The
Mutual Broadcasting System presents the secrets of Scotland Yard with your host and narrator,
Clive Brook.
Brought to you by the Mutual Broadcasting System in cooperation with the Kraft Foods
company, makers of Velveeta, the quality pasteurized processed cheese spread.
Ex lax.
How do you do?
What would make you commit a murder?
What motive?
Love?
Hate?
Jealousy?
Greed?
Murders by madmen don't count, they have no motive.
But quite sane people have destroyed human life for reasons both extraordinary and unpredictable.
How interesting and exciting are the vagaries of human nature, in proof of which I'm going
to recall to life a little scene of murder that happened at a certain place and a certain
people.
And I want you to guess the motive.
The certain place was a public house and the certain people, two men and a woman.
Look Bill, here's Mary Haldane.
I haven't been seen in around the old hunch lately.
And it is that I've never set my eyes on her at this time of day.
She usually is sleeping during the light hours.
I'm thinking she looks none too happy.
What do you think of her for, you know?
She's the right type.
I don't think she'd be missed.
Let's try her out.
Ah well now Mary McGarrett, you're out very early today are you not?
Early?
Late?
What's the difference when you're only half alive?
Closing time gentlemen.
Come to think of it Mary, you're looking a bit under the weather now.
You've not been drinking have you?
That's just it.
This is my first and it looks like being the last.
I'm sober as a saint and really very sorry for it.
What in the name of heaven will it be then that's making you so unhappy?
Money Bill, money.
Haven't any.
Ah well now, I'm thinking a wee drum of the finest refreshment in the world.
It would be doing you no harm at all Mary now.
Come along with us to Bill's house.
We were just going to have a drop ourselves.
Oh thank you gentlemen, thank you.
I'm just dying for a drink.
You never know how much you love the stuff until you haven't got the money to buy it.
Oh thank you gentlemen, you've probably saved my life.
Oh gentlemen, I never had to be gay.
Oh no Bill, I shouldn't have any more do you think?
You gave me a little bit of a
jolt already.
Oh well then, just one more.
Oh that's good.
The taste seems to get better and better and better.
Come along now Mary, just one more now.
This one will taste better than all the others put together.
Oh no, really?
Oh well I'm finding myself getting a bit dizzy you know.
I don't think I'm better off anymore.
She's really sozzled now's the time.
Get that bill out quick.
What was that, is that fruit?
Drink Mary, just a little drink you know.
Just another little drop with a pretty shine in your lovely eyes now.
Oh Bill, you and your compliment.
You bit the test on me.
Quick now, open her mouth and nose.
I've got a light.
Get one pill out now.
I think it's all over now.
Can you hear her heart?
Just a second.
Yes, it's still bedding.
It's venturing.
Can I hear it now?
Yes, it stopped.
And now, what was the motive for that murder?
A murder deliberately planned and executed.
What was the motive?
The woman had no money, she'd done nothing to call for revenge.
The murderer certainly neither loved nor hated her.
What could they gain from her death?
What did they want from her?
Well, they wanted her dead body.
We're at the...
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A public service of this station and the advertising council.
We open our store in November 1827
in Edinburgh, Scotland.
There in a filthy retreat called Tanners Close,
situated in the lowest quarter of the city,
there existed a tramp's lodging house.
The terms were not exorbitant.
Thruppants per person per night.
But the fact that the hovel only contained eight beds
did not mean that only eight lodgers were accommodated.
They usually slept two or three in a bed.
The landlord was an Irishman, William Hare.
In the house as a paying guest was another Irishman, William Burke,
with his girlfriend Helen MacDougall.
As Burke and Hare were friendly, so did friendship spring up
between Mrs. Hare and Miss MacDougall.
Now for the story.
On this particular evening, Hare came into Burke's room
in an obviously angry mood.
Hello there.
Ah, evening dear Hare.
And what is it I can be doing for you?
Oh, I was just dropping in for a spot of talk
and perhaps a spot of spirit.
I was just having a drum myself.
Ah, there's nothing to touch it.
That's true enough.
One could buy a lot of whiskey with four pounds now, couldn't one?
And why four pounds?
Well then come on with it.
What is it you'll be having on your mind?
Well, it's this way, Burke.
That old man Donald.
Ah, there, me pensioner upstairs.
He's always having them nightmares.
He's dead.
Is he by this age? And when?
Yesterday morning.
Ah, well, no.
But what's there in an old man dying off to worry you?
He had to die sometime.
You didn't ever hand in it yourself, no, did you?
Lord, no.
He died of too much drinking and old age.
Why, wanting him to stay alive?
The old codger, he owed me money.
Ah, so that'll be the four pounds you mentioned.
Yes, and he's left nothing. Not a farthing.
Ah, that's bad. Bad indeed, no.
I'm terribly sorry, here.
Burke, I've been thinking now.
There might be a way of, so to speak, retrieving the money.
A relation?
No, no, he hadn't, to my knowledge.
