It looks like any other ancient and worn hide-bound book, but the large, historic volume containing the trial notes of Bristol murderer John Horwood is actually covered with his own skin.
The first person to be hanged from the gatepost at the city’s New Gaol on April 13, 1821, the 18-year-old miner was convicted of killing his former girlfriend, Eliza Balsom, after throwing a stone that hit her on the head. But more recent theories point the finger of ultimate blame on a Bristol doctor who not only experimented with trepanning techniques to treat the injured girl, but later used John’s skin and skeleton as macabre trophies.
In a bizarre twist of fate, almost two centuries later, John’s modern day relative Mary Halliwell unearthed the story of the book and came face to face with the teenager’s skeletal remains while tracing her family’s history. She set out not only to shed doubt on his guilt but succeeded in giving him a proper burial in the family plot at Hanham, 190 years to the day and hour since he swung from the gallows.
