This episode deals with a crime committed against a child. Please exercise self-care when choosing to listen.

There was nothing that Vera Page loved more in the world than swimming at the Lancaster Road Baths, in  Notting Hill, West London.  The 10 year old was proud of her achievements in the pool, especially of the two certificates she had just been awarded. On Monday the 14th of December 1931,  Vera got home from school and headed two minutes down the road to her  Aunt Minnie's house to collect the certificates which she had left with her the previous day.  She was excited to show them to other members of her family.  Vera told her Mum she wouldn't be long.  She arrived at her Aunt's at 4.40pm and chatted briefly before leaving for home.  For whatever reason, Vera did not return straight home and instead walked past her house and continued to Portobello Road, a popular shopping area. She was spotted several times over the next couple of hours, but Vera never returned home.

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Sources

Websites

https://truecrimeengland.wordpress.com/2020/10/31/the-murder-of-vera-page/amp/

https://www.truecrimelibrary.com/crimearticle/vera-page/

http://www.unsolved-murders.co.uk/murder-content.php?key=1348&termRef=Vera%20Isobel%20Minnie%20Page

https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/487292

https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2020/03/the-mysterious-disappearance-and-death-of-vera-page/

https://truecrimediva.com/vera-page/

British Newspaper Archive

Dundee Evening Telegraph
16/12/31
10/02/32
11/02/32
Dundee Courier
11/02/32
Daily News (London)
17/12/31
17/12/31
24/12/31
06/01/32
07/01/32
11/01/32
25/01/32
12/02/32
Daily Mirror 
19/12/31
21/12/31
22/12/31
23/12/31
Sunday Mirror
20/12/31
24/01/32
Daily Herald
06/01/32
08/02/32
12/03/32
West London Observer
25/12/31
07/01/32Leicester Evening Mail
22/12/31
Ballymena Weekly Telegraph 
26/12/31
Reynolds Newspaer
27/12/31
Western Daily Press
01/01/32
Sunday Sun (Newcastle)
03/01/32
Belfast Telegraph 
04/01/32
05/01/32
12/02/32
Weekly Dispatch 
23/01/32
28/02/32
14/02/32
Northampton Mercury 
29/01/32
The People
17/01/32
31/01/32
Nottingham Evening Post
18/02/32
Graphic
20/02/32
Aberdeen Press and Journal
08/02/32
15/02/32
Sheffield Independent 
25/01/32
Derby Daily Tel

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Like many children living in Atlanta, Georgia in the early twentieth century, thirteen year old Mary Phagan no longer went to school. Instead she regularly worked ten hour days to help put food on her family’s table. Life was tough but the morning of 26th April 1913 Mary awoke excited; it was a holiday and she was looking forward to the parade later that afternoon. First she had to run an errand and collect her pay from the National Pencil Factory where she worked. Mary arrived just after midday but would never leave the factory. Over 12 hours later her murdered body was found in the dingy basement of the factory, triggering a tragic saga that continues to have wide reaching consequences over 100 years later.  

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Background music:
New direction Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/kevin-macleod/new-direction
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Sources

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Leo-Frank

https://www.history.com/.amp/this-day-in-history/girl-murdered-in-pencil-factory

https://amp.tennessean.com/amp/4819312002

https://www.famous-trials.com/leo-frank/38-ballad

https://www.famous-trials.com/leo-frank/27-home

https://www.atlantamagazine.com/news-culture-articles/did-leo-frank-kill-mary-phagan-106-years-later-we-might-finally-find-out-for-sure/

https://law.jrank.org/pages/2788/Leo-Frank-Trial-1913-Little-Mary-Phagan-Murdered.html

https://law.jrank.org/pages/2789/Leo-Frank-Trial-1913-Prosecutors-Emphasize-Frank-s-Nervousness.html

https://law.jrank.org/pages/2793/Leo-Frank-Trial-1913.html

https://www.leofrank.org/the-troubling-testimony-of-alonzo-mann-in-the-murder-of-little-mary-phagan/

https://littlemaryphagan.com

https://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/documents/assets/pdf/education-outreach/people-v-leo-frank-teachers-guide-the.pdf

https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/leo-frank-case/

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Anne Noblett was last seen alive at 6.03pm on 30th December 1957. The 17 year old had just returned from a rock and roll dance class in a neighbouring village. She vanished on the short walk from the bus stop to her family's home on Marshall Heath Lane in Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire. A month later, her body was found in a secluded woodland around 17km away. Anne was fully clothed and her arms had been placed across her chest. Silver and gold coins adorned the ground and it looked like the body had been frozen before being so delicately posed in this macabre tableau.

