In this week's episode, Rachel takes us back to the chilling atmosphere of 1952 Croydon to unravel the tragic and highly controversial case that gripped Britain: the fate of Derek Bentley. What started as a routine callout to a warehouse roof quickly descended into chaos and tragedy, leaving one police officer dead, one injured, and two teenagers under arrest for murder, setting the stage for a judicial disaster.

We delve into the lives of the young men caught in the crosshairs of the law: 19-year-old Derek Bentley, a vulnerable young man easily led and struggling with significant learning disabilities, and 16-year-old Christopher Craig, the charismatic, but dangerous, leader who fired the fatal shot.

The entire case hinged on four disputed, ambiguous words: "Let him have it." We expose the brutal and unforgiving realities of the British justice system in an era of mandatory capital punishment, dissecting the trial that sent a vulnerable defendant to the gallows. Join us as we trace the devastating impact of an adult court on a young man with a developmental delay, and follow the decades-long, passionate campaign for justice that sought to correct a massive miscarriage of justice.

Trigger Warnings: Murder, capital punishment/execution and pure, unadulterated rage.

Sources include:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_Bentley

https://www.casebook.org/forum1998/messages/3608/39192b66.html?1025427879

https://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/9835248.book-retells-controversial-death-of-croydon-copper/

https://insidecroydon.com/2023/03/26/let-him-have-it-murder-the-abdication-and-new-year-revels/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/28/newsid_3393000/3393807.stm

https://murderpedia.org/male.C/c/craig-christopher.htm

https://ccrc.gov.uk/decision/bentley-derek/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95wj4Ij1cCk

https://www.chalfonts.org/_site/data/files/users/CC4DC19FD20818CCC2C6EABB5E1ACB51.pdf

Support the show

Thanks for tuning in! If you loved diving into the dark corners of South London with us, don't forget to hit that subscribe button to never miss an episode of "Sinister South."

Also, follow us on Instagram @SinisterSouthPodcast for sneak peeks, behind-the-scenes content, and more cheeky banter, or www.sinistersouthpod.co.uk. Remember, every crime tells a story... and South is the best side of the river...

Produced and hosted by Hannah Williams & Rachel Baines
Mixed & edited by Purple Waves Sound (A.K.A Will)

A first date. A December night. A man who looked confident, capable, and in control.

In this episode, we tell the story of Charlotte Brown, a thoughtful, ambitious young woman who went out for dinner in London and never came home. What followed was years of delay, denial, and a justice system playing catch-up, as her family fought to prove that what happened on the Thames was not a tragic accident, but the result of sustained negligence and arrogance. We unpack the culture of confidence without consequence, the dangerous gap between appearance and reality, and how risk can be dressed up as charm until someone else pays the price.

Along the way, we also get distracted by decluttering woes, charity shop politics, teenagers with no chargers, anxiety-fuelled travel prep, book recommendations, and why neither of us should ever be trusted near a speedboat.

Sources used in this episode include:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq5j3xe8p99o

https://www.itv.com/news/london/2025-09-18/speedboat-killer-jack-shepard-back-in-prison-after-breaching-licence-conditions

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-68083296

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/36767851/speedboat-killer-jack-shepherd-jail-assaulting-new-girlfriend/

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/speedboat-killer-jack-shepherd-could-36161482

https://news.sky.com/story/speedboat-killer-jack-shepherd-released-from-prison-13055144

https://news.sky.com/story/charlotte-brown-father-urges-daughters-killer-jack-shepherd-to-reveal-truth-about-speedboat-death-ahead-of-prison-release-13038792

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/speedboat-killer-jack-shepherds-twisted-31948232

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-44924244

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tG--eUOWk1o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XV2dSvxe6Wg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-C1Uuyxdls

Support the show

Thanks for tuning in! If you loved diving into the dark corners of South London with us, don't forget to hit that subscribe button to never miss an episode of "Sinister South."

Also, follow us on Instagram @SinisterSouthPodcast for sneak peeks, behind-the-scenes content, and more cheeky banter, or www.sinistersouthpod.co.uk. Remember, every crime tells a story... and South is the best side of the river...

Produced and hosted by Hannah Williams & Rachel Baines
Mixed & edited by Purple Waves Sound (A.K.A Will)

This week on Sinister South, we do what we do best. There’s midweek chaos, including Rach questioning her own judgement after agreeing to a gig with the kids in tow, celebrating her slow and inevitable demise (also known as her birthday) on release day, and of course the continuing saga of #JenAneatenbyleopards. The truth will come out. Probably. Eventually.

Then we get into the case of Tom “Tommy” Cressman and Jane Andrews. In September 2000, in a flat in Fulham, Tommy rang 999 and said words that still haunt this case: “I’m afraid we might hurt each other… if we don’t have somebody here soon, somebody is going to get hurt.” No one came.

Within days, Tommy was dead. Beaten with a cricket bat and stabbed in his own bed. His partner, Jane Andrews, a former dresser to Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, would later claim she acted in self-defence.

In this episode, we step back and look at who these two people really were. Tommy, a wealthy, well-liked South West London bachelor with a settled life and no desire to marry. Jane, a woman who’d clawed her way out of a difficult childhood into royal circles, only to see that identity collapse years before she met him.

We talk about the relationship, the warning signs, the arguments, the 999 call that went nowhere, and the systems that failed to step in before things turned fatal. We also look carefully at Jane’s psychology without excusing what she did, and why this case still provokes such strong reactions more than twenty years on.

If you or someone you know needs help in a domestic violence/coercive control situation there are many places that can help including:

National Domestic Abuse Helpline - 0808 2000 247

National Centre for Domestic Abuse

and many more in the UK. If you're outside the UK, check local services.

Sources in this episode include:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Andrews
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/23/newsid_4444000/4444991.stm
• https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3kz304
• https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2003/aug/30/weekend7.weekend1
• https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/my-brother-murdered-royal-aide-28135479
• https://www.murdermiletours.com/blog/murder-mile-uk-true-crime-podcast-148-the-abuse-of-jane-andrews-part-1-janes-story
• https://murderpedia.org/female.A/a/andrews-jane.htm
• https://www.thedarksideoflove.com/post/episode-72-season-4-jane-andrews-and-tom-cressman-i-m-gonna-make-you-love-me
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uF25VVb_AFk
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHEnU26OFug

Support the show

Thanks for tuning in! If you loved diving into the dark corners of South London with us, don't forget to hit that subscribe button to never miss an episode of "Sinister South."

Also, follow us on Instagram @SinisterSouthPodcast for sneak peeks, behind-the-scenes content, and more cheeky banter, or www.sinistersouthpod.co.uk. Remember, every crime tells a story... and South is the best side of the river...

Produced and hosted by Hannah Williams & Rachel Baines
Mixed & edited by Purple Waves Sound (A.K.A Will)