Okay, I have been tossing this around in my head for awhile but here are more theories as to why Alice may have murdered her daughter: 1) Perhaps Alice's husband was a tyrant and wanted "his" child to be the chosen one. What if he emotionally abused Alice to the point of murder, especially if she was already suffering from hormonal problems? 2) Perhaps Alice was so depressed about her life and the future of her female child that she felt killing her was more humane than forcing her to live a life of submission and cruelty.. Like someone else said, we'll probably never know. I am slightly surprised at the fact that she was hanged for the murder. The loss of female children wasn't exactly a major tragedy in earlier times. Maybe it had to do with the graphic nature of the act itself? Just a thought, Jo-Ann