Bridget Durgan: Mark Twain writes:

BRIDGET DURGAN

They left out the insanity business in this woman's case and tried her
on the plain guilty-or-innocent merits of the charge against her. Of
course they brought her in guilty of murder in the first degree and
without any recommendation to mercy. After the verdict was rendered,
she went out of the Court-room smiling, and seemingly in excellent
spirits. The woman is either a fiend or a fool. Her case is utterly
incomprehensible. The circumstantial evidence shows that she cut and
hacked and stabbed her victim in many places, and bit her on the neck,
and then wore out some of the furniture beating her with it. And yet,
not the shadow of a motive can they discover that she had for harming
her mistress at all! Unless Bridget Durgan goes and spoils everything
by confessing, before they hang her, this dark and bloody murder will
be the most relishable mystery of the age. It is said, however, that
she has intimated that in due time she will confess, not that she did
the deed, but that she saw it done, and will furnish to the world all
the dread particulars of the assassination. The story would be read
here with a ravenous interest. Another woman is to be tried shortly,
as her accomplice.

http://www.twainquotes.com/18670811.html

The New Market Murder

The Grand Jury of Middlesex county has indicted Bridget Durgan for
the murder of Mrs. Dr. Coriell, in February last.

http://home.att.net/~dennis.sutton/News/jan1867.htm

August 30th, 1867, twenty-two year old servant girl Bridget Durgan was
hanged in New Jersey before a crowd of 2000 people for the murder of
her mistress. She was jerked into the air instead of being dropped and
died very hard.

http://www.geocities.com/trctl11/femhang.html