The Acid Bath Murders
The Acid Bath Murders aka John Haigh: cold-blooded killer 19 August, 2025 When Olive Durand Deacon went uncharacteristically missing in 1949 from the Onlsow Court Hotel in west London, focus quickly turned towards John George Haigh, a man who had been seen to recently ingratiate himself with the widow. Date of crime: Between 1944 and 1949 Almost boasting, Haigh told police that he had murdered the missing woman, but her body would never been found since he had dissolved it in sulphuric acid. A search of his factory premises unearthed several clues that suggested his claim was true, but there was no sign of a body. Amazingly, Haigh went on to say that his experiments with sulphuric acid had been going on for several years and he had systematically murdered five other people in the space of 5 years. “How can you prove murder if there is no body?” He had dissolved each of their bodies in 45-gallon drums containing the corrosive acid. Enquiries confirmed that each of the victims had not been seen for several years and Haigh’s claims were proving to be correct. He had murdered two families: William and Amy McSwann and their son William and three years later, Archie and Rose Henderson. His motive for murder was pure greed. After each of the cold-blooded killings, he forged documents and deceived solicitors and families into believing he was entitled to their assets and spent the proceeds on hotel bills, fine wine and gambling. When the money ran out, he simply looked for another wealthy victim. Haigh pleaded not guilty to murder on the grounds that he was insane and even volunteered that he had drunk the blood of each of his victims. Shortly before his trial he admitted to other killings though there was no evidence to support his claims. The jury did not believe him to have been insane and Haigh was hanged in 1949. Since leaving school, he had spent most of his time deceiving people, going to prison and spending other people’s money. The victims… Olivia Durand Deacon, William McSwann, William Donald McSwann, Amy McSwann and Archie and Rose Henderson How did Haigh get access to sulphuric acid? He had fraudulently set up a business as an engineering company which purportedly needed sulphuric acid. He had no problem in ordering as much he needed Where was Haigh’s factory where he murdered Olive Durand Deacon? Leopold Road, Crawley. The building no longer exists. Why did people not report the victims as missing? Haigh managed to convince friends and family that each of the victims had genuine reasons to be away. Some did raise concerns and one relative threatened to go to the police, but none was ever reported as officially missing. Were any body parts found at all? Yes, some remnants of human bone were found, some teeth and some gall stones. How did Haigh murder his victims? We only have his own version of this. The McSwanns were hit about the head and the Hendersons and Durand Deacon were shot with a .38 calibre Enfield revolver Interested in a talk on this topic? Enquire Now Recent Stories Britain’s first railway murder Read More The Kray Twins Read More The Murder of Sidney Spicer Read More The Rillington Place Murders Read More Load More Topics Crime & Punishment: Death Penalty (4) Crimes Abroad or Colonial Connections (3) Historical Crimes (Pre-1950) (10) Infamous British Murders (6) Miscarriages of Justice & Legal Controversies (3) Psychological & Social Themes (4) Unsolved or Contested Cases (5) Further reading… The Acid Bath Murders Gordon Lowe(2015) Buy the book:Amazon John George Haigh: The Acid-Bath Murderer Jonathan Oates(2014) Buy the book:Amazon Murder with a Difference Mary Lefebure(1958) Buy the book:Amazon Presentations The Acid Bath Murders case is available as a presentation. Whether delivered on world-wide cruise ships or in a local village hall, it’s absorbing, informative, and entertaining. Contact Paul Stickler for more information… Enquire Now
The Murder of Sidney Spicer
The Murder of Sidney Spicer aka the Percy Toplis affair 19 August, 2025 Around 9pm on Saturday 24 April 1920, Salisbury taxi driver Sidney Spicer collected a fare of five people from the centre of the city and was asked to take them to nearby Bulford. Date of crime: 24 April 1920 Fearing he was running low on fuel in his Darracq motor car, he stopped at Amesbury to check his tank level. While attending to his car, a man dressed in a RAF Sgt Major uniform, emerged from a hedgerow and asked to be given a lift to Andover. Spicer told the man that he would return for him once he had delivered his passengers to Bulford. Spicer dropped his fare outside the Rose and Crown at Bulford, secured some fuel from a nearby garage and headed off back to Amesbury to collect his new fare. “Toplis dropped dead, almost into the arms of the Inspector. One of the three shots had killed him” The next morning Spicer’s body was found in a hedgerow on a road midway between Amesbury and Andover. He had been shot through the back of his head and it was apparent his valuables had been stolen. There was no sign of his car. A police investigation quickly identified a soldier by the name of Harry Fallows who told them that a fellow soldier called Percy Toplis had taken him for a drive in a Darracq car. They had driven through the night to Swansea where Toplis tried to sell the car. He was now a wanted man and a nationwide hunt began. There were numerous sightings but he was eventually cornered by a beat bobby in the village of Plumpton, Cumberland. Toplis produced a gun and threatened to shoot. He escaped but an armed police team was despatched to track down the fugitive. On 6 June 1920, Toplis and armed police came face to face. Shots were fired and Toplis fell dead in the middle of the road. An inquest confirmed that Toplis had been shot dead by police in the execution of their duty, but he never stood trial for the original shooting of Sidney Spicer six weeks earlier. The victim… Sidney George Spicer Little is known about Sidney George Spicer. He was a 24-year-old farmer from London Road, Salisbury but made extra cash working as a taxi driver. He had a deformed hand because of a farming accident and had been unable to participate in the first world war. He was murdered on 24 April 1920 and his body is buried in London Road cemetery, Salisbury. Was Toplis the supposed monocled mutineer in book and film? Most unlikely. There is no evidence that Toplis was involved in any mutiny during the first world war. He was a regular AWOL soldier and had many criminal convictions but his involvement in the Étaples mutiny is unrealistic. He certainly wore a monocle