Case 184
Gay Gibson
*** Content Warning: sexual assault ***
Early on the morning of October 18 1947, a stewardess working on the ocean liner Durban Castle discovered something strange. The cabin belonging to an actress named Gay Gibson was empty. The ship was searched from top to bottom but no trace of Gay was found. Initially presuming the young woman had accidentally gone overboard, the captain ordered that the ship be turned around and the surrounding waters searched.
But soon a witness came forward that turned the case on its head. Call buttons in Gay’s cabin had been pushed in the middle of the night, summoning a night watchman. Upon arriving at the cabin, he saw another person inside – a deck steward by the name of James Camb. This sighting would launch a string of revelations and result in one of Britain’s most notorious murder trials.
CREDITS
EPISODE:
Research & writing – Erin Munro
Creative direction – Milly Raso
Narration – Anonymous Host
MUSIC:
‘Flatline intro’ and ‘Come play with me’ intro and outro – www.dl-sounds.com
Audio production – Mike Migas
Scoring – Mike Migas and Andrew Joslyn
OTHER:
Logo and website design – Paulina Szymanska
PREMIUM
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RESOURCES
BOOKS
Death of an Actress – Antony M. Brown
NEWSPAPER ARCHIVES
Ship’s steward charged with murder – The Guardian
Steward’s case near jury – The Kansas City Star
A passenger is missing at sea! – The Honolulu Advertiser
The steward and the stunner – The New York Daily News
Was it murder on the high seas? – St Louis Post-Dispatch
Ship steward slammed door leaving imprint as slayer – The Winnipeg Tribune
“Pushed girl’s body through porthole” – The Sydney Morning Herald
Steward tells how he pushed girl from ship – Chicago Tribune
ARTICLES
The Porthole murder – The Investigator