The last story reminds me of one of the stranger stories I came across in my genealogy travels. I was helping a Hungarian colleague to trace the fate of a family member who had left Hungary following the 1956 uprising. The guy had moved to California and married a South American woman. Later in life when in a nursing home and dementia was setting in he confessed to one of his carers that he had killed his wife and buried her in a nearby woodland. The carer reported this to the police. The tragedy was that noone had ever reported the wife as missing. He was charged with murder and spent his final days in a prison nursing home.
I did read the comment of a nurse who worked in an old people's home. She said they regularly had horrified staff reporting old people confessing to murders - and a couple of staff realised the old people were telling the stories of the movies they'd watched the last week. So you have to be careful about confessions.
@@Ironclockwork I think it is terrific to , everyday , learn something new of historical interest . I also think that you are terrific in your interest in learning. Would it be too forward to say that we have something in common ? For I too believe that reading , learning and most importantly - understanding history and context , is both stimulating and essential to the present and future. And thank you for replying because I was only hoping to quickly help with my little bit of learning , so to speak . Best wishes.
@@alexandradane3672 I too agree that understanding history and its contextual nuances is critical for human and societal development. Far too many people today do not do so. It is a shame.
Your videos always get an automatic like even before I play them because I know the story you're telling will be interesting and entertaining. You are a master storyteller. Top notch!
I wonder if the DNA Doe project would be willing to give her back her name. Between them an forensic genealogist companies it could be done. Someone just has to bring the case to them
@@melindarm1975 This all happened in England. Embalming is still quite rare in Northern Europe and definitely would not have happened during the war. It also seems very unlikely that Bella went through a funeral home before ending up the way she did.
I've been thinking a lot about your last question this week. Is it right that a 90+ year old man evades justice because of his age? Well, if you recall in Canada a few days ago they gave a standing ovation to an elderly SS officer... that old man (allegedly) committed many of his crimes near where I live, possibly even on my street. There are still a few very elderly witnesses alive, and many of his (alleged) victims' children and grandchildren still live here. They deserve some sort of closure. And I added allegedly because I do believe in innocent until proven guilty, even for the most heinous of crimes. But murder has no statute of limitations, so whether you're 19 or 90 you should stand trial. I'd even be open to him appearing via zoom or something if he's genuinely too ill or frail to travel, but I think it's important that the truth comes out.
In the USA we'd imprison someone on hospice. Remember watching a documentary a while back about a (probable) Nazi we found that was about 75-85 years old and we revoked his visa and sent him to Germany. We weren't sure he was one but his pics sure looked like him
He admitted it so the truth is out. England would have to spend a ton of money; transportation, court costs, so he can die in a London Hospital, or spend a month in prison. Doesn't England rule over Canada? Canada should just hold him. I remember a case of a serial killer left the US and was caught in Canada and Canada wouldn't send him back.
One of my father's books fascinated me: *The Good Old Days-- They Were Terrible!* It's a fun, eye opening read, and worth seeing if your library can borrow a copy. Cheers!
I was just at the local barber shop in my small town In South Dakota, USA. We got to talking about "the good old day's. While I have some warm memories of what I consider those days, in the mid-late 1950's, growing up on a dirt poor farm, my father etching a living from the small farm he received from his father upon his death, he was forced to take on his fathers debts as well because of some unforeseen ruling by a Federal Judge. So 1/3 of every dollar he earned went to the Federal Government and finding enough money to buy both groceries, gas and whiskey was difficult. Often we lived off cottontail rabbits, game birds and an occasional deer usually taken out of season with dad's .22 rifle. Winters were damn cold in that old house grandfather built in 1910 with newspapers tacked inside the walls to block the draft, tarpaper nailed on the outside of the house, we often woke in the morning, having spent the night on the second story seeing heavy frost on the roofing nails that stuck through the unfinished ceiling. Light at night came from kerosene lamps, the Aladdin lamps were reserved for company. We had a battery pack radio that was well regulated and kept atop a tall writing desk, out of reach of we children. But it made for a good imagination, in fact I have sold some fiction in my day when I have the urge to take up pen and express myself, and mom is still with us, now 96 years old living in the nursing home a few blocks from the house I purchased when I returned to our home town after a career in law enforcement. I know they were not that great, but we thought we had something back then. When we moved to town because heavy smoking and drinking took it's toll on fathers health, we learned that we in fact, had nothing at all. After 71 years on this old rock, I have some great memories, the best of which were made with my wonderful wife by my side, after 51 years and 4 days she was taken from me by the evil that is Cancer. It has been over two years since I lost her, not a day has gone by that I have not shed a tear when I think of her lovely face, and how I held her hand for her last 2 days on earth, until well after her soul departed to be with God.
