Sunday 21 October 2018

Murder Most Vile Volume 23



 18 classic true crime cases from around the world, including;


The Preacher’s Wife: The murder of a beloved pastor shocks a small Tennessee town. The secrets that are revealed in its aftermath are more shocking still.

Love Kills: A homely accountant and a beautiful, aspiring actress tie the knot in an unlikely match-up. One of them won’t make it past the honeymoon.

Every Contact Leaves a Trace: The tiny beach community of Port Hueneme, California is rocked by a trio of brutal homicides. The police are convinced that a serial killer is responsible. They’re wrong.

Michigan Deliverance: Two buddies out on a drinking binge stumble into the wrong bar. Soon after, they disappear. Their fate is the stuff of horror movies.

And Never Let Her Go: A woman disappears from a busy city street in broad daylight, leaving the police with a seemingly unsolvable riddle to crack.

Dressed to Kill: Dr. Richard Sharpe had some odd kinks. Dressing up in his wife’s clothes was one of them. Another was stalking her with a hunting rifle.

Mr. Saturday Night: A serial killer is cruising the backroads of South Wales, trawling for victims. Saturday nights just got deadly.

Choke Hold: When a woman is found strangled the police are certain that one of the many men in her life did it. The killer turns out to be a far less likely suspect.



Click the "Read More" link below to read the first chapter of

Murder Most Vile Volume 23


Saturday 6 October 2018

Serial Killers: Martha Needle

Born: April 9, 1863

Number of victims: 5    

Date of murders:1885 - 1894

Method of murder: Poisoning    

Location: Melbourne, Australia





Martha Needle was born in Morgan, Australia in 1863, and was raised in an abusive family beset by mental problems. Nonetheless, she grew up to be an attractive young woman with a kindly disposition. Married at 17 to Henry Needle, she moved to North Adelaide and over the next four years gave birth to three daughters, Mabel, Elsie, and May. In 1885, the family moved to the Melbourne suburb of Richmond. It was there that the trouble started.

First, little Mabel developed a mystery ailment and died after a short illness. Then, in October 1889, Henry became ill and also died. He was followed to the grave in short order by Elsie and May. Henry and his daughters had all been insured and Martha received payouts totaling more than £500, a considerable sum in those days. Most of it she lavished on an elaborate family memorial, which she visited often.

Now a widow, Martha let a house from Louis Juncken and his brother Otto and was soon involved in a passionate affair with the latter. They announced their engagement in 1891. When Louis objected to the union, he suddenly became ill, dying the following year of suspected typhoid.

In June 1894, Herman Juncken, another brother of Otto’s, became ill after eating a stew prepared by Martha. He eventually recovered but after another of Martha’s meals he again began vomiting and suffering violent stomach cramps. 

Suspicious, Herman consulted a doctor and tests detected traces of arsenic in his system. This was reported to the police and they decided to lay a trap. Herman again visited Martha and asked for a cup of tea. Rather than drinking the beverage, though, he carried it out of the house to a waiting police officer. Tests on the liquid turned up enough arsenic to kill five people.

Martha Needle was initially charged with attempted murder. Then the bodies of Louis Juncken, Henry Needle, and the three girls, were exhumed and found to contain lethal levels of arsenic. The charge was then upgraded to five counts of murder. Despite pleading not guilty at her trial, Needle was convicted and sentenced to death.

Martha Needle was hanged at the Old Melbourne Gaol on October 22, 1894. 

Read the full, horrific story of Martha Needle, plus 23 more serial killer cases in