True Crime This Week: Prison Breaks

Summary

Scams, Money, & Murder – True Crime This Week: Prison Breaks

Date: November 9, 2025
Host: Vanessa Richardson, Crime House

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Episode Overview

This episode of “True Crime This Week” dives into the captivating history of prison escapes, spotlighting legendary breakouts and their impact on popular culture. Host Vanessa Richardson weaves together the stories of two infamous escape artists: Jack Sheppard, an 18th-century London thief whose four jail breaks made him a working-class folk hero, and Joseph Bolitho Johns, better known as Moondyne Joe, a 19th-century convict-turned-folk legend in Australia through a series of ingenious escapes. Through these tales, Vanessa explores how defiance of authority and cunning escapes can transform criminals into enduring icons.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Jack Sheppard: London’s Daring Escape Artist (00:55–29:31)

• Background and Early Life

  • Born in 1702 in Spitalfields, London, in poverty.
  • Apprenticed as a carpenter; “by all accounts he was on track to become a model citizen” (06:30).
  • His life took a turn after meeting Elizabeth Lyon at the Black Lion pub, leading to alcohol abuse and criminal influences.

• First Crimes and Partnership

  • Commits first burglary at age 21, emboldened by lack of repercussions.
  • Forms a criminal duo with Elizabeth after breaking her out of jail, eventually bringing his brother Tom into the operation.

• Series of Daring Escapes

  • First Escape (11:00): Breaks out of St. Giles Roundhouse by smashing through the ceiling using bedsheets.
  • Second Escape (13:32): Sawing through leg irons and bars, Jack and Elizabeth descend 25 feet via a makeshift rope; escape yard of another jail by scaling walls.
  • Third Escape (18:15): Disguised as a woman, Jack walks out of Newgate Prison with Elizabeth and her friend’s help.
  • Fourth Escape (24:51): Picks lock with a nail, climbs up a chimney, breaks into a vacant cell, then uses bedsheets to lower himself from the roof.

• Downfall and Execution

  • Becomes a public sensation; his life and escapes are published and sold.
  • Recaptured and executed on November 16, 1724 before a crowd of 200,000—about one-third of London’s population.
  • Noted for the government’s intent to make an “example” of him, fearing his popularity might inspire others.
  • His body is trampled by fans hoping for a last look.

• Legacy

  • Remembered as a working-class folk hero, a symbol of defiance against authority.
  • “Jack Sheppard lives on to this day as a folk hero, a working class bandit who no jail could hold” (28:55).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “There were even merchants selling copies of Jack’s autobiography … proof that no matter what happened at the gallows, the story of his many thefts and daring escapes would live on.” – Vanessa Richardson (05:35)
• “He was a scrappy thief from the lower class, sticking it to the authorities by busting out of every jail they put him in.” (15:25)
• “Instead of any famous last words, he simply handed the hangman a pamphlet in which he’d written his autobiography.” (29:15)
• “His execution was so public, so gruesome, it was obvious the government wanted to make an example of Jack Sheppard.” (07:05)
• “They thought the physician might be able to resurrect him with warm blankets and wine.” (28:50)

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2. Joseph Bolitho Johns (‘Moondyne Joe’): Australia’s Legendary Escapee (31:22–end)

• Early Life and Transport

  • Welsh miner, arrested in 1848 for stealing food; sentenced to 10 years at a Western Australia penal colony.
  • Arrived in Australia in 1853, awarded a ‘ticket of leave’ for good behavior (akin to parole).

• Escapades Begin

  • First Escape (35:45): Arrested for “branded” unowned horse; escapes jail by removing screws from lock, steals back horse and police saddle.
  • Tried for jailbreaking, serves time, is released, and resumes farm work.

• Injustice and Escalation

  • Imprisoned in 1865 for alleged cattle rustling (claims innocence).
  • Decides to break out as “he was done playing nice” (37:41).

• Legendary Bush Escapes

  • Flees with other prisoners through the Australian wilderness, displays exceptional bush survival skills (“knew how to throw the police off his scent” (38:32)).
  • Escapes repeatedly, sometimes still in leg irons; utilizes knowledge of landscape and cleverly evades Aboriginal trackers and police.

• Supermax and Ingenious Escape

  • After recapture, Warden George Hampton builds an 'escape-proof' cell, threatens severe punishment.
  • Joe uses pile of rock shards to shield his pickaxe strikes on the yard wall. “At some point, Joe realized he could use this to his advantage.” (44:05)
  • On March 7, 1867, escapes through the concealed hole while the guards are distracted.

• Final Years and Pardon

  • Hampton vows “dead or alive” recovery; Joe vanishes into the wilderness for two years.
  • Caught by chance stealing wine; requests the pardon promised by Hampton’s replacement, Henry Wakeford, who releases him in 1871 for being a “nonviolent offender.”
  • Moondyne Joe lives quietly, marries, and remains a revered Australian icon.

• Legacy

  • Annual Moondyne Festival celebrates his legend.
  • “His refusal to serve time for a crime he swore he didn’t commit made him a legendary figure in Australia and beyond.” (49:38)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “He was not a career criminal by any means. This burglary was actually his first offense. But that didn’t earn him any sympathy from the British justice system.” (32:15)
• “If he managed to escape again, he’d be given a full pardon.” – Warden George Hampton (45:30)
• “The pile of shards grew until it was waist high, blocking the guard’s view of Joe’s lower torso.” (44:15)
• “In May of 1871, at the age of 45, Moondyne Joe walked out of the prison gates a free man…” (48:05)

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• 00:55 – Introduction to the week’s theme: Prison Breaks; overview of Jack Sheppard and Moondyne Joe
• 04:15–29:31 – Deep dive into the life, crimes, and escapes of Jack Sheppard
• 31:22–49:50 – The saga of Moondyne Joe: from first crime to legendary escapes and final pardon
• 49:00–49:38 – Reflection on escape artists’ place in history; power of defiance against authority

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Tone and Style

Vanessa’s narration is engaging, dramatic, and steeped in historical detail. She balances empathy for the escapees’ rough origins with a sense of wonder at their cunning. Both stories are told in a storytelling style that blends intrigue, tragedy, and admiration for the individuals’ ingenious exploits.

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Summary Takeaway

“True Crime This Week: Prison Breaks” provides a riveting exploration of two iconic escapees who became legends not only through their crimes but through their resistance to institutional authority. Vanessa’s storytelling draws out the human drama at the heart of these tales, highlighting the impact of their exploits on society and pop culture. Listeners are left reflecting on why such figures remain folk heroes centuries later—etched into history as irrepressible spirits who dared to break their chains.

Transcript

[Vanessa Richardson]

Hi Crime House community. It's Vanessa Richardson and if you love digging into the most gripping true crime stories, then you need to listen to another Crime House original Crimes of with Sabrina Deanna Roga and Corinne Vien. Crimes of is a weekly series that explores a new theme each season from crimes of paranormal, unsolved murders, mysterious disappearances and more. Sabrina and Corinne have been covering the true stories behind Hollywood's most iconic horror villains and and this month they'll be diving into the paranormal. Listen to Crimes of every Tuesday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you listen to podcasts.

[Crime House Announcer]

This is Crime House.

[Vanessa Richardson]

This week in Crime History we're covering the cases of two famous British escape artists. On November 16, 1724, a 22 year old English thief named Jack Sheppard was executed after four successful escapes from some of London's most notorious prisons. 124 years later, in 1848, another 22 year old named Joseph Bolitho Johns, better known as Moondine Joe, was arrested in England. Authorities sent him to a penal colony in Australia to serve his sentence, where he would eventually become a folk hero for his many successful prison breaks. Welcome to True Crime. This week part of Crime House Daily, I'm Vanessa Richardson. Every Sunday we'll be revisiting notorious crimes from the coming week in history. From serial killer killers to mysterious disappearances or murders, every episode will explore stories that share a common theme. Each week we'll cover two stories, one further in the past and one more rooted in the present. Here at Crime House. We know none of this would be possible without you, our community. Please support us by rating, reviewing and following Crime House Daily wherever you get your podcasts and for ad free and early access to Crime House Daily. Plus exciting bonus content. Subscribe to Crime House plus on Apple Podcasts. This week's theme is Prison Breaks. We'll start off with the story of Jack Shepard. Although his criminal career only lasted two years, Jack became beloved by England's working class for his many daring escapes from jail. When he was executed in 1724, hundreds of thousands of fans attended his hanging. Then we'll look ahead to 1848 when escape artist moved Moondyne. Joe was first arrested in England. Joe was shipped out to Australia to serve out his sentence, where he spent the next 23 years breaking out of prison and leading police on long chases through the Australian bush. The stories of these two escape artists coming up at Maurices. We're all about great jeans. You know, the ones that fit you just right. The ones that simply make you feel good because you don't just wear jeans, you live in them. Find great jeans starting at $29.90 in stores and at Marisa's.com if you're an.

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[Vanessa Richardson]

On November 16, 1724, a wagon left London's Newgate Prison and made its way through the streets to the Tyburn Gallows at the edge of Hyde Park. The wagon was carrying a single inmate. His name was Jack shepherd, and although he was only 22 years old and 5ft 4 inches tall, security around the wagon was tight. Jack was being escorted by the city marshal and a group of guards on horseback armed with javelins. The authorities weren't taking any chances. Jack had already given police the slip multiple times. Just that morning, guards caught him with a penknife that he'd planned to use to cut off his restraints. They stopped him before he could get free, but Jack also had a lot of friends in the streets who might try to help him avoid his fate that day. There were thousands of people surrounding the wagon because Jack Sheppard, the man they saw as a hero, was about to be executed. Officials would later estimate that 200,000 Londoners, nearly 1 third of the city's population at the time, had turned out to show their support. There were even merchants selling copies of Jack's auto biography, which he dictated to friends in prison. It was proof that no matter what happened at the gallows, the story of his many thefts and daring escapes would live on. But this time, Jack shepherd wouldn't make an exciting getaway. When they reached the gallows, the wagon drove up directly underneath the hanging noose. The crowd watched in silence as the executioner slipped it over Jack's head and tightened it around his neck. The Then the signal was given and the wagon driver walked his horses away. Jack's feet slipped off the back of the wagon until he was hanging. Because of how little he weighed, Jack's neck didn't break when his feet left the wagon. Instead, his hundreds of thousands of fans watched him dangle for 15 minutes as he slowly suffocated. It was a gruesome ending for a common thief, but that was the point. Over the past two years, the young man had become celebrated for his crimes and frequent jailbreaks. The government needed to make an example of Jack Sheppard. Otherwise London's lower classes might be inspired by his life story. Jack Sheppard was born on March 4, 1702 in an East London slum known as Spitalfields. And it was the kind of place where poverty, crime and sickness ran rampant. Infant mortality rates were so high that Jack was baptized the day after he was born because his parents weren't sure how long he'd live. Fortunately, Jack held on, but his father, a carpenter, wasn't as lucky and died while Jack was still very young. This left Jack's mother to provide for Jack and his two siblings to try and bring in some money. Jack's mother arranged for him to follow in his father's footsteps and go work for a chair maker when he was just six years old. After four years, Jack moved on and became a shop boy for a cloth wholesaler named William Kneebone. William took Jack under his wing and taught the young boy how to read and write. It seemed like Jack was grateful for his mentorship, but by the time he was 15, he was ready to pursue his own career. That's when Jack signed a seven year contract to be an apprentice to a local carpenter. All Jack had to do was keep his head down and do as he was told. And at the end of the contract he'd be able to start his own business with the skills he'd learned. And for the first five years that was what he did. Jack was a hard worker and well liked by his co workers for his quick witted sense of humor. By all accounts he was on track to become a model citizen. But then he started hanging out at the Black Lion. The Black lion was a pub on nearby Drury Lane that was popular with local apprentices. But it was also a major hangout for drunks, criminals and other people who'd been shunned by polite society. At some point, Jack became a regular at the Black Lion. And that's where he met another customer, a sex worker named Elizabeth Lyon. Elizabeth was daring and exciting and her rule breaking attitude seemed to awaken something in Jack. Soon they were dating and with Elizabeth by his side, Jack started to change. He developed a taste for strong liquor and began spending almost all his time at the Black Lion. His carpentry work fell by the wayside and he started getting into arguments with his boss. It was only a matter of time until Jack started exploring some new career opportunities. Inspired by his fellow patrons at the Black Lion. In the spring of 1723, 21 year old Jack committed his first burglary. While running an errand for his boss at a local tavern, he swiped a pair of silver spoons, which he later sold to buy alcohol. Nobody noticed, so Jack continued thieving as a side hustle, stealing whatever he could from houses he visited for his carpentry work. By August, Jack realized that he'd found his true calling and formally quit his carpentry apprenticeship. Finally free to pursue his own dreams, Jack moved out of his boss's house where he'd been living and moved in with Elizabeth instead. Things were going well for the two of them, but before long, Elizabeth landed in jail for prostitution. When