Manitoba
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Criminal court case

After being charged with the murder of Mary Lane, Hilda Blake attended a preliminary hearing before Brandon Police Magistrate K. Campbell. The records filed with the court included the testimony of Dr. John McDiarmid, who performed the postmortem on Mary Lane, and Police Chief Kircaldy, who gave an account of the investigation that led to Blake’s arrest.

After the evidence was revealed, Blake was asked to question the witnesses. She declined, indicating that she could implicate others, but that she alone had to take responsibility for her actions. She followed this by making only one official statement, saying: “I want to say that I am guilty, and I want you to inflict the severest punishment upon me that is all.”

Statement of the Accused in the Emily Hilda Blake murder case
Statement of the Accused in the Emily Hilda Blake murder case, page 1. A of M, A 0088, GR 0363, Q. vs. Emily Hilda Blake, No. 11.
Image of Albert Clements Killam
Image of Albert Clements Killam, MLA (Winnipeg South) and judge for the province of Manitoba. A of M, Personalities – Killam, Albert Clements 1, c. 1886.

Find out more... search Hilda Blake in the Keystone Archives Descriptive Database.