News of the Times - Unlocking the vaults of historical crime

News of the Times Episode 158 | 1738 - 1895 Stories of Child Murderers : Frightful Fridays In this episode of Frightful Fridays, we explore historic accounts of child murderers. We start with the 10-year-old boy in 1738 who decides to burn his whole family rather than slit their throats. From there, we jump to 1820 and the young girl who decides to kill her mother in order to keep a boyfriend from...

News of the Times Episode 157  | 12th-21st c The Haunting of Leap Castle: Wicked Wednesdays In the annals of Irish history, is there a more haunted location than Leap Castle? We explore its bloody history, some of the hauntings and strange events that were recorded in archived newspaper reports: the elemental, the Red Lady, the Bloody Chapel, midnight howling, disembodied screams and more. The Hau...

News of the Times Episode 156 | 1935 The East Cliff Mallet Murder A once famous now retired architect.  His beautiful 35 years younger wife and the new handsome 18 year old chauffeur and handyman.  What could go wrong?  In this story we look at the killing of Francis Rattenbury – who did it?  Was it his beautiful artistic wife Alma Rattenbury, or the nice young local lad George Stoner.  Set in the...

News of the Times Episode 155 | 1956 The Merry Widow of Windy Nook: Serial Killer Saturdays It is 1957 and Mary Elizabeth Wilson keeps marrying men who then conveniently die.  Of her 4 husbands, 2 of her newly acquired husbands die within 15 days of the marriage to Mary. A true female bluebeard of her day, Mary Wilson was nicknamed the Merry Widow of Windy Nook for her gallows humour stating thing...

News of the Times Episode 154 | 1764-1766 Forgotten Fridays 1764-1766 In today’s episode, we look at a story that consumed both sides of the English Channel – the murderous midwife whose house was a grave sight for over 50 babies.  The punishment for her crimes was unique with calls for the same type of punishment to be brought over into England. Runway indentured servants, space for additional lu...

News of the Times Episode 153 | 1800's The World of the Victorian Scam Artist: Wicked Wednesdays Although scam artists have been around since time immemorial, The Victorian era the rise of various types of scam artists, fraudsters, and beggars. With the divide between rich and poor at an extreme level, individuals used various tactics to exploit the vulnerabilities of their targets and make m...

News of the Times Episode 152 | 1832 - 1879 A Collection of Macabre Murders | Twisted Tales Tuesdays In today’s episode we look at some of the stories where murder was not enough.  In these stories, murder was followed by an attempt to completely obliviate the victim. We start with Charlotte Lawson and the horrific murder of her mistress in France.  Followed by the infamous James Cook and Mr Paas...

News of the Times Episode 151 | 1922 The Case of Herbet Rowse Armstrong: Murderous Mondays In 1922, Herbert Rowse Armstrong was a well-respected solicitor in the quaint town of Hay-on-Wye.  A slightly built dapper man, on the surface he seems devoted to his wife Katherine who is known for browbeating her husband and publicly humiliating him.  But then, Katherine becomes very unwell, and a business...

Robert Hitchens - The Man Who Sank the Titanic | ep150 | 1882 - 1940 Robert Hitchens: The Man Who Sank the Titanic: Eccentric Sundays Robert Hitchens – The Man Who Sank the Titanic - carried that title with him for the rest of his life.  Besides driving the Titanic into an iceberg, questions of his actual culpability arose as well as whether he purposefully allowed drowning passengers to die rathe...

News of the Times Episode 149 | 1905-1912 Robert Hicks Murray - The Eastbourne Tragedy Robert Hicks Murray, or is it Robert Money? Bigamist with two sisters and a third he was grooming, his actions tragically ended the lives of four, with an attempt then to set all of the bodies on fire.  There is also the cold case of his youngest murdered sister who was found with a scarf thrust down her throat...

News of the Times Episode 148 | 1726 - 1728 Forgotten Fridays 1726-1728 In today’s episode of Forgotten Fridays, it is 1726 – 1728 and a country woman is supposedly giving birth to rabbits – some dead and some alive.  There are a lot of them.  Eminent doctors are sent forthwith to confirm this and agree that she is indeed giving birth to live rabbits. The Mary Toft rabbit story headlines this epis...

News of the Times Episode 147 | 1787 - 1871 Cross Dressing in Historical England = Wicked Wednesdays Cross dressing in historical England was a brave move with the law, at least against men, being threateningly severe. Today’s episode looks at some of the notable cases of cross dressing in historical England.  We would like to note that although this falls under the auspices of “Wicked Wednesdays”...

