The Murder of Vera Page: A Case That Science Couldn't Solve
News of the Times | Episode 576 | 1931

In 1931, the disappearance of 10-year-old Vera Page sent shockwaves through Hammersmith, West London. When her body was discovered days later, concealed in a garden mere yards from her home, public outrage erupted — and police turned to their most famous forensic expert, Sir Bernard Spilsbury, to help secure a conviction.

Confident in his findings, Spilsbury offered precise testimony on time of death and fibre analysis. But despite his assertions, the case never led to a conviction. In later years, his conclusions were heavily criticised, with modern experts pointing to serious flaws in his methods — raising troubling questions about how justice was pursued, and at what cost.

Featuring:• The tragic death of Vera Page• Spilsbury’s courtroom dominance• Fibre and pathology claims that didn’t hold up• An enduring mystery, and a legacy of doubt

This week’s Further Particulars takes us back to 1893 Soho, where one envelope cutter discovered — too late — that not every conversation starter needs to be followed by demonstration.

What began as a night of friendly boasting at the Carlyle Arms quickly turned tragic when someone posed the eternal question:“Do you think a billiard ball would fit in my mouth?”
🎩Hosted by Robin Coles

📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday

📚 Related cases from the archive:
1930: The Blazing Car Murderer | EP407
https://youtu.be/qqspUfNxmsA
1930: The Case of the Body in the Wall Murder | EP424
https://youtu.be/JgMZHtDud88
1933: The Morton Murder | EP452
https://youtu.be/u5mrp3tbB-Y

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Murder on Wimbledon Common: The Fireside Poker Killing | 1917 True Crime
News of the Times | Episode 575 | 1917
A quiet house. A brutal assault. And a killer hiding in plain sight.

In November 1917, wartime London was still reeling from Zeppelin raids and rations — but nothing prepared the residents of Wimbledon Common for the horror inside Winkfield Lodge. When a maid opened the bedroom door that morning, she found her employer, Captain Edward Tighe, barely clinging to life — his skull shattered by a bent and bloodied poker.

🕯️ Four days later, the retired army officer was dead. The hunt began

📜 This gripping episode includes:
• The violent murder of a decorated army veteran
• A string of burglaries, a false identity, and a fateful pawnshop visit
• Trial coverage from the Old Bailey courtroom
• The final walk to the gallows, under the hand of hangman John Ellis
• And a rare look into wartime London's underworld of crime

📰 Further Particulars:
And finally, from fireplace pokers to broken hearts, we turn now to the treacherous world of Edwardian romance — a time when courtship was conducted not by swiping right, but by cautiously wording your larder habits in the Matrimonial Advertiser.

In 1917, one hopeful woman of fifty dared to make the first move — only to be met with a red silk handkerchief rendezvous, a suspected poacher offering to keep her larder full, and a musical "gentleman" whose publishing credentials turned out to be as fictional as his hairline.

If you thought modern dating was unforgiving, wait until you hear how leap-year love fared when advertised by the column inch. 🕯️💔📬

👤 Narrated by Robin Coles

📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday

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🕯 About the Channel
We’re an independent team of historical researchers and narrators specialising in 18th to early 20th century British true crime. Each episode is based entirely on archival material — from coroners’ inquests to forgotten newspaper columns.

If you like your true crime thoughtful, atmospheric, and rooted in r

Hear about our ad-free archive on Patreon – 650+ episodes and counting! 🎩 https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime

Fancy a chuckle between corpses? Discover our first lovingly illustrated volume of wildly unreliable memoirs.

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The Hay Knife Killer: Double Murder That Stunned Victorian England
News of the Times | Episode 574 | 1858
Welcome to News of the Times, where we delve into the darkest corners of British history. In today’s episode, we explore the chilling 1858 double murder of John and Elizabeth Bucknell — an elderly couple slain in their Somerset home under horrific circumstances. Their grandson, recently released from prison, becomes the prime suspect. Was this a desperate act of greed… or something even darker?

🕯️ Featuring:
• A rural village gripped by fear
• Suspicious evidence and a mysterious hay knife
• A community torn between family loyalty and justice
• Contemporary newspaper accounts that shocked the nation

This brutal case captured the Victorian imagination and raised enduring questions about motive, opportunity, and the thin veil of civility. Perfect for fans of historical true crime, criminal psychology, and 19th-century justice.

And in today's further particulars case,
from murder most foul…
to moral outrage most rural. 🌾
Join us as a man is publicly shamed, not for violence — but for harvesting wheat on a Sunday. Truly, Victorian England: where death might go unnoticed, but damp trousers caused uproar.

Hosted by Robin Coles —
your guide through crime, punishment, and the scandalous world of sabbath-day cereal offences. 🍞

📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday
🎞️ Long-form historical crime compilations: Final Sunday of every month

📚 Related cases from the archive:
1851: The Disturbing Case of Mary Emily Cage | EP390
https://youtu.be/jvM8alfWztY
1851 & 1875: Cases of Double Black Widows | EP464
https://youtu.be/k9YYxpoQ9Go
1856: The Murder of George Samuel Little - A Locked Room Mystery | EP469
https://youtu.be/UeoyQsJtEbU

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🕯 About the Channel
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Triple Gallows at Newgate: The Shocking Crimes Behind the 1896 Hanging | Scotland Yard Casebook
News of the Times | Episode 573| 1896
In June 1896, a grim crowd gathered outside Newgate Prison for a rare and chilling spectacle: three men hanged side by side, their fates sealed by two of the most brutal murder cases in Victorian London.

