The Woman Hanged For Her Lover's Crime - The Story of Edith Jessie Thompson 

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Avis Graydon never married and died aged 80. Freddie should have stuck with her.

That was extremely cruel behaviour to her mother, to stop her from visiting or even knowing where her daughter was buried.

I love your channel. I'm spanish and your english is so well pronounced and your stories are slow narrated so i can follow them. Perfect understandable to me. Greetings from Barcelona.

We can judge Edith from two different perspectives: her criminal culpability and the way she conducted her affair. The first has been questioned and is to be considered by the Criminal Cases Review Commission. Regarding the second, she messed up badly, as she realised herself in the end. Writing from prison she admitted that, had she been able to talk to someone, the outcome may have been very different. Edith’s letters to Freddy reveal the stress and hurt typically caused by extramarital affairs. She was on an emotional roller coaster; at times euphoric, more often deeply depressed, and anxious about losing Freddy, stressed out by her own lies and deception. She realised too late that she had made bad decisions, probably driven by what we understand today as delusional love addiction. Her letters also reveal that both her husband and her lover experienced confusion, hurt and stress. Don’t have affairs. This is good advice, but they happen. For anyone facing such difficulties, Edith leaves a good lesson. Talk to someone, ideally a professional counsellor.

You have to have some gaul to bring your lover into the marital home and pose for photos like that. Even with the benefit of hindsight they look highly sus.

History and true crime go together so well!

Percy not wanting a divorce may have had nothing to do with loving his wife…but more to do with becoming accustomed to “a way of life” that her earnings had provided. I’d also be curious to learn how Percy spent his free time. Thank you for sharing this deadly One Promise Too Late.

It is revisionist history to think of her as the victim. They were both young and stupid, but that doesn't excuse what they did. You didn't mention the murdered man's family, much.

I wonder if her younger sister was bitter about the affair,.... something we shall never know.

My mother was cremated at the city of London cemetery. So many landmarks that have filled my life are in this story 😔...

No, she was guilty. Now the people interpret by the modern social and psychological build up a crime. But it's clear, that today as then, that the criminal intentions of a murder is always the same: intellectual authority of a murder. The claims about her innocence is just subjective point of view; before the Law and the scientific criminal science, she's so guilty as her lover, even more when is clear, she try to cover at the material murder. So, she pay the ultimate price for a treasonous conduct, and even a criminal co-conspiracy. Is good to know that Justice, at last was provided.

I introduced this to my mom . She loves it . May i ask where did you come from ? Meaning , Your an on screen and vocal professional. The quality and content are better than multi - million dollar productions . Many thanks from Baltimore Maryland USA

Well presented. I am a tad less sympathetic of the woman, but you make an excellent case.

Although I don't believe Edith was legally guilty of murder I also do not believe she was innocent. She was playing with the emotions of two men. Telling the younger, more inexperienced in relationships, man how horrible her huband was. While parading her lover around in her hubands face. If she was strong enough to have an illegal abortion with all that entailed she was strong enough to file for a contested divorce. I think she liked the stability of the relationship with her husband and the excitement of the affair. I'm also sure she felt quite adored when young Freddy got upset and vowed he would never treat her the way Percy did. And equally adored when Percy vowed he would woo her away from the likes of Freddy. I feel her actions cost two men their lives.Ultimately she played with fire for too long and finally got herself burned to a crisp.

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A modern-day legend has become established that Edith Thompson was a gifted fantasist, involved in a beautiful love affair which ended tragically, mainly because of 1920s morals and misogyny. That she was a victim of a miscarriage of justice is supported by rational legal analysis. The beautiful love affair is a myth, and the role of 1920s misogyny is a theory that can never be tested. Careful reading of Edith’s letters shows that her relationship with Freddy was badly troubled by his erratic commitment (his head told him to leave, his heart wanted to stay) and by her obsessive fear of losing his attention, which prompted her to engage in obsessive manipulation and deception. He felt obliged to rescue her and suggested murder, divorce, and elopement (clearly implied in the courtroom testimonies of both defendants). Edith faced a dilemma. It wouldn't do to take risks for an erratic young lover, but she feared losing him. To suggestions of murder she responded with absurd lies that she was poisoning her husband. To suggestions of divorce she responded with lies about Percy complaining to her father about her conduct. To suggestions of elopement she responded by becoming emotional and irrational (hysterical and highly strung according to Freddy's testimony in court). So the gifted lady with a fevered imagination turns out to be a love obsessed manipulator, wanting to keep her cake and eat it. The prisoner of 1920s morals turns out to be the instigator of a self-centred, toxic relationship of a kind that continues today to cause damage and hurt. Edith the gifted fantasist is more marketable as a narrative, so that has taken the place of less flattering but more likely explanations of her conduct. It is clear from comments to this video that many people recognise the flattering narrative for what it is.