Would you be knowing of Dr. Monroe?
He's a lecturer at the medical school.
Ah, I've heard his name somewhere, no.
He lectures to the students on anatomy or some such name.
And he shows them what he's driving at in his talk.
By pointing it out on a body.
A dead body.
He cuts up the body while he's talking to them.
Ah, go on here now.
But what's this got to do with old Donald upstairs?
Dr. Monroe is short of bodies right now.
He pays well for them and no questions asked.
He usually gets them from the students who robbed the graves of the dead up at the church.
But you'd be wanting to sell him old Donald without having to put the corpse in the grave at all.
Right.
Will you be helping me?
I need help in this.
Er, what will I be getting out of it?
Anything over the four pounds that Donald owes me.
I'm with you then.
Where's the body?
In the coffin in the yard.
We'll stuff the box with a bag of wood, then nail the lid back on.
No one will know it isn't a corpse inside when they come to bury it.
Let's get on with it then.
The idea was a variation on the old one of body snatching.
The robbing of graves had been going on since early in the previous century.
The dissecting tables of the medical schools were kept supplied mainly by bands of such thieves
who would rob the nearby churchyards as a good profit.
If you've ever been to Edinburgh, you will perhaps have noticed the cage-like effect of certain cemeteries,
the graves being fenced in with iron bars.
These are relics of an age when the sleep and peace of the dead were liable to be disturbed by the resurrectionists, as they were called.
Sometimes the robbers would keep a watch over the aged and ailing members of the community,
waiting for death to do its work.
And then almost before the body was stiff in its grave, they would dig it up and take it to the nearest market,
in other words, the nearest medical school.
It was illegal, of course, and the strict Scots religion made the crime very unpopular.
But all this tended to make the price of bodies higher, and though the risks were great, so were the profits.
This must be the door, number ten.
That's right.
Well, there's someone about anyway.
It should be bargain, do you think?
Ah, better not the first time. Let's hear what they have to offer.
If he pays enough to cover Donald's debts to you and a bit more for me, I'll be content.
Well, I wish he'd hurry up. I don't like carrying a corpse all over Edinburgh with me.
Shh!
Ah, can I help you, gentlemen?
We've come to see Dr. Knox.
Oh, I'm afraid he's busy at the moment. Can I help you?
Oh, you can trust me.
Well, now, we have this.
I see. I'm sorry. Come inside.
Put it down on the table.
That's right.
Now then, take it out of the sack.
Mm-hm.
Now, I'm afraid I can't offer you more than seven pounds.
Seven pounds, is it?
Oh, all right then. Seven pounds, ten. But no more.
I hear you are.
Thank you kindly, sir.
In a moment, we'll return to the secrets of Scotland Yard with your host, Clive Brooke.
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Among the lodgers at the establishment of William Hare was a miner named Joseph.
How's that fellow Joseph getting on?
He was coughing all last night. I couldn't sleep a wink on his account.
Ah, he's worse. And his fever's alarming the other lodgers.
Bad for business, you know. Some of them will be leaving unless he gets better soon.
Better or worse, much worse.
Eh?
Let's go and see him. We might be able to put the poor devil out of his suffering.
And Hare, I'm thinking Dr. Knox might be getting a wee bit anxious about bodies for his lectures.
Are you with me?
Yes.
Joseph would be better off dead. Anyway.
Has he any relations that might be worried about him?
Not that I know of. Here's the door.
Now wait till I say the word and then move quickly. We don't want him making an unholy row.
Hold on. Half shares when we sell the body.
Of course, of course, men. What did you think?
Come in.
Ah, good evening, gentlemen.
Good evening to you, Joseph. And how are you feeling tonight?
Oh, Mr. Burke, I haven't longed for this world, I fear. Not long.
And what do you think, Hare?
Not long, I fear.
Quick now. Put the pillow over his mouth. I'll hold his legs.
Don't, don't.
Fetch Don.
In Burke's later confession to an Edinburgh Evening Paper, he winds up this particular episode with the words,
Sold to Dr. Knox for ten pounds. About nine months after the first murder, that of Joseph the Miller,
An ex-soldier and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Grey, were staying at the lodging house.
One evening there was a party given by Burke in his room, to which all the lodgers were invited.
Burke gave the party in honour of a little old woman he had found in a wine shop.
Mr. and Mrs. Grey were among the guests.
Ah, would you believe it now. There I am having my morning drama whiskey in all Rhymer's shop.
And what would I be hearing, what a gentle voice speaking in accents of my own beloved Ireland.
Asking for alms, she was.
No, Mrs. Grey, would I be the true son of the fairest land in all the world,
If I were not asking you to take a little refreshment at my expense?
And as sure as my name's William Burke, what would you think I would be finding her name was?
I'm sure I don't know, Mr. Burke, I'm sure I don't know.
Why, docety, docety, the same as my darling mother's name, God rest her soul.
And would it be right now, I'm asking you, Mrs. Grey, if I were not to be throwing a bit of a party tonight
For the sake of a dear relation of mine.