Jack found out, he was livid. He stormed over to the prison, knocked out the guard, broke open the door and helped her escape. After that daring escape, the pair realized what a good team they were and decided to go into business together as criminals. Jack spent the next several months burglarizing homes and shops around London. Sometimes, with Elizabeth's help, he'd bring his stolen goods to the Black lion where he'd sell them to a fence, a shady merchant who would buy the stolen products and resell them on the street. Jack and Elizabeth were making so much money from the operation that soon Jack brought his older brother Tom into the fold. But Jack should have listened to the old saying, don't work with family. On February 5, 1724, Jack, Tom and Elizabeth broke into a linen shop in central London and stole £55 worth of cloth. The burglary went off without a hitch, but in April, police caught Tom carrying the stolen goods on his way to fence them. Tom had already been arrested for a petty offense the previous year and was terrified of doing hard time. So he ratted out his brother and Elizabeth in exchange for a lighter sentence. Soon a warrant was put out for Jack and Elizabeth's arrest. When word hit the street that Jack was wanted for burglary, one of his fellow criminals sensed an opportunity. A fence Jack worked with invited him for a drink at a local pub, then tipped off the police. The fence got a 40 pound reward and Jack was hauled off to a small jail called St. Giles Roundhouse to await further questioning. But he wouldn't be there for long. That night, Jack's carpentry training came in handy. He noticed the timbers on the ceiling of his cell were old and weak. So he ripped the sheets off his bed and managed to climb up and smash right through the ceiling. Then he climbed out and onto the roof where he used his knotted bed sheets to safely land on the street below. After that, Jack slipped into a crowd of people and disappeared. Jack's brief stay in jail didn't deter him from a life of crime. If anything, his successful escape emboldened him the next few month. On May 19, 1724, he was arrested for pickpocketing and locked up in what was known as the new prison in the Clarkenwell neighborhood. On his second day there, Elizabeth came to visit him. It wasn't the best move after all, she was still wanted for the linen shop burglary. Jail officials recognized her and soon she was locked up in the same cell as Jack. Fortunately, Jack still had some friends he could trust on the outside. Several days later, Jack and Elizabeth's accomplices came to visit and slipped them a small saw. That night, Jack cut through their leg irons, then sawed through the heavy bars across their window. Just like his previous escape, he turned their bed sheets and extra clothes into a long rope, which he and Elizabeth used to climb out of the window and 25ft down the side of the building. But they weren't out of the woods yet. When their feet touched the ground, Jack and Elizabeth realized they were in the fenced in yard of another jail next door. Thinking quickly, Jack and Elizabeth used the locks and bolts of the prison gate as footholds to climb up and over the 22t wall, then escape down the dark streets on the other side. Jack's two daring prison breaks, one of them with his girlfriend in tow, made him a popular man among criminals and working people. He was a scrappy thief from the lower class, sticking it to the authorities by busting out of every jail they put him in. And this newfound fame came with new opportunities. Not long after his second escape, Jack was contacted by an underworld kingpin named Jonathan Wild. Jonathan was so well connected that he'd often organize a burglary, purchase the stolen goods, then sell the items back to the original owner at an even higher price. Jonathan wanted Jack to go work for him, but Jack turned him down. He wanted to stay independent, and he already had his next burglary target picked out. On July 12, weeks after his escape from the new prison, Jack broke into the home of William Kneebone, the very man who'd taught him how to read and write. Jack repaid this kindness by stealing £50 worth of goods from his former employer's house. After the robbery, Jack went to one of his fences to sell the stolen products. He had no idea that the fence worked for Jonathan Wild and that Jonathan Wild was operating on both sides of the law. It turned out that Jonathan wasn't just a criminal, he was also a vigilante bounty hunter. He helped police and everyday citizens track down tough to find criminals for a price. Playing both sides had its advantages. Jonathan would often get his competitors arrested, then take over their criminal enterprises. So when Jack's latest victim, Mr. Kneebone, went to Jonathan to catch the man who'd burglarized his home, Jonathan was more than happy to put another one of his rivals in jail. Jonathan knew that Jack was behind the burglary. Now all he had to do was find him. And he knew just the way to do it, by targeting the person Jack cared about most. Elizabeth Lyon.

