The Willie Starchfield Murder Mystery

On a cold, grey January afternoon in 1914, a railway carriage travelling through north London shuttled along its route, carrying a grim secret. Beneath a third-class carriage seat lay the body of five-year-old Willie Starchfield, strangled and carefully concealed from view. Earlier that day, Willie had been sent out on an errand and never came home. The police launched a struggling investigation, hampered by a voracious press and conflicting witnesses, that eventually concluded with the arrest of Willie’s own father. Yet when the case finally reached court, the truth remained frustratingly out of reach. SOURCES The Star (1914) N.L.R. Train Murder. The Star, Fri 9 Jan 1914, p1. London, UK. Bradford Daily Argus (1914) Revenge? Bradford Daily Argus, Fri 9 Jan 1914, p1. Bradford, UK. The Star (1914) London Train Murder. The Star, Sat 10 Jan 1914, p1. London, UK. The Star (1914) N.L.R. Train Murder. The Star, Fri 9 Jan 1914, p1. London, UK. The Star (1914) Scotland Yard Dilemma. The Star, Mon 12 Jan 1914, p1. London, UK. The Star (1914) Hunt For Train Murderer. The Star, Tues 13 Jan 1914, p1. London, UK. The Star (1914) Tube “Clues” To N.L.R. Murder. The Star, Wed 14 Jan 1914, p5. London, UK. The Star (1914) Train Murder Inquest. The Star, Thurs 15 Jan 1914, p1. London, UK. Londonderry Standard (1914) The Body Under The Seat. Thurs 15 Jan 1914, p1. Londonderry, UK. Lloyd’s Weekly News (1914) The Murder Of Willie Starchfield. Sun 1 March 1914. P1. London, UK. Leicester Daily Post (1914) London Train Mystery. Leicester Daily Post, Fri 16 Jan 1914. P1. Leicester, UK. The Star (1914) The Starchfield Drama. The Star, Thurs 2 April 1914, p4. London, UK. The Star (1916) Starchfield Dead. The Star, Sat 22 April 1916, p4. London, UK. John Bull (1914) Starchfield’s Untold Story. John Bull, Sat 11 April 1914, p8. London, UK. ------ For almost anything, head over to the podcasts hub at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠darkhistories.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Support the show by visiting our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/darkhistories⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Dark Histories books are available to buy here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://author.to/darkhistories⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Dark Histories merch is available here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/3GChjk9⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Connect with us on Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Or find us on Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://twitter.com/darkhistories⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/dark_histories/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Or you can contact us directly via email at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠contact@darkhistories.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or join our Discord community: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://discord.gg/cmGcBFf⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017 Other Outro music was Paul Whiteman & his orchestra with Mildred Bailey - All of me (1931). It's out of copyright now, but if you're interested, that was that.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices