Murder by the Sea’s most fascinating case? You decide…
Vote for the episode of Murder by the Sea that you found most fascinating
Murder by the Sea: Michael Downes
Anyone who doubts the value of bobbies on the beat in these days of major police cuts should consider the case of Michael Downes in Blackpool in the 1970s and 80s. Two years after the cruel murder of 64-year-old widow Catherine Weaver in 1978, another woman, Hilda Keefe, 64, spotted an intruder at the Blackpool home she shared with her 87-year-old mother. Hilda yelled for help and the intruder fled – leaving behind some washing-line pieces. A local PC called […]
Murder by the Sea new series 2019
I’ve heard CBS Reality’s Murder by the Sea is returning in January (Tuesday 7th 10pm). For those who haven’t seen it, the premise is that the jolly seaside resort is often the setting for unusual and sometimes frightening homicides. Why should a place we associate with fun, sun and relaxation suffer such crimes? Having been involved as a talking head in all four series so far, I think several factors are important. There is the transient nature of holiday resorts. […]
Murder by the Sea: Louisa Merrifield
Of the six cases featured in the latest Murder by the Sea series, Louisa May Merrifield’s is the one I would most like to research further. The Blackpool Poisoner was the final episode on CBS Reality’s British series last week, and it is fascinating. In 1953 Louisa went to work as a housekeeper for a rather cranky old gal called Sarah Ricketts, aged 79. As I point out during the programme, Louisa was something of a dodgy character, having had […]
Murder by the Sea: David Ellis
The CBS Reality series continued to rake through the dark side of our seaside towns this week. This time it was the sad case of Swansea landlord Alec Warburton, who was murdered by his callous tenant, David Ellis. Ellis had a number of grubby convictions behind him, including sexual offences against a girl. He was also a liar and seems to have lied about his financial situation to convince Mr Warburton to rent a room to him. Swansea is a […]
Murder by the Sea: Mamie Stuart
The third episode of Murder by the Sea on CBS Reality is about a case that is 100 years old. The murder of Mamie Stuart was all made all the more unhappy because this was a crime in which the killer escaped justice. Mamie, a 26-year-old chorus dancer, disappeared in 1919. She had married to a man called George Shotton in 1918. They met soon after Mamie had finished a tour on stage and she had returned home to Sunderland. […]
Murder by the Sea – John Cooper
John Cooper was a man with a powerful streak of badness in him. A bully, a psychopath and a vicious killer, he terrorised an area of Pembrokeshire for two decades. He is the subject of a forthcoming episode of CBS Reality’s Murder by the Sea (Tuesday, 29 January, 10pm). As a contributor to the series, I must say Cooper made the biggest impression on me for the heartless, chilling nature of his crimes. He was jailed for 30 counts of […]
Murder by the Sea: Paul Longworth
Originally posted on robinjarossi.com 17 6 18 Paul Longworth thought he had committed the perfect crime. He strangled his wife, Tina, with a rope and left her dangling from the banisters. He then left the scene of the crime, their home. He went to Southport Sailing Club, where he was the commodore, to celebrate his 37th birthday party. Back at home, he left his two young children asleep in their beds, while their dead mother was downstairs. No one at […]
Murder by the Sea
First posted on robinjarossi.com 2 4 18 I spent Good Friday working on a documentary being made for CBS Reality called Murder by the Sea. The setting was a chilly boatyard in Cardiff. The premise of this 12-part series is fascinating. It is about how the seaside has been the setting for a spectrum of homicides down the years. Coastal towns can be quiet and idyllic, faded and in decline, or well-off and socially conservative. But they are often shaken […]
