[2] In February 1733 the three women were found murdered and their apartment burgled, and Malcolm was brought in for questioning.

Malcolm confessed to being involved in the robbery (which was already a capital crime in itself), but said that she was part of a group of four in total.

The artist William Hogarth had visited her in Newgate Prison a few days before she was executed to sketch a portrait of her, which heightened her infamy after her death.

[5][1] Hogarth was not alone in exploiting her notoriety as other people would visit to see if they could gain a confession that they could publish to further their reputations.

[6] Her notoriety increased over time: in the nineteenth century, a sensationalistic account by military historian, author, and prison administrator Arthur Griffiths would describe Malcolm as an "unsexed desparado" whose crimes were of "particular atrocity even in those bloodthirsty times".