In February 1843, one of the most heinous crimes in Maine history occurred on Great Island in Harpswell. When the dust settled, one man was dead, one was set to hang, a woman co-conspirator was freed and a twisted story came to light.

On Tuesday, May 16, 1843, Cumberland County Sheriff Nathan Woodbury was summoned by the Maine State Prison in Thomaston to hear the confession of convicted Harpswell murderer Thomas Thorn.

In the summer of 1840, a 21-year-old Thomas Thorn left New York to visit his sister, “the widow Dyer,” in Harpswell. During Thorn’s visit he met and fell in love with “a young and buxom,” 18-year-old Lois Alexander, of Great Island. The couple courted that season until Thorn returned to work on the seas.

Two years later, Thorn returned to once again reside with his sister and claim the hand of the fair Alexander. However, when Thorn arrived on Great Island, he discovered that his sister had married a man named Benjamin Wilson. Moreover, he discovered that his fair maiden Lois had married Elisha Wilson, Benjamin’s brother.

Thorn remained on Great Island, living in his sister’s home, and he restarted his friendship with Lois. By late 1842, the flame of romance had rekindled between Thorn and the married Lois Wilson. But one problem stood in the way of their romantic success: Elisha Wilson.

By winter of 1843, Lois wanted out of her marriage to Wilson. She claimed he was a harsh man who had abused her, and she wished her husband dead. In fact, she labored to convince Thorn to murder Elisha. In time, Lois’ arguments worked, and Thorn began planning Elisha’s demise. Soon, Thorn moved in with Lois and her husband, taken on as a border to assist Elisha with his work.

On Sunday, Feb. 5, at about 2 in the morning, Thorn awoke from a nap. He walked down the stairs, retrieved an axe, and entered Elisha and Lois’ bedroom. As the couple slept, Thorn lifted the axe and hit the slumbering Elisha in the head.

Wilson immediately awoke, screamed and tumbled from the bed. Lois awoke, lit a candle and examined Thorn’s work. But Elisha wasn’t dead, only bleeding profusely from his head wound and grasping at the air in panic. Moments later, Elisha Wilson fell silent.

Both Thorn and the newly minted widow planned their next moves as Lois concocted a story for Thorn to tell. The two changed the “bloody bedclothes” of their lifeless victim, gathered the bedding for washing and put Elisha back into the bed. Thorn then left the house to carry out their dastardly plan.

At half past 3, Thorn knocked at the door of the home of Samuel Toothaker, a neighbor and one of Elisha’s friends. When Toothaker opened the door he found Thorn asking for help, claiming Elisha had fallen out of bed, struck his head, and appeared dead. Toothaker quickly dressed and left with Thorn.

When deputies arrived later that day, they found Elisha’s cold body lying in his bed and all evidence of the crime wiped away. One week later, a coroner’s “Grand Inquest” was held and both Thorn and Lois were soon charged “with willful murder.”

By May 3, while both Thorn and Lois were held in the County Jail at Portland, the trial of Thomas Thorn for the “willful murder” of Elisha Wilson began. Lois Wilson, charged with “accessory to murder,” would be tried separately.

On May 12, the verdict of the jury was delivered: Thomas Thorn was found guilty and “sentenced to hang” for his crime. However, Lois Wilson, believed to be “a virtuous woman,” was acquitted and set free.

Assured she could not be retried for the crime, due to double jeopardy, Lois falsely confessed to her part in the murder and placed the blame solely upon the shoulders of Thorn. When Thorn read Lois’ false and betraying confession in the newspaper, he sent for Sheriff Woodbury.

By the time of Thorn’s execution, it was discovered that no governor’s signature had been affixed to the execution warrant. Thomas Thorn had escaped the hangman’s noose but he remained in prison for 30 years.

By September 1872, a 53-year old Thomas Thorn had been deemed a model inmate who educated himself while in prison, and he had shown full remorse for his crime of passion. Surprisingly, Thorn was then issued a full pardon by Maine Gov. Sidney Perham and released from the Maine State Prison at Thomaston.

The 1843 murder of Elisha Wilson had rocked the Midcoast and deeply disturbed Harpswell. And today, this story of love, murder and betrayal stands as one of the more chilling and heinous of our Stories from Maine.

Lori-Suzanne Dell is a Brunswick author and historian. She has published four books and runs the “Stories from Maine” Facebook page.