BBC - Great Crimes and Trials Series 3 Set 2 (1995) Part 2 Judge Joe Peel and the Chillingworth Murders

Stabbings, shootings, genocide, torture, abduction, robbery, serial killing and mass suicide are just a few of the horrific crimes explored in Great Crimes and Trials. True stories carefully researched and reconstructed with actual archive footage. Cases which have become almost legendary in the annals of crime and detection. Serial killers, gangsters, assassins and war criminals - Great Crimes and Trials sheds light on crimes that shocked the world, bringing back memories of some of the most notorious cases of the twentieth century. The murders of John Lennon and presidential candidate Robert Kennedy, the unsolved Zodiac murders and the treasonous crimes of Lord Haw-Haw are all covered here in exacting detail, alongside other shocking stories of murder and mayhem. From the violent mob rule of the thirties to the fairly recent phenomenon of the serial killer, the motives, behavior patterns and killing techniques of some of the world's most evil felons are explored. Their detection, capture and trials are examined to give a complete picture of how crine and justice have evolved through the twentieth century. Narrated by Robert Powell, Great Crimes and Trials combines new and archive interviews to reconstruct each story, analysing the individual and his motive, explaining how the crime was committed and showing breakthroughs in investigations alongside details of the trial. With its researchers gaining unprecedented access to picture libraries and over 250,000 hours of archive footage, these are the definitive accounts of these appalling murders.

Part 2 Judge Joe Peel and the Chillingworth Murders

Footprints in the sand, blood on some steps and an empty Florida beach house after the disappearance of a local Judge were the only clues the police had to go on in this celebrated case. On the morning of June 15, 1955, judge Curtis Chillingworth failed to turn up for a scheduled hearing in West Palm Beach, Florida. A carpenter arriving at his house that same morning found the door open and the house empty. Both Chillingworth and his wife Marjorie had disappeared, never to be seen again. It would take nearly five years for a chance boast to unravel the mystery behind the Chillingworths' disappearance and its mastermind another judge, Joseph Peel. Joseph Alexander Peel was born in West Palm Beach and was married with two children. He became a lawyer in 1949 and three years later was named the city's only municipal judge. On 14th June 1955, Peel ordered a man to kill Judge Curtis E Chillingworth and his wife Marjorie. On 30th March 1961, jurors took five hours and 24 minutes to find Peel guilty of accessory to murder. The prosecutor wanted the death penalty, but the jury recommended mercy and Peel was sentenced to two life terms.

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Episode One Shown Here