Historical True Crime

When Sarah Hart died suddenly in 1845, suspicion quickly fell on John Tawell. His attempt to leave by train became one of the earliest famous examples of the electric telegraph being used to track a murder suspect. But behind the technological milestone was a complicated case involving poison, disputedforensic evidence, and a woman whose story was often overshadowed by the method used to catch her killer.For more exclusive content, check out our Patreon at patreon.com/historicaltruecrimeSource MaterialsCarol Baxter, The Peculiar Case of the Electric Constable: A True Tale of Passion, Poison & Pursuit (Oneworld, 2013)David Skae, Trial of John Tawell for the Murder of Sarah Hart by Prussic Acid: With Remarks (1845)G. L. Strauss, Remarks and Comments on the Medical and Chemical Evidence Adduced at the Trial of John Tawell (1845)G. Lathom Browne and C. G. Stewart, Reports of Trials for Murder by Poisoning (1883)Iwan Rhys Morus, “‘The Nervous System of Britain’: Space, Time and the Electric Telegraph in the Victorian Age,” British Journal for the History of Science, Vol. 33 (2000)The Sydney Morning Herald, “English News / Trial of John Tawell,” July 11, 1845The Commercial Journal and Advertiser (Sydney), report on the trial of John Tawell, July 12, 1845The Melbourne Courier, “Trial of John Tawell,” July 21, 1845The Australian, “The Convict John Tawell,” July 1845The Australian, “John Tawell,” July 22, 1845, reprinted from the Hampshire AdvertiserThe Launceston Advertiser, “Execution of John Tawell,” July 10, 1845Contemporary 1845 biographical accounts of John Tawell reprinted in the Australian pressAndrew Wynter, “The Electric Telegraph,” The Quarterly Review (1854)

In 1817, twenty-year-old Mary Ashford was found dead after attending a dance near Birmingham. Abraham Thornton was tried and acquitted of her murder, but the case was far from over. What followed was an extraordinary legal battle involving an ancient appeal of murder, a demand for trial by combat, and a law England had somehow never abolished.Check out our Patreon at patreon.com/historicaltruecrime Source MaterialsNaomi Clifford, The Murder of Mary Ashford: The Crime That Changed English Legal History (2018)John Cooper, A Report of the Proceedings Against Abraham Thornton at Warwick Summer Assizes, 1817, for the Murder of Mary Ashford; and Subsequently in the Court of King’s Bench (1818)John Fairburn, The Affecting Case of Mary Ashford (1817)John Fairburn, Thornton’s Second Trial: The Whole Proceedings of the Extraordinary Trial of Abraham Thornton, for the Murder of Mary Ashford (c. 1818)Edward Holroyd, Observations upon the Case of Abraham Thornton, Who Was Tried at Warwick, for the Murder of Mary Ashford: Shewing the Danger of Pressing Presumptive Evidence Too Far (1819)Ashford v. Thornton (1818), 1 Barnewall & Alderson 405; 106 English Reports 149Robert Megarry, A New Miscellany-at-Law: Yet Another Diversion for Lawyers (2005)Michael Lobban, “The Glorious Uncertainty of the Law: Life at the Bar, 1810–1830”59 Geo. III c. 46 (1819)

In 1896, three men left Sydney on prospecting trips with a man using the name Frank Butler. None returned. When their bodies were discovered, police launched an international manhunt that ended aboard the Swanhilda in San Francisco. This episode follows the Blue Mountains murders, Butler’s many aliases, the investigation, trial, and the questions that still remain about his true identity and possible victims.For more exclusive content check out our Patreon at patreon.com/historicaltruecrimeSource Materials Jason K. Foster, The Devil’s Butterfly: Hunting Australia’s First Serial Killer (2024) The Sydney Morning Herald, 1896–1897 The Argus, 1896 The Queenslander, 1897 The West Australian, 1897 The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 1897 The Western Mail, 1897 Russell O. Atkinson, “Amazing Story of Blue Mountain Murders,” Townsville Daily Bulletin, 1952

In 1894, eighteen-year-old Frank Westwood was shot at the door of his Toronto home. Weeks later, Clara Ford confessed, then recanted. Her sensational trial raised questions about police interrogation, race, gender and the reliability of theevidence. The murder remains unsolved.Check out our Patreon at patreon.com/historicaltruecrimeSource Materials Patrick Brode, Death in the Queen City: Clara Ford on Trial, 1895  Carolyn Whitzman, Clara at the Door with a Revolver Carolyn Strange, “Wounded Womanhood and Dead Men: Chivalry and the Trials of Clara Ford and Carrie Davies” Barrington Walker, Race on Trial: Black Defendants in Ontario’s Criminal Courts, 1858–1958 Barrington Walker’s review of Death in the Queen City Contemporary coverage from Toronto newspapers including the Globe, Toronto Mail, Toronto World, Toronto Telegram, Evening Star and NewsArchival court and police material cited in the above works, including Chancellor John Alexander Boyd’s benchbooks, Toronto Police records and the 1871 Canadian census Interviews and published commentary by Carolyn Whitzman discussing her research into Clara Ford’s life and the later mythology surrounding the case

In 1935, two mutilated bodies were discovered beneath a bridge near Moffat, Scotland. The victims had been deliberately made difficult to identify, but an extraordinary forensic investigation using anatomy, dental records, photographic superimposition, fingerprints and blood evidence slowly led police back to Dr. Buck Ruxton and his home in Lancaster.Check out our Patreon for bonus episodes, exclusive content and more ways to support Historical True Crime: Patreon.com/HistoricalTrueCrimeSource Materials Jeremy Craddock, The Jigsaw MurdersR. H. Blundell and G. Haswell Wilson, eds., Trial of Buck Ruxton (Notable British Trials, 1937)John Glaister and James Couper Brash, Medico-Legal Aspects of the Ruxton Case (1937)Bertie James Hammond, “Finger Prints and the Ruxton Murders,” Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Vol. 43, No. 6 (1953)“Medico-Legal Aspects of the Ruxton Case,” contemporary medical journal review (1938)Capital Punishment UK, “Dr. Buck Ruxton – The ‘Jigsaw Murders’ of 1935”Glasgow Police Museum, “The Ruxton Murders – 1935”Vickie Scullard, “The chilling story of Jigsaw Killer Dr Buck Ruxton – and the Manchester trial that made history,” Manchester Evening News, July 19, 2020U.S. National Library of Medicine, Visible Proofs: Forensic Views of the Body — Buck Ruxton / Jigsaw Murders case materials