Devizes: The Confession of Constance Kent

Devizes: The Confession of Constance Kent

Author: Shane L. Waters, Wendy Cee, Gemma Hoskins February 3, 2026 Duration: 20:58

Constance Kent's confession shocked a nation still reeling from the Road Hill House murder, altering her life forever as Victorian justice loomed. In Season 37's climax, Foul Play explores the ripple effects of Constance Kent's confession which exposed Victorian society's rigidities and prompted a broader contemplation of justice. Constance lived in quiet affluence, working through societal structures until her arrest. Her life changed irreversibly when she confessed, a decision that intertwined personal conscience and family protection. Her confession sparked debates epitomizing tangible yet metaphorical shackles of Victorian society, challenging its judicial integrity and posing moral dilemmas. As investigation closed, the era demanded not just answers but an understanding of its own reflection on morality and justice, captured in intensified legal proceedings and public reaction. This episode offers a window into Constance's psyche, exploring societal constraints on women and family honor. Discover details overshadowed by past conclusions and inspect the confession's reverberations through history. Tune in for deep personal reflections and modern implications of a confession steeped in controversy and courage. Our narration weaves together investigators' demands, familial pressure, and societal judgments.



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Step back into an era of flickering gaslight and whispered secrets, where justice was often as murky as the London fog or as stark as a frontier town’s saloon. Foul Play: A Historical True Crime Podcast exhumes long-forgotten criminal cases from the 1800s and early 1900s, meticulously piecing together stories that newspapers sensationalized and time nearly erased. Hosts Shane Waters, a veteran whose work helped shape the genre, and Wendy Cee, alongside researcher Gemma Hoskins, guide you through each meticulously researched season. They focus on a single, complete narrative, building the tension from the crime itself through the investigation and into the courtroom’s hushed drama. You’ll hear more than just the facts; you’ll get a sense of the societal pressures, the legal limitations, and the human lives entangled in each historical moment. This isn't about quick summaries-it's a deep, immersive audio experience that treats the past with the gravity it deserves. The podcast connects the dots using original documents, period accounts, and a clear-eyed analysis that separates legend from truth. It’s for anyone who wonders about the real stories lurking in the shadows of history, told with a journalist’s precision and a storyteller’s care for the victims and the complexities of their times. Listen to Foul Play for a compelling journey where every clue matters and history itself is the most important character.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Foul Play: A Historical True Crime Podcast
Podcast Episodes
1898 America: The Burning of Baker, McGeisey & Sampson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:24
Season 40: America's 250th Anniversary -- 50 states, 25 double-feature episodes. Two fires burned in 1898America. One in South Carolina, where a mob murdered a Black postmaster and his two-year-old daughter. Onein Indian…
Rhode Island & North Dakota: Who Killed the King? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:23
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Hawaii and Louisiana: The Plantation's Shadow, 1887-1889 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:02
This episode is part of Season 40: America's 250th Anniversary -- 50 states, 25 double-feature episodesexploring the cases that shaped American history from every corner of the country.Hawaii, 1889. A Japanese shopkeeper…
Wyoming and New York: Children in the Dock, 1892 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:55
Season 40: America's 250th Anniversary — fifty true crime stories from fifty states. Wyoming, 1892. A fiftee-n-year-old orphan train rider murders two young men in a boxcar and becomes the first person executed bythe sta…
New Mexico & Illinois: Two Political Murders, No Justice [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:04
Season 40: America's 250th Anniversary. Fifty states. Fifty crimes. Two hundred and fifty years of Americanhistory, told through the true crime cases that other shows leave behind.New Mexico, 1892. A former sheriff walks…
The Keepers, Where Are They Now [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:36
Shane Waters and Gemma Hoskins close out their reunion by going down the list of the people who appeared in the Netflix documentary The Keepers, where they are today, who is still fighting, who has found peace, and who t…
The Suspects and the Silence [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:49
Shane Waters and Gemma Hoskins continue their first sit-down in over a year, working through the second half of the questions listeners submitted through the show's Facebook community. This is the follow-up to "The Mary…
California & Alabama: When the Mob Decided to Be the Law [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:37
This episode contains descriptions of murder, mob violence, historical racial violence, and the execution of a convicted killer. If you need to skip this content, advance past the 18:00 mark. Support resources are listed…
New Hampshire & Colorado: Two Forgotten Murders, 1886-1897 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:29
This episode contains discussions of murder, execution, racial violence, and a botched public hanging. If you need to skip any section, the chapter markers below will help you find your way around. Support resources are…
Who Killed Sister Cathy, The Mary Statue and Unanswered Questions [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:22:03
Shane Waters and Gemma Hoskins sit down together for the first time in over a year for a wide-ranging conversation about the unsolved 1969 murder of Sister Catherine Ann Cesnik in Baltimore, Maryland. Known to millions t…