Fresh Hell Podcast

In November 1995, 16-year-old Ruth Wilson vanished after leaving her home in Surrey. She didn't go to school as planned though. Instead she ordered some flowers, and took a taxi to a quiet rural lane near Box Hill. Then...she disappeared without a trace. Thirty years later, her family and investigators are still searching for answers. Was Ruth planning to run away? Did she meet someone that day? And why did she choose that isolated spot? In this episode, Annie and Johanna take a closer look at Ruth’s life, the timeline of her last known movements, the witness statements, and the theories surrounding her disappearance. Ruth Wilson, Surrey, Box Hill, missing person case, 1995 disappearance, UK true crime, unsolved mystery, teenage runaway theories, Betchworth, cold case investigation, Fresh Hell Podcast, missing teenager, British cold cases, Ruth Wilson case, true crime podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the final part of our Dr. Crippen series, we’re heading into the Old Bailey for one of the most sensational trials in Edwardian history. We’ll walk you through the courtroom, the personalities, the evidence, the theatrics, the “Saul Goodman–before-Saul-Goodman” defense strategy, and the moment the jury returned in just twenty-seven minutes. Part 4 brings the story to its end… or at least as close to an end as this case has ever gotten. Because more than a century later, Crippen’s guilt is still being argued, and the science is still being debated! drcrippen, hawleycrippen, belleelmore, ethelleve, crippentrial, oldbailey, edwardianlondon, pentonvilleprison, historicaltruecrime, coldcasehistory, freshhellpodcast, truecrimepodcast, truecrimehistory, forensiccontroversy, dnaforensics, londonhauntings, hauntedlondon, hilldropcrescent, crippeninnocent, crippenmystery, londoncrimehistory, crimearchives, truecrimecommunity, historicalmysteries, podcastseries Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Part 3 of our Crippen series, we follow the case across the Atlantic and back again. After the dramatic arrest aboard the Montrose, Inspector Dew brings Crippen and Ethel to Québec, where the crowds are already waiting and the extradition machinery kicks into motion. We cover their guarded return voyage, the secrecy, and the surprisingly calm behavior of a man accused of murder. Once back in London, Crippen and Ethel are met with angry crowds, Bow Street is overrun with reporters, and the British press enters full Crippen-mania. Ethel heads to Holloway, Crippen to Pentonville, and the city prepares for one of the most anticipated trials of the Edwardian era. Next stop: the Old Bailey. Hawley Harvey Crippen, Dr. Crippen, Ethel Le Neve, Inspector Walter Dew, SS Montrose, SS Megantic, Canada extradition, Québec City, Bow Street Police Court, Pentonville Prison, Holloway Prison, Edwardian true crime, Crippen return voyage, early forensic history, London murder case, historical manhunt, Crippen trial, Fresh Hell Podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Part 2 of our Crippen series, Scotland Yard finally agrees something isn’t right with Dr Crippen. Inspector Dew talks to Crippen, listens politely, and then decides he needs another look inside the house on Hilldrop Crescent. What he finds there ends any hope that Belle simply packed up and left. At the same time, Crippen and Ethel are already gone, traveling under new names, dressed as father and son, heading for Canada. They almost make it, too. But this is the moment in history when ships begin using wireless messages, and unfortunately for them, their captain happens to be paying very close attention. Before long, newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic are breathlessly reporting the chase as it happens. This is the episode where the Crippen case stops being a missing-person story and becomes a full-blown international manhunt! Hawley Harvey Crippen, Dr. Crippen, Belle Elmore, Cora Crippen, Ethel Le Neve, Inspector Walter Dew, Scotland Yard, Hilldrop Crescent, Edwardian London, early forensic history, historical crime, true crime 1910, Crippen escape, SS Montrose, Captain Kendall, Marconi wireless, first wireless manhunt, transatlantic pursuit, London murder case, Fresh Hell Podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

London, 1910: Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen and his wife, music-hall performer Belle Elmore, seem to have built the perfect Edwardian life... a tidy house in Holloway, polite manners, and a place in London’s social circle. But behind the facade of 39 Hilldrop Crescent, the marriage is falling apart. In this first part of the story, we look at who the Crippens really were: Hawley’s small-town upbringing in Michigan and his career in homeopathy, and Belle’s ambition to become a star of the London stage.When Belle disappears, and Dr. Crippen’s quiet secretary, Ethel Le Neve, suddenly takes her place, friends get suspicious. Dr Crippen, Hawley Harvey Crippen, Cora Crippen, Belle Elmore, Ethel Le Neve, Walter Dew, 39 Hilldrop Crescent, Holloway, London 1910, Edwardian era, homeopathy, Munyon’s Remedies, missing persons, true crime history, historical murder case, Fresh Hell Podcast, British true crime, Edwardian London, Music Hall Ladies Guild, P. T. Barnum comparison, Victorian morality, Crippen case part 1. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices