Man goes on a mission to solve murder of his wife’s great-grandmother 86 years ago after chance discovery that he grew up next door to the house where she was shot dead through the eyes

A journalist has dedicated a podcast series to solving the murder of his wife’s great-grandmother who was killed in her home in 1937.

Tristan Redman, from Richmond, London, was struck by the story of Dr Naomi Dancy who was shot twice in the eye when he met his wife Kate at university.

His interest was sparked not just by the mysteries surrounding the murder, but also by an incredible coincidence – he grew up in the house next door to where the murder happened, and had always heard rumours that his childhood bedroom was haunted by a woman with no face.

As he learnt more about the case, in which Dr Dancy was thought to have been shot dead by her mentally-ill brother, Tristan realised many questions had been left unanswered.

So he set about creating Ghost Story, a production from Wondery and Pineapple Street Studios which explores both the criminal and supernatural elements of the story. Speaking to FEMAIL, he revealed the podcast, which was an ‘act of love’, has ‘brought [his] family closer together’.

Tristan Redman, had for years heard rumours that his old bedroom was haunted with the ghost of a faceless woman – an eerie coincidence, considering that his partner Kate’s late relative died from two gunshots to the face. Both pictured

The story in the Dancy family for generations had been that her brother, shell-shocked World War I veteran Maurice Tribe, shot her through each eye while she slept.

Her husband, Dr John Dancy, had evaded death and escaped, while Maurice locked himself in the bathroom and slit his own throat.

It had long been known that Maurice was troubled after he returned home from the war with shrapnel in his brain.  

According to one National Archives blog, he was also a ‘chronic alcoholic’ who had just discovered he had not been included in new insurance policies his sister and brother-in-law had recently drawn up. 

For many years, the Dancy family believed this series of events after police ruled the tragedy a murder-suicide. However, in more recent years, after an article from the time re-emerged and speculated Dr John Dancy may have been the culprit, Kate and her relatives began to wonder if the story was as clear-cut as it seemed.  

In Ghost Story, Tristan unpacks the criminal element of the history by talking to several people, including his wife’s very famous brother and famed actor Hugh Dancy as well as her father Jonathan Dancy; a philosopher.

And his wife herself is no less admirable – Kate is the Chief of Communications and Advocacy at GEM Report UNESCO.

He kicks off the podcast by joking that, ‘there’s a chance [his in-laws] will disown him’ – and spends the first few episodes recounting the history of the crime itself, interjected with experiences of people who have lived in his childhood bedroom.

 The podcast, called Ghost Story – from Wondery and Pineapple Street Studios – focuses on both the paranormal and the true crime elements of this hauntingly entwined tale based on the murder of Dr Naomi Dancy (pictured in the 1920s), in 1937

Quickly, Tristan realised he wasn’t the only person who found strange things happening in the room which he had inhabited into his teens. Pictured in the ‘haunted’ house

As someone who does not believe in ghosts, Tristan was surprised to learn that the part of the investigation which interested him the most was the supernatural element of the story.

The journalist, who met his wife in the early 2000s, recounted the bizarre moment the two tales starting coming together.

When they had started dating at university, Tristan had invited Kate and her family over for dinner at his childhood home on Queens Road in Richmond, and they had decided to bring her grandfather along. 

He had no inkling of where they were going, nor did the family have any recent connections to the neighbourhood – but as soon as Kate’s grandfather stepped into Tristan’s home, he said: ‘My mother was murdered in the house next door.’

The ‘ghost’ element of the story became clearer in his mind when an old neighbour – who was on the quest to collect donations for a local museum – reached out to Tristan’s family, as he had recently learned a bizarre tale from the recent tenant of the Richmond home.

The story in the Dancy family, for years, had been that her brother – shell-shocked World War I veteran Maurice Tribe (pictured) – shot her through each eye while she slept

Despite being ruled a murder suicide, decades after Naomi’s death the family began to speculate if the fabled tale is as clean-cut as it seems when stumbling across an old article that questioned whether her husband (pictured) was the real guilty party. Portrait by Frank Cadogan Cowper

In Ghost Story, Tristan unpacks the criminal element of the history by talking to an impressive host of people – including his wife’s very famous brother and famed actor Hugh Dancy (pictured last year)

Hugh even currently plays an executive assistant district attorney in Law & Order. Pictured with co-star Odelya Halevi

He had heard that an American man who used to live there with his family visited the recent owners to ask them whether the ‘ghost’ on the top floor bedroom was still around.

Quickly, Tristan realised he wasn’t the only person who found strange things happening in the room which he had inhabited into his teens; where things would start moving out of place, or the lights would flash on and off.

He also recalled an ‘uncomfortable cold feeling’ which would haunt the place. 

When making the podcast, Tristan says he really enjoyed his conversations with supernatural enthusiasts. 

‘I was surprised by how much I’ve enjoyed talking to all those ghost hunters,’ he said. ‘They help people… they’re not as loony as my prejudice made me think.’

Tristan added that they’re also ‘open-minded and methodical’.

When making the podcast, Tristan admitted he ‘struggled to get grips with people found it difficult to get to talk about their experience in the room’. Pictured in the house with his sister

The podcaster also found that one of the most ‘gratifying’ parts of the project to him as been the element of uncertainty which follows it right to the end. Pictured in the house when he was younger

The mysterious story has been a hit. Four episodes in, the show went to number one on the Apple Podcasts chart in both the UK and US. Tristan and Kate pictured in 2002

‘I’m very skeptical about the ghost question,’ he stressed. ‘But it serves no purpose to shut your mind.’

The podcaster also found that one of the most ‘gratifying’ parts of the project to him as been the element of uncertainty which follows it right to the end – given he’s working with a murder case that took place 86 years ago, as well as attaching a non-corporeal element to it.

Much of the uncertainty, Tristan claims, is down to the fact the authorities at the time made little effort to look into the case in detail. 

‘The police in 1937 did not do their job,’ he explained. ‘That was a product, probably, of the time.

‘The police didn’t do the things they should’ve done.’ 

Tristan continued: ‘We don’t have all the answers… We can’t know for sure. I think people enjoy that.

‘There are still things I would like to know.’

The final episode – which sees Tristan return to Queens Road with a psychic called Nikola – aired last week

The mysterious story has been a hit. Four episodes in, the show went to number one on the Apple Podcasts chart in both the UK and US. 

However, the creator says as incredible as it’s been to make such a fascinating project with his in-laws, his next work is likely to be much further from home. 

‘I would say that I’m looking forward to doing something that has nothing to do with my family,’ he joked.

‘It’d be much, much easier.’

Ghost Story is from Wondery and Pineapple Street Studios. Listen on Wondery+, Amazon Music and everywhere you get your podcasts.