When someone is murdered in London, who notices? Aside from the obvious – witnesses, the local community, the police – the answer depends on the type of case and the victim. Carlos Roberto Oliveria was stabbed to death near Burnt Oak tube station in the early hours of Saturday, July 16. The first media report …
Category archives: Current Affairs
Stenography and Charles Dickens
This week the BBC reported – in its own strange way – that court proceedings will be digitally recorded instead of taken down by dedicated stenographers. This could be said to bring an end to a tradition going back to the 17th Century. It’s also quite a sad goodbye to a profession that has included …
How to Name a Serial Killer
Every report of the case of serial killer Stephen Griffiths referred to him as the ‘Crossbow Cannibal’. But where did this name come from? Griffiths gave this name when making his first court appearance before Magistrates in May 2010. He didn’t come up with it himself – because it had already featured in a headline in the Sun …
The Identity of Jon Venables
How many people know Jon Venables’ new identity? Well, for a start, everybody who was in court 14 of the Old Bailey last Friday morning. Given the number of times we were told his life was under threat, it was a big surprise to hear the name he adopted in 2001 being read out by the …