Following a shocking killing in the Staffordshire village of Norton Canes, investigators uncover a family tragedy shaped by economic hardship, declining mental health and the limited understanding of psychiatric illness during the 1930s…
Read moreMona Tinsley: The Murder That Changed British Law
In January 1937, ten-year-old Mona Tinsley vanished in Nottinghamshire. Her body was found six months later in a river. This vintage true crime case changed British law, making murder convictions possible without a body. Discover the historic investigation and forensic evidence that redefined criminal justice…
Read moreThe Last Juvenile To Be Sentenced To Death / Ethel Corey / Harold Wilkins
Constable Thomas Lockley was working the early shift at Streetly station when he received a message from Little Aston cafe. He set off in his patrol car, and as the constable approached the cafe, he noticed a teenage boy on a bike peddling away with urgency. PC Lockley slowed his vehicle and rolled down the window. The boy quickly acknowledged him and, before even taking a breath, words tumbled out of his mouth: “It’s at Brinton Kennels. Somebody had been in and they’ve knocked her about. She is in a mess… I found her in the bathroom. She was stark naked”...
Read moreMurder In The Shadow of High Grange Farm / Margaret Dobson / Robert Hoolhouse
Police Constable John Robert Chapman was on duty when he spotted an elderly farmer waving frantically. Henry Dobson was out of breath and barely able to stand as he finally blurted out to the approaching officer, “My wife! She’s dead. She’s murdered in the field”…
Read moreThe Jigsaw Murders / Dr Buck Ruxton
Red stains on the carpet, red stains on your knife, oh, Dr Buck Ruxton, you murdered your wife. The nursemaid saw you and threatened to tell, oh, Dr Buck Ruxton, you killed her as well…
— Lancashire nursery rhyme, parody of the song ‘Red Sails in the Sunset’, latter half of the 1930s
Read moreThe Trunk Murders
On Friday, May 6, 1927, a large black trunk was abandoned in the luggage office at Charing Cross station in London. The trunk sat amongst the other abandoned luggage in the stifling heat until Monday morning. Staff arrived to begin their working week and were hit by a pungent odour. The source appeared to be coming from the large black trunk. An officer arrived and pried it open. He saw five large parcels wrapped in brown paper and tied with string…
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