Description
The trial of Hawley Harvey Crippen for murdering his wife and mutilating her body was an international cause celebre. The defendant was an American doctor married to a German-Russian-Polish music hall singer. They lived in England, where the trial took place. As Crippen attempted to escape to Canada with his mistress, he was caught as a result of a new invention called “the wireless.” This enabled the ship’s captain to inform the authorities of the suspect’s presence on his ocean liner.