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[Vanessa Richardson]

In 1724, London thief Jack shepherd was becoming a sensation in the criminal underworld for his brazen robberies and and multiple daring escapes from prison. But in July Jack got on the bad side of a local criminal kingpin named Jonathan Wild. After Jack burglarized his former boss, William Kneebone, the business owner contacted Jonathan to find the person responsible for robbing his shop. Jonathan was happy to help, and he knew exactly how to find his target. On July 22, Jonathan tracked down Jack's girlfriend, Elizabeth Lyon, and invited her to a local pub. Elizabeth didn't know Jonathan was after her boyfriend, so she was perfectly happy to chat as Jonathan bought her drink after drink. By the time Jonathan asked about Jack's recent burglary, Elizabeth was drunk enough to let slip that Jack was hiding out at a friend's house on the other side of town. The following day, Jonathan sent one of his thugs to the house to capture Jack and take him into custody for the third time. Jack's trial began on August 12, and both Jonathan Wild and one of Jack's fences testified against him. William Kneebone even took the stand and asked his former employee how he could be so ungrateful. Jack acknowledged that it had been wrong to rob him, but instead, he was lured into a life of crime by bad influences. In particular, he singled out Elizabeth Lyon, who he accused of introducing him to alcohol and the vices of the criminal underworld. Those bad influences had betrayed Jack at every turn. His girlfriend had ratted him out and his fellow criminals testified against him. And things only got worse. Worse from there. Based on Jack's extensive criminal record and previous escapes, the judge sentenced him to die by hanging. His execution was scheduled for September 4th. Jack spent the rest of August in a cell deep inside Newgate Prison. The conditions there were awful, even by the standards of the time. There was an open sewer in the middle of the prison yard. The entire complex was in infested with rats, cockroaches, and lice, and prisoners screamed all day and night. More than one inmate compared Newgate Prison to hell. But Newgate was also understaffed, and the limited number of guards on duty couldn't be everywhere at once. So on August 30, just a few days before Jack's scheduled execution, no one noticed when a pair of visitors went over to his cell. Apparently, Elizabeth felt guilty for her role in Jack's rearrest, because that day, she and another sex worker brought Jack some hand tools, along with a set of women's clothing. Elizabeth discreetly passed the gifts into his cell. Then she and her friend kept the guards distracted while Jack sawed through his cell door. At this point, Jack would normally use the clothing to form a makeshift rope. Instead, he put on the dress that Elizabeth brought him. Then the three of them strolled past the unsuspecting guards and out of the prison gates. Jack Sheppard was a free man again. But even though he appreciated Elizabeth's help, it wasn't enough to salvage their relationship. They broke up not long after, and when she was later arrested for helping him escape, he didn't lift a finger to set her free. In the days after he walked out of Newgate in a dress, London newspapers were full of breathless accounts of Jack's latest escape. Hoping to avoid being recognized by his growing fan base, Jack disguised himself as a butcher and left the city to stay with friends in the English countryside. He'd planned to stay there until the excitement over his latest escape died down. But after just three days, he began to miss the city life and returned to London in early September. However, Jack's new celebrity status worked against him. Shortly after he arrived back in the city, a milkman recognized him and began spreading the word that Jack had returned. Local shopkeepers even posted guards outside their businesses. But that wasn't enough to stop Jack from robbing a watchmaker's shop on Fleet street, where where he got away with three watches. He sold one of them, used the money to get good and drunk, then went to settle scores with the milkman. When Jack found him, he cornered him and dumped a few bottles of milk on the man's head. Jack wasn't keeping a low profile and it didn't take long for the law to catch up with him. In the early morning hours of September 9, a posse led by guards from Newgate Prison found Jack in the London suburb of Finchley Common, arrested him and hauled him back to the prison. This time, the staff at Newgate wasn't taking any chances. Jack was locked up in a cell known as the Castle at the center of the complex, where he was handcuffed and shackled in a pair of leg irons that were bolted to the floor. Meanwhile, outside the jailhouse, the city was abuzz with the news of Jack's recapture. London newspapers covered him more than subject and his story was about to get even more interesting. On October 9, a high profile visitor entered the jail complex. It was none other than Jonathan Wild, Jack's rival crime lord, who played both sides of the law. Jonathan wasn't there to see Jack, though. He was in a courtroom in another wing, testifying against one of his former colleagues. At some point during the hearing, the man on trial jumped up and attacked Jonathan with a knife. He slit Jonathan's throat, badly wounding him. All the inmates in the jail knew Jonathan. Some loved him, others hated him. So when word of the attack quickly spread throughout the jailhouse, fights erupted throughout prison. Guards could barely control everyone, which meant John Jack was unsupervised. Weeks earlier, he'd found an old nail on the floor of his cell which he'd hidden away to use. In a moment like this, with the nail clenched in his teeth, Jack picked the locks on his handcuffs, then managed to break the chain links attaching his leg irons to the floor. He wasn't able to get free of his leg irons completely, but he didn't let that stop him. There was one way out of Jack's cell besides the door. A chimney that led straight up through the ceiling. So on October 15, Jack climbed up it and broke through a weak section of wall and into a vacant cell upstairs. Then he used scrap metal from his broken chains to wrench open the lock on the door, followed by the locks and bolts on five other doors in the empty hallways outside. He was able to make it to the roof of the prison, but he knew he wouldn't be able to survive the two story drop to the ground below. So Jack retraced his steps all the way back to his cell, grabbed his bedsheets and returned to the roof. At that point, he used his old trick and fashioned them into a rope to climb down to freedom. And with that, Jack Sheppard's fourth prison break was complete. Jack's latest escape was front page news. To avoid being recognized in the middle of the media frenzy, Jack dressed in rags to disguise himself as a beggar. There was one problem though. He was still trapped in the prison's leg irons. It took him two days before he finally found a set of tools he could use to cut through the chains. Jack spent the next few weeks, weeks, hiding out with a pair of sex workers. He knew it would have made sense to leave the city at this point, but Jack had different priorities. On October 29, he broke into a pawn shop, stole some fancy clothes, a wig and a bunch of cash and jewels. For the next few days, Jack dressed as a gentleman and lived a gentleman's life. With his two friends in tow, he went on a tour of his favorite pubs, getting drunker and drunker with each new stop and drawing plenty of attention along the way. Finally, in the early morning hours of November 1, 1724, police interrupted Jack's impromptu pub crawl. He was so drunk that he barely put up a fight as they returned him to his old cell at Newgate Prison. This time around, prison staff did everything they could could to keep Jack put, including weighing him down with over £300 of chains and irons. Of course, this only made Jack more of a local celebrity. By that point, he was so famous that over a thousand people came to visit him, paying his jailers four shillings, the equivalent of about $30 today, to ask Jack questions. Despite his circumstances, Jack was a cheerful prisoner who enjoyed chatting with his visitors. Unsurprisingly, some of them tried to help him escape. At least one person smuggled a file to him hidden inside a Bible, followed by a chisel. A few days later, guards found and confiscated these tools before Jack could put them to use. But knowing Jack, time was of the essence. The authorities were eager to make an extra example of him before he could escape again. On November 16, 1724, Jack was loaded into a wagon under heavy guard for the two mile journey to the gallows at Tyburn. The streets were so packed with his fans that it took two hours to reach their destination. Plenty of time for Jack to formulate his final escape plan. He he had allies in the crowd who'd promised to take his body to a friendly doctor once it had been cut down from the noose. They thought the physician might be able to resurrect him with warm blankets and wine. When he finally reached Tyburn, an executioner slipped a noose around Jack's neck. Instead of any famous last words, he simply handed the hangman a pamphlet in which he'd written his autobiography. With that, Jack was hung. He spent the next 15 minutes slowly suffocating. When his body was cut down from the rope, a crowd of fans rushed forward to examine it. They didn't know about Jack's plan. And in their eagerness to get one last look, they trampled his body. By the time the doctors were able to get to him, they decided that no amount of wine and and warm blankets could heal the damage. But even though his attempted resurrection failed, Jack Sheppard lives on to this day as a folk hero, A working class bandit who no jail could hold. Up next, the story of another legendary escape artist.

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[Vanessa Richardson]

