Brief Case

Brief Case

Welcome to Brief Case — your ultimate destination for deep dives into the darkest mysteries, unsolved enigmas, and gripping tales from the shadows.  ​Here, we open the files that others leave closed, examining the details, exploring the unknown, and bringing untold stories to light. If you have a passion for true crime, psychological mysteries, and atmospheric investigations, pull up a chair at the wooden desk, subscribe, and join us as we unlock the truth one case at a time. 

  1. 1h ago

    The Horrifying And Tragic Case of Twannie Aquilina

    The Horrifying and Tragic Case of Twannie Aquilina — a true crime story of a murdered child, a mother condemned, and a family still fighting for the truth sixty years later. What if the most notorious murder in Maltese history was solved by a court, but never truly solved at all? In this episode, we dive into the case of eight-year-old Twannie Aquilina, found dead in his family's Valletta apartment in 1960 with his throat slashed. The brutality of the crime shocked Malta, and the investigation turned inward—toward his own mother, Ġiġa Camilleri, and her husband Leli. After a 17-day trial in 1961, a jury took just two hours to convict them. Ġiġa became the first woman in over a decade sentenced to death by hanging in Malta, a sentence later commuted to life imprisonment after nearly 100 lawyers signed a petition for clemency. She served ten years and maintained her innocence until her death. But the story never ended. Decades later, her youngest daughter Marthese came forward with claims that her parents were framed. She insists Twannie was sexually assaulted before he was killed—a detail she says was confirmed by autopsy but never presented in court. She points to the lack of forensic evidence, a nail clipping found in the victim's underwear that matched neither parent, and the coerced testimony of her seven-year-old sister Carmen, who later admitted she never actually saw her parents commit the murder. As calls grow for a forensic re-examination of the evidence, the question remains: was justice served, or did a mother die carrying the weight of a crime she did not commit? Perfect for true crime fans, history enthusiasts, and anyone drawn to the cases where truth and doubt are impossible to separate. Turn off the lights, and whatever you do—question the verdict. Listen now… if you dare.

  2. 1h ago

    The Intriguing and Chilling Case of Elizabeth Wharton

    The Intriguing and Chilling Case of Elizabeth Wharton — a true crime story of poison, high society, and the "Baltimore Borgia" who walked free after a trial that became a war between doctors. What if the most notorious widow in Gilded Age Baltimore was guilty of far more than the one murder she was tried for, and the jury never knew the half of it? In this episode, we dive into the case of Elizabeth G. Wharton, a wealthy and well-connected Baltimore widow and leading Episcopalian churchwoman who stood trial in 1871 for the murder of General W. Scott Ketchum, a family friend and her financial advisor [citation:2][citation:3]. Ketchum had come to collect a debt of $2,600 when he fell violently ill after dinner at her home, dying in convulsions days later [citation:7]. The autopsy revealed a large amount of tartar emetic—antimony—in his stomach [citation:2]. A young accounting clerk, Eugene Van Ness, had nearly died with the same symptoms after drinking punch at her house, and witnesses testified they had seen Wharton purchasing large quantities of the poison days before [citation:2][citation:3]. What followed was a 42-day trial that became a national spectacle, a "doctors' war" in which expert witnesses from rival medical schools tore each other apart, the defense attacking the prosecution's autopsy methods and offering spinal meningitis as an alternative cause of death [citation:2][citation:4]. The jury, initially divided, acquitted her on the fifth ballot [citation:2]. But the public believed she was guilty of far more: her husband, her son, and two cousins had all died suddenly, and she had collected on their life insurance policies [citation:7]. Dubbed "the Baltimore Borgia," she walked free, and the truth of how many graves she filled was never uncovered. Perfect for true crime fans, history enthusiasts, and anyone drawn to the darkest corners of the Gilded Age. Turn off the lights, and whatever you do—don't accept the dinner invitation. Listen now… if you dare.