Wonderful grouping of "crime noir" stories from the forties. My mum and dad grew up in Central England, Bradford and Brighouse. I can almost imagine the setting and the characters! Well done!!
Don't know many details but in 1944 when my nan was a small baby her mum was raped and killed. No one has ever been convicted for it but from the rumours I've heard the guy was likely an American soldier who then disappeared to France. My nan never knew her mother's full name and was adopted soon after the incident. She never showed it but we all think the lack of closure tormented her till she dies in 2003.
I appreciate the classy and professional manner in which this video is presented. The narrator/presenter speaks well, doesn't use profane and/or obscene language, calmly presents the material in an intelligent and objective manner, and he dresses professionally, rather than like a teen hipster or street thug.
Yes, I do think it's worth making people face justice despite their age. Too often criminals get considerations that they never gave their victims and the victims are left suffering, while the perpetrator just carries on with life until they are too old to face justice.
Agreed Pam I Am!! It's abhorrent and insulting to know that all those who committed The Holocaust got way with it, to live long, happy, successful lives - and raise familes - while their millions of victims didn't!! I never forget the image of that poor young Polish girl Czesława Kwoka.
Absolutely. I hate when they beg lienency because they are on oxygen, in wheelchair, have high blood pressure etc.... So what! At least you get to get old. Your victims didn't!!!!!!
@Tessa Ducek Agreed! I remember some big mafia prosecutions years ago, where the dons were all on oxygen and in wheelchairs! Such a joke! And yesterday, Harvey Weinstein also on oxygen and in a wheelchair!! He still got 16yrs jail time!! 😊👍
Happy Birthday Paul! May your birthday be a super joyous one. Your kindness, compassion, generosity, and loving ways knows no bounds. I’m going to try to donate to the research, because I lost my mom on July 3rd of 1997 from aggressive breast cancer. She was only 47 when she passed away. I’m very sure that the guy in the first story felt like his family was a pain in his behind, but his son had made him feel what a pain in the behind actually felt like.
Poor “Bella.” It strikes me as so sad that she was never reported missing by anyone, and never claimed after her remains were found. Hearing about the clothing she wore, I couldn’t help but imagine her putting on that pretty taffeta slip, her skirt, sweater and belt on what turned out to be the last day of her life. It is such a mark of how she was a young woman like so many we all know. And yet to this day, no one knows who she was in life. I wonder if there is anyway to use forensic DNA where they trace the victim’s DNA to known DNA and create a family tree, to see if they can place her within a given family. Whoever she was, I hope she is resting in peace.
I work at morgue. It is not a rare occurrence even today, that a dead person is just don't needed. Like 1-2 times in couple of weeks there is a rotting body, because no one noticed that he died. Sometimes bodies are just kept in a fridge, until it is buried by city administration, and none of the family member care. Sometimes it happens
Thank you so much for this compilation of vintage tales Paul. We do so appreciate all the hard work and research you put into it. You also have a wonderful speaking voice. I can understand every word you say, which in this day and age is a lot to be desired!
I have just now found this channel, and am I ever impressed with the details given in each case, and with the urbane and avuncular personality of the narrator. Please keep up the good work!
Hello from Tennessee in the USA! I especially enjoyed this myriad of tales! Thank you so much for the informative way in which you format and spin the stories of crimes against humanity always giving the victim the voice they never had.
@@cruisepaige gee, look at you taking a compliment from a hillbilly and turning it into some sort of grammar lesson. I must have mistakenly thought that this was my comment and could be written as I would like it to be written. Should I be in need of your services as the grammar police in the future I will be inclined to let you know.
I am very glad that you got through it all and can continue to work on your channel. I think you are a really good actor, have a wonderful voice and the right charisma for podcasts and as a moderator of your show well I never as well ^^
Hi! A Rayleigh citizen here! The Bath chair murder was absolutely true and this story mentioned it perfectly! The poor man was said to of been spread over 1.4 Meters away from the explosion site! I live in the high street not far from the scene. Also! Thank you so much for sharing this peice of the town’s history and many to not pay attention or recognize it.
@@packerman7410 Yeah, however, in the Rayleigh town museum it has its own section, there it talks about the incident in much more detail, and that’s why I feel sympathetic towards the man, it goes through his past and everything.
