Historical True Crime

In 1922, Edith Thompson's husband was stabbed to death while the couple walked home from the theatre in London. Her young lover, Frederick Bywaters, admitted to the killing but Edith was also charged with murder.

At the centre of the sensational trial were Edith's passionate letters, which prosecutors claimed revealed a deadly conspiracy.

Was Edith involved in her husband's murder, or were her private words used to condemn her?

This week on Historical True Crime, we explore the Edith Thompson and Frederick Bywaters case, one of Britain's most controversial murder trials.

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Source Materials

Filson Young (ed.), Trial of Frederick Bywaters and Edith Thompson (Notable British Trials, William Hodge & Co., 1923).

René Weis, Criminal Justice: The True Story of Edith Thompson (1988).

Lewis Broad, The Innocence of Edith Thompson: A Study in Old Bailey Justice (1952).

The Trial of Frederick Bywaters and Edith Thompson — Original trial proceedings, Old Bailey, December 6–11, 1922.

Edith Thompson and Frederick Bywaters — Surviving correspondence and letters presented as evidence at trial.

René Weis, Edith Jessie Thompson — Historical research, archival documents, original correspondence, and supplementary materials.

https://edithjessiethompson.com

https://edithjessiethompson.com/notable-british-trials-1923/

https://edithjessiethompson.com/verbatim-trial-transcript-december-1922/

https://edithjessiethompson.com/letters-of-edith-thompson-and-frederick-bywaters-4/

In July 1918, Russia's last emperor, Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra, their five children and four loyal attendants were murdered in the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg.

For decades, the disappearance of their remains fuelled rumours that Anastasia Romanov had survived. From the family's final months in captivity to the investigation, disputed survival claims and eventual DNA discoveries, this episode explores the murders of the Romanov family and the mystery that endured for nearly a century.

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Love Historical True Crime? Support the podcast on Patreon for access to exclusive bonus episodes, including historical murders, mysterious disappearances and fascinating cases you won't hear on the main feed. Your support helps keep the podcast going and allows me to continue bringing these stories to life.

Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/historicaltruecrime

Source Materials

Helen Rappaport, The Last Days of the Romanovs: Tragedy at Ekaterinburg (2008)

Helen Rappaport, The Romanov Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra (2014)

Pierre Gilliard, Thirteen Years at the Russian Court

Robert Wilton, The Last Days of the Romanovs (1920)

Joshua Hammer, “Resurrecting the Czar,” Smithsonian Magazine (2010)

Michael D. Coble et al., “Mystery Solved: The Identification of the Two Missing Romanov Children Using DNA Analysis,” PLOS ONE (2009)

Michael D. Coble, “The Identification of the Romanovs: Can We (Finally) Put the Controversies to Rest?” Investigative Genetics (2011)

In 1877, Harriet Staunton died after months of isolation at a cottage in Kent. Her husband, his brother, sister-in-law and mistress were charged with her murder in a case that became known as the Penge Murder. But when doctors disagreed over whether Harriet had died from starvation or disease, the verdict sparked a controversy that would change the fate of all four defendants.

Love Historical True Crime? Join us on Patreon for bonus episodes, extra historical mysteries and more stories that don’t make it onto the main feed. Your support helps keep the podcast going and means so much to me. You can find us at patreon.com/historicaltruecrime.Source Materials

J. B. Atlay, Trial of the Stauntons (1911)

Old Bailey Proceedings, Trial of Louis Staunton, Patrick Staunton, Elizabeth Staunton and Alice Rhodes (September 1877)

J. E. Wilkinson et al., “Report of Post Mortem Examination, and on the Cause of Death, of Harriet Staunton, Aged Thirty-Five,” The British Medical Journal (October 27, 1877)

Dr. J. F. Payne, commentary on the Staunton case, The British Medical Journal (October 27, 1877)

Dr. W. S. Greenfield, “Some Remarks on the Medical Evidence in the Staunton Case,” The Lancet (October 6, 1877)

The Lancet, contemporary commentary on the Staunton verdict and medical evidence (1877)

The Daily Telegraph, contemporary reporting and correspondence on the Penge Murder (1877)

Lilly Library, Indiana University, Off the Pedestal: Images of Women in Victorian Broadsides, Ephemera, and Books

In 1924, George Mallory and Sandy Irvine disappeared high on Mount Everest, leaving behind one of mountaineering’s most enduring mysteries. A century later, new discoveries have added clues but still no definitive answer. Did they reachthe summit nearly 30 years before Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay? In this episode, we trace the 1924 Everest expedition, Mallory and Irvine’s final climb, the evidence found in the decades since, and the 2024 discovery believed to be linked to Irvine.

