The horrors of 10 Rillington Place and the real killer (Part 2/2) | Forensic Files

purchasing high-quality jury for yourself for a loved one no longer needs to break the bank with Missouri you get
ethically sourced fine jury without having to choose between quality and fair prices not only that
Missouri's pieces are designed to be low maintenance to fit in with a busy lifestyle you'll never have to worry
about taking your jewelry off or getting it wet the missouri website offers a wide variety of designs and styles
ranging from earrings and necklaces to anklets and engagement rings where traditional jeweler's drop new products
in seasons missouri drops a new product every monday be sure to be on the lookout each week for fresh new and
exciting pieces such as the recently released 14 karat gold baguette diamond studs with matching necklace bracelet
and ring set tradition says you should save fine jewelry for special occasions Missouri says fine jewelry can be worn
for fun head to Missouri comm slash case file or use code case file at checkout for 10% off your first order
that's Maj you are i.com slash case file for 10% off your first order [Music] our episodes deal with serious and often
distressing incidents if you feel at anytime you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested
phone numbers for confidential support please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website
today's episode deals with the crime committed against the child that won't be suitable for all listeners at
approximately 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday March 24 1953 Beresford Brown rushed out of the ground floor flat at 10 Rillington
place in Notting Hills Ladbroke Grove neighborhood to a payphone outside he frantically called the police and
officers were immediately dispatched to the address within minutes they arrived at the
three-story residential building at the end of the cul-de-sac and raced inside police constable Leslie Sussman was one
of the first to enter the ground floor flat finding the derelict residence mostly empty he made his way into the
kitchen a narrow ramshackle space cluttered with junk a section of wallpaper had been torn from a rear wall
next to a sink to reveal a small cupboard like alcove hidden behind constable sighs minh peered into the
dark confined space and recoiled in horror the officers stripped away all of the
remaining wallpaper exposing a small timber frame to doorway that led into a cramped brick enclosed room measuring
just four feet high and five feet six inches deep there were no windows and the flooring consisted of rubble and
earth tucked inside was the body of a young woman with her bare back facing the opening she was posed in an upright
kneeling position with her feet folded beneath her and her head and shoulders hunched forward one attending officer
later recalled quote over the years I have seen some shocking science but never once so unnerving is
that which greeted ourselves [Music] the deceased the woman in the archive had her wrists bound in front of her
with a handkerchief tied in a distinctive reef knot she was dressed in stockings and suspenders with a black
jumper white jacket and a bra pulled up around her neck the bra was fixed to a large object wrapped in a blanket that
stood in front of the woman and kept her in an upright position the blanketed object contained another
female corpse that was positioned upside down her ankles were tied together with
a sock and a stocking had been used to secure a pillowcase around her head she was fully clothed wearing a dress
petticoat bra cardigan and two singlets a singlet had also been wrapped between her legs like a nappy behind her was
another blanket this one concealing the body of a third woman her back was resting on the ground and her legs were
stretched to vertically against the rear wall she was wearing a white cotton singler cardigan and makeshift nappy her
ankles were tied together with wire and her torso was smeared with ash and dirt the naturally cold temperature within
the alcove had preserved the victim's remains and it was determined that all three had been sexually assaulted around
the time of their death an autopsy on the woman found sitting upright at the archives entrance concluded she had been
killed about a month earlier her cause of death was a mix of carbon monoxide poisoning and strangulation carried out
by a cord with a smooth surface scratch marks on her back were consistent with her body having been dragged across the
floor the skin of the second victim was pinkish in color indicating she too had experienced the gas poisoning
she was also six months pregnant the third victim appeared to have been in good health at the time of her death
though her skin also had a pink issue and - the nails on her hands and feet were poorly maintained toxicology
reports showed that both women had consumed alcohol on the day that were murdered which was estimated to have
occurred 8 to 12 weeks earlier all three of the women were estimated to have been
aged in their 20s several loose floorboards were found in the flats living room and were prized up
exposing a substantial pile of Earth and rubble underneath the debris covered the
body of a fourth female victim wrapped in a flannel blanket with a pillowcase covering her head she was dressed in
stockings a floral dress and a silk nightgown her cause of death was determined to be strangulation with a
ligature occurring 12 to 15 weeks earlier unlike the women found in the alcove this victim appeared to be middle
aged and born no signs of sexual assault or alcohol in her system it had been three years since the bodies
of 19 year-old Beryl Evans and her infant daughter Geraldine were found in the backyard wash hours of the same
property both had been strangled with barrels husband ten Geraldine's father Timothy Evans ultimately held
responsible for the crimes and sentenced to death [Music] Timothy had professed his innocence up
until his execution in 1950 maintaining that his downstairs neighbor John Christie was his wife and daughters
actual killer according to neighbors and the building's owner John Christie moved
out of the Rillington place ground floor flat on Saturday March 20 1953 four days
before the bodies were found inside he'd sold all of his household furniture and
had arranged for a couple to sublet the flat who arrived on the same day that Christie vacated by coincidence the
landlord visited the property that night and was dismayed to find the unfamiliar
couple moving in Christie hadn't received permission to sublet his home and the landlord ordered the couple to
leave the following morning once they were gone he gave the building's top floor occupant Beresford brown
permission to make use of Christie's former residence days later Beresford was performing basic
renovations in the kitchen when he uncovered the hidden alcove a thorough search of 10 Rillington place resulted
in the discovery of a driver's license in a pile of rubbish in the rear yard which John Christie and his wife Ethel
had exclusive access to the license was issued to a man named Alexander Baker police tracked Alexander down only to
learn that his girlfriend 27 year old Hector rain & McLennan had been missing for some time originally from the
scottish city of Glasgow Hector inna was from a large family with four brothers and two sisters
in 1948 the McClellan's relocated to London settling in the inner western area of Kensington Hector Eanes father
described her as a happy girl who was content to spend the most evenings at home with her parents
even as a young adult at the age of 23 she became a single mother to a baby girl by 1951 she had married a member of
the burmese air force who was stationed in the City of Portsmouth on England's south coast the couple had a daughter
together but their relationship was cut short when Hector arenas husband had to return to Burma in November 1952 her
parents returned to Scotland and talk act arenas daughters with them farewelling her children was
particularly hard for Hector ena though she continued to build a life for herself in London where she eventually
commenced the relationship with Alexander Baker they were eager to live together but had difficulty finding a
home due to their financial struggles on March 3 1953 Hector ena was at a cafe when she met the balding middle-aged
John Christie who informed her that he had a room available to lease that evening Hector ena and Alexander visited
10 Rillington place with the intention of leasing Christie's spare room upon seeing that Hector Rina had a boyfriend
Christie appeared troubled but took them into his home regardless inside it was almost entirely bare which Christie
explained was because he was about to move and had already sent his furniture away
he agreed to let the young couple stay temporarily but wouldn't permit them to share a bed he said that his wife was
staying with neighbors and would be upset if she discovered an unmarried couple sleeping together in her
residence consequently Hector ena slept on a deck chair while Alexander burrowed
Christie's bed and Christy slept sitting up on a board positioned over a bucket the couple ended up staying at Christy's
flat for three nights at 9:30 a.m. on Friday March 6 Christy asked them to leave and they went to seek work at the
Hammersmith labor exchange Hector Rina waited outside while Alexander went in when he returned
Hector Rina said that John Christy had shown up and asked her to revisit his place that afternoon she planned to do
so telling Alexander she would meet him at a nearby cafe afterwards Alexander went
to the cafe as instructed but by 5 p.m. there was no sign of his girlfriend he went to 10 Rillington place to find her
but Christy claimed that Hector Rena had never arrived Alexander noticed Christy's flat had a
