Mrs Margaret Roche was a hard working, shrewd business woman. She rose from the lowly position of barmaid to become the owner of considerable property. Included were two hotels in Queensland; the Telegraph Hotel at Charleville and the property she lived in, the Claren Hotel, in the
Read more →
The victim, Jeanette Wicks. In 1935, Jeanette Wicks divorced her husband of seven years on the grounds of desertion. She subsequently supported herself by operating a tiny kiosk, located at the entrance to a four storey building at 97 York Street, central Sydney. Tobacco products and lottery tickets
Read more →
Poisoning – ‘Of all felonies, murder is the most horrible, of all murders, poisoning the most detestable, and of all poisoning, that causing a lingering death the most cruel.’ Chief Justice Sir Edward Coke, 1615 FOR THE FIRST PART OF THIS STORY, CLICK HERE Australian born
Read more →
It is likely that the person who shot two people at Wallerawang, New South Wales in 1948 is still alive. I have referred to him here as Bennie Harvey. It’s not his real name, but one his friends used at the time of the murders. The shotgun
Read more →
THE CONCLUSION OF THE VERA WATT POISONING CASE. FOR THE FIRST PART, CLICK HERE. When the Coronial Inquest into the death by poisoning of Mrs Vera Watt ended in January 1942. her ex-lover Conald Pagett was committed for trial and remanded in Long Bay Gaol. However, on
Read more →
THE A.P.C. OF MURDER ….… click here for previous episode. The coronial inquest into the death of 36 year old Mrs Vera Doris Watt on December 1 1941 opened on December 29. She had died from strychnine, placed
Read more →In the 1940s and 50s A.P.C pills and powders were one of the most popular ‘over the counter ‘ drugs in Australia. They were sold under the brand names of Vincent’s or Bex. The highly successful advertising slogan for Bex was ‘ Stressed? All you need
Read more →
This is the third episode in the Higgs brothers saga. Each part has to stand alone, so apologies for repeating some information. If you want to read the original story click on the following link. Murder in the Blue Mountains. Bruce Doubleday Higgs was a Sydney underworld
Read more →
Forty eight year old Ronald Lachlan Leslie was a wealthy, retired grazier living in the Sydney suburb of Manly. He was a happily married family man with two young children. On Wednesday, October 12 1927 he set out to drive to the central western town of Forbes,
Read more →
SCHOOLGIRLS IN EXILE My book, The Water Doctor’s Daughters, is the biography of a dysfunctional family, but it is also Victorian era true crime. It centres on the case of French born governess Mlle Celestine Doudet. In 1855 the governess was tried over the deaths of her
Read more →