Show Notes for

'Til Death: Poison and Badmashes in 1911 Agra

This episode follows Augusta Fullam and Dr. Henry Clark, whose affair leads to a murder plot in colonial India. As their plans unfold, poisoned meals, hired attackers, and incriminating letters expose the lovers and draw their families into tragedy.

Sources:

Arnold, David. Toxic Histories: Poison and Pollution in Modern India (Cambridge: University Printing House, 2016.)

McDougal, Iain. “The Memsahib was a Poisoner” in Cavalcade Magazine, Dec. 1952. Vol. 17, No. 1.

Nash, Jay Robert. Look for the WOman: A Narrative Encyclopedia of female poisoners…(New York: M. Evans and Company, 1981).

Pearson, Edmund. Instigation of the Devil (New York: Charles Scriber’s Sons, 1930).

“The Tragic Affair at Meerut” in Mystery Magazine, June 1934. Vol. IX, No. 6.

Sandford, Charles. India: Land of Regrets (London: The Fenland Press, 1934).

Whittington-Egan, Molly. Khaki Mischief: The Agra Murder Case (London: Souvenir Press, 1990).

Music: Credits to Holizna, Fesilyan Studios & Virginia Liston

The internet will tell you that Catherine Hayes was a monster who slept with her son and convinced him to murder her husband, John Hayes, but the internet is wrong. This is the true story of the life and death of Catherine Hayes.

Sources:

“A Narrative of the barbarous and unheard of murder of John Hayes…” 1726.

“Broadside: A true copy of the paper, which Mrs. Catherine Hayes deliver'd to a particular friend, on Sunday last, the 8th day of May, which was the day before her execution,” Kent State University Libraries. Special Collections and Archives, accessed September 16, 2026, http://omeka.library.kent.edu/special-collections/items/show/11482.

“Catherine Hayes Burnt for Petty Treason.” Capital Punishment UK. 3 June 2025. https://capitalpunishmentuk.org/catherine-hayes-burnt-for-petty-treason/

Enright, Mairead. “Catherine Hayes: ‘The sexual predatorburnt at the stake for her life of sin’” University of Birmingham. 18 March, 2018. https://blog.bham.ac.uk/legalherstory/2018/03/18/catherine-hayes-the-sexual-predator-burnt-at-the-stake-for-her-life-of-sin/

Gribble, Leonard. Queens of Crime (London: Hurst & Blackett, 1932).

Lane, Brian. The Butcheres: a casebook of macabre crimes and forensic detection. (London: BCA, 1991).

Old Bailey Proceedings Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org, version 9.0) Ordinary of Newgate's Account May 1726 (OA17260509). Available at: https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/record/OA17260509 (Accessed: 16th September 2026).

Old Bailey Proceedings Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org, version 9.0) April 1726. Trial of Katharine Hays (t17260420-42). Available at: https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/record/t17260420-42 (Accessed: 16th September 2026).

Saxton, Kirsten. Narratives of Women and Murder in England, 1680-1760. (Surrey: Ashgate, 2009).

Newspapers:

London Journal

Mist’s Weekly Journal

Weekly Journal, or the British Gazetteer

Music: Credits to Holizna, Fesilyan Studios & Virginia Liston

When Ruth Cruger went missing in 1917 and the New York Police Department failed to search for her adequately, the girl's family hired Grace Humiston, AKA “Mrs. Sherlock Holmes,” to find her. Mrs. Sherlock not only found Ruth, but uncovered a conspiracy that rocked New York City–and America–to its core.

Episode 86- The Gotham Gobbler: Mrs. Sherlock and the Murder of Ruth Cruger is now live on all major platforms.

Sources:

Kahler, Abbott. “‘Mrs. Sherlock Holmes’ Takes on the NYPD.” Smithsonian magazine. August 23, 2011. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/mrs-sherlock-holmes-takes-on-the-nypd-60624549/

“Addressing the Epidemic of Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls Through Legislation.” Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. May 28, 2026. https://americanhealth.jhu.edu/news/addressing-epidemic-missing-and-murdered-black-women-and-girls-through-legislation

Ricca, Brad. Mrs. Sherlock Holmes: The True Story of New York City’s Greatest Female Detective and the 1917 Missing Girl Case That Captivated a Nation (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2016).

Ricca, “Searching for Grace Humiston: Mrs. Sherlock Holmes.” The History Reader. https://www.thehistoryreader.com/historical-figures/grace-humiston/

Roth, Tanya. “Women’s Work, the Story of the Murder-Solving, Peonage-Busting, Justice-Seeking ‘Mrs. Sherlock Holmes.’” Saturday Evening Post. August 21, 2024. https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2024/08/womens-work-the-story-of-the-murder-solving-peonage-busting-justice-seeking-mrs-sherlock-holmes/

Newspaper articles from:

The New York Tribune

The New York Times

The Daily News (NY)

The Evening World (NY)

The Elmira Gazette (NY)

The Philadelphia Inquirer

Music: Credits to Holizna, Fesilyan Studios & Virginia Liston