Murder Maps: Crime scenes revisited Drew Gray
Event details
Join crime expert Drew Gray for a journey around the murder hotspots of the world as he re-examines the most captivating and intriguing homicides of the 19th century through the lens of cartography.
Drew, author of Murder Maps: Crime scenes revisited, has meticulously replotted the elements of each murder - from the prior movements of both killer and victim to the eventual location of the body – using archival maps and bespoke plans.
From the ‘French Ripper’, Joseph Vacher, who roamed the French countryside brutally mutilating and murdering at least 11 people, to H. H. Holmes and his ‘Murder Castle’ in Chicago, Drew’s forensic examination has uncovered both the horrifying details of the crimes themselves and the ingenious detective work that led to the capture of the murderers.
Throughout his talk, Drew will also highlight the development of police methods and technology, from the introduction of the police whistle to the standardisation of the mug shot to the use of fingerprinting and radiotelegraphy in apprehending criminals.
This event is hosted live on Zoom Webinar. You’ll receive a link to join a couple of days before the event takes place and a reminder an hour before. During the event, you can ask questions via a Q&A function but audience cameras and microphones will remain muted throughout.
Book sales
You can buy copies of many of our speakers’ books from Fox Lane Books, a local independent bookseller and Festival partner. In some cases, author signed bookplates are available too.
About the speaker
Dr Drew Gray is a social historian of the 18th and 19th centuries, specialising in the history of crime and punishment. He has written extensively on this subject, including in his book, Jack and the Thames Torso Murders, proposing a new suspect for the Jack the Ripper murders. He is the author of Victorian crime blog The Police Magistrate, a member of the editorial board for The London Journal, and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He teaches history and criminology at the University of Northampton.
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