If you’ve ever been at a criminal trial or, like me, have never missed an episode of Law & Order on TV, you are aware that certain evidence and witness testimony is not allowed by our current judicial system. But in 1673, in Colonial Portsmouth, Rhode Island, it was not that restrictive. Thomas Cornell, Jr., was charged with killing his mother, Rebecca, by burning her alive. Evidence at the trial included testimony from the spiritof the deceased who appeared to a relative, stating “see how I was burnt with fire.” This form of unusual evidence was called “spectral evidence” and held weight at the trial, which had no direct evidence against Thomas. He was subsequently convicted and hung on the gallows. On a positive note, he was given leniency and was not “drawn” first.

Join me today as we probe this interesting case with,genealogist Alicia Bertrand, who discovered this story while researching her own family tree and found that, not only is she is descended from the Cornells, but also a certain Fall River Axe Murderess.