Murder, Mystery and My Family

In episode one Sasha Wass and Jeremy Dein investigate the case of Charlotte Bryant, who in the 1930s was arrested and hanged for the murder of her husband, Frederick Bryant, by arsenic poisoning.

Charlotte and Frederick were parents to five children, all of whom were put into an orphanage after the deaths of their parents. Their son, William, did not find out about his family's history until he read about it in a newspaper in 1964. William did not tell his own son, David, until he was in his 30s.

William and David join forces with Sasha and Jeremy to re-examine some of the finer details of the case. Intimidation of key witnesses and mostly circumstantial evidence are a cause for concern for the barristers. But do they believe they have a compelling case to present to a Crown Court judge?

Devlin and Burns were petty criminals, known to the police for a series of robberies around their native Manchester. During the trial, the prosecution alleged that the motive for the murder was robbery - although nothing was taken from Beatrice's home.

Sasha and Jeremy team up with Lindsay, a relative of Edward Devlin who has flown over 10,000 miles from Australia to examine the case in more detail. Questions about the murder weapon and the evidence of key witnesses raise concerns for the barristers. But after a tense confrontation between Sasha and Lindsay, will the barristers decide to present evidence to a Crown Court judge?

Alfred Moore was father to four daughters, and Sasha and Jeremy team up with one of his children - Bronwyn - who is eager to investigate the case after it was not spoken about in her family for years.

Alfred Moore was known to the police and was suspected of being a well-known local burglar, so when two police officers were shot to death on his farm, he became the prime suspect in the eyes of the local police. Sasha and Jeremy are concerned about the absence of a murder weapon, and the lack of consideration of other suspects. But do they think they have a strong enough case to present to a Crown Court judge?

Criminal barristers Jeremy Dein and Sasha Wass scrutinise the case of John Dickman, who, after being convicted of murder in 1910, became the last man to be hanged at Newcastle Prison.

On Friday 18 March 1910, 46 year-old John Nisbet boarded a 10.27am train from Newcastle Central Station. By the time the train reached the end of the line, he was dead.

He had been shot five times: his bag, containing £370 in cash, had been stolen, and his body stuffed beneath the carriage seats. Local bookmaker John Dickman was convicted of his murder and sentenced to death, but he always protested his innocence. Now, more than 100 years later, his great grandson Rowan is on a mission to find out the truth.

As Rowan delves into his family history and retraces the steps his great grandfather took on that fateful day, Sasha and Jeremy work together to try to determine whether Dickman may have been the victim of a miscarriage of justice.

Edith - a successful, career-focussed woman in her 20s - was married to Percy Thompson. Their marriage was not a particularly happy one, and she began an affair with a young man named Freddie Bywaters, who was in the merchant navy.

One evening Freddie fatally stabbed Percy, and both Freddie and Edith were arrested, tried and found guilty of murder.

Sasha and Jeremy join forces with one of Edith's few living relatives, Nicki, to examine correspondence between the lovers and ask whether Edith was responsible for the murder as a result of her influence on Freddie's actions.

Sasha Wass and Jeremy Dein re-examine a seaside case of murder and mistaken identity from 1900, in a case involving false names, suspicious journeys and 100-year-old evidence. Great Yarmouth, September 1900 - a woman's body is found among the sand dunes. She had been murdered. The first mystery facing police was not identifying the killer but the woman herself - she had been staying in Great Yarmouth under an assumed name. A clue from her clothing allowed the police to name her as Mary Jane Bennett, and suspicion immediately landed on her estranged husband, Herbert Bennett. Now, over 100 years later, Herbert's great-grandson Paul is investigating the case, and he has doubts about his ancestor's guilt. Can a modern investigation shed new light on the evidence that was used to convict Herbert for murder? Sasha and Jeremy receive a breakthrough in the form of crucial physical evidence from the original investigation. Could this be the key to unlocking this mysterious case?

Jeremy Dein and Sasha Wass re-investigate an alleged false confession that led to the hanging of William Burtoft for the brutal murder of Frances Levin in her home in Manchester in 1933. Now, more than 80 years later, William's relative Kate is keen to learn more about the case and works alongside Sasha and Jeremy to uncover new details about her great-great-uncle. The case was based on a confession that William signed, but the barristers have grave concerns about how that confession was obtained - can they discover new evidence about the authenticity of the confession? What singled William out as a suspect in this case? Kate goes on a journey of discovery, learning about her ancestor's time in the navy and his previous run-ins with the law - is she still certain of his innocence? Calling on the assistance of experts, will Jeremy and Sasha uncover enough new evidence to present the case to a former Crown Court judge?

Sasha Wass and Jeremy Dein scrutinise a violent burglary and murder from 1931. The murder weapon could be key to the conviction and execution of Henry Seymour. In Oxford in 1931, 54-year-old widow Annie Louisa Kempson was bludgeoned and stabbed to death in her own home in what appeared to be a violent burglary. Door-to-door salesman and career criminal Henry Seymour was quickly embroiled in the murder investigation and eventually executed for the crime - but now his grandson Tony is starting to doubt the original verdict. Tony enlists the help of top criminal barristers Jeremy and Sasha, who examine the evidence, starting with the time of death. Their investigation leads to an important revelation about the hammer that connected Henry to the murder, but is there enough new evidence to present the case to a senior judge?

Sasha Wass and Jeremy Dein investigate a gang-related murder in Clapham Common in 1953 that left one teenager dead and another man sentenced to hang. What appears to be a fistfight masks a more violent clash - someone has a knife. Three men are stabbed, and 17-year-old John Beckley later dies from his injuries. Several young men were initially arrested and charged, but only one - Michael Davies - was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. However, Michael was never executed - his sentence was reduced to life imprisonment. Now Michael's niece, Sharon, and family friend Ann are looking for closure. Michael protested his innocence on his release from prison, but he was never exonerated - can his relative finally clear his name? Sasha and Jeremy investigate possible murder weapons and re-examine key evidence given by eyewitnesses. Can they uncover enough new evidence to bring this case before a Crown Court judge and convince him that the original conviction was unsafe?

Jeremy Dein and Sasha Wass investigate a case of murder in County Cork, Ireland, in 1894. A man is dragged from his bed and beaten by two men. With serious injuries and a gunshot to his arm, he is discovered early the next morning. His neighbour calls for a priest and a doctor, but it is too late - James Donovan has been murdered. With little evidence, the police round up several known criminals from the surrounding area, and John Twiss from County Kerry is tried and convicted. He is hanged in February 1895, protesting his innocence. More than 120 years later, John's relatives, Helen and Dennis, are determined to prove his innocence. Why was Twiss arrested within days of the murder, for the police to then spend months investigating the case? Was there any evidence to link him to the scene of the crime, or to the other man who was alleged to have also committed the murder? Were witnesses put under pressure to give evidence or to change their stories?