Ardlamont murder

Alfred John Monson received the Scottish verdict of "not proven" in his High Court of Justiciary trial for the murder of Cecil Hambrough.

A notorious case at the time, the trial received renewed attention when it was noted that Joseph Bell, revealed as the inspiration for the popular fictional character Sherlock Holmes, had been called as an expert witness at the murder trial, as was another inspiration for Holmes, Dr. Henry Littlejohn, who was a medical forensic expert for the Crown.

[3] Estate workers heard a shot, then saw Monson and Scott running to Ardlamont House carrying the guns.

[5] These had been brokered by Arthur Sebright, a mortgage and insurance broker friend of Monson, who had met them earlier that year and discussed possible life insurance and trust deeds, and also joint financial ventures to take effect after Hambrough reached his majority (age 21) when he was due to inherit £200,000.

"[5] Hambrough was buried in the churchyard at St Catherine's Church, Ventnor on the Isle of Wight, close to the family home.

[6] In 1894 Madame Tussauds in London erected a waxwork of Monson at the entrance to its Chamber of Horrors, bearing a gun.

[7] The case, Monson v Tussauds, established the principle of "libel by innuendo",[8] which has been used to draw up defamation laws in many countries since.