The Buck Ruxton "Jigsaw Murders" case On September 14, 1935,
Buck Ruxton, an Indian-born physician who lived in Lancashire,
near the English-Scottish border, murdered his wife Isabella and
her maid Mary Rogerson, and then mutilated their bodies and
scattered the parts, in an effort to make them unidentifiable.
After a passerby discovered some remains under a bridge in
Scotland, a team of forensic experts was assembled. Using an
array of scientific methods, the experts identified the victims
and unmasked the perpetrator. The painstaking reconstruction of
the bodies of Isabella Ruxton and Mary Rogerson by forensic
pathologist John Glaister, Jr. and anatomist James Couper
Brash—and pioneering use of photographic superimpositions—was
the key evidence that led to Dr. Ruxton's conviction and
execution. The success of the methods used in the Ruxton case,
which was widely reported in the press, led to increased public
and professional trust in the capabilities of forensic science.
Dr. Ruxton's trial, which took place