This episode dives deep into the shocking crimes that led to that triple execution:

🗝️ Muswell Hill: The savage killing of 79-year-old Henry Smith, a reclusive engineer who wired his garden with explosives and dined at ten.
🔨 Turner Street, Whitechapel: A violent rooftop escape, a double murder, and a criminal so brazen he nearly flattened a child in his flight from justice.

From ingenious burglar alarms and dark lanterns to courtroom betrayals and rooftop plunges, we follow Scotland Yard’s relentless pursuit across counties — and through some of the bloodiest pages of the 1890s press.

📜 Featuring rare newspaper sources, forensics from the dawn of modern policing, and a finale worthy of a gothic novel — this is Victorian crime as you’ve never heard it.

🎩 FURTHER PARTICULARS
Also in this episode:
A retired greengrocer seeks peace, quiet, and boiled vegetables.
Instead, he gets a pawned shawl, a hostage chair, and a surprise marriage proposal.

He came for lodgings. She came for commitment.
Someone’s not getting their sideboard back.

📚 Subscribe for three new historical crime stories every week — or join us on Patreon for ad-free access to hundreds more:
👉 https://www.patreon.com/newsofthetimes

👤 Narrated by Robin Coles

📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday

📚 Related cases from the archive:
1896: Amelia Dyer - The Ogress of Reading | Ep93
https://youtu.be/-jYmy7tyowc

❤️ Support Independent History
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🕯 About the Channel
We’re an independent team of historical researchers and narrators specialising in 18th to early 20th century British true crime. Each episode is based entirely on archival material — from coroners’ in

Hear about our ad-free archive on Patreon – 650+ episodes and counting! 🎩 https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime

Fancy a chuckle between corpses? Discover our first lovingly illustrated volume of wildly unreliable memoirs.

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Too Drunk to Hang? The Brutal 1909 Murder That Changed British Law
News of the Times | Episode 572 |1909
In this gripping true crime episode, we head to the shadowy backstreets of Edwardian Leeds to uncover the harrowing case of Thomas Mead, a gasworker whose drunken, brutal attack on his partner Clara Howell shocked the nation — and forever altered British legal history.

When Mead claimed he was “too drunk to form intent,” the courts were faced with a pressing question: can murder be excused by drink?
The result? A landmark ruling in R v Mead (1909) that helped close a long-abused legal loophole — the so-called drink defence.

Was it rage? Was it the bottle? Or was it the end of the line for “I didn’t mean to” as a courtroom strategy?

🕰️ Join us as we explore:
A chilling crime scene concealed with old rugs
A killer who couldn't stop confessing — with increasing bravado
And a court case that became a legal turning point for crimes committed under the influence

🔍 Plus — in today's Further Particulars:
A moonlit walk, a suspiciously firm handshake, and the most humiliating proposal in County Durham.
Yes, it’s the Victorian romance that wasn’t — featuring Gentle Johnny, one “fine-looking girl,” and a final twist that left the whole village howling. Bring your own shawlet.

📌 Like, subscribe, and share with that one friend who hoards Edwardian newspaper clippings and corrects courtroom dramas for fun.
Help us thwart the YouTube algorithm — which, much like Thomas Mead, doesn't take criticism well unless it’s delivered with numbers.

👀 Still not tired of true crime with a historical twist?
Join us on Patreon for daily ad-free drops, over 750 episodes, and enough vintage scandal to make your great-aunt blush: patreon.com/newsofthetimes

🕯️ News of the Times
Presented by Robin Coles —
Assistant Keeper of the Gavel Wax,
Deputy Sub-Inspector of Improper Bonnets,
and Honorary Secretary to the Society for the Prevention of Overly Dramatic Elopements.

📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday

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🔪 Six Failed Attempts to Kill His Mother-in-Law | The Spitalfields Hatchet Attack of 1874
News of the Times | Episode 571| 1874
Notorious November

London, 1874. A quiet Spitalfields lodging. A knock at the door. And a furious son-in-law armed with a pistol, a hatchet, a knife, a shoemaker’s last, a bag of stones, and — why not — some gunpowder for flair.

What followed was one of the most bizarre and dogged murder attempts ever committed in Victorian England. George French tried six separate times to kill his mother-in-law — and failed every single one.

In this darkly absurd episode of News of the Times, we dive into a case that scandalised the papers and baffled the courts. From misfiring pistols to blunt-force absurdity, it’s a tale of revenge, resilience, and wildly incompetent villainy.

⚖️ Featuring:
Inspector Abberline (yes, that Abberline — of Ripper fame)
A pistol loaded with a stone
A heroic shoemaker named Orton
A mother-in-law who refused to die politely

🎩 Further Particulars Teaser:
And if you think your vegetables are simply salad ingredients, you may want to think again.

