celebrity.estateAn EGRET.LAW propertyWorld map3D timeline
Home / Stories / Jailed and executed
Subject

Jailed and executed

What happened to the fortune, land, name and body of the imprisoned and the executed, and what their heirs won back.

34 storiesEvery story with sourcesFilter all stories

What do the jailed and executed estate cases show?

A judgment that cannot be collected in life becomes a creditor claim against the estate at death. An acquittal leaves inheritance rights untouched; only a conviction or a civil finding can block them.

Stories
34
Years
474 BCE to 2025
Main regions
Europe, North America, Middle East
Legal traditions
Common law, Royal and church law
Updated
30 October 2026

Every case in jailed and executed, best-known first

Best-known first: cases from 1900 on, then the United States, then Europe, and the people most read about on English Wikipedia each month. Fiction, scripture and legend come last.

O.J. Simpson 1990 · DN-ST-91-03444: NBC Sports commentator and former professional football player O. J. Simpson sits with a group of servicemen to watch a Thanksgiving Day footbal2024 · Las Vegas, Nevada, USAO.J. Simpson paid little of the $33.5 million judgment while alive, and in 2025 his executor accepted a $58 million claim from Ron Goldman's fatherO.J. Simpson was acquitted in 1995 of the 12 June 1994 murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. In 1997 a civil jury found him liable, and the families won a $33.5 million judgment.findlaw.com and 2 moreLizzie Borden House (Bed Breakfast) (3535957840): Erected in 1845, the home was originally a two family and was later made into a single family by Andrew J. Borden. Andrew J. Borde1892 · Fall River, Massachusetts, USALizzie Borden was acquitted of killing her father and stepmother, inherited his fortune with her sister, and wrote her sister out of her willAndrew Borden and his second wife, Abby, were killed with a hatchet in their Fall River house on 4 August 1892. His estate was valued at $300,000.us-data.org and 1 moreAI illustration: A typed will with a forged signature on a doctor's desk in Hyde, 19981998 · Hyde, Greater ManchesterA forged will leaving £386,000 to Dr Harold Shipman exposed Britain's worst serial killerKathleen Grundy, 81, a former mayoress of Hyde, died at home. Her GP, Dr Harold Shipman, signed the death certificate and gave "old age" as the cause.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk and 3 morePredappio, cimitero di San Cassiano (01): Predappio, cimitero1945 · Milan; Cerro Maggiore; Predappio, ItalyPartisans shot Mussolini, fascists stole his body from an unmarked grave, and the state hid it in a monastery for 11 years before trading it for votesPartisans shot Benito Mussolini and Clara Petacci on 28 April 1945. Their bodies were dumped in Milan's Piazzale Loreto, abused by the crowd and hung by the feet from the girder of an unfinished service station.panorama.it and 2 moreSaddam Hussein: Saddam Hussein in 19982006 · Baghdad; al-Awja, near Tikrit, Salahuddin, IraqSaddam Hussein was buried in his own mausoleum, the mausoleum was destroyed, and no one will say where his body isSaddam Hussein was hanged at dawn on 30 December 2006. President George W. Bush authorised moving the body by US military helicopter to Tikrit.kuwaittimes.com and 3 more301-es parcella 1988: 301-es parcella (1988)1958 · Budapest, HungaryHungary hanged Imre Nagy in 1958 and buried him face down under a woman's name, and over 200,000 people came to his reburial in 1989Imre Nagy was Hungary's prime minister during the 1956 revolution. After Soviet troops crushed it, János Kádár's government tried him in secret for treason.301.nori.gov.hu and 2 moreSheikh Hasina: Prime Minister and Leader of the House Sheikh Hasina attended the first meeting of the "Business Advisory Committee" of the 12th Jatiya Sangsad in the permanent comm2025 · Dhaka, BangladeshA mob demolished the house where Sheikh Hasina's father was killed, and a tribunal sentenced her to death in absentia and ordered her assets confiscatedSheikh Hasina is the daughter of Bangladesh's founding leader, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He and most of his family were killed at their house, Dhanmondi 32 in Dhaka, in a military coup on 15 August 1975.newsonair.gov.in and 2 moreRoger Casement-Grave in Glasnevin: Roger Casement-Grave in Glasnevin1916 · Pentonville Prison, London; Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin, IrelBritain hanged Roger Casement in 1916 and buried him in quicklime, returned him to Dublin in 1965 on condition he stay out of the North, and in October 2026 his supporters applied to move himRoger Casement was put ashore at Banna Strand, County Kerry, on 21 April 1916 and arrested with malaria at an old fort nearby. His trial for high treason opened on 26 June 1916 at the Royal Courts of Justice.irishnews.com and 2 moreWindow in the Roper Chapel of St. Dunstan's Church, Canterbury - geograph.org.uk - 3072341: Window in the Roper Chapel of St. Dunstan's Church, Canterbury1535 · Tower Hill, London; St Dunstan's Church, Canterbury, EnHenry VIII beheaded Thomas More and took the family's property, and his daughter bribed a man for his head, which a Canterbury parish voted in 2025 to dig upThomas More, Henry VIII's former Lord Chancellor, refused the oaths required by the Acts of Succession and Supremacy of 1534. He was convicted of treason and beheaded on 6 July 1535.canterbury-archaeology.org.uk and 4 moreAI illustration: A Wilshire Boulevard law office tower in Los Angeles at night2021 · Los Angeles, California, USATom Girardi was put under his brother's conservatorship with Alzheimer's disease, then convicted of stealing client money and sent to prison at 86Tom Girardi won the $333 million Hinkley settlement with PG&E and in a sworn statement valued himself at $264 million. He married Erika Jayne in 2000; she joined The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills in its sixth season.Los Angeles Times and 7 moreWalterboro - Colleton County Court House 01: Photomechanical print (postcard) : halftone, colored Divided back2021 · Moselle, Colleton County, South Carolina, USAAlex Murdaugh renounced his murdered wife's estate, the family estate sold for $3.9 million, and in 2026 South Carolina's top court threw out his murder convictionMaggie Murdaugh and her younger son, Paul, were shot dead at the family's Moselle estate in June 2021. Her will left everything to her husband, Alex, a lawyer from a prominent local family.digital-release.wsav.com and 3 moreGiles Corey: Old drawing of the death of Giles Corey (September 19, 1692) by being pressed with heavy stones after conviction as a witch during the Salem Witch Trials.1692 · Salem, Massachusetts, USASalem pressed Giles Corey to death under stones for refusing a jury trial, and his land went to his sons-in-law under a will he had already signedGiles Corey was a farmer in Salem Village, now Danvers. In 1676 he had been fined for beating a servant to death. In 1692 his wife Martha was accused of witchcraft.salem.lib.virginia.edu and 3 moreAlexei Navalny: Alexey Navalny 2018 (cropped)2024 · Penal Colony No. 3, Kharp, Russia; Salekhard, Russia; MoscowNavalny died in an Arctic prison colony, and the state held his body for eight days while investigators pressed his mother to agree to a secret burialAlexei Navalny died on 16 February 2024, aged 47, at Penal Colony No. 3 in Kharp, in the Russian Arctic. The authorities kept his body.globalnews.ca and 1 moreSergei Magnitsky (grave): Могила юриста Сергея Магнитского на Преображенском кладбище в Москве2009 · Moscow, RussiaRussia put a dead lawyer on trial and convicted him in 2013, and the European court ordered Russia to pay his widow and motherSergei Magnitsky worked for Hermitage Capital, the investment fund run by Bill Browder. He was arrested and held for 11 months in pre-trial detention in Moscow, where he died in November 2009, aged 37, allegedly after being beaten.csmonitor.com and 2 moreNikolai Bukharin: N.I. Bukharin (1888-1938) Crop1938 · Moscow, RussiaBukharin made his wife memorise his last letter before his arrest, and she carried it through 20 years of camps and exile until he was cleared in 1988Nikolai Bukharin married Anna Larina in 1934; she was more than 25 years younger. Their son, Yuri, was born in 1936. Bukharin expected arrest and judged it too dangerous to write his last testament down.colinshindler.com and 2 moreCaptain jack 1873: Captain Jack (Kintpuash), a Modoc subchief, executed October 3, 1873; bust-length, full-face. Photographed by Louis Heller, 1873. American Indian Select List num1873 · Fort Klamath, Oregon, USAThe Army hanged Captain Jack, shipped his head to Washington in a barrel marked "specimens of natural history," and exiled his people to OklahomaKintpuash, called Captain Jack, led a Modoc