About this episode

Lucy Worsley investigates the murder case of Jessie McLachlan, exploring themes of gender-based violence and media influence.

Lucy Worsley meets Jessie McLachlan, a woman accused of murdering one of her friends in Glasgow in 1862. There’s no obvious motive, but if she didn’t do it, who did? To investigate this infamous case, Lucy is joined by stellar barrister Jennifer Robinson, co-author of Silenced Women: Why the Law Fails Women and How to Fight Back, who has represented actor Amber Heard and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, working on cases that span media, public and international law. The victim in this distressing story is a live-in domestic servant, who works for three generations of men in a respectable Glaswegian home. When her mutilated body is found in a locked room, the police are quick to arrest her elderly employer, the most obvious suspect. However, blame soon shifts to Jessie McLachlan, once a servant in the same house, who maintains her innocence throughout. Who will the jury believe? Will Jessie ever get to tell her side of the story? Even if she does, will anyone bother to listen? Together, Lucy and Jennifer discuss the difficulties women still face in speaking out about their experiences of gender-based violence and how the law is often weaponised against them. They are joined by…

People in this episode

Host: Lucy Worsley

Guests: Jessie McLachlan, Jennifer Robinson

Topics covered

• murder case
• gender-based violence
• media influence
• legal challenges
• historical crime

Keywords

• Jessie McLachlan
• murder
• Glasgow
• gender-based violence
• legal system
• media coverage
• historical crime

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Open University

Places: Glasgow

More episodes of Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley

• 60. True Crime on Trial · February 24, 2026 · 28 min
• 59. Kitty Newton - Killer Daughter · February 17, 2026 · 28 min
• 58. Mary Pearcey - Murderous Lover · February 10, 2026 · 29 min
• 56. Elvira Barney - Accidental Killer · January 27, 2026 · 28 min
• 55. Cloe - Forced Resistance · January 20, 2026 · 29 min
• 54. Martha Brown - Domestic Violence · January 13, 2026 · 29 min

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