The judicial proceedings against Elspeth Henderson took place in the burgh of Aberdeen during the spring of 1597, a period marked by an intense focus on witchcraft within the region. According to the extant records, Elspeth was identified as a resident of the city and was brought before the court to answer charges relating to the practice of maleficium. The administrative ledger (C/JO/3113) preserves the formal documentation of her trial, capturing the legal finality typical of the late sixteenth-century Scottish criminal justice system.
On the 24th of April 1597, the judicial process reached its conclusion. Following the verdict of the trial (T/JO/1546), Elspeth was condemned to undergo the prescribed capital punishment of the era. On that same day, the sentence was carried out; Elspeth was executed by the method of strangulation followed by burning, marking the end of her involvement in the legal proceedings of the Aberdeen court.