Murder She Spoke

Episode 92: Lynda Spence. This week Joannagh tells us the story of Lynda Spence, a 27-year-old financial adviser from Glasgow who was abducted, tortured and murdered in April 2011. We hear how Lynda's taste for the finer things in life had led to severe financial mismanagement of clients funds and left Lynda owing substantial sums of money to criminals that she had been doing business with. Joanna...

Episode 91: Magdeline Makola. This week Emma tells us of the terrifying ordeal suffered by nurse Magdeline Makola when, in 2008, she was abducted and held in the boot of a car for approximately 10 days. We hear how her colleagues became concerned when she did not show up for her shift at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary on the 18th of December 2008. Emma describes how the Police began attempting to t...

Episode 90: Jolanta Bledaite. This week Joannagh talks us through an infamous and horrific crime from 2008, which would come to be known as the 'Head on the Beach Murder'. The victim of this barbaric crime was a 35-year-old migrant worker from Lithuania by the name of Jolanta Bledaite. We hear how Jolanta's remains were initially discovered by two young girls playing on Seagate beach in Arbroath,...

Episode 89: Norman Bruce. This week Emma takes us to the beautiful island of Skye for the story of a terrible murder. Norman Bruce was 64 years old when he was murdered by his wife Sandra in a vicious domestic incident. Emma gives us details of the scale of the brutality involved in the attack and how the injuries sustained by Norman resembled those from a traffic accident. We hear of the apparent...

Episode 88: William Henderson. This week Joannagh tells us of an unsolved case from the 1800's known as the Mount Stewart Murder. This case involves the murder of 55-year-old Janet Rogers, who was found dead in the home of her younger brother William Henderson in March 1866. The case was a mystery from the start with no obvious motive being found and the crime scene having some peculiarities. Joan...

Episode 87: Shona Stevens. This week Emma brings us the story of Shona Stevens who, in 1994, was the victim of a brutal attack which led to her death. To this day the murderer has never been found despite several media appeals. We hear about some potential avenues of investigation that have been looked at over the years but which, sadly, did not yield results. We also hear of the strain that Shona...

Episode 86: Philip Murray. This week we go back to the Roaring 20's for the story of Philip Murray - the last man hanged at Calton Jail. Joannagh tells us about life in Edinburgh and some of the city's notable events of the time. We also hear about Philip Murray and the alcohol fuelled rage that drove him to commit the murder for which he would later be hanged at Calton jail, before HMP Slaughton...

Episode 85: Jeanie Seton. This week Emma takes a trip back in time to bring us the story of Jeanie Seton and the Murder of Ratho in the year 1864. We hear how Jeanie was killed in a crazed attack by George Bryce - a former love interest of a friend of Jeanie's - who blamed her for the breakup of the relationship. Emma describes how - after a failed plea of insanity - George was sentenced to death...

Episode 84: Kevin McLeod. This week Joannagh brings us the story of Kevin McLeod, a 24-year-old from Caithness, who died in peculiar circumstances in February 1997. Joannagh details some of the odd details of the case which led to various theories emerging from the police, and also the wider community, around the circumstances of Kevin's death. We hear how Kevin's family made various complaints ab...

Episode 83: Edwin Rose. This week Emma takes us back to 1889 for the tale of Edwin Rose, who was killed on Goatfell mountain in the Isle of Arran. Emma tells us of the circumstances leading up to Edwin's death and the subsequent manhunt for the main suspect. We hear how the details of the case might not be as clear cut as first thought, and we hear how local superstitions helped create an odd inte...

Episode 82: Louise Aitchison. This week Joannagh brings us the story of Louise Aitchison, a 33-year-old woman who was attacked and killed in a domestic abuse incident in March 2020. We hear details of the previous patterns of domestic violence carried out by her killer, which were not given enough consideration by the police when they were called to the an incident prior to the murder. Joannagh al...

Episode 81: Stefan Sutherland. This week Emma brings us the story of Stefan Sutherland, a 25-year-old from Occumster in the Scottish Highlands, who died in September 2013. Emma stresses that officially there is no crime associated with Stefan's death. However, due to the circumstances around the death and subsequent questions around the police investigation, there deserves to be some light shone o...

Episode 80: Mary Queen of Scots. This week Joannagh delves into the history books to tell us the story of Mary Queen of Scots. We hear of the many plots surrounding the young Queen all through her life, from murder plots to political schemes involving several major European powers. Joannagh describes how the reformation and the continuing tensions between the catholic and protestant faiths in Scot...