  3. 1h ago

    The Shocking _ Sensational Case of Blanca de Saulles

    The Shocking and Sensational Case of Blanca de Saulles — a true crime story of a custody battle, five gunshots, and the society trial that made headlines across three continents. What if the mother who shot her ex-husband dead in front of witnesses walked free because the jury believed she was not responsible for her actions? In this episode, we dive into the case of Blanca Errázuriz de Saulles, a beautiful young heiress from Chile, known as the "Star of Santiago," who married John "Jack" de Saulles, a former Yale football captain and notorious playboy, in 1911 [citation:2][citation:10]. They had a son, but the marriage soured as Jack chased chorus girls and Blanca sought a divorce—rare and scandalous for a powerful Catholic family [citation:10]. The custody battle over their son became vicious. On the night of August 3, 1917, after Jack refused to return the boy despite a court order, Blanca drove to his estate in Westbury, Long Island, pulled a revolver from her handbag, and shot him five times on his porch [citation:3]. When arrested, she reportedly said, "I killed him and I am glad I did it. He refused to give me my child" [citation:3]. Her trial became the most sensational of the decade, with millions devouring the details of the high-society marriage's collapse. Her family hired the best defense lawyers, who painted her as a saint and argued she was not responsible due to a thyroid condition and mental distress [citation:1][citation:10]. She was acquitted. She later returned to Chile, resumed her maiden name, and remarried in 1921 [citation:2]. Was Blanca a cold-blooded killer, or a desperate mother pushed beyond reason by a system that kept taking her child away? Perfect for true crime fans, history enthusiasts, and anyone drawn to the darkest corners of the Gilded Age. Turn off the lights, and whatever you do—don't take the mother's child. Listen now… if you dare.

  4. 1h ago

    The Shocking _ Sensational Case of Edith Thompso

    The Shocking and Sensational Case of Edith Thompson — a true crime story of a suburban murder, forbidden love letters, and the hanging that still divides Britain a century later. What if the woman who witnessed her husband's murder was condemned not for what she did, but for what she wrote? In this episode, we dive into the case of Edith Thompson, a 29-year-old milliner's bookkeeper from Ilford, London, who became the center of one of the most controversial trials in British history. On the night of 3 October 1922, Edith and her husband Percy, a shipping clerk, were walking home from the theatre when a man sprang from the darkness and stabbed Percy to death. The assailant was Frederick Bywaters, a 20-year-old ship's steward who had been Edith's lover [citation:1][citation:2]. Bywaters insisted Edith had no part in the killing, and there was little direct evidence against her. But police discovered a series of passionate letters Edith had written to Bywaters, and they were read aloud in court. The letters became the prosecution's case—not for what they proved, but for what they suggested about a woman who dared to want more than her marriage allowed [citation:4][citation:8]. Both were convicted of murder. Bywaters was hanged at Pentonville on 9 January 1923. Edith was hanged at Holloway the same morning, so sedated that she had to be carried to the scaffold, semi-conscious [citation:2]. The judge's summing-up was later criticized as biased, and the use of the letters as evidence has been condemned by modern standards. In 2024, the Criminal Cases Review Commission refused a posthumous pardon, conceding the trial may not have been fair but finding no new evidence to clear her [citation:4]. Was Edith Thompson a conspirator, or a woman punished for her desires in an era that could not forgive them? Perfect for true crime fans, history enthusiasts, and anyone drawn to the cases where justice and prejudice are impossible to separate. Turn off the lights, and whatever you do — don't write a letter you wouldn't want read in court. Listen now… if you dare.

