The Mysterious Case of Charles Bravo — The Poisoning Scotland Yard Never Solved

Charles Bravo, Balham, south London, in the spring of 1876: a healthy young barrister taken gravely ill in his own bedroom, in a house full of servants, by a substance ordinarily kept for horses. He had been married barely four months. Within three days he was gone, and no one, then or since, has ever been charged in connection with the case. This video follows the question the inquest answered only in part: what truly passed that night at The Priory. Alongside it stand two further cases from the same brief span of years, Arthur Dyson (Sheffield, 1876) and Harriet Staunton (Penge, 1877). In this video: Charles Bravo (Balham, 1876), Arthur Dyson (Sheffield, 1876) and Harriet Staunton (Penge, 1877), drawn from the record. 0:00 Tonight's three cases 0:35 Charles Bravo (1876) 6:12 The first inquest at The Priory 8:04 The second inquest at the Bedford Hotel 11:42 Arthur Dyson (1876) 18:02 The trial at Leeds Assizes 19:45 Harriet Staunton (1877) 22:21 The trial at the Old Bailey 23:50 The doctors' memorial Sources: Charles Bravo, 1876: the inquest at The Priory, Balham; the second inquest at the Bedford Hotel, Balham; The Times; the Daily Telegraph; The Lancet; The Illustrated Police News Arthur Dyson, 1876: the trial at the Old Bailey, 1878; the trial at Leeds Assizes, 1879 Harriet Staunton, 1877: the trial at the Central Criminal Court, the Old Bailey, 1877; The Lancet; the memorial signed by medical men Charles Bravo, 1876: photograph by Lombardi & Co · Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Harriet Staunton, 1875: photograph by unknown photographer · Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Maps: county boundaries from the Office for National Statistics, Open Government Licence v3.0; contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right #truecrime #history #britishhistory #victorian