Murderous History (6x60')
Murderous History is a six hour fascinating investigative series that looks at history through the lens of crime. These spine chilling stories take us back in time to unlock the secrets of a place, an era and the people who lived there - exploring some of history’s greatest and most shocking crimes.
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1. London Blitz Killer - London 1940s
When workman find a woman’s body in a burnt out London church they initially assume she died in an air-raid - until they realise the horrific truth. Her head isn’t attached to her body. A crime of passion is revealed - all committed under the cover of the infamous London Blitz.
2. Edinburgh Body Snatchers – Edinburgh 1820s
At the start of the 19th century the enlightenment has opened up thousands of new avenues of research in science, industry and medicine. Studies of anatomy require corpses to operate on. Such is the appetite for cadavers that there are those who would supply dead bodies at a price - and stop at nothing to acquire them...
3. Chicago's White City Devil – Chicago 1890s
We follow one of the most infamous stories in Chicago’s history as property developer H.H. Holmes takes advantage of the boom to build his own hotel in the bustling city - which later became known as the ‘murder hotel’. After the con-artist, bigamist and serial liar is arrested for a life-insurance scam, he confesses he faked the death of Ben Pitezel and claims he is now on his way to South America with his kids. But investigators can’t find Ben Pitezel, his children or some missing hotel residents. Will their remains be found in Chicago’s murder hotel?
4. Berlin's Nazi Ripper - Berlin 1940s
The shocking case of the serial killer who benefits from the fake news propaganda of the Nazis to embark on a reign of terror against the women of Berlin. With so many men away in WW2, Berlin is mostly populated by solitary women. This presents the perfect scenario for a sexual predator and serial killer. Under the cover of air-raid blackouts he prowls the S BAHn rail system, picking off women one by one and tosses them from the moving trains.
5. Britain's Killer Nanny - London 1890s.
When the body of a child is found washed up on the banks of London’s river Thames, a murder mystery investigation to rival the wildest Sherlock Holmes tale begins. Investigations reveal a macabre underground industry - Baby Farming – in which infants are taken from impoverished mothers in return for payment, murdered and then thrown in the river.
6. Rio's Playboy Killers - Rio de Janeiro, 1977
In 1977 Rio de Janeiro was rocked by the murder of Claudia Lessin Rodrigues, the beautiful 21 year old sister of Maria Rodrigues (‘The Ipanema Girl’). The accused; multi-millionaire Swiss-Brazilian Michel Frank and his celebrity hairstylist friend Georges Khour were never convicted of her murder, sending ricochets through the capital city - evidence that if you were rich and well connected, the law did not apply...