DESCRIPTION:
In modern-day investigations, fingerprints are some of the most valuable clues in identifying a suspect. Automated fingerprint identification systems have reduced the time it takes to compare prints from hundreds of hours to a matter of minutes. Before the revolutionary introduction of automated analysis, investigators had to manually compare prints from a crime scene in order to exclude or implicate suspects in the commission of a crime. In May 1948, an unthinkable murder led to one of the most extensive mass fingerprinting operations in UK history. It solidified fingerprint comparison as one of the most accurate means of identification in criminal investigations…
*** LISTENER CAUTION IS ADVISED ***
This episode was researched and written by Eileen Macfarlane.
Edited by Joel Porter at Dot Dot Dot Productions.
Script editing, additional writing, illustrations and production direction by Rosanna Fitton
Narration, editing assistance, additional writing, and production direction by Benjamin Fitton.
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Listen to our companion podcast ‘They Walk Among America' here: https://play.acast.com/s/they-walk-among-america
More information and episode references can be found on our website https://theywalkamonguspodcast.com
MUSIC:
The Edge by Caleb Etheridge
Sussex by Stephen Keech
Bamburgh by Stephen Keech
Salvation by Moments
Quiet Desperation Part 2 by JCar
Recognize by Grant Borland
Growing Pains by Featherland
Ripley by Falls
Apex Program by Cody Martin
Petalstone by Cody Martin
Shadow Passage by Cody Martin
Woven by Alice in Winter
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REFERENCES:
NEWSPAPER ARCHIVE
Coventry Evening Telegraph - 1948, May 15
Coventry Evening Telegraph - 1948, May 17
Coventry Evening Telegraph - 1948, May 18
Coventry Evening Telegraph - 1948, May 19
Coventry Evening Telegraph - 1948, May 20
Coventry Evening Telegraph - 1948, May 24
Coventry Evening Telegraph - 1948, May 29
Coventry Evening Telegraph - 1948, June 21
Coventry Evening Telegraph - 1948, Aug 9
Coventry Evening Telegraph - 1948, Aug 14
Coventry Evening Telegraph - 1948, Aug 26
Coventry Evening Telegraph - 1948, Oct 15
Coventry Evening Telegraph - 1948, Oct 18
Coventry Evening Telegraph - 1948, Nov 19
Manchester Evening News - 1948, May 15
Manchester Evening News - 1948, May 18
Manchester Evening News - 1948, May 21
Manchester Evening News - 1948, May 22
Manchester Evening News - 1948, May 25
Manchester Evening News - 1948, May 29
Manchester Evening News - 1948, June 4
Manchester Evening News - 1948, June 11
Manchester Evening News - 1948, June 14
Manchester Evening News - 1948, June 15
Manchester Evening News - 1948, Sept 2
Manchester Evening News - 1948, Oct 11
Manchester Evening News - 1948, Oct 15
Manchester Evening News - 1948, Oct 23
Manchester Evening News - 1948, Nov 19
The Daily Telegraph - 1948, May 17
The Daily Telegraph - 1948, May 19
The Daily Telegraph - 1948, May 20
The Daily Telegraph - 1948, June 12
The Daily Telegraph - 1948, June 15
The Daily Telegraph - 1948, June 21
The Daily Telegraph - 1948, June 22
The Daily Telegraph - 1948, June 23
The Daily Telegraph - 1948, Aug 14
The Daily Telegraph - 1948, Sept 3
The Daily Telegraph - 1948, Oct 16
Liverpool Echo - 1948, Jun 3
Liverpool Echo - 1948, Aug 14
Liverpool Echo - 1948, Aug 19
Liverpool Echo - 1948, Sept 2
Liverpool Echo - 1948, Oct 15
Liverpool Echo - 1948, Oct 18
Liverpool Echo - 1948, Oct 19
Sunday Pictorial - 1948, Jun 13
Evening Standard - 1948, May 24
Evening Standard - 1948, Jun 1
Evening Standard - 1948, Aug 19
Evening Standard - 1948, Oct 15
The Guardian - 1948, May 24
The Guardian - 1948, Oct 19
The Guardian - 1948, Nov 1
The Guardian - 1948, Nov 4
Evening Sentinel - 1948, May 24
Evening Sentinel - 1948, May 25
Western Morning News - 1948, May 24
Western Morning News - 1948, Nov 20
Daily Herald - 1948, May 25
Daily Herald - 1948, Sept 3
Daily Herald - 1948, Oct 16
Daily Herald - 1948, Oct 19
Daily Herald - 1948, Nov 22
Herald Express - 1948, June 21
Herald Express - 1948, Sept 2
Herald Express - 1948, Nov 10
Herald Express - 1948, Nov 19
Leicester Evening Mail - 1948, Oct 18
Grimsby Evening Telegraph - 1948, Oct 18
Grimsby Evening Telegraph - 1948, Oct 27
Leicester Mercury - 1948, Oct 18
Lincolnshire Echo - 1948, Nov 18
ONLINE ARTICLES
https://leb.fbi.gov/file-repository/archives/march-1949.pdf
https://legaldesire.com/fingerprint-evidence-an-infallible-of-identification-the-case-of-mass-fingerprinting/
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/a-brutal-murder-begins-an-unusual-investigation
https://www.library.kent.edu/special-collections-and-archives/crime-photographs-collection
https://archive.org/details/trialofpetergrif0000grif/
https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/welsh-guards
https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/6019700.murdered-boys-friend-recalls-stabbing-horror/
https://livingwithdying.leeds.ac.uk/2019/10/25/violet-van-der-elst-on-the-gallows/
https://www.blackburn.gov.uk/facts-and-figures
https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/6010731.murder-horror-lives-53-years/
https://www.cottontown.org/Pages/home.aspx
https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/209075
https://www.lancs.live/news/lancashire-news/blackburn-child-killer-rapist-who-17118836