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At about age 53 Rebecca was among the spectators for Rev. George Burroughs' hanging on Gallows Hill, Salem, on Aug. 19, 1692.  She was in a house near the scene of the execution; and while there "the woman of the house" felt a pin stuck into her foot, as she said.  Rebecca, not being as good as she might have been, was pointed out as the one who did it; and two warrants were issued for her arrest.  She was imprisoned for witchcraft; stood trial, confessed and was sentenced to death.  She was reprieved March 1693 after seven months in jail.  Applied to selectmen for assistance when her husband died.  After her husband's death, she applied for assistance and she and her children were then taken in for winter 1693-94 by John Peabody. She applied for and had her name cleared and restitution paid in 1710.

The trial transcripts are available online by clicking here.