Sidney Fox's Crime
T1732664371
In 1929 Fox was a con man and thief, but he was devoted to his elderly mother Rosaline. He and Rosaline travelled the country, staying in hotels without paying, while Sidney tapped wealthy aristocratic clients for funds. With the police on their trail, they booked room 66 at the Metropole Hotel, Margate, homeless and without luggage. It was the era of flappers, big jazz bands and the Wall Street crash. On the night of the crash, Sidney rushed downstairs to say their room was on fire. On the bed lay his mother. An inquest recorded a verdict of death by misadventure and she was buried. When it was discovered that Sidney had insured her life, he was arrested and Rosaline Fox was exhumed. The evidence was purely circumstantial, until Sir Bernard Spilsbury, the great pathologist who was a celebrity of his day, and known to despise homosexuals, discovered at the autopsy something that changed the whole nature of the case. Even today it remains one of the most controversial pieces of evidence ever put forward in a court of law
Archive :: production:T1732664371, play:S1923853405, venue:V0909222884
