79. The Slippery Life of Soapy Smith

Listener Julie has sent in a famous Coventry case involving a very unhappy marriage and a chilling murder. Plus, Iain explains the legend of Lady Godiva.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 [email protected].

Iain dives into the life and crimes of Soapy Smith, a 19th-century con artist who earned his nickname by mastering the art of ‘The Soap Game’. Hear about how Soapy went from a small-time crook to the leader of a major criminal empire in America’s Wild West.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 [email protected].

Laura heads to the Isle of Man to investigate a 159-year-old unexplained murder involving a horse-drawn cart. And Iain tells a story about a famous Manx witch… with an unexpected ending.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 [email protected].

Three friends are exploring an abandoned mineshaft in Wales when they stumble upon a human skull. As the police arrive to search the area, they continue to make a number of gruesome discoveries. And they find something else: a diamond engagement ring.Did these three young men just accidentally crack a 42-year-old cold case? Laura and Iain dig into the eerie 1919 disappearance of Mamie Stuart.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. Got a case or story for us? Email [email protected].

From jam-filled Yorkshire puddings to famous dogs and unexpected trouser mishaps, the Murder You Wrote Mailbag delivers again.Plus, Laura and Iain need your help cooking up the ultimate true crime-themed dinner party. Got a pun-filled course idea?If you want a chance to be featured in our next mailbag episode, email us at [email protected].

When a prison riot breaks out inside Scotland’s Peterhead Prison, two officers are taken hostage and the SAS are secretly called in. But the truth of what happened wouldn’t come out for years...This is the story of a brutal prison, a high-stakes rescue mission, and the man who survived it all.For pictures of the destruction of D Block, see here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-41397881Murder They Wrote with Laura Whitmore and Iain Stirling is available twice a week on BBC Sounds. Subscribe now so you never miss an episode. Got a case or story for us? Email [email protected].

Listener Cat sends Iain a case involving her husband’s distant family, taking him to Southampton 1924 when a 15-year-old family secret involving a hidden sea chest comes to light and shocks the authorities.And Laura tells Iain a story about a cockerel and ‘torture’.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 [email protected].

A late-night fire tears through Room 66 at a hotel in Margate. One guest runs for help, another is pulled from the smoke, but it’s already too late. As investigators begin to piece together what happened that night, a different kind of story starts to emerge.Laura and Iain dive into a case that rocked 1920s Britain, where the truth may have been lost in the flames.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. Got a case or story for us? Email [email protected].

Laura heads to York to unravel Craig Townend's £1m art gallery heist leads to even more bizarre thefts in England's most haunted city.Plus, Iain shares York's weirdest theft stories: a replica skull stolen from the city's most haunted pub on New Year's Eve, and the tale of a German student who "liberated" an organ pipe from York Minster in 1969.Murder You 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 [email protected].

In 1889, Edwin Rose vanished on a hike up Goatfell. His body is later found hidden under a pile of rocks. Was it a tragic fall, or something more sinister?All eyes turn to John Annandale, the man who last saw Edwin alive. But when John suddenly vanishes and reappears under a different name, the case takes a bizarre turn.Iain takes us to the Isle of Arran to retrace the steps of this Victorian mystery.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. Got a case or story for us? Email [email protected].