The President who may have been killed by his own doctors.

In this episode of Dee-Brief, Dee explores one of the most extraordinary assassinations in American history, and one of history's greatest medical "what ifs."

When President James A. Garfield was shot by disappointed office-seeker Charles Guiteau in July 1881, many believed his fate was sealed.But modern medical experts tell a very different story.

The bullet itself may not have been fatal.Instead, Garfield endured eighty days of repeated examinations by doctors who repeatedly inserted unwashed fingers and unsterilised instruments into his wounds, unknowingly introducing life-threatening infection.

Today, many historians believe it was sepsis - not the gunshot - that ultimately killed the twentieth President of the United States.

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Sources

• Ackerman, Kenneth D. Dark Horse: The Surprise Election and Political Murder of President James A. Garfield

• Library of Congress

• U.S. Senate Historical Office

• White House Historical Association

• National Park Service – James A. Garfield National Historic Site

• Smithsonian Magazine

A teenage girl vanished after a night at the fair. Nearly 50 years later, police charged a suspect, but the trial never happened.

In this episode of Dee-Brief, Dee explores one of Birmingham's most heartbreaking unsolved murders.

On the evening of 18 August 1961, fifteen-year-old Jacqueline Thomas went to a travelling funfair in Ward End with friends. It should have been an ordinary summer night. Instead, it was the last time she was ever seen alive.

A week later, Jacqueline's body was discovered on nearby allotment land. Despite a major police investigation, appeals for witnesses, and multiple suspects being questioned, nobody was charged and the case gradually grew cold.

Then, almost half a century later, everything changed.

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If you have any information relating to the murder of Jacqueline Thomas, however small it may seem, West Midlands Police continue to regard the case as unsolved. After more than sixty years, investigators still hope someone may hold the missing piece of the puzzle.

Sources

• Burney, Ian & Pemberton, Neil. Murder and the Making of English CSI

• West Midlands Police – Unsolved Murders

• Birmingham Mail archives

• BBC News archives

• The Independent archives

• The Guardian archives

The case that may - or may not - connect to the Black Dahlia

In this episode of Dee-Brief, Dee heads to 1940s Chicago to examine one of America's most infamous unsolved - or perhaps wrongly solved - murder cases: The Chicago Lipstick Murders.

Between 1945 and 1946, three shocking murders terrified the city. A cryptic message allegedly scrawled in lipstick gave rise to the ridiculously nickname "The Lipstick Killer," while the brutal murder of six-year-old Suzanne Degnan sparked one of the largest criminal investigations in American history.

But was the right man ever convicted?

Dee explores the controversial case of William Heirens, whose confession has been debated for decades, examining claims of coercive interrogation, disputed forensic evidence, and one of the earliest alleged false confessions in American criminal history.

The episode also revisits the extraordinary claims made by retired LAPD detective Steve Hodel, who believes his father, Dr George Hodel, was responsible not only for the murder of Elizabeth Short - the Black Dahlia - but also for the Chicago Lipstick Murders.

Was the case really solved?Or has the true killer remained hidden for nearly eighty years?

Listen now and decide for yourself.

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to listen to our two-part interview with Steve Hodel on the Black Dahlia, where we explore the evidence behind his extraordinary theory that his father may have been one of America's most prolific unidentified serial killers.

🎙 Follow Switchblade Sisters Social Club wherever you get your podcasts, and don't forget to leave us a rating and review. It really helps independent podcasts reach more listeners.

Sources

• Hodel, Steve. Black Dahlia Avenger

• Hodel, Steve. Most Evil

• Newton, Michael. The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers

• Chicago Tribune

• Chicago Sun-Times

• Illinois Innocence Project materials discussing the Heirens case

In Part 1, we told the story of how the Horizon computer system led to hundreds of sub-postmasters being accused of theft, fraud, and false accounting for losses that often never existed.

In Part 2, Dee and Isla examine what happened after the cracks in Horizon became impossible to ignore.

