Dr. Edward Pritchard was a doctor (of sorts), viewed as a quack by many of his contemporaries, who decided that killing would solve all his problems most efficiently. He was right, for a little while at least.

Sources and resources:

Loney, G; How the Huan Crocodile met the Glasgow hangman for the last public execution in Scotland; Glasgow Live, 18Nov2018, https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/history/human-crocodile-execution-glasgow-history-11676137

Our Legal Heritage: The last man publicly hanged in Glasgow; Scottish Legal News, 31Aug2018, https://www.scottishlegal.com/articles/our-legal-heritage-the-last-man-publicly-hanged-in-glasgow

Grebar, Henry; What became of America’s water-cure towns? Bloomberg, 16Nov2015, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-16/the-legacy-of-america-s-water-cure-towns

Discover Saratoga, visitor information, https://www.discoversaratoga.org/things-to-do/attractions/mineral-springs/#:~:text=State%20Seal:%20A%20popular%20choice,has%20water%20rich%20in%20magnesium

Van Hoose, Anne; Edward William Pritchard: Gone? A killer in the Glasgow Photographic Society, https://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/libraries/family-history/stories-and-blogs-from-the-mitchell/special-collections-blogs/edward-william-pritchard-gone

Emsley, J., The Elements of Murder, Oxford University Press, 2006.

The Anatomy Lab; Forensic Medicine, History of Medicine Museum; Forensic Medicine: The Case of Dr Pritchard, https://surgeonshallmuseums.wordpress.com/2020/05/22/forensic-medicine-the-case-of-dr-pritchard/

Our Records: the Glasgow Poisoner; Scotland’s People, https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/article/glasgow-poisoner

Martin R, Lee VR. Antimony Toxicity. [Updated 2024 Sep 2]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK608003

Chan TY. Aconite poisoning. Clin Toxicol (Phila). 2009 Apr;47(4):279-85. doi: 10.1080/15563650902904407. PMID: 19514874. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19514874/

Wikipedia

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minor-key-music-box by user darkwaryurmc (http://freesound.org/s/318908/) licensed under CCBYNC 4.0

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Thomas Neill Cream was a good-looking man about town in the late 1800s, who was poisoning many of the people he treated and blackmailing anyone he thought could afford to pay. He was eventually caught when the family of one of his victims denied that she could possibly have committed suicide as was suggested by a note she wrote. But that’s not the end of the story.

Sources and Resources:

Wilson Smith, A, Strychnine and Vomit: The Untold Story of Past US Addiction Treatments, Filter Magazine 8 September 2021, https://filtermag.org/strychnine-addiction-treatments/

McLaren, A., Dr Cream’s Crimes were Just Part of the Problem, Chicago Tribune, 18 March 1993, https://www.chicagotribune.com/1993/03/18/dr-creams-crimes-were-just-part-of-the-problem/

Butts, Edward. "Thomas Neill Cream". The Canadian Encyclopedia, 15 December 2013, Historica Canada. thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/thomas-neill-cream. Accessed 09 November 2025.

Murder by Gaslight, the Lambeth Poisoner, 29Aug2010.

History of Shrewsbury, Quebec, Chapter III, LaChute 1835-1876, https://morrison13750.tripod.com/lachute/part3.pdf

Foran, J., The Evil Deeds of Dr. Cream. Canada’s History, https://www.canadashistory.ca/explore/politics-law/the-evil-deeds-of-dr-cream

Medical Murders Podcast: “’Lambeth Poisoner” Thomas Neill Cream, Part 2”

Wikipedia

This podcast uses sound from Freesound.org:

minor-key-music-box by user darkwaryurmc (http://freesound.org/s/318908/) licensed under CCBYNC 4.0

All statements in this podcast represent the opinions of the host and her guests.

Cover art photos: public domain.

Time for another fake crime episode!

In this episode of Columbo, a restaurant owner is murdered by a restaurant critic who had been charging him for good reviews. Columbo suspects the writer from the start, but doesn’t have any proof yet. He hounds the restaurant writer, popping up everywhere, in an effort to wear him down. This show, if you’re not familiar with it, is a how-catch-em instead of a whodunit. The audience already knows from the opening scene who the murderer is, the fun is watching Columbo figure out who did it and find a way to prove their guilt.

Sources and resources:

Vittorio Rossi | The Columbo Wiki | Fandom https://share.google/Yr2jiOMoo1RElQIz0

Yong YS, Quek LS, Lim EK, Ngo A. A case report of puffer fish poisoning in singapore. Case Rep Med. 2013;2013:206971. doi: 10.1155/2013/206971. Epub 2013 Dec 4. PMID: 24368916; PMCID: PMC3867830. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3867830/

Internet movie database (IMDB)

Wikipedia

This podcast uses sound from Freesound.org:

minor-key-music-box by user darkwaryurmc (http://freesound.org/s/318908/) licensed under CCBYNC 4.0

All statements in this podcast represent the opinions of the host and her guests.

Image: This ⁠Wikipedia⁠ and ⁠Wikimedia Commons⁠ image is from the user ⁠Chris 73⁠ and is freely available at //commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fugu_in_Tank.jpg under the ⁠creative commons cc-by-sa 3.0⁠ license.