Richmond found itself at the centre of its very own Dorothy L Sayers murder mystery, it has been revealed.

Documents held by the National Archives in Kew shine a light on how the renowned crime writer became involved in the bizarre death of a doctor at her Richmond home.

The crime occurred in a property at Queens Road, Richmond, which runs close to Richmond Park, in the early hours of November 23, 1937.

Police were called to the home of the Dancys in Queens Road, Richmond. Credit: Google Maps.

It was the home to the brilliant doctor, Naomi Dancy, aged 49, who lived there with her husband, Dr John Dancy.

At the time, the killer was identified as Naomi Dancy's brother, Maurice Odell Tribe, a 43-year-old ex-Army officer and war hero, who had lost the sight in one eye and was left with poor vision in the other as the result of wounds suffered during the First World War.

According to newspaper reports, Dr John Dancy was in his study typing letters when he heard two shots.

He ran upstairs and saw Tribe with revolver in his hand. He said, "What have you done?" and Tribe replied, "I have just shot your wife and now I'll shoot you." 

Dr Dancy switched off the light and ducked as a bullet went past his head and out of window.

Tribe then raced into the bathroom, locked himself in, and cut his own throat with a razor.

The motive for the crime was unclear. It is known that Tribe had a serious drink problem and it appears that he shot his sister through both eyes, apparently in a fit of jealousy because he was enraged about losing his own sight.

Separately, there are suggestions that he had tipped into his murderous frenzy after discovering he had been removed as the beneficiary of new insurance policies that the couple had recently drawn up.

On the face of it, the details of the murder suicide were straightforward, however questions began to emerge when Dr Dancy subsequently contacted Dorothy L Sayers, who famously created the amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey, to ask her to investigate.

Details of contact between Sayers and Sir Norman Kendal. Credit: National Archives.

Researcher at the National Archives, Eleanor Johnson Ward, who had been going through documents surrounding the case, said: "There among the neatly-typed police reports and statements I was greatly surprised to find a letter penned by one of the greats of 20th century detective fiction – Dorothy L Sayers – who had found herself drawn into the case by a bizarre and unexpected telephone call."

In a written paper on the case, she added: "At a quarter past five on the evening of 15 December 1937, Sayers received a call at her London home from Dr John Dancy. A complete stranger to her, he explained that his wife had recently been murdered and asked if she would like to come and visit the scene of the crime.

"His motive was apparently purely altruistic – offering an author of detective fiction the opportunity to view a real crime scene first-hand and to learn details of the investigation procedure that could be of use to her in her novels."

The surprised novelist became suspicious of Dr Dancy and his reasons for contacting her. As a result, she contacted an acquaintance at Scotland Yard, Sir Norman Kendal, who was then an Assistant Commissioner (Crime), asking for advice.

Sayers and Sir Norman were both members of The Detection Club, an association whose membership principally consisted of writers of crime and detective fiction.

The author sent Sir Norman a letter enclosing a six-page handwritten memo recounting the entire 15-minute conversation she had with the doctor. In it, she raised concerns that the victim's husband may, himself, have been involved.

Separately, the files contained two anonymous letters asking the police to investigate Dr John Dancy in the deaths. One of them stated: "'Believe me I am not the only person over here who thinks he murdered his wife and brother-in-law himself."

Postmortem images showing the injuries suffered by Naomi Dancy. Credit: National Archives.

Researcher, Miss Johnson Ward, said there were other suspicious elements. For example, the cut-throat razor apparently used by Tribe to kill himself belonged to Dr Dancy. Also, strangely, he had washed the killer's hands before the ambulance arrived.

Despite, the odd call made by Dr Dancy to Sayers, the police remained convinced that the murder investigation had properly named Tribe as the killer. And, subsequently, Sir Norman advised Sayers to drop it.

The research provoked a response from a family member of the Dancys, who insisted any insinuation that Dr Dancy had murdered his wife and her brother were completely false.

Teresa Creel wrote: "The Doctors Dancy were my grandparents and I can state that the police investigation came to the correct conclusion.

"Maurice killed Naomi and then himself. Maurice did attempt to murder John (called Jack) but Jack was able to turn the light switch off and duck as Maurice fired a gun at him.

"There were three children left motherless and any implication that Jack (a healer) would or could have harmed his wife is absurd.

"My grandfather was highly regarded in his community and dearly loved by his patients, family, and friends throughout his long life.

"In today's terms, Jack was a 'true crime buff and may well have contacted a crime writer in order to have the story of the murder of his wife told accurately to protect the children from inaccuracies and innuendo about their mother's horrific fate."