very nasty smell but thought little of it Christy had offered to help him look for Hector Rina and the pair had
searched together until 9 o'clock and that night on several occasions over the next few days
Christy turned up at the hammersmith the labor exchange while Alexander was there
and had inquired as to whether he had found Hector inna Alexander didn't report Hector Eanes disappearance to the
police as the pair lived a rather transient lifestyle and he doubted anything serious had happened however
her unexplained disappearance did raise the concerns of Hector eanes brothers who filed a missing-persons report
Hector eanes fingerprints were compared to those on her police file positively identifying her as the woman found that
the entrance to the alcove in John Christie's former flat police also checked the fingerprints of the other
two victims from the alcove against the records on their database they ascertained that the second victim was
25 year old reader Nelson who was born and raised in the northern Islander city of Belfast Rita had a difficult life and
upon entering adulthood found herself in trouble with the police for a range of minor offences at the age of 21 she
spent the brief period of time in a mental health facility and gave birth to a son shortly after she was immensely
proud of her child and was devastated when at the age of two he was taken into care in October 1952 reader and her
cousin traveled to London hoping to find work the parted ways shortly after their
arrival and to never saw each other again Freda found a room in a lodging house in the you know Western
neighbourhood of shepherd's bush where she mostly kept to herself her mother described her as a quiet serious minded
girl whose main outside interest was going to the pictures Breda worked a variety of jobs including a hospital
orderly a waitress and a cleaner saving her money and sending some home to her parents at Christmas the last time they
heard from her was on Friday January 16 1953 the exact circumstances of how Rita
Nelson first met John Christie were difficult to determine she was known to frequent cheap eateries known as
transport cafes and it was believed she may have encountered Christie during a visit to one in the first week of
January 1953 Rita had been offered a job at a tea shop but her employment was thrown into jeopardy on January 12 when
she discovered she was pregnant as she didn't have a support network in London reader obtained a letter from a medical
officer requesting that she be admitted to a home for unmarried women until the baby was born the last time Rita was
seen was on Wednesday January 14 six days later on Tuesday January 20 readers the landlord visited her room chasing up
a late rent payment and found a letter from the medical officer days later the landlord visited a police
station to inform them of Rita's unexplained disappearance with the discovery of the bodies at Rillington
place readers sister was summoned by the police and identified the second the body in the alcove as her sister using
fingerprint records the third victim was identified as 26 year old Kathleen Maloney originally from the port city of
Plymouth in southwest England Kathleen's parents both died in quick succession when she was two years old
and she and her two older sisters were sent to live in a Catholic orphanage there aren't and uncle visited regularly
with the latter describing Kathleen as very wild not in a bad way but full of pranks throughout her adolescence
Kathleen was transferred between various orphanages and by the age of 18 she left
the system altogether she worked as a cleaner and a laundress and went on to have five children one of whom was
adopted while the other four were sent to live in a children's home Kathleen lived a transient lifestyle
residing in abandoned buildings and moving about between the cities of London Southampton and to Liverpool she
turned to sex work to support herself and often fell foul of the law by September 1952 she was spending most of
her time in London's inner West and was so impoverished that she occasionally slept in public toilets in October that
year she and her friend Maureen Briggs visited a pub in the neighbourhood of Paddington there they sighted a
spectacled man in his 50s standing at the bar with a raincoat over his arm Maureen described the encounter quote he
had the finish lips and he was sort of licking his lips when he was talking he got talking to me he asked me if I
wanted to earn myself some money and I said I would he asked me if I ever had any photographs done in the nude he said
he did that and he knew a place where he could take me to do some the men introduced himself as John Christie and
despite his offer to Maureen nothing eventuated in early December the two women bumped into Christie again and
agreed to accompany him to a room that had been set up as a studio marine lay naked on a bed while Christie took
photographs of her and Kathleen watched Christie then undressed and asked Kathleen to photograph him and Maureen
together no sex was involved and Christie paid each woman a pound for the work some
time later Kathleen struck up a conversation with the public bathroom attendant saying she
had met a man named mr. Christie whom she felt sorry for because his wife had died she said that Christie had promised
to give her some of his late wife's clothes but when she visited to collect them Christie's olanta Lord threw her
out she also told a postman that she had met a man who offered her housing in Ladbroke Grove
on the evening of Saturday January 10 Kathleen and Maureen were drinking at a pub when John Christie arrived he bought
them drinks before leaving with a heavily intoxicated Kathleen between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m. the pair were last
seen crossing the road to a bus stop John Reginald Christie was born in the northern County of Yorkshire the fourth
of six children two old-fashioned parents he was his mother's favorite but had a difficult relationship with his
Stern father Christie was a quiet nervous child with few friends and his peers viewed in Mossad known to friends
and family as Reggie he enlisted in the army as a teenager and served as an infantryman during the First World War
while fighting in France he was injured in a gas attack and spent a month recovering in hospital Christie later
claimed that the incident left him blind for six months and unable to speak for three and a half years there were no
medical documents to verify this yet he was known to speak at a particularly low
volume after the war ended he returned to Yorkshire and in May 1920 married Ethel Waddington over the following
decade Christie committed a series of crimes including larceny and assault all of which resulted in brief stints in
prison dear soul which involved Christie striking a woman in the head with a cricket bat was described by the trial
judge as a murderous attack Christie was released after serving six months hard labor at which point he and Ethel had
been separated for a decade the pair reconciled though their relationship in Jewett another setback when earth all
suffered a miscarriage in 1938 they moved into 10 Rillington place residing in the top floor flat before taking the
ground-floor residence at the end of that year following the outbreak of World War two Christie applied to become
a war reserve constable overwhelmed by the influx of recruits authorities failed to check his criminal record and
accepted his application he was assigned to the her a road police station where he took a great joy in
overzealously patrolling the neighborhood his neighbors nicknamed him the Himmler of Relling Tintin Rakim la
the commander of Nazi Germany's paramilitary organization who also looked somewhat like Christie at the end
of 1943 Christie resigned from the role and went to work for a transistor radio manufacturer when the bodies were
discovered in the Christie's former flat neighbors informed police that they hadn't seen Ethel for several months the
last confirmed sighting of her was on December 12 1952 when she had dropped some washing off at a laundromat in
Kensington in the weeks that followed John Christie had given varying stories to explain his wife's whereabouts he
told one neighbor that she was visiting relatives in the northern city of Sheffield while telling another she had
gone to Birmingham to care for her sister who was recovering from surgery Ethel sent her family gifts every
Christmas but in the one just gone they had received a card from her husband instead in it John Christie explained
that Ethel was suffering from rheumatism in her fingers and was unable to write but assured that he was taking good care
of her and that the doctor had promised she would recover within a few days across
the top of their card in capital letters he scrawled don't worry she is okay at this stage police suspected that the
older female found under the floorboards in the Christie's former flat was Ethel
her brother was summoned to formally identify the body and confirmed it to be his sister
in an effort to locate John Christie police issued a press release alerting the public to keep an eye out for him
they provided photographs and described him as quote aged 55 height 5 feet 9 inches slim build dark hair been on top
clean-shaven sallow complexion long nose wearing horn rimmed spectacles dentures
top and bottom walks with military bearing wearing a dark blue herringbone suit brown leather shoes born belted a
raincoat and debris on trilby hat meanwhile the thorough search of 10 Rillington place turned up little other
than a suitcase containing Christie's clothing a man's tire tied with a reef knot and a bottle of potassium cyanide
on Friday March 27 three days after the victims were discovered investigators turned to their attention to the
backyard it measured just 16 feet by 14 feet and contained nothing more than some scattered shrubs and a few bare
trees there they discovered a portion of a broken garden trellis had been propped
up using a human femur bone it appeared to have been there for some time indicating the bone may have gone
unnoticed by the investigators who found the bodies of Beryl and Geraldine Evans
in the outdoor wash house three years earlier the sparse garden was excavated and buried approximately one foot
beneath the yellow forsythia Bush was a metal rubbish bin containing charred bone fragments another foot deeper
investigators uncovered what appeared to be human skeletal remains the bones were
transferred to the mortuary and reconstructed into two near-complete female skeletons with one missing its
skull and a femur one victim was estimated to be aged between 20 and 30 and to the other believed to be slightly
older other items recovered from Christie's garden included a square glass jar with rubber tubing attached
scraps of material a portion of a newspaper dated July 19 1943 and apostle's tin that contained pubic hair
from four different women it was believed that one of the samples belonged to Ethel and two might have
come from the unidentified victims in the garden but none were matched to hector rena reader or kathleen
and appeared Christy kept the hairs as a morbid souvenir which suggests that he was far more prolific than what was
already known however police also acknowledged he could have obtained the hair from consenting sex workers the
discovery that a seemingly ordinary middle-aged a Londoner had been murdering women and storing their bodies
in his home became a major international news story the fact that two of Christy's known victims had a history of
sex work prompted one publication to speculate that quote Christy might have been driven by some mad urge to kill bad
girls much like that which inspired a Jack the Ripper to murder prostitutes in London's gas-lit days one newspaper even
dubbed him the Ripper refer ellington place 10 Rillington place became a macabre tourist attraction with
spectators gathering outside each day to watch what the police worked it impacted
the neighbourhood with one neighbor telling a reporter it's terrible at work they shout and make jokes just because I
live in the street as soon as I arrived they asked what the score is newspaper headlines described the manhunt for John
Christie has a race against time and asked when will the killer strike again Christie's older sister issued a public
appeal for her brother to turn himself in saying it will be the best thing for you
it emerged of that on Friday March 20 after Christie had vacated his flat he took his pet dog to a veterinarian to
be euthanized afterwards he checked into a low-budget hostel called rotten house in North
London's Kings Cross district he registered under his own name and paid for seven nights in advance when
speaking to a fellow guest Christie explained he was staying in rotten house due to domestic trouble and had seemed
too on edge when news broke about the bodies found in his former residence Christie checked out of rotten house
despite having paid for two more nights two days later on Friday March 27 police
arrived at the hostel and recovered a suitcase he had left behind alleged sightings of Christie started coming in
from across London and even overseas with reports placing him in cafes on buses or wandering the streets one
individual claimed to have seen Christie sleeping in a van in Notting Hill but by
the time police arrived the vehicle was empty it didn't take long for the media to connect Christie's crimes with the
murder of Beryl and Geraldine Evans at the same address years earlier articles about the case referenced Timothy Evans
execution for the crimes and to the fact that Christie had testified at his trial
leading the public to question whether a miscarriage of justice had occurred although Christie was never treated as a
genuine suspect in the double homicide in hindsight his behavior throughout the investigation into the murders of Beryl
and Geraldine raised concerns not only had he given differing accounts regarding the pair's
final movements he had also been suspiciously dismissive when loved ones tried to ascertain their whereabouts
when implicated in the crimes Christie highlighted Timothy and barrels unstable relationship and focused on establishing
Timothy as an aggressive husband who had previously threatened to kill Beryl furthermore he had told her laborers
working on the property to leave their surplus piles of timber so that he could quote make use of them a short time
later Beryl and Geraldine were found in the backyard wash house hidden behind the timber both had been strangled in a
similar manner to the other victims found within Christie's flat Timothy had accused Christie of killing Beryl after
performing a botched abortion yet dr. Robert Tyr who carried our barrels autopsy reported that her body showed no
science of having undergone such a procedure her bruise inside her vagina indicated she may have attempted to
induce a miscarriage though dr. Tiye noted that it could have been caused to by an attempted rape postmortem he
considered taking a swab of her vagina but his colleagues thought it unnecessary it was reported that while
on the run Christie approached the 24 year old pregnant woman named Margaret Wilson in a cafe he claimed to have
surgical knowledge and could abort her pregnancy if she wanted to quote get rid of it but Margaret rejected his offer
given that reader Nelson was also pregnant at the time of her murder it was speculated that Christie was
offering to perform abortions in order to lure victims to his flat whatever his intentions it was clear
that he targeted vulnerable and destitute women as the public speculated whether Timothy Evans had been telling
the truth police issued a press release asserting that there was no connection between his crimes and those attributed
to Christie at 9:10 on the morning of Tuesday March 31 exactly one week after the six bodies
were discovered in 10 Rillington place police constable Thomas Leger was on patrol near Putney bridge south of the
River Thames that cuts through London an unkempt gaunt man was leaning on the wall framing the river and peering into
the water he appeared as though he'd been hit by hard times prompting constable Leger to call out
what are you doing looking for work the man replied yes but my unemployment cards haven't come through yet he
introduced himself as John Waddington telling the officer that he was from the Western borne Gardens area in Paddington
when constable Leger asked the Waddington to remove his hat he immediately recognized the man who was
promptly taken into custody upon arriving at Putney police station Waddington threw his identification card
at the arresting officer and verbally confirmed that he was wanted murderer John Christie he had his marriage
certificate and other personal papers on him and the newspaper clipping about Timothy Evans when the police informed
Christie that his wife Ethel had been murdered he burst into tears and confessed to the killing Christie
claimed that Ethel had been quote suffering a great deal from persecution and assaults at the hands of their
fellow Rillington place tenants she had undergone medical treatment to settle her nerves
however by December 1952 she had become afraid of her neighbours and was too scared to use communal areas of the
property when others were present on Sunday December 14 Christie said he awoke to ethel having a seizure
and choking her face turned blue and he attempted to help her but was unsuccessful unable to watch her suffer
and believing it was too late to call for assistance he strangled her with a stocking Christie then noticed his
phenobarbital tablets next to the bed a medication used to treat epilepsy insomnia and anxiety the bottle
originally contained 25 pills but there were only two left leading him to conclude that a Thor must have overdosed
on them after admitting to killing Ethel Christie confessed to slaying the three
other women found in the alcove of his former kitchen but asserted he had acted in self-defense in regards to Kathleen
Maloney Christie said she had drunkenly propositioned him on the street one evening and when he turned her down she
followed him home inside the flat Kathleen attempted to hit him with a frying pan but Christie
fought back causing Kathleen to fall into a deck chair that had a long piece of cord hanging from it
Christie stated I don't remember what happened but I must have gone haywire the next thing I remember she was lying
still in the chair with the rope around her neck the kitchen alcove was typically covered by a cupboard but he
pushed it aside to stash Kathleen's body inside as for the murder of Rita Nelson
Christie claimed that she and another young woman had approached him while he was eating in a Notting Hill cafe they
told him they were looking for accommodation and as he was considering moving out of his flat at the time he
invited them over to see his place that evening only reader showed up and she offered to
have sex with Christie if he would convince the landlord to let her have the flat Christie refused prompting
reader to threaten and fight him Christie couldn't remember much after that except that he ultimately killed
her and quote must have put her in the alcove straightaway as for Hector Erina & McLennan Christie said that she wanted
the stay at his flat without her boyfriend Alexander Christie was opposed to this idea and tried to push Hector in
her out of his home but she fought back although he wasn't sure how her clothes wrapped around her neck in the ensuing
struggle and she had died John Christie was taken to Notting Hill police station
to be formally charged with the murder of his wife Ethel word of his capture spread quickly during a large crowd to
gather outside the police station to catch a glimpse of him among the onlookers was Timothy Evans older sister
Eileen who watched in silence as Christie was let into the building the following morning Wednesday April 1 at
downcast the Christie made his first appearance in court before he was taken to Brixton prison on remand upon his
admission consulting doctors described him as somewhat emotional tremulous and tearful
public interest in their case was strong and to tabloid newspapers started a bidding war over the rights the Christie
story he negotiated a deal with the weekend paper the sunday pictorial giving them an exclusive in exchange for
payment of his legal fees he spent his time in prison scribbling notes about his life to pass to the reporters in one
anecdote Christie recalled that at age 11 he viewed his grandfather's deceased the body prior to its burial having been
afraid of his grandfather seeing his lifeless body gave Christie a sense of power after this he became somewhat
fascinated by death in his teens Christie earned the nicknames no dick Reggie and can't do it Christie
after failing to perform during a sexual encounter with a girl the experience left him with a fear of quote appearing
ridiculous as a lover and to let him to seek out sex workers when he married Ethel at the age of 22 the two were
rarely sexually intimate over the following months John Christie was interviewed in numerous times by doctors
and psychiatrists to determine the legitimacy of his confessions the prison's principal medical officer later
said Christie was quote one of the very few murderers I have really disliked on site while a clinical psychiatrist
described him as insignificant and unattractive full of sniveling hypocrisy Christie was unanimously declared sane
with an above average intelligence and acute anxiety centering on sexual fears despite frequenting them himself
Christie told one psychiatrist that he was horrified by pubs and was equally adverse to masturbation
when a psychiatrist's replied that he saw no problem with either Christy said that was very regrettable he used the
same phrase when talking about the murders often referring to them as these regrettable happenings when faced with
the results from Kathleen Reader and Hector arenas autopsies all of which contradicted his assertions that the
murders were carried out in self-defense and in the case of Ethel mercifully Christy changed his story he admitted
that he had gassed some of his victims using a device made from a square glass jar that had a metal screw top lid with
two holes in it one of which held a rubber tube inside was a concoction made from friars balsam
a pungent solution often inhaled as a remedy for asthma colds and bronchitis several of his victims were made to
inhale the mixture through the rubber tube and as they did so Christy then inserted a second tube into the jar
which was connected to a gas point he then removed a bulldog clip he had fastened to the tube to allow gas to
flow into the jar in other instances he leaked the gas from the tube directly into the room at the time london homes
were fitted with coal gas which contained 15 percent carbon monoxide this caused the victim to quickly lose
consciousness at which point Christy would strangle them to death using an 18 inch rope in his writings Christy
painted himself as a merciful considerate killer stating in all of the cases my intention was to
avoid hurting them at all they were rendered semi-conscious first and that in each case would eliminate the
possibility of hurting them in contrast he allegedly boasted about his crimes to
fellow inmates and told them that his goal was to kill 12 women he claimed that women had always pursued him
because they were attracted to his gentlemanly upbringing and to remarked quote you can't help feeling that women
who give you the come on wouldn't be so smug if helpless or dead as to whether he had more victims Christie wrote to
the press I have tried to think hard about whether there were other bodies but seem to think it is possible those
pubic hairs in the tin have lead me to think that but I have no clear recollection in mid-april Christie was
officially charged with the murders of Kathleen Maloney reader Nelson and tact arena and McLennan psychiatrist dr. Jack
Hobson noted that Christie appeared to enjoy attention and often tried to prolong their conversations by making a
provocative remark towards the end of a session on Thursday April 23 as their meeting drew to an end
Christie raised the topic of the murder of Beryl Evans stating there is something about mrs. Evans which I can't
quite remember [Music] one of the most interesting things about true crime is that the more you dig into
a story the more layers you uncover that's part of the appeal of the new puzzle game best fiends to reaching each
new level feels like uncovering a new layer in a story one you get to take part in and the best part is the longer
you play best fiends the more exciting it gets plus it doesn't require the Internet to play and is easy to pick up
whenever you have spare time Case Files producer Mike plays best fiends when he's taking a quick break from
production or when an episode is rendering he loves how the puzzles become increasingly interesting and
challenging with bonuses to discover along the way best fiends has thousands of levels already with new levels events
and characters added every month at hours of fun right at your fingertips and you can play it offline with over
100 million downloads and tons of five-star reviews best fiends is a must-play download best fiends free on
the Apple App Store or Google Play that's friends without the are best fiends witness the terror behind the
kidnapping of Patty Hearst follow the infamous search for Son of Sam experience the capture of the 2002 DC
sniper and much more on the Lost Tapes The Lost Tapes is a riveting non-fiction program that can be streamed on
Smithsonian Channel plus a new service that features original series and documentaries about crime and mysteries
science history pop culture and more The Lost Tapes takes an unprecedented approach to storytelling by presenting
the events of yesterday in real time before your eyes with the help of rare radio broadcasts classified the
government documents archival imagery on the ground in news reports shocking events from the 20th century feel
immediate again Jess one of Case Files researchers found - the episode about Son of Sam particularly fascinating as
it really captured the fear that permeated New York City at the time watch this commercial free series on
Smithsonian Channel plus where all the programming is fact checked for accuracy by the experts at the Smithsonian
Institution Stream de Lost Tapes on Smithsonian Channel plus today visit get SC plus.com slash case file and get 50%
off your first three months of Smithsonian Channel plus that's get SC plus.com slash case file to get 50% off your
first three months check out Smithsonian Channel plus today hiring used to be hard with multiple job sites stacks of
resumes and a confusing review process but today hiring can be easy and you only have to go to one place to get it
done zip recruiter comm slash case file zip recruiter sends your job to over 100
of the web's leading job sites but they don't stop there with their powerful matching technology zip recruiter scans
thousands of resumes to find people with the right experience and invites them to
apply to your job you can even add screening questions to your job listing so you can filter candidates and focus
on the best ones zip recruiter is so effective that four out of five employers who post there get a quality
candidate within the first day and right now to try zip recruiter for free case file listeners can go to zip recruiter
com slash case file that's zip recruiter dot-com / CA se fil a zip recruiter com
slash case file zip recruiter the smartest way to hire article is the easiest way to make your
space look beautiful this direct-to-consumer furniture company combines the range of a boutique
furniture store with the comfort and simplicity of shopping online articles team of designers focuses on beautifully
crafted pieces quality materials and durable construction debt dedicated to a modern aesthetic of mid-century
Scandinavian industrial and bohemian designs with article you save up to 30% over traditional retail prices
that's because article keeps their prices low by cutting out the middleman and selling directly to you know
showrooms no salespeople no retail markups case files composer Andrew used article to buy some furnishings for his
guest room after browsing the easy-to-navigate website he decided on some rugs and a throw the pieces that
arrived were high quality and a perfect complement to his house his dog even loved sleeping on the new wool rug
article is offering listeners of case ball $50 off their first purchase of $100 or more to claim visit article comm
slash case file and the discount will automatically be applied at checkout that's article comm / case file to get
$50 off your first purchase of $100 or more four days after he brought up Beryl Evans to dr. Hobson John Christie once
again spoke of his former neighbor this time he elaborated on her death claiming
that he had found a barrel in her home attempting to gas herself and she offered to have sex with him if he would
assist her suicide after the gas had rendered her unconscious Christie said he then raped and strangled her dr.
Hobson was concerned that Christie was attempting to claim responsibility for a higher number of murders as part of a
defense strategy to be declared legally insane yet he ultimately believed his story about Beryl quote Christie was a
pathological liar and had unparalleled facility for self-deception it was always difficult to sort out fact from
fantasy in the history he gave I do feel however that in his account to me he was
telling the truth to the best of his ability and that the whole interview was one of the most reliable I had with him
he told me the story spontaneously with very little prompting factually coolly and without histrionics
on Monday May 18 after obtaining permission to do so the police exhumed the bodies of Beryl and Geraldine Evans
from their shared grave in London's Gunners free cemetery a trio of pathologists from Britain's
Home Office then reexamined the bodies including dr. Donald tear who had performed the pair's initial post
mortems they inspected the bodies for any areas that were pink in tone as this would suggest carbon monoxide poisoning
barrels thighs and two teeth displayed some patches of pink but dissipated when her corpse was exposed to wear this
indicated the discoloration wasn't caused by carbon monoxide but by a natural decomposition phenomenon known
as post-mortem pink the pathologists determined that Beryl hadn't been gassed as Christy asserted with the one
concluding I am obliged to say that exome ation proved unrewarding on Friday June 5 investigators were summoned to
Brixton prison to meet with the John Christie who offered an explanation regarding the two skeletons buried in
his backyard six years before he claimed to have killed Beryl Evans during his time working as a war reserve constable
Christie met 21-year old Ruth first a Jewish student nurse from the Austrian capital of Vienna in 1939 Ruth's parents
and brother had fled to New York to escape the Nazis a Ruth had been reluctant to leave her homeland she
decided to join her family at the last minute but had left it too late to obtain a United States visa instead she
relocated to London and kept in contact with her family via mail in early 1940 Ruth spent six months in an internment
camp for Refugees before returning to London she gained employment in a munitions factory but her wages were low
and it's believed that she took up sex work to supplement her income by September 1943 Ruth had been reported
missing by her landlord and an organization she was involved in that assisted Jewish refugees the last
her family had heard from her was three months prior on may 25 as Ruth was a foreigner with no close friends or
family nearby her disappearance garnered a little attention Kristy claimed that Ruth had fallen madly in love with him
although investigators believed there was more likely that he had paid her for sex he alleged that on Tuesday August 24
1943 while Ethel was away visiting family Ruth visited his flat to proposition him they had sex during
which Kristy strangled Ruth with a rope shortly after he received the telegram informing him that Ethel was coming home
earlier than expected so he quickly stashed Ruth's body and clothing underneath the living room floorboards
Ethel returned and when she went to work the next morning Kristy carried Ruth's body to the outdoor wash house and then
dug a hole in the yard that night he snuck outside and buried Ruth's body and belongings
months later he was working in the garden when he accidentally dug up Ruth's skull so he placed it into a
metal bin and reburied it while working at the transistor radio Factory in the early 1940s Christie struck up a
friendship with fellow employee 32 year old Muriel lady who was living with her art in the South West London district of
Putney Christie confessed that shortly after meeting Muriel he had started carefully plotting her murder he and
Ethel hosted Muriel and her boyfriend at their flat on multiple occasions and after discovering that Muriel suffered
from chronic bronchitis Christie invited her to come over to make use of a device
he claimed could cure her affliction on the afternoon of Saturday October 7 1944
while Ethel was once again away visiting family Muriel visited 10 Rillington place to
accept Christie's offer Christie made Muriel a cup of tea intended her his homemade jar device that was covertly
connected to his property's internal gas line she quickly lost consciousness and
Christie carried her into his bedroom where he raped and strangled her he stored her body in the wash house before
burying it in the backyard under the cover of darkness when Muriel failed to return home that night her loved ones
contacted the police there were many disappearances around at that time due to the war and because
there was no evidence of foul play local law enforcement didn't seem overly concerned
while working in the garden several years later Christie said he inadvertently uncovered murals femur
bone and used it to hold up a trellis this confirmed that the femur had been visible at the time the murders of Beryl
and Geraldine Evans were being investigated that had gone unnoticed Christie also claimed that his dog once
dug up a Muriel skull so he had smuggled it under his coat and disposed of it through the window of a nearby abandoned
house that had been bombed too during the war children playing in the area later found the skull and handed it in
to the police but they never ascertained its identity three days after Christie provided these
statements he addressed the murder of Beryl Evans he claimed that Beryl had confided that her husband Timothy was
beating her and she intended to take her own life one morning in early November 1949 Christie went upstairs to the
Evanses flat and found Beryl lying on a quilt in front of the kitchen fireplace using a rubber tube attached to a tap
she was attempting to gas herself Christie revived the barrel and promised not to tell anyone what had happened
two days later Christy went to check on Beryl she said she was determined to end
her life and offered to sleep with him in exchange for his help in doing so they attempted to have sex but Christy
was suffering from back pain and inflammation of the small intestine and was unable to continue instead he turned
to the gas tap on and waited until Beryl was almost unconscious before strangling
her with the stocking Christy's confession contradicted Barrels autopsy which showed she had sustained a number
of violent injuries including bruises to her face when Timothy Evans returned home the evening of Barrels death
Thunder learned of her fate Christie warned that as her husband he would be a probable suspect panicked
Timothy concurred and said that he would dispose of Barrels body using his work van Christie told investigators that he
was under the impression Timothy had followed through with this plan and also said that he had no idea what had
happened to baby Geraldine despite these confessions no charges were placed against Christie for the
murders of Ruth first Muriel lady or Beryl Evans British law at the time meant that although Christie
had been charged with four murders those of Ethel Christie packed arena McLennan
Kathleen Maloney and reader Nelson he could only be prosecuted for one the Crown settled on trialing him Bertha's
murder as they believe purse was the strongest case against him although Christie had already confessed
to the crime he pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity his trial commenced at London's Old
Bailey Court on Monday June 22 1953 it was the same venue where Timothy Evans had faced the trial in 1950
unlike Timothy's case Christie's generated a huge amount of media attention thirty-eight newspapers
including eleven international publications sent journalists to cover the trial members of the public as well
as some celebrities took up seats in the courtrooms public gallery to observe proceedings in his opening address the
Director of Public Prosecutions Sir Lionel hilde acknowledged that while almost everyone in the court would have
read something in the papers about the discoveries at 10 Rillington place he urged the jury to forget these details
presenting his case that John Christie had murdered Ethel on or around Sunday December 14 1952 Heald provided a brief
rundown of the circumstances surrounding Ethel's death he established the findings from her autopsy her last-known
movements and Christie's inconsistent stories to family and neighbours explaining her whereabouts healed then
reminded the jury that the prosecution was only required to prove Christie's in town
not his motive the number of witnesses were called to testify among them was the laundromat employee who had last
seen Ethel when she dropped off some washing on December 12 1952 members of Ethel's family told the court of
receiving her annual Christmas card which had been panned by her husband that year the same furniture dealer who
had bought Timothy Evans furniture in 1949 also testified that he had bought some furniture from Christy in early
January of 1953 Heald addressed the murders of Beryl and Geraldine Evans but downplayed the possibility that Christy
was responsible for these deaths Timothy Evans had claimed that Beryl died after
Christy performed a botched abortion on her but there were no injuries present to support this theory nor had Christy
confessed to this detail however so Heald did highlight the fact that while Timothy was on trial Christy had already
claimed the lives of Ruth first and Muriel lady on the stand he asked the police witness when the trial of Timothy
Evans was going on in this very court there were lying in all probability in the Garden of 10 Rillington place two
skeletons the officer replied probably John Christie's defense lawyer darica Curtis Bennett argued that Christie's
behavior indicated he wasn't sane at the time of the murders this was supposedly
evident by Christie's decision to allow our new tenants to move into his flat despite knowing there were four bodies
hidden inside according to Curtis Bennett this showed he wasn't aware that his actions were
wrong the defense also embraced the theory that Christie was responsible for killing Beryl and Geraldine Evans as
they believed a higher victim count would support their assertion that Christie was insane
Curtis Bennett pointed out that it would be an unlikely coincidence to have quote