This is a really complex case. Careful checking of the facts indicates that Edith’s divorce claims are highly dubious. She testified in court that that Percy knew that she had been unfaithful, yet he obstructed a divorce. The prosecution cast doubt on this, pointing out that her letters contained numerous references to deceiving Percy. This is true; she was clearly bent on covering up the affair. She wrote: ‘You know darlint I am beginning to think I have gone wrong in the way I manage this affair. I think perhaps it would have been better had I acquiesced in everything he said and did or wanted to do. At least it would have disarmed any suspicion he might have and that would have been better if we have to use drastic measures darlint - understand?’ She also told Percy that she didn’t love him but would do everything she could to make him happy. In one letter she said that she was being ‘the dutiful wife’, ‘giving all and accepting everything’. On occasion she probably did ask Percy for a divorce but, because of her cover-up, he would have been very confused. It is clear that Edith exaggerated her efforts to get a divorce, not only to the court but to Freddy as well. In one letter she told Freddy that she had asked Percy for a divorce, just as Freddy had instructed her. She went on to say that Percy had complained to her family about her conduct and made such a fuss that the scandal may appear in the press. Her father and sister testified in court that this was all Edith’s imagination, no such thing happened. Edith’s father testified he didn’t even know that there was trouble in the marriage. Edith and Percy always seemed fond of each other in his presence. She was deceiving Freddy, telling him not what actually happened but what she was afraid would happen. She wanted impress Freddy with her efforts to get a divorce, but she didn’t want her family to know about her affair. In Edith’s defense, it is understandable that she covered up her affair and dodged Freddy’s persuasion to get a divorce. In those days grounds for divorce had to be considered sufficient by a judge and they were made public (Kha, Henry. 2017. The Reform of English Divorce Law: 1857-1937. PhD thesis, University of Queensland). Edith could not have got a divorce without exposing her adultery, not just to her family but to the entire society in which she lived. As the defaulting party she would probably have come away from a divorce with little or none of the joint marital resources. Why would she make such sacrifices for a young seaman who stood her up on a date at least once, and who sometimes didn’t answer her letters. Now and then he wanted to break up with her. She was in a very stressful quandary, as is evident from the intense emotional torment she expressed in her letters. Fortunately divorce laws have been reformed since then.

Very interesting listening to the whole case scenario. Those years adultery as is today, was a very serious offence causing a lot if heartache and pain. If divorce was so difficult for her to go through with, one asks the question why didn't she just leave her husband and stay seperated, which a lot of people those years did. But she chose to still stay with her husband knowing quite well that jealousy and feelings were being compromised. Thanks for another interesting story😊

I feel they should have at least allowed Edith to visit her daughter's grave. This case is a sad one and I don't think either of them should have been killed. Not saying they shouldn't have been punished, but the death penalty was too harsh imo.

Your eloquence is superb and your accent gives you charm, each alone are reasons enough to view your channel, but you add such intriguing stories as well, how can I resist, I’m hooked. Well done mate, well done indeed.

Another superb and fascinating video - I could watch this guy reading a shopping list, and I'd love a new one of these videos every day, but I know how long it takes to make such well-researched presentations 🎉

Oh Mr Paul My weekend warrior 😊😊 And it's my birthday weekend 🎈🎈🎈 so thank you

Every day must have been torture for Freddy, knowing he'd caused Edith's death as well as her husband's. (A good way to avoid that is to not go around killing people!)

Murder is murder.

My grandmother met my grandad when she was 14 and he was 18, and i can honestly say she would have made a different choice in a different time and with a bit more age to guide her. Though he was never abusive or anything like that, i dont think she wss ever really happy. I dont think she ever felt truely loved or appreciated. If he did harbour those emotions, he didnt seem capable of expressing them in the years i knew him as a child. It was a different time and we can onky be grateful for that now.😅

Thank you Paul so very much for another gripping tale. You are without a doubt a true artist with the ability to draw us in and paint a picture with just your voice. Thanks so much for sharing your talent with us.

