Latest / The Empire of Wealth / Murder on the Railway _ Scotland Yard Confidential _ Radio Drama

Transcript

Murder on the Railway _ Scotland Yard Confidential _ Radio Drama · The Empire of Wealth

0:00
Speaker 1: July the 9th, 1864, London, England. At the Hackney Wick
0:06
rail station, two gentlemen impatiently await their train. It's after 10pm,
0:12
and Harry Vaness and Sidney Jones are exhausted after a
0:16
long day working at Robarts Curtis & Co., a well-respected
0:20
bank in the city. They long to return home and
0:24
rest for a precious few hours, but their train is
0:27
running late. Vanez leans over the tracks, straining his eyes
0:32
in the dim light provided by the thin, crescent moon
0:35
in the sky. Finally, he sees it approaching, and the
0:40
bankers step back as the train pulls into the station
0:43
with a plume of black smoke billowing down its spine.
0:48
Vanez and Jones make their way to the first-class carriage,
0:51
their top hats and long coats silhouetted in the sickly
0:55
yellow light of the gas lamps. Handing their tickets to
0:59
the conductor, they enter one of the lush compartments reserved
1:03
for men of their station. With varnished teak walls and
1:08
midnight blue velvet seats, these private booths are a far
1:12
cry from the sweaty, overcrowded scene in the rear of
1:16
the train. After placing their bags in the hanging luggage racks,
1:21
the two men flock down on the plush seats and
1:24
look at one another in the dim, smoky light of
1:26
the flickering lamp. They're relieved to finally be heading home.
1:31
But something about the compartment is off. A strange, sickly
1:37
sweet smell permeates the air. And it's not long before
1:41
Vanez and Jones realise their seats are... damp. The bankers
1:48
abruptly stand up to investigate and realise that their finely
1:53
tailored trousers are now soaked through with something warm and sticky.
1:58
Jones moves his hand towards the gas lamp to get
2:01
a better look. His palm has turned crimson, dripping with
2:07
what can only be blood. Jones and Vanes begin to
2:12
cry out in horror, yelling down the darkened corridor and
2:15
out onto the platform for assistance. At the same time,
2:20
several ladies rush out of the neighbouring compartment. Their fine
2:24
dresses are speckled with dots of crimson. and they shakily
2:27
explain that during the journey they'd opened their window only
2:31
to be showered by a mist of blood. The commotion
2:37
is heard by 38-year-old train guard Benjamin Ames. Ames is
2:43
already in an anxious mood, what with the train running
2:45
five minutes behind. He's desperate to get back on schedule
2:49
and rolls his eyes as he makes his way to
2:51
the first-class carriage. He's sure it's just some posh passenger's
2:56
making a fuss over a slight mess. Begrudgingly, he grabs
3:01
a bright hand lamp and heads to carriage 69. When
3:07
he reaches the compartment, he finds Van Ness and Jones
3:11
standing in the corridor, faces drained of colour. Inching past them,
3:17
he shines his powerful lamp into the compartment. A scene
3:22
of horror emerges from the blackness. On the left-hand seat,
3:28
nearest the engine, pools of blood stagnate in the buttoned
3:33
indentations of the cushions. A clump of what looks to
3:37
be flesh sticks to the windowpane, seeping out a thin,
3:42
ruby-red stream. Silently, Ames steps in closer. The driver calls out,
3:51
awaiting the signal to depart, but he's too shaken to answer.
3:55
The adjacent seats are covered in what appear to be
3:58
bloody handprints, as though someone had tried to wipe themselves
4:03
clean before departing the carriage. Blood even drips lightly from
4:09
the ceiling, staining the shoulder of his uniform. There's no
4:14
mistaking it. A violent attack had taken place, one that,
4:19
considering the volume of blood which now painted the walls,
4:23
may have been fatal. Ames is astounded. It would have
4:29
been impossible for anyone outside the private compartment to have
4:32
seen what transpired, but how could such a frenzied attack
4:36
have happened without anyone knowing? He'd seen no sign of
4:41
a wounded man or bloodied attacker descending from the train
4:45
at this or at the previous station. He also certainly
4:49
hadn't heard any screams for help. But then, The engine
4:53
is so loud when the train is in motion that
4:55
it's difficult to hear anything at all. As a shock
5:00
begins to wear off, Ames' eyes flick to a few
5:04
discarded items left within the compartment. On the furthest left-hand
5:08
seat of the carriage is a discarded black leather bag.
