The Mysterious Case Of Dr. Hawley Crippen

Dr. Hawley Crippen was born on September 11, 1862, in Michigan, where he obtained a homeopathic medical degree, had a wife and son, and subsequently became a widower (via The Famous People). After this, he left for New York to practice medicine, where he met his second wife, Cora Turner. The Crippens eventually moved to England, and he continued to sell remedies while she continued to pursue singing, acting, and other men. Hawley himself had a typist working for him named Ethel Le Neve, who by this point had become his own lover (via The History Press).  

After Cora disappeared in 1910, Le Neve and Hawley were seen in public with the former often wearing Cora's clothes, which led to a police investigation. Hawley initially gave an account that Cora had died before telling Chief Inspector Walter Dew that she left for America to be with another man. After finding nothing suspicious in the house, Dew made it clear that he wished to verify the story with Cora herself, and in response, Hawley and Le Neve vanished. Upon reinspecting the house, a mutilated torso was found buried in the basement (via PBS).

The two disguised fugitives attempted to flee via a Canada-bound ocean liner in Belgium, but according to Britannica, the captain recognized them. His discovery was relayed to Scotland Yard, and Dew traveled to Canada, where he arrested them as they departed. During the trial, Dr. Hawley Crippen claimed that the remains must have been there before they moved in. To convince the jury, the prosecution had to make do with an abdominal scar that seemingly matched Cora's medical records, a pajama top of Crippen's that the remains were wrapped in, and the presence of drugs that he had bought prior to her disappearance (via History Today). He was found guilty and executed. 

However, there is a problem. Recent DNA testing revealed the remains are likely male (via BBC). 

Does this mean Crippen was innocent after all? If not, perhaps it was one of her suitors, murdered by Crippen while Cora herself met some unknown fate. If so, then where was Cora, and why did he flee from remains that he didn't even know were there? While those questions may go unanswered, if he is innocent it may be that Dew framed him (via The Sun). He had access to anonymous remains and, after his past failure in finding Jack the Ripper, may have wanted to restore his public image by making Crippen into a monster he could defeat.