Derby Kills Asenath and Hides Her Body

Edward Pickman Derby’s killing of Asenath Waite was an attempt to stop her from taking his body permanently. He later confessed that he killed her while they were alone, hid her in the cellar beneath boxes, and tried to erase the signs of what he had done; the effort did not end the threat he feared.

Cause and Circumstances

Derby said the killing was sudden and that he was in his own body at the time. He believed Asenath Waite would take him permanently at Hallowmass, making the act a desperate attempt to prevent that outcome. His account presents the killing not as the end of their conflict but as an attempt to escape its next, irreversible stage.

Killing and Concealment

Derby used a candlestick to kill Asenath Waite. He buried her in the farther storeroom of the cellar, placing old boxes over the concealed body, and cleaned away the traces. The concealment was deliberate: he wanted the death to remain undiscovered, not merely to hide the body from immediate view.

Discovery and Aftermath

The servants suspected what had happened the following morning, but Derby believed their own secrets kept them from going to the police. He sent them away and feared what they—and others associated with the cult—might do. His later account also makes clear that killing Asenath Waite did not end her influence: he felt her continuing to take his body after her death. The event therefore marks a failed attempt at release, turning a concealed killing into a further stage of the body-taking conflict.