Three City of London Police officers were shot dead and two were injured after responding to reports of a break-in on the night of 16 December, 1910. When they arrived at the rear of H.S. Harris’ jeweller’s shop at 119 Houndsditch in central London they had no idea they were… You must be a paid …
Author archives: murdermap
Unsolved murders in London 1997-2018
Earlier this year the Metropolitan Police released figures showing there were a total of 393 unsolved murders between 1997 and 2018 (or using their definition, ‘undetected’). The number of undetected murders peaked in around 2001 before decreasing to single figures between 2011 and 2015, then increasing again to a new peak in 2018. The percentage …
The First Railway Murder: Thomas Briggs
In 1864 Thomas Briggs, a 69 year-old banker, became the first person to be murdered on the railway in Britain. The case was an instant sensation in the press and played into fears about the speed of change taking place across the country in the Victorian era. It began as… You must be a paid …
The Assassination of Prime Minister Spencer Perceval
Only one British Prime Minister has ever been assassinated. Spencer Perceval was shot in the Palace of Westminster in 1812 after serving just three years in office. During that time he presided over an unstable government, a financial crisis and a series of setbacks in the Napoleonic wars. But it… You must be a paid …
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Domestic Murders 2012 to 2018
Domestic homicides – that is murders and manslaughters where the killer and the victim are either partners or family members – tend to account for 20 per cent of the total every year. However there is a lot of variation over time which does not necessarily follow the general trend. For example, in 2017 there …