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The Trial

Crime Files

The Trial

Crippen and Ethel were tried separately, in October 1910, at the Central Criminal Court at the Old Bailey in London.Crippen’s trial for murder commenced on 18 October 1910, and he hampered any hope of building a decent defence, by refusing to allow Ethel to stand as a defence witness. His only concern seemed to be the protection of her reputation. He might have avoided execution had he chosen to plead guilty, introducing testimony of Belle’s serial adultery, but he pleaded not guilty, and was mercilessly bullied by the prosecutor, Mr R.C. Muir K.C., who emphasised the lies told to the Ladies’ Guild and the police, and the concealment of the crime.On 22 October 1910 the jury returned a verdict of guilty, after only 27 minutes of consideration. The presiding judge, Lord Alverstone, sentenced Crippen to death by hanging.On 26 October the trial of Ethel Le Neve began at the Old Bailey, on charges of being an accessory to murder, after the fact, and a fugitive from justice. Lasting only one day, her defence successfully painted a picture of an innocent young woman merely following the instructions of her lover, and she was found not guilty, after only 12 minutes of deliberation by the jury.