17-year-old Katherine, known colloquially as Kate, was the accuser in the trial. She was an orphan and the maidservant of Daniel and Abigail Wescot. However, while many believed her, she was not universally trusted, and many—including, possibly, Abigail—believed she was making up her bewitchment, or that the fits and torments she was experiencing were in fact genetic, as her mother had fallen ill when she was younger.

Elizabeth was the first woman accused by Kate. She and the Wescots had previously quarreled, and Daniel had previously harbored suspicions that she had bewitched his daughter. Elizabeth and Mercy were the only two of the accused formally tried, though Elizabeth was acquitted by the jury.

Goody Miller was the second woman named by Kate. However, as soon as she heard she had been accused, she fled to her brothers in nearby Bedford, New York, where her brothers’ power allowed her to avoid extradition.