He also used the name John Palmer and was playing in the ranks of wealthy horse sellers.
Some of his exploits are glamourized in the 183o's novel "Rookwood" by Harrison Ainsworth, where he is one of the characters.
According to a a royal proclamation issued for the arrest of Turpin:
"It having been represented to the King that Richard Turpin did, on Wednesday, the 4th day of May last, barbarously murder Thomas Morris, servant to Henry Thompson, one of the keepers of Epping Forest, and commit other notorious felonies and robberies near London, his majesty is pleased to promise his most gracious pardon to any of his accomplices, and a reward of £200 to any persons that shall discover him, so that he may be apprehended and convicted. Turpin was born at Thackstead in Essex, is about thirty, by trade a butcher, about five feet nine inches high, very much marked with the small-pox, his cheek-bones broad, his face thinner towards the bottom, his visage short, pretty upright, and broad about the shoulders.."
The most reliable testimony about him comes from John Wheeler, a one-time Turpin gang member turned police informer.
In 1735 he described the highwayman as a "tall, fresh-coloured man, very much marked with the pox," who wore a light wig.
His actual highwayman role only lasted all of about 18 months.
However, there are still elements of mystery surrounding his rather short life, mainly due to several myths that have been in circulation for years. In actuality, there is no record of him owning a horse called 'Black Bess,' and despite being given the credit for a non-stop ride from London to York, the feat was actually the accomplishment of another highwayman, 'John Nevison.'
