Post by cruororism on Oct 10, 2003 20:07:39 GMT
The Notorious Case of Dr Crippen (1862 - 1910)[/u]
At 2pm on the 30 June 1910, John Edward Nash and his actress wife Lil visited the Criminal Investigation Department at New Scotland Yard. They wished to report the disappearance of a friend, Belle Elmore, (also known as Cora Crippen) who had mysteriously gone missing in February 1910. She was the wife of one 'Doctor' Peter Hawley Harvey Crippen of 39 Hilldrop Crescent, Camden Town, London.
On 20 February that year Mr and Mrs Nash had attended a ball given by the Music Hall Benevolent Fund. 'Doctor' Crippen was there, accompanied by his typist Miss Le Neve, who was wearing what appeared to be a valuable brooch belonging to Mrs Crippen. Mr and Mrs Nash sailed for New York in March, where they were told by a friend that Mrs Crippen was dead. On their return to England they had asked Dr Crippen where his wife had died, and he had replied "Some little town near San Francisco, with a Spanish name I think." The couple were unconvinced by Crippen's evasive response to their questions, and began to suspect foul play.
Chief Inspector Walter Dew who conducted the investigation felt the circumstances of Belle Elmore's disappearance were certainly mysterious, and said in his report:
"It will be gathered from the forgoing that there are most extraordinary contradictions in the story told by Crippen, who is an American citizen, as is Mrs Crippen, otherwise known as Belle Elmore... without adopting the suggestion made by her friends as to foul play, I do think that the time has now arrived when 'Doctor' Crippen should be seen by us and asked to give an explanation as to when, and how, Mrs Crippen left this country, and the circumstances under which she died..."
On 8 July Chief Inspector Dew and Sergeant Mitchell visited Crippen's home where they met Ethel Le Neve, described in their report as Crippen's housekeeper. When confronted by the officers, Crippen apparently panicked and changed his story, saying:
"I suppose I had better tell the truth, all my stories about her illness and death are untrue, so far as I know she is not dead at all."
He explained that his wife had eloped with a lover and he had felt too humiliated to admit this, and so invented the story of her death. The officers searched his house, but found nothing suspicious, and, satisfied with his explanation, left. Dew told Crippen he would be returning to clear up some details the next day, but when the police returned Crippen and Le Neve had also disappeared. The police made several visits to 39 Hilldrop Crescent, where Dew eventually discovered Cora's headless filleted remains buried under the coal cellar floor.
On 16 July Dew attended Bow Street Police Court and obtained a warrant for the arrest of Crippen and Le Neve. A major hunt for the couple began. The captain of the SS Montrose saw a newspaper report about the wanted pair in a foreign newspaper, and became suspicious of two of his passengers who had boarded at Antwerp. He sent a message via the Marconi telegraph on 22 July which read:
"Have strong suspicion that Crippen London Cellar murderer and accomplice are amongst saloon passengers. Moustache shaved off, growing a beard. Accomplice dressed as a boy, voice, manner and build undoubtedly a girl."
Stockhom Police appeal
The ship owners sent his reports to the press and to the police, and the public avidly followed the chase as Drew crossed the Atlantic on the SS Laurentic and arrested Crippen before he could land at Montreal.
The pathologist Sir Bernard Spilsbury was crucial to the prosecution, establishing from an old operation scar and a fringe of hair that the remains of the buried woman really were those of Cora Crippen.
Crippen was tried at the Central Criminal Court and found guilty of the murder of his wife. He was hanged at Pentonville prison on 28 November 1910. Ethel Le Neve was acquitted of complicity in the murder.
Dew published his memoirs 'I Caught Crippen' (1938). How and where Crippen disposed of Cora's head and skeleton was never established.
At 2pm on the 30 June 1910, John Edward Nash and his actress wife Lil visited the Criminal Investigation Department at New Scotland Yard. They wished to report the disappearance of a friend, Belle Elmore, (also known as Cora Crippen) who had mysteriously gone missing in February 1910. She was the wife of one 'Doctor' Peter Hawley Harvey Crippen of 39 Hilldrop Crescent, Camden Town, London.
On 20 February that year Mr and Mrs Nash had attended a ball given by the Music Hall Benevolent Fund. 'Doctor' Crippen was there, accompanied by his typist Miss Le Neve, who was wearing what appeared to be a valuable brooch belonging to Mrs Crippen. Mr and Mrs Nash sailed for New York in March, where they were told by a friend that Mrs Crippen was dead. On their return to England they had asked Dr Crippen where his wife had died, and he had replied "Some little town near San Francisco, with a Spanish name I think." The couple were unconvinced by Crippen's evasive response to their questions, and began to suspect foul play.
Chief Inspector Walter Dew who conducted the investigation felt the circumstances of Belle Elmore's disappearance were certainly mysterious, and said in his report:
"It will be gathered from the forgoing that there are most extraordinary contradictions in the story told by Crippen, who is an American citizen, as is Mrs Crippen, otherwise known as Belle Elmore... without adopting the suggestion made by her friends as to foul play, I do think that the time has now arrived when 'Doctor' Crippen should be seen by us and asked to give an explanation as to when, and how, Mrs Crippen left this country, and the circumstances under which she died..."
On 8 July Chief Inspector Dew and Sergeant Mitchell visited Crippen's home where they met Ethel Le Neve, described in their report as Crippen's housekeeper. When confronted by the officers, Crippen apparently panicked and changed his story, saying:
"I suppose I had better tell the truth, all my stories about her illness and death are untrue, so far as I know she is not dead at all."
He explained that his wife had eloped with a lover and he had felt too humiliated to admit this, and so invented the story of her death. The officers searched his house, but found nothing suspicious, and, satisfied with his explanation, left. Dew told Crippen he would be returning to clear up some details the next day, but when the police returned Crippen and Le Neve had also disappeared. The police made several visits to 39 Hilldrop Crescent, where Dew eventually discovered Cora's headless filleted remains buried under the coal cellar floor.
On 16 July Dew attended Bow Street Police Court and obtained a warrant for the arrest of Crippen and Le Neve. A major hunt for the couple began. The captain of the SS Montrose saw a newspaper report about the wanted pair in a foreign newspaper, and became suspicious of two of his passengers who had boarded at Antwerp. He sent a message via the Marconi telegraph on 22 July which read:
"Have strong suspicion that Crippen London Cellar murderer and accomplice are amongst saloon passengers. Moustache shaved off, growing a beard. Accomplice dressed as a boy, voice, manner and build undoubtedly a girl."
Stockhom Police appeal
The ship owners sent his reports to the press and to the police, and the public avidly followed the chase as Drew crossed the Atlantic on the SS Laurentic and arrested Crippen before he could land at Montreal.
The pathologist Sir Bernard Spilsbury was crucial to the prosecution, establishing from an old operation scar and a fringe of hair that the remains of the buried woman really were those of Cora Crippen.
Crippen was tried at the Central Criminal Court and found guilty of the murder of his wife. He was hanged at Pentonville prison on 28 November 1910. Ethel Le Neve was acquitted of complicity in the murder.
Dew published his memoirs 'I Caught Crippen' (1938). How and where Crippen disposed of Cora's head and skeleton was never established.