# John Tapner > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/John_Tapner > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/John_Tapner.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Tapner > Source revision: 1331028252 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Person executed for murder}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} '''John Charles Tapner''' (8 March 1823''England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538–1975'' – 10 February 1854) was an [English](/source/England) convicted [murder](/source/murder)er who was the last person [executed](/source/Capital_punishment) by [Guernsey](/source/Guernsey). Tapner was from [Woolwich](/source/Woolwich), [London](/source/London), England, and was living in [St Martin](/source/St_Martin%2C_Guernsey) when 74-year-old [Elizabeth Saujon](/source/Elizabeth_Saujon) was murdered in her home in [St Peter Port](/source/St_Peter_Port) on 18 October 1853. Saujon had been knocked [unconscious](/source/unconsciousness) and left to die in her burning house. Tapner was arrested and tried for the murder of Saujon. At trial, it was revealed that Tapner's [mistress](/source/Mistress_(lover))—who was his wife's sister—lived with Saujon. There were also reports of some of Saujon's belongings being discovered near Tapner's house in St Martin. While Tapner admitted to being in St Peter Port the evening of the murder, he denied any involvement in the fire or Saujon's death. It was never clear what Tapner's motive would have been for killing Saujon and burning down her house. Tapner was convicted of murder by the [Jurat](/source/Jurat)s and sentenced to death by [hanging](/source/hanging). [Victor Hugo](/source/Victor_Hugo) (who would later move to Guernsey)"At the time of Tapner's trial in 1854 for the murder of Elizabeth Saujon on 18 October 1853, Hugo was living in Jersey and kept an eye on the proceedings through the newspapers—he moved to Guernsey the following year." Chris Morvan, "[http://guernseypress.com/news/2005/11/26/setting-the-scene-for-murder/ Setting the scene for murder]," ''Guernsey Press'', 26 November 2005. and 600 residents petitioned the [Home Secretary](/source/Home_Secretary) of the United Kingdom, [Lord Palmerston](/source/Henry_Temple%2C_3rd_Viscount_Palmerston), to [commute](/source/Commutation_of_sentence) Tapner's sentence. Lord Palmerston refused, and Tapner was hanged on 10 February 1854 in St Peter Port. His execution was performed by non-professionals, and Tapner died from [strangulation](/source/strangulation).https://history.gg/john-tapner-executed/ No one was executed by Guernsey after Tapner's execution. Guernsey abolished the death penalty in 2003. ==See also== * [List of botched executions](/source/List_of_botched_executions) ==Notes== {{reflist}} ==General references== * Basil T. Rowswell (1906). ''Catalogue: Law and General Library of the Royal Court, Island of Guernsey'' (Royal Court), p. 163 * John Andrew Frey (1999). ''A Victor Hugo Encyclopedia'' (Westport: Conn.: Greenwood Press, {{ISBN|0-313-29896-3}}) s.v. "Tapner, execution of" ==External links== * Chris Morvan, [https://archive.today/20130205164300/http://www.thisisguernsey.com/2005/11/26/setting-the-scene-for-murder/ "Setting the Scene for Murder"], 2005-11-26, thisisguernsey.com, accessed 2008-08-14 {{DEFAULTSORT:Tapner, John}} Category:1823 births Category:1854 deaths Category:People from Woolwich Category:19th-century executions by the United Kingdom Category:British people executed for murder Category:Executed people from London Category:English people convicted of murder Category:People convicted of murder by Guernsey {{Guernsey-bio-stub}} Category:People executed by Guernsey Category:People executed by the United Kingdom by hanging Category:19th-century British murderers --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [John Tapner](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Tapner) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Tapner?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.