The parents of three local children, baffled at the sudden death of their young infants, became caught up in the witch hunt that swept the local area. They made statements in court, supported by friends and neighbours, that they suspected that witchcraft was the cause. In doing so, they recalled how certain members of the accused had reputations as witches. 

Commenting on the sudden death of William Montgomery's infant daughter, Agnes Craig recalled that Agnes Naismith had visited Montgomery's home just two weeks before. Just like she had done with Christian Shaw, Naismith was said to have asked the age of the infant. The child was said to have went to bed in good health, but was found dead in the morning with a suspicious mark on her skin and blood around her nose. Matthew Park stated that his infant daughter had went to bed well enough, but was found dead in the morning, again with blood around the nose, and the mouth. Park did not hesitate to recall that both John and James Llindsay, and Agnes Naismith, were known as witches in the local area.

The confessant witnesses all declared that they had been present when local children had been strangled with cords, and named most of the seven who eventually stood trial as being in their company at the time. One of them, Margaret Lang, performed the role of a midwife in the community, and would have been well known in the area. Some declared that Lang too had asked suspicious questions about local children just before they had died.