burking

"Between the cholera and the burking, we can barely keep body and soul together."

But Burking happens.

In homicidal cases, the term burking is often ascribed to a killing method that involves simultaneous smothering and compression of the torso.

The term "burking" comes from the method William Burke and William Hare used to kill their victims during the West Port murders.

Although there were public protests at using the bodies of the poor as raw material for medical students, proponents of the Act were able to use fear of burking in order to get it passed.