Timney lived in Carsphad, three miles from St John's town of Dalry in a stone cottage adjacent to Hannah's house.
A butcher's knife and a two-foot long iron fire poker, both covered in blood, were lying next to the body.
Several witnesses said they had seen Mary Timney exiting Hannah's house holding a wooden mallet and with blood on her dress, and she was arrested.
[2] The mallet was found in her attic, wrapped in a bloodstained dress matching the description given by witnesses.
A petition for clemency signed by 3,000 people was submitted to Home Secretary Sir George Grey, but was rejected.