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Promo: Coffee and Cases

Background music:
New direction Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/kevin-macleod/new-direction
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Sources

For a full list of sources please see the Facebook page

https://www.stalbansreview.co.uk/nostalgia/crimelibrary/annenoblett/

https://defrostingcoldcases.com/anne-theresa-noblett-1940-1957/

http://www.unsolved-murders.co.uk/murder-content.php?key=1046

https://www.herts.police.uk/news-and-appeals/60-year-murder-anniversary-appeal-Anne-Noblett-1292G

https://reasonedcrimechronicle.com/unsolved-case-of-anne-noblett-the-deep-freeze-murder-1957/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-42341980

http://www.unsolved-murders.co.uk/murder-content.php?key=886&termRef=Mary%20Kriek

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/birmingham-christmas-killing-shocked-nation-8277490.amp

http://www.unsolved-murders.co.uk/murder-content.php?key=1279&termRef=Diana%20Suttey

British Newspaper Archive
Liverpool Echo 
02/01/58
07/01/58
01/02/58
07/02/58
Leicester Evening Mail
02/01/58
06/01/58
07/04/58
Daily Mirror 
03/01/58
07/01/58
23/01/58
05/02/58
06/02/58
17/02/58
03/04/58
14/04/58
15/04/58
Manchester Evening News
03/01/58
03/02/58
06/02/58
29/03/58
05/12/58
Daily News (London) 
03/01/58
04/01/58
07/01/58
20/01/58
30/01/58
04/02/58
07/02/58
11/02/58
15/02/58
03/03/58
04/03/58
01/04/58
02/

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This episode deals with issues including suicide, self-harm and anorexia. Please exercise self-care when choosing to listen. 

When the Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers walked off stage at the London Astoria on 21st December 1994, they left in their wake a mangled mess of guitars and amps. The band had signed off their last date on tour by smashing their instruments, which, in hindsight, signaled the end of an era. 6 weeks later, troubled lyricist and driving force of the band Richey Edwards disappeared on the eve of a promotional tour to the USA. He has not been seen by his family or his band mates since that day. A couple of weeks later his car was found abandoned near a notorious suicide spot, but no body has ever been found. Rumours of sightings and conspiracies have fueled the belief that Richey is still alive and a recent book has presented a compelling case that the 27 year old faked his own death and staged his disappearance in order to vanish into obscurity. 

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Background music
New direction 
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Sources
For a full list of sources please see the Facebook page 

• /https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/richey-edwards-manic-street-preachers-disappearance-missing-25-year-anniversary-a9308046.html?amp
• https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/richey-edwards-disappearance/amp
• https://www.nme.com/news/music/new-evidence-emerges-suggest-richey-edwards-staged-disappearance-2438975?amp
• https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/richey-edwards-manic-street-preachers-17661457.amp
• https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/2019/jan/withdrawn-traces-richey-edwards-day-of-disappearance.html
• https://amp.theguardian.com/music/2008/nov/29/richey-edwards-manic-street-preachers
• https://www.indiependent.co.uk/the-legacy-of-richey-edwards-26-years-later/?amp=1
• https://repeatfanzine.wordpress.com/2019/01/31/withdrawn-traces-searching-for-the-truth-about-richey-manic/amp/

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A crowd quickly gathered outside the Private Shop on Dilwyn Street, Swansea, following news of the horrific and shocking events of the morning. The body of 38 year old shop manager Sandra Phillips had been found inside in a pool of blood. The mother of four had been sexually assaulted, bludgeoned and strangled. Two homeless brothers, Wayne and Paul Darvell were among the onlookers in the crowd and were quickly arrested for the crime.  This was the beginning of a dark tale of lies and injustice that continues to haunt South Wales to this day.

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Sources

For a full list of sources please see the Facebook page

• theguardian.com/uk/2005/jun/14/ukcrime.stevenmorris
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/8299042.stm
• www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/detectives-lied-to-murder-trial-court-told-brothers-convictions-for-sex-shop-killing-relied-on-forged-entries-in-police-interview-notebooks-1422873.html%3famp
• www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/police-made-up-statement-in-murder-inquiry-1533077.html%3famp
• www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/swansea-sex-shop-murder-latest-2075370.amp
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/4087890.stm
• https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/detectives-lied-to-murder-trial-court-told-brothers-convictions-for-sex-shop-killing-relied-on-forged-entries-in-police-interview-notebooks-1422873.html?amp
• https://southwalesmedia.com/the-swansea-murder-with-a-south-wales-police-apology
• https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/family-backs-sex-murder-review-2460001http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/4087890.stm
• https://alchetron.com/Rough-Justice-%28TV-series%29
• https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/big-response-sex-shop-kil

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This episode deals with a crime committed against a child. Please exercise self-care when choosing to listen.