Very kindly, Mr. Burke.
Well, you know, thinking your dear relation is a wee bit too much of a whiskey, she's old now,
And I'm too steady in her feet.
Billy here will be taking care of her. He's dancing with her now.
Oh, look now, if he hasn't trampled down her feet.
Ah, she doesn't look too badly after me.
No, no, probably just a sprain. Now, are you all right, my dear Maggie?
Ah, Mr. Burke, I'm not her friend, but I'm afraid there'll be no more dancing for me tonight.
Nor any other night.
The party continued, drunken and noisy, into the small hours.
Mr. and Mrs. Grey left comparatively early, but returned on her invitation to breakfast the next morning.
Tell me, Mr. Burke, what's the game of the old lady you had with you last night?
Ah, docketed, you mean. Ah, the old hag.
Did you not hear the row in here all night?
She got so drunk she thought she was fifty years younger, and started getting much too friendly with me.
There we kicked the silly old baggage out of the house.
Well, well, that's too much.
That's the truth, I'm telling you, Mrs. Grey.
I put up with the old girl as long as I could, but we had to get rid of her in the end.
Oh, what a row she made. Ha, ha, ha, ha.
But she's quiet enough now, Mrs. Grey. Keep away from that bed, if you please, though.
Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Burke. I wanted to get you some potatoes. They're under here, aren't they?
Ah, what in the name of mercy are you doing near the bed with the lighted pipe in your mouth now?
Come away, you hear.
Ah, what's my pipe got to do with it?
Ah, wait, woman. You might just, you might set the straw on fire with it, and then there'd be a nice mess now.
I'll get the potatoes myself, and I'll warn everybody to keep away from this part of the room.
This peculiar conduct naturally aroused the curiosity of the Greys,
but it was not until nearly evening that Burke left the house,
by which time Mrs. Grey must have smoked several more pipes.
As soon as Burke left, she went straight to the bed, lifted the cupboard,
and there she discovered the dead body of Mrs. Doherty.
It is due to the unswerving honesty of Mrs. Grey and her husband that the criminals were brought to justice.
Both Burke and his mistress tried to bribe them to keep quiet about their discovery.
They were poor people, and the offer of ten pounds a week must have been very tempting, but they went to the police.
And gradually the whole horrible story came out.
Though it was not until much later, when Burke made his confession,
that the public learned the full extent of the crimes that had been committed in Tanners Close.
For the moment, only the murder of Mrs. Doherty was before them.
But was it murder?
The first job of the public prosecutor was to prove this,
to establish what in Scots law is called the corpus delicti.
But owing to the subtlety of the murderer's methods,
the surgeon of the Edinburgh City Police was unable to say whether the old woman has really died from violence.
The evidence against all four concerned was inadequate,
and at one time it looked as though it would be a case of having no trial.
But finally, as all four still denied all accusations against them,
it was decided that Hare should be asked to turn King's evidence.
Hare readily accepted the offer.
He came into the court with a ghastly smile.
William Hare, we observe that you are at present a prisoner in the Toulbuth of Edinburgh.
And from what we know, the court understands that you must have had some concern in the transaction now under investigation.
It is therefore my duty to inform you that whatever share you might have had in that transaction,
if you now speak the truth, you can never afterwards be questioned in the Court of Justice.
These words must have reassured him greatly.
He implicated himself and his partner Burke with every word he spoke,
knowing all the time that only Burke would pay the penalties.
The case started at 10 a.m. on December 24, 1828,
and the court sat without a break until nine-thirty the next morning, Christmas Day, when the verdict was returned.
Burke's mistress MacDougall was acquitted, as the charge against her was not proven,
which is a scot's compromise between guilt and innocence.
Hare's wife went free, as his evidence could not concern her.
Wife cannot bear witness against husband.
But William Hare himself went free seems unjust to us now,
but at the time it was a case of one or neither, and the cost taken was the only possible one within the law.
I would like you all to hear the sentence passed on Burke.
It was a normal one for murderers in Scotland,
and I think a special significance was applied to a man who made his living by the sale of corpses to the medical school.
And upon that day, to be taken forth from the said tall booth to the common place of execution in the lawn market of Edinburgh,
and then and there to be hanged by the neck by the hands of the common executioner upon a gibbet until he be dead,
and his body thereafter to be delivered to Dr Alexander Monroe, Professor of Anatomy in the University of Edinburgh,
to be by him publicly dissected and anatomised.
And may God Almighty have mercy on your soul.
And so it was that William Burke ended up in the same way as the numerous men and women that he and his fiendish partner had smothered to death,
on a lecture as dissecting table.
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The Mutual Broadcasting System has presented the secrets of Scotland Yard with your host and narrator, Clive Brooke.
In cooperation with the Kraft Foods Company, makers of...
This is Sanford Marshall inviting you to return next week when we will again reveal the secrets of Scotland Yard.
Thank you.
Thank you.