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Hawley Harvey Crippen
Born	September 11, 1862(1862-09-11)
Died	November 23, 1910 Hanging
Other names	Dr Crippen
Known for	Executed for murder of wife

Hawley Harvey Crippen (11 September 1862 – 23 November 1910), usually known as Dr. Crippen, was hanged in Pentonville Prison, London, England, on November 23, 1910 for murdering his wife. He has gone down in history as the first criminal to be captured with the aid of wireless communication.

In 2007 some American researchers concluded that their DNA tests cast doubt on his conviction^[1], though this conclusion is not shared by a majority of experts on the case.

Contents 1 Brief biography 2 Murder 3 Transatlantic arrest 4 Trial and execution 5 Question of doubt 6 New evidence 7 In popular culture 8 References 9 Footnotes 10 External links

Crippen was born in Coldwater, Michigan to Andresee Skinner and Myron Augustus Crippen.^[2] Crippen became a homeopathic doctor and started working for a homeopathic pharmaceutical company, Dr. Munyon's. His second wife was Cora Turner, born Kunigunde Mackamotski to a German mother and a Polish-Russian father. She was a would-be opera singer who openly had affairs. In 1900, Crippen and his spouse moved to England. His U.S. medical qualification was insufficient to obtain a doctor's position in the UK. After having changed multiple addresses in London, the couple finally moved to 39 Hilldrop Crescent, Camden Road, Holloway, London where they had lodgers to compensate for Crippen's meager income.

After a party at their home on January 31, 1910, Belle disappeared. Hawley Crippen told everyone she had returned to the United States, and later added that she had died in California and had been cremated. Meanwhile, his lover, Ethel le Neve, moved into Hilldrop Crescent and began openly wearing Belle's clothes and jewelery. The police were informed of Belle's disappearance by her friend, strongwoman Kate Williams, better known as Vulcana. The house was searched but nothing was found, and Crippen was interviewed by Chief Inspector Walter Dew. After the interview (and a quick search of the house) Dew was satisfied and had no doubts regarding the truth of his story. However, Crippen and le Neve did not know this and fled in panic to Brussels where they spent the night at a hotel. The following day they went to Antwerp and took the SS Montrose to Canada.

Their disappearance led Scotland Yard to perform another three searches of the house. During the fourth and final search, they found the remains of a human body, buried under the brick floor of the basement. Sir Bernard Spilsbury found traces of hyoscine, a calming drug. The corpse had to be identified from a piece of skin from her abdomen, because her head, limbs and skeleton were never recovered. Crippen and le Neve fled across the Atlantic on the Montrose, with le Neve disguised as a boy. Captain Henry George Kendall recognised the fugitives and, just before steaming out of range of the land-based transmitters, sent a wireless telegram to the British authorities: "Have strong suspicions that Crippen London cellar murderer and accomplice are among saloon passengers. Mustache taken off growing beard. Accomplice dressed as boy. Manner and build undoubtedly a girl." Had Crippen travelled 3rd class he would have probably escaped Kendall's notice. On board the Montrose a wait of several days ensued because the ship was out of range of wireless communication. Dew boarded the faster White Star liner, the SS Laurentic, arriving in Quebec ahead of Crippen, where he contacted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

As the Montrose entered the St. Lawrence River, Chief Inspector Dew, disguised as a pilot, came aboard. At that time Canada was a British dominion, so Dew was a Scotland Yard detective on duty in territory of the British Empire. If Crippen, a U.S. citizen, had sailed to the United States, even if he had been recognised, an international arrest warrant followed by extradition proceedings would have been required to bring him to trial.

Kendall invited Crippen to meet the pilots as they came aboard. Dew removed his pilot's cap and said, "Good morning, Dr Crippen. Do you know me? I'm Chief Inspector Dew from Scotland Yard." After a pause, Crippen replied, "Thank God it's over. The suspense has been too great. I couldn't stand it any longer." He then held out his wrists for the handcuffs. Crippen and le Neve were arrested on board the Montrose on July 31, 1910. Crippen was returned to England on board the SS Megantic.^[3]

Crippen and le Neve were tried separately at the London assizes, held at the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey, London E.C. After just 27 minutes of deliberations, the jury found Crippen guilty of murder and he was hanged by John Ellis in November at Pentonville Prison, London. Ethel le Neve was acquitted.

Crippen's trial revealed the meticulous manner in which the body had been disposed of. After death, Cora Crippen's bones and limbs were professionally removed, and burned in the kitchen stove. Her organs were dissolved in acid in the bathtub, and her head was placed in a handbag and thrown overboard during a day trip to Dieppe, France. Throughout the proceedings and at his sentencing, Crippen showed no remorse, only concern for his lover's reputation. At his request, her photograph was placed in his coffin and buried with him.

Although Crippen's grave in the prison grounds is not marked by a stone, tradition has it that soon after his burial a rose bush was planted over it.

There remains some dispute over whether Dr Crippen did, in fact, murder his wife. One theory, which was first propounded by Edward Marshall Hall (who had initially been engaged to lead Crippen's defence, although he later gave up the brief), was that Crippen was using hyoscine on his wife as a sexual depressant but accidentally gave her an overdose and then panicked when she died. In 1981, Hugh Rhys Rankin claimed to have met Ethel le Neve in 1930 in Australia. On that occasion, she is said to have told him that Crippen murdered his wife because she had syphilis.

In October 2007, Michigan State University forensic scientist David Foran claimed that mitochondrial DNA evidence conclusively showed that the body found beneath the cellar floor in Crippen's home was not actually Cora Crippen.^[4] This research was based on genealogical identification of three matrilineal relatives of Cora Crippen (great-nieces), whose mitochondrial DNA haplotype was compared with DNA extracted from a slide taken from the torso in Crippen's cellar. This has raised new questions about Crippen's guilt and the actual identity of the body found in the cellar. One theory is that Crippen may have been carrying out illegal abortions, and it may be that one of his patients died and he disposed of the body in the way he was accused of disposing of his wife.^[5]

• The 1962 feature film Dr Crippen featured Donald Pleasance in the title role.
• The BBC series Shadow of the Noose, about the life of barrister Edward Marshall-Hall, included his abortive attempt to defend Crippen (played by David Hatton).
• Erik Larson's 2006 novel Thunderstruck interweaves the story of the murder with the history of Marconi's invention of radio.
• In Return to Groosham Grange Dr. Crippen is one of the waxworks that attacks David.

• J.H.H. Gaute and Robin Odell, The New Murderer's Who's Who, 1996, Harrap Books, London
• The World's Most Infamous Crimes and Criminals. New York: Gallery Books, 1987. ISBN 0-8317-9677-4
• Nicholas Connell, Walter Dew; The Man Who Caught Crippen, Sutton Publishing (2005), ISBN 0-7509-3803-X
• Erik Larson, Thunderstruck. New York, Crown Publishers, 2006. ISBN 978-1-4000-8067-0

• Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen: Of Passion And Poison at the Crime Library
• Dr. Crippen: One Night In Camden
• Crippen mystery remains despite DNA claim - BBC News cited 18th October 2007