The Trial of Reginald Birchall

Reginald Birchall's trial for the murder of Frederick C. Benwell was one of the most famous and captivating trials Oxford County had ever seen.

By Liz Dommasch, County Archivist

At the age of 24, J. Reginald Birchall was hanged in Woodstock on November 14, 1890, for the murder of fellow Englishman F.C. Benwell. The murder and subsequent trial attracted international attention due to its sensational nature and Birchall was treated like a celebrity at the gaol, where he was provided with a rug and writing desk (where he wrote his own autobiography), fancy foods and unlimited visitors. A year before the murder, Birchall and his wife, Florence, arrived in Woodstock posing as Lord and Lady Somerset and would soon disappear with a number of bills unpaid. It was later learned that Birchall was an actor, notorious gambler and conman.

When Benwell’s body was discovered in the Blenheim Swamp, he had two bullet wounds in the back of his head and his clothing was tampered with in order to remove identifying markings. Local authorities called on Detective John Wilson Murray (the inspiration for TV’s Detective Murdoch) of the Attorney General’s Office to help solve the case. With the new technical advancements in photography, Detective Murray had the body photographed and placed the image in all the major newspapers of the day. Witnesses soon emerged who saw the two men together the day of the murder and Birchall himself came forward to identify the body, though he claimed he had left Benwell at the swamp with a man known only as the “Colonel”. It was soon believed that Birchall shot Benwell as part of a fraud scheme.

Although he readily admitted to fraud, Birchall maintained his innocence to the end. He was hanged within the walls of the jail and subsequently buried there, following English tradition.

As part of our education outreach initiatives, the Archives offers a programme for grade 11-12 law classes that examines the trial of Reginal Birchall. Using archival records such as newspaper articles, court documents, autopsy reports, historical notes, and even Birchall’s own words, students are asked to formulate evidence and present their findings, for and against the charges of murder, in a mock trial facilitated by Archives staff. This programme has been overwhelming popular with teachers and students and surprisingly the majority of students have found Birchall not guilty of the charge of murder, based on current legal practices and the circumstantial evidence they felt was presented during the actual trial. Many also felt that his wife, Florence, most likely played a larger role in the fraud scheme and murder of Francis Benwell, though she was never accused of anything and quickly disappeared following her husband’s death. It’s also interesting to wonder what would have happened if modern practices of using forensic evidence, such as fingerprinting and DNA sampling, were used in the case. Would Birchall still have been found guilty, without a reasonable doubt?

For more information on our educational programming and links for teachers and students, please check out the Archives webpage.