band that left the Klamath Reservation, set up under an 1864 treaty, and returned to their Lost River homeland.ou.edu and 3 moreOliver Cromwell's head, late 1700s: A sepia drawing of the head of Oliver Cromwell, from a copy of Pennant's London1658 · Westminster Hall, London, England; Sidney Sussex College, CaEngland dug up Oliver Cromwell, hanged his corpse and put his head on a pole, and collectors sold the head for 300 years until a college buried it in secret in 1960Oliver Cromwell died on 3 September 1658 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. Charles II returned in 1660.olivercromwell.org and 2 moreGilles de Rais: Féron - Gilles de Rais (1405-1440) - MV 9621440 · Nantes, Brittany, FranceGilles de Rais sold his castles to the Duke of Brittany, seized a priest in church, and was hanged; his heirs then claimed the lands backGilles de Rais was born at Champtocé castle in 1404 and inherited estates in Brittany, Anjou, Poitou, Maine and Angoumois. The historian Matei Cazacu puts his income at about 50,000 livres a year.famous-trials.com and 1 moreTokyo Detention House 01: 東京拘置所2018 · Tokyo Detention House, Tokyo, JapanJapan hanged Aum's founder in 2018, his daughters fought over his ashes, and the state refused to hand them over until a 2026 court orderChizuo Matsumoto, known as Shoko Asahara, led Aum Shinrikyo, the group behind the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack. He was hanged in July 2018 with 12 other members.english.adnkronos.com and 1 moreBeatrice Cenci: Beatrice Cenci1598 · Petrella Salto and Rome, ItalyBeatrice Cenci and her family killed her father at his castle, Rome beheaded them, and most of the Cenci fortune went to the pope's nephewBeatrice Cenci was born in Rome on 6 February 1577, the daughter of Count Francesco Cenci and Ersilia Santacroce.ebsco.com and 2 moreTheodoric the Great: Teodorico re dei Goti (493-526)524 · Pavia (the Calventian estate), ItalyTheodoric had Boethius clubbed to death and seized his estates, and the king's daughter gave them back to his sonsBoethius came from the Anicii, one of Rome's leading families. He was raised by the senator Symmachus and married his daughter, Rusticiana. He was consul in 510.University of Chicago, LacusCurtius and 3 moreRemains of Wigmore Abbey - geograph.org.uk - 700446: Remains of Wigmore Abbey1330 · Tyburn, London; Wigmore, Herefordshire, EnglandEdward III hanged Roger Mortimer without a trial and took his lands, and Mortimer's grandson won them back in 1354Roger Mortimer and Queen Isabella removed Edward II and ruled for the boy king Edward III. In October 1330 Edward's men seized Mortimer at Nottingham Castle.Wikisource (primary text) and 2 morePortrait of Monsieur de Lavoisier and his Wife, chemist Marie-Anne Pierrette Paulze: Portrait of Monsieur de Lavoisier and his Wife, chemist Marie-Anne Pierrette Paulze1794 · Paris, FranceThe Revolution guillotined Lavoisier and seized his notebooks, and his widow fought until she got back the property and nearly all his papersAntoine Lavoisier was a chemist and a tax farmer. He was jailed from 28 November 1793. On 8 May 1794 he and his father-in-law, Jacques Paulze, were tried, convicted and guillotined.news.cornell.edu and 2 moreJeanne d'Arc au bûcher, Place du Vieux-Marché, Rouen (La Prière pour la France): Carte postale n°1311431 · Rouen, FranceJoan of Arc's mother sued to clear her daughter's name, and in 1456 the church declared the 1431 trial nullJoan of Arc led French forces for Charles VII. In December 1429 the king ennobled her father, Jacques, her mother, Isabelle Romée, and her brothers Jean and Pierre; the family used the name du Lys.archive.joan-of-arc.org and 2 moreDilston Castle: Dilston Castle (grid reference NY97566328) is a ruined 15th century towerhouse situated at Dilston, near Corbridge, Northumberland.1716 · Tower Hill, London; Dilston, Northumberland, EnglandThe Earl of Derwentwater was beheaded in 1716, Parliament gave his estates to Greenwich Hospital, and in 1868 a woman calling herself his heir moved into the ruined castleJames Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Derwentwater, grew up at the exiled Stuart court at Saint-Germain. He joined the 1715 Jacobite rising, was defeated at Preston and pleaded guilty.northumberlandarchives.com and 4 moreSeneca the Younger: Duble herma of Socrates and Seneca Antikensammlung Berlin 0765 · Rome, ItalySeneca offered Nero his 300-million-sesterce