Hawley Harvey Crippen was a homoeopath, ear and eye specialist and a medicine dispenser
from the United States.
His life ended in a rather unconventional manner, in nineteen-o-ten, Dr. Crippen was
hanged in Pentonville Prison in London.
He was the first person to be captured with the aid of wireless telegraphy… so..
What exactly did he do?
-intro-
On the twentieth of July nineteen-o-ten the SS Manrose sailed from Antwerp to Quebec.
Among its passengers were a Mister Robinson and his son.
These two had a rather… intimate relationship not appropriate for relatives, and their…
PDA… caught the attention of captain Henry George Kendall.
It wouldn’t take long for Kendall to discover that the young man was not Mister Robinson’s
son, but a woman.
He remembered several news articles and figured that she must be disguised because she was
hiding from something or someone, most likely the British police.
He telegraphed his information to authorities: "Have strong suspicions that Crippen London
cellar murderer and accomplice are among saloon passengers.
Mustache taken off growing beard.
Accomplice dressed as boy.
Manner and build undoubtedly a girl.".
As the ship arrived in Canada, Mister Robinson, whose real name was Dr. Crippen, was arrested
by the Scotland Yard chief inspector Walter Dew.
This was the last chapter in a series of tragic events for Dr Crippen that took off when he
arrived in England in nineteen-hundred.
His second wife, Cora Henrietta Crippen, with whom he married in the United States, accompanied
him to England ten years earlier.
Her dream was to become an actress, but she lacked talent and sought comfort in high society
life.
Her husband, Dr Crippen, may have been able to tolerate her flocks of admirers, extravagant
lifestyle and violent domestic rows, if he hadn’t fallen in love with his secretary.
A pretty classic story, isn’t it.
In february nineteen-ten Dr. Crippen announced to friends and associates that his wife had
moved to the United States, and shortly thereafter, he announced her unfortunate death.
Ethel de Neve, his secretary, moved in with him, telling her family that she worked as
his housekeeper.
Acquaintances of Ethel didn’t really trust the situation and involved the police, namely
chief inspector Walter Dew, from Scotland Yard.
The investigation didn’t lead to anything, as nothing was found, and inspector Dew accepted
Crippen’s explanation, who stated that he lied about his wife’s death because he wanted
to prevent the public scandal of admitting that his wife had left him.
Unfortunately for Crippen, the inspector returned to clear up some details.
When he returned, the house was abandoned.
Crippen and le Neve didn’t know the inspector was satisfied with the explanation and they
fled in a panic.
Eventually, the remains of Crippen’s wife were found under the basement floor, as Crippen
and le Neve boarded the SS Manrose on their way to Canada, still a dominion of the British
Empire back then.
As I mentioned, captain Kendall recognized them and telegraphed Scotland Yard, upon which
inspector Dew boarded the SS Laurentic, a ship that would arrive in Quebec before the
SS Manrose.
He managed to board the ship Dr. Crippen was on as the Montrose sailed onto the Saint Lawrence
River.
Crippen and le Neve were arrested by Dew on the Montrose, and shipped back to England.
It was the first arrest made with the aid of wireless telegraphy.
During Dr. Crippen’s trial the prosecution made extensive use of medical and scientific
evidence.
Whoever murdered Cora, they had nearly managed to make the body disappear, and it was only
possible to identify it through a small visible abdominal scar.
Furthermore, it was difficult to convince the jury that hyoscine, a toxic drug, was
used to poison the victim.
Crippen’s defense argued that he accidentally gave his wife too much hyoscine, panicked
as she got unwell, and attempted to hide the body.
There is no reason to assume Crippen wasn’t a good doctor, it is more likely that he was
a clever murderer.
Crippen was found guilty and sentenced to death.
He was hanged in nineteen-o-ten, whereas his partner in crime, le Neve, was acquitted and
emigrated to the United States on the morning of Crippen’s execution.
And that’s how wireless telegraphy put an abrupt halt to Dr Crippen, who nearly escaped
justice after his crime passionel.
Thank you for watching this video and do you know a person with a curious life story that
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