History
| An article in the History of Dedham series |
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Fairbanks had been courting Elizabeth Fales, the daughter of Nehemiah Fales, although she was resistant to marrying him. Finally on May 18, 1801, Fairbanks was determined to force her to make up her mind. He met with Fales in a birch grove next to "Mason's pasture" in Dedham, though the exact location today is not known.
Later, Fairbanks appeared at the Fales house, covered with blood and holding a knife. He told them that their daughter had committed suicide and he had tried to do the same but could not. She had been stabbed 11 times, including once in the back.
Fairbanks' wounds were serious; he was in no shape to be taken directly to jail. He was therefore taken into the Fales household, where he received medical treatment. On August 8, 1801, after a three-day trial and Elizabeth Fales' funeral on May 20, a jury indicted Fairbanks as an accessory to her death and he was jailed.
James Sullivan, the Attorney General of Massachusetts, handled the prosecution. Harrison Gray Otis and John Lowell, Jr., two prominent Federalist lawyers, defended Fairbanks. He was found guilty of the murder and was sentenced to death by hanging.
Read more about this topic: Jason Fairbanks
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