cases
- Dr Crippen
- Frederick Henry Seddon (1911-1912), who was convicted of poisoning Eliza Barrow with arsenic from fly-papers - read about the case on the Old Bailey online (https://bit.ly/7O1Zy9);
- George Joseph Smith (1915), who was convicted of drowning 3 wives (the 'brides in the bath' murders)(see photo at Getty images);
- Herbert Rowse Armstrong (1921), who was convicted of poisoning his wife with arsenic (see photos at Getty images);
- Norman Thorne (1926), who was convicted of killing Elsie Cameron (see photos at Getty images);
- Alfred Rouse (1930), who was convicted of killing a man and setting his body on fire in a car, on bonfire night
- John Donald Merrett (1926-27), in which the verdict of 'murder not proven' was delivered in Scotland, following a trial for the murder of Meretts' mother - University of Glasgow archives including part of the 'Precognition' of Spilsbury
The Brides in the bath murders - George Joseph Smith
The magnificent Spilsbury and the case of the brides in the bath. Robins J. John Murray Publishers 2010
Buy it here ...
Jane Robins tackles the case with gusto, linking it with the genesis of forensic science and casting Spilsbury as her hero. But her title is misleading, as the pathologist doesn't take centre-stage. Instead we have a gripping retelling of the crime against a backdrop of the Titanic, Suffragettes and the First World War, highlighting the social context that allowed a psychopath to manipulate eight women, wed seven, defraud six and kill three.
Marianne Brace 2010 (Read the rest of her review here)