5:13
Its brass lock has been opened and is covered in
5:16
rapidly drying blood. Nearby is a flattened black hat with
5:21
a label that reads T.H. Walker, Crawford Street. On the floor,
5:28
Ames finds a heavy wooden cane adorned with an ivory
5:31
knob at the top, also covered in blood. Ames hears
5:37
the driver call out again. He quickly straightens himself up
5:41
and leaves the compartment, locking the door behind him. No
5:45
matter what happened, The train must run to its terminus,
5:49
or the entire line will be shut down. He tells
5:52
the Hackney stationmaster to send a telegram to the railway superintendent,
5:57
informing him of the situation, heads back into the brake van,
6:01
and signals the driver to continue. Jones and Vanez look
6:07
on in a daze as the train steams off into
6:10
the night, carrying with it the gruesome crime scene. They
6:16
don't know it yet. but they've just become a part
6:18
of criminal history. The horrific events that occurred in that
6:23
doomed carriage will go on to inspire detective books and
6:27
films for generations to come. This is the very first
6:35
Railway Murder. I'm John Hopkins. and welcome to Scotland Yard Confidential,
6:49
the show where we delve into the files of London's
6:51
legendary Criminal Investigation Department. You'll be right there alongside investigators
6:58
as they search for clues, interrogate suspects, and sort the
7:02
truth from the lies. There will be twists and turns
7:05
along the way. Sometimes the trail will run cold. Sometimes
7:10
it will be a race against time. We'll rub shoulders
7:15
with notorious gangsters, sit down with informants and come face
7:19
to face with cold-blooded murderers as we follow in the
7:23
footsteps of some of the greatest detectives in history.
7:31
Speaker 2: MUSIC PLAYS.
7:54
Speaker 1: As the bloodied carriage speeds off into the night, another
7:57
grisly discovery is being made. At around 10.15 p.m., the
8:03
headlight of an empty train heading to its terminus pierces
8:07
through the darkness. The engineer, weary at his post, watches
8:12
as the obscured scenery flits past him in a blur.
8:17
He's made this journey hundreds of times, but he's never
8:18
seen it before. and knows the route like the back
8:20
of his own hand. Which is why, when he sees
8:24
a strange shape lying between the tracks as the train
8:27
heads towards the canal bridge, he stops. It could be
8:31
a dead animal. Best to move it out of the way,
8:35
just in case. Remaining at the helm, the engineer sends
8:39
his stoker and guard to investigate. Holding torches, the two
8:45
men walk back along the darkened tracks. A warm breeze
8:49
rustles the overgrown grass, creating the haunting sound of thousands
8:55
of disembodied whispers. The sharp crescent moon illuminating the landscape
9:02
looks like a cruel smile in the sky. After a
9:07
few minutes of walking, the men see the object in
9:09
the distance. It's a lumpy mass of some kind, contorted
9:15
in a strange, unnatural way. Looking to the left, they
9:20
see the shining lights of Hackney and hear loud voices
9:23
coming from a pub only a few yards away. It's
9:27
probably a dog, they assure one another, someone's unfortunate pet
9:32
run down by an oncoming train. But as they approach,
9:37
they realize, with horror, that the form which lies ahead
9:41
of them is distinctly human. An old man, to be exact.
9:47
his body looking twisted and broken as he lies between
9:51
the tracks. The two men rush to his side and
9:55
see a thick river of blood pouring from his badly
9:58
beaten face. At first glance, they're sure he must be dead,
10:03
but miraculously, they detect a faint heartbeat. Acting quickly, they
10:11
hoist the old man up and begin carrying his unconscious
10:14
body to the nearby pub. Patrons sitting outside rush to help.
10:19
while others call for the police. Local Beats Bobby, PC Duggan,
10:25
hears their cries and rushes to the scene. He quickly
10:29
takes control of the situation and orders the injured man
10:33
to be moved to a small, private room in the
10:35
back of the bar. The old man's life force is
10:40
leaving him quickly. His face is ghastly grey in colour.
10:46
and his lush, white beard is soaked in the blood
10:50
that flows freely from his mouth and several jagged wounds
10:53
on his head. PC Duggan sets about trying to identify
10:58
the dying man. Gingerly, he reaches into his trouser pockets
11:03
and finds some loose change, keys, and a torn, first-class
11:08
ticket stub. Finally, PC Duggan finds some letters in the
11:14
dying man's coat pocket They are addressed to a Mr.
11:18
Thomas Briggs at Roberts, Curtis & Co. Bank. Duggan sends
11:26
for a runner to notify the family, and soon the
11:28
victim is positively identified as 69-year-old banker Thomas Briggs. As
11:34
the hours wear on, doctors cycle in and out of
11:37
the pub's back room, attempting to revive him, but his
11:40
condition only worsens. At 11.45 the following morning, he succumbs
11:46
to his injuries and dies. But how did a fine,
11:52
elderly gentleman end up bloodied and discarded on a desolate
11:56
railway track? And how did his killer vanish without a
12:00
trace from a crowded train? For answers, they must now
12:06
turn to the detectives at Scotland Yard. On the morning
12:11
of July 10, 1864... News of the bloodied rail car
12:16
and Thomas Briggs' death earlier that day reaches Police Commissioner
12:20
Sir Richard Mayne at Scotland Yard HQ. Officers are already
12:25
inspecting the crime scene and an autopsy is due to
12:28
take place in the coming days. It's up to the
12:30
officers in Mayne's elite unit to put all the pieces together.
