Mary Russell murders

The Mary Russell was a trading boat that set sail from the harbour of Cobh, Ireland, on 8 February 1828, carrying a cargo of mules bound for Barbados. When it returned to Cobh on 25 June 1828, the ship's captain had brutally murdered seven of his crewmen. The story was largely forgotten until 2010, when The Ship of Seven Murders, a book which detailed the case, was published.

Built in 1817, the Mary Russell was a small wooden brig of 132 tonnes, drawing 13 feet under load, single-decked with beams. That tonnage would make it about 80 feet in length. The ship was built entirely of wood, with wooden masts and rope rigging. The bottom was sheathed in copper to protect the vessel from shipworm.