In 1910, Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen was hanged for poisoning and dismembering his wife Cora. Nearly a century later, new evidence suggests that Crippen was—as the title of this episode in the PBS-aired series Secrets of the Dead claims—”executed in error.” Calling the Crippen story the “O.J. Simpson case” of its time, poison expert John Trestrail was intrigued by several incongruous aspects of the Crippen affair, which became a huge news story when Scotland Yard inspectors discovered human entrails buried under a flagstone in Crippen's flat, and then embarked on a manhunt that would eventually result in the arrest of Crippen and his secretary/mistress Ethel Le Neve aboard a transatlantic steamer—thanks to a message sent by the vessel's suspicious captain through Guglielmo Marconi's new invention of wireless telegraph (the stories of Marconi and Crippen are nicely dovetailed in Erik Larson's bestselling 2006 book Thunderstruck). The trial hinged on a few key pieces of forensic evidence—bits of skin, pajama fabric, and traces of poison—which were enough to convict Crippen and send him to his death less than four weeks later. For Trestrail, however, this paltry collection of grisly tidbits begged an obvious question: namely, why would Crippen bury only a small handful of specific items (just enough to hang himself)? Combining archival photos with dramatic recreations, this intriguing documentary—narrated by Liev Schreiber—interweaves an historical account of the Crippen case together with Trestrail's modern-day investigative work, drawing on fresh DNA testing that offers convincing and shocking evidence that the human remains uncovered in Crippen's basement were not those of Cora Crippen, but rather an unidentified male. Sure to appeal to true-crime mystery fans (especially those who have read Larson's book), this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (R. Pitman)
Secrets of the Dead: Executed in Error
(2008) 56 min. DVD: $24.99 ($54.95 w/PPR). PBS Video. Closed captioned. ISBN: 0-7936-9496-5. Volume 24, Issue 3
Secrets of the Dead: Executed in Error
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