12:37
Over 20 years ago, in 1842... Maine created a brand
12:42
new species of police inspector. These men, unlike the uniformed
12:47
beat bobbies, were not concerned with crime prevention. No, these
12:53
plainclothes officers' duty was to solve crimes after they occurred,
12:58
an entirely new concept in policing. It's taken a long
13:03
time to gain the public's trust since those early days. Traditionally,
13:09
the Metropolitan Police wore dark blue uniforms with visible badge
13:13
numbers and tall top hats. They were highly recognisable walking
13:18
their designated beats, and while in many ways this deterred criminals,
13:23
it also made it impossible for officers to investigate crimes
13:27
after the fact. They couldn't discreetly question witnesses, tail suspects,
13:33
or go undercover. Maine campaigned for a plain-clothed detective unit
13:38
for years, for the public was strongly against the idea
13:43
of a secret police. But when the detective branch of
13:47
Scotland Yard was finally set up, Maine's new breed of
13:51
crime-busters quickly became heroes in the public imagination. Writers like
13:56
Charles Dickens were fascinated by them and wrote popular stories
14:00
inspired by their antics. Commissioner Maine is thus under considerable
14:06
pressure to live up to the public's expectations. With this
14:10
being Britain's first railway murder, Londoners will be scared and
14:15
demanding a swift resolution. Sir Mayne decides to put his
14:20
best detective on the case, a man he himself describes
14:24
as brilliant. Detective Inspector Richard Tanner. Richard Tanner joined the
14:33
Metropolitan Police in 1851, aged 19. Five foot seven, with
14:40
piercing blue eyes and an honest face, he made a
14:43
name for himself working the beat, immersing himself in London's
14:47
underworld and rounding up all manner of roughs. But he
14:51
always had his eye on the detective branch and watched
14:54
his heroes closely, jotting down their methods of interrogation and
14:59
evidence-gathering tactics in his notebook. Tanner learned by observation that
15:04
good detective work was more about dogged determination than superior intellect.
15:11
Being willing to dedicate your whole life to a case,
15:14
only resting when the criminal was behind bars. Now, at
15:20
31 years old, he's finally been promoted to detective inspector,
15:25
and the Thomas Briggs murder is his first major case.
15:29
The press and public will be carefully scrutinizing his every move,
15:34
as he hunts down the killer. If he succeeds, it
15:39
will be a historic win for Scotland Yard. If he fails,
15:44
he may never be put on a big case again.
15:48
The railway murder could make or break Detective Tanner. Detective
15:56
Tanner knows that he must be quick to make progress.
15:59
Discoveries in the first few days of an investigation are
16:02
critical for momentum, public confidence, and morale within the force.
16:08
He takes stock of the evidence that constables on the
16:10
scene have already uncovered. Amongst the carnage inside the compartment,
16:17
they found a gold jump link from a watch chain
16:19
lodged in the floorboards, indicating that the killer had forcefully
16:23
ripped Briggs' pocket watch from his breast. Indeed, The watch
16:28
appears to be the only item missing from the old
16:30
man's person. For Tanner, this information is crucial in establishing
16:36
a motive. The victim's diamond, ring, snuffbox and loose change
16:43
adding up to almost five pounds, the equivalent to a
16:45
month's wages for a labourer, were all left untouched. Based
16:50
on this, he surmises that the attack was spontaneous and
16:54
the assailant was working alone. They simply reached for the
16:58
most visible object before savagely beating Briggs and throwing him
17:02
out the window. The hurriedness of the attack is also
17:08
evidenced by the crushed hat left behind. Briggs' family had
17:13
assured investigators that the hat found in the carriage did
17:17
not belong to the victim. Thomas Briggs was a fine gentleman.
17:22
known for wearing a silk top hat, made especially for
17:25
him by Dignance, a high-class hatter in the city. The
17:30
one at the crime scene was made by T.H. Walker
17:34
and of a far inferior quality. Detective Tanner believes that
17:39
the murderer had been in such a hurry that he
17:41
grabbed Briggs' hat by mistake and in so doing left
17:45
behind the only physical clue to his identity. Tanner wastes
17:51
no time in having posters drawn up containing detailed descriptions
17:55
of the stolen watch, chain and the discarded hat. A
18:00
£ 200 reward for information, the equivalent of several years of
18:04
wages for London's working-class households, is raised. Thousands of these
18:10
posters are distributed throughout London, plastered outside police stations, pubs, newsstands,
18:16
railway stations and on the sides of omnibuses. The line,
18:21
has been cast. Now Tanner must wait for a bite. Meanwhile,
18:30
inspectors on Tanner's team are piecing together Thomas Briggs' actions
18:34
on the day of his murder. By talking to his family,
18:37
they find out that Briggs was chief clerk at Roberts,
18:41
Curtis and Co. Bank. He, along with his wife, her
18:46
widowed sister and their unmarried daughter, all lived in a
18:49
fine house in in the affluent suburb of Hackney. The Briggs,
18:54
like so many other well-to-do families, had left the grime
18:57
and corruption of the inner city once the railway was built.