Love Historical True Crime and want more? Join me on Patreon for bonus episodes and extra historical deep dives that don’t make it onto the main feed. Your support also helps keep the show independent and makes it possible for me to keep researching and producing new episodes.

Patreon.com/historicaltruecrime

Source Materials

Wade Davis, Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest

E. F. Norton et al., The Fight for Everest: 1924

Noel E. Odell, “The Last Climb of Mallory and Irvine,” The Geographical Journal (1924)

Royal Geographical Society, “The Mount Everest Expedition of 1924,” The Geographical Journal (1924)

Grayson Schaffer, “Exclusive: Remains of Andrew ‘Sandy’ Irvine Believed to Have Been Found on Everest,” National Geographic (2024)

Tessa Wong and Flora Drury, “Family Tells of ‘Relief’ After 1924 Climber’s Foot Found on Everest,” BBC News (2024)

Mark Synnott, “The Mystery of Mallory and Irvine,” Artful Living (2024)

Aberdeen Press and Journal, “More Light on Everest Disaster: Mr Odell’s Last View of Lost Climbers” (1924)

When Sarah Hart died suddenly in 1845, suspicion quickly fell on John Tawell. His attempt to leave by train became one of the earliest famous examples of the electric telegraph being used to track a murder suspect. But behind the technological milestone was a complicated case involving poison, disputedforensic evidence, and a woman whose story was often overshadowed by the method used to catch her killer.

For more exclusive content, check out our Patreon at patreon.com/historicaltruecrime

Source Materials

Carol Baxter, The Peculiar Case of the Electric Constable: A True Tale of Passion, Poison & Pursuit (Oneworld, 2013)

David Skae, Trial of John Tawell for the Murder of Sarah Hart by Prussic Acid: With Remarks (1845)

G. L. Strauss, Remarks and Comments on the Medical and Chemical Evidence Adduced at the Trial of John Tawell (1845)

G. Lathom Browne and C. G. Stewart, Reports of Trials for Murder by Poisoning (1883)

Iwan Rhys Morus, “‘The Nervous System of Britain’: Space, Time and the Electric Telegraph in the Victorian Age,” British Journal for the History of Science, Vol. 33 (2000)

The Sydney Morning Herald, “English News / Trial of John Tawell,” July 11, 1845

The Commercial Journal and Advertiser (Sydney), report on the trial of John Tawell, July 12, 1845

The Melbourne Courier, “Trial of John Tawell,” July 21, 1845

The Australian, “The Convict John Tawell,” July 1845

The Australian, “John Tawell,” July 22, 1845, reprinted from the Hampshire Advertiser

The Launceston Advertiser, “Execution of John Tawell,” July 10, 1845

Contemporary 1845 biographical accounts of John Tawell reprinted in the Australian press

Andrew Wynter, “The Electric Telegraph,” The Quarterly Review (1854)

In 1817, twenty-year-old Mary Ashford was found dead after attending a dance near Birmingham. Abraham Thornton was tried and acquitted of her murder, but the case was far from over. What followed was an extraordinary legal battle involving an ancient appeal of murder, a demand for trial by combat, and a law England had somehow never abolished.

Check out our Patreon at patreon.com/historicaltruecrime

Source Materials

Naomi Clifford, The Murder of Mary Ashford: The Crime That Changed English Legal History (2018)

John Cooper, A Report of the Proceedings Against Abraham Thornton at Warwick Summer Assizes, 1817, for the Murder of Mary Ashford; and Subsequently in the Court of King’s Bench (1818)

John Fairburn, The Affecting Case of Mary Ashford (1817)

John Fairburn, Thornton’s Second Trial: The Whole Proceedings of the Extraordinary Trial of Abraham Thornton, for the Murder of Mary Ashford (c. 1818)

Edward Holroyd, Observations upon the Case of Abraham Thornton, Who Was Tried at Warwick, for the Murder of Mary Ashford: Shewing the Danger of Pressing Presumptive Evidence Too Far (1819)

Ashford v. Thornton (1818), 1 Barnewall & Alderson 405; 106 English Reports 149

Robert Megarry, A New Miscellany-at-Law: Yet Another Diversion for Lawyers (2005)

Michael Lobban, “The Glorious Uncertainty of the Law: Life at the Bar, 1810–1830”

59 Geo. III c. 46 (1819)

In 1896, three men left Sydney on prospecting trips with a man using the name Frank Butler. None returned. When their bodies were discovered, police launched an international manhunt that ended aboard the Swanhilda in San Francisco. This episode follows the Blue Mountains murders, Butler’s many aliases, the investigation, trial, and the questions that still remain about his true identity and possible victims.

