sad….sad….

how do u watch videos i need for hw

i think the prosecuters got it right because look what a doctor did to his precious wife even if it is 1910. this is a time most things don’t work as they planned but this can’t be an execuse and i don’t now why investigators have re-opened the files after almost 100 years, this just a story we have to forget for good.

No story or history should ever be forgotten otherwise we will never have a better society or brighter future. Nor should an innocent man be condemned for a crime he did not commit, even if it takes a hundred years to prove his innocence.

Being a descendant of his wife, I’m actually happy they proved the case. There are many books written about this particular case and am happy to have been a part of the process of discovery of finding out the truth.

On the 1920 census record that was cited on the program, the occupation of Belle Rose was not singer, it was designer. And the occupation of Bertha Messenger or Mersenger was dressmaking. Mistakes can be made even today.

Right on Dan. It clearly says designer. Who’s checking these things out? Talk about mis-guiding everyone who watched….

In 1920 Bertha (Mersinger) Smith was living in NYC with her husband William Smith and 3 children – 1 of them Louise Smith. Louise Smith was originally born to Bertha Mersinger (step sister of Cora) and Arthur Baum. I have not seen the show yet, it airs tonight here but will be interesting. We do believe the Bertha and Cora later lived together but do not have that proof yet.

PBS used to be the last bastion of accurate information. It appears thay too, have gone over to the dark side. Its all about how much drama you can bring to a story irregardless of the accuracy.

I do believe the accuracy is there for the most part. The DNA was taken from the descendents of Cora and believe that is the crucial piece of evidence. Cora was known for her “mean streak” so believe she was capable of setting up her husband. Research is always thought provoking and sometimes hard to prove. Am anxious to see the show.

Great show. Thought it was well done and accurate except the statement on the 1920 census.

I have just watched this program with great interest. I thank you for the in-depth information. I do not agree with others that say we should forget for good. England must admit thier faults and release Dr. Crippens body to be reburied in America. What is right will always be right. As a Crippen I say “It’s about time!”

I have serious questions as to the validity of the findings of this genetic researcher. The price of the hair was too high and he accepted a “free” slide from a museum. He asserts from his testing that the tissue on the slide was not Cora’s and NOT female.
As a researcher, I would immediately pay the price for the hair from Scotland yard if I discovered this discrepancy.
The hair was actually a lock of hair, colored as Cora colored her hair, wrapped around one of her hair curlers. It was found in the “grave” with the remains of the torso from which the tissue sample purportedly comes.
The torso in the “grave” was scarred from a surgery that women during that period underwent for the sake of fashion. It was a dangerous surgery, but Cora is known to have undergone the proceedure. The surgery to remove the lower ribs on each side was performed to allow for a smaller waste size. Men did not undergo this surgery.
In a hundred years time, samples can be mixed. I am not questioning the researcher’s findings of the tissue being male. I am questioning the assertion that this tissue sample was part of the female, deboned torso found in Harvey Hawley Crippin’s basement, with scars from having the lower ribs removed.
A scientist MUST remain objective or the science breaks down. Attention to detail is a must and a scientist must conduct his testing without pre-conceived notions in order to maintain objectivity.
The chemistry of many poisons would have been well known to Harvey Crippen as he had long been a “snake oil” salesman in the States. He was not a real doctor, but one of the many quacks selling mostly alcohol to ladies as “tonics”.
After the murder, Crippen hopped on a boat to the U.S. with his young, female lover. She dressed as a boy to avoid detection. Authorities were waiting for them on the other side, thanks to the new trans Atlantic communications. Crippen was the first fugitive caught in this way.
I missed the program, unfortunately. I am reading through the site. I have been acquainted with the Crippen case for longer than this genetic researcher has been and I am also trained in genetics.
While these old cases are fascinating and surely many people in the past have gone to the gallows wrongly convicted, I am hard pressed to imagine that Harvey Hawley Crippen was one of the innocents.
If the tissue that this researcher tested is truly that of a male, then the hair from Cora’s hair curler also should be tested. It would seem strange to find that a man was murdered in Cora’s house having undergone a female surgery and wearing her curlers with his hair long and colored exactly her shade of hair-color, but I suppose stranger things have happened. The very fact idea that Crippen, such a quiet and unassuming man would have engaged in an affair, murdered is overbearing wife, and then fled across the Atlantic with his girlfriend dressed as a boy is pretty strange to begin with.
That’s why the Crippen case has always fascinated so many people. He just didn’t seem like the type.