to Stranglers in this tiny house where there is not enough room to swing a cat in the kitchen Christie was called as a
witness for the defense and on the stand his attorney asked him to describe each
of the murders he had committed over the past decade in chronological order Christie provided a vague recollection
and claimed several times that he couldn't recall certain details when asked why he had tried to conceal
Ethel's murder Christie replied that he had been in denial about her death as for the murders of Hector inna Raider
and Kathleen Christie maintained that he couldn't recall many details about the crimes but didn't think he was doing
anything wrong at the time once again Christie claim to responsibility for the murder of Beryl
Evans repeating the confession he had given the police to wait earlier though he denied having anything to do with the
death of baby Geraldine Christie claimed that at one stage he had forgotten about
the Evanses case altogether this prompted the judge to interject by asking quote you say that you killed
mrs. Evans you had discussed with her husband about disposing of her body and the danger he stood in he was charged
with her murder and the murder of the little child you gave evidence in a murder trial in this court do you mean
that you had forgotten all that Christie required yes sir it had gone clean out of my mind
prosecutor heeled pointed out that at Timothy Evans trial Christie had denied killing Beryl as he was now admitting to
the crime he would ask how do you expect the jury to believe you - which Christie remained silent the
defense called upon psychiatrist - dr. Jack Hobson who had interviewed Christie on multiple occasions during his time on
remand it was his opinion that Christie was suffering from a severe case of hysteria which in the 1950s was believed
to be a mental disorder that caused anxiety nervousness and hallucinations dr. Hobson supported the defense's
argument that Christie hadn't known he was doing anything wrong and believed he may have forgotten many of his actions
as a result of his disorder he also acknowledged that Christie was a frequent liar who took more offense from
accusations that he frequented pubs than the suggestion he was a murderer in response to dr. Hobson's assertions the
prosecution called to psychiatrists to the stand who had also interviewed Christie one argued
that he so-called lapses in memory were more likely an attempt to minimize his criminal actions while the other
believed Christie wasn't mentally ill but that quote his present reaction abnormal as it may seem is usual in the
case of a murderer the absence of shame and remorse at the crime this psychiatrist theorized that
Christie's crimes stemmed from the shame of being impotent which led him to prefer raping unconscious victims the
trial ran for three days and on Thursday June 25 1953 both sides presented their
closing arguments the defense emphasized that the killings were clearly committed
by an insane man or the prosecution pointed out that sexual perversion is not necessarily insanity at the time the
mandatory sentence for murder was the death penalty the jury deliberated for 80 minutes before returning to declare
John Christie guilty of the murder of his wife Ethel when asked the whether he had anything to say before the required
judgment of death was passed Christie silently shook his head he was then transferred to Pentonville prison the
same facility where Timothy Evans had been incarcerated following his own murder conviction upon his arrival some
of the other prisoners booed and yelled out foul names prompting Christie to remark to his escorting officers quote
how disgusting some people are he was assigned to Timothy Evans former cell to await his death sentence Chris these
confessions relating to Beryl Evans during his trial provoked renewed questions about whether Timothy Evans
could have been innocent of her murder on July 2 one week after Christie's conviction he received a letter from
Timothy's mother Thomasina Probert urging him to tell the complete truth Tommasino wrote it may
save your soul from hell and it will give me the peace of mind I have not had for three years past Christie whose
execution was scheduled to take place in 13 days refused to provide any further information
nevertheless the possibility that a miscarriage of justice had occurred gained momentum newspaper editors
members of parliament and a penal reform organization called for an inquiry into
the murders of Beryl and Geraldine Evans on Monday July 6 it was announced that a
private inquiry would be conducted by judicial officer John Scott Henderson the findings would be made public on
Monday July 13 two days before Christie's execution this gave Scott Henderson just one week to read and
analyze all of the evidence from both criminal cases he interviewed 23 relevant individuals over two days
including John Christie himself when asked whether he was responsible for the double homicide Christie replied well I
cannot say whether I was or not an anglican chaplain told Scott Henderson that Christie had told him that he had
nothing to do with the two deaths but had confessed as he thought it was necessary to implicate himself in more
murders because quote the more the merrier a lawyer retained by Thomasina prober
submitted various questions to be posed to Christie during the inquiry she sought clarification about the abortion
story the tire used to strangle Geraldine and adjourned Vincent's admission that she felt someone press
against the door to prevent her from entering the Evanses flat on the day of barrels murder Scott Henderson deemed
today's queries irrelevant and dismissed them on Monday July 13 the inquiries findings were delivered with Scott
Henderson concluding that John Christie was lying when he confessed the Beryl's murder in a bid to support his insanity
plea Scott Henderson felt that Timothy Evans had given details in his fourth and
final confession that only the killer could have known and to therefore concluded that Timothy was responsible
for the murders of Beryl and Geraldine he referred to the newspaper clipping found in Timothy's flat that detailed an
infamous murder in which the victim had been wrapped in a bundle finding it significant that beryls body was bound
in a similar manner rather than settle the matter of who was responsible Scott Henderson's inquiry prompted even
more public debate critics argued that the inquiry primarily focused on details that indicated Timothy Evans guilt while
ignoring potentially exonerating information for example Timothy was barely literate making it unlikely that
he ever read the incriminating newspaper article found in his flat additionally Timothy had been fed information prior
to his confessions including how and where the bodies of his wife and daughter were found Scott Henderson also
failed to investigate the pathologist report that stated Barrels killer might have raped her following her death
meanwhile preparation for John Christie's execution went ahead as planned he's final visitor an acquaintance he
had fought alongside during world war one asked Christie whether he had killed Geraldine Evans Christie replied I don't
know I can't remember before looking slyly and blinking deliberately his visitor interpreted this as a confession
on the morning of Wednesday July 15 1953 the same executioner who had hanged Timothy Evans fetched Christie from his
cell and restrained his arms when Christie complained that his nose itched the executioner replied it won't bother
you for long he was hanged at 9:00 a.m. becoming the last serial killer to be executed in England six minutes later a
notice of Christie's death was posted on the prison gates with several hundred people gathering to laugh and jeer at
the announcement an increasing number of high-profile individuals continued to campaign on behalf of the late Timothy
Evans ending October 1953 John Scott Henderson's inquiry was openly critiqued in Parliament two years
later in 1955 for editors from several prominent English newspapers formed the delegation to petition the Home
Secretary for a new inquiry that same year barrister Michael letõs released a book titled the men on your conscience
in which he asserted that Timothy had been wrongfully executed the Commissioner of London's
Metropolitan Police shared his belief that the inquiry had proved Timothy's guilt and stated it is still safe to say
that the risk of an innocent man being executed is so remote that it can be disregarded in 1961 another book
supporting Timothy's innocence was published by Scottish journalist and author Ludovic Kennedy titled 10
Rillington place it dissected Scott Henderson's inquiry to reveal its errors and falsehoods and declared that
Timothy's second confession in which he claimed John Christie offered to perform
an abortion 4-barrel as the truth investigators had dismissed this story because barrels body showed no signs of
having undergone such a procedure the Kennedy theorized Christie offered the abortion as a ruse to be alone with
Beryl so that he could rape her to explain her facial injuries Kennedy speculated that Christie had attacked a
barrel after she fought off his attempts to gas her before proceeding to sexually
assault and strangle her following this Christie likely told Timothy that Beryl died during the
abortion and then forced the Timothy to help hide her remains by convincing him that as her husband he would be the one
held responsible Kennedy believed Timothy was unaware of Geraldine's fate and fully accepted Christie story that
he had placed her into someone else's care after learning of Geraldine's death Timothy had likely deduced she had been
strangled because he saw the knot attire lying on top of her clothes Kennedy also
speculated that Christie went to great lengths to pin the murder on his neighbor including planting the
