On June 24, 1898, Constable Michael Toohey was murdered near the Grand Trunk Railway Station while in pursuit of a "one-legged tramp" who had just assaulted a railroad employee. London's Via Railway Station has since been built the spot of the old Grand Trunk Railway Station. The murder launched a three-month international manhunt. The search ended in Washington State with the arrest of Marion "Peg-leg" Brown. Brown was returned to London to face the charge of murder. Though Brown maintained he was innocent, on March 29^th, he was found guilty and sentenced to hang. Prior to Brown's May 17^th execution, over forty lawyers appealed to Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier to have the conviction overturned on the grounds of a biased trial. However, these requests were ignored and Brown was hanged as scheduled on a stormy May morning.

The execution of Marion Brown was the eighth to occur in London. Brown's trail cost approximately $4500, making it one of the most expensive trials to have ever occurred up to that time in the history of Middlesex County. Despite this high cost, it appears that the $500 reward was never paid to Washington Marshal A.L. Dilly for the capture and delivery of the notorious criminal.

Prior to his execution, Brown was heard to say that no grass would ever grown on his grave. In 1985, during construction at the Middlesex County Courthouse, Brown's body was unearthed by an excavator which was digging in the courthouse parking lot. Brown's prophecy appears to have been correct. Layers of concrete and tarmac were all that covered his grave.

Guards have claimed that the ghost of Marion "Peg-leg" Brown still haunts the courthouse. It is said that the stomping of his peg-leg can still be heard echoing from the old jail cells at the start of each new year as well as on the anniversary of his execution.

Before his arrest, over forty other one-legged drifters were taken into custody across the country based on nothing but their missing limbs. These poor, innocent, men were deprived of their freedom because of the panic which enveloped a nation following a single vile act. While this reactionary impulse is still present today, it's early forms can be seen playing out in the less than innocent Victorian Age.

Brown, Ron. Behind Bars: Inside Ontario's Heritage Gaols. Toronto: Natural Heritage Books, 2006.

Ivey Family London Room, London Public Library, London, Ontario, Canada.

London Free Press, June 25, 1898 - May 18, 1899.

Richardson, Mark. On The Beat: 150 Years of Policing in London Ontario. London: The Aylmer Express Ltd., 2005.