John Van Der Kiste

Hugh Shortland John Van Der Kiste

In April 1884 Hugh Shortland, an ambitious young lawyer and would-be entrepreneur from Devon, married Laura Dimes. Almost immediately he left her to return to a lonely existence in the parental home, while he excused himself on the grounds of an important business journey to New Zealand. Three weeks later, her drowned body was found in a pond on the family estate, and it was assumed to have been the result of a tragic accident until her husband was discovered in hiding only a few miles away. He was arrested, charged with her murder, acquitted, and went to live in New Zealand, but suspicions persist that he had planned and got away with 'the perfect murder'. This examines the evidence, and includes an account of the libel trial eight years later that led to his serving a prison sentence.