S6 Ep9: The Torso in the Marsh

About this episode

The episode explores the sensational murder investigation of Stanley Setty, whose dismembered torso was found in the Essex marshes in 1949.

In 1949, a headless, legless torso surfaced in the Essex marshes, setting off one of Britain’s most sensational postwar murder investigations. The victim was Stanley Setty, a black-market car dealer. The suspect was Donald Hume, a small-time crook, chronic liar and pilot who rented a plane the night Setty disappeared but swore he had nothing to do with the gruesome killing. Crimes of the Centuries is a podcast from Grab Bag Collab exploring forgotten crimes from times past that made a mark and helped change history. You can get early and ad-free episodes and more over at www.grabbagcollab.com Order the Crimes of the Centuries book at your favorite bookstore or at www.centuriespod.com/book ! Follow us on Instagram and other social media: @centuriespod Episode Sponsor: Mint Mobile. Get premium wireless for $15/month at mintmobile.com/COTC .

People in this episode

Host: Amber Hunt

Topics covered

• murder investigation
• postwar Britain
• true crime
• black-market
• historical crime

Keywords

• Stanley Setty
• Donald Hume
• murder investigation
• Essex marshes
• true crime
• black-market car dealer
• 1949

Sponsors

Mint Mobile

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Grab Bag Collab

More episodes of Crimes of the Centuries

• S6 Ep15: Twilight Zone Part 2: 'We Decided to Break the Law' · June 8, 2026 · 1h 10m
• S6 Ep14: Twilight Zone Part 1: Vic Morrow's Last Role · June 1, 2026 · 51 min
• S6 Ep13: Wesley Elkins: The 11-Year-Old Killer · May 25, 2026 · 55 min
• S6: Murdaugh Country: Future Crimes of the Centuries? · May 22, 2026 · 49 min
• S6 Ep12: Above Suspicion: The FBI Informant Who Disappeared · May 18, 2026 · 1h 6m
• The Case Files History Left Unsolved | Hidden History with Dr. Harini Bhat · May 18, 2026 · 9 min