We look at the stories of some of the people whose lives were devastated by the scandal, including Janet Skinner, Seema Misra, Sathyan Shiju, and Jo Hamilton. We explore the role of Post Office leadership, the growing scrutiny of former CEO Paula Vennells, and the ongoing questions surrounding who knew Horizon was flawed and why prosecutions continued regardless.

We also examine the public inquiry, the compensation schemes, the overturning of convictions, and the continuing investigations into one of the largest miscarriages of justice in British legal history.

Because while many convictions have now been quashed, for many victims the fight for justice is far from over.

Plus, Dee tests Isla with another edition of our multiple-choice quiz—this time focusing on some of history's most spectacular computer failures.

Trigger Warning: This episode contains discussion of suicide, imprisonment, miscarriage of justice, financial ruin, mental health struggles, and wrongful criminal convictions.

Sources

• Nick Wallis, The Great Post Office Scandal (2021)

• British Scandals – Post Office Horizon Scandal series

• Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry – Final Report, Volume 1 (2025)

• Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry – Reports & Statements Hub

• Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry – End of Year Newsletter Review (2025)

• Government Response to the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry Report (Volume 1)

• Bates v Post Office Ltd (High Court Judgments, 2019)

• Hamilton & Others v Post Office Ltd (Court of Appeal Judgment, 2021)

• Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Act 2024

• Post Office (Horizon System) Offences (Scotland) Act 2024

• Horizon Shortfall Scheme Information and Data

• Post Office Horizon Financial Redress Data (December 2025)

• Post Office Horizon and Capture Redress Legal Costs Data (December 2025)

• Quashed Convictions Management Information (October 2024 & October 2025)

• Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) – Horizon Cases

• Metropolitan Police – Operation Olympos

• Government Consultation on Oversight and Regulation of Private Prosecutors

• The Guardian – Post Office operator wrongly jailed while pregnant rejects executive's apology (2024)

• The Guardian – Marina Hyde: Innocent subpostmasters went to jail, but now it is clear the Post Office boss class belong there instead (2025)

• ITV News – Ex-subpostmistress jailed after Post Office scandal rejects compensation offer (2025)

• The Independent – Attempted suicide, exile abroad and prison: The stories behind the Post Office scandal

• Computer Weekly – Eradicating Fujitsu and Horizon from the Post Office, step by step

This is one of those cases that makes you side-eye your banking app.

Because this episode isn’t about a serial killer.It’s about a spreadsheet.

It’s about a computer system called Horizon.And it’s about what happens when an institution decides the software must be right… even when real human beings are losing everything.

Between 1999 and 2015, nearly 1,000 sub-postmasters were wrongfully convicted based on faulty data generated by the Horizon IT system . Around 236 people were sent to prison for crimes they did not commit .

This has since been described as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British legal history.

And honestly? Fiction would have had better quality control.

And Finally… The Quiz

We end the episode with a Multiple Choice Quiz about major computer disasters (because if we don’t laugh, we’ll scream):

You know the rules.

Sources

• Nick Wallis – The Great Post Office Scandal (2021)

• British Scandals podcast mini series on the Post Office Horizon Scandal

• Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry – Final Report, Volume 1 (2025)

• Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry – Reports & Statements Hub

• Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry – End of Year Newsletter Review (2025)

• Bates v Post Office Ltd (No. 3) – High Court Judgment (2019)

• Bates v Post Office Ltd – High Court Judgment (2019)

• Hamilton & Others v Post Office Ltd – Court of Appeal Judgment (2021)

• Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) – Post Office Horizon Cases

• Post Office Horizon System Offences Act 2024 (UK Parliament)

• Post Office (Horizon System) Offences (Scotland) Act 2024

• Quashed Convictions Management Information (30 October 2025) – GOV.UK

• Quashed Convictions Management Information (3 October 2024) – GOV.UK

• Post Office Horizon Financial Redress Data (as of 19 December 2025) – GOV.UK

• Post Office Horizon & Capture Redress Legal Costs Data (as of 31 December 2025) – GOV.UK

• Horizon Shortfall Scheme – Information & Data (Post Office Ltd)

• Post Office Horizon Scandal – FAQs (Post Office Ltd)

• Government Response to the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry Report (Volume 1)

