Styllou Christofi’s case was hardly covered by the media, yet Ruth Ellis was portrayed by some papers as the dashing blonde dumped by her lover. Yet both ladies were executed at Holloway Prison within 7 months of each other. THE CASE OF SACH and WALTERS THE CASE OF EDITH THOMPSON THE CASE OF LOUISA MERRIFIELD… Continue reading Styllou Christofi
Category: Crime
Ruth Ellis
Ruth Ellis was the last lady executed in the UK. Her trial at The Old Bailey and execution at London’s Holloway Prison aroused great public interest and coverage by the newspapers of the day. This contrasted with the lack of sensationalist media interest in the executions of the two ladies before Ruth Ellis: Louisa Merrifield… Continue reading Ruth Ellis
Louisa Merrifield
Louisa Merrifield, born 3 December 1916, became the third-to-last woman to be executed in the UK. The cases of Louisa Merrifield, Styllou Chrstofi and Ruth Ellis are noted for the differing styles of newspaper coverage. THE CASE OF STYLLOU CHRISTOFI THE CASE OF RUTH ELLIS Louisa Merrifield was born Louisa Highway on 3 December 1906… Continue reading Louisa Merrifield
Hulten & Jones
This case gained the nickname ‘The Cleft Chin’ murder, as the murder victim had a cleft chin. Also one of the suspects was an American serviceman and so could have been courts-martialled by the Americans. Instead they waived their rights under the Visiting Forces Act, and he was tried with his accomplice in a British… Continue reading Hulten & Jones
Gunter Podola
Guenther Fritz Erwin was the last person executed in this country for the murder of a policeman. Such a crime was a capital offence under The Homicide Act 1957. During the period 1900 and 1975, 33 men serving with London’s Metropolitan Police were murdered on duty. Podola was born on 8 February 1929 in the… Continue reading Gunter Podola
Gordon Cummins
In February 1942, around the time that the fortress of Singapore fell to Japanese forces, London’s police force was investigating four brutal murders that occurred within a four day period. All four victims were ladies. On 9 February 1942, Mrs. Evelyn Margaret Hamilton, age 35, was found dead in a London air raid shelter. On… Continue reading Gordon Cummins
Forsyth and Harris
Alan Edward John Jee was a 23 year old trainee engineer who lived in Isleworth, Middlesex. He had recently become engaged to 18 year old Jackie Herbert. After presenting Jackie Herbert with a diamond engagement ring, Alan Jee together with Jackie Herbert and her parents went to a pub for some quiet drinks. Alan Jee… Continue reading Forsyth and Harris
Frederick Holt
Lieutenant Frederick Rothwell Holt served with the 4th Loyal North Lancashire Regiment during World War One. While serving in France, he was invalided out of the army with shell-shock and was suffering from depression. He returned to Lancashire together with an inherited annual income of £500, settling down with Kitty Breaks, who was six years… Continue reading Frederick Holt
Ernest Kemp
Ernest James Harman Kemp was executed on 6 June 1944 for the murder of Iris Miriam Deeley. Due to the Army not discharging Kemp before his execution, he is commemorated on the Brookwood Memorial. The Brookwood Memorial commemorates service personnel who died in World War Two, who have no known grave and have not been… Continue reading Ernest Kemp
Edwin Bush
The case of Edwin Bush is notable as it was the first case in the UK involving the use of the Identikit System. This case illustrates an aspect of the Homicide Act 1957. If no item had been stolen from the premises, then the murderer could not have been sentenced to death under the Act.… Continue reading Edwin Bush