I think the case is worthy of reassessment, and therefore, the show has chosen a worthy topic. Forensic pathology was only a few steps beyond trephining to cure headaches in the early twentieth century, and the truth can only benefit from further analysis. I do agree that the Scotland Yard hair sample should be tested, but unless the Yard is hiding something, they should release the sample for free in the interest of justice. (are they interested in justice?)

As for the accusations of hype, drama and poor fact checking, clearly those critics have too much free time, have never been in an editing room, nor ever produced anything worthy of public scrutiny. I challenge them to try, or at least learn about the process before condemning the effort. I am certain they will criticize me for saying so.

Fabulous, fabulous. Dr. Crippen’s story has always fascinated me. As a child, I went on many school trips to Madame Tussaud’s and thus became acquainted with the case at an early age. I agree wholeheartedly with Mr. Parks assertion (above) that the case should be re-opened. It has always troubled me that the part of the body that was easiest to dispose of was the part that was buried in the coal cellar. A head, legs, bones…those much more difficult to hide that skin and organs that are more easily or even dissolved in acid. Of course, some murderers have hidden heads rather well (Robert Durst).

Although I was intrigued by the show and do feel that there are huge descrepancies in the original case, I am irritated at the genealogist who worked on the case, as of late. She stated that in the New York 1920 census, that Bertha Messinger (supposedly sister to Cora) and Belle Rose may very well be Cora Crippin (with her stage name) and her sister, Bertha Messinger, since Belle’s occupation was “singer”…….but it is untrue. First, Bertha is listed as Belle Rose’ cousin and secondadly, but most emphatically, Belle’s occupation is NOT “singer”, but rather, “Designer”. I was wondering WHY a genealogist for the PBS would tell such a tale, or are her eyes that bad?
I do feel however, that there are enough other circumstantial evidence questions, which point to the fact that the original investigation was not ample enough. Also, when doing female DNA testing, it must be of the two females for the samples to match. IF this sample was of a male, how on earth did it match to Cora’s great niece?
Haunting questions need real answers.

The 1910 census shows a Belle Rose, age 29, born in PA, single as a border with Samuel and Cora Bloom, at 415 E. 79th St, Manhattan. Her father born in Germany, mother PA. Occupation is milliner. This census was taken 15 Apr 1910.

The 1920 census, also shows Belle Rose at the same age, born in PA, both parents born in Germany. Occupation is designer, as previously noted. She is probably a designer of hats.

Given the above information and the fact that census takers sometimes made mistakes, I believe that these two persons are the same and that the Belle Rose living with Bertha Messinger is not Cora.

Interestingly, there is a female Crippen, age and first name unknown, who travelled from England to Gibraltar in 1910. The Belle Rose who came to NY in 1910, came from Bermuda on the ship Bermudian. The Bermudian did not sail from England in 1910. So did Cora travel under the Crippen name to Gibraltar, then travel to Bermuda and then using the name Belle Rose sail onward to NY. The passenger list does not provide any details as to contacts on either end of the voyage.

I LOVE this show, but also print some of it off so that I can read it at work on my break. Sometimes it is hard to do this with the way the site is set up. When are you going to archive some of the newer shows?

Fantastic episode. This show has been getting better and better.. loved the Roman Fire episode and the Zulu one.

Sorry, folks, the 1920 census says the women were cousins and born in 1891 and 1892. Cora was born in 1875. Since Cora NEVER contacted any of her friends, I believe Crippen really did do her in. But bury parts of a body in the house, no way. Someone else did that.

It was proved and stated by DNA that Crippon, an accused killer of his wife, Bella Rose, was found not guilty. They stated that the body inside the attic was a man. But what was the ethnicity of that man?

i really dont like these programs as they are scary :S

Erik Larson’s book, ‘Thunderstruck,’ is based on the Crippen affair. It contains details that clear up many questions – plus it is a fascinating read!!

hmm that was interesting.

ummmm im scared of england now.

Wow. That looks interesting!

England has such a bloody history. They’re cold and ruthless people and capable of framing an innocent man like Crippen and so many countless others . They hide behind their royal (lol) and corrupt killer queen and have gotten away with so many murders, including Diana’s .