Category: Wrongly Accused

50 – Murdered Abroad: The story of Jason Corbett

On By mensreapod@gmail.comIn Child Victim, Controversial Case, Domestic Violence, Intimate Partner Violence, Irish Crime, Mental Health, murder, Self Defence, US Crime, Women Who Kill, Wrongly Accused

In August of 2015, a Limerick man, Jason Corbett, was found dead on his bedroom floor of the master bedroom of his lavish family home in North Carolina. His young wife and her father were covered in blood hen police arrived, and a bloody baseball bat and paving brick were found in the bedroom. They told the police that Jason had been killed in self defence. 

But Molly and Tom Martens would both face trial for the murder of Jason Corbett. The Limerick man’s family fought for justice, and for custody of his two young children, which was watched by people, both at home and abroad.

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49 – Wrongful Conviction: Tim Evans & the serial murders of 10 Rillington Place

On By mensreapod@gmail.comIn Capital Punishment, Child Victim, Controversial Case, Domestic Violence, Human Rights, Insanity Defence, Intimate Partner Violence, Landmark Case, Serial Killer, sex crimes, UK Crime, Vintage murder, Wrongly Accused

A man is hanged for the murder of his child, and presumed to be the his wife’s murderer, too. But three years later, in the same house that the couple had lived, more bodies were found.

Six More. 

Including the wife of the man who had been the Crown’s star witness against Tim Evans in his murder trial.

This is the story of the serial murders of John Reginald Christie at Ten Rillington Place. 

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37 – St Patrick’s Day: Crimes & Mayhem

On By mensreapod@gmail.comIn Capital Punishment, Collabouration, Discrimination, Drug-related, IRA/Paramilitary links, Irish Crime, Mental Health, murder, Serial Killer, unsolved, Vintage murder, Wrongly Accused

It’s St Patrick’s day. Worldwide, buildings are being “greened”. Shamrock shakes are being consumed. Guinness is being poured, and we’re drowning the shamrock.

But, this time of year sees a lot of bad behaviour. Some directly as a result of our celebration of all things Irish and some… a little more premeditated.
This week, I’m joined by 4 other fabulous podcasts to tell the story of some St Patrick’s day crimes for you.

Special thanks this week to:
All Crime No Cattle ;
Southern Fried True Crime;
Gone Cold – Texas True Crime; and
Unresolved
for your kind contributions!

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34 – The murder of Una Lynsky, Wrongful Convictions & fight for Justice

On By mensreapod@gmail.comIn Controversial Case, Human Rights, Irish Crime, Kidnapping, Landmark Case, murder, unsolved, Vintage murder, Wrongly Accused

In October 1971, on a rural lane south of the village of Ratoath, Co Meath, Una Lynsky disappeared while walking a short distance from a bus stop to her home. Around that time, screams were heard and a strange car was seen driving up and down the lane. But three local lads, Dick Donnelly, Martin Kerrigan, and Martin Conmey found that they were the ones who had drawn the attention of the notorious Murder Squad of the Garda Siochana.

By the end of the year, two young people from Porterstown Lane would be dead. Two trials would follow and a series of appeals to try and clear a man’s name of guilt that did not belong to him.

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32 – Ron Williamson, Wrongful Convictions & Murders in Ada (Part 2)

On By mensreapod@gmail.comIn Capital Punishment, Controversial Case, Domestic Violence, Drug-related, Human Rights, Insanity Defence, Mental Health, murder, US Crime, Wrongly Accused

The small town of Ada Oklahoma was rocked in the early 80s by two unrelated murders of young women in the town. But by the mid 90s, that would change. The town would come under scrutiny for miscarriages of justice, where two and possibly more men were convicted of crimes they did not commit.

Last month, Netflix released The Innocent Man, a 6 part series looking at these crimes and their aftermaths. This week on the podcast, we take an in-depth look into just one of those cases, that of the murder of Debbie Sue Carter and the wrongful convictions of Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz.