  5. 1h ago

    The Extraordinary _ Horrifying Case of Jeanne Weber

    The Extraordinary and Horrifying Case of Jeanne Weber — a true crime story of a serial child killer who was acquitted again and again because the experts refused to believe a woman could do it. What if the most prolific child killer in Belle Époque France walked free not once, but three times, because the men in power could not accept the truth standing in front of them? In this episode, we dive into the case of Jeanne Weber, born Jeanne Moulinet in 1874 in Brittany, who became known as "L'Ogresse de la Goutte-d'Or"—the Ogress of the Goutte-d'Or neighborhood in Paris. She strangled at least ten children, including her own. Her first two children died mysteriously. Then, in 1905, her sister-in-law's baby Georgette died in her arms. Her niece Germaine was found suffocating with red marks on her throat, and survived only because her mother intervened. Her nephew Maurice was found gasping on a bed, his throat bruised, with Jeanne standing over him. She was arrested and tried in 1906 for eight murders. The prosecution's case seemed strong. But the most eminent medical experts in France—Drs. Brouardel and Thoinot—testified that there was "not a shadow of medical evidence" against her, attributing the deaths to natural causes and even to the children's diet. She was acquitted and celebrated as a victim. She changed her name and fled to the countryside. A farmer took her in; his son died. She was tried again and acquitted again. She found work in a children's hospital under a false name and was caught strangling a boy, but the director covered it up. Finally, in 1908, she was caught in the act of strangling ten-year-old Marcel Poirot with a bloodied handkerchief. This time, she was declared insane and committed to an asylum, where she died in 1918. The case exposed a staggering failure of justice: doctors, judges, and journalists—all men—were so convinced a woman could not kill a child that they let a predator go free again and again. Perfect for true crime fans, history enthusiasts, and anyone drawn to the darkest corners of the Belle Époque. Turn off the lights, and whatever you do—don't leave the children with the nurse. Listen now… if you dare.

  6. 1h ago

    The Sinister _ Disturbing Case of Bridget Cleary

    The Sinister and Disturbing Case of Bridget Cleary — a true crime story of fairy belief, fire, and the murder of a young woman by the family who swore they were saving her. What if the people who loved you most became convinced you were not you at all, but a changeling left behind by the fairies? In this episode, we dive into the harrowing case of Bridget Cleary, a 26-year-old dressmaker and milliner from Ballyvadlea, County Tipperary, Ireland. In March 1895, after falling ill with what a doctor later described as bronchitis and "nervous excitement," Bridget's husband Michael Cleary, her father Patrick Boland, and several relatives became convinced she had been taken by the fairies and replaced with a changeling. A local "fairy doctor" named Denis Ganey was consulted, and a ritual "cure" began. Bridget was doused with urine, force-fed herb mixtures, and held over the kitchen fire while the men demanded she answer to her name. On the night of 15 March, during a violent interrogation, Michael knocked her to the ground, set her clothes alight with a stick from the fire, and threw lamp oil over her. She died of extensive burns. Her body was buried in a shallow grave. For days afterward, Michael kept vigil at a nearby ringfort, telling people his wife would ride out on a white horse among the fairies. When the body was found, he insisted the burned corpse was not Bridget but a witch or changeling. The trial that followed became an international sensation, seized upon by unionist newspapers as proof the Irish were unfit for self-government, while nationalists struggled to distance themselves from the fairy belief at the heart of the case. Michael Cleary was convicted of manslaughter and served a short prison sentence. Was this a crime born of superstition and ignorance, or, as some historians argue, a controlling husband's resentment of a wife who earned her own money and lived too independently? The truth is as tangled as the folklore that killed her. Perfect for true crime fans, history enthusiasts, and anyone drawn to the darkest corners of the past. Turn off the lights, and whatever you do — don't let them hold you to the fire. Listen now… if you dare.

