Murder They Wrote with Laura Whitmore and Iain Stirling

A late-night fire tears through Room 66 at a hotel in Margate. One guest runs for help, another is pulled from the smoke, but it’s already too late. As investigators begin to piece together what happened that night, a different kind of story starts to emerge.

Laura and Iain dive into a case that rocked 1920s Britain, where the truth may have been lost in the flames.

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Laura heads to York to unravel Craig Townend's £1m art gallery heist leads to even more bizarre thefts in England's most haunted city.

Plus, Iain shares York's weirdest theft stories: a replica skull stolen from the city's most haunted pub on New Year's Eve, and the tale of a German student who "liberated" an organ pipe from York Minster in 1969.

Murder You Wrote with Laura Whitmore and Iain Stirling is available twice a week on BBC ...

In 1889, Edwin Rose vanished on a hike up Goatfell. His body is later found hidden under a pile of rocks. Was it a tragic fall, or something more sinister?

All eyes turn to John Annandale, the man who last saw Edwin alive. But when John suddenly vanishes and reappears under a different name, the case takes a bizarre turn.

Iain takes us to the Isle of Arran to retrace the steps of this Victorian mystery.

Murder They Wrote with Laura Wh...

A love triangle erupts into a gunfight at Denver’s Brown Palace Hotel, exposing a scandalous affair that ends in a double murder

Iain unpacks the heated rivalry between Frank Henwood and Tony von Thul, two men competing for the affections of socialite Isabel Springer. When flirtations turn to threats and threats escalate to gunfire, the fallout sends shockwaves through Colorado high society, leaving behind a trail of scandal, heartb...

Iain transports us to 1858 Bradford – then the world's wool capital, where confectioner William Hardaker ("Humbug Billy") unknowingly sold arsenic-contaminated sweets that resulted in one of Britain's most devastating mass poisonings.

Plus your emails feature a burglar delivered to police by Batman, a theory about D.B. Cooper, and the street poet who challenged developers with a can of spray paint!

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Iain takes us back to the swinging 60s to revisit the theft of a portrait that had been hanging in London’s National Gallery for just 19 days before it vanished.

At first, no one believes it’s been stolen – but when a handwritten ransom note arrives, detectives are forced to take the case seriously.

Iain uncovers how this case baffled police for years and eventually ended up inspiring a film starring Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren!

Mu...

Laura takes us to the hauntingly beautiful Lake District and uncovers three chilling murders. Meanwhile Iain digs up tales of thieving pensioners, bad parking and a Viking church mistaken for a public toilet.

The Lake District might be stunning, but it hides more than just hills and hikes.

Murder They Wrote with Laura Whitmore and Iain Stirling is available twice a week on BBC Sounds. Subscribe now so you never miss an episode. Email...

Laura retraces the twists of one of Britain's most debated unsolved cases. In 1919, a farmer found the body of a young woman on the side of a quiet country road, lying next to her bicycle. While first deemed an accident, it soon becomes clear she’s been shot.

A witness recalls a man on a striking green bicycle seen with her just hours earlier, but when police search for the rider, the truth becomes more tangled than anyone expected.

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Laura and Iain dive into the inbox and face a full on tribunal from Living Legends across the UK. Is it “Mull-guy”? What about "Gotham"? And how do you say “tortoise”? Iain’s mum, Allison, might just have the final word.

Plus! Mystery bananas left on a Nottingham street, fake olives in Italy, and the world’s oddest dental appointment...

If you want a chance to be featured in our next mailbag episode, email us at lauraandiain@bbc.co.u...

Iain takes us to the 1930s to uncover the twisting tale of Pretty Boy Floyd, a young outlaw that escapes a prison train and vanishes into the hills. Follow this smooth-talking fugitive who charmed the public and was named Public Enemy No.1 by the FBI.

When a mysterious ambush leaves multiple people dead, the hunt intensifies. With law enforcement closing in, Floyd’s story becomes a legend of escape, loyalty, and the dark glamour of ...

Listener Simon sends Laura to Croydon for a trio of tales: unsolved family poisonings, a 1930s airport gold heist, and a fly‑tipper with a skip-load of nerve.

Plus, cardboard box–loving cats, a recovering Jack Russell-Corgi cross and an avocado bathroom renovation?

Murder They Wrote with Laura Whitmore and Iain Stirling is available twice a week on BBC Sounds. Subscribe now so you never miss an episode. Email us at lauraandiain@bbc....

Laura revisits the shocking case of The Cameo Cinema Murders, a deadly robbery that shook Liverpool in 1949. When a cinema manager and his assistant are shot dead, police rely on the testimony of questionable witnesses to build their case.

But with strong alibis, conflicting accounts, and physical evidence that doesn’t quite fit, doubts begin to mount. What follows is one of the most controversial murder trials in British legal his...

Iain dives into the wild story of Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat, a tale packed with betrayal, dramatic beheadings, and the mystery of his missing remains.

Meanwhile, Laura explores the curious world of Loch Ness Monster insurance. Plus, listeners from Inverness send in their own local stories (and plenty of pet pics, of course!).

Murder They Wrote with Laura Whitmore and Iain Stirling is available twice a week on BBC Sounds. Subscribe no...

Laura takes us to 1993, when a routine breakfast in a New York diner spirals into a nightmare for tuxedo tycoon Harvey Weinstein. Snatched in broad daylight, he vanishes without a trace.

With only cryptic ransom demands, unsettling polaroids, and a chilling tape to go on, detectives launch a desperate race against time to bring him home. But nothing about this case is straightforward, and the clock is ticking.

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Listener Sarah sends Laura to Hartlepool, where a shipwreck, a monkey in uniform and a case of mistaken identity lead to one of the UK’s strangest legends – and its weirdest “trial”.

Meanwhile, Iain dives into modern-day monkey business of his own, featuring a quad bike heist gone wrong and a flying kick that lands someone in jail (for a day).

Murder They Wrote with Laura Whitmore and Iain Stirling is available twice a week on BBC So...

Iain takes us to 1908 Glasgow, where 83-year-old Marion Gilchrist is found murdered in her Glasgow flat. A missing brooch and a fleeing spark a transatlantic manhunt, and decades of fighting for justice.

But this isn't just a story of a manhunt. What unfolds is one of Scotland's most controversial trials, where prejudice, weak evidence, and a famous detective novelist collide.

Murder They Wrote with Laura Whitmore and Iain Stirling i...