A father returns home to a devastating scene. His teenage daughter has been brutally killed, and his wife has vanished. Inside the house, there are clear signs of violence. Blood-stained objects suggest a frenzied attack… but what happened in the hours leading up to it?…
Read moreA Frenzied Attack at Oakhanger Common / Mary & Benjamin Mitchell
A labourer in his mid-forties contacts the police to report that he has killed someone with a hatchet. He refuses legal representation, insisting he is responsible. So why does a jury hesitate to convict him of murder, and how can a judge describe the defendant's actions as understandable?...
Read moreThe Blackpool Poisoner / Sarah Ann Ricketts / Louisa Merrifield - Part 3
Louisa and Alfred Merrifield were jointly accused of murdering their landlady and employer, Sarah Ann Ricketts. Yet, as the trial unfolded—and Alfred took the stand after his wife—it became clear that they were not being treated equally. In this third and final instalment, we delve into the stark divide in how their stories ended: one concluded in the courtroom, while the other’s life was hanging in the balance… (Part 3 of 3).
Read moreThe Blackpool Poisoner / Sarah Ann Ricketts / Louisa Merrifield - Part 2
Amid the strange circumstances surrounding the death of a frail elderly woman, suspicion falls on her housekeeper. As Sarah Ann Ricketts’ final days are dissected in court, questions still linger. Did she pass away naturally in her sleep, or was she callously murdered with rat poison?... (Part 2 of 3).
Read moreThe Blackpool Poisoner / Sarah Ann Ricketts / Louisa Merrifield - Part 1
With the peak of the summer season a few months away, boarding house manager Jessie Brewer was spending her downtime reading the morning paper when she saw an article about the death of an elderly woman who lived in the district. Her eyes widened at the part of the article where it listed April 14th, 1953, as the date of the woman’s death. Jessie was familiar with the deceased named Sarah Ann Ricketts, but she was surprised, as Jessie had been told that Sarah had passed away days before that… (Part 1 of 3).
Read moreOver The Edge / Miles Giffard
The sergeant followed the single tyre track past the chrysanthemums that had tipped from their pot onto the ground. Dark red stains intermittently coloured the route from the garage, through the garden gate, to between the beech and oak trees on the rough cliffside terrain. A brown trilby hat lay in the dew-soaked grass. Close by was a bloodstained wallet. The narrow pathway led to the cliff’s edge, and as the sergeant peered down to the rocks 120 ft below, he saw who he’d been looking for….
Read moreUnsolved / Penelope Mogano
As Carlo approached the house, he found one of his children sitting outside. The boy explained to his father why he was lingering in the cold. 14-year-old Adrian had been waiting for over an hour. He couldn't get inside because the doors were locked, and no one was answering. Using his key, Carlo walked through the front door and immediately began looking for his wife. He went into the dining room. It took a moment for Carlo to comprehend what he was seeing…
Read moreDeath In The Family
There is a timeless saying that bad things happen in threes. Some believe the superstition originates from the wartime phrase ‘Three on a match’ — which refers to three soldiers using the same match to light a cigarette. It was said that the light of the match would be seen by an enemy marksman, and by the time the third soldier lit their cigarette, they would be shot by the gunman who had them in their sights. While there is no scientific proof to support the notion that tragedies continue to happen three times in a row, there are certain stories where the belief rings true...
Read moreThe Insulin Murder / Elizabeth & Kenneth Barlow
At the beginning of the 20th century, new medications were being discovered and created. The term ‘miracle drug’ was coined to describe the sudden positive effect of newly discovered remedies for once untreatable diseases and conditions. But, one person's cure can be another person's poison…
Read more1950s Case Closed Or A Miscarriage Of Justice - Part 2 / The Conviction Of Alfred Burns & Edward Devlin
Six months after the murder of 54-year-old widow Beatrice Alice Rimmer in the hallway of her Liverpool home, two young men from Manchester were facing the possibility of being executed. The prosecution's case was based on the evidence of informants who claimed to have seen Edward Devlin and Alfred Burns in the area at the time the crime was committed, and some alleged to have heard them plan a break-in at the victim’s home. After a week of legal proceedings, the accused were given the chance to plead their case and try to prove their innocence... (Part 2 of 2).
Read more1950s Case Closed Or A Miscarriage Of Justice - Part 1 / The Murder of Alice Rimmer
The brutal murder of a reclusive widow sparked one of the largest murder inquiries Liverpool had seen in years. After following numerous dead-end leads, the investigators turned their attention to a pair of petty thieves on the word of criminal informants. The case against them was purely circumstantial… (Part 1 of 2).
