Somali seaman Mahmood Mattan was hanged for a crime he didn't commit. On March 6th, 1952, Lily Volpert was murdered in the shop she ran in Cardiff's Tiger Bay. What followed was a flawed police investigation and prejudiced trial that ultimately led to Mahmood being hanged for a crime he was not responsible for. After 46 years, his innocence was finally proved in a court of law. But the impact of Lily's murder and Mahmood's execution are still being felt by two families today. For the first time, we hear from the family of murder victim Lily. Ruth was just yards away...
Latest episodes
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41 min ↗
9. Our Legacy
Mahmood Mattan was hanged for a murder he didn't commit. 70 years on, and his execution continues to reverberate in Cardiff, and beyond. His surviving family still have so many una…
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34 min ↗
8. A Lost Generation
Mahmood Mattan was hanged 70 years ago for a murder he did not commit. The aftermath of his execution has run deep through the Mattan family. All three of his sons faced years of p…
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28 min ↗
7. Cursed
Mahmood Mattan's family received a six-figure compensation pay-out after his conviction for murder was quashed - but it didn't bring them the peace of mind they craved. The "blood…
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43 min ↗
6. "Our Last Chance"
Desperate to clear Mahmood Mattan's name, his family have one last throw of the dice. It works - and finally his widow and three sons have their day in court. Forty six years after…
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32 min ↗
5. A new murder suspect
For years, Mahmood Mattan's family believed in his innocence. But no-one would listen. Then in 1969, a shocking revelation - another vicious attack which bore many of the hallmarks…
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32 min ↗
4. The Aftermath
After Mahmood Mattan was hanged, his wife Laura was left alone to bring up three young children. She had little, or no, support; and moved her family to a new area of Cardiff where…
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45 min ↗
3. "Semi-civilised savage"
Within six months of his arrest, Mahmood Mattan found himself on trial for murder. But could he ever receive a fair trial? A black man was facing the gallows and he had to place hi…
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24 min ↗
2. The Silent Killer
Aged just 10, Ruth was just yards away when her aunty was brutally murdered. For the first time, Ruth tells publicly the story of how Lily Volpert was killed in the shop she owned,…
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17 min ↗
1. Prologue: It Began with a Murder
Mahmood Mattan came to the UK from Somalia to seek a better life. He met and fell in love with a local woman from Cardiff. But in the 1950s, their mixed marriage was frowned upon.…
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4 min ↗
Mattan: Injustice of a Hanged Man… coming soon
Somali seaman Mahmood Mattan was hanged for a crime he didn't commit. On March 6th, 1952, Lily Volpert was murdered in the shop she ran in Cardiff's Tiger Bay. What followed was a…