Case of stolen skull belonging to executed York woman solved
💀 It belonged to Elizabeth Johnson who was the last person to be executed in York
Last updated 18th Jan 2022
A skull stolen from one of York's most historic pubs on New Year's Day has been returned.
At approximately 1am on New Year’s Day, the skull of the last person to be executed in York was stolen from the Golden Fleece pub in the city.
It belonged to Elizabeth Johnson who was found guilty in 1800 of uttering a forged £1 bank note with intent to defraud the Bank of England.
The punishment for committing this crime was a hanging on the Knavesmire. The skull of Elizabeth has since lived on the wall in the Golden Fleece public house.
When staff in the pub noticed that the skull was missing, they launched their own appeal on social media asking for the skull to be returned.
The appeal was unsuccessful, but the pub staff had a clear CCTV image of the suspect and contacted the police.
Officers launched an investigation and used the pub CCTV, as well as cameras in the city, to identify the suspect.
A man in his twenties immediately admitted the theft and proceeded to show police to his fireplace where Elizabeth’s skull was placed on top.
The offender was dealt with via an out of court disposal and has since written a letter of apology.
And our officers were delighted to be able to return Elizabeth back to where she belongs in the pub.
PC Davies, who is only seven weeks into his policing career and investigated the crime with his tutor said:
“Before joining the police I was advised that no two days will ever be the same. This crime has certainly confirmed this.
“It was an interesting crime to investigate and at the same time has improved my knowledge on local history.
“I am chuffed that we were successful in identifying the offender and returning the stolen property.”