The first-ever true crime conference in Salisbury explored not only the intrigue that has occurred in the community itself over its centuries-long history, but also the city’s connection to some of the most well-known crimes in Victorian and modern history, including Jack the Ripper and Lord Lucan.

The first speaker of the afternoon on Saturday, August 26 was local historian Ruby Vitorino, who shed light on a little-known case in Salisbury from 1865, when Emily Blake, the daughter of a prominent chemist in the community, died of strychnine poisoning, allegedly at the hands of her father’s former assistant, William John Storer, who was begrudged by the termination of his employment.

Next, Frogg Moody, a long-time researcher of the Jack the Ripper case and former member of the Cloak & Dagger Club in London that brought interested individuals together to discuss the case, presented a narrative on the life and career of Police Sergeant William Thicke of the H Division, who was born in Bowerchalke and became one of the lead investigators in the Jack the Ripper case.

Later, Sally Hendry, author of the book Mother and Murderer: the Sad True Tale of Rebecca Smith, published last year, gave an overview on the life and crimes of Rebecca Smith, the last woman in the United Kingdom to be executed for the infanticide of her own child.

Smith was publicly hanged in Devizes on Thursday, August 23, 1849 for the murder of her infant son, Richard, by arsenic poisoning. After her trial and condemnation to death, she confessed to having previously killed seven of her other children.

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The final talk was from Lindsay Siviter, a former volunteer assistant curator at New Scotland Yard’s Crime Museum (colloquially known as the Black Museum), on Lord Lucan’s ancestral connection to Salisbury, through Robert de Bingham, the Bishop of Salisbury from 1228 to 1246. Lindsay also brought along a pair of Lord Lucan’s gloves, his wallet and his chequebook, which have all come into her possession through various auctions.

The true crime conference was part of the Salisbury History Festival, which also featured a talk on the Salisbury Giant by City Councillor Paul Sample and a walking tour on the history of cinema in Salisbury by Frogg Moody and Matt Pike.

Frogg said, for the city’s first-ever true crime conference, interest was high, with about 80 people in attendance.

He said: “We’ve never done a true crime conference before. Hopefully, we’ll be doing one again next year, as this has been really successful."