Today is Tuesday, February 11th, 2020.

On this day in 1828, William Burke and William Hare launched a plan to murder Abigail Simpson of Edinburgh

and sell her body to science. Welcome to Today in True Crime, a parcast original.

Due to the graphic nature of today's crimes, listener discretion is advised. Extreme caution is advised for listeners under 13.

Today we're covering body snatchers, William Burke and William Hare,

Irish expats who made a living selling Scottish corpses,

most of which came from people they murdered themselves.

Let's go back to February 11th, 1828.

Abigail Simpson was feeling better off than usual as she made her way through the streets of Edinburgh.

The elderly woman had just made a visit to her former employer.

Of course, the pension he offered her was. had just made a visit to her former employer.

Of course, the pension he offered her wasn't much,

a can of soup and 18 pence, about $7 today.

But she had a little cash in her pocket, and she'd soon have food in her belly.

She wouldn't bind one more thing, however, a sip of something with a kick to keep her warm.

To her surprise, she soon received an offer of just that.

A pair of Irishmen approached her on the street and invited her to have a drink with them.

Abigail couldn't see why not.

She followed the men into a lodging house where they served her a generous portion of

whiskey. They poured generous portion of whiskey.

They poured a couple of glasses for themselves as well,

and before long the trio were laughing like old friends.

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