Forner Crimewatch UK presenter Rav Wilding is no stranger to playing detective. After all, the former Metropolitan police officer has spent much of his professional life looking at cold cases.
Which is why he is the first guest on a new true crime podcast that examines potential miscarriages of justice from over a hundred years ago. Rav isn’t the only one who likes to hone his detecting skills. According to new research, super-sleuth Brits have gone from playing armchair detectives watching TV murder mysteries to digital detectives, with more than half of UK adults admitting they ‘investigate’ high-profile crimes online.
From the identity of Jack the Ripper to the disappearance of Lord Lucan, the murder of Jill Dando and trying to work out what happened to missing Suzy Lamplugh and Claudia Lawrence, we are morbidly fascinated by these unsolved cases.
Now, a second series of the hugely popular podcast, Was Justice Served?, from UK genealogy website Findmypast has just launched for digital detectives keen to do some real sleuthing with old documents.
The series re-examines six historical cases discovered in old press cuttings, including the Daily Express, from over a hundred years ago. It offers a refreshing twist on the true crime format loved by so many.
By giving free access to case files – a set of historical records detailing events as they happened – for each crime, listeners can become jurors and decide for themselves whether justice was served.
Hosted by top criminologist Professor David Wilson, alongside genealogist Jen Baldwin, Rav joins them to re-examine the notorious murder of Mary Emsley – the so-called “Wealthy Widow of Stepney” in episode one.
Mary lived alone and frugally, despite owning over 1,000 properties across the East End slums that she had inherited from her husband. On October 22, 1860, the unpopular landlady was found murdered in her home in Stepney.
A long, drawn-out police investigation followed with any actual hard evidence thin on the ground. Eventually a huge reward was offered and James Mullins, a petty criminal from Ireland, was tried and convicted. He was one of the last hangings at Newgate Prison, attracting a baying crowd of over 300 people.
It was a case that shocked the country. Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was so horrified by the outcome of the trial (which showed that the same evidence that could prove innocence could also be used to prove guilt) that he penned ‘The Debatable Case of Mrs. Emsley’ article for The Sphere in 1901.
Having looked back on all the available evidence today, Rav believes justice wasn’t served in this case.
“This was a fascinating and highly controversial case – both at the time and in the decades after,” he says. “It shows just how difficult it was for investigators at the time, not having the forensic science and technology we have available to us today.
“The victim was not well-liked in her community so the pool of possible suspects was extensive. There were several key people in her circle who I would have expected further inquiry into, such as her alleged lover and relations who stood to inherit.
“The evidence presented at court was flimsy, and in the end it came down to the prosecution offering a better narrative than the defence.
“Ultimately, what I think was missing was a convincing motive. In my opinion, justice was not served in this case – and James Mullins paid the ultimate price.”
Rav believes if investigators at the time had had access to DNA technology and surveillance like Ring doorbells, the verdict would have been very different for Mullins.
The CrimeWatch presenter (which attracted 14 million viewers at its height) understands why people find cold cases so fascinating.
“They offer that thing we all love: mystery,” he says. “They are so compelling because we have an innate desire to get answers and make sense of the world.
“Crimes often send shockwaves through communities and the wider public, and we want to understand why they have happened and gain closure through a conviction.
“Historical crimes are the ultimate puzzle, and their context just adds to the intrigue. The idea of uncovering new developments in a cold crime case can feel thrilling, turning regular people into ‘digital detectives’ in their own homes.
Rav also reckons the explosion in online sleuths is because of the weath of information literally at their fingertips allowing them to “connect the dots and explore cases – like those we discuss on the new season of ‘Was Justice Served?’.”
Contrasting historical crime-fighting to his law enforcement career, he adds: “When I was a detective I worked on cases involving high level criminals such as serious assaults leaving life changing injuries, gun crime, drug dealers and the most serious sexual assault cases.
“Police need a lot of evidence these days to make an arrest, more still to authorise a charging decision, and then even more to be ready for a court trial. Many times if a case was at trial a result was not what I had anticipated.
“However I can honestly say I never once thought I saw a person wrongly convicted, but I can safely say I believe I’ve seen the guilty party get away with a crime.”
Other cases included in the podcast series that were reported extensively in the Daily Express at the time include the “Murderous Affair in Peasenhall”.
The murder of domestic servant Rose Harsent in May 1902 sent shockwaves through the nation and was reported extensively in the Express.
In the quiet Suffolk village of Peasenhall, 22-year-old Rose was murdered in the kitchen of her employer’s home during a stormy night. She was revealed to be pregnant by an unknown man.
The married choirmaster of the local Methodist chapel, William Gardiner, was arrested and charged with the murder. Rose had cleaned the chapel and the pair were rumoured to have been having an illicit affair. However there was a significant lack of evidence and as a result he was tried twice without the jurors coming to a decision.
In fact he is one of the few people in history to be tried for murder and never to have a either a guilty verdict or be formally acquitted. The case remains unsolved today.
Another case the team examines is that of “The Tichborne Imposter”, which the Daily Express reported on for a good century after it took place.
It centres on the story of Sir Roger Tichborne, the heir to a Hampshire baronetcy who had gone missing in a shipwreck off the coast of Brazil in 1854.
Over a decade later, his mother received a mysterious letter from Australia, signed ‘Sir Roger Tichborne, your son’.
The man claiming to be Roger travelled to meet her and the pair were reunited in Paris. She would maintain that he was her son until she died.
On her death, the wider family took him to court in a civil case to prove his identity was not that of the real Roger and remove his claim to the estate.
They were successful, and he was arrested and tried in a criminal court for perjury.
In the subsequent trial, over 200 witnesses were called, with compelling evidence given both ways. He was found guilty and sentenced to 14 years’ hard labour.
However, when he died, the Tichborne family allowed his coffin to bear the name “Sir Arthur Tichborne”.
New research by Findmypast reveals that our obsession with becoming digital detectives ourselves has been fueled by the growing popularity of true crime and the increasing accessibility of searchable online historical records. According to the research, crime-based entertainment, ranging from documentaries and books to podcasts and films, has inspired almost two-thirds (65%) of UK adults to dig deeper into unsolved cases.
Historical records highlight just how frequently crimes went unresolved in the past.
Between 1840 and 1914, the terms “unsolved murder” and “unsolved crime” appeared 760 times in UK newspapers.
Meanwhile, phrases like “baffled police” and “baffled investigators” featured more than 7,500 times, revealing just how many cases left Victorian-era law enforcement stumped.
Jen Baldwin, Research Specialist at Findmypast, says: “Online resources offer an abundance of information for those looking to start their crime sleuthing journey. Our new research shows that people not only dive into modern-day crimes, but are interested in crimes of the past and those within their own family tree.”
Remaining episodes for the podcast will go live weekly on Tuesdays, unpacking six historical crimes with big twists and turns along the way.
Other cases covered include a scandalous love triangle which led to the poisoning of the husband, a brutal murder fuelled by alcohol and love rivalry, two murders which occurred two weeks apart in the same town, and a shooting in a fascinating LGBTQ case. Whodunnit in each instance? That’s for you to decide.
- Was Justice Served? can be downloaded via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. For each episode, a complete collection of the historical newspapers referenced is available online at www.findmypast.co.uk/wasjusticeserved.