The Royal Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana in July 1981 brought two million people to the streets of London. It was a day of street parties and celebration for many in the UK but for the Mehrotra family, it was the start of a nightmare that has never ended. 8 year old Vishal disappeared shortly after returning to Putney from the family excursion into the city to join in the wedding celebrations. He was last seen walking home, 250m from his front door. Seven months later his remains were found in a remote Sussex wood, beginning a murder investigation dogged by accusations of racism and a list of potential suspects that include some of the most vile people ever to have walked the streets of the UK.

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Sources
 
For a full list of sources please see the Facebook page

•  https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-57415022.amp
•  https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-54611873.amp
•  https://www.easterneye.biz/vishal-mehrotra-father-condemns-as-police-scrap-public-appeal/
•  https://scepticpeg.wordpress.com/2016/07/14/the-disappearance-of-vishal-mehrotra-pt2/
•  https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.dailyadvent.com/gb/news/amp/09dba39aca379fd0522591c79c2e8fcd-Vishal-Mehrotra-Police-scrapped-plans-for-schoolboy-murder-appeal
•  https://reasonedcrimechronicle.com/long-ago-murder-of-8-year-old-vishal-mehrotra/
•  https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3456549/amp/The-hidden-police-files-prove-boy-eight-abducted-1981-WASN-T-killed-VIP-sex-ring.html
•  https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/theneedleblog.wordpress.com/2013/02/01/vishal-mehrotra-too-many-coincidences/amp/
•  https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/martin-allen-mystery-how-case-of-london-teenager-missing-for-35-years-could-be-linked-to-the-elm-house-paedophile-ring-102

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Nairn is a small Highland town situated on the North East coast of Scotland. In 2004 it was the home of Alistair and Veronica Wilson and their two young boys. At the end of November that year, 30 year old Alistair was about to begin his last week working for the Bank of Scotland before starting a new job. It was a Sunday evening, the Wilson children had just been bathed and Alistair was reading them a bedtime story when the front doorbell rang. Veronica went downstairs and opened the door. The unidentified visitor asked for her husband by name, presenting him with a mysterious envelope. Minutes later Alistair was slouched at the entrance to the house, suffering from three fatal gunshot wounds. His assassin walked away into the night. 

Almost two decades on The Doorstep Murder continues to draw speculation regarding numerous possible theories and potential suspects. Why would anyone want to harm this quiet, clever and devoted family man?

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Sources

For a full list of sources for this episode see the Facebook page

•  https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-54500357.amp
•  https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/scots-doorstep-murder-cops-take-25177579.amp
•  https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/oct/12/son-of-banker-shot-dead-16-years-ago-says-his-family-deserves-answers
•  https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/highlands-islands/2559112/alistair-wilson-timeline/ 
•  https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7043907/amp/Could-20bn-scandal-assassination-banker-doorstep.html
•  https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/highlands-islands/1899112/15-years-of-twists-and-turns-but-no-arrest-motive-or-suspect-in-the-alistair-wilson-murder-case/
•  https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.scotsman.com/news/crime/scottish-football-club-linked-murder-nairn-banker-215122%3famp
•  https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/242039/nairn-murder-of-banker-alistair-wilson-case-lead-after-john-beattie-rad

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Providence House lay in the picturesque village of Peasenhall in East Suffolk. The large property was owned by Mr and Mrs Crisp and in 1900 Rose Harsent, a young local woman, came to live and work as their domestic servant. Rose was a colourful character with a love of music and she attracted a fair amount of male attention. The night of the 31st May 1902 witnessed a fierce storm, and as the wind howled and thunder roared Rose sat on her bed waiting for a visitor. They had promised to meet her at midnight in an unsigned letter she received earlier that day. The night passed and the people of Peasenhall woke up, completely oblivious to the horror that had occurred when they were tucked up in their cosy beds. That morning Rose’s body was found by her father at the foot of her staircase surrounded by a pool of blood. 