fortune, was refused, and three years later was ordered to die and denied the tablets to write his willThe Stoic philosopher Seneca tutored the young Nero and then advised him as emperor. The senator Suillius, on trial, asked how Seneca had made 300 million sesterces in four years of royal favour.Wikisource (primary text) and 4 moreBust Alcibiades Musei Capitolini MC1160: So-called “Alcibiades”, ideal male portrait. Roman copy after a Greek original of the Late Classical period; the hermaic pillar and the ins415 BCE · Athens, GreeceAthens condemned Alcibiades, auctioned his property item by item on marble slabs, ordered priests to curse him, then gave the property backIn 415 BC, as Athens sent its fleet against Sicily, the city's herms were mutilated, and men were accused of profaning the Mysteries of Eleusis. Alcibiades, a general of the expedition, was accused.perseus.tufts.edu and 5 moreYamanaka & Co. Prince Gong Mansion: 恭親王府正殿前 明治45年3月 （右より） 菅金福 山中六三郎 山中六三郎 親王府総務 劉恵郷 岡田友次 親王家執事 金雨三 同 陳顕建1799 · Beijing, ChinaChina's new emperor arrested his father's favourite five days after the old emperor died, let him hang himself, and seized a fortune put at up to 800 million taelsHeshen was born in Beijing in 1750 and was a palace guard when the Qianlong Emperor noticed him in 1775. Within a year he was a Grand Councillor. He ran the Board of Revenue and then the Board of Personnel.Wikisource (primary text) and 3 moreMaharaja Nandakumar, Calcutta: Maharaja Nandakumar, Calcutta1775 · Calcutta (Kolkata), IndiaA Bengali official accused Warren Hastings of bribery, was charged weeks later with forging a dead banker's bond, and was hanged under an English statuteMaharaja Nandakumar had been governor of Hugli and an old rival of Warren Hastings. A banker, named Bulaki Das in later accounts, died in 1769. The banker's executor, Gungabissen, sued Nandakumar for sums owed to the estate.Wikisource (primary text) and 2 moreToyotomi Hideyoshi: Toyotomi Hideyoshi c1598 Kodai-ji Temple1595 · Mount Kōya (Kōyasan), Wakayama, Japan; Sanjō riverbank, KyotHideyoshi's adopted heir was forced to kill himself after a son was born, and 39 of his wives, children and servants were beheaded in KyotoToyotomi Hideyoshi unified Japan. In 1591, after his heir died, he made his nephew Hidetsugu his successor and Imperial Regent. In 1593 Hideyoshi had a son, Hideyori, and relations with Hidetsugu broke down.kyohaku.go.jp and 3 moreTomb of Yue Fei, 1907: 岳飛墓 (浙江 杭州)1142 · Lin'an (Hangzhou), Zhejiang, ChinaSong China killed its leading general on a charge its chancellor admitted might not exist, held his family 20 years, then restored his name and reburied himYue Fei, born in 1103, was the leading Southern Song general against the Jurchen Jin. The chancellor, Qin Hui, wanted a peace treaty. Two other generals accepted bribes to support it, and Yue Fei refused.ehangzhou.gov.cn and 3 moreA member of the Barmakid family offering gifts to the Caliph, From the Akhbar-i Barmakyan, India, Mughal, circa 1595-160: A member of the Barmakid family offering gifts to the Cali803 · al-Anbar, Iraq; Baghdad, Iraq; Raqqa, SyriaHarun al-Rashid had his vizier Ja'far killed in one night in 803, hung his body in Baghdad, and took the Barmakid fortuneThe Barmakids came from Balkh, where their ancestors led a Buddhist monastery. They ran the Abbasid government for Harun al-Rashid. Yahya ibn Khalid was his vizier, and from about 798 Yahya's son Ja'far held the post.Wikisource (primary text) and 4 moreHeiliger Rock Trier Wallfahrt 1891 (cropped): Detail of a drawing of the exhibition of the Seamless Robe of Jesus in Trier (Germany) in 1844 and 1891.Scripture · 30 · Jerusalem; Trier, Germany; Argenteuil, France; Mtskheta, GeoThe Gospel of John says soldiers diced for the executed Jesus's seamless robe, and three churches claim to have itThe Gospel of John says that when Roman soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier.biblegateway.com and 2 moreHaman Begging the Mercy of Esther: Haman Begging the Mercy of EstherScripture · 474 BCE · Susa (Shush), IranThe Book of Esther says the king hanged Haman on his own gallows and gave his house to Queen Esther the same dayThe Book of Esther says Haman, chief minister of King Ahasuerus, offered "ten thousand talents of silver" for a decree to destroy the Jews of the empire. Queen Esther, who had kept her Jewish birth secret, exposed him at a banquet.sefaria.org and 4 more