Eliza Stafford was a cook employed by Henry Chorley, a surgeon and local magistrate, at his house at 8 Park Square, Leeds, Yorkshire. In January 1865, Chorley discovered that Stafford had disposed of of dripping to a local dressmaker. Chorley was angered by Stafford's action, and pressed for her to be prosecuted for theft; the case was eventually heard before the Leeds Borough magistrates on 23 January 1865. During the trial, Stafford admitted to having disposed of the dripping, but claimed that disposing of the dripping was a perquisite of the job. Chorley, in evidence, stated that the incident was only one of several similar incidents, though this was the only one he had any direct evidence of. The magistrates convicted Stafford of the theft and sentenced her to one month's imprisonment in Armley Gaol.
