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Mark JefferiesAustralian killer and cannibal
Country:
 Australia |
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Biography of Mark Jefferies
Early LifeMark Jefferies, also known as Mark Jeffries, was a fugitive criminal, serial killer, and cannibal who gained notoriety in the early 19th century in Van Diemen's Land, which is now known as Tasmania, Australia. Little is known about his early life and background.
Criminal Activities
It is known that Jefferies was a member of Matthew Brady's gang for some time during his criminal career. However, he was eventually expelled from the gang due to his excessive cruelty and mistreatment of women. After his escape from Macquarie Harbour, Jefferies went on to commit multiple murders and cannibalistic acts. He killed and consumed at least four individuals, one of whom was his accomplice in the escape.
Infamous Acts
Jefferies was known for his complete lack of mercy and human emotions. During an attack on a farmhouse, he captured an entire family as trophies, including a couple and their five-month-old baby. Along the way, Jefferies ordered the young woman to stop the baby from crying, but the infant's constant crying irritated him. In a fit of rage, he snatched the child from its mother's arms and killed it by smashing its head against a tree. When the baby's father retaliated in futile anger, Jefferies cold-bloodedly shot him dead.
Capture and Imprisonment
In 1825, Jefferies was apprehended without a fight. When he was brought under convoy to Launceston, the safest place for him as the crowd intended to lynch him, he found refuge in the prison. Interestingly, Jefferies, admitting his crimes, tried to provide authorities with as much information as possible about his former gang members in Matthew Brady's gang. Upon hearing this, Brady immediately planned a frontal attack on Launceston, intending to free all the prisoners and brutally punish the traitor until his death.
Execution
Mark Jefferies was hanged on May 4, 1826, in the old Hobart Prison. He is known as one of the six individuals to have ever escaped from Macquarie Harbour and is considered one of the most heinous criminals in the history of colonial Australia, alongside Alexander Pierce and Mad Dog Morgan.