Her wish that he would do something desperate set that murder in motion. She encouraged the young man to kill with that; she was not innocent. If she was innocent so was Charlie Manson! Not so!❤

Impeccable timing sir❤ Cheers!

Very interesting! Thanks for the upload!

Thank you Sir. As always a wonderful narration. Thank you.🤗

Keep us updated sir. Thanks for this story.

Thank you for this fascinating, yet devastating, story.

Fabulous! A new upload from the wonderful Paul ❤🎉

Excellent video ... graphically describing the tangled web we weave when it comes to affairs of the heart.

I enjoy all those mostly unknown cases you dig out. A great story, and a awesome presentation. I like this quite format.

Thanks for the upload, Paul.

The only thing I know about this case is what was presented here. If she would have told the police the truth instead of lying she may have saved herself. Stupid games win stupid prizes.

Good one ,thank you

Another great video, thank you! Would love to see you cover the sad case of the Collyer brothers or the bizarre life and after death adventures of Elmer McCurdy.

Glad I saw this video in a 30 minute ad lol.. great storyteller! New favorite channel

Thank you for your stories, I do enjoy them so much. Your magic is your voice.

Thanks! You are greatly appreciated!! 😊

Can't abide this habit of trying to exonerate historical women murderers by viewing them through some sort of modern lens. She wasn't living now, she was living in her own time and she knew and understood the societal mores under which everyone existed. She brought her lover into her marital home and wrote letters fantasising about killing her husband. Nobody has any problem assuming that a man has manipulated a younger woman (regardless of the historical context) but reverse the situation and you apparently have a bold, empowered woman bucking the traditional roles into which she is supposedly forced, blah, blah, blah. We will never know the truth of this but I can see no reason to believe that, if not exactly planned, she had not goaded her young lover into ridding her of an unwanted husband. One she could have left if she wanted to - if she was so empowered as to buck societal norms, the scandal would hardly have worried her. The only reason, therefore, that she would not do so was financial as she did not want to lose her job. Pretty sound motive. Freddy, on the other hand, did act in accordance with the expectations of his time in as much as he confessed to protect Edith and then steadfastly continued to try to take all of the blame on himself - because that is what he felt a man should do. And can we take a moment to appreciate the fact that ALL the women sentenced to death in the previous decade had been reprieved. Not the blokes though - there's that patriarchy at work again! Just because she acted shocked at the time and some random academic now declares that her letters are simply the product of an fevered imagination, hardly provides grounds for declaring this a miscarriage of justice. Don't forget that she told Freddy that she hoped he would "do something desperate", told him she could not spend the last two nights of his leave with him because of Percy, told him where she and Percy would be that night and stopped the chap who came to help from even touching the dying man. Why would you say "don't touch him" and not "please, help him" unless you wanted to ensure that he was properly dead? But, of course, she was a woman so I guess we must declare her stunning and brave and totally innocent ...

Very well done on this, classic case and so well narrated and no silly loud background music. Thanks for this great tale and so very well told. Very sad case, she should never have had death sentence, but that was then, now it has gone all the other way and killers are released left right and centre. Often to re-offend.

Hello everyone! Thanks for the video @Well I Never ❤🇨🇦

Thank you so much for this very interesting presentation. I'd heard of this tragic case before this video is a lot more detailed than what I'd seen before. A case which should never have even come to court.

What a lovely and profound editorial you gave at the end of the video. Very kind and respectful, it's too bad she didn't have you to speak up for her.

Thank you ! Great voice and delivery .

Thanks. Excellent video.

Thanks!

Thank You

Hmm ,I don't think she was innocent at all.

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Thank you.

June's Journey is absolutely brilliant 👏

Excellent presentation of this intriguing case with the most sensational trial! Even though the evidence against Edith was flimsy at best, I am not wholly convinced of her innocence.. 🤔 Edith was a woman who always got what she wanted, or what she *didn't* want in the case of poor Percy..🤦🏻‍♀️ Great job, really enjoyed this.. thank you Paul 👍

When you said 'returned to his ship' - it sounded like something else :D

Some things never change

Very interesting case, well described. Really makes one think about the death penalty, especially applied inside the same period of tension and anger the trial was in.