19:02
On July 9, 1864, Thomas Briggs left his home at
19:06
8 a.m. sharp, as usual. After work, he headed to
19:10
his favorite niece's house in Peckham for dinner, arriving at
19:13
almost exactly 5 p.m. Three hours later, he began his
19:17
journey back to Hackney, walking for a while to enjoy
19:21
the balmy summer night air. He reached the Fenchurch Street
19:26
station just in time to catch the 9.45pm train back
19:29
to Hackney, but he was running late. When it finally
19:33
arrived at 9.50, Briggs settled into the sumptuous first-class compartment
19:37
at the front of the train. With the day at
19:39
last over, the old man allowed himself to relax. It's
19:46
easy when traveling late at night by train to forget
19:49
just where and when you are. The outside world becomes
19:54
an amorphous blur as you speed through the darkness. You're
19:58
out of time and space, isolated in the world of
20:01
the carriage. Perhaps, in this moment, Thomas Briggs dropped his defenses...
20:09
allowing the metallic hum of the engine to lull him
20:12
to sleep. Only to be awoken minutes later by a
20:19
shadowy figure forcing their way into his compartment. Based on
20:25
where the body of Thomas Briggs was found, Detective Tanner
20:28
is able to estimate the time at which the attack occurred.
20:32
Briggs was discovered 1,434 yards from Bowe, and 740 yards
20:39
from Hackney Wick, meaning he had been thrown from the
20:42
carriage approximately two-thirds of the way between the two stations.
20:47
The train guard, Benjamin Ames, testified that this journey took
20:51
between four and five minutes, so Tanner estimates that the
20:55
attack took place around 10.04pm, 3.5 minutes after the train
21:01
left Bow Station. It appears that Briggs' attacker, had meant
21:06
to throw him over the canal bridge as the train
21:09
crossed it, but missed the mark. That, or he was
21:13
aiming for the opposite track so that the body would
21:15
be hit by an oncoming train, destroying any evidence of
21:18
an attack. This would explain how the body got there.
21:24
But how did the attacker seemingly vanish into thin air?
21:30
Detective Tanner's men have already questioned all the officials working
21:33
at Hackney Wick Station the night of the murder, and
21:36
no one saw a bloodied man fleeing the carriage. In dismay,
21:42
Tanner realizes how easy it would have been for the
21:44
attacker to have leapt from the moving train between stations
21:48
and disappear into the marshes around Duckett Canal or the
21:52
seething slums of Old Ford. His only hope is that
21:57
the killer had somehow slipped up after the attack, boasted
22:02
to a friend perhaps, flashed his new golden pocket watch
22:06
to a lady he admired, or perhaps even tried to
22:10
sell the stolen goods. Luckily, tips are starting to flood
22:16
in to Scotland Yard, thanks to the posters and press coverage,
22:21
and one is about to blow the investigation wide open.
22:26
On the morning of Monday, July the 11th, a little
22:29
over 24 hours since Thomas Briggs' body was discovered, Detective
22:33
Tanner sits in his office, scouring through the mountain of
22:36
tips on his desk. Already he's under mounting pressure from
22:41
the public, with news of Briggs' murder now plastered across
22:45
every newspaper headline. Homicide is commonplace in a big city
22:50
like London, but this one is different. Briggs, you see,
22:55
was a gentleman who had been attacked in a first-class carriage.
23:00
the events had instantly shattered the middle and upper classes'
23:04
sense of security. Maybe they weren't as safe in their
23:08
ivory towers as they thought. The fact that Briggs' murder
23:13
took place on a train also played into the public's
23:16
growing distrust of the railways. Since the 1850s, advocates had
23:22
campaigned for the installation of some means of communication between
23:25
passengers and the train guard, but their suggestions had been ignored.
23:30
As a result, Thomas Briggs was left to die alone,
23:35
his cries for help unheard over the roar of the engine.
23:38
Detective Tanner knows that for the public to feel safe again,
23:42
he needs to catch this killer, and fast. But most
23:49
of the tips he received so far are false, reading
23:52
like something out of one of Dickens' stories. Many point
23:56
the finger at the two bankers who discovered the bloodied compartment.
24:01
After all, wasn't it quite suspicious that they worked at
24:05
the same bank as Briggs? Tanner brushes these off as
24:10
dramatic conspiracies. From his years working some of London's seediest beats,
24:15
he knows firsthand that the majority of criminals are far
24:19
from masterminds. Most of the time, robberies that end in
24:22
murder are acts of pure desperation. London's slums grow more
24:28
crowded and diseased by the day. The city has only
24:31
just gotten over the deadly Broad Street cholera outbreak that
24:35
claimed 10,000 lives. London's poor are yearning to escape the
24:41
squalor of tenement housing, and Tanner is willing to bet
24:44
that the killer he's after saw the elderly Mr. Briggs
24:48
as his ticket out of poverty. One tip that's shared
24:53
with Tanner by his colleague, Inspector Keresy, stands out. It's
24:57
from the owner of a prosperous jewellery business located not
25:01
far from Briggs' bank. Reading the man's name, Detective Tanner smirks.