suspicious newspaper clippings in Timothy's apartment and compelling Ethel to support his lies to authorities
Kennedy described Timothy Evans as a simple man of low intelligence who was easily manipulated Timothy had an IQ of
70 whereas Christie was of above-average intelligence with an IQ of 128 Kennedy also pointed out that Timothy's dictated
confessions contained words such as whilst and incurring which were unlikely to have been used by someone of his
limited education to Kennedy it appeared the police had a guided Timothy during his lengthy late-night interrogations
this was further supported by the amount of time that took Timothy to provide each statement his second statement
which implicated John Christie was just shy of 1,800 words and took him 2 hours and 40 minutes to articulate
in contrast his final confession in which he claimed to have strangled a barrel in a fit of rage need two
thousand words and only took him one hour and 15 minutes to detail the time discrepancy suggested that he might have
been prompted along by interviewing officers to hasten the process of incriminating himself
10 Rillington place became one of the most influential texts relating to the case and Kennedy was considered
something of a spokesperson for Timothy's innocence campaign four years after the book's publication in 1965
Kennedy teamed up with fellow campaigner and newspaper editor Harold Evans to form the Timothy Evans committee within
four months the committee received 109 signatures from members of parliament in support of a new inquiry into the deaths
of Beryl and Geraldine when the Home Secretary announced that a second inquiry would be going ahead many
welcome to the news one reporter stated the ghost of Timothy Evans has haunted the people of Britain
however the police who handled with the original investigation were displaced as
was barrels brother basil Timothy had apologized to basil during his trial which basil took as a sign of his guilt
the second inquiry took place towards the end of 1965 and was helmed by High Court judge sir Daniel Braben his
findings were released in October the following year and concluded that Timothy Evans had too likely killed
barrel after an argument about money he then either sought John Christie's assistance in moving her body or
Christie had overheard the killing and agreed to help out of fear the police would come to the property and discover
the remains of Ruth's first than to Muriel lady buried in the garden Bravin believed that the two men had initially
planned to use Timothy's work van to dispose of barrels body elsewhere but this was foiled when Timothy lost his
job Braben stated I find the evidence in respect to the death of Geraldine more perplexing I do not believe that he who
killed Beryl Evans must have necessarily killed a Geraldine they were separate killings done I think for different
reasons I think it was more probable than not that John Christie did it it was a killing in cold blood that
Christie would be more likely to do Braeburn admitted that it was difficult to know the truth as both that the
convicted men were liars the findings were once again met with skepticism although they enabled Timothy
to be posthumously pardoned as he had only ever been convicted of Geraldine's murder on Tuesday October 18 1966
sixteen years after his execution queen elizabeth ii signed a free pardon for Timothy Evans officially clearing him of
his daughter's murder the Evans case was often used as an example of why the death penalty should be abolished and it
galvanized the number of British politicians to propose a bill titled the abolition of death penalty
instead of execution the act called for individuals convicted of murder to be given a mandatory life sentence it was
passed on November 8 1965 and made permanent in 1969 after Timothy was pardoned his family requested that his
body be exhumed from the unmarked grave at Pentonville prison for reburial in Greenford de park cemetery west of
London permission was granted into the rain tournament was scheduled to take place at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday November
10 1966 followed by a private memorial service news of the ceremony was leaked to the press prompting a slew of
journalists photographers and television crews together at Greenford Park Cemetery a decoy van was dispatched from
Pentonville prison to distract them while Timothy's family into lawyers made alternative plans they covertly traveled
to st. Patrick's Roman Catholic Cemetery in East London where the actual service
and the burial took place when the press realized that they had been tricked they
harassed Timothy's mother by calling her into the early hours of the morning over the
years it became widely accepted that John Christie was responsible for the murders of Beryl and Geraldine Evans yet
some still theorized that two killers were coincidentally living under the same roof several authors have pent
books arguing that Timothy Evans was telling the truth when he admitted to killing his wife and daughter as evident
in his confessions behaviour following the murders reputation of lying and history of domestic violence
those convinced of Timothy's guilt also know that John Christie preferred victims whose disappearances wouldn't be
immediately noticed who are actively investigated as opposed to someone with a close support network like Beryl
furthermore Barrels facial injuries were inconsistent with Christie's other known
attacks and she didn't present the same signs of gas poisoning has several of his other victims there were also
several floors increased these confessions that didn't align with the known facts of the Evans case advocates
for Timothy's guilt have also drawn attention to reports that he associated with Donald Hume while in prison the
young man arrested for the murder featured in the newspaper clippings recovered from the Evanses flat Hume
claimed that Timothy requested his assistance in sorting out a defense story and Hume had encouraged him to
quote blame everyone but yourself Hume also alleged that Timothy insisted John Christie had murdered Beryl but admitted
to killing Geraldine because she wouldn't stop crying however when Timothy described his
prison experience prior to his execution he commented there are 18 of us here but
you have to watch donald hume in january 2003 more than five decades after Timothy's death an independent Assessor
for Britain's Home Office Lord Daniel Brennan revisited the infamous case he decreed that given John Christie had
confessed to killing Beryl Evans the findings from the second inquiry concluding Timothy was the killer should
be rejected Brennan believed there was no evidence implicating Timothy in the double
homicide and declared the conviction and execution of Timothy Evans for the murder of his child was wrongful and a
miscarriage of justice the Home Office subsequently compensated each of Timothy sisters with an undisclosed six-figure
sum the payments were intended to acknowledge the deep and profound impact their brother's imprisonment and
execution had on their lives but they felt more could be done to clear Timothy's name
despite his posthumous free pardon his conviction for Geraldine's murder had never been formally expunged so on
August 26 2003 Timothy's sister Eileen submitted an application to refer the conviction to the court of appeal her
application was rejected with the court ruling that the pardon was sufficient recognition of Timothy's innocence the
following year Timothy's half-sister mary sought a review of the decision the judges
accepted that Timothy hadn't murdered barrel or Geraldine but felt the cost and resources required to quash his
conviction couldn't be justified and her request was dismissed on March 9 2010 to
mark the 60th anniversary of Timothy's execution the BBC published an interview with Mary in which she shared the
devastating impact that the murders and execution had on their family she didn't
recognize the simple-minded individual depicted by the media instead describing Timothy as a fun-loving scam and a
sensitive young man Mary said her brother was so worried about the feelings of others that he occasionally
concealed the seriousness of his chronic foot injury from his mother to avoid upsetting her
she also claimed that the family had tried to warn investigators about Timothy's tendency to make up stories
but quote the police chose to take him at his word mary believed Timothy had been in shock upon learning of barrel
and Geraldine's death and made up a story in an attempt to make sense of it Mary stated we never once doubted Tim's
innocence the whole investigation was rotten through they made Timmy out to be a simpleton a drunk and a wife beater
three of John Christie's victims Kathleen Maloney reader Nelson and Tector Reena MacLennan had buried in
unmarked graves at Gunnar's Bree cemetery in Kensington the same resting place as Beryl and Geraldine Evans Ethel
Christie was cremated and her ashes were given to her brother what became if the
remains of Ruth's first and de Muriel Leedy isn't publicly known over the years the Evans and Christie cases have
been explored through various novels songs movie adaptations and television programs in 1971 a film titled 10
Rillington place was released starring Richard Attenborough as John Christie the story was also told in a 2016 BBC
miniseries titled Rillington place the address continued to attract onlookers curious to see the infamous murder house
for themselves much to the dismay of a local residence in an effort to dissuade spectators the street was renamed trust
and closed changing the street name did a little to deter tourists and in 1978 the block was completely demolished
today the land is home to rows of neat brick housing and a small tidy Park dotted with trees and flowering shrubs
[Music] you [Music]

