“A murder in rural Northern Ireland in 1961 became something larger — and left a permanent mark on the justice system.”

In the early 1960s, a young woman vanished from her community, sparking fear in a place where crimes of this kind were rare and deeply unsettling. What followed was a rapid investigation and a case that would come to carry significance far beyond the events that first drew police attention.

As the story unfolded, it raised uncomfortable questions — not only about responsibility, but about punishment, finality, and the moment when the power of the state reaches its limit.

This week, the Archive examines a case remembered not just for what happened — but for what followed, and why it still echoes decades later.

Where to follow and links to Discord

https://linktr.ee/MurderMostBritish

SOURCES

Independent.ie (The Indo Daily) — Pearl Gamble story https://www.independent.ie/podcasts/the-indo-daily/the-indo-daily-the-pearl-gamble-story-and-the-last-man-to-hang-in-northern-ireland/a927411546.html

Belfast Telegraph

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/the-last-man-to-be-hanged-in-ulster/28263256.html

Harry Allen (executioner of McGladdery)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Allen_(executioner)

Robert McGladdery (Wikipedia) — Last hanging in NI

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_McGladdery

The Newry Journal

https://www.newryjournal.co.uk/history/living-history/mcgladdery-as-chief-suspect/

https://www.newryjournal.co.uk/history/living-history/mcgladdery-walks-the-route/

https://www.newryjournal.co.uk/history/living-history/mcgladdery-cleans-his-trail/

https://www.newryjournal.co.uk/history/living-history/mcgladdery-buys-murder-weapon/

https://www.newryjournal.co.uk/history/living-history/mcgladdery/ https://www.newryjournal.co.uk/history/living-history/the-long-wait-mcgladdery/ https://www.newryjournal.co.uk/reminiscence/characters/dickie-talks-of-mcgladdery/

“A disappearance in Glasgow became something far more disturbing — and left questions that have never fully settled.”

In April 2011, Lynda Spence vanished after an ordinary day in the city. At first, there was no sign of struggle, no clear explanation — just absence.

As police worked to trace her final movements, the picture that emerged grew darker, pointing toward confinement, control, and a level of cruelty rarely encountered even in the most serious investigations.

This week, the Archive examines a case defined not by speed, but by duration — where what happened after the disappearance matters more than the moment she was last seen.

Links to where to follow and Discord

https://linktr.ee/MurderMostBritish

Sources

Appeal Against Conviction And Sentence By Philip Wade And Colin Coats Against Her Majesty's Advocate

https://vlex.co.uk/vid/appeal-against-conviction-and-878398540

Police Scotland - Update - Lynda Spence murder - 2011

https://www.scotland.police.uk/what-s-happening/news/2022/march/update-lynda-spence-murder-2011

The Kidnap and Murder of Lynda Spence (Channel 5)

https://www.channel5.com/the-kidnap-and-murder-of-lynda-spence

The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/apr/08/lynda-spence-murder-two-convicted

BBC News — Missing persons enquiries and initial disappearance reporting https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-22013752

BBC News — Follow-up reporting on sightings and investigation details https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-22064366

BBC News — Coverage of the case in later years https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-22068323

BBC News — Recent coverage (2022) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-60765214

Sky News

https://news.sky.com/story/lynda-spence-two-jailed-for-torture-murder-10449357

“She laughed at the crime scenes — and smiled through the blood.”

In March 2013, Joanna Dennehy carried out a series of killings later known as the Peterborough Ditch Murders — three men murdered in just ten days, their bodies left in remote Cambridgeshire ditches.

This episode traces the violence from its quiet beginnings to its abrupt end, examining a case defined not by rage or desperation, but by intention. A rare and unsettling insight into a killer who described murder as something she wanted to feel.

Where to follow us and our Discord!

https://linktr.ee/MurderMostBritish

• The Queen v Dennehy, Stretch, Layton & Moore — Sentencing remarks of Mr Justice Spencer (28 February 2014) https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/JCO/Documents/Judgments/the-queen-v-dennehy-sentencing-remarks-28022014.pdf
• High Court of England and Wales — Judgment on Joanna Dennehy v Secretary of State for Justice (2016) https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/dennehy-v-ministry-of-justice-1.pdf
• The Guardian — Serial killer loses claim for rights violations over solitary confinement (26 May 2016) https://www.theguardian.com/law/2016/may/26/serial-killer-loses-claim-for-rights-violations-over-solitary-confinement

• The Guardian —https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/nov/18/woman-admits-murdering-men-stabbed-ditches?
• BBC News — https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-26124076 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-35840866 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-25669206

Daily Mail, New York Post, and related tabloids Referenced only to acknowledge post-trial media fascination and public narratives; not treated as primary factual sources.