Episode #90: The Brides in the Bath Murders & the 1915 Zodiac Back

7/28/2026: On today’s episode, Valerie tells the tragic tale of three “blushing brides” found dead in their bathtub shortly after marriage. The investigator, spurred on by family members, witnesses, neighboring police, and the newspapers, uncovered puzzling details that led him to call on an OG forensic pathology legend who inspired an experiment that nearly resulted in a fourth death. Next, in the 1915 Zodiac Back, Amy Jo talks about Pluto in Cancer, Neptune in Leo, and how the Saturn-Pluto cycle can represent the redistribution of power and the conjunction of the two is giving “before and after” vibes. We talk non-total 1915 eclipses (RIP Bonnie Tyler), and we meet Comet Mellish. You changed bro!

Cover Photo: "Brides in the Bath" murderer George Joseph Smith - Police Gazette, 1915

https://youtu.be/us0rPzPm4rY?si=E2prPZ6Aj5VgESme

George Joseph Smith and Bessie Mundy, pictured shortly before her murder, Professional studio photographer, 1912. - Book Twentieth-Century Murder, first published in 1995

Eminent pathologist, Sir Bernard Spilsbury, Official Home Office photograph, 1920s

Handwritten note by George Joseph Smith to his counsel, Edward Marshall Hall, indicating that he did not wish to give evidence in his own defence.

October 1925 Vanity Fair article on The Brides in the Bath Murders

The Magnificent Spilsbury and the case of the Brides in the Bath, by Jane Robins

The Brides in the Bath ITV

Saturn-Pluto Conjunction, January 12, 2020

Saturn-Pluto Graphic

Picture sleeve of UK and some European releases

Comet Mellish photographed by Harry E. Wood from the Union Observatory in June 1915

Sources/Photo Sources

Intro Sources:

https://www.chautauqua.com/2021/chautauqua-movement-history/

The Brides in the Bath Murders Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Joseph_Smith 

https://www.mentalfloss.com/crime/brides-in-the-bath-murders 

https://sirhenrybrooke.me/2016/07/28/the-brides-in-the-bath/ 

https://www.killernashville.com/articles/dr-bernard-spilsbury-and-the-brides-in-the-bath-by-bradley-harper

The Brides in the Bath Murders Photo Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Joseph_Smith#/media/File:GeorgeJosephSmith.JPG

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Joseph_Smith#/media/File:GeorgeJosephSmithBridesintheBath1914BessieMundya.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Joseph_Smith#/media/File:Smith's_instructions_to_counsel.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Spilsbury#/media/File:BernardSpilsbury.jpg

https://archive.vanityfair.com/image/spread/19251001/45/1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brides_in_the_Bath#/media/File:The_Brides_in_the_Bath_ITV.jpg

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1848541074?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback

1915 Zodiac Back Sources:

https://horoscopes.astro-seek.com/retrograde-planets-astrology-calendar-1915

https://mauricefernandez.com/the-saturn-pluto-conjunction-and-the-transits-for-the-year-2020/ 

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/1915 

https://mooncalendar.astro-seek.com/penumbral-lunar-eclipse-virgo-full-moon-day-1-march-1915 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C/1915_C1_(Mellish) 

https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/1915 

https://www.madsageastrology.com/the-2020s-part-3-pluto-saturn-conjunction/ 

1915 Zodiac Back Photo Sources:

https://mauricefernandez.com/the-saturn-pluto-conjunction-and-the-transits-for-the-year-2020/

https://foreverconscious.com/intuitive-astrology-saturn-pluto-conjunction 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Eclipse_of_the_Heart#/media/File:Total_Eclipse_of_the_Heart_-_single_cover.jpg 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C/1915_C1_%28Mellish%29#/media/File:Comet_Mellish_1915.jpg