Inside Forensic Science · Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science

Series 2: Episode 6 The Verdict

·45 min·3 clips

A socialite's passionate letters held hostage; the lover dies from massive arsenic poisoning.

A jury can only carry so much. The host closes the Madeleine Smith series with Scotland's three possible exits in view: guilty, innocent, or not proven. Then the recap tightens the knot. Madeleine and Emile sit across from each other with class, ambition, secrecy, and a thick run of letters between them. Arsenic gives the case one hard fact. The guest sees little room to doubt that a considerable amount killed Emile, so blame becomes the thing that matters. If Madeleine did not give it to him, the story has to turn to a stranger or to suicide. The defence knew suicide was a dangerous lane. The moral fog does not help. One side reaches for the seduced maiden version, while the Crown pokes at sexual reputation. When asked how he would prosecute, the guest says he would cut the fake morality and make Emile the obstacle Madeleine needed removed. Cold, but workable. The host says the case can pickle the brain, and that aside does more than land dry; it makes the jury's problem feel plain. The podcast also admits its limits. It has stayed with the forensic material instead of every trial detail, with notes for listeners who want the rest. Then the late story arrives: a merchant seaman allegedly placed Madeleine and Emile together, covering the gap in the Crown case. Maybe story, maybe truth. The guest's final read is grim: Madeleine got away with murder.

As heard by us

A careful final pass through Madeleine Smith's case, with evidence and uncertainty kept in sharp view.

Series 2 ends with a blunt question: should Madeleine Smith be found guilty, innocent, or not proven in the 1857 arsenic poisoning case tied to Pierre-Emile L'Angelier?

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Why you'd press play

Three verdicts, one poisoned affair, and a final episode that asks you to decide whether Madeleine Smith was guilty, innocent, or not proven in Scotland.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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