Murder, Mystery and My Family: Case Closed? 

Original version

BBC One Cambridgeshire

Murder, Mystery and My Family

Documentaries

Factual

Factual: Crime & Justice

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

BBC Two

BBC One London

London

Simulcast of network BBC One in high definition. From 03/11/2010

BBC One HD

BBC One West Midlands

BBC One Channel Islands

The BBC South region started on 5th January 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South.

BBC One South

The BBC South West region started on 20th April 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South West.

BBC One South West

The BBC West region started on 1st September 1957 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One West.

BBC One West

BBC One Yorkshire

Formerly part of a wider BBC One South East region that included London and part of the South region. Separated from BBC One London 2001-09-03 following reorganisation of the South East region.

BBC One South East

BBC One Oxfordshire

The BBC North East & Cumbria region started in 1959 (tbc) as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One North East & Cumbria.

BBC One North East & Cumbria

BBC One region covering Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

BBC One East Midlands

BBC One Yorks & Lincs

BBC One North West

The BBC East region started on 1st May 1959 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One East.

BBC One East

BBC One Scotland

Scotland

Simulcast of BBC One Northern Ireland in high definition. From 24/10/2012

BBC One Northern Ireland HD

BBC One Wales

Wales

Simulcast of BBC One Scotland in high definition. From 14/01/2013

BBC One Scotland HD

Simulcast of BBC One Wales in high definition. From 29/01/2013

BBC One Wales HD

BBC Northern Ireland region started on 19th April 1955 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One Northern Ireland.

BBC One Northern Ireland

BBC Two England

England

Simulcast of network BBC Two in high definition.

BBC Two HD

Until 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales (analogue) was known simply as BBC Two Wales. BBC Two Wales (digital) was BBC 2W. From 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales schedules on both analogue and digital became identical

BBC Two Wales

Simulcast of BBC Two Wales in high definition

BBC Two Wales HD

BBC Two Northern Ireland

Simulcast of BBC Two Northern Ireland in high definition

BBC Two Northern Ireland HD

Sasha Wass

Jeremy Dein

Mike Benson

Michael Klokkos

Simon Cooper

James Pearson

Emily Wallis

Gary John Senior

Chalkboard TV

Murder, Mystery and My Family: Case Closed? Series 4: Brown

Brown

Case Closed? Series 4

BBC One - Murder, Mystery and My Family, Case Closed? Series 4, Brown

Sasha and Jeremy revisit the case of a wife executed for killing her husband in 1856.

The barristers revisit their investigation of an infamous case from 1856 that inspired Thomas Hardy’s novel Tess of the D'Urbervilles.

Top criminal barristers Sasha Wass QC and Jeremy Dein QC revisit their investigation into an infamous case of a housewife accused of murdering her young husband. She became the last woman to be publicly hanged in Dorset, and her story inspired a classic novel. 

Dorset, 1856. In the early hours of 6 July, Martha Brown, a resident of Birdsmoorgate in rural Dorset, called on her neighbour begging for help. She said her husband John had been attacked by his horse and was lying in a critical condition in their home.

When Martha returned with assistance, John was found dead, having succumbed to multiple head wounds. After a hasty investigation, Martha was charged and convicted with the murder of her husband. Martha Brown continued to maintain her innocence, but on 9 August 1856, she was executed at Dorchester Prison.

Martha's story famously inspired Thomas Hardy’s novel Tess of the D'Urbervilles. 160 years on, sisters Fran and Irene, relatives of Martha Brown, were keen to separate fact from fiction, so they called upon the help of Jeremy and Sasha, who took another look at the hasty investigation and the pathological evidence. They also undertook a psychological evaluation of Martha and John’s relationship, to try to establish whether Martha Brown was wrongly convicted.

Now, a year on from that initial investigation, the barristers catch up once again with Fran and Irene, who remain unwilling to accept their ancestor's conviction. Can a new document uncovered by a historian shed further light on the case, and can local support for Martha help bring about a proper burial for her?

Murder, Mystery and My Family: Case Closed? Series 4

BBC One

Barristers Sasha and Jeremy follow up on some of the cases they have re-examined.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Murder, Mystery and My Family

Case Closed? Series 4

Brown

Contributors

Genres

Formats

Brand

Series

BBC One Cambridgeshire

About BBC One