“Behind closed doors, a secret relationship unfolded — and when it was exposed, it shook an entire city.”

In 1857, the sudden death of a young clerk seemed, at first, like another quiet tragedy in a crowded industrial city. But when arsenic was discovered in his body, investigators were forced to look beyond illness — and toward a hidden world of letters, secrecy, and forbidden intimacy.

At the centre of the case stood Madeleine Smith, a young woman from one of Glasgow’s most respectable families. Her private correspondence, never meant to be seen, became the centrepiece of a sensational trial that asked how far suspicion could go when proof remained elusive.

This week, the Archive revisits Scotland’s most infamous courtroom drama — a case that defined the verdict of Not Proven, exposed the cost of reputation, and left questions that still refuse to settle.

https://linktr.ee/MurderMostBritish

Wikipedia – Madeleine Smith (overview of the case) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeleine_Smith

Archive.org – Full text of The Trial of Madeleine Smith (digitised 1857 trial transcript) https://archive.org/stream/trialmadeleines00smitgoog/trialmadeleines00smitgoog_djvu.txt

Precognition and investigation coverage from the Glasgow Herald, Stirling Observer, Inverness Advertiser — reporting from April 1857 on the suspected poisoning and legal process. https://randomscottishhistory.com/2022/06/09/madeleine-smith-pre-trial-podcast/

National Records of Scotland blog (“Madeleine Hamilton Smith (1835–1928) – The Accused”) — summary of the case with legal and cultural framing. https://blog.nrscotland.gov.uk/2017/07/18/madeleine-hamilton-smith-1835-1928-the-accused/

Scottish Legal Podcast/article on how the Not Proven verdict still resonates in Scotland’s legal heritage. https://www.scottishlegal.com/articles/our-legal-heritage-new-forensic-science-podcast-puts-not-proven-madeleine-smith-case-under-the-microscope

Crime Chronicles

https://vocal.media/criminal/crime-chronicles-madeleine-smith

“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.

“For years, the streets of Port Talbot whispered of a killer who vanished with the dawn.”

In the early 1970s, three young women were murdered after nights out in South Wales — attacks that left a community fearful and police without answers. Decades later, new questions would emerge about what truly happened on those Saturday nights… and the man who escaped justice for so long.

This week, the Archive returns to South Wales, where three Saturday nights cast a shadow that lingered for decades.

Links for where to follow us!

https://linktr.ee/MurderMostBritish

The Guardian – Kevin Toolis (18 January 2003) The hunt for the Saturday Night Strangler https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/jan/18/wales.kevintoolis

The Guardian – Kevin Toolis (18 January 2003) DNA profile points to killer https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2003/jan/18/weekend.kevintoolis

The Independent (7 June 2002) DNA evidence ends 30-year hunt for killer and rapist https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/dna-evidence-ends-30year-hunt-for-killer-and-rapist-179326.html

BBC News (2 November 2000) DNA breakthrough in murder case http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/1002648.stm

BBC News (29 October 2001) Woodland murders ‘breakthrough’ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/1626078.stm

BBC News (11 June 2002) Missing girl ‘link’ to murders http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2038433.stm

Wikipedia – Joseph William Kappen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Kappen (Used as a tertiary reference only; facts verified against primary reporting.)

*Audio updated to remove silence gaps*

“They prowled the streets of Belfast by night — blades in hand, and hatred in their hearts.”

During the height of the Troubles, a loyalist gang led by Lenny Murphy turned sectarian terror into ritual murder. Their victims were chosen at random, their cruelty unmatched — a reign of blood that left even hardened detectives shaken.

This week, the Archive returns to Belfast in the 1970s, where the line between war and murder was carved in steel.

Links to where to follow us, Discord, and more!!

https://linktr.ee/MurderMostBritish

“He looked like the boy next door — until the doors began to close for good.”

Between 1995 and 1998, Stephen Akinmurele was linked to a string of brutal murders across the North West of England and the Isle of Man — crimes that exposed a quiet, calculating killer living behind an ordinary façade. What began in Manchester’s suburbs would widen across the Irish Sea, leaving behind a legacy of unanswered questions and silent victims.

This week, the Archive journeys from Manchester’s quiet cul-de-sacs to the misted streets of the Isle of Man, where ordinary life masked a gathering darkness.

Links to where to follow and Discord channel!

https://linktr.ee/MurderMostBritish

This episode is based on contemporaneous reporting and official police statements relating to this case. The suspect died in custody before the case could be heard in court, so there was never a trial and no court record to draw on.