  7. 1h ago

    The Disturbing _ Horrific Case Of Kate Webster

    The Disturbing and Horrific Case of Kate Webster — a true crime story of a servant, an axe, and the murder that ended up in David Attenborough's garden. What if the woman who cooked your meals and cleaned your house was the same one who would chop you up and boil you in your own laundry copper? In this episode, we dive into the case of Kate Webster, born Catherine Lawler in County Wexford, Ireland, in 1849. A convicted thief with a long history of larceny, she was hired as a maid by Julia Martha Thomas, a 55-year-old widow in Richmond, London, in January 1879. The two women clashed almost immediately. Thomas was strict and critical; Webster drank and resented being told what to do. Thomas gave her notice to leave on 28 February, but Webster persuaded her to stay three more days. On 2 March 1879, after Webster returned late from a visit to her son and stopped at a pub on the way, the two women argued. Webster threw Thomas down the stairs, then strangled her to stop her from screaming. What followed was one of the most gruesome acts in Victorian criminal history. Webster used a razor, a meat saw, and a carving knife to dismember the body. She boiled the flesh in the laundry copper to prevent identification, burned the bones in the hearth, and packed most of the remains into a box and a Gladstone bag, which she dumped in the River Thames. The head and one foot didn't fit—the foot was thrown onto a rubbish heap in Twickenham, and the head was buried under the stables of a nearby pub, the Hole in the Wall. It was alleged, though never proven, that she gave the fat to local children as dripping. For two weeks, Webster posed as Mrs. Thomas, wearing her clothes and even her false teeth, selling off her furniture before fleeing back to Ireland. She was arrested on 29 March, tried at the Old Bailey in July, and convicted after a six-day trial. A jury of matrons rejected her last-minute claim of pregnancy. She confessed the night before she was hanged at Wandsworth Prison on 29 July 1879. The case became known as the "Barnes Mystery," and the missing head remained a mystery for 131 years—until October 2010, when workmen building an extension at Sir David Attenborough's home in Richmond unearthed a skull. Radiocarbon testing and historical records confirmed it was Julia Martha Thomas. The coroner recorded a verdict of unlawful killing, and the case was finally closed. Perfect for true crime fans, history enthusiasts, and anyone drawn to the darkest corners of Victorian London. Turn off the lights, and whatever you do—don't trust the maid. Listen now… if you dare.

  8. 1h ago

    The Sinister _ Chilling Case of Mary Barrows _ Oscar Blaney

    The Sinister and Chilling Case of Mary Barrows and Oscar Blaney — a true crime story of a farm, a family feud, and a murder that took five bullets to finish. What if the wife who claimed her husband had killed himself couldn't explain the five bullet wounds in his body? In this episode, we dive into the "Kittery Crime" of 1883. Mary Barrows of Kittery, Maine, had a husband, Thomas, who despised her daughter from a previous marriage and loathed her son-in-law, Oscar Blaney. Thomas believed Mary planned to transfer the deed of their farm to her daughter, and he flew into a rage whenever they visited. Mary and Oscar decided there would be no peace until Thomas was dead. On November 14, 1883, Oscar ambushed Thomas near the barn and shot him three times, then fled. But Thomas wasn't dead. He crawled back to the house, and Mary went to fetch Oscar to finish the job. Oscar shot him twice more, killing him. When the coroner arrived, Mary claimed Thomas had committed suicide—but the five bullet wounds told a different story. Both Mary Barrows and Oscar Blaney were convicted of murder. This is the story of a conspiracy born in a broken family, and the question of how far a mother will go to secure her daughter's future. Perfect for true crime fans, history enthusiasts, and anyone drawn to the darkest corners of the past. Turn off the lights, and whatever you do—don't believe the suicide story. Listen now… if you dare.

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About

Welcome to Brief Case — your ultimate destination for deep dives into the darkest mysteries, unsolved enigmas, and gripping tales from the shadows.  ​Here, we open the files that others leave closed, examining the details, exploring the unknown, and bringing untold stories to light. If you have a passion for true crime, psychological mysteries, and atmospheric investigations, pull up a chair at the wooden desk, subscribe, and join us as we unlock the truth one case at a time. 

Information

  • Creator
    Brief Case
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    30
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright Brief Case
  • Show Website
    Brief Case