Mildred Bevill

Did you know forensic medical evidence was used in a trial in Newfoundland as early as 1752?

In 1752, Ann Coffin stood accused of murdering her domestic servant, Mildred Bevill. Coffin allegedly beat Bevill repeatedly with sticks, a poker, and tongs. Bevill became ill and died three weeks later. The trial began with depositions detailing her abuse, but it was the surgeons’ testimony that would take center stage.

A post-mortem conducted at St. John’s revealed three contusions on Bevill’s shoulders and abdomen—too small, the surgeons concluded, to have caused her death.

John Monier, one of the presiding surgeons, testified that several weeks before the homicide he had been asked to see the deceased, who was suspected of being pregnant, and had noticed some contusions. Monier again treated Bevill shortly before her death for a fever and dropsy which he judged to be terminal. Dropsy is an old medical term for the swelling of soft tissues or body cavities due to the abnormal accumulation of excess fluid.

Today, doctors use more specific diagnoses based on the underlying cause of the fluid retention, such as heart failure, kidney or liver disease.

Monier told the court that the nurses who had attended her had observed an intestinal infection which was the probable cause of the fever.

The prosecution challenged this, citing a jury’s view of the body and evidence of past abuse. Another surgeon, John Hendrick, noted a broken arm and symptoms of dropsy.

A midwife, Margaret Ridley, confirmed Bevill was not pregnant and recounted beatings, confinement, and deprivation of food. Witnesses supported Ridley, and one claimed Bevill had blamed Coffin on her deathbed.

Yet, despite circumstantial and emotional evidence, neither surgeon directly linked the beatings to Bevill’s death. References to prior sexual assault further complicated the case.

In the end, the jury deferred to the surgeons’ expertise. Ann Coffin was acquitted.

This trial shows the remarkable early role of medical evidence in Newfoundland, illustrating that even in the 18th century, jurors weighed expert testimony carefully—sometimes overriding public outrage, character attacks, and dramatic dying declarations.

The Coffin trial stands as a landmark in the history of forensic medicine, highlighting how science and societal attitudes towards violence against women intersected in the courtroom.