25:07
John Death. Death claims that a man had come in
25:13
that very morning to exchange a gold chain matching the
25:17
description with its hook missing. The men agree that there
25:22
may just be something to it, and Kerasi heads out
25:25
to interview the jeweller. Inspector Kersey hails a cab and
25:30
sits in contemplative silence as the horse-drawn carriage pulls away
25:35
from Scotland Yard HQ and heads towards No. 55 Cheapside,
25:39
right in the beating heart of London's business district. He
25:43
finds John Death in his small, dimly lit shop, filled
25:47
with cases containing glittering gold pieces and gems. The jeweller
25:52
tells him that earlier that day, a man of about
25:55
30 years of age came into his store to exchange
25:58
a heavy, old-fashioned gold watch chain for something more lightweight
26:03
and modern. Death valued the chain at around £ 3. 10, and
26:08
the young man selected a replacement valued at £ 5 less.
26:14
To make up the difference, Death offered him a second-hand
26:17
signet ring set with a white Cornelian stone engraved with
26:22
the figure of a head. The whole interaction took less
26:26
than ten minutes, but afterwards the jeweler realized something about
26:30
it seemed off. The young man had seemingly gone to
26:34
pains to stand in the shadows and turned his face
26:37
away so it was always partly concealed. Still, Death noted
26:43
that he was blonde with a very pale, sallow face
26:46
that bore no beard or side whiskers. Importantly, the mysterious
26:51
customer had a foreign accent. Either Swiss or German, the
26:55
jeweler guessed. Inspector Keresy asks Death to show him the
27:01
chain the man had exchanged. Pulling out a magnifying glass,
27:06
he carefully inspects it. He finds no traces of blood,
27:10
but dirt is visible on the inside of the links.
27:14
The chain evidently had not been cleaned before being exchanged,
27:18
and the absence of blood suggests it was ripped from
27:20
Briggs' vest before the attack occurred. Wasting no time, Inspector
27:27
Keresy thanks death and heads straight for Briggs' home in Hackney.
27:32
There the chain is shown to his grieving daughter. She
27:36
gasps when she sees it and breaks down in tears.
27:40
There is no doubt in her mind. The chain is
27:43
her father's. Inspector Keresy feels a shiver run down his spine.
27:49
John Death had come face to face with the murderer
27:52
only hours ago. The description of the murderer is a
27:59
breakthrough in the case, but frustratingly, the killer had not
28:03
left his name or address during the transaction with Death.
28:08
Detective Tanner is left with no choice but to once
28:11
again have posters distributed and wait for tips to come through.
28:16
Like before, the offices of Scotland Yard are flooded with
28:19
false leads. Every young, male, German immigrant falls under suspicion
28:25
in the public's eyes. The same questions cycle torturously through
28:31
Tanner's tired mind. To whom did the crushed hat belong?
28:36
Why did the killer exchange Briggs's chain rather than sell it? And,
28:42
most dauntingly, how will he possibly find his suspect... amongst
28:46
London's masses. As the investigation enters its second week, London
28:52
is struck by a heatwave. Untreated human waste from homes
28:58
not yet connected to the new sewerage system flows down
29:01
the River Thames and stagnates in cellars. The whole city
29:06
smells of decay. But it is against this unforgiving backdrop
29:13
that the murder of Thomas Briggs... will finally be solved.
29:19
On July 18, 1864, in front of the splendid Great
29:23
Western Hotel near Paddington Station, Hackney carriage driver Jonathan Matthews
29:28
stops to water his horse. His bright red four-seater cab
29:34
has been criss-crossing across London in the sweltering heat for
29:38
nearly twelve hours. tired, and plans to call it a
29:42
day soon. But as his horse eagerly gulps down water
29:46
from the trough, Matthews sees Tanner's poster containing the description
29:51
of the suspect, crumpled hat, and watch. The name of
29:56
the jeweller catches his eye. John death. It's certainly a
30:03
strange name, but that's not why Matthews takes notice. He
30:08
realizes he's seen it before, on a small cardboard box
30:13
that his German immigrant friend had recently given his daughter
30:17
to play with. Matthews is not keen to involve his
30:21
friend in the investigation, but once he sees the reward money,
30:26
now 300 pounds, he wastes no time. Wrenching his horse's
30:31
head from the trough, he rushes home to collect the
30:34
box before speeding off to the nearest police station. Matthew's
30:40
account makes the on-duty officer's ears prick up. Not only
30:45
does he produce the box, which clearly displays John Death's
30:48
name and address, but his friend, 24-year-old German tailor Franz Muller,
30:55
fits the description to a T. Furthermore, Matthews testifies that
31:00
he had bought Muller a hat from T.H. Walker of
31:04
Crawford Street a few months back. If you'll recall, the
31:08
crumbled hat found at the crime scene bore the exact
31:11
same name. The officers waste no time. They order Matthews
31:18
to drive them to his home so that they can
31:20
get a statement from his wife, Eliza, who had seen
31:23
Muller only a few days prior. The carriage clatters down
31:27
the cobblestones, slicing through the muggy night air at top speed. Finally,
31:32
it reaches its destination, in the poor neighbourhood of Lisson Grove,
31:37
on the borders of Paddington. Sitting in their modest home,
31:42
shared with two other working-class families, Eliza corroborates everything Matthews
31:47
told the officers and goes into even further detail. Two
31:52
days after the murder, on July 11, 1864, Muller had
31:56
come by to tell her that he was leaving for
31:58
New York City. Muller, she explains, is a likable fellow,
32:03
but prone to boasting. He spent three hours bragging that
32:07
the city tailors, for whom he worked, were sending him
32:11
to America on the impressive salary of £ 150 a year.
