5. The surviving crew of the Mignonette murdered an ill cabin boy to provide sustenance after being shipwrecked in a storm
In 1883, the Mignonette, purchased as a leisure vessel for an Australian lawyer, required transportation from Southampton to Sydney. Despite not being built for the 15,000-mile voyage, a crew of four, including 17-year-old Richard Parker, an inexperienced seaman, departed on May 19. On July 5, approximately 1,600 miles northwest of the Cape of Good Hope, the yacht was struck by a rogue wave destroying the lee bulwark. Ordering an evacuation, with the Mignonette sinking in less than five minutes, the crew, salvaging only minimal supplies and equipment, abandoned ship via a lifeboat. Forced to fight off sharks with oars throughout the first night, they determined they were at least 700 miles from the nearest inhabitant land – St. Helena. Surviving on a tin of turnips, a captured turtle, and recycled urine, on July 20 the crew was dying. In an adverse act of desperation, the young Parker drank seawater, falling critically ill and into a coma.
Having previously discussed drawing lots for a sacrificial victim, on July 25 Parker was murdered whilst still in a coma. His body and blood were consumed, with the man responsible for the fatal wound, Tom Dudley, later commenting: “I can assure you I shall never forget the sight of my two unfortunate companions over that ghastly meal we all had like mad wolfs who should get the most and for men fathers of children to commit such a deed we could not have our right reason”. On July 29, the German sailing barque Montezuma discovered and rescued the remaining three men, returning them to Cornwall. Believing that they were protected by the Custom of the Sea on grounds of necessity, the men openly admitted to their actions and provided a full account of events. Instead, they were arrested, tried, and despite public support for the trio, convicted. Sentenced initially to death, public outcry compelled a commutation to merely a six-month prison sentence.