The Victorian Era's Wildest Murder
After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal
History Hit
4.7 • 2.1K Ratings
🗓️ 6 April 2026
⏱️ 41 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
It was one of the most gruesome crimes of the Victorian era... and it ended up in David Attenborough's garden! Kate Webster, a servant, killed and dismembered her mistress, Julia Martha Thomas in 1879. It's a story that show us the everyday life of Victorian Londoners, and how that world can be turned upside down.
Edited by Tomos Delargy, Produced by Freddy Chick. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.
You can now watch After Dark on Youtube: www.youtube.com/@afterdarkhistoryhit
Produced by Stuart Beckwith. Edited by Tom Delargy. Senior Producer is Charlotte Long.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Looking for more shady and sinister stories, sign up to History Hit. |
| 0:04.4 | You can join us to explore the tragic life of the Bronties or discover the chilling story of Burke and Hair. |
| 0:10.7 | Plus, with your History Hit subscription, you'll unlock hundreds of hours of exclusive documentaries with a brand new release every week exploring everything from the ancient world to World War II. |
| 0:22.5 | Just visit historyhit.com forward slash subscribe to start exploring the past. |
| 0:27.8 | Hello, AfterDart listeners. It's Maddie here. I'm not quite back on the pod. |
| 0:31.6 | I'm coming to you from my maternity leave. The sleep-deprived blur that is being a new mum, I'm so missing after dark, |
| 0:40.9 | the whole family and I cannot wait to be back in front of the mic. Now, in the meantime, it's Easter, |
| 0:46.4 | and we're putting out a repeat from the good old days today. We've picked a favourite episode, |
| 0:51.8 | the wildest murder in Victorian England. |
| 0:54.6 | This is the one about the body in David Attenborough's Garden, if you remember that. |
| 0:58.8 | If you haven't heard it, you're really in for a treat if you've listened before. |
| 1:02.8 | Listen again. |
| 1:03.5 | It's great stuff. |
| 1:04.8 | Also, I'm here to tell you that Anthony and I will be live at Conway Hall on the 7th of May. We're so excited to be doing this. We're |
| 1:12.8 | going to be in conversation celebrating the launch of my new book, Hoax, Truth and Lies in |
| 1:17.6 | the Age of Enlightenment. Please, please come along. We want to see as many of you as possible. |
| 1:22.6 | We'll be selling copies of the book. I'll be signing them on the night and chatting after the show. |
| 1:26.7 | Tickets are on sale now. |
| 1:28.1 | Link is in the show notes. |
| 1:36.4 | Hello and welcome to After Dark. I'm Anthony. And I'm Maddie. And today we are talking about a |
| 1:41.5 | particularly gruesome case. So if there are little ears around, |
| 1:44.7 | then maybe this isn't the one for them. Or if you're eating your lunch, this also might not be |
... |
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