Episodes

  • 94 | The Vampire of Kraków: Karol Kot and the Murders That Shocked Poland

    94 | The Vampire of Kraków: Karol Kot and the Murders That Shocked Poland
    Apr 18 2026
    In 1960s Kraków, Poland, a string of random, brutal stabbings shocked the city and left police hunting a killer with no apparent motive. At first, nobody suspected Karol Kot; a polite, intelligent teenager hiding an obsession with knives and violence. The two murders and multiple attempted murders he committed would earn him the nickname ‘The Vampire of Kraków.’

    📘 Learn more about my latest book
    Wartime London’s ‘Bonnie and Clyde’: The Crime Spree of Betty Jones and Karl Hulten
    https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Wartime-Londons-Bonnie-and-Clyde-The-Crime-Spree-of-Betty-Jones-and-Karl-Hulten-Hardback/p/57334

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    Your support helps keep Prash’s Murder Map going and is very much appreciated.

    Sources:
    Karol Kot – Wizja Lokalna, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-et-kqwcJwc
    Seryjni mordercy – Był sobie chłopiec – Karol Kot (2008)
    Karol Kot. Wampir z Krakowa. Przed maturą chodził… polować
    M jak morderca. Karol Kot – wampir z Krakowa, Przemyslaw Semczuk
    Murder Casebook Volume 2, Prash Ganendran
    “Case 95: The Vampire of Kraków”, Casefile Podcast, 2019 Nucleus, “#0289, Vampire of Kraków Karol Kot”, November 2021, The True Crime Database
    “The Vampire of Krakow, Karol Kot, Poland”, Evidence Locker Podcast, 2022
    Harriet Williamson, “In cold blood: sex maniac teen serial killer dubbed ‘Vampire of Kraków’ went on stabbing spree so he could drink victims’ blood”, The Sun, October 2018, https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/7626084/teen-serial-killer-vampire-of-krakow/
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    26 mins
  • 93 | The Murderess of Newington Butts: The Strange Case of Agnes Norman

    93 | The Murderess of Newington Butts: The Strange Case of Agnes Norman
    Apr 11 2026
    In Victorian London, 15-year-old Agnes Norman was working as a nursemaid when a 14-month-old girl in her care died suddenly and mysteriously. When suspicions were raised, police uncovered a disturbing pattern. Over the previous three years, Agnes had worked in several households, and each time, a string of sudden deaths – children and pets alike - followed in her wake. Was it cold-blooded murder, or a stunningly tragic coincidence?

    Check out my latest true crime book: Wartime London’s ‘Bonnie and Clyde’: The Crime Spree of Betty Jones and Karl Hulten

    Subscribe to my free newsletter:
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    🙏     Thank you for listening.
    Your support helps keep Prash’s Murder Map going and is very much appreciated.


    Music:
    Epidemic Sound
    "Long Note Three" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) - ending Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

    Sources:
    Ancestry.co.uk, including Census Records for 1851, 1861, and 1871.
    England, Manchester, Parish Registers, 1603-1954, FamilySearch.
    Old Bailey Online.
    Sun & Central Press, Saturday 6 May 1871.
    Norwood News, Saturday 13 May 1871.
    Public Opinion, Saturday 2 September 1871.
    Essex Times, Wednesday 19 July 1871.
    Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, Saturday 20 May 1871.
    Simon Read, Scotland Yard: A Bloody History (Headline).
    Paul Thomas Murphy, Pretty Jane and the Viper of Kidbrooke Lane.
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    19 mins
  • 92 | Murder in Babbacombe: The Man They Could Not Hang

    92 | Murder in Babbacombe: The Man They Could Not Hang
    Apr 4 2026
    In November 1884, 68-year-old Emma Ann Whitehead Keyse was brutally murdered in her home in Babbacombe, Devon. As investigators pieced together the crime, suspicion fell on a household member, leading to a trial that gripped the public. But the story didn’t end in the courtroom, as the fate of the accused would take an extraordinary turn that made headlines across Victorian England.

    📘 Wartime London’s ‘Bonnie and Clyde’: The Crime Spree of Betty Jones and Karl Hulten

    Subscribe to my free newsletter:
    https://prashganendran.com

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    YouTube: https://youtube.com/@prashsmurdermap

    💡 Support my work
    Patreon (audio only ad-free episodes): https://www.patreon.com/prashsmurdermap
    Buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/prashsmurdermap
    PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/prashsmurdermap

    🙏 Thank you for listening.
    Your support helps keep Prash’s Murder Map going and is very much appreciated.


    Sources:
    Ancestry.co.uk
    Home Office Records, HO 144/148//A38492: Criminal Cases: Lee, John
    Exeter and Plymouth Gazette Daily Telegrams - Monday 19 September 1881
    Express and Echo - Monday 17 November 1884
    Wigan Observer and District Advertiser - Friday 21 November 1884
    Herald of Wales - Saturday 06 December 1884
    North London News - Saturday 07 February 1885
    North Devon Journal - Thursday 28 January 1909
    Rope, Knife and Chair by Guy Logan, 1928
    The Man They Could Not Hang: The True Story of John Lee by Michael Holgate, 2005
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    25 mins
  • 91 | The Saint-Cloud Murders: The Crimes of Serial Killer Eugen Weidmann

    91 | The Saint-Cloud Murders: The Crimes of Serial Killer Eugen Weidmann
    Mar 12 2026
    Eugen Weidmann, a German-born criminal, carried out a spree of theft, kidnapping, and murder in Paris in the late 1930s, in a case that involved foreign victims, buried bodies, ransom notes, and multiple accomplices. His calm, deceptive charm helped him evade the police for two years before he was finally captured. In 1939, Weidmann became the last man to be publicly guillotined; a controversial method of execution that would remain in use in France until 1977.

    📘 Learn more about my latest book
    Wartime London’s ‘Bonnie and Clyde’: The Crime Spree of Betty Jones and Karl Hulten
    https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Wartime-Londons-Bonnie-and-Clyde-The-Crime-Spree-of-Betty-Jones-and-Karl-Hulten-Hardback/p/57334

    Subscribe to my free newsletter:
    https://prashganendran.com

    📺 Subscribe for video versions
    YouTube: https://youtube.com/@prashsmurdermap

    💡 Support my work
    Patreon (audio only ad-free episodes): https://www.patreon.com/prashsmurdermap
    Buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/prashsmurdermap
    PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/prashsmurdermap

    🙏 Thank you for listening.
    Your support helps keep Prash’s Murder Map going and is very much appreciated.

    Sources:
    Ancestry.co.uk
    Daily Herald – Thursday 30 December 1937
    San Francisco Chronicle – Sunday 25 December 1938
    Bradford Observer – Tuesday 14 March 1939
    Bradford Observer – Wednesday 15 March 1939
    Daily News (London) – Thursday 16 March 1939
    Daily Express – Friday 17 March 1939
    Daily Express – Thursday 30 March 1939
    Birmingham Mail – Saturday 01 April 1939
    Leicester Evening Mail – Tuesday 16 May 1939
    Hull Daily Mail – Saturday 17 June 1939
    Halifax Evening Courier – Saturday 17 June 1939
    Sunday Post – Sunday 18 June 1939
    https://www.guillotine.dk/pages/history.html
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    22 mins
  • 90 | Murder in Birkenhead: Lock Ah Tam and the Chinatown Tragedy

    90 | Murder in Birkenhead: Lock Ah Tam and the Chinatown Tragedy
    Feb 26 2026
    After a birthday celebration in Birkenhead in 1925, the Tam family’s life of respectability and success suddenly unravelled in a violent tragedy. This episode explores the life of Lock Ah Tam, his role as a respected figure in Liverpool’s Chinese community, and the fateful events that led to one of the most shocking family murders of the era, set against the backdrop of Liverpool’s Chinatown and surrounded by the eerie coincidences that haunted the case long afterwards.

    📘 Learn more about my latest book
    Wartime London’s ‘Bonnie and Clyde’: The Crime Spree of Betty Jones and Karl Hulten
    https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Wartime-Londons-Bonnie-and-Clyde-The-Crime-Spree-of-Betty-Jones-and-Karl-Hulten-Hardback/p/57334

    Subscribe to my free newsletter:
    https://prashganendran.com

    📺 Subscribe for video versions
    YouTube: https://youtube.com/@prashsmurdermap

    💡 Support my work
    Patreon (audio only ad-free episodes): https://www.patreon.com/prashsmurdermap
    Buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/prashsmurdermap
    PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/prashsmurdermap

    🙏 Thank you for listening.
    Your support helps keep Prash’s Murder Map going and is very much appreciated.

    Music:
    "Long Note Three", "Long Note Two" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
    Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

    Sources:
    Ancestry.co.uk
    National Library of Wales
    Liverpool Echo – Wednesday 02 December 1925
    Lancashire Evening Post – Wednesday 02 December 1925
    Evening Express – Thursday 03 December 1925
    Northampton Chronicle and Echo – Friday 22 January 1926
    Liverpool Evening Express – Wednesday 27 January 1926
    Liverpool Echo – Friday 05 February 1926
    Westminster Gazette – Saturday 06 February 1926
    Leeds Mercury – Saturday 06 February 1926
    Daily Express – Monday 08 February 1926 Shields Daily Gazette - Wednesday 13 August 1924 Daily Express – Monday 08 February 1926 (duplicate entry)
    Widnes & Runcorn Chronicle – Saturday 27 March 1926
    Sunday Sun – Sunday 28 March 1926 Illustrated Police News - Thursday 10 December 1925 Witness History – “The Scandal of Liverpool’s Missing Chinese Sailors”, 2020
    LiverpoolEcho.co.uk – January 2022 Liverpool Daily Post - Thursday 11 February 1926 Daily Express - Wednesday 24 March 1926 Pontypridd and Llantrisant Observer Sat, Nov 25 The Curious Disappearance of Mr Foo (Podcast), 2023
    Murder Casebook 86 Friends of Flaybrick Memorial Gardens https://flaybrick.org/catherine-cecelia-and-doris-tam-1926/ Seal, L. & Neale, A., (2019) “Race, Racialisation and ‘Colonial Common Sense’ in Capital Cases of Men of Colour in England and Wales, 1919–1957”, Open Library of Humanities 5(1), 64. doi: https://doi.org/10.16995/olh.471
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    21 mins
  • 89 | Murder in Wartime Folkestone: Did Dennis Leckey Get Away With It?

    89 | Murder in Wartime Folkestone: Did Dennis Leckey Get Away With It?
    Feb 19 2026
    On the streets of Folkestone, Kent, amid World War II, 18-year-old Caroline Trayler disappeared after being seen drinking at the local pub one Sunday evening in June 1943. When Police Constable Lewis entered a bombed-out grocer’s shop several days later in the hunt for the missing woman, he discovered a tragic scene which confirmed that the missing person’s case had now become a murder enquiry.


    📘 Learn more about my latest book
    Wartime London’s ‘Bonnie and Clyde’: The Crime Spree of Betty Jones and Karl Hulten
    https://prashganendran.com/the-cleft-chin-murder/

    📺 Subscribe for video versions
    YouTube: https://youtube.com/@prashsmurdermap

    💡 Support my work
    Patreon (audio only ad-free episodes): https://www.patreon.com/prashsmurdermap
    Buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/prashsmurdermap
    PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/prashsmurdermap

    🙏 Thank you for listening.
    Your support helps keep Prash’s Murder Map going and is very much appreciated.


    Music:
    "Long Note Three", "Long Note Two" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
    Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

    Sources:
    Ancestry https://www.ancestry.co.uk
    Professor Keith Simpson: An Autobiography, 1978, Harrap Ltd
    A Lance for Liberty, J.D. Casswell, George Harrap & Co Ltd
    British Newspaper Archive, https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
    Daily News 22 June 1943
    Folkestone Herald, 24 July 1943
    Folkestone, Hythe, Sandgate & Cheriton Herald - Saturday 25 September 1943
    Hull Daily Mail - Tuesday 02 November 1943
    Daily Mirror - Tuesday 02 November 1943
    Liverpool Echo - Saturday 06 November 1943
    Sunday Sun (Newcastle) - Sunday 07 November 1943
    Daily Herald - Saturday 24 February 1945
    Gloucester Citizen - Saturday 24 February 1945
    Stockport Advertiser and Guardian - Friday 23 March 1945
    Kensington News and West London Times - Friday 23 August 1946
    Wells Journal - Friday 04 October 1946
    https://madebyredrose.co.uk/abuser/dennis-leckey?category=19
    https://www.iicsa.org.uk/reports-recommendations/publications/investigation/cambridge-house-knowl-view-rochdale/part-f-other-institutions/dennis-leckey.html
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    21 mins
  • 88 | Elizabeth Jones and Karl Hulten: Wartime London’s “Bonnie and Clyde” - Author Discussion

    88 | Elizabeth Jones and Karl Hulten: Wartime London’s “Bonnie and Clyde” - Author Discussion
    Feb 13 2026
    In this special author discussion episode, Prash and Melissa Ganendran share their experiences of writing their latest book, which examines the 1944 crime spree of Elizabeth Jones and Karl Hulten, culminating in the murder of private car hire driver George Edward Heath. The case became known as the 'Cleft Chin Murder', while some newspapers at the time described the pair as London's 'Bonnie and Clyde'.

    In the episode, we talk about how we discovered and researched the case, the lives and fateful meeting of Betty Jones and Karl Hulten, and some of the new information we uncovered.

    For further information about Wartime London’s Bonnie and Clyde: The Crime Spree of Betty Jones and Karl Hulten, please visit: https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Wartime-Londons-Bonnie-and-Clyde-The-Crime-Spree-of-Betty-Jones-and-Karl-Hulten-Hardback/p/57334

    Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/B7S_4DKxLa8

    You can also find more about the book and our work on my website: https://prashganendran.com/the-cleft-chin-murder/

    Thank you
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    14 mins
  • 87 | Murder in a Lincolnshire Village: The Ethel Major Poisoning Case

    87 | Murder in a Lincolnshire Village: The Ethel Major Poisoning Case
    Feb 5 2026
    In Lincolnshire in 1934, 44-year-old Arthur Major died suddenly. He had previously been healthy, and his wife seemed unusually eager to arrange his funeral. The ensuing investigation revealed a troubled marriage, and the circumstantial evidence against Ethel Major began to mount, in this vintage true crime case that captured the attention of both the local community and the national press, with Ethel later being dubbed the “corned beef killer.”

    Subscribe to my free newsletter:
    https://prashganendran.com

    💡 Support my work
    Patreon (ad-free episodes): https://www.patreon.com/prashsmurdermap
    Buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/prashsmurdermap
    PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/prashsmurdermap

    🙏 Thank you for listening.
    Your support helps keep Prash’s Murder Map going and is very much appreciated.


    Sources:
    Ancestry.co.uk; National Archives; Society for Lincolnshire History & Archaeology; Hull History Centre. Newspaper coverage:
    Lincolnshire Echo, 29 May 1934; Daily Mirror, 30 May 1934; Lincolnshire Standard and Boston Guardian, 2 June 1934; Nottingham Journal, 1 August 1934; Daily Mirror, 3 August 1934; Nottingham Journal, 3 August 1934; Louth Standard, 4 August 1934; Boston Guardian, 4 August 1934; Lincolnshire Echo, 31 October 1934; Daily Express, 2 November 1934; Western Mail, 2 November 1934; Leicester Evening Mail, 19 December 1934, p.10; Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser, 26 December 1934; Taunton Courier, Bristol and Exeter Journal.
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    23 mins