Ethel Major

In May 1934 Inspector Dodson received a peculiar letter. The letter was referring to the recent death of one Arthur Major, claiming that his 'accidental' death was actually a murder. The letter claimed Major had been poisoned by his wife. The identity of the letter-writer was never known.

Apparently Arthur's food, which was prepared by his wife, had been tasting odd just before his death. One time he even gave the food to the neighbour's dog. The dog was soon found dead. The very day after the death of the dog, Arthur Major died under similar circumstances. After examining both bodies, fatal doses of strychnine was found in both the man and the dog. An investigation began, and some interesting facts came to light. Arthur and his wife Ethel had been arguing a lot just before his death, according to their teenager. Even more incriminating was the fact that Ethel was acting very oddly during interviews with police, as if she was hiding something. A search of her bags brought about the discovery of a small key, the key to a box containing poisons - including strychnine. Ethel Major was arrested, tried and hanged for the murder of her husband.