Edith reminds me of Emma Bovary, but worse. Too bad she hadnt read it. On women in general, it's interesting how many worked. We've been fed a history wherein housewife, nun, teacher or nurse were the only options.

The way she led him on is the same as pushing him along and makes her guilty in my mind!

What on earth were Fred and Edith thinking of ? He had the excuse of being a teenager but not only was Edith playing silly games with this kid's emotions but silly games with herself as well. What did she think would be the outcome of this game for Fred ? What did Fred think would be the result of stabbing Percy to death in public on the street then running home to his mum's? I don't think either planned or thought it through. So, no Edith wasn't legally guilty and shouldn't have been hanged but she was a selfish woman who was instrumental in bringing about two deaths. I can see how post WW1 and the slaughter of so many young sons and husbands, there wouldn't be a lot of sympathy for Edith. " Oh what a tangled web we weave / when first we practice to deceive ".

Can't entirely feel sorry for Edith. She played stupid games with a young man and won a stupid prize for practically goading him to kill her husband. At most, I can say she deserved life in prison at most for her indirect hand in the murder of her husband.

How bad was Edith’s marriage before she started her affair? In a letter of late 1921 she told Freddy about Percy’s attempts to reconcile with her, to rescue the marriage. Percy told Edith that he hoped that they could renew the happiness they shared in the past. Edith admitted to Freddy that she would have called it happiness at the time, until she found true love with Freddy. Yes Edith. Mental health counsellors who deal with infidelity see that all too often. It is amazing how many people realise that they are in a bad marriage once they have an affair.

If you are an adulteress and you think you are pregnant aren't you supposed to tell your husband it's his?

Thumbs-up for your presentation even if not for your conclusion.

Edith was no innocent victim. She was a selfish woman who took advantage of a young immature man. And yes atleast introduced the idea of killing her husband. Was she guilty of murder, nor more than Charles Manson. But she was justly executed for her manipulating someone else to kill for her.

How sad. I remember being her age, and in a long term relationship. It’s shocking the first time you love someone, but get bored. The sensitivity of the pheromones wane and you don’t know what to do. I can’t imagine cheating, and all the rest of the mess. Very sad.

Just around the corner from me this .. weird to see and hear about my stomping ground, Kensington Gardens Ilford is still there,the train station has only recently become modern with no trace of the past, St Barnabas too, well I never 😉

Any chance of doing The wallace case? I know its been done to death( no pun intented) i think youre commentary would do that story great!😊

There is no miscarriage of justice. She got what she deserved.

I'm not sure she deserves a complete pardon bc in her letters she did come up with ides of how her husband could be killed. Which is not a crime. But when her husband did end up being killed those letters are damning. (Edited for spelling)

I don't think divorce was that easy prior to the year this happened. Laws started to be changed from 1923 to make affairs a thing. I don't know what evidence there is of her husband being abusive. It's seems to be the go to excuse regardless of whether someone was or wasn't abusive. This is an interesting and tragic case.

I agree with the public opinion of her. She was a selfish woman. Nothing good comes from a married woman having an affair with a young man for months. And to think her sister died an old maid when she could have married Freddy. Edith should not have stood trial with Freddy. But guilty by association. She pushed him into murder.

At least Edith had the sense to refuse having a baby with her husband. Bringing a baby into a mixed up, unloving marriage does nothing but make things worse.

I enjoy your shows very much. But....please spare me the victimization of the poor suffragette who was ahead of her time. The jury observed their behavior and it spoke volumes to them. We should not second guess their decision. After they both lied why would anyone believe either one? They were both morally corrupt, which directly led to this tragedy.

I am unsure of whether Edith was as innocent of the crime as some believe her to be. We have no reason to be certain that the surviving letters at the time of the trial were every letter ever written between her and Freddy. It would be prudent to burn those discussing a murder plot - better still, don't write it down! Limit your plotting to face to face conversations. Is there reasonable doubt of her guilt? Yes. Is there reasonable doubt of her innocence? Yes. When the scales of Justice come up in near-perfect balance does the jury always err on the side of not guilty? No. The innocent hang, the guilty go free, and we are left hoping that the Law gets it right more often than it doesn't.

How many poor souls have been wrongly executed in the past? I myself have been wrongly charged by police and found guilty in a court for a crime I didn't commit. Sometimes witnesses just imagine facts because they are prejudice, such as happened to me in the year 2020.