124 years after Jack Sheppard's final escape, another repeat offender became a working class hero. On November 15, 1848, Joseph Bolitho Johns was arrested in Wales for stealing food from a farmhouse. This petty crime came with a steep prison sentence, but just like Jack Sheppard, Joseph was determined to break free. In the early morning hours of November 15, a police constable stopped two men walking along a country road outside the Welsh village of Monmouth in the United Kingdom. Both men were carrying bags over their shoulders and they seemed nervous when the officers started asking questions. The constable was suspicious, so he searched the men's bags. Inside he found several wheels of cheese, three loaves of bread, two pieces of bacon, a shoulder of mutton and a lump of beef fat. It turned out these same items had been reported missing from a house in a nearby town a day earlier. The constable was certain the two men he'd stopped were responsible and took them into custody on the spot. One of the men was named William Cross, a day laborer with a prior conviction. The other was a 22 year old named Joseph Bolitho Johns, better known today as Moondine Joe. Joe was a working class Welshman. His father had been a blacksmith and as an adult, Joe worked as a minor. He wasn't a career criminal by any means. This burglary was actually his first offense. But that didn't earn him any sympathy from the British justice system. A judge sentenced both men to 10 years in prison to be served at the British penal colony in Western Australia. Nobody knows what happened to Joe's accomplice, William Cross, but over the next 23 years, Moondine Joe would become an Australian icon. At the time, Britain's colonies in Western Australia were experiencing a severe labor shortage that threatened to destroy their local economies. So they petitioned Queen Victoria to send them convicts to fill necessary jobs. Soon, ships full of British inmates began arriving at the port in Fremantle, just outside Perth Moon Dine. Joe spent four years in a Welsh prison before being shipped to Fremantle in April of 1853. During his time at that Welsh jail, Joe had been a model prisoner. So when he stepped off the boat in Australia, officials rewarded him with a ticket of leave. This was a form of probation, so called ticket of leave. Men didn't have to live in the prison. Instead they were allowed to find room and board in a specially assigned district of the colony. There they were free to seek any job they wanted, earn money, buy property and even bring their families over from Britain for the remainder of their sentence. But they weren't allowed to carry guns or board a boat without permission. And if they committed any crime, no matter how small, they could be sent straight to prison without a trial. Joe took his ticket of leave and settled in the hills outside Fremantle, in a region that Aboriginal peoples who are native to Australia called Moondine. There he set up a camp with a few brush huts and made a living as a trapper, catching animals that came to drink from nearby streams and springs. It wasn't an easy life, but Joe made the best of it and continued to live in Mundine even after completing his sentence. But after eight years in Australia, Joe had another run in with the law. In early August 1861, 35 year old Joe found an unbranded horse wandering free near his camp. So he captured it, then branded it with his own mark. It wasn't the smartest move. This was the 19th century equivalent of finding an unlocked parked car on your street and driving away with it. By law, any unmarked horses were supposed to be taken to the authorities so they could be reunited with their owners. By putting his own brand on a horse that wasn't his Joe became a horse thief. Somehow police learned what Joe had done and on August 6th they found him riding the horse and arrested him. The animal was confiscated and Joe was locked up at a prison in the nearby town of Toodjay. The jail was tiny and old with just three cells. And the very next day the guard on duty came back to find Joe's cell empty. Not only that but but the horse which had been tied up outside was missing. So was a brand new saddle and bridle belonging to the police department. After talking to the other inmates, police learned that Joe managed to get his hands on a knife which he used to remove the screws holding the lock on his door. Once he was free, Joe had taken the police saddle, hopped on his stolen horse and rode away. The authorities followed Joe's trail and caught up with him at a sawmill outside town. Joe was arrested, but police didn't find any sign of the stolen horse. Still, they sent Joe back to the same jail where he was carefully watched by two guards. While they waited to send Joe back to Perth for his trial, police searched the hills for Joe's stolen horse. In late August they found finally found it outside an aboriginal camp. The horse had been shot in the head and the patch of skin where Joe had branded it had been cut off. Police figured this was Joe's handiwork. And while it was unfortunate for the horse, the removal of the brand meant the authorities had no evidence when Joe went on trial a few weeks later. And so instead of being charged with horse theft which carried a 10 year sentence sentence, he was just charged with jailbreaking which only had a three year sentence. Joe spent a little over two years locked up at Fremantle Prison before being released in June of 1864 for good behavior. Even though there were multiple prison breaks from Fremantle during that time, Joe didn't participate. He just kept his head down and served his time. After his release, Joe moved to the small town of Kelmscott outside of Perth, where he found work as a farmhand on a cattle ranch. He worked there for several uneventful months. But in early 1865 he got into trouble again. On March 28, the owner of the ranch, Henry Martin, notified police that Joe had killed and eaten one of his cattle. Joe insisted he was innocent. He even showed the authorities a note that was supposedly written by Mr. Martin's wife. The letter clearly said that Joe was allowed to slaughter one of the cows. However, Mrs. Martin denied writing the note and despite Joe's protests, he was sentenced to 10 more years of Hard labor in Fremantle Prison. Previously, Joe had been willing to serve his time as a model prisoner. But now that he'd been locked up for a crime he swore he didn't commit, he was done playing nice. After several months in jail, Joe was selected to join a work crew doing hard labor near the town of Canning Flats. This was the perfect opportunity. Joe knew the area well and he had friends living nearby. So he formed a plan. On November 1, after just a week working in the area, Joe and several of his fellow prisoners snuck away from camp in the middle of the night and disappeared into the bush. The following morning, guards discovered that the prisoners were missing. The manhunt was on. But finding Joe wouldn't be so easy. Joe was quite the outdoorsman, a skill he'd learned during his years at Moondyne. He knew how to live off the land and how to throw the police off his scent. The authorities spent weeks combing the wilderness for the escapees, occasionally picking up tips from residents who'd seen them. One rancher had run into the group and reported that Joe had three days worth of food and a tomahawk for self defense. A week later, another man reported seeing Joe and his fellow inmates carrying guns they must have stolen along the way. Finally, after a grueling month long manhunt, police caught up with Joe and his accomplices at a campsite outside the small town of York. They were roughly 150 miles away from where they'd escaped. The men were asleep when police arrived and didn't get a chance to reach for their weapons before they were placed under arrest. After a long and exhausting march back to Perth, Joe was thrown back in Fremantle Prison. With another year added to his sentence for the jailbreak. His guards knew Joe had a reputation as an escape artist, so they had him shackled in leg irons to make sure he didn't get away again. But Moondyne Joe was determined to break free. And it would take a lot more than a set of iron chains to keep him behind bars.

