The Camden Town murder was a

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

which took place in

Camden Town Camden Town (), often shortened to Camden, is a district of northwest London, England, north of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Camden, and identified in the London Plan as o ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1907. Robert Wood, an artist, was tried for the murder of

prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

Emily Dimmock and acquitted after a defence by

Edward Marshall Hall Sir Edward Marshall Hall, (16 September 1858 – 24 February 1927) was an English barrister who had a formidable reputation as an orator. He successfully defended many people accused of notorious murders and became known as "The Great Defende ...

. Januszczak, Waldemar
"Walter Sickert – murderous monster or sly self-promoter?"
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 4 November 2007. Retrieved 13 September 2008. Edward Marjoribanks, ''Famous Trials of Marshall Hall'', Penguin, 1989. On 11 September 1907, Emily Elizabeth Dimmock (known as Phyllis), a part-time prostitute in a relationship with Bertram Shaw, a railwayman, was murdered in her home at Agar Grove (then 29 St Paul's Road), Camden, having gone there from The Eagle public house,

Royal College Street Royal College Street is a major thoroughfare in London, England, within the St Pancras and Somers Town ward in the Borough of Camden. The street, which is one-way, is home to the London headquarters of Parcelforce and the London campus of th ...

.Wendy Baron, ''Sickert: paintings and drawings'', Yale University Press, 2006, , p. 73 Her attacker had slit her throat while she was asleep, then left in the morning. On the 12th, Shaw returned home during the evening to find his room locked. He borrowed a key from a neighbour, and upon entering found Phyllis lying naked on the bed, throat cut from ear to ear. It was a savage but skilful attack on her from the nature of the wound. Nothing much had been taken from the flat, and the motive was a mystery; the case quickly became a sensation. After initial difficulty, the police investigation led by Inspector Neill centred on Robert Wood, an artist. A former girlfriend of Wood's, Ruby Young, recognised his handwriting on a postcard found in Dimmock's room, which had been published in many newspapers; she mentioned the similarity of the handwriting to a friend who worked in

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was na ...

. Wood was put on trial for the murder, during which Marshall Hall displayed the kind of effective and dramatic cross-examination for which he was known. Marshall Hall was convinced of Wood's innocence, and also of the fallibility of the prosecution case. The judge Mr Justice Grantham departed from the pro-conviction stance he was expected to take mid-summing up, and made it clear he thought the jury should acquit. They did, after retiring for 15 minutes between 7:45 and 8:00 pm. The artist

Walter Sickert Walter Richard Sickert (31 May 1860 – 22 January 1942) was a German-born British painter and printmaker who was a member of the Camden Town Group of Post-Impressionist artists in early 20th-century London. He was an important influence on d ...

adopted the phrase ''

The Camden Town Murder ''The Camden Town Murder'' is a title given to a group of four paintings by Walter Sickert painted in 1908. The paintings have specific titles, such as the problem picture ''What Shall We Do for the Rent'' or ''What Shall We Do to Pay the Rent' ...

'' for a series of etchings, paintings and drawing in 1908–09, in each of which the subjects are a clothed man and a nude woman. It was dramatised in an episode of the radio crime anthology series ''

The Black Museum ''The Black Museum'' is a radio crime-drama program produced by Harry Alan Towers, which was broadcast in the USA on the Mutual network in 1952. It was then broadcast in Europe in 1953 on Radio Luxembourg, a commercial radio station, and was not ...

'', in 1952, starring

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

. A television series, ''

Killer in Close-Up ''Killer in Close-Up'' was a blanket title covering four live television drama plays produced by the Australian Broadcasting Commission in 1957 and 1958. It could be seen as the first anthology series produced for Australian television. Producti ...

'', dramatised by

George F. Kerr George F. Kerr (15 April 1918 – 29 October 1996) was an English writer best known for his work in TV. He worked for eight years in British TV as a writer and script editor. He moved to Australia in 1957 and wrote several early TV dramas as well ...

, featured the case in the episode "The Robert Wood Trial". The episode was produced by

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

television station

ABN-2 ABN is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television station in Sydney. The station began broadcasting on 5 November 1956. Its original studios were located in Gore Hill and were in use up until March 2004, when they were co-located wit ...

and broadcast on 4 September 1957. More than thirty years later, the court case featured in an episode of the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

series ''

Shadow of the Noose ''Shadow of the Noose'' is a BBC television legal drama series about the life and career of barrister Sir Edward Marshall Hall. It starred Jonathan Hyde as Marshall Hall; Michael Feast as his clerk, Edgar Bowker; Leslee Udwin as Henriette Mar ...

'' in 1989, with

Jonathan Hyde Jonathan Stephen Geoffrey King (born 21 May 1948), known professionally as Jonathan "Nash" Hyde, is an Australian-English actor. Hyde is perhaps best known for roles as Herbert Arthur Runcible Cadbury in the 1994 comedy film '' Richie Rich'', Sa ...

as Marshall Hall, and

Peter Capaldi Peter Dougan Capaldi (; born 14 April 1958) is a Scottish actor, director, writer and musician. He portrayed the Twelfth Doctor, twelfth incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2013–2017) and Malcolm Tucker in ' ...

as Wood.

References

{{reflist 1907 in London 20th century in the London Borough of Camden Camden Town Deaths by blade weapons September 1907 events Unsolved murders in England Unsolved murders in London Violence against sex workers in the United Kingdom 1907 murders in the United Kingdom 1900s murders in London