News of the Times Episode 146 | 1830-1900 Mass Poisoning in Victorian England - Twisted Tuesdays Food standards in Georgian and Victorian England were hit or miss. There were a number of widespread food poisoning incidents including the Bradford sweets arsenic laced candies, The poisoned ice cream, And most importantly, the arsenic laced beer. We take a look at these stories and more in this episo...

News of the Times Episode 145 | 1923 The Ilford Tragedy: Murderous Mondays In 1923, the Edith Thompson and Frederick Bywaters case that took place in Ilford was a tragic and infamous criminal trial in England. The case involved allegations of murder and adultery, with some salacious correspondence thrown in.  Edith’s husband, Percy Thompson, is brutally attacked and murdered on a London street. Th...

News of the Times Episode 144 | 1739 Dick Turpin: The Legendary Highwayman: Eccentric Sundays Dick Turpin, the legendary highwayman of 18th-century England, has become an iconic figure in history and folklore.   Turpin's life was a tapestry woven with audacious escapades, criminal exploits, and the allure of the open road. He is often depicted as a dashing rogue, embodying the romanticized im...

News of the Times Episode 143 | 1911 The Mystery of the Lancaster Castle Murders: Serial killer Saturdays It is 1911. The family who are the keepers of Lancaster castle are all dying off one by one mysteriously.  Four people within the family die within a 9 month time frame. With questions being asked, exhumations are required, only to find bodies laced with arsenic.  Who did it? And why? Hosted b...

News of the Times Episode 142 | 1859 - 1861 Forgotten Fridays 1859-1861 On this Forgotten Friday, it is 1859 to 1861.  In the United States, Abraham Lincoln has been elected and the first 7 states have broken away to form the confederate states. In the UK, construction of Big Ben has just begun. William Coogan is executed for the murder of his wife after attempting to try to stage the murder as ha...

News of the Times Episode 141 | 1800's Death in Victorian England: Wicked Wednesdays Step into the shadows of history as we embark on a journey into the intriguing and often unsettling world of death in Victorian England. In this episode, we unveil the forgotten tales, sombre rituals, and curious customs that surrounded mortality during this distant era. Join us as we explore the mournful lan...

News of the Times Episode 139 | 1751 The Infamous Mary Blandy Case: Murderous Mondays The Mary Blandy case of 1751 was a notorious murder trial in England that captured public attention and became a significant legal and social event of its time. Mary Blandy, a 31-year-old spinster, was accused of poisoning her father, Francis Blandy, in an attempt to marry her lover, Captain William Henry Cransto...

News of the Times Episode 140 | 1857 - 1908 The Square Mile of Murders: Twisted Tuesdays In the annals of Scotland’s history, certain chapters are shrouded in darkness, but none as infamous as the "Square Mile of Murder" that took place between 1857 and 1908. Within this relatively compact region, a series of four of Scotland's most celebrated murders unfolded over a mere 51-year sp...

News of the Times Episode 138 | 1849-1912 William Stead: Seer and Victorian Influencer: Eccentric Sundays William Thomas Stead was a British journalist, editor, social reformer, and arguably paranormal seer who played a significant role in shaping public opinion and investigative journalism during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. One of Stead's most notable and impactful works was his...

News of the Times Episode 137| 1866 The Todmorden Murder:  Murderous Mondays The Todmorden Murders of 1868 were so famed at the time that Queen Victoria sent an emissary to offer her condolences.  This series of gruesome attacks ultimately directly or indirectly killed 4 people.  The reason for the attacks was a Victorian version of a Romeo and Juliet plot. Hosted by Robin Coles. #NewsofTheTimes #...

News of the Times Episode 136 | 1819 - 1821 Forgotten Fridays 1819-1821 1820 was a pivotal year in British history.  Hearkening back to the failed Guy Fawkes gunpowder plot, the Cato Street conspiracy equally intended to destabilise the government at the time.  The end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 had led to an economic downturn, resulting in high unemployment and increased poverty. The Cato Str...

News of the Times Episode 135 | 1800's The Victorian World of Suicide: Eccentric Sundays ***WARNING: SOME MAY FIND THE SUBJECT MATTER HIGHLY UPSETTING*** In today’s episode we investigate the changing societal views on suicide from the Regency to Victorian eras.  Attitudes towards suicide were heavily influenced by Christian belief, which considered suicide a sin and an act against God's...

News of the Times Episode 134 | 1870 / 1894 Terrifying Trunk Murders : Twisted Tuesdays Step into the shadows of Victorian England, where darkness lurked beneath the surface of refinement.  Today’s episode of trunk murders looks at two notorious criminal cases in 1870 and in 1894 in which victims were murdered and concealed in a trunk or large box. These macabre and chilling crimes captivated publ...