In January 1953, the town of Laugharne was rocked by a brutal crime. 78-year-old Elizabeth Thomas had been viciously attacked at home and died the following day. Local man George Roberts was arrested for her murder. George had been both mute and deaf since birth and couldn’t write. Yet he was charged based on an alleged ‘confession’ made whilst in police custody before being later acquitted at trial.
In Unspeakable: Murder in Laugharne Simon Tonkin examines this unresolved case. How did the local community react to the crime? What were the circumstances which led to George’s arrest? How did social prejudice, ableism and police misconduct play a part in what happened?
Highlighting a lesser-known period in Laugharne’s history, a town famous for its association with Dylan and Caitlin Thomas, Unspeakable: Murder in Laugharne is the story of a vulnerable man wronged by a system not designed to protect him.