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Sources:

• https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/britain-s-unsolved-murders-from-pen-sword-2617040
• https://www.unsolvedcasebook.com/the-peasenhall-murder-rose-harsent/
• https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.clermontsun.com/2020/12/09/marc-hoover-unsolved-the-tragic-killing-of-rose-harsent/amp
• http://strangeco.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-midsomer-murder-of-rose-harsent.html?m=1
• https://casebookclassiccrime.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/issue-1-e28093-conference-special-e28093-april-_15-e28093-free-download-just-open-the-page-and-click-the-link.pdf
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/107381464/rose-annie-harsent
• http://murderrevisited.blogspot.com/2009/07/murder-in-peasenhall.html?m=1
• https://www.getthedata.com/peasenhall/where-is-peasenhall

British Newspaper Archive

Eastern daily press
02/06/02
22/01/03
Diss Express 
06/06/02
13/06/02
Henley Advertiser
14/06/02
Derby Daily Telegraph
20/06/02
Halesworth Times and East Suffolk advertiser
01/07/02
Western Evening Herald 
03/04/02
Gloucestershire Echo
03/09/02
13/08/04
Eastern Daily Press 
30/10/02
Pall mall Gazette 
06/11/02
Evening Star
07/11/0
Sheffield Daily Telegraph 
24/01/03
Northampton Mercury 
23/01/03
St James gazette 
30/1/03.
Norwich Mercury 
17/08/04
North Devon gazette 
27/01/03
The observer and West Sussex Recorder 
28/01/03
Yorkshire evening post 
22/01/03
Norfolk News
15/11/02
31/01/03
4/04/03
Manchester Evening News
13/08/4

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A move from London to the South Coast seemed like the perfect opportunity for a fresh start for Billie-Jo. The 9 year old had not had the easiest start to life and found herself placed into foster care with Lois and Sion Jenkins and their four daughters in London. Coincidentally  Billie -Jo shared her foster family's last name. The family relocated to Hastings for Sion's new job as a deputy head teacher and Billie-Jo was happy go with them and leave the capital behind. The seaside  town was in many ways an idyllic place to live but over the next five years life for Billie Jo and the Jenkins family was increasingly overshadowed by darker happenings. Billie-Jo complained that someone was following her, and the whole family were increasingly spooked by the presence of a prowler on their property. On 15th February 1997, when Billie-Jo was just 13 years old, a seemingly innocuous afternoon spent doing chores for pocket money ended in tragedy. So began one of the most infamous murder investigations of the last 25 years.

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Sources

For a full list of sources please see Persons Unknown Facebook page

• https://www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/article/the-murder-of-billie-jo-jenkins
• www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/sion-jenkins-saw-who-killed-2155743.ampamp.theguardian.com/uk/2010/aug/19/sion-jenkins-billiejo-murder-acquitted-compensation
• www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/billie-jo-in-an-extraordinary-attack-on-her-ex-husband-lois-jenkins-says-he-was-violent-and-a-liar-466364.html%3famp
• www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/billie-jo-jenkins-mum-calls-9819018.amp
• http://www.unsolved-murders.co.uk/murder-content.php?key=17&termRef=Billie-Jo%20Jenkins
• www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2133107/amp/Was-Billie-Jo-Jenkins-murdered-M25-rapist-Family-demand-police-investigation.html
• www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-43340239.amp
• amp.theguardian.com/uk/2005/apr/21/ukcrime1
• www.standard.co.uk/hp/front/dramatic-evidence-in-billiejo-appeal-6962426.html%3famp
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4559077.stm

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In the mid 1980’s the bodies of numerous murdered women and girls were found alongside  Interstates across the Bible Belt. Many of the victims remained Jane Does for decades, and even today some are unidentified. Most were vulnerable individuals, hitchhiking far from home. The most striking commonality was that they all had red hair. There has been much debate over whether this may be coincidence or if it is the work of an unknown serial killer. Thirty years later, answers are finally beginning to be uncovered , in no small part thanks to the work of a high school sociology class.

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The full list of sources for this episode is too numerous to add here. Please go to the Facebook page for more details.

Sources 

• www.wbir.com/amp/article/news/investigations/appalachian-unsolved/appalachian-unsolved-the-trucker-intrigued-by-serial-killers/51-624ef38c-0372-42a4-8bee-25b2b1647c95
• www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/shadow-boxing/201805/redheads-and-serial-killers%3famp
• https://medium.com/the-true-crime-edition/the-forgotten-redhead-murders-a3bbb39691bd
• www.upi.com/amp/Top_News/US/2018/10/09/Police-hunt-for-possible-serial-killer-in-1980s-redhead-murders/1571539111438/
• www.insidehook.com/article/crime/cold-case-redhead-murders/amp
• peoplepill.com/amp/people/redhead-murders
• https://grimhappenings.com/the-redhead-murders
• metro.co.uk/2018/04/30/serial-killer-feared-to-be-decapitating-ginger-women-after-two-heads-found-7510839/amp/
• www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1985-04-21-0290210184-story,amp.html
• https://theghostinmymachine.com/2018/08/27/unresolved-redhead-murders-bible-belt-strangler-inexact-art-identifying-serial-murder/
• fox17.com/amp/news/ferrier-files/ferrier-files-high-school-class-identif

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