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[Vanessa Richardson]

In December 1865, Australian prison escapee Joseph Bolitho, better known as Moondyne Joe, was recaptured after a month long manhunt back at Fremantle Prison. Joe had another year year added to his sentence and was locked up in leg irons to keep him from escaping again. But Joe insisted the cattle rustling charges against him were false. He refused to spend 10 years behind bars for a crime he didn't commit and he was willing to do anything to get out. Seven months after he was recaptured in July of 1866, guards caught Joe trying to saw through through the lock in his door with a small file he'd somehow smuggled into his cell. His tools were confiscated and another six months were added to his sentence. But this only made Joe more determined. Seventeen days later, on the morning of August 8, 1866, prison guards discovered that Joe's cell was empty. As they scoured the grounds, they found tracks in the dirt outside outside his cell. They couldn't figure out how he'd gotten out, but it looked like he'd climbed over one of the walls to do so, still wearing his leg irons. We're still not sure how he did it either, but we know that once he landed on the other side of the prison wall, Joe ran to a tool shed at a nearby construction site. He broke in and stole a hammer and chisel, which he used to break free from his leg irons. Then he crossed a nearby river and escaped into the wilderness. Police, aided by Aboriginal trackers, set out in pursuit once again. But Joe had intentionally timed his escape to line up with Australia's rainy season, so frequent downpours washed away his tracks. He also tied animal skins around his shoes to mask his footprints. And not long after he got free, he joined up with three fellow inmates who'd also recently escaped from a nearby jail. The night after Joe's escape, an elderly farmer answered a knock at his door to find Moondyne Joe and three fellow convicts on his doorstep. The four men barged inside and shoved the farmer down onto his bed, then began ransacking the house for supplies. The men Took a couple guns, some ammunition and whatever food they could get their hands on, then left just as quickly as they'd arrived. There was no time to dawdle. Joe knew where he was going and he had a lot of ground to cover. Joe and his gang led police on a wild goose chase all over Western Australia. There were a few close calls. More than once, the police found Joe's campsites just hours after they'd left. Eventually, one of Joe's accomplices fell behind and was arrested, but he refused to provide any details about his fellow escapees. Still, Joe knew that he and his three friends couldn't hide from the police forever. So he decided to hike to South Australia, a different colony with its own justice system, where the cops chasing him didn't have jurisdiction. It was a clever plan, but it would require them to travel over a thousand miles of wilderness and desert. That was a daunting task, even for an experienced outdoorsman like Joe. And they'd need supplies. On the night of September 5, Joe and his two remaining accomplices broke into a general store in the town of Toodjay, about 50 miles away from Perth. There, they stole guns, boots. Boots and a large amount of food. Then they set out into the desert, heading for South Australia. Joe knew that an English explorer named Charles Hunt was surveying the desert at the time, digging wells as he went. So Joe and his men followed Hunt's path, using his wells to stock up on water. For most of September, Joe and his friends trekked through the wilderness on foot and on horseback. At first, police struggled to follow his trail, but eventually reports began to trickle in from travelers who'd spotted Joe on the road. Based on where he'd been sighted, police realized that Joe was following Charles Hunt's trail. This narrowed down the search and made it easier for them to catch up. On September 29, 1866, after a month on the run, police surprised Joe and his two accomplices as they rested in the shade near one of Hunt's Wells, about 200 miles east of Fremantle Prison. They still had 700 miles to go until they got to the border of South Australia. And it looked like they weren't gonna make it. One of Joe's friends drew his gun, but the police fired first, hitting him in the arm. After that, Joe and the other convicts surrendered without a fight. It took over a week and a team of 14 police officers to return Joe and his two fellow escapees to Fremantle Prison. By the time they got there on October 9, newspapers were filled with exciting accounts of Joe's latest escape and jokes about the official in charge of overseeing convicts, George Hampton. With his reputation location on the line, Warden Hampton cracked down hard on 40 year old Moondyne Joe. He personally oversaw the construction of a brand new escape proof cell just for Joe. The cell's stone walls were lined with thick wooden railroad ties with thousands of nails driven through them to keep Joe in the center of the cell at all times. The one window was covered by a a thick iron grate. There was no bed, and Joe was only fed a diet of bread and water. In addition to the new security measures, Joe had five years of hard labor added to his sentence. Rather than let him leave the prison with an inmate work crew, the warden ordered that boulders be brought into the prison yard for Joe to break up with a pickaxe. No other prisoners were allowed within 6, 60ft of him while he did his back breaking, pointless busy work. And an armed guard watched him at all times. Warden Hampton was so confident in the security of these new arrangements that he smugly told Joe in front of witnesses that if he managed to escape again, he'd be given a full pardon. At the time, Australian prison wardens had the authority authority to grant pardons to anyone for any reason. But this warden would come to regret making that promise to Moondine Joe. For the next five months, Joe spent hours every day standing in the same corner of the prison yard, smashing rocks with a pickaxe. Occasionally, prison staff would come and take away the broken rocks, but over time, the pile of shards grew and