Episode 79: Margaret McLaughlin. This week Emma brings us the story of Margaret McLaughlin, a 23-year-old typist from Carluke, who was killed in July 1973. We hear how the ferocious attack would likely have left substantial evidence on the killer and how it came as a surprise when the police named a main suspect displaying none of these signs. Emma discusses some of the poor investigation practice...

Episode 78: William Henry Bury. This week Joannagh takes us back to 1889 for the tale of William Henry Bury. We hear about Bury's tragic childhood, in which he lost both parents at a very young age, was raised by family friends and found employment in a workhouse at age 16. Joannagh tells us of the troubled relationship Bury had with his wife Ellen Elliot, in which he was frequently violent toward...

Episode 77: Louise Tiffney. This week Emma brings us the story of Louise Tiffney, a 43-year-old mother of two who went missing in May 2002. We hear how - after an argument with her 18-year-old son Sean - Louise supposedly left her flat at around midnight without bank cards, cash, extra clothing or her passport. After weeks of fruitless searching for Louise, a hunch by a detective on the case broug...

Episode 76: Robert Adaway. This week Joannagh brings us the story of Robert Adaway, who went missing from Thurso, Caithness on his 18th birthday. We hear how there were no indications that Robert was in a poor mental health or that he had anything but a bright future to look forward to. Joannagh describes the efforts of the Police in trying to locate Robert, with searches taking place in and aroun...

Episode 75: Shaun Ritchie. This week Emma brings us the story of Shaun Ritchie, who disappeared after a Halloween party in 2014, and hasn't been seen or heard from since. Emma gives us the facts of the case including that there had been reports of a fight at the party and that Shaun somehow became separated from his friends. We hear of the huge effort made by the Police to locate Shaun, with a vas...

Episode 74: Kriss Donald. This week Joannagh brings us the story of Kriss Donald, a 15-year-old boy who, in 2004, was killed in a racially motivated attack in Glasgow. We hear how Kriss was targeted at random by an Asian gang in revenge for an assault in a nightclub that Kriss had no involvement in. Joannagh tells us of the harrowing, hours long ordeal faced by Kriss before ultimately being killed...

Episode 73: George Murdoch. This week Emma brings us the story of George Murdoch, a 58-year-old taxi driver who was the victim of a seemingly random murder in 1983. We hear how George was having a completely ordinary night in his taxi prior to his death, with no indication of any arguments or vendettas that could explain the fatal attack. Emma describes the bizarre facts of the case, from the odd...

Episode 72: Paige Doherty. This week Joannagh brings us the story of Paige Doherty of Clydebank, who was cruelly murdered at the age of just 15 years old. We hear how the alarm was raised when Paige did not arrive at her weekend job and how the investigation traced her last movements to a Deli in her hometown of Clydebank As well as the savage nature of the attack, we hear how the callousness of t...

Episode 71: Patricia Henry. This week Emma brings us the story of Patricia Henry, a 46-year old mother from Girvan, who went missing in November 2017. Emma tells us how initial reports into Patricia's disappearance suggested Patricia may have returned to Gran Canaria, where she had lived previously. However, when irregular financial activity was identified during a proof of life check by police, t...

Episode 70: Helen Fiona Torbet. This week Joannagh brings us the story of Helen Torbet, a 62-year-old outdoors-woman who disappeared in July 1993. Helen was an avid hill walker, having climbed all the Munro's in Scotland and we hear about the important and lasting contributions she made to hill walking in Scotland. However we also hear how Helen disappeared whilst on one of her solo hill walking a...

Episode 69: Jean Milne. This week we go back to 1912 as Emma tells us about the unsolved murder of Jean Milne, a wealthy 69-year-old spinster from Broughty Ferry near Dundee. As Jean enjoyed living in some seclusion, but was also known to travel often and with little notice, it was several weeks before the grisly scene of her murder was uncovered in her home. Emma describes how the crime scene fai...

Episode 68: Elizabeth 'Totsie' Sutherland. This week Joannagh brings us the story of Elizabeth Sutherland. 'Totsie' - as she was nicknamed due to her small stature - was a 36-year-old woman killed in a vicious attack at her home in the small town of Culbokie in the Highlands of Scotland. We hear how the police believed the murder was committed due to Elizabeth interrupting a burglary, despite noth...