molly) when she became pregnant and she had given birth to his son the previous summer. Working back through the dates mentioned at the trial it would seem that Molly had become pregnant within 6 months of the death of John Griffith’s first wife (Jane Evans) and it was very likely that they had known each other prior to this although there is no suggestion Molly even knew that John Griffith had been married.

Jane Evans had died within 10 weeks of their marriage and although she had previously been healthy she had suffered ‘a decline’ and died. Friends and neighbours had been suspicious at the time but there had been no investigation.

To try and give himself an alibi for the murder he claimed during the preceding weeks to have had visions presaging her death while all the time Molly seemed well (and, it would seem, unaware of her husband’s visions). In his visions the image of his wife’s arm holding a fetch-candle could be seen moving about the house and she would be laid out on a table.

On 25th & 26th February he mixed the aresenic into a meal of budram he had prepared for Molly and her fate was sealed. Shorty after Molly’s burial such was the concern of neighbours she was exhumed and when her body was examined it was discovered she had died from arsenic poising.

John Griffith was immediatelly arrested as the only suspect. Just over 6 weeks later he was in court on the murder charge.  

On Thursday 11th April John Griffith was found guilty of the murder of his wife and shortly afterwards while in Haverfordwest jail confessed to the Reverend Luke that he had murdered his first wife too, for no other reason than “the Devil persuaded him to do it”. A fairly detailed report of the trial is here.

He was hung in public at Haverfordwest castle 2 days later on Saturday 13th April and after a short address to the assembled onlookers was “turned off the ladder”

Three quarters of a century later it still held a morbid fascination for local readers. 

Sadly history was to repeat itself.