61. The Deacon’s Double Life

Iain looks at a local case sent in by listeners about a man who miraculously survives the gallows. Plus, the story of a smuggler who faked his own death to transport his loot.Murder They Wrote with Laura Whitmore and Iain Stirling is available twice a week on BBC Sounds. Subscribe now so you never miss an episode. Email us at lauraandiain@bbc.co.uk.

Iain explores the case of a missing Shakespeare folio that resurfaces in Washington DC in the hands off a flamboyant Englishman. A story so extraordinary, it could have been written by William Shakespeare himself.Murder They Wrote with Laura Whitmore and Iain Stirling is available twice a week on BBC Sounds. Subscribe now so you never miss an episode. Email us at lauraandiain@bbc.co.uk.

Laura and Iain dive into the Murder They wrote inbox and read out some of their favourite emails.If you want to be in with a chance of featuring in our next mailbag episode, email us at lauraandiain@bbc.co.uk

Laura looks into a mysterious explosion at a dance hall in Claremorris, County Mayo, Ireland in 1972 and an infamous local figure called ‘Dancing Nancy’.Murder They Wrote with Laura Whitmore and Iain Stirling is available twice a week on BBC Sounds. Subscribe now so you never miss an episode. Email us at lauraandiain@bbc.co.uk.

This week, Laura and Iain are looking at cases sent in from Nottingham – including a murder case that explains how Ghost House Lane in Chilwell got its name.If you want to see the picture of Damien Hammond, who carried out crimes dressed as The Joker, click here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-55954819Murder They Wrote with Laura Whitmore and Iain Stirling is available twice a week on BBC Sounds. Subscribe now so you never miss an episode. Email us at lauraandiain@bbc.co.uk.

Iain looks at a famous Scottish case from the 1780s that served as inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson’s ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ novel.Murder They Wrote with Laura Whitmore and Iain Stirling is available twice a week on BBC Sounds. Subscribe now so you never miss an episode. Email us at lauraandiain@bbc.co.uk.

Iain looks at a local case sent in by listener Theresa. In January 1909, two Tottenham men steal a bag of money before leading police on a wild tram chase that’s straight out of the movies.Murder They Wrote with Laura Whitmore and Iain Stirling is available twice a week on BBC Sounds. Subscribe now so you never miss an episode. Email us at lauraandiain@bbc.co.uk.

Laura explores the nuanced case of Ruth Ellis, the last woman hanged in Britain. In April 1955, Ruth shot her lover David Blakely outside a pub in North London. The case itself was open-and-shut, but the motivations behind it were far more complicated. Ruth paid for the crime with her life. But could things have worked out differently if the police had properly investigated the complexities of her relationship with not only David but her other lover Desmond Cussen?Murder They Wrote with Laura Whitmore and Iain Stirling is available twice a week on BBC Sounds. Subscribe now so you never miss an episode. Email us at lauraandiain@bbc.co.uk.

Laura dives into a case sent in by listener Emily, who works at Compton Verney in Warwickshire. This beautiful, historic manor was once the scene of a grisly murder involving two young lovers. Plus Iain has unearthed an unusual e-fit and a robbery involving 20,000 bees.Murder They Wrote with Laura Whitmore and Iain Stirling is available twice a week on BBC Sounds. Subscribe now so you never miss an episode. Email us at lauraandiain@bbc.co.uk.

Iain digs into the mystery of D.B. Cooper’s famous 1971 plane hijacking and unravels some of the theories around his identity.Murder They Wrote with Laura Whitmore and Iain Stirling is available twice a week on BBC Sounds. Subscribe now so you never miss an episode. Email us at lauraandiain@bbc.co.uk.