92 | Murder in Babbacombe: The Man They Could Not Hang

About this episode

The episode discusses the brutal murder of Emma Ann Whitehead Keyse in 1884 and the subsequent trial that captivated Victorian England.

In November 1884, 68-year-old Emma Ann Whitehead Keyse was brutally murdered in her home in Babbacombe, Devon. As investigators pieced together the crime, suspicion fell on a household member, leading to a trial that gripped the public. But the story didn’t end in the courtroom, as the fate of the accused would take an extraordinary turn that made headlines across Victorian England. 📘 Wartime London’s ‘Bonnie and Clyde’: The Crime Spree of Betty Jones and Karl Hulten Subscribe to my free newsletter: https://prashganendran.com 📺 Subscribe for video versions YouTube: https://youtube.com/@prashsmurdermap 💡 Support my work Patreon (audio only ad-free episodes): https://www.patreon.com/prashsmurdermap Buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/prashsmurdermap PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/prashsmurdermap 🙏 Thank you for listening. Your support helps keep Prash’s Murder Map going and is very much appreciated. Music: "Lightless Dawn" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ “Long Note Two” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License…

People in this episode

Host: Prash Ganendran

Topics covered

• murder
• trial
• Victorian England
• true crime
• investigation
• household member

Keywords

• murder
• Babbacombe
• Emma Ann Whitehead Keyse
• John Lee
• Victorian England
• true crime
• trial

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Ancestry.co.uk, Exeter and Plymouth Gazette, Daily Telegrams, Express and Echo, Wigan Observer and District Advertiser, Herald of Wales, North London News, North Devon Journal

Books & works: Rope, Knife and Chair, The Man They Could Not Hang: The True Story of John Lee

Places: Babbacombe, Devon

More episodes of Prash's Murder Map: True Crime Podcast

• 96 | The Wrotham Hill Murder: Fabian of the Yard Investigates · May 28, 2026 · 25 min
• 95 | The Wife in the Well Murder: The 1885 Botched Execution of Robert Goodale · April 29, 2026 · 24 min
• 94 | The Vampire of Kraków: Karol Kot and the Murders That Shocked Poland · April 18, 2026 · 26 min
• 93 | The Murderess of Newington Butts: The Strange Case of Agnes Norman · April 11, 2026 · 19 min
• 91 | The Saint-Cloud Murders: The Crimes of Serial Killer Eugen Weidmann · March 12, 2026 · 22 min
• 90 | Murder in Birkenhead: Lock Ah Tam and the Chinatown Tragedy · February 26, 2026 · 21 min