Death in the Grand Union Canal: The unsolved murder of Tracey Meade

Fourteen-year-old schoolgirl Tracey Meade went missing nearly two weeks before she was found dead in the Grand Union Canal near Kensal Green on 1 February 1992. Tracey had been stabbed twice, in the arm and stomach, before drowning in the water. She was only partly dressed, leading police to suspect a sexual motive in her …

Year of the Ripper: Michael Patten

Notting Hill and Notting Dale epitomised the contradictions of 19th Century London, a city wherein the poor lived yards away from people spending more in one day than they would in a year. In the sweeping crescents, gardens and walks along Ladbroke Grove down to Campden Hill and Holland Park… You must be a paid …

Year of the Ripper: Percy Ostler

On the morning of 11 January, 1888, two-year-old Percy Ostler was being looked after by his heavily-pregnant mother, Louisa, and her sister Henrietta Brown, at their basement flat below a chemist’s shop at 55 Trafalgar Road in Greenwich, south London. At around 10.45am, Miss Brown decided to go out briefly… You must be a paid …