Murder & homicide · 1857 · Victorian

The Madeleine Smith Trial

In 1857 Glasgow socialite Madeleine Smith was tried for the arsenic poisoning of her lover, Pierre Emile L'Angelier, after he threatened to expose their secret correspondence. The verdict was the uniquely Scottish "not proven". The case remains one of Scotland's most debated Victorian trials.

This summary is written in our own words from published historical sources. Map locations are approximate. Every case in the archive is at least ten years old.