Murder, Mystery and My Family S01E10 - Episode 10

Jeremy Dein and Sasha Wass investigate a case of murder in County Cork, Ireland, in 1894. A man is dragged from his bed and beaten by two men. With serious injuries and a gunshot to his arm, he is discovered early the next morning. His neighbour calls for a priest and a doctor, but it is too late - James Donovan has been murdered. With little evidence, the police round up several known criminals from the surrounding area, and John Twiss from County Kerry is tried and convicted. He is hanged in February 1895, protesting his innocence. More than 120 years later, John's relatives, Helen and Dennis, are determined to prove his innocence. Why was Twiss arrested within days of the murder, for the police to then spend months investigating the case? Was there any evidence to link him to the scene of the crime, or to the other man who was alleged to have also committed the murder? Were witnesses put under pressure to give evidence or to change their stories?