Catch up TV

Series 2: Episode 10

Barristers Jeremy Dein and Sasha Wass investigate the poisoning of a man by his wife in 1930s Lincolnshire, exposed by an anonymous note.\n\nWhen 44-year-old First World War veteran and Lincolnshire lorry driver Arthur Major fell ill, suffering convulsions and severe pain, nothing untoward was suspected at first. But when the police received an anonymous tip-off alleging that his wife, Ethel, had poisoned her husband, they halted his funeral and launched a criminal investigation. It was discovered that Arthur Major died as a result of strychnine poisoning, and 42-year-old Ethel Major was arrested and charged with wilful murder. She protested her innocence and at trial was defended by a famous barrister, Norman Birkett KC, but the jury took just one hour to declare Ethel guilty.\n\nThe jury, her family, the public and even the Lord Mayor of Hull all campaigned for a reduction of sentence, but on the 19th of December 1934, Ethel Major was hanged.\n\nNow, 84 years later, Ethel’s cousin Jill Brown wants to discover the truth. Jill discovered the case via her late father, who had researched his family history extensively. Jill has many questions for the barristers and wants to know if there was proof that Ethel was guilty of poisoning her husband, or if the case was simply built on suspicion and circumstantial evidence.

Source: BBC 1