Metta Fock

In June 1802, Metta Fock's eldest son, the thirteen-year-old Claes, her three-year-old deaf mute daughter Charlotta, and finally her spouse Henrik Johan, all died within a couple of days after having experienced violent vomiting, temporarily improvement, followed by a hasty death. After their death, Metta Fock left home and spent a couple of days with her eldest daughter's fiance and then at the Norwegian border, before she returned. This caused rumors that she had murdered her spouse and her children in order to marry her lover.

These events, coupled with the rumors of her love affair, resulted in a suggestion from the local länsman to have an autopsy performed on the remains of her spouse. This demand was denied because it was deemed unnecessary, and the funeral was conducted. However, the governor gave order that the autopsy was to be conducted anyway and that the corpse was to be exhumed. The doctor, however, only looked at the corpse in the coffin and decided that it was impossible to conduct the autopsy because of the decay. After this, baron Adam Fock of Höverö, the patriarch of the Fock family and her late spouse's cousin's nephew, had an autopsy performed by a doctor from Skara. He did so without asking for permission from the authorities, and offered the doctor a sizable sum if the result of the autopsy proved poisoning.

Metta Fock was arrested and accused of having murdered her spouse and two children with arsenic in order to marry her lover. She denied the charges. Fock was denied contact with the outside world during her arrest. She was repeatedly questioned, but denied contact with a defense lawyer. She called her own witnesses and tried to prove that there were maggots in the remains, which was known not to be present in the remains of the victims of arsenic poisoning, and that there had been measles present in the parish at the time of the deaths. In April 1804, Johan Fägercrantz admitted to having an affair with her, but denied any knowledge of any murder. Johan Fägercrantz was sentenced to 28 days on water and bread for fornication and adultery.

In April 1805, a majority of the members of the court judged her guilt "more than half proven". However, Fock refused to confess and maintained her own version of events. A law at the time allowed for an accused person who could not be judged guilty but was regarded as dangerous for society to be kept prisoner awaiting their confession. This law was used for Metta Fock. She protested to the monarch and was granted a reprieve and allowed to summon more witnesses to her defense; however, the prison sentence was confirmed in November 1805. In 1806, she was placed as a prisoner at Carlsten awaiting her confession. She was the only female prisoner ever to be kept at Carlsten, which normally only housed male prisoners. She was kept in an isolation cell, and tended only by two priests, who were to encourage her to confess the truth.

On 10 December 1805, during her time in prison, Metta Fock made a message of appeal by embroidery on 27 bits of linen cloth which she had sewn together, as she was not granted the right to pen and paper. In it, she stated her innocence and complained about the treatment she had received. The appeal came to be in the possession of Sophie Adlersparre, who donated it to Nordiska museet in her will, where it is still kept.

In April 1809, she confessed to her guilt. She later retracted her confession and started to defend herself again, but without success. She was sentenced to be executed by decapitation followed by burning; prior to this, her hand was to be cut off. The execution took place on 7 November 1810 at Fägredsmon in Västergötland.