In Monmouth, 1833, a turnip mysteriously resembling a local murder suspect’s severed hand was discovered growing in a field.
Coincidence? Or the first known vegetable-based witness statement?

Either way — check your root cellar.

👤 Narrated by Robin Coles

📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday

📚 Related cases from the archive:
1874: FRANCE Murderous Mother Daughter Love Triangle | EP377
https://youtu.be/22HllMIaXH4
1874: The Case of the Vengeful Grandmother | EP489
https://youtu.be/DTRHrVKn1SE
1874: The Baffling Case of Margaret Ball - Found Hanging — But Did He Kill Her? | EP527
https://youtu.be/qFitIfeXqDI

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We’re an independent team of historical researchers and narrators specialising in

Hear about our ad-free archive on Patreon – 650+ episodes and counting! 🎩 https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime

Fancy a chuckle between corpses? Discover our first lovingly illustrated volume of wildly unreliable memoirs.

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Found Headless on the Marshes: Scotland Yard Casebook 1865
News of the Times | Episode 570| 1865
Welcome to another chilling episode of News of the Times.

In 1865, a gruesome discovery on the Plaistow Marshes stunned Victorian London: a man’s headless body, dumped in the reeds — his head buried nearby in a shallow grave. The case would soon unravel into an international mystery of betrayal, greed, and grim disposal methods, involving a heavy-set Prussian, a suspicious German companion, and two locked boxes hiding grim secrets.

⚖️ Was it cold-blooded murder? Or a calculated plot that spiralled out of control?

In this episode:
The shocking crime scene that drew thousands to an East End hotel
The eerie clues uncovered in the marshes — from a bloody hatchet handle to a discarded white-handled knife

The suspects' descent into suspicion, and the trial that captivated the public

A community left reeling, and a crime that has haunted the area for generations

🕯️ Step into the gaslit streets and eerie marshes of 1860s East London, where not all those who vanish stay buried…

👻 And in today’s Further Particulars…
As if Victorian true crime wasn’t theatrical enough — we’re off to Covent Garden, where the lights were low, the waltz was in full swing, and the only thing more shocking than the price of champagne… was the ghost in full armour who decided to join the party.

Yes — not your usual moaning hallway phantom. This one hovered across the dancefloor like Siegfried on a celestial zipline, causing the conductor to drop his baton and the drummer to question his life choices.

Because nothing says sophisticated London evening like a haunted opera house and a ghost in metalwork.
Do stay tuned… 🎭🕯️🫖👻

👤 Narrated by Robin Coles

📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday
🎞️ Long-form historical crime compilations: Final Sunday of every month

❤️ Support Independent History
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🕯 About the Channel
We’re an independent team of historical researchers and narrators specialising in 18th to early 20th century British true c

Hear about our ad-free archive on Patreon – 650+ episodes and counting! 🎩 https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime

Fancy a chuckle between corpses? Discover our first lovingly illustrated volume of wildly unreliable memoirs.

Grab it here: https://ko-fi.com/s/b406f6f11e

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The Dundry Hill Murder: The Wedmore Brothers and the Death of Sarah Waterman, 1861
News of the Times | Episode 569 | 1861
In the winter of 1861, a savage crime shocked the quiet hills near Bristol.

George and Sarah Waterman, an elderly couple known for their quiet life and kindness, were attacked in their own cottage — ambushed by two masked men. The intruders came armed, posing as a local policeman to gain entry, and what followed was a scene of unimaginable brutality.

Sarah Waterman was left with her skull nearly shattered. George, bloodied and barely alive, was tied to a bacon rack and left to die.

The twist? The attackers were not strangers. They were family.

This is the chilling case of the Wedmore brothers — Charles and Matthew — whose descent into greed and violence ended with a double hanging that drew thousands to the prison yard at Taunton.

It’s a tale of rural isolation, broken kinship, and justice that came only after one of the most appalling home invasions of the Victorian age.

🕯️ And in tonight’s Further Particulars…
A devil in white. Rubber trousers. A glowing turnip. And a cry of “chick, chick.”

In 1867 Broughty Ferry, terror had a new name — Spring Legs. Part ghost, part gymnast, and part candle-powered performance artist, he leapt through gardens, haunted windows… and met his match in a well-aimed flowerpot.

Some say he was possessed. Others say he was just… Scottish.😉

👤 Narrated by Robin Coles

📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday

📚 Related cases from the archive:
1868: The Body in the Cupboard: A Mystery That Baffled Victorian London | EP528
https://youtu.be/9SGIxyna1q8
1865: Bayonet Madness in Batley: A Victorian Double Murder | EP562
https://youtu.be/A08XNdHDzso

❤️ Support Independent History
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🕯 About the Channel
We’re an independent team of historical researchers and narrators specialising in 18th to early 20th century British true crime. Each episode is based enti

Hear about our ad-free archive on Patreon – 650+ episodes and counting! 🎩 https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime

Fancy a chuckle between corpses? Discover our first lovingly illustrated volume of wildly unreliable memoirs.

Grab it here: https://ko-fi.com/s/b406f6f11e

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Support the show

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