The Actress Who Tried to Kill Her Mother | True Crime 1909
News of the Times | Episode 551| 1909
In this astonishing Edwardian crime, a young woman named Winifred Kirk lured her own mother to a secluded country road — and attempted to end her life with a rope and a shoemaker’s knife.

What began as a secret letter turned into a national scandal. Was this premeditated matricide... or a moment of madness, born of family disgrace, scandal, and emotional collapse?

This gripping episode includes:
Letters of alarming intent ✉️
A skipping rope turned murder weapon 🪢
A shoemaker’s knife in a corset (naturally) 🔪
A courtroom monologue worthy of amateur dramatics 🎭
And a family reputation unravelling at high speed.

Based entirely on contemporary newspaper reports, this is a tale of Edwardian shame, melodrama, and the kind of family outing that ends with hospitalisation, tears, and penal servitude.

And in our Further Particulars segment, a brief break from attempted matricide… to celebrate America’s proudest tradition: surviving the Fourth of July with all major limbs attached.

In 1912, only twenty people died — a stunning victory for restraint, rooftops, and remaining fingers.

👤 Narrated by Robin Coles 

📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday   

📚 Related cases from the archive: 
1903: Who Killed Mr Swann? |  EP450
https://youtu.be/6WI4PhQrE6o
1905: Case of The One-Armed Bigamist Murderer |  EP455
https://youtu.be/wIFh9HOEMdk
1905 & 1906: The Mysterious Manchester Murders  |  EP462
https://youtu.be/iLrChy8s5SE
1902: The Case of the Clonbrok Murder |  EP477
https://youtu.be/M908ewkwXy4
1900: The Sinister Mr Salmon |  EP484
https://youtu.be/dbLJw0a7v4A

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