Edith Thompson's defence counsel the great Sir Henry Curtis-Bennet KC strongly urged her not to give evidence at the trial. He said afterwards to a friend; *_"I know - I am convinced - Mrs Thompson would be alive today if she had taken my advice. She spoiled her chances by her evidence and demeanour. I had a perfect answer to everything, which I'm sure would have won an acquittal if she had not been a witness._* *_"She was a vain woman, and an obstinate one. She had an idea she could carry the jury. Also, she realised the enormous public interest, and decided to play upto it by entering the witness box. Her imagination was highly developed, but it failed to show her the mistake she was making. I could have saved her."_*

She was Guilty ! Edith was the cause of it all. Had she had been faithful to her husband none of this would have happened. I have no sympathy for her or her boyfriend. Her Husband and Husband's family are the only real victims here.

I for one have little sympathy for her. Utterly self-centred and seemingly no compunction to instigate violence at the very least. Actions have consequences.

A sad, sad story.

No, I'm not as interested in murder mysteries as I am in British history. I like learning about many different things... from the NHS to steam engines and Heritage railways. I like medical documentaries, steam engines, steam ships, the Victorian era clothes and lifestyle, the Catholic martyrs of England, learning German, and many more things. This is just one of them.

I didn’t know about the exhumation, reburial and the Commission.

Engagingly told as always!

She wanted a divorce. He wouldn't allow it. Women in those days had no rights or power to make formal decisions (sign contracts, own property, start lawsuits, have power over their inheritance, or attain custody of children) without their husband's(or before marriage, father's) permission. The only women with autonomy were widows (until they got remarried if they chose to do so). Nowadays you would say 'if you don't want to be married, then get a divorce.' But that was not an option open to women thenl. Of course this doesn't excuse murder, but the again, she didn't commit murder.

There house is still standing in Ilford

Where can i get a vest like that

I have anxiety…. But I am still watching …😰

The legal complexities of this case are explained by William Twining, Prof of Jurisprudence, in an essay Reconstructing the Truth about Edith Thompson (available online). Important points made by Twining are: a) Contrary to popular belief, the idea that Edith was fantasising about the poison plots does not necessarily exonerate her. Depending on context and circumstances, sharing a murder fantasy could constitute incitement. If a murder occurs in consequence of incitement, the inciter is guilty of murder. b) Edith was probably guilty of incitement but was wrongly convicted of murder because (1) the poison plots occurred five months before the murder, so the killing was not a direct consequence of the poison plots (the broken chain defense) and (2) there was insufficient evidence that the murder was premeditated. An unpremeditated murder could not be a consequence of incitement. (At the trial the judge made this clear.) c) Edith’s decision to testify was unfortunate because she undermined the broken chain defense. d) Freddy could be guilty of murder even if he didn’t premeditate the killing. If he killed intentionally, it was murder. e) The criteria for convicting Edith of murder set by the judge were stricter (in her favour) than the law actually required, though his moral condemnation may have biased the jury. (We can’t be absolutely sure of this because a jury verdict is inscrutable.)

Guilty under the law of common purpose!!

❤❤❤❤❤

No matter what she did , she did not deserve to be hung for it !!! So let's stop excusing abusive behaviour by her husband and look at the reality of it . The patriarchy didn't like that a woman wasn't doing as she was told . #fuckthepatriarchy

Edith was manipulative for the drama, Percy was an ass, and Freddie let emotions and other desires get the better of him. A tragedy all around. Did Edith deserve the gallows? I don't think so. Some good public shaming would probably have been been more appropriate. However, after *that* trial there was waaay too much public emotion going on. Could have ended worse. Did Freddie deserve the gallows? That's hard. He was being manipulated by Edith but stab first, ask questions later does not bode well for his character. Being young and in love can only be an excuse for some things.

She manipulated everybody.... except the jury.... got what she deserved. !!

Osborne house is in East Cowes at the north of the Isle of Wight x

Well that was all a bit messy 😮

oh my gosh I loved this one! I love them all it's just that there's something about the the ladies! We've been misunderstood and painted black for many a millenium. Thankfully her mom got her final request for burial rights. God rest their souls. Thank You Well I never!;)

I want to know if it is actually true about sweeney todd the demon barber of fleet street, It is a subject I am very interested in. Hope to hear soon