Read moreThe Killer Next Door / Sheila Attwood / Horace Carter
The summer flowers were in full bloom when Edith Ford and her teenage daughter Doreen strolled to the bottom of the long and narrow communal garden to pick a bouquet of wildflowers. Their eyes were drawn away from the plants and foliage, towards the ground. Two tiny bare legs protruded from the other side of a hedge near a public works yard. Was this the child so many people had spent the night looking for? Just two doors down from Edith Ford’s home, neighbours heard screaming. Edith was wailing, “I can't have seen it. I can't have seen it”...
Read moreA 1950s Murder in Edgbaston - Part 2
One of the most horrific murders in Birmingham’s history occurred two days before Christmas in 1959. During the seven weeks that followed, hundreds of officers interviewed thousands of men in what was then the most extensive murder inquiry the city had ever seen. The investigators utilised a number of unprecedented techniques to try and track down the killer, but it seemed as though a routine house call was all that was needed to break the case… (Part 2 of 2).
Read moreA 1950s Murder in Edgbaston - Part 1
On the evening of December 23, 1959, a young woman named Margaret Katibeh was getting ready to leave her hostel lodgings to see her family for the festive period. As she was packing her suitcase, she heard a scream… (Part 1 of 2)
Read moreThe Wrong Man / Lily Volpert / Mahmood Mattan
In 1952, Cardiff was a bustling industrial hub, a Welsh city that was in the midst of post-war construction. Cardiff docks were the main economic driver, and they welcomed ships from all across the globe, trading goods and raw materials. This trade led to the city quickly becoming a hub of multiculturalism. In particular, it became home to many Somali sailors who had sought new pastures. That same year, one of those sailors would find himself at the centre of a murder investigation that would highlight the dangers of a biased justice system...
Read moreA Killer Close To Home / The Murder Of Patricia Curran - Part 2
A young woman had been brutally murdered, and her body was found a short distance from her home. It appeared to be an open and shut case when a man admitted the crime. However, it soon became clear there was a problem with his conviction. Had the wrong person been punished for the murder of Patricia Curran?… (Part 2 of 2).
Read moreA Killer Close To Home / The Murder Of Patricia Curran - Part 1
Patricia had taken the bus from Belfast to Whiteabbey, where her family’s sprawling mansion, Glen House, stood at the top of a winding, tree-lined lane. It was a journey Patricia made numerous times before, but she always called ahead for an escort to guide her up the dark driveway. This particular evening, something was different. Patricia never made that call, and she never made it home. Her disappearance set off a frenzied investigation that would ultimately expose the dark underbelly of the elite, a world where power and privilege are used to protect the guilty and condemn the innocent… (Part 1 of 2).
Read moreThe Evil In Her Eyes / Marie Buls / Noreen O'Connor
After making the 50-mile journey to the cottage in the Somerset village of Loxton, Peter found Noreen reclining on a sofa in the sitting room. When he asked her what had happened, she began rambling incoherently for almost 45 minutes. Eventually, Noreen told him that she had seen an evil look in Marie’s eyes, and said, “There was one moment when the look became so strong and the evil in the eye so strong that I plucked them out”. Peter was stunned and asked if Marie was dead; Noreen replied, “It is not Marie that is dead. It is the evil that was in her”...
Read moreThe Life & Crimes Of Donald Merrett / Ronald Chesney
Henrietta Sutherland rushed into the dining room at 31 Buckingham Terrace in Edinburgh. The maid to the Merrett family found 55-year-old Bertha unconscious on the floor, with a pool of blood around her head. Bertha’s 17-year-old son, Donald, was standing next to her when Henrietta entered the room. It was shortly after 9 AM on March 17th, 1926. The maid had been alerted by the sound of a single gunshot. When asked what had happened, Donald explained that he had been arguing with his mother, and she shot herself. However, not everything was as it seemed…
Read moreGetting Away With Murder - Part 2 / The Confession Of Donald Hume
Donald Hume was charged with the murder of Stanley Setty. However, once the evidence had been presented at the trial, jurors could not reach a verdict. Hume would subsequently admit his guilt on a charge of accessory to murder and was sentenced to 12 years, but only after a second jury were instructed to return a verdict of not guilty to the murder charge. The prosecution felt it was not in the “interests of justice” to proceed. Yet, this is not where the story ends, far from it… (Part 2 of 2)
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