Public engagement project
Inside Forensic Science Podcast: Series 3
This series of Inside Forensic Science delves into our most complicated case yet: The Ardlamont Trial. We examine this historical case with modern-day forensic scientists and ask them, ‘what would you do differently today?’
Active
June 2024
Each series of the Inside Forensic Science podcast focuses on a historic criminal case from Scotland and asks experts in forensic science, law and medicine today – what has changed? What might be done differently now and could we have solved it?
Series 3 delves into the world-famous Ardlamont trial. On the 10th of August 1893 Windsor Dudley Cecil Hambrough died under mysterious circumstances at the Ardlamont Estate in Argyllshire - the full events of which are still unknown to this day. The case and subsequent trial caused a media storm including the publication numerous books and articles, making it one of the most infamous murder trials in Victorian Britain. In this series we focus on the evidence presented in court.
Episodes
The Inside Forensic Science podcast is available to download via all major podcast providers.
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The podcast was commissioned by the Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science (LRCFS) at the University of Dundee and funded by the Leverhulme Trust.
Inside Forensic Science is an Adventurous Audio production. The series is written and narrated by Pennie Stuart, the story consultants and series researchers are Heather Doran (Public Engagement Manager, LRCFS) and Clara Morriss (Public Engagement Coordinator, LRCFS). The sound mix was by Steve Bull.
Experts:
- Dr Richard Shepherd, Forensic Pathologist
- Duncan Mackenzie, Deer Stalker
- Dr Miles Mack, Dingwall Medical Group
- Rachel Aiken, Scottish Police Authority Forensic Services
- Professor Niamh Nic Daeid, Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science, University of Dundee
- Vincenzo Rinaldi, Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science, University of Dundee
- Rachel Sharpe, Scottish Police Authority Forensic Services
- Ashley Edwards KC
- Elizabeth Norledge, Police Scotland
Thank you to all of our voice actors: Paul Murray, Alan Richardson, Mark Stephen, Sam Young, Jake Lee, Jana Millar, Pam McIntosh, Neil Wallace, David Stenhouse, Chris Dolan, Joe Reilly, David Stuart, Kenny Smith, Donald Peterkin, Andrew Thomson, Craig Swan, Ian Boffey, Andrew Lever, Dan Holland and Andrew Thomson.
Sketch of the Ardlamont murder trial in the High Court of Justiciary, Parliament House, Edinburgh by William G. Miller (1893). ©Mary Evans Picture Library.
Episode 1: A Death
The early morning of Thursday 10 August 1893, a party of three men leave to hunt rabbits on the Ardlamont estate in Tighnabruaich. Only two return. The youngest, Lieutenant Dudley Cecil Hambrough has died from a bullet to the back of his head. The local doctor decrees the death an accident, but is the story really so clear cut?
In this episode, we question what evidence might have been lost following Hambrough’s death and what steps investigators take today to confirm whether a death was accidental or the result of a crime.
Additional resources for Episode 1:
Episode 2: The Scene
The police believe the death of Cecil Hambrough was no accident. His tutor Alfred John Monson is arrested for his murder 20 days after the incident. Scott, the last member of the hunting party has disappeared. Now it is up to the experts to gather what evidence they can from the scene. But after all that time, is there any evidence left to find?
This episode discusses what evidence may have been lost from the Ardlamont scene and what steps we take today to preserve a crime scene.
Additional resources for Episode 2:
- Listen to our additional podcast episode about the use of VR in forensic science
- View an interactive 3D model of the High Court in Edinburgh
- Check out this article or video about how using VR technology could revolutionise fire scene investigation
Episode 3: The Post-mortem and the Gun
Content warning: this episode contains graphic descriptions of the autopsy process
Lieutenant Dudley Cecil Hambrough has been shot dead on a hunting trip; his two hunting companions are suspected of murder. With Monson arrested and Scott in the wind, attention turns to the body. What can an autopsy tell us about how someone died? Can the post-mortem and knowledge of ballistics tell us whether this death was truly a murder or an accident?
Warranty for the arrest of Edward Sweeney, otherwise known as "Edward Scott", for his involvement in the alleged murder of Cecil Hambrough. © The Sketch/ Mary Evans Picture Library.
Episode 4: The Motive
Alfred John Monson is accused of the murder of young Dudley Cecil Hambrough. For over 3 years Monson had acted not only as Hambrough’s tutor and guardian, but as his friend. What motive could there have been for Monson to commit murder? The prosecution say money.
In this episode we scrutinise personal accounts, financial documents and the arguments made by both the prosecution and defence regarding Monson’s motives for murder.
Headshots of the three men involved in the Ardlamont Trial. © Illustrated London News/ Mary Evans Picture Library.
Episode 5: The Experiments
Content warning: graphic descriptions of injury and death involving a gun and mention of suicide
Accident or murder? To determine which is the most likely explanation for Hambrough’s death, experts in both 1893 and the present carry out experiments to test what distance the shot could have come from. What exactly can these experiments tell us about what happened on that fateful day and what are their limitations?
Additional resources for Episode 5:
- Watch deerstalker Duncan Mackenzie as he tests what happens when a bullet is shot from 3ft and 9ft
Witnesses waiting to be called. ©Illustrated London News/ Mary Evans Picture Library.
Episode 6: The Verdict
What did our experts and the jury of the day decide? How can people make a decision when experts disagree and who is able to be an expert in criminal cases? This episode covers all of the details and also answers the question of what happened to Scott and Monson?
Additional resources for Episode 6:
Sketch of Alfred John Monson leaving the court. © Illustrated London News/ Mary Evans Picture Library.
People
Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science
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