The Liverpool Syndicate United we kill

It wasn't just the murders at the sisters' lodging house that the police were now investigating. Although they didn't have enough hard evidence to arrest anybody other than the sisters, officers were convinced that Catherine and Margaret were instrumental in organising a 'killing syndicate' involving up to twelve other women.


The police were aware that the sisters teamed up with at least three other poisoners (and even had their names) to despatch family members, usually the husband (although many wives and children were targeted too) and collect the burial insurance. Police officers also found evidence that three (named) insurance company employees and a funeral director were involved in the fraudulent activities. Again lack of hard evidence prevented the police from prosecuting.

Officers believed that more than fifty men, woman and children were murdered over a three year period between 1880 and 1883. Aliases were used on the insurance forms and claimants often lied about their relationship with the person they were insuring, sometimes not even knowing the victim.

The murderers used a method utilised by several Victorian poisoners. They simply soaked rolls of flypaper in water to extract the arsenic that was then used to despatch the victims, thereby avoiding having to sign the poison register in a pharmacy. Even buying something as mundane as rat poison required a signature.

The Liverpool City Police reasoned that trying to arrest and gain convictions against the other members of this so-called 'killer syndicate' would be impracticable. So they formally charged Catherine Flanagan and Margaret Higgins with just one murder, that of Thomas Higgins. They believed (correctly, as it turned out) that a successful conviction leading to a double execution would send out the desired message to the other members of the group.

The trial opened at St. Georges Hall on 14 February, 1884. Although they were only in court for three days, Catherine tried desperately to blame everything on her younger sister, even offering to turn Queen's evidence and testify against Margaret.

Her offer was turned down.