Ron and Dennis had very different journeys through their appeals processes, but both of their fates lay in the testing of DNA evidence. Would new science finally exonerate them?

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32 – Ron Williamson, Wrongful Convictions & Murders in Ada (Part 1)

On By mensreapod@gmail.comIn Capital Punishment, Controversial Case, Discrimination, Drug-related, Human Rights, Insanity Defence, Landmark Case, Mental Health, murder, US Crime, Wrongly Accused

The small town of Ada Oklahoma was rocked in the early 80s by two unrelated murders of young women in the town. But by the mid 90s, that would change. The town would come under scrutiny for miscarriages of justice, where two and possibly more men were convicted of crimes they did not commit.

Last month, Netflix released The Innocent Man, a 6 part series looking at these crimes and their aftermaths. This week on the podcast, we take an in-depth look into just one of those cases, that of the murder of Debbie Sue Carter and the wrongful convictions of Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz.

Ron Williamson was an eccentric and unstable character. Was it this nature of his that made him a target for the Ada Police Department? 

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28 – Murder on Ireland’s Eye

On By mensreapod@gmail.comIn Capital Punishment, Controversial Case, Domestic Violence, Intimate Partner Violence, Irish Crime, murder, Vintage murder, Wrongly Accused

In 1852, Sarah Maria Louisa Kirwan was found dead at the Long Hole on Ireland’s Eye as the tide receded. Her husband, William, had been painting a sunset scene of the Dublin Mountains and told the boatmen who returned to get them from the craggy island in Dublin Bay that he had no idea what had happened to her. An inquest found that the poor woman had drowned.

But in Victorian Dublin, rumours spread quickly, and it was discovered William Burke Kirwan was living a double life – one that provided a motive for murder.

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23 – Colin Norris: murderous nurse, or wrongfully convicted?

On By mensreapod@gmail.comIn Controversial Case, Drug-related, murder, Public Inquiry, Serial Killer, UK Crime, unsolved, Wrongly Accused

In 2002, Colin Norris was a young man at the beginning of his career in his chosen field of nursing. But the sudden death of an elderly patient, Ethel Hall, who had been under his care prompted a police investigation which scrutinised the 18 months that he had worked in Leeds General Infirmary, and he was accused of 4 murders and an attempted murder. authorities said he had maliciously administered injections of insulin to elderly patients, police said because he didn’t like old people.

But would there be enough evidence to convict him?

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16 – The Nally Case: Murder or Self Defence?

On By mensreapod@gmail.comIn Controversial Case, Discrimination, Human Rights, Irish Crime, Landmark Case, Mental Health, murder, Wrongly Accused

Living in an isoalted area is never easy. Its even more frightening when you’re and elderly farmer living on his own, certain that there are people scoping out your home for break-ins. Add that to high – profile incidents of violent robberies across the Irish countryside, and it most certainly becomes a tense situation. But does defending your land and property mean you can take a life?

In 2004 Padraig Nally faced this exact situation. But was he justified in his actions? And did discrimination play a part in the altercation at his farmhouse and the subsequent trial? This week we look at the the events surrounding the Nally Case and the impact it had on Irish Law.

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14 – The Grangegorman Murders: A spree killing & a false confession

On By mensreapod@gmail.comIn Irish Crime, Mental Health, murder, sadism, Serial Killer, Wrongly Accused

 
 
Dublin: 1997. Three women occupy number 1 Orchard View, an assisted living facility for former patients of the nearby St Brendan’s Psychiatric Hospital. On the night of March 6th of that year, two of the women, Sylvia Sheils and Mary Callanan, were brutally murdered in their rooms. They were discovered the next morning by their housemate Ann Murnagh, and a hunt for the killer began. The Gardai soon heard that a young heroin addict who slept rough in the Grangegorman area may be responsible for the heinous crimes. Dean Lyons was questioned by the Gardai and promptly confessed to the killings. But was this man capable of the horrible crimes he had confessed to, or did the Gardai have the wrong man? There would be two further murders before the case was solved….
 
 

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