The last woman to be hanged in Australia was described in court reports at the time as an attractive 31-year-old redhead, who had been intelligent but rebellious in her youth.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Lee went to the gallows at Pentridge prison on February 19, 1951 for her part in the murder of 73-year-old Melbourne landlord and bookmaker William 'Pop' Kent.
Marjorie Jean Maude Wright - later known as Jean Lee - was born in an unassuming house on Bourke Street, in North Dubbo in NSW's Central West, on December 10, 1919 - the fifth and youngest child of railway ganger Charles Wright and his wife Florence (nee Peacock).
She attended Sunday school and the Presbyterian Church until age nine when her family left Dubbo.
After leaving school early she worked in a series of dead-end jobs before marrying Raymond Thomas Brees at age 18. Their daughter was born in April 1939.
From the beginning the marriage was strained and the couple divorced in April 1949.
As a single mother she began to find it difficult to make ends meet. Increasingly she became caught in a cycle of poverty, petty crime and prostitution in Sydney and Brisbane, using numerous aliases, among them 'Jean Lee'.
In 1943 she had begun an association with Morris Dias, a criminal who managed her earnings from prostitution. Three years later she met Robert David Clayton, a con man and gambler with whom she formed an enduring, if violent, relationship.
Between May 1945 and July 1948 she appeared 23 times at Sydney's Central Police Court, mostly on charges of offensive behaviour.
In October 1949 Lee travelled to Melbourne with Clayton, who had just been released from jail. There they teamed up with another criminal, Norman Andrews. The three committed minor offences which brought them into further conflict with the law.
On November 8, 1949 a 73-year-old, part-time bookmaker William 'Pop' Kent was found murdered in the front room of his house in Dorrit Street, Carlton.
The police alleged that Clayton, Andrews and Lee had accompanied Kent to his home, bashed him, tortured him to find where he had hidden his money, and finally strangled him.
IN OTHER NEWS:
The three were apprehended in a city hotel room - still wearing blood-stained clothing - and all three were charged with murder.
Angry and bitter about the charge, Lee pleaded innocence and insisted she was an onlooker rather than an active participant in the crime.
On March 25 1950, after a long and dramatic trial in the Supreme Court, the three were found guilty of murder and sentenced to death.
They appealed and were granted a retrial but the High Court overturned the ruling and reinstated the convictions.
Lee became the first woman to be hanged in Victoria since 1895. She was heavily sedated and collapsed after seeing the hangman and his assistant - both goggled and wearing felt hats.
A doctor examined Lee and found her to be unconscious. The execution continued and a white hood was placed over Lee's head, her arms and legs were pinioned. Lee was carried to the gallows and placed on a chair.
At a signal from the sheriff the executioner stood back from the trap and pulled the lever.
Two hours later Clayton and Andrews, both mildly sedated, shared the same fate.
Lee was the last woman hanged in Australia.
Zaarkacha Marlan
Court and crime reporter at the Daily Liberal. Formerly the sole journalist for the Nyngan Observer, Narromine News and Trangie Advocate.
Court and crime reporter at the Daily Liberal. Formerly the sole journalist for the Nyngan Observer, Narromine News and Trangie Advocate.