32:17
Muller's ship, or so he said, had finally come in.
32:23
During the meeting, he not only showed off his shiny
32:26
new gold watch and chain, but also a pinky ring
32:29
with a white Cornelian face, the very same kind John
32:35
Death described. Eliza noticed that Muller was walking with a
32:40
noticeable limp, an injury he claimed occurred when a letter
32:44
cart ran over his foot. As the young German said
32:49
his goodbyes and got up to leave, he put on
32:51
what Eliza believed to be a new black top hat,
32:56
the sort typically only worn by distinguished upper-class gentlemen. The
33:03
officers are now convinced that Franz Muller is their man,
33:08
but it appears he may have already fled the country.
33:13
With no time to waste, the police notify Detective Tanner
33:16
of their discovery immediately. It's well after midnight now, but
33:20
Tanner insists on heading directly to the address the Matthews
33:23
provide for Muller. At 1am on Tuesday, July 19th, he
33:28
arrives at 16 Park Terrace, Old Ford, on the border
33:33
of Bethnal Green and Bow. Tanner notes that it's just
33:36
a 10-minute walk from Duckett's Canal, where Briggs' body was found.
33:43
All the lights in the house are off and the
33:45
detective can observe no movement. Rather than head home and
33:49
come back in the morning, he decides to wait until
33:52
first light. As the hours pass, he busies himself by
33:57
constructing a picture of Franz Muller in his mind. The
34:02
watch chain he exchanged was valued at three pounds, the
34:06
equivalent of a three to four weeks wage for a
34:09
tailor like Muller. Yet he had chosen not to pawn it.
34:14
Speaker 2: Why?
34:15
Speaker 1: The answer, Detective Tanner believes, can be found in Eliza
34:19
Matthews' testimony. Muller is prone to boasting, taking every chance
34:25
he can to make himself appear more wealthy, more refined
34:29
than he truly is. This means he envisions himself as
34:33
being somehow above his station, destined for greatness but trapped
34:37
within London slums. It wasn't just Mr. Briggs' watch he wanted,
34:43
it was his life. Maybe that's why he wasn't content
34:47
with simply stealing the old man's belongings and fleeing. Briggs
34:52
had to die for the new and improved Franz Muller
34:56
to be born. As the sun rises over London at
35:00
around 6am, Detective Tanner begins to see signs of life
35:04
within 16 Park Terrace. He knocks on the door and
35:08
is met by Muller's landlady, Mrs. Blythe. Blythe apologises to Tanner,
35:13
but her tenant no longer lives here. In fact, he'd
35:17
left just five days ago, on July the 14th. Shortly
35:22
after the attack on Thomas Briggs, Muller had gone around
35:25
to his friends to raise the four pounds needed to
35:29
gain passage on a transatlantic vessel to New York. A
35:33
fee which would have been more than taken care of
35:36
had he only been willing to pawn Briggs' gold watch
35:39
and chain. Disappearing back into the house, she re-emerges with
35:44
a letter bearing the heading of a ship called the Victoria.
35:49
It reads, On the sea, July the 16th in the morning.
35:54
Dear friends, I'm glad to confess that I cannot have
35:57
a better time as I have. If the sun shines
36:00
nice and the wind blows fair, as it is at
36:03
this present moment, everything will go well. Detective Tanner is
36:10
too late. Franz Muller is now in the belly of
36:14
a ship headed for America, presently embroiled in its bloody
36:19
civil war. Should he make it there, he will disappear
36:23
almost instantly into the chaos of the conflict. Detective Tanner
36:29
has no time to waste. There is no way of
36:32
contacting the victorious captain, of course, and with the transatlantic
36:36
telegraph cable not yet laid, he has no means of
36:39
alerting the American authorities of Muller's arrival. The only option
36:44
is for him to beat Muller to New York. Luckily,
36:49
the Victoria is an old-fashioned wooden sailing ship. It will
36:54
take her at least 29 days to reach New York
36:57
City if she's not held up by storms. Police Commissioner
37:02
Main issues a warrant for Muller's arrest and orders Detective
37:05
Tanner and his accompanying officer, Sergeant Clark, to leave within
37:10
the hour. John Death and Jonathan Matthews are to join
37:14
them to act as witnesses. The next ship headed to
37:19
New York City departs from Liverpool tomorrow morning, Wednesday, July
37:23
the 20th. The City of Manchester is a modern, iron-hulled steamer,
37:30
expected to arrive at its destination in under a fortnight,
37:33
which would give the team a few days' advantage. Thankfully,
37:38
they're able to secure second-class cabins. Steerage tickets on most
37:43
ships leaving Europe have all been sold out for weeks.
