Great Crimes and Trials: Collection 1

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History Documentary hosted by Robert Powell, published by Network in 1993 - English narration

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Great Crimes and Trials: Collection 1 With unprecedented worldwide access to archive footage spanning from 1896 to present day, Great Crimes and Trials of the 20th Century reconstructs those horrifying cases that made legal history. Collection One examines the horrific crimes committed by the Black Panther, the Hillside Stranglers, the Boston Strangler and Ted Bundy, to name just a few. This series also investigates the Lindbergh baby kidnapping and the Manson 'family' murders. Each episode combines archive with new interviews and examines individuals and motives, how each crime was committed, breakthroughs in investigations and what happened at the trial. Much of the material has never before been seen on TV. Narrated by Robert Powell

[edit] The Lindbergh Baby Kidnap

It was a crime that shattered America. A case nobody ever dreamed could happen. Despite a ransom being paid, after 72 days the body of American legend Charles Lindbergh's kidnapped baby son, was found murdered. A German carpenter was tried, sentenced and sent to the electric chair, but to this day it is not known if he acted alone?

[edit] The Story of Al Capone

On St Valentine's Day 1929, the brutal massacre of six gangsters in a Chicago warehouse signalled the emergence of Al 'Scarface' Capone as the undisputed Godfather of crime. He was vain, violent and notoriously ruthless. A man who won ultimate respect by exacting total fear.

[edit] Son of Sam

His name struck fear into the hearts of New Yorkers and brought terror to the streets. He unleashed all his hatred on the one group which he considered had rejected him the most - women.

[edit] The Hillside Stranglers

Within weeks, the hillsides around Los Angeles became the scene of a terrible carnage - more than ten strangled corpses. The police soon realised they were no longer dealing with a serial murderer but hunting something frighteningly new - two killers, who were out on a 'spree'.

[edit] John Dillinger - Public Enemy No1

In the world of gangsters, he was notorious, ruthless, a man destined to become a legend. He turned to crime out of boredom and soon found it was too addictive to give up. He blazed a trail across the States, robbing banks with a violent and authoritative ease.

[edit] The Manson Family Murders

Charles Manson was the ultimate hippie leader with a difference. Together with his cult followers he pioneered a new revolution - a helter-skelter of bloody, calculated and remorseless killing that brought a new, sinister meaning to the term - 'The Family'.

[edit] The Jonestown Massacre

It was a crime that defied the imagination. In November 1978, deep in the jungles of Guyana the Rev Jim Jones gathered nearly 1,000 devoted followers around him, and with a simple promise persuaded them to commit the greatest 'revolutionary' mass suicide of the 20th Century.

[edit] Jeffrey MacDonald

American army doctor Jeffrey MacDonald seemed to have everything going for him, good looks, charm, a commission in the Green Berets, a pretty wife and two daughters. Then one night his wife and children were horrifically murdered. Had it not been for the determination of one person - his father-in-law - justice might never have been done.

[edit] Neville Heath

In June 1946 after six years of war a girl was found whipped and murdered in a cheap London hotel. The hunt was soon on for a suave and sinister ex-RAF pilot who showed little remorse or concern when he was sentenced to hang.

[edit] Ted Bundy

Women began to disappear in the Seattle area in the first half of 1974. Almost on a monthly basis after that other women mysteriously vanished. It was not until July 1979 that a jury found graduate Ted Bundy guilty and mercifully ended the reign of a savage multiple sex-killer who brutally murdered over twenty girls.

[edit] The Case of Gary Gilmore

He was the double murderer who insisted on being executed. The question always remained: how badly did he want to die, and why? It was good that he believed in reincarnation as on 17th January 1977 after years of legal moralising his wish was granted and he shot dead by a firing squad in Utah.

[edit] The Trail of Adolf Eichmann

He was determined to demonstrate his German purity. In 1934 he became a member of the SS. He killed not only Jews en masse, but was also responsible for the calculated deaths of twenty-seven RAF prisoners. Eventually, in 1959 he was found by Israeli agents in Argentina who flew him to Israel for trial.

[edit] The Massacre of the Tsar

As civil war raged across Russia in 1918, the deposed Tsar and his family were imprisoned. On 16th July they were massacred and buried secretly in the forest. Almost immediately though, rumours sprang up that not all the imperial family were dead?

[edit] Dr Crippen

When an unassuming US doctor living in London in 1910 fell in love with his secretary, he was tied to a wife who he hated. His solution was murder. Dr Crippen and his mistress fled abroad and when a body was discovered in the cellar they tried to escape across the Atlantic.

[edit] The Boston Strangler

For three years Albert DeSalvo stalked the streets of Boston, leaving behind him a hideous trail of human destruction. It was a crusade of evil, of a maniac who might never have been caught had it not been for his confessions to another prison inmate.

[edit] John Haigh the Acid Bath Murderer

In 1949 John George Haigh escorted Mrs Olivia Durand-Deacon to his factory in Crawley, where he shot her in the head and then heaved her into a previously-prepared vat of acid. Charged with murder, he said he had also disposed of seven other victims the same way.

[edit] John Christie of Rillington Place

He had an obsession with disinfecting his flat. When he moved out four bodies were discovered there and two more in the garden. When arrested it became horrifically clear that he had also killed a mother and child in 1949 - a crime for which another man had already been hanged.

[edit] The Black Panther

When the kidnapping of a 17-year-old girl was linked to the brutal murder of 3 British sub-postmasters the police knew they were dealing with a ruthless killer. For the girl, the abduction ended in unimaginable horror. For the police it would take another 11 months before the 'Black Panther' was eventually cornered.

[edit] Murph the Surf

In late October 1964, thieves stole 22 gems from New York City's Museum of Natural History. Three of the stones were so famous they would be impossible to sell. Within 48 hours, aided by confidential police sources, two men in New York and another two in Miami were arrested.

[edit] Jack the Stripper: The Hammersmith Murders

Despite a massive police operation, he seemed to anticipate their every move. He loved to taunt and mock the detectives and killed with impunity. Eventually, he was trapped by bluff, but never caught. To this day no one has been charged.

[edit] The McKay Kidnapping

It was the first in Britain for centuries. In a cruel and callous kidnapping a woman became the innocent victim of mistaken identity. After many efforts to catch her abductors, the police were led to a lonely farmhouse - and two brothers with a ghastly secret.

[edit] The Yorkshire Ripper

The reign of terror that followed the first murder of a Leeds prostitute in 1975, cut a trail of fear across northern England. The 'Ripper' never struck twice in the same place. But thankfully, one evening he made a mistake.

[edit] John Gacy - Killer Clown

Seven bodies were found in the crawl space under his home. Eight more were quickly uncovered in other parts of the house. Eventually, the remains of 28 bodies were discovered. His victims were male and the disappearances continued until the thirty-third killing?

[edit] The Great Train Robbery

Few crimes or criminals captivate our imagination like the stories of the legendary outlaws of the American West, but the Great Train Robbery was one that did. It was the biggest raid on a train in British history.