Up for sale, belongings of notorious murderer Dr Crippen

Northamptonshire-based auction house JP Humbert is also offering poison bottles recovered from the workplace of Hawley Harvey Crippen, who was hanged at London’s Pentonville Prison in 1910 for murdering his wife, Cora.

A brooch thought to have been owned by Cora is also on sale at the auction in Towcester on Wednesday November 19.

Crippen, who was born in the United States, is believed to have used hyoscine to kill Cora at his London home before attempting to flee to Canada.

Commenting ahead of the sale, auctioneer Jonathan Humbert predicted that the lots may emulate the success of other recently-sold items linked to well-known criminal names.

“The items were removed from Crippen’s work address at Albion House, New Oxford Street, where he was medical advisor to a dental practice,” Mr Humbert said.

“Whilst crime doesn’t pay, people are paying large sums of money for crime-related items.”

Hawley Crippen was an American doctor who moved to England in 1900 with his wife, Cora Turner.

When Cora disappeared in 1910, Crippen said she had returned to the US, and later said that she had died in California.

After his lover, Ethel le Neve, moved into the couple’s home in Holloway, London, Cora’s friends alerted the police, but a search revealed nothing. Crippen and Le Neve fled to Belgium before embarking on the SS Montrose to Canada.

They were disguised as father and son, but the ship’s captain became suspicious and alerted police. Crippen was convicted and hanged but protested his innocence to the end