Forgotten Verdicts: London Murders

The Proceedings of the CourtOld Bailey Sessions, 24th October 1864

The First Railway Murder

1864Murder

London, July 1864. Thomas Briggs, a seventy-year-old City banker, boards a first-class carriage on the North London Railway. Ten minutes later the carriage is empty, the cushions are soaked in blood, and a battered hat sits on the seat — a hat that is not his. Briggs is found dying on the line. The man the evidence points to has already sailed for New York.

Now in session

An empty first-class carriage on the 9.50 from Fenchurch Street. A pool of blood, a bag, a stick — and the wrong hat. The first murder on a British train, and a chase across the Atlantic to catch the man who did it.

Heard exactly as the court heard it in 1864 — the indictment, the witnesses, the accused answering for their life. Then the question falls to you, before the jury of 1864 gives their answer.

Part One — The Crown’s Case

1:23:00

The Format

You are the jury.

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Sunday · Part One

The Crown's case

A full-cast performance of the real courtroom record — judge, witnesses, and the accused in their own words. The Crown rests. No verdict. Not yet.

Thursday · Part Two

The defence

The accused answers for their life. Then the case is yours: guilty or not guilty? Cast your verdict below or in the app — before the court rules.

Friday · Part Three

The verdict

The jury's decision, the sentence, how London voted — and the part the courtroom never heard: what happened next, from the archives.

The Companion App

The case file, in your pocket.

Everything the episode can't say out loud — synced transcripts, the cast, the map of a vanished city, and your standing record as a juror.

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Case dossiers

Nine cases and counting. Each opens as a sealed file — the accused, the charge, the hook — before a word of audio plays.

Synced transcript

The court record scrolls with the audio, line by line. Tap any archaic term — house of office, night man, the Compter — for a plain-English gloss.

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The verdict game

Seal your verdict in wax, then see the reveal — the real jury's decision, live stats from every other listener, and your running record as a juror.

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Cast & period maps

Who's lying? The witnesses, the victim, the accused — and the crime pinned on a map of a vanished London, with a toggle to today.

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This week's case, Parts One & Two
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An empty first-class carriage on the 9.50 from Fenchurch Street. A pool of blood, a bag, a stick — and the wrong hat. The first murder on a British train, and a chase across the Atlantic to catch the man who did it.

How do you find?

You are the jury.

The Crown's case

The defence

The verdict

The case file, in your pocket.

Case dossiers

Synced transcript

The verdict game

Cast & period maps

Take the Bench.

An empty first-class carriage on the 9.50 from Fenchurch Street. A pool of blood, a bag, a stick — and the wrong hat. The first murder on a British train, and a chase across the Atlantic to catch the man who did it.

How do you find?

You are the jury.

The Crown's case

The defence

The verdict

The case file, in your pocket.

Case dossiers

Synced transcript

The verdict game

Cast & period maps

Take the Bench.

Be seated before the next session.