Walter James Bolton

Farmer, Deceased Person

1888 – 1957

46

Who was Walter James Bolton?

Walter James Bolton was a New Zealand farmer who was found guilty of poisoning his wife. He is known as the last person to be executed in New Zealand before the abolition of capital punishment.

Bolton was born in Wanganui and grew up in nearby Mangamahu. He married Beatrice Mabel Jones in 1913, but Beatrice died on 11 July 1956 after a long and debilitating illness. An autopsy found traces of arsenic in her body, and a police investigation was launched. Bolton was formally charged with her murder in September.

The prosecution claimed that Bolton was having an affair with Beatrice's sister, Florence, who had moved in to help look after Beatrice, and that Bolton had poisoned his wife with arsenic he possessed for use on his farm. It also alleged that he and Florence had destroyed Beatrice's diary. Bolton's defence argued that Beatrice could have been poisoned accidentally, by arsenic entering the water supply. Water on the Bolton's farm was tested and found to contain arsenic, and traces of arsenic were also found in Bolton and one of his daughters

Despite this evidence, a jury quickly found Bolton guilty of murdering his wife, and he was sentenced to death. He was hanged at Mount Eden Prison in Auckland on 18 February 1957, aged 68. According to a contemporary newspaper account, his execution was allegedly botchedinstead of breaking his neck instantly, he was slowly strangled to death. Shortly afterward, the New Zealand Labour Party won the 1957 New Zealand General Election and in effect, the practice of capital punishment ended with Bolton's execution. Due to bipartisan support for abolition, the death penalty faced statutory abolition for homicide and most other crimes when Parliament passed the Crimes Act 1961.

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Born
Aug 13, 1888
Whanganui
Parents
Spouses
Ethnicity
  • European New Zealanders
Nationality
  • New Zealand
Profession
Died
Feb 18, 1957
Auckland

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

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