grew until it was waist high, blocking the guard's view of Joe's lower torso. At some point, Joe realized he could use this to his advantage. Every so often, when his guard wasn't looking, he'd stop breaking rocks and swing his pickaxe at the wall behind him. A couple of times, the pile of broken rocks blocked the growing hole he was making in the prison wall. It's not clear how long Joe was at it, but on March 7, 1867, six months into his new sentence, Joe's careful work paid off. While the guard was distracted, Joe broke out of his leg irons with his pickaxe, then wriggled through the small hole he'd cut in the wall and disappeared. For the fourth time, guards discovered he was missing around 5pm When Warden Hampton found out, he was furious. Within minutes, the police and local military were called up to look for Joe. For the first time in the history of Western Australia, search parties were ordered to bring the escapee back, dead or alive. The warden had no intention of being forced to fulfill his promise of a pardon. Despite the massive police mobilization, investigators couldn't find any trace of Moon Dyne Joe. For weeks, posses searched the town and the surrounding wilderness, but eventually police resources had to be diverted. Inmates at Fremantle Prison had been inspired by Joe's escape and staged multiple breakouts in the weeks to come. Most of these escape rapees were eventually caught, but the multiple manhunts were expensive, time consuming and exhausting. They also made Warden Hampton look very bad. So much so that he retired and went back to England. By the time all the excitement of the other prison breaks died down, Hampton was gone and Joe had been forgotten. For the next two years, Joe lived in the wilderness around Perth. He made use of his trapping skills to catch small animals, but he also took donations from sympathetic locals who recognized and supported him. He stayed out of sight and didn't cause any trouble. Joe probably could have stayed on the run for the rest of his life, but an unbelievably unlucky coincidence brought him back into contact with the authorities. On February 25, 1869, Joe broke into a vineyard on the outskirts of Perth looking to steal some wine. While Joe was breaking into the wine cellar, the owner was at a nearby river helping the local police with a search and rescue operation. As the search wound down, the owner invited a few police officers back to his vineyard for a glass of wine. Unfortunately for Joe, the owner and his cop friends walked into the wine cellar right as he was trying to steal one of the casks of wine for the final time. Moondyne Joe had been caught. Joe was returned to his cell at Fremantle Prison where several more years were added to his sentence. He was held in solitary confinement and guards visited every half hour to make sure he hadn't escaped. After being locked away for two more years, Joe made one last bid for freedom. But this time he didn't try to pick any locks or climb any walls. He just spoke to the warden. Joe reminded the new warden, Henry Wakeford, that his predecessor had promised to pardon Joe if he was able to escape. Escape? From his newly constructed cell, Joe pointed out that he had escaped and asked to receive the pardon he'd been promised. It turned out Warden Wakeford was more forgiving than Hampton. The warden spoke to witnesses to confirm what Joe said. Wakeford also thought about the fact that Joe was a non violent offender. And after careful consideration, he decided that keeping Joe locked up was more trouble than it was worth. In May of 1871, at the age of 45, Moondine Joe walked out of the prison gates a free man, and from then on he stayed on the right side of the law mostly. In 1879 he married a young widow, Louisa, and spent the rest of his life working as a boat builder, a logger and a gold prospector. In 1893, Louisa passed away at the age of 40. Her death took a heavy toll on Joe's health. In 1900, when he was 74, he died in the Fremantle Lunatic Asylum. But to this day, his legend lives on in the history and culture of Western Australia, including the annual Moon Dust Dine Festival, which celebrates his escapades. Looking back at this week in crime history, we can see the power of doing what seems like an impossible task escaping from prison. Despite the British government's best efforts, the stories of Jack Shepard's adventurous jailbreaks live on the same goes for Moon Dine Joe. His refusal to serve time for a crime he swore he didn't commit made him a legendary figure in Australia and beyond. It's a powerful reminder that those who are willing to stand up to authority can be fondly remembered in the history books. Thanks so much for listening. I'm Vanessa Richardson and this is True Crime this Week part of Crime House Daily. Crime House Daily is a Crime House original. Powered by Pave Studios. At Crime House, we want to express our gratitude to you, our community, for making this possible. Please support us by rating, reviewing and following Crime House Daily. Wherever you get your podcasts, your feedback truly matters. And for ad free and early access to Crime House Daily + exciting bonus content. Subscribe to Crime House+ on Apple Podcasts. We'll be back next Sunday. True Crime this Week is hosted by me, Vanessa Richardson, and is a Crime House original. Powered by Pave Studios. This episode was brought to life by the True Crime this Week team Matt Max Cutler, Ron Shapiro, Alex Benedon, Natalie Pertzovsky, Lori Marinelli, Sarah Camp, Truman Capps, Beth Johnson, Spencer Howard and Michael Langsner. Thank you for listening. Looking for your next Crime House listen? Don't miss Crimes of with Sabrina deannaroga and Corinne Vien. Crimes of is a weekly series that explores a new theme each season from Crimes of the paranormal, unsolved murders, mysterious disappearances, and more. Their first season is Crimes of Infamy, the true stories behind Hollywood's most iconic horror villains. And coming up next is Crimes of Paranormal Real life cases where the line between the living and dead gets seriously blurry. Listen to Crimes of every Tuesday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music or wherever you listen to podcasts.