• Oversight and Regulation of Private Prosecutors – Government Consultation

• Metropolitan Police – Operation Olympos (Post Office Investigation Portal)

• Eradicating Fujitsu and Horizon from the Post Office – Computer Weekly

• Post office operator wrongly jailed while pregnant rejects executive’s apology | Post Office Horizon scandal | The Guardian

• Innocent subpostmasters went to jail, but now it is clear: the Post Office boss class belong there instead | Marina Hyde | The Guardian

• Hamilton -v- Post Office judgment

• Ex-subpostmistress jailed after Post Office Horizon scandal rejects 'egregious' compensation offer | ITV News Calendar

• Attempted suicide, exile abroad and prison: The stories behind the Post Office scandal | The Independent

What do you get when a serial liar, suspected fraudster, manipulative nurse, and convicted murderer all happen to be the same person?

This week, Dee and Isla dive into the chilling case of Malcolm Webster – the so-called "Black Widower" whose trail of deception, suspicious fires, insurance scams, fake illnesses, and attempted murders stretched from Scotland to New Zealand.

From the mysterious death of his first wife Claire Morris in a burning car in rural Aberdeenshire, to a near-identical attempt on the life of his second wife Felicity Drumm in New Zealand, Webster spent years evading justice while charming, manipulating, and financially exploiting the women around him.

Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of domestic abuse, coercive control, alleged drugging with sedatives, fraud, arson, and murder. Listener discretion is advised.

Sources

• Charles Lavery, The Black Widower: The Life and Crimes of a Sociopathic Killer (2012)

• BBC News coverage of the Malcolm Webster trial and conviction

• The Guardian – Malcolm Webster conviction and sentencing reports

• The Independent – Life term for wife killer Malcolm Webster

• The Scotsman – Reporting on allegations surrounding Webster's nursing career

• STV News and STV Footage archives

• Daily Record interviews with survivors and family members

• NZ Herald reporting on the New Zealand investigation

• CaseMine and vLex legal records relating to Malcolm Webster's appeals

• Murder She Spoke podcast, Episode 30

• They Walk Among Us podcast

⭐ If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review and share it with your fellow true crime fans. It really helps independent podcasts like ours grow.

On 18 November 1987, a small fire broke out beneath a wooden escalator at London’s King’s Cross St Pancras Underground station. It should have been a routine incident. Instead, within minutes, it became one of the deadliest fires in modern British history. Thirty-one people lost their lives, more than 100 were injured, and an entire culture of complacency was exposed.

In this episode, Dee takes us back to 1980s London, when smoking was still common on the Underground, many escalators were made of wood, and repeated fire warnings had been ignored. We explore how a seemingly minor escalator fire developed into a devastating flashover that engulfed the ticket hall in seconds, trapping passengers and firefighters alike.

Sources

• Fennell Report: Investigation into the King’s Cross Underground Fire (1988)

• London Fire Brigade History Archive

• British Transport Police Historical Records

• UK Parliament Hansard Debates

• Journal of Fire Protection Engineering

• Contemporary reporting from The Guardian and ITV News

Trigger Warning: This episode contains discussion of murder, extreme violence, mental illness, child abuse, and graphic injuries.

In February 1933, police were called to a quiet house in Le Mans, France, after René Lancelin returned home to find the doors locked, the lights out, and his wife and daughter missing.

Upstairs, officers discovered a scene so brutal it would shock France for decades to come.

At the centre of it all were Christine and Léa Papin - two devoted sisters who had worked as maids for the wealthy Lancelin family for years. Quiet, obedient, and intensely close, the sisters lived an isolated existence in the attic of the home they served.

But on the evening of 2 February 1933, something snapped.

Sources

• Bibliothèque nationale de France (Gallica)

• Criminocorpus – Papin Sisters Case Archive

• Criminocorpus – Archival Material Part 1

• Criminocorpus – Archival Material Part 2

• All That’s Interesting – The Papin Sisters Case

• The Guardian – The Maids Review / Papin Sisters Context

• Morbid Podcast – Episode on the Papin Sisters

• My Favourite Murder