Bilansky, Ann (1820–1860)

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Bilansky, Ann (1820–1860)

American accused of murder. Born Mary Ann Evards Wright, 1820; hanged 1860 in Minnesota; m. Stanislaus Bilansky.

Only woman to be legally executed in Minnesota (Mar 23, 1860), poisoned husband's soup with arsenic after finding nephew more desirable; though nephew was released, found guilty and hanged. It has since been suggested that her conviction may have been based on questionable testimony and circumstantial evidence; Jeffrey Hatcher's play A Piece of the Rope is a retelling of the story.