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Series 4: 8. Dainton

Leading barristers Jeremy Dein QC and Sasha Wass QC examine the drowning of a wife and mother in Victorian Bath, re-evaluating the chain of evidence that led to the conviction of her husband for her murder.\n\nBath, 1891. On a chilly September evening, the silence of the River Avon was shattered by a commotion on the towpath. A young couple appeared to be engaged in a violent struggle. The woman screamed out a man’s name before both figures tumbled into the river. A witness raced to the scene with a police officer, and on the riverbank they discovered the drenched, lifeless corpse of mother of six Hannah Dainton.\n\nLater that night, the police questioned her husband, Harry, who denied having anything to do with her death. However, Harry was arrested, charged and found guilty of his wife’s murder. On 15 December, at Shepton Mallet Prison, he was hanged.\n\nNow, over a century later, Trish Dainton has researched the life and death of Harry Dainton and is determined to uncover the truth of what happened by the River Avon that fateful night. Was it proved beyond reasonable doubt that Harry intended to kill Hannah, or might her death have been accidental?\n\nSasha and Jeremy look at the pathological evidence, explore the Daintons' turbulent relationship and try to establish whether questionable witness testimony might undermine the original murder conviction.

Source: BBC 1