Lethal Witness

Sir Bernard Spilsbury, the first and only 'Honorary Pathologist to the Home Office', gave crucial evidence in numerous murder cases between 1910 and his bizarre suicide in 1947. He made a major contribution to modern forensic pathology, explaining complex pathological findings in ways that a jury could understand, and overcoming widespread scepticism about the utility of forensic medicine in the trial process. On the debit side, Spilsbury came to see himself as infallible. It was the Crippen trial which first brought Spilsbury to the attention of the general public. He also gave evidence in the Brides in the Bath case - during the trial he almost drowned a nurse in his demonstration; the Armstrong case - in which Spilsbury's testimony caused the husband to be hanged and earned a knighthood for himself; and the shocking dismemberment of Emily Kaye into over a thousand pieces - which Spilsbury ghoulishly milked for the press. Andrew Rose re-examines Spilsbury's cases and uses previously untapped sources to challenge the common perception of him as 'the most brilliant scientific detective of all time'.
Using his experience in criminal trials, the author presents a more rounded portrait, revealing that Spilsbury's faults may have led to the execution of innocent men.