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Small Town Dicks

Small Town Dicks Presents: Beyond Recognition

Small Town Dicks

Audio 99

True Crime, Paul Holes, History, Small Town, Yeardley Smith, Society & Culture, Police

4.79.4K Ratings

🗓️ 12 July 2024

⏱️ 4 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

It was a crime like no other, unleashing horrors not seen since Jack the Ripper. 


On a crisp autumn morning in 1935, a brother and sister out for a walk in the Scottish countryside stumbled upon dozens of packages containing dissected human remains. Who - or what - could have done this? Now largely forgotten, the Ruxton case grabbed worldwide attention. A real-life Agatha Christie mystery, the gruesome details of the murders would shock the public and test the ability of police to keep the public safe.


The case was also the birthplace of modern forensic science. It would alter the course of how murders are investigated.


Hosted by Yeardley Smith of Small Town Dicks, “Beyond Recognition” is a 6-part series that delves into one of the most important murder cases of the early 20th century. Inspired by a book from famed Scottish police detective Tom Wood, it features the insights of Paul Holes, Dame Sue Black, and other leading experts who not only recount the grisly crime but examine the psychological and forensic aspects of the case.


To binge the series and support Small Town Dicks., visit patron.com/smalltowndicks



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

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0:00.0

It's a serene September morning in 1935, about two miles north of the Scottish

0:10.0

farming village of Moffat, an area known as the Devil's Beef Tubb.

0:17.4

It's a beautiful area, despite the name, an isolated region of deep ravines, rolling green hills,

0:24.8

and massive chunks of rock that punch out from the earth

0:28.7

like gnarled stone fists.

0:31.4

The river Anon winds through it all, flowing out to the sea. It's a lonely, striking

0:38.8

place that attracts hikers and nature lovers from around the United Kingdom.

0:45.0

People like 24-year-old Susan Johnson and her 19-year-old brother, Alfred.

0:51.0

Susan and Alfred are tourists from the Glasgow area just out for a

0:55.7

morning stroll on a lovely fall day. Birds are chirping, the skies are blue, Then, crossing an old stone bridge, Susan and Alfred stumble upon a brutal

1:10.3

scene so dark and out of place, it's hard for them to make sense of what they're actually seeing.

1:18.0

They've gone there on a fishing holiday and had been out walking.

1:24.0

That's Susan's niece, Sheila Livingstone.

1:27.0

Alfred was her father.

1:29.0

But apparently, Susie had looked over the bridge and seen what she thought was a woman's hand and

1:37.8

father had scrambled it down into the ravine and he had unwrapped one of the parcels and seen a face looking up at him.

1:50.0

Except that it's not actually a face.

1:53.4

Not anymore.

1:55.2

The skin has been completely removed.

1:58.3

So have the eyes, the nose, the lips, the ears, and teeth. They've all been cut away. It's absolutely

2:06.7

unimaginable. Alfred stares down in shock at this thing, this adult head wrapped in a child's onezy.

2:17.0

Aunt Susie was a very talented fisherman and father was a great shot. They slayed everything that moved and ate it so

...

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