The charges ranged from committing sorcery and demonism, to having murdered several husbands; and Kyteler was accused of having acquired her wealth illegally through witchcraft. These accusations came principally from the children of her late husbands by their previous marriages. The trial predated any formal witchcraft statute in Ireland; thus relying on ecclesiastical law where witchcraft was treated as heresy, instead of English common law, where it was generally viewed as a petty criminal offence. While Kyteler fled to Flanders or England to escape the trial, the other accused were not as fortunate, particularly Petronilla. Ledrede ordered the torture of Petronilla and the other less wealthy associates imprisoned in Kilkenny, who were examined using the inquisitional procedure allowed by the papal decree "Super illius specula". They confessed to the charges made against them. According to "A Contemporary Narrative of the Proceedings Against Dame Alice Kyteler: Prosecuted for Sorcery in 1324" written by Ledrede, Petronilla confessed to all manner of things: