![]() Viewed as a sort of superman, the detectives divined the truth using clues, facts and science, organizing chaos from a supremely neutral position. The first detectives were appointed to the London Metropolitan Police in 1841 they were soon regarded with awe. The story became symbolic of phenomenon specific to the era, the darkness in the bosom of the Victorian family and the thrills and dangers of a new art: detection. The murder of three-year-old Saville Kent in 1860 was unusually brutal - he was nearly decapitated and dumped in a privy - but even more scandalous was the revelation that the perpetrator was a member of the household. As easy as it is to believe the current public obsession with crime investigation was fueled by this lurid case, it actually had its genesis 130 years ago in Victorian England. ![]() ![]() ![]() The girl was found in her home on a snowy morning, and the lack of outside suspects and the graphic nature of the crime gripped the nation and saturated news coverage for months on end. Media coverage of even these heinous stories paled in comparison to the murder of child beauty pageant contestant Jon Benet Ramsey. During my lifetime there have been numerous crime stories that have gripped the nation, from the Manson Family mayhem to the Guyana massacre masterminded by the Reverend Jim Jones. ![]()
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