Stalked by Her Brother-in-Law: The Christmas Murder That Shook Post-War Britain | Liverpool, 1918

Stalked by Her Brother-in-Law: The Christmas Murder That Shook Post-War Britain | Liverpool, 1918
News of the Times | Episode 595 |1918
As Britain celebrated the end of the Great War, one young Liverpool widow was facing a danger far closer to home.

This week, we step into December 1918, a moment when church bells rang for peace, soldiers returned to broken households, and thousands of war widows tried to rebuild lives reshaped by loss.
But for Mary Ellen Rooney, a 32-year-old widow raising four children, the threat did not come from the battlefield —
it lived across the street.

After months of unwanted attention, jealousy, and open threats from her brother-in-law, Mary’s attempts to find safety ended in a Paddington corner shop on a cold November afternoon.
Witnesses would describe what happened next as sudden, furious, and chillingly deliberate.

Why did this case — shocking, public, and tragic — receive almost no press coverage at the time?
What can it tell us about post-war Britain, the pressures on returning soldiers, and the precarious position of the women left behind?
And how did one man’s fixation escalate into murder just weeks after the Armistice?

In tonight’s episode, we uncover:
The realities of life in 1918 Liverpool after the war
The hidden dangers faced by war widows
A deeply unsettling pattern of stalking and threats
A murder that played out in broad daylight
A trial that passed almost without notice
And an execution carried out one week before Christmas

For our Further Particulars, we turn to Widnes in 1881, where a revolver accident led to…
another revolver accident — a Victorian tragedy so bizarre it defies summary.

👤 Narrated by Robin Coles

📅 New episodes: Monday, Wednesday & Friday
🎞️ Long-form historical crime compilations: Final Sunday of every month

❤️ Support Independent History
If you enjoy our ad-free, archive-based storytelling, help us keep the lantern lit:

👉 **Patreon** – Full archive, early access, bonus compilations (and it keeps us independent):
https://www.patreon.com/NewsOfTheTimesHistoricalCrime

☕ Prefer a one-off thank-you? We LOVE a posh coffee indulgence! We tip our top hats:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd

🕯 About the Channel
We’re an independent team of historical researchers and narrators specialising in 18th to early 20th century British true crime. Each episode is based entirely on archival materi

Hear about our ad-free archive on Patreon – 650+ episodes and counting! 🎩 https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime

Fancy a chuckle between corpses? Discover our first lovingly illustrated volume of wildly unreliable memoirs.

Grab it here: https://ko-fi.com/s/b406f6f11e

Support us on Patreon for ad-free early access and exclusive bonus episodes.

https://www.patreon.com/c/NewsoftheTimesHistoricalCrime

Support the show

Thanks for listening! You can also connect with us on
Our YouTube Channel: | https://www.youtube.com/@newsofthetimes
Our Facebook Page: | https://www.facebook.com/News-of-the-Times-101108282697405
Have a question or comment? Get in touch with us at [e-mail]
If you would like to donate, we love coffee! Warmly appreciated :-) | https://www.buymeacoffee.com/newsofthetd