Human Wreckage True Crime
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Disturbing True Crime Stories, These include, murderers, kidnappings, serial killers. Solved and unsolved.
Human Wreckage True Crime
Who Killed Thomas Davidson? A 170-Year-Old Cold Case
In a remote area of Kirshope Forest, near the border between England and Scotland, lies a weathered monument that is only seen by the occasional passing hiker. It is an engraved stone pillar erected in 1852 by the family of a man called Thomas Davidson, paid for by public subscription. The faded inscription reads In memory of Thomas Davidson, game Watcher, who was murdered on this spot on the eighth day of November 1849. Genesis 1b, 10. And the Lord said unto Cain what hast thou done? The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. Romans X, 11., 19. It is written Vengeance is mine, I will repay saith the Lord.
Speaker 1:In a quiet field, off a road few people travel anymore, stands a solitary stone pillar, weathered by time, moss creeping along its base, but still standing tall. The inscription is simple, elegant and fading. Erected by the family of Thomas Davidson, 1852. It doesn't look like much at first glance Just a stone, just a name, just a name. But as with so many forgotten monuments scattered across the countryside, the pillar tells a deeper story, one of grief, memory and the way families in the 19th century honored those they loved and lost. Who was Thomas Davidson? Why was this pillar placed here alone and why has it endured when so many similar memorials have been lost to time. In this episode of Human Wreckage, we travel back over 170 years to uncover the story behind the stone. We'll look at the Davidson family, where they lived, how they lived and what might have led them to mark this particular spot in such a lasting way. Historians, archivists and local voices help us piece together the fragments of a lifelong past and the symbolic weight a single carved stone can carry through generations. Because, in the end, monuments like this one aren't just about remembering a person. They're about preserving a presence, a statement. He was here, we loved him and we will not forget. Let's get into it.
Speaker 1:Thomas Davidson lived at Kettle Hall in the parish of the castle on the Cumberland Moors and worked as a game watcher for Sir James Graham. He had been an honest and faithful servant in his employ for over 20 years. Thomas was a 52-year-old married man and was the father of eight children. On Thursday November 8, 1849, thomas set off to do his morning rounds after telling his wife his route In case his boss, the gamekeeper, called by and wanted to meet him on the moor. Thomas was gone all day and as evening fell there was still no sign of him, and he failed to return home that night. The following morning, a search party went out to look for him, but it wasn't until two days later that his body was found by his brother, john, in a remote location on Buchastle Fells some two miles from his home. Thomas had been strangled with his own neckerchief and he was discovered lying face down in a pool of blood, having sustained facial injuries. All of his money was found to be missing from his pocket.
Speaker 1:Three local suspects were soon rounded up by the police. Joseph Hogg, a well-known and convicted poacher, was the main suspect. Three weeks prior to the murder, he had been fined 40 shillings for shooting without a game certificate just the latest in a long line of crimes of that nature. Thomas Davidson had provided the evidence that led to him being brought to court on this occasion, and Hogg had been heard to make threats against Davidson's life. At that time, Joseph Hogg's cousin, nickel Hogg, was also arrested, along with another local man named Andrew Turnbull. The three accused men were kept in jail whilst a lengthy investigation and inquest took place, determining if a trial would be necessary. Their friends were proven to have given false alibis and it was soon established that all three men had been seen poaching in the area on the day in question. The Hoggs and Turnbull all made many contradictory and ever-changing statements in an effort to exonerate themselves from the crime. Turnbull eventually confessed that the Hog cousins had called on him on the 8th of November and invited him to go out poaching. They had said that if they came across Thomas Davidson during their outing that their intention was to murder him. Turnbull had replied that he did not object to this plan as long as he himself was kept safe. They all went out for a day's shooting and it was on their way home that Davidson saw them and gave chase. According to Turnbull, he gave evidence at the inquest that he ran away and the last he saw was the two other men tussling with Thomas Davidson.
Speaker 1:The three prisoners were committed by the coroner to Carlisle Jail to await the result of the inquest. At the time, joseph Hogg had a deep scratch on his mouth which extended through both his upper and lower lips. When questioned, he said that he got the injury while shooting in the woods. The inquest took place over several days and many members of the Hogg family were proven to perjure themselves while lying about the whereabouts of both Joseph and Nickel. However, andrew Turnbull's wife of just 18 months told the truth and gave very concise and damning evidence. She stated that her husband had indeed gone out shooting with the Hoggs on the day in question and when he returned that evening he seemed very disturbed. When she asked him what was troubling him, he stated that Joseph Hogg had killed Thomas Davidson out near Skelton Pike.
Speaker 1:The three prisoners remained in Carlisle Jail for many days while all the evidence was presented. Andrew Turnbull was very annoyed that he had not been released on bail and kept insisting that he was innocent and had told the truth. As the days passed, he became more and more agitated and anxious. Eventually, the inquest was over and the decision was handed down. The Hogs and Turnbull were all to be put on trial for the willful murder of Thomas Davidson.
Speaker 1:The day after he heard the news of his impending trial, andrew Turnbull was found dead in his prison cell. He had hanged himself with a towel from the iron bars of the window. On the walls of his cell were messages he had scratched out with a burnt stick. Below the window he had written the Hogs are guilty. I am innocent. I will not come in the hands of man Above the fireplace was the message I commit my soul to God that gave it. Take my body to my father's burying place. There was also a long message to his wife telling her that she was not to blame for his death and that he loved her very much.
Speaker 1:Joseph and Nickel Hog were both charged with the willful murder of Thomas Davidson at the parish of Bull Castle. They were sent for trial at Cumberland Spring, assizes on March 2, 1850. Despite many witnesses stating that they had heard Joseph Hogg verbally threaten the life of Thomas Davidson and evidence to support the fact that the cousins were known to have been poaching in the area and that they had appeared to have plenty of money to spend in the local hostelries after the murder, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty. The judge, mr Baron Anderson, asked if the jury were absolutely sure of their verdict and the foreman replied we think we are satisfied that there is no evidence for a guilty verdict against the prisoners. The Hogg cousins were later taken to court by the lawyer who defended them for non-payment of his fees. Gemma Turnbull, the widow of Andrew Turnbull, never remarried and remained in the area until her death. No doubt at times she had to encounter the men who invited her husband out shooting on that fateful day and who were ultimately responsible for the deaths of two men of the parish of Book Castle.
Speaker 1:Thomas Davidson is buried in the cemetery of stapleton church, nine miles from the site of his memorial.
Speaker 1:In a world where time moves fast and memories can fade even faster, the pillar erected for thomas davidson in 1852 stands as a quiet act of resistance against forgetting, against disappearance, against the erosion of personal history.
Speaker 1:We may never know every detail of thomas's life, what he dreamed of, how he died or what kind of man he truly was. But what we do know is this he mattered deeply to someone Enough for his family to carve his name into stone, to plant that stone firmly in the earth and to say here, remember him. And that act of remembering ripples forward Across generations, across centuries. A single monument left standing, not just for one man but for everyone who's ever loved and lost and feared that time might erase it all. As we walk away from the pillar today, it remains behind us, still watching over the field, still weathering the seasons, a reminder that sometimes history doesn't survive in textbooks or archives, but in simple personal gestures left behind for strangers to find. Thank you for joining us on this journey, not just through Thomas Davidson's story, but through the quiet power of remembrance itself. Thanks for joining me. Till next time, take care of yourselves.