For more exclusive content check out our Patreon at patreon.com/historicaltruecrime

Source Materials

Jason K. Foster, The Devil’s Butterfly: Hunting Australia’s First Serial Killer (2024)

The Sydney Morning Herald, 1896–1897

The Argus, 1896

The Queenslander, 1897

The West Australian, 1897

The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 1897

The Western Mail, 1897

Russell O. Atkinson, “Amazing Story of Blue Mountain Murders,” Townsville Daily Bulletin, 1952

In 1894, eighteen-year-old Frank Westwood was shot at the door of his Toronto home. Weeks later, Clara Ford confessed, then recanted. Her sensational trial raised questions about police interrogation, race, gender and the reliability of theevidence. The murder remains unsolved.

Check out our Patreon at patreon.com/historicaltruecrime

Source Materials

 Patrick Brode, Death in the Queen City: Clara Ford on Trial, 1895

 Carolyn Whitzman, Clara at the Door with a Revolver

Carolyn Strange, “Wounded Womanhood and Dead Men: Chivalry and the Trials of Clara Ford and Carrie Davies”

Barrington Walker, Race on Trial: Black Defendants in Ontario’s Criminal Courts, 1858–1958

Barrington Walker’s review of Death in the Queen City

Contemporary coverage from Toronto newspapers including the Globe, Toronto Mail, Toronto World, Toronto Telegram, Evening Star and News

Archival court and police material cited in the above works, including Chancellor John Alexander Boyd’s benchbooks, Toronto Police records and the 1871 Canadian census

Interviews and published commentary by Carolyn Whitzman discussing her research into Clara Ford’s life and the later mythology surrounding the case

In 1935, two mutilated bodies were discovered beneath a bridge near Moffat, Scotland. The victims had been deliberately made difficult to identify, but an extraordinary forensic investigation using anatomy, dental records, photographic superimposition, fingerprints and blood evidence slowly led police back to Dr. Buck Ruxton and his home in Lancaster.

Check out our Patreon for bonus episodes, exclusive content and more ways to support Historical True Crime: Patreon.com/HistoricalTrueCrime

Source Materials

Jeremy Craddock, The Jigsaw Murders

R. H. Blundell and G. Haswell Wilson, eds., Trial of Buck Ruxton (Notable British Trials, 1937)

John Glaister and James Couper Brash, Medico-Legal Aspects of the Ruxton Case (1937)

Bertie James Hammond, “Finger Prints and the Ruxton Murders,” Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Vol. 43, No. 6 (1953)

“Medico-Legal Aspects of the Ruxton Case,” contemporary medical journal review (1938)

Capital Punishment UK, “Dr. Buck Ruxton – The ‘Jigsaw Murders’ of 1935”

Glasgow Police Museum, “The Ruxton Murders – 1935”

Vickie Scullard, “The chilling story of Jigsaw Killer Dr Buck Ruxton – and the Manchester trial that made history,” Manchester Evening News, July 19, 2020

U.S. National Library of Medicine, Visible Proofs: Forensic Views of the Body — Buck Ruxton / Jigsaw Murders case materials

In 1927, Ruth Snyder and Judd Gray were accused of murdering Ruth’s husband, Albert, after months of planning, an affair and a life insurance scheme. Their trial became a tabloid spectacle, but it was the forbidden photograph taken during Ruth’s execution that would define how the case was remembered.

A huge thank you to everyone supporting Historical True Crime on Patreon. Your support helps me continue researching and producing the show. You can find bonus episodes and support the podcast at patreon.com/historicaltruecrime.Source Materials

Landis MacKellar, The “Double Indemnity” Murder: Ruth Snyder, Judd Gray, and New York’s Crime of the Century

Stevie Simkin, Cultural Constructions of the Femme Fatale: From Pandora’s Box to Basic Instinct

People v. Snyder, New York Court of Appeals decision, November 22, 1927

The New York Times, “Mrs. Snyder and Gray Die in Chair,” January 13, 1928

The Washington Times, contemporary coverage of the investigation, trial, appeals, clemency requests and executions

Smithsonian Magazine, “The First and Last Time a Photographer Was Allowed in the Electric Chair”

TIME magazine archive coverage of the Snyder–Gray case

History.com, coverage of Ruth Snyder’s execution and the hidden-camera photograph

JSTOR Daily, historical analysis of Ruth Snyder, the tabloid press and the execution photograph

Contemporary reporting from the New York Daily News, including the January 13, 1928 front page featuring Tom Howard’s photograph

James M. Cain, Double Indemnity, for the case’s later influence on crime fiction and popular culture