37:47
An average of 132,000 immigrants arrive at Ellis Island every day,
37:55
lured by the promise of $ 1, 000 for joining the Union Army. Tanner,
38:03
Sergeant Clark, Matthews, and Death make the journey without incident
38:08
and arrive in New York City on August 5, 1864.
38:13
Detective Tanner finds out from the Victoria's owners that the
38:16
ship is making slow progress. It's not due to arrive
38:19
for another two weeks, giving him ample time to arrange
38:23
for Muller's extradition. But as the days roll by, Tanner
38:28
becomes increasingly aware of an unforeseen issue. A Confederate pirate ship,
38:35
the Tallahassee, has been regularly taking ships off the coast
38:38
of New York. On August the 12th, It captures the
38:42
Victoria's sister ship, the Adriatic, and casts its 124 passengers ashore. Anxious,
38:50
Tanner sends a pilot boat to intercept the Victoria a
38:53
few days later, but it, too, is captured by the
38:57
Confederate pirates. If Muller's ship is taken, it will quickly
39:02
vanish into the wilds of America and all Scotland Yard's
39:06
efforts will have been for nothing. In spite of all
39:10
his planning, Detective Tanner's efforts are now at the mercy
39:15
of the raging Civil War. It is not until August
39:20
the 24th, 1864, that Detective Tanner is able to breathe
39:25
a sigh of relief. After 40 days at sea, the
39:28
victim is now alive. is spotted off of Sandy Hook,
39:32
beginning to make her way into the lower bay. At
39:37
this point, news of the fugitive's arrival has spread through
39:41
the press like wildfire, and thousands of New Yorkers have
39:44
gathered on the Staten Island shoreline to catch a glimpse
39:47
of the foreign killer. As the now infamous ship passes
39:52
in front of them, the crowd begins crying out, How
39:56
are you, Muller the murderer? In a pilot ship, Sergeant Clark,
40:03
John Death, Jonathan Matthews and an NYPD officer speed past
40:09
the onlookers. Detective Tanner is not with them, forced instead
40:14
to head into the city to sort out the final
40:16
paperwork for Muller's extradition. The men board the Victoria just
40:22
before six o'clock and head straight for the captain's cabin,
40:25
who has no idea that he's been carrying a fugitive
40:27
all this time. The officers, Death and Matthews, follow him
40:33
out to the deck where he begins calling out the
40:35
names of steerage passengers to be inspected by the ship's
40:39
quarantine doctor. Several men and women step forward. to have
40:44
their foreheads, mouths and eyes examined for signs of diseases
40:48
known to run rampant through the cramped quarters of ships' bowels. Finally,
40:54
the captain calls, Franz Muller. From the crowd emerges a small,
41:02
unassuming young man, with a shock of blonde hair and
41:06
a pale face. His clothes are shabby, but excellently tailored.
41:13
Jonathan Matthews and John Death both recognize him instantly and
41:18
nod to the officers. As Muller moves towards the quarantine doctor,
41:25
Sergeant Clark and the NYPD officer grab his arms. Muller
41:31
does not jump in fright or begin to shake. He
41:34
simply turns to them and calmly asks in a mild
41:38
German accent, What is the matter? but his composure quickly
41:43
falls away when Sergeant Clark explains he's under arrest for
41:48
the murder of Thomas Briggs, occurring on July 9, 1864.
41:51
Eyes bulging from his head, Muller protests that he had
41:59
never even taken the North London Railway, has never even
42:02
heard the name Briggs. Ignoring his words, Sergeant Clark orders
42:09
for Muller's suitcase to be brought to him. Rummaging through
42:13
its contents, he finds a few stained shirts, a pair
42:16
of work trousers, shears, and a measure for tailoring. Nothing
42:20
out of the ordinary. But tucked away neatly in the corner,
42:24
Clark spies the black, silken top of a hat. Picking
42:30
it up, he reads the label on the inside. Dignance
42:35
Royal Exchange. The inspector shivers. This must be Briggs's hat.
42:42
but it appears the tailor has altered it slightly so
42:45
that the top sits lower on the crown. At the
42:50
bottom of the case, Clark finds a small pouch, no
42:53
bigger than the palm of his hand, delicately tied with
42:56
a ribbon. He pulls it open and out tumbles a
43:01
heavy gold pocket watch. Muller's face falls as he hurriedly
43:08
explained that he'd bought the watch from a man on
43:10
the London docks two years ago Unmoved, Clark pulls out
43:15
his magnifying glass and reads the serial number. It's an
43:19
exact match. The watch he now holds in his palm
43:24
is the very same that was ripped from Thomas Briggs'
43:27
body moments before he was murdered. Seven weeks and 3,000
43:33
miles later, Scotland Yard has finally caught their railway killer.
43:41
Franz Muller is extradited on September 3, 1864, and arrives
43:46
in the United Kingdom on September 15. Remarkably, during the voyage,
43:52
the young man took a liking to Detective Tanner, who
43:55
lent him Dickens' Pickwick Papers and David Copperfield to pass
43:59
the time. The police are very kind, he later says,
44:05
particularly Mr. Tanner. Awaiting trial, He is held at Holloway Prison,
44:12
where he protests his innocence to everyone within earshot. He
44:17
is sure that when his trial comes around on October 27th,
44:20
he'll be able to prove it. Unfortunately for Muller, however,
44:25
this is not the case. His trial at the Old
44:29
Bailey lasts just three days. Not only were Mr. Briggs'
44:34
belongings found in his suitcase, but during the transatlantic chase,
44:38
investigators searched his abandoned flat. and discovered torn pieces of
44:42
a coat covered in human blood stuffed up the chimney.
44:48
Muller's attorneys argue that this evidence is circumstantial and claim
44:53
that their client is being targeted because he is a
44:55
poor German immigrant, but it's no use. The jury takes
45:00
just 15 minutes to deliberate. Franz Muller is pronounced guilty
45:05
of the murder of Thomas Briggs and sentenced to hang.
45:11
The execution of Franz Muller takes place in front of
45:15
the Old Bailey on November the 14th, 1864. His is
45:21
to be one of the last public executions in British history. 50,000
45:27
onlookers turn up to view the grisly spectacle. There is
45:31
an air of celebration. The masses get drunk on cheap spirits,
45:36
singing songs and playing games. But as the hours pass...
45:40
They become more bloodthirsty. Fights break out, and they begin
45:45
to scream Muller's name, demanding the show to begin. Their
45:51
cries are all heard by the young German tailor, as
45:54
he is given his dying rights by Dr. Louis Capelle,
45:58
a German-speaking Lutheran pastor. When the prison bell begins to
46:03
toll at ten minutes to eight, he walks out the
46:06
doors of the Old Bailey and onto the scaffold. Muller
46:10
begins to shake as the executioner places a white sack
46:14
over his head and fastens the noose around his neck.
46:19
Kappel approaches him and offers him one last chance to
46:23
confess his sins. Reportedly, Muller says softly through his hood,
46:30
Ich habe es getan. I did it. Immediately after, the
46:37
trapdoor opens and and the crowd erupts into a deafening roar.
46:43
The case of the railway murder made Detective Richard Tanner
46:47
a star within Scotland Yard. He went on to solve
46:51
countless high-profile crimes and is even rumoured to be one
46:54
of the inspirations behind Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.
47:01
But the murder of Thomas Briggs had an even more
47:03
long-lasting effect on society. Due to the public outcry surrounding
47:08
the case, Trains began installing communication cords that allowed passengers
47:14
to contact the railway crew in the event of an emergency.
47:19
These devices can be seen in some form in nearly
47:22
every train throughout the world to this day. Reminders of
47:27
one warm night in 1864 when a bloodied railcar rolled
47:32
into Hackney Wig Station and changed history. For more information
47:44
on Britain's first railway murder, amongst the many sources we used,
47:48
we found Mr Briggs' Hat by Kate Colquhoun, particularly helpful
47:54
to our research. Next time on Scotland Yard Confidential. In
48:00
December 2002, a homeless man rooting through bins in Camden
48:05
makes a grisly discovery. Dismembered body parts lead detectives to
48:11
a sinister apartment. The walls are covered in bizarre graffiti.
48:16
More human remains are found in a bedroom, but the
48:19
occupant is nowhere to be found. Anthony Hardy was once
48:25
a professional engineer with a wife and family, but his
48:29
mind has been taken over by darkness and violence. Now
48:34
he's an out-of-control killer, and the police have no idea
48:38
where he is. The race is on to find the
48:42
Camden Ripper before he kills again. Scotland Yard Confidential is
48:59
a Spotify original from Parcast, produced in partnership with Noisa.
49:02
Executive produced by Max Cutler, Drew Cole, and Pascal Hughes.
49:06
Developed by Julian Buaro for Parcast. Series produced by Addison Nugent.
49:11
Series consultant, Roger Morris. Written by Roger Morris. Hosted by me,
49:16
John Hopkins. Supervising editor, Kevin fam sound design by matthias
49:20
torres sole sound supervisor tom pink edited by carla flores
49:25
and rob plumber mix master by kian ryan morgan music
49:29
by oliver baines and dory mccauley Yeah.