I love your channel SOO much! Thank you for your superior content and sensational narration. What a favorite of mine you most certainly are and I am very grateful 🌷🌷🌷
I always wonder how you would feel, if supposedly on your death bed you confessed to a terrible crime- then lived. However it's just occurred to me that perhaps sometimes confession was a type of boast, rather than a clearing of the conscience. We are always being shown, in fiction, that criminals and killers like to boast. It must be worse if you've gotten away with it for thirty or forty years. Nobody to appreciate how clever you've been, so, assured you're dying, you tell your story. (Aunty will forever be remembered if she confesses to killing those three husbands!) Then you close your eyes and wait for death's soft touch...only to wake up twelve hours later to find a policeman standing guard.
Yes, a policeman standing guard and one's wrist being shackled onto the guardrail of one side of the hospital bedstead as well as a shackled ankle for good measure.
These stories were all interesting, but sad too, it's too bad these things happen unfortunately. Paul, I always enjoy your videos, always very respectfully done and well researched. I am glad you had choesen the CRI for your birthday fundraiser, I lost my husband Jack, to colon cancer in 2018, and my cousin Donna to breast cancer in 2009, you are a good man. Thank you.
How thoughtful of him to come clean now that he has nothing to lose. Considering the cost of extradition & court fees plus medical treatments & incarceration, tax payers shouldn't be burdened. However, he should be exposed, he doesn't deserve anonymity.
I certainly did say "well I never". I'd never heard of that sad murder in Rayleigh, Essex. I worked with a lady once whose father had become paraplegic following an industrial accident, and he held his whole family in fear of his temper. Despite him being confined to a wheelchair and unable to physically harm them, everyone in the house tiptoed around him and tried not to set him off. Incidentally, Rochford is pronounced with the CH as in cheese, not rock. It's a small village/town a few miles from Rayleigh. I regularly visit Rayleigh for a walk around the Rayleigh Mount and the high street small shops.
Thank you for your wonderful presentation and compassion toward your videos, the cases are intriguing and fully informative. You are a great host for this channel, and always watch everyone of your videos. Keep up the great work!
I don't know anything more about George Heath than what's presented here, but his picture doesn't show a man who deserved such a fate. He had kind eyes, and if he was willing to inconvenience himself for not one but two utter strangers, especially with one acting as oddly as Karl did, there was good in him. It's a hideous thing, that his death was what it took to find and arrest these two - and that his death came because he chose to be compassionate to strangers.
You answered your own question when you said the "nurse lowered him into the chair." When you are lowered into a chair you weigh less because of the counteracting force of the person lowering you. As you begin to settle into the seat we tend to use our arm on the armrests to settle more gently. This probably figured on dampening the momentum. Later when he wanted to smoke he shifted ( probably looking for his lighter.) Kaboom. Moral? Be kind.
My father joined the Metropolitan Police in 1937, after dropping out of university, by 1939 he was in the CID. When war was declared all CID were put back into uniform, this did not last long as it was realised that crime was rife and needed investigation. He told some very interesting tales of his time in the West End during the war.
An excellent line-up of cases today......hard to pick a favourite! Thank you! The English language can be so nuanced.....in my experience, 'well' can be spoken with a lot of air in the voice.....a pause for the comma and a 'big finish' with attitude for I NEVER!!
When two people, each living bizarre fantasies, meet each other and do things neither would do if they were alone, is referred to as "folie a deux". Like Leopold and Loeb in 1922 here in the United States.
Yes, but it sounds like they didn't need each other to be violent fantasists. Folie a deux is when neither would have committed violent or psychopathic acts by themselves, but the couple call evil up in each other.
@@bilindalaw-morley161 In this case it does apply. Neither had a record and together they committed several robberies, assaults, attempted murder, and murder. Can guarantee they wouldn’t have done it on their own or they would’ve already been getting in trouble.
So Archibald was physically abusive, which is disgusting. I wonder why the wife and children just didn’t go upstairs or outside, since Archibald couldn’t chase them due his physical limitations . Also, just take his damn bell away so he wouldn’t be able to pester his family about trivial matters. There are all different ways of avoiding someone who has impaired mobility. The man terrorized his family and his son thought of a fail proof method of getting rid the family abuser. No sympathy here for Archibald. Too bad the family couldn’t find a different way of getting away from Archibald that wasn’t illegal.
He would likely yell and make a racket, if he didn't have the bell. They could leave the house and ignore him, but eventually had to return. His abuse was probably worse, when they didn't jump to his every whim. The only peace they had was when he was away for a walk with his nurse. Too bad she was injured in the explosion. Blowing him up was an extreme plan, though. The son could have poisoned him or shoved him down some stairs. I think the son wanted it to be over the top and severely punishing to his father.
