Historical True Crime

The Disappearance of Louis Le Prince: The First Filmmaker Who Vanished

Louis Le Prince created some of the earliest motion pictures in the 1880s, years before Edison or the Lumière brothers. In 1890, just as he was preparing to present his work publicly, he boarded a train in France and disappeared. He was neverseen again. Source MaterialsPaul Fischer, The Man Who Invented Motion Pictures: A True Tale of Obsession, Murder, and the Movies Nat Segnit, “Who Killed Louis Le Prince? On the Forgotten Father of Film,” Harper’s Magazine (April 2022) “100 Years Ago, the Father of Movies Disappeared,” The New York Times, September 16, 1990 Christopher Rawlence, The Missing Reel: The Untold Story of the Lost Inventor of Moving Pictures Stephen Herbert, “Louis Le Prince,” Who’s Who of Victorian Cinema National Science and Media Museum (UK), archival materials on Louis Le Prince Leeds City Council / Leeds Museums & Galleries, local historical materials on Roundhay Garden Scene and Leeds Bridge footage PaulFischer, The Man Who Invented Motion Pictures: A True Tale of Obsession,Murder, and the Movies Nat Segnit,“Who Killed Louis Le Prince? On the Forgotten Father of Film,” Harper’sMagazine (April 2022) “100 YearsAgo, the Father of Movies Disappeared,” The New York Times, September16, 1990 ChristopherRawlence, The Missing Reel: The Untold Story of the Lost Inventor of MovingPictures StephenHerbert, “Louis Le Prince,” Who’s Who of Victorian Cinema NationalScience and Media Museum (UK), archival materials on Louis Le Prince Leeds CityCouncil / Leeds Museums & Galleries, local historical materials on RoundhayGarden Scene and Leeds Bridge footage

The Cleveland Street Scandal: Telegraph Boys, a London Brothel, and Aristocratic Clients

A routine Post Office investigation in 1889 led to the discovery of a male brothel on Cleveland Street, involving telegraph boys and high-profile clients linked to the royal household. As the case unfolded, key figures escaped prosecution—raising questions about power and accountability. Source Materials H. Montgomery Hyde, The Cleveland Street Scandal H. Montgomery Hyde, The Love That Dared Not Speak Its Name: A Candid History of Homosexuality in Britain Katie Hindmarch-Watson, “Male Prostitution and the London Telegraph Boys,” Theo Aronson, Prince Eddy and the Homosexual Underworld British Newspaper Archive, “Unlock the Story of the Cleveland Street Scandal” https://blog.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/2023/08/01/unlock-the-story-of-the-cleveland-street-scandal/ [https://blog.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/2023/08/01/unlock-the-story-of-the-cleveland-street-scandal/] Rictor Norton, “The Cleveland Street Scandal (1889)”https://rictornorton.co.uk/eighteen/1889clev.htm [https://rictornorton.co.uk/eighteen/1889clev.htm] Contemporary newspaper reports from The Times (1889–1890) Contemporary newspaper reports from The North London Press (1889–1890)

Anna Marie Hahn: The Cincinnati Poisonings

Anna Marie Hahn was a German immigrant living in Cincinnati in the 1930s. She cooked for people, spent time with them, and became part of their daily lives. And over time, the men she grew close to began to die. Source Material Franklin, Diana Britt. The Good-bye Door: The Incredible True Story of America’s First Female Serial Killer to Die in the Electric Chair. Kent State University Press, 2006. Hunt, Amber. “Queen City Crime: How serial killer Anna Hahn rocked Cincinnati, made Ohio history.” The Cincinnati Enquirer, February 6, 2024. Contemporary newspaper coverage, including: The Cincinnati Enquirer (1937–1938) The Cincinnati Post (1937) The Pittsburgh Press (execution coverage, 1938) Telfer, Tori. Lady Killers: Deadly Women Throughout History. HarperCollins, 2017. Vronsky, Peter. Female Serial Killers: How and Why Women Become Monsters. Berkley Books, 2007. Queen, Chelsea. “Anna Marie Hahn: The Deadly ‘Arsenic Widow.’” Medium, 2024

The Murder of Emanuele Notarbartolo (1893) — Sicily’s First Mafia Case

In 1893, Sicilian banker and former mayor Emanuele Notarbartolo was murdered on a train traveling along the northern coast of Sicily. What followed was a case that moved through multiple trials, convictions, and acquittals, raising questions about political influence, financial power, and the limits of the legal system. Source materials John Dickie, Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia (Hodder & Stoughton, 2004) https://www.hodder.co.uk/titles/john-dickie/cosa nostra/9780340935262/ Salvatore Lupo, History of the Mafia (Columbia University Press, 2009) https://cup.columbia.edu/book/history-of-the mafia/9780231131346 [https://cup.columbia.edu/book/history-of-the-mafia/9780231131346] “Raffaele Palizzolo Describes the Mafia,” The New YorkTimes, July 12, 1908 https://www.nytimes.com/1908/07/12/archives/raffaele-palizzolo-describes-the-mafia-the-noted-sicilian.html [https://www.nytimes.com/1908/07/12/archives/raffaele-palizzolo-describes-the-mafia-the-noted-sicilian.html] “Emanuele Notarbartolo: Banker and Politician,” Italy OnThis Day https://www.italyonthisday.com/2023/02/emanuele-notarbartolo-banker-and.html [https://www.italyonthisday.com/2023/02/emanuele-notarbartolo-banker-and.html] Chelsea Queen, “Emanuele Notarbartolo: The Sicilian Mafia’sFirst Victim in 1893,” Medium, December 31, 2024 https://medium.com/@chelseaqueen/emanuele-notarbartolo-the-sicilian-mafias-first-victim-in-1893

The Ratcliffe Highway Murders: Terror in London’s East End

In December 1811, two households on London’s Ratcliffe Highway were brutally murdered within days of each other. As panic spread through the East End, investigators searched for a killer moving through the dockside streets. A sailor named John Williams soon became the prime suspect but his death would leave the truth uncertain. Source Materials P. D. James and T. A. Critchley. The Maul and the Pear Tree: The Ratcliffe Highway Murders, 1811. Faber & Faber, 1971. Judith Flanders. The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime. Thomas Dunne Books, 2011. John Fairburn. Fairburn’s Account of the Dreadful Murder of Mr. Marr and Family, Who Were Barbarously Murdered in Their House on Ratcliffe Highway. London, 1811. Peter Ackroyd. London: The Biography. Nan A. Talese / Doubleday, 2000. The Proceedings of the Coroner’s Inquest on the Marr and Williamson Murders, London, December 1811. The OldBailey Proceedings Online. https://www.oldbaileyonline.org [https://www.oldbaileyonline.org] Radzinowicz, L. “The Ratcliffe Murders.” The Cambridge Law Journal 14, no. 1 (1956): 39–66. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4504366 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/4504366]