Forensic science: Secrets of the case against Crippen
He was known as the people's pathologist, and made his name as a pioneering expert in some of the most gruesome murder cases in British history. Now the secrets of Britain's first forensic scientist - who helped convict Dr Crippen of his wife's murder and solve the Brides in the Bath killings - have been saved for the nation by the Wellcome Library.
Its archivists have paid £14,000 for the records of Sir Bernard Spilsbury, the charismatic and highly controversial founder of the crime scene investigation (CSI) in Britain, which will provide an insight into the working methods of one of the most compelling characters in early 20th-century legal history.
A century ago, the pathologist became the country's leading expert witness, dominating trials during the heyday of the Great English Murder, when lurid details of sensational court cases filled the newspapers. But Spilsbury - who committed suicide in 1947 after two of his sons died and his marriage collapsed - also courted controversy because of an unswerving conviction in the correctness of his opinions. Experts claimed recently that he contributed to several miscarriages of justice. His newly acquired records may shed fresh light on these cases.
Read entire article at Observer (UK)
Its archivists have paid £14,000 for the records of Sir Bernard Spilsbury, the charismatic and highly controversial founder of the crime scene investigation (CSI) in Britain, which will provide an insight into the working methods of one of the most compelling characters in early 20th-century legal history.
A century ago, the pathologist became the country's leading expert witness, dominating trials during the heyday of the Great English Murder, when lurid details of sensational court cases filled the newspapers. But Spilsbury - who committed suicide in 1947 after two of his sons died and his marriage collapsed - also courted controversy because of an unswerving conviction in the correctness of his opinions. Experts claimed recently that he contributed to several miscarriages of justice. His newly acquired records may shed fresh light on these cases.