@@mimsydreams They should have soundproofed a room, put him in room and just attend to him for basic needs, or put him in a facility so they didn’t have to deal with his crap. You right about the son killing him the way he did. I definitely think he was making a statement. It was the ultimate F**k you and seriously, sounds like the old bugger deserved it. I don’t recommend doing it though, since it is illegal. I’m just talking theoretically. 🙂
@Lauriej117 They'd get reported for abuse, probably. He still needed outside healthcare, and nurses and doctors would know he was locked away and ignored. He was handicapped, not feeble. Anyways... Never be cruel to the people who love you enough to try to care for you when you're unable to care for yourself. Never know who has access to mines 🤣
@@mimsydreams I know they couldn’t lock him away and ignore him so their best option was to put him a facility. And yes it’s a good idea not to bother someone who has access to explosives.🙂
This is such a great channel - great presenter, really thorough research, down to impeccable details, and also brilliant use of contemporary photos and, for earlier cases, artwork 🙏🏽 Oh, and really sensitive use of background sounds and music, not like some documentaries in which there is some crashing row going on over which it is almost impossible to hear the narration 😮 💯 ❤
I know it's very unlikely that you'll actually see this, but I have to say I love your sense of style. So, so dapper, I'm almost jealous. Thanks for everything you share with us. I hope you are well and having a great day!
@@yzettasmith4194 I knew her in my childhood. She was a regular drinker, if she had too much to drink she would often tell people after a drink "do yo know who I am? I'm Betty the murderer" I don't think she had a very happy life.
I love your 19th century British Crime storys. Keep em coming. You're the best at it in my book and i watch alot. PS WHAT WLD HAPPEN IF THEY JUST IGNORED BULLY ARCHIBALDS DEMANDS. Wld have been a smarter move or rather, non move..
Coming from the Black Country (near to Birmingham and Hadley) I grew up hearing the story of Bella in the Wych Elm. Even now, "Who put Bella in the Wych Elm" still appears on walls etc. I doubt we'll ever find out who Bella was but her legend will live on
I truly despise people who make confessions like murder on their death beds. They never cared about the victim but only for themselves and what retribution they could face. I believe a confession isn’t enough, the perpetrator needs to have worked to make amends.
Death bed confession story. 2 men fought on one of Canada’s islands. One man shot & killed the other. He was arrested but escaped & ran to the US. 20 or 30 years later, he became I’ll and near death. At that time he decided to confess for his crime. 5 days later he recovered, was arrested and returned to Canada, he escaped again.
If a police composite was made of Margaret's killer (and still exists), the police could do a comparison between that and photos of the 91 year old from the time of the murder (give or take 5 -10 years). Then do a background check to see if he even was near the area at the time.
With the Margaret Cook case, at least it's no longer a cold case. And killing someone with an anti tank grenade? My wife heard this and she said she can't believe someone actually thought of that. That's a classic.
I grew up in Rayleigh and that tale is notorious. I can remember my dad telling me that one of his limb was found in a tree. Wonderfully, it's not far from a haunted pub that, as legend has it, has a secret underground passage to another pub where we may have had gallows.
The bath chair story made me laugh out loud. I watched this upload over a week ago and had to return to cheer me up after waking up this afternoon with a bad hangover. It's so funny I have had to share it. I know laughing is in bad taste but it is absolutely hilarious.
1:57 usually things from history look worse than what they do now, but that chair looks awesome! The dog on the woman’s chair made me smile. Probably not as mobile as they are nowadays though.
Sooooo, what's wrong with me that I grinned when he said where Archibald's legs ended up? One last trip around the block eh?!! Yep, something is seriously wrong with me ;)
I was born in Southend and went to school in Rayleigh, I practically grew up there, and hearing about all the crazy goings-on that I never knew about in places I'm so familiar with is mind-blowing!!
Hello Paul so glad to see your back with another amazing video as always my friend sensational job I always enjoy your videos keep up the sensational job
Case #1 The "bath chair" looks like a big old baby stroller! It does look like it could be comfy, though. 😅😅 Edit: It sounds as if the HORRENDOUS fate of Archibald couldn't have happened to a better person! Too bad for poor Doris though. 😢😢
I think is best that the 91-year-old was let be. He had a death sentence anyway, and I wouldn’t want to discourage other confessions. It does give some closure. It’s also true that despite the terrible thing he’d done, from what you’ve said, it sounds like he hadn’t gone in to a life of violence and crime. At 91, after living a peaceful life and dying of severe illness, he’s no threat to anyone, and there’s no reason to rehabilitate or incarcerate. In some ways, it was brave of him to come forward, risking his children’s and friends’ opinions of him, when he could have easily taken it to the grave. Maybe some mercy could inspire others to come forward and do the right thing.
