Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen, who was born in Michigan, worked as a dentist in London, even though he trained in America as an otolaryngologist. On this date in 1910, Crippen was found guilty of killing his second wife, the former Cora “Belle” Turner, by giving her a deadly dosage of hydrobromide of hyoscine, a toxic member of the nightshade family. After poisoning his wife, a would-be actress, he hacked up her body and buried the pieces in lime in his root cellar. Noted forensic pathologist Dr. Bernard Spilsbury eventually cracked the case after analyzing tissue samples found in Crippen’s basement. His testimony led to Crippen’s death by hanging on Nov. 23, 1910.

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