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Most of Coras friends had never liked the doctor, and they now became suspicious. They made inquiries with shipping lines, but no record could be found of Cora ever having made the trip to the United States. So they went to the police. Chief Inspector Walter Dew of Scotland Yard was sent to see Dr. Crippen, who soon confessed that he had not been telling the truth. Cora was not dead; she had just left him. He had told the stories about her being ill and dying so as to avoid embarrassment and scandal. A search of the house in Hilldrop Crescent revealed nothing suspicious. Two days later, the Chief Inspector went back to ask a few more questions, only to discover that the doctor had chosen to take a leave of absence from his firm. His house was now deserted. This time, police made a more thorough search of the premises and, after digging in the coal cellar, they found human remains. A Captain’s Curiosity Pays Off A warrant was immediately taken out for the arrest of the “the cellar murderer and his accomplice.” Photographs and descriptions of the fugitive pair, Crippen and Ethel, were sent to police forces throughout Europe and North America and also published in newspapers. Ethel was reported to be nice-looking, quiet, and ladylike, and to have light brown hair and large, gray-blue eyes. Four days after the warrant was issued, Captain Henry Ken- dall of the SS Montrose , which had just left Antwerp for Quebec, became curious about two of his passengers. Mr. John Robinson resembled the newspaper photograph of Dr. Crippen, despite having shaved off his moustache and starting to grow a beard. He was also short—only five feet, three inches in height—

just like Dr. Crippen. Mr. Robinson’s sixteen-year-old “son” had a rather odd appearance. He wore an ill- fitting suit, was described as being “very tight about the hips,” and seemed somewhat feminine in his manners.

This photograph shows Ethel le Neve, dressed in boy’s clothes. After her acquittal, she immigrated to Canada, but she returned to England in 1916 and later married an accountant who was said to resemble Dr. Crippen.

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FAMOUS TRIALS