Murder, Mystery and My Family

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Top criminal barristers Sasha Wass and Jeremy Dein reinvestigate historical cases.

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Sasha Wass

Jeremy Dein

James Pearson

Jonathan Levy

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Simon Cooper

Johanna Scammell

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Murder, Mystery and My Family: Series 5: Poff/Barrett

Poff/Barrett

BBC One - Murder, Mystery and My Family, Series 5, Poff/Barrett

Sasha and Jeremy investigate the murder of a landowning farmer in rural Ireland in 1882.

The barristers investigate the mysterious shooting of a landowning farmer in rural Ireland in 1882. Could dubious eyewitness testimony have sent two innocent men to the gallows?

Leading criminal barristers Jeremy Dein QC and Sasha Wass QC investigate the mysterious shooting of a landowning farmer in rural Ireland. After two trials, two men were executed for the crime.  

County Kerry, Ireland, 1882. On an autumnal afternoon in the small village of Dromulton, two boys making their way home from school witnessed a shocking crime. Farmer and landowner Thomas Browne was tending his fields when he was approached by two men in distinctive long black coats. After a short conversation, Browne turned to flee but was shot by the men multiple times at close range. He died instantly. 

Despite no murder weapon being recovered, unemployed tenant farmer Sylvester Poff and his cousin James Barrett were arrested within days and charged with Browne’s murder. An eyewitness claimed she had seen the two men that day, walking near Browne’s field just before his murder. Poff and Barrett stood trial twice, and despite vehemently protesting their innocence, at the second trial they were found guilty and sentenced to death. On 23 January 1883, at Tralee jail, both Sylvester Poff and James Barrett were hanged.   

Today, Sylvester Poff’s great-grandsons Tomo and Michael are determined to prove that their great-grandfather was innocent and the case was a miscarriage of justice. They have enlisted the help of the barristers to re-examine the case. Exploring questions around the reliability of the eyewitness evidence and looking at the turbulent social and political backdrop, Sasha and Jeremy hope to present compelling arguments to Judge Radford that the two convictions were unsafe.

Murder, Mystery and My Family: Series 5

BBC One

Barristers Jeremy Dein and Sasha Wass re-examine historic murder cases.

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