Scotlands Murder Mysteries

In 1856 Glasgow debutante Madeleine Smith began a passionate affair with Emile LAngelier The two met in secret and wrote to each other frequently When her parents tried to have her ldquomarried offrdquo Madeleine abandoned her lover He threatened to use their letters to expose the affair Shortly afterward he was found dead from what was recorded as arsenic poisoning When the passionate letters

On the evening of December 21st 1908 Marion Gilchrist was left alone by her maid who went to buy a newspaper A few minutes later a neighbor heard loud knocks on the ceiling When he investigated he met the maid on the stairwell A man walked calmly past them smiled and exited the building The two proceeded into the flat to be confronted with the horrific sight of the old lady in the final throes of

On the morning of Marchnbsp17th 1926 the Merretts were breakfasting together when the servant heard a gunshot She found 55yearold Bertha lying bleeding from a head wound in the dining room Her son insisted she had shot herself It gradually came to light that Merrett had been defrauding his mother forging her checks to pay for his extravagance He was arrested in November 1926 The trial early the

Miss Jess McPherson worked at Sandyford Place part of gentrified Victorian Glasgow In the early hours of a weekend morning in 1862 her best friend Jessie found her badly beaten body in her basement bedroom Arrested and accused of killing her there was a public outcry when it became evident that McLachlans wealthy employers a family of accountants called Fleming were being protected by the

On Februarynbsp18th 1889 a shocking trial opened at the High Court in Edinburgh The defendant was a 27yearold woman accused of the murders of three babies Jessie King had no intention of keeping the babies she had taken in for money Vulnerable uneducated and penniless the young woman struggled to survive Could it be that Jessies lover took advantage of her easily manipulated nature Thirty years

To this day theres no way of knowing exactly what drove Dr Edward Pritchard to murder his doting wife and motherinlaw Not at all a lsquospurofthemoment act of madness Pritchard cruelly poisoned his wife to death over a long period of time Concerned about her daughters persistent illhealth Mrs Pritchards mother moved into the household to help as best she could But her stay there didnt last long

On New Years day 1878 Elizabeth Chantrelle wife of Eugene Chantrelle complained of illness By the following morning she was in great pain and distress Chantrelle began to insist that a gas leak had occurred Two doctors agreed that Elizabeth Chantrelles symptoms in no way indicated coal gas poisoning When she died Chantrelle made a great display of grief However on the day of her funeral he was

By day he was a mason and a locksmith By night he was a shady burglar who reaped rich rewards from acquaintances and clients These extracurricular activities shored up a louche lifestyle that involved two glamorous mistresses who did not know of each other five children and a serious gambling addiction Who was the man who inspired Stevensons Jekyll and Hyde And why does he remain such a figure of