Solved: How the brides in the bath died at the hands of their ruthless womanising husband

[FarCenter]

The glow of the policemen's lanterns cast eerie shadows over the graveyard, as the church clock chimed midnight and the cheaply made coffin was raised slowly from its resting place. Inside, was the decomposing body of 38-year-old Margaret Lofty, a vicar's daughter who had been buried just two months previously.

This was the first of three excavations requested by detectives in February 1915. Four days later, the cadaver of 25-year-old nurse Alice Burnham was removed from her Blackpool grave. Like Margaret Lofty, she had expired suddenly, as had 33-year-old Bessie Mundy, whose corpse was exhumed in Herne Bay, Kent, a fortnight later. All three were at first believed to have drowned after fainting or having a fit in the bath, but suspicions were aroused after it was discovered they had been married to the same man, serial bigamist George Joseph Smith.

His trial later that year, for what became known as the Brides In The Bath murders, was one of the most sensational of the 20th century. And the public was so fascinated by Smith's crimes that for many decades an effigy of him stood in Madame Tussauds' Chamber Of Horrors.

...

But the question was: how? The theory Spilsbury advanced in court was that Smith had pulled their legs sharply out of the bath, sending their head underwater so fast consciousness was lost instantly.
Modern science gives this some credibility. The rushing of water down the throat could put pressure on the vagus, one of the main nerves in the neck, causing a rapid slowing down of the heart rate and an instant faint. Yet most people suffering 'vagal inhibition' do not die, recovering quickly afterwards.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1267913/Solved-How-brides-bath-died-hands-ruthless-womaniser.html

[Scuba]

1. I remember this story from my youth, perhaps early 60's. At least that MO.

[FarCenter]

2. I seem to recall a detective show on TV that used the MO

Possibly a Columbo?

[Scuba]

3. I remember it as a "true" story, not fiction, even including the English setting. But....

... I don't really trust my memory.

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. Arrgh! Get to the end, and it says "But the truth is, it is unlikely that we shall ever know"

So it's not 'solved' after all.