Case 139: Beryl & Geraldine Evans (Part 2)

[Part 2 of 2] On Tuesday, March 24 1953, the Christies were no longer living at 10 Rillington Place. That afternoon, Beresford Brown, the tenant who now occupied the top-floor flat, was making some repairs to the Christies’ old kitchen after the property owner had given him permission to make use of it...

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research and writing – Erin Munro Creative direction – Milly Raso Production, scoring – Mike Migas and Andrew Joslyn

SOCIAL LINKS

Website https://www.casefilepodcast.com Facebook https://www.facebook.com/casefile Twitter https://twitter.com/case_file Instagram https://www.instagram.com/casefilepodcast Patreon https://www.patreon.com/casefile Casefile Presents https://casefilepresents.com

RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-139-beryl-geraldine-evans-part-2

Brief Summary

John Christie murdered multiple women at 10 Rillington Place, leading to a wrongful execution of Timothy Evans and a significant miscarriage of justice.

Key points

Discovery of the Bodies. Police uncover a hidden alcove containing multiple female corpses in a derelict flat.
Timothy Evans' Execution. Timothy Evans was executed for the murder of his wife and daughter, despite claiming innocence.
John Christie's Deception. Neighbors reported not seeing Ethel Christie for months, raising suspicions about her fate.
Discovery of Human Remains. Investigators found human skeletal remains buried in Christie's garden, raising alarming questions.
Christie's Capture. John Christie was arrested after being recognized by a police constable, leading to his confession.
Public Interest in the Case. The public's fascination with Christie's case grew, leading to a media frenzy and speculation.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I've seen some shocking sights, but never once so unnerving.

An officer's reaction to the discovery of the bodies.

3:39WatchMar 21, 2020

Tension

85/ 100High tension

More from Casefile

Solve the Crime

Read a real case one clue at a time, then see how your call held up against the investigators.