Slade McLaughlin · Victorian Murders · John Hinckley
Plus: 'The Dark Heart' is coming to the U.S.
the true crime that's worth your time
Folks in the U.K. know Lucy Worsley for her history/real estate shows on the BBC, but now she’s entering the true crime podcast game. Worsley’s the Chief Curator at high profile preservation org Historic Royal Palaces, she’s also hosted shows like Harlots, Housewives and Heroines and A Very British Murder.
Per a press release from the BBC, she’s also the host of a new podcast, called Lady Killers With Lucy Worsley. The show, which drops “only on BBC Sounds” on August 25, will cover “ten of the most shocking violent crimes of the Victorian era.” From the release:
Among the 10 stories, Lucy uncovers two of Britain’s most notorious serial killers: Amelia Dyer, who is thought to have killed hundreds of babies and children entrusted to her care by desperate mothers; and Mary Ann Cotton, who murdered three of her husbands and numerous children and step-children.
Over in the United States, Lucy looks at the trial of Lizzie Borden, which gripped the nation - especially Victorian women, who packed the courtroom to watch proceedings, in what one reporter described as a sea of calico and lace - referring to the female interest that bridges social divides. And together with Professor Kali Nicole Gross, she examines the case of Hannah Mary Tabbs, an African-American woman who killed her lover, and how race had an impact.
Each episode focuses on a true story and sees Lucy take an in-depth look at the crime, how it was received at the time, and how it compares with what happens today. Throughout the series, she is joined by an all-female detective team of historians, lawyers, journalists and psychologists to dig deeper into the social issues and circumstances that helped to create these murderesses.
So, obviously, not a show in which shocking new evidence will be revealed, or additional witnesses will come forward — but I do like any crime property that considers how gender impacts prosecution and sentencing, be it in contemporary times (the Holmes case could use this) or back in the day.
Also of note, for those of us who also consume fictional crime: Worsley has a new bio of Agatha Christie set to publish this fall, one that purports to answer the question “Why—despite all the evidence to the contrary—did Agatha present herself as a retiring Edwardian lady of leisure?” I’m definitely down for that one, and I’m likely down for this podcast, too, if I can figure out how BBC Sounds works. — EB
TW: suicide
Slade McLaughlin, the attorney instrumental in several high-profile sexual assault cases, died last week at age 65. McLaughlin was an injury attorney who led civil (not criminal) suits against Pennsylvania State University/Jerry Sandusky and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
In the Penn State case, he won confidential settlements for 13 of Sandusky’s victims, and won a landmark case in 2015 following molestation allegations against a Catholic priest.
Despite those wins, and the widespread admiration of his peers — college pal and law partner Paul Lauricella told the Philly Inquirer that McLaughlin “was the most righteous, principled, loyal guy I knew” — he took his own life in Sunday, April 3.
Mr. McLaughlin had been suffering under the weight of an increased workload with the waning of COVID-19 restrictions, said his son Brandon McLaughlin, a Boston-based attorney. Within the last month or so, he was anxious, wasn’t eating, and had lost 30 pounds, his son said.
“I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that trials are starting up again in Philadelphia and it was overwhelming for him. It was too much,” his son said.
“I hope this brings some awareness to the importance of mental health for lawyers. It’s a very hard profession and people just need to be conscious that it wears on you.”
McLaughlin has spurred several self-reflection pieces in trade pubs like Law.com and the ABA Journal, all of which note that attorneys — especially those involved in big, criminal cases — are reluctant to seek help for themselves. “This is also a lesson to a lot of us who may take this work more seriously than it needs to be taken, that we need to sometimes decompress and take a break,” Lauricella told Law.com. — EB
If someone you know exhibits warning signs of suicide: do not leave the person alone; remove any firearms, alcohol, drugs or sharp objects that could be used in a suicide attempt; and call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or take the person to an emergency room or seek help from a medical or mental health professional.
I’m not sure how to approach this one. John Hinckley Jr. shot then-president Ronald Reagan in 1981, saying at the time the assassination attempt (which injured three others) was an effort to attract the attention of actress Jodie Foster. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity, and, after decades in psychiatric care, was released in 2016.
In the time since then, he’s attempted to launch a music career, launching a YouTube channel and announcing that he’s trying to start his own record label. Per the NY Post, which wrote about Hinckley with an impressive level of sensitivity (jk, they were nasty as they always were — man, I always feel like I need a Silkwood shower after I read anything from that pub), he’s now booked a performance at Brooklyn’s Market Hotel.
Hinckley’s tweet announcing the July show was met with offers to book him in other cities, presumably sincerely intended. I have so many thoughts going through my head, here are just a few:
Are these venues exploiting a mentally ill person for (creepy?) laughs?
Is Hinckley deserving of a platform, given that he was reportedly treated and made well?
What does the family of James Brady (who a medical examiner said died in 2014 due to injuries from the 1981 shooting) think of this? What about Foster?
Ugh, all this just sounds gross. I don’t think I want to write about this again, unless something significant comes of it. Consider this item a duty done, then moved on from — but, please, if you have any thoughts on this news item, share them below. — EB
The Dark Heart is coming to the U.S. This Swedish true-crime series is so Swedish (how Swedish is it?) that though it premiered at the Sundance film fest in January, an English-captioned trailer isn’t easily found. (So enjoy the visuals, al y’all readers whose Swedish is limited to various IKEA items!)
The show is based on Joakim Palmkvist’s 2018 book The Dark Heart: A True Story of Greed, Murder, and an Unlikely Investigator. It, unlike the show trailer, is available in an English translation. Here’s its blurb, per Goodreads:
In late summer of 2012, millionaire landowner Göran Lundblad went missing from his farm in Sweden. When a search yielded nothing, and all physical evidence had seemingly disappeared, authorities had little to go on—except a disturbing phone call five weeks later from Göran’s daughter Maria. She was sure that her sister, Sara, was somehow involved. At the heart of the alleged crime: Sara’s greed, her father’s land holdings, and his bitter feud with Sara’s idler boyfriend.
With no body, there was no crime—and the case went as cold and dark as the forests of southern Sweden. But not for Therese Tang. For two years, this case was her obsession.
A hard-working ex-model, mother of three, and Missing People investigator, Therese was willing to put her own safety at risk in order to uncover the truth. What she found was a nest of depraved secrets, lies, and betrayal. All she had to do now, in her relentless and dangerous pursuit of justice, was prove that it led to murder.
It’s a case that never really hit the U.S. — in fact, most English search results on the case lead to reviews of Palmkvist’s book. But you can see why it might be an appealing series as soon as you read “ex-model,” right?
Deadline reports that the five-episode adaptation will end up on streaming service Topic, in the U.S., while Canadians will get it via CBC Gem. Canada has first dibs, with broadcast planned for this summer; Topic gets it six months later. Guess Sarah and I will be taking a trip to Canada in a couple months! — EB
Wednesday on Best Evidence: Atlanta and the criminal-justice industrial complex.
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