The fascinating story of the first British murderers to be convicted using fingerprint evidence is revealed in a new book about some of the country’s most notorious killers.
Forensic science was used to help convict brothers Alfred and Albert Stratton of bludgeoning Thomas Farrow, 71, to death during a break-in at his paint suppliers in Deptford, South East London, in February 1905.
Fingerprints on a cash box matched those of Albert, a petty criminal, held at Scotland Yard’s developing new bureau in the capital, and the brothers were convicted of the murder at the Old Bailey in May that year.
A feature on Albert and Alfred Stratton, the first murderers to be convicted on fingerprint evidence, in the Illustrated Police News on May 27, 1905). Forensic science was used to help convict the brothers of bludgeoning Thomas Farrow, 71, to death
Jose Waldberg (left) was one of the first spies to be executed under the Treachery Act 1940. Mary Ann Cotton (right) was a mass murderer commonly called the ‘Dark Angel of the North’ who was hanged for the murder by poisoning of her stepson
A sketch of the devastation after the Clerkenwell Outrage in the Illustrated Police News on December 21, 1867. The blast saw the Irish Republican Brotherhood plant a bomb at the jail in an attempt to free one of their members, but it left 12 dead
The murder of Isaac Gold on the Brighton railway line, as featured in the Illustrated Police News on July 9, 1881. He was slayed by fellow passenger Percy Lefroy Mapleton on board a 2pm train from London Bridge to Preston Park station
Henry Pierrepoint executed both later that month at HMP Wandsworth in South London, with witnesses recording that Albert’s death was instantaneous while his elder brother displayed ‘some muscular movement afterwards’.
Pierrepoint, father of famed hangman Albert Pierrepoint, noted in the executions on May 23 that Alfred was 22, 5ft 6in and 147lbs; while his brother was 20, 5ft 8in and 172lbs. Both men were also listed as having ‘strong necks’.
The case is one of those covered in a new book, ‘Convicted: Landmark Cases in British Criminal History’, by former police detective Gary Powell, which details some of the most notorious British murders of the last 150 years.
Photographs from the book reveal sketches from intense interviews with Albert and Alfred Stratton, as well as a portrait of Jose Waldberg, one of the first spies to be executed under the Treachery Act 1940.
The key characters in the Great Detective Case of 1877, which saw four officers charged with conspiring to pervert the course of justice. Three were found guilty and one was acquitted following an investigation into a scam involving horse racing bets
Daniel M’Naghten (left) murdered Edward Drummond after mistaking him for then-prime minister Robert Peel in 1843. John Tawell (left) killed his mistress Sarah Hart, and was caught after a telegram was sent to a train station with his description
Dr William Palmer, the ‘Rugeley Poisoner’, was a notorious Victorian doctor who was alleged to have been responsible for up to 15 murders, including that of his wife. He was hanged at Stafford Prison in front of 35,000 spectators in June 1856
The series of pictures reveal details of some of the most dangerous characters to walk on British soil, including Mary Ann Cotton, a mass murderer from County Durham who was commonly called the ‘Dark Angel of the North’.
She was hanged for the murder by poisoning of her stepson Charles, but was suspected of murdering three of her four husbands for insurance. It is thought that she murdered as many as 21 people, including 11 of her 13 children.
Other photos show notable locations from across Britain, such as Drummonds Bank in London’s Charing Cross, where Edward Drummond emerged moments before he was murdered by Daniel M’Naghten in Whitehall.
Other photos show notable locations from across Britain, such as Drummonds Bank in London’s Charing Cross, where Edward Drummond emerged moments before he was murdered by Daniel M’Naghten in Whitehall in 1943
Also pictured is the Calthorpe Arms Public House on Gray’s Inn Road in Central London where PC Robert Culley was stabbed in the chest during the Coldbath Field Riots in May 1833. The pub on the fringes of Bloomsbury is still open nowadays
The property of 4 Burgh Street in Islington, North London, where businessman James Cameron was murdered in October 1970. His was the first murder to be solved using a police photo-fit, which led to the conviction of John Ernest Bennett
Antique shop assistant Elsie Batten, 59, was stabbed to death in March 1961 at Cecil Court on Charing Cross Road in London. Her murderer was identified as Edwin Bush and caught within days after the circulation of Identikit pictures
James Blomfield Rush shot dead Isaac Jermy and his son Isaac Jermy Jermy at Stanfield Hall in Norfolk in 1848. He was a farmer on the estate and had borrowed money, but killed them to avoid repaying it and was hanged at Norwich Castle (above)
Also pictured is the Calthorpe Arms Public House on Gray’s Inn Road in Central London where PC Robert Culley was stabbed in the chest during the Coldbath Field Riots in May 1833.
Mr Powell, who worked as a detective on Scotland Yard’s anti-terrorist branch and on various murder and terror investigations, told how it was fascinating to follow the constant evolution of the justice system over time.
He said: ‘Great Britain has one of the oldest judicial systems in the world.
‘Our common law can be traced back to the Middle Ages, and at its cornerstone is the jury system, with the basic tenet that a person is innocent until proven guilty.
‘The law, of course, cannot stand still and has to move with the times to be fit for purpose in relation to Britain’s ever-changing social and economic traits, even to the point of questioning the effectiveness of the jury system in some cases.
‘This book reflects on those changes and the landmark cases throughout our criminal history that have strengthened this country’s reputation for fairness and justice.
‘Starting as far back as the late eighteenth century, the examination and preservation of crime scenes had become ever more important, coinciding with the emergence of specific forensic methods and sciences.
‘Fingerprinting, entomology, ballistics, facial reconstruction, forensic dentistry/odontology and of course DNA, to name some but not all, have aided the police in their ultimate aim to convict those guilty of some of the most horrendous crimes imaginable.’
Convicted: Landmark Cases in British Criminal History will be published by Amberley Publishing on Monday.