In August 1661, Jonet Ker, a widow residing in the village of Wester Duddingston, found herself at the centre of a formal legal proceeding in Edinburgh. The legal process moved with swift, harrowing efficiency; after being identified as an accomplice by a wide circle of individuals—including Isobel Ramsay, Margaret Hutchison, Marjorie Fairwell, Issobell Robiesone, Agnes Bartill, John Scot, and Margaret Hart—Jonet was brought before the authorities. On 20 August 1661, she stood trial in Edinburgh, an event notable for the fact that the assize was composed largely of men from the city rather than from her own local community in Duddingston.
Following the initial trial proceedings, Jonet provided a confession, which was formally recorded on both the 20th and the 23rd of August. This admission, which included charges of attending a witches' meeting, resulted in a verdict of guilty. Her life was brought to a conclusion on 23 August 1661, the same day her final confession was noted. In accordance with the judicial practices of the era, Jonet was executed by being strangled and subsequently burned. The surviving records offer little insight into her life beyond these stark legal milestones, leaving her story defined primarily by the testimony of her alleged accomplices and her own recorded confession.
