On Sunday December the 19th 1948, the body of a man was discovered in the shadow of Sopwell Nunnery in St Albans, Hertfordshire. He had been savagely beaten and left without his trousers or jacket. An extensive police investigation yielded plenty of sightings of the man, and of potential suspects and yet no one was ever caught and the case remains unsolved. 

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SOURCES USED

https://www.mynewsmag.co.uk/crime-chronicles-story-of-a-man-who-was-brutally-murdered-in-1940s-st-albans/ 22nd Octover 2023

https://www.whtimes.co.uk/news/22340468.tragic-brutal-unsolved-murder-stephen-varley/ 14th June 2022

www.ancestry.co.uk 

https://www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-77433

Tuesday 21st December 1948, Daily Herald, pg 1

Tuesday 21st December 1948, Daily News, pg 1

Wednesday 22nd December 1948, Torbay Express and South Devon Echo, pg 1

Wednesday 22nd December 1948, Dundee Courier, pg 3

Thursday 23rd December 1948, Torbay Express and South Devon Echo, pg 1

Thursday 23rd December 1948, Daily Herald, pg 1

Friday 24th December 1948, Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette, pg 1

Tuesday 28th December 1948, Nottingham Journal, pg 1

Friday 14th January 1949, Shields Daily News, pg 12

Wednesday 16th February 1949, Coventry Evening Telegraph, pg 9 

https://www.stalbansmuseums.org.uk/visit/sopwell-ruins

Various articles:

Herts Advertiser & St Albans Times

Watford Observer 

Please enjoy this previously Patreon exclusive episode of Outlines. I'll hopefully be back properly soon. 

On the evening of the 9th of July 1982, 27 year old artist Keith Church was killed during a street knifing attack on the High Road in Hoddesdon. Hertfordshire. Despite the public nature of the incident- it occurred just meters from a police station, no one has ever been charged with Keith's murder. 

This case was previously released on Patreon in September 2022. As Patreon is on hold until after my maternity leave, if you are enjoying the bonus episodes then please consider donating via [email protected] on Paypal. I can’t stress enough how much your contributions help towards ongoing show costs at the moment. 

On March 29th 1967, 14 year old Ruth Bradbury was shot and killed while walking through woodland close to her family's countryside home near the villages of Crowthorne and Finchampstead in Berkshire. Despite evidence that the area around where she was found had been used for target practice, no one ever came forward to claim responsibility and to this day, no one knows whether it was accident or malicious intent, which saw Ruth's life cut short. 

Today's episode was previously released on Patreon in July 2022. As Patreon is on hold until after my maternity leave, if you enjoy these bonus episodes and wish to donate you can do so by giving to [email protected] via Paypal. 

Today's episode is part 3 of 3. In the early hours of September 23rd, the body of a woman in her twenties was discovered in the dunes of Great Yarmouth's South Beach. Initially known as Mrs Hood, the woman had been staying with her young daughter at a local boarding house. Subsequent investigations however, revealed that Mrs Hood was not who she seemed to be. But who was she really? And what part did a man named Herbert John Bennett, who would later be hanged for the crime, have to do with her murder?

iTunes itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-o…ast/id1325180386

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Today's episode was previously released on Patreon in June 2022. As Patreon is on hold until after my maternity leave, if you enjoy these bonus episodes and wish to donate you can do so by giving to [email protected] via Paypal. 

Today's episode is part 2 of 3. In the early hours of September 23rd, the body of a woman in her twenties was discovered in the dunes of Great Yarmouth's South Beach. Initially known as Mrs Hood, the woman had been staying with her young daughter at a local boarding house. Subsequent investigations however, revealed that Mrs Hood was not who she seemed to be. But who was she really? And what part did a man named Herbert John Bennett, who would later be hanged for the crime, have to do with her murder?

iTunes itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-o…ast/id1325180386

Website www.theoutlinespodcast.com

Instagram @theoutlinespodcast

Today's episode was previously released on Patreon in May 2022. As Patreon is on hold until after my maternity leave. If you enjoy these bonus episodes and wish to donate you can do so by giving to [email protected] via Paypal. 

Today's episode is a case told in three parts. In the early hours of September 23rd 1900, the body of a woman in her twenties was discovered in the dunes of Great Yarmouth's South Beach. Initially known as Mrs Hood, the woman had been staying with her young daughter at a local boarding house. Subsequent investigations however, revealed that Mrs Hood was not who she seemed to be. But who was she really? And what part did a man named Herbert John Bennett, who would later be hanged for the crime, have to do with her murder? 

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This is a bonus episode, first released as a Patreon exclusive in January 2022.

For those who were wondering where I've been- the short story is that I'm pregnant, (due in July if all goes well), panicked about being able to afford a baby and since the morning sickness eased I've been focusing on paid work. Sadly I've had to pause Patreon as of this month and am going to release the episodes which were once available there onto the main feed over the coming weeks.

If you enjoy these episodes please consider donating via Paypal to [email protected]. You'll help pay to keep the podcast fully available online while I'm away and any extra will go towards easing my fear that I'm woefully underprepared for what is to come!

On the 27th of August 1974 a gruesome discovery was made not far from the small Norfolk village of Cockley Cley. Hidden under a light brown plastic dust cover which bore the marking NCR, there lay the body of a woman. Her arms were tied behind her back, her legs bent at the knee, but worst of all, her head had been sawn off and was nowhere to be found. Despite the use of isotopic analysis to identify the kinds of environments the woman might have been exposed to during her life, as of 2022, her identity and even the cause of her death remain a mystery.

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Today's episode is a little bit different. In collaboration with The Unseen Podcast I tell you about the case of Mary Woolley who died mysteriously on the railway tracks near Earley in Berkshire on Monday the 6th of December 1954. Following this, I hand over to Caprice who has researched another mysterious death, this one of Ruth Brockstead, who died by oxalic acid poisoning in April, 1927. Following this you'll find a discussion between Caprice and I where we speak not only about Mary and Ruth's deaths but also more generally about the ways in which we approach researching historic cases. 

The Unseen Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-unseen-podcast/id1318473466

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On Sunday the 9th of December 1984, 24 year old Peter Miller was found stabbed to death on the kitchen floor of the home he shared with his brother Tony, and Tony’s wife Paula at 10 Camden Place, Great Yarmouth. Despite two unusual findings at the crime scene and several intriguing sightings of the same unidentified mystery man, a premature disposal of evidence and lack of any real leads, means that Peter’s murder remains unsolved to this day.  

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On the 26th of December 1992, the body of 14 year old Johanna Young from Watton in Norfolk was found face down in a secluded, water filled marlpit on the edge of town. Despite the high profile nature of the investigation and the uncomfortable spotlight it threw on the local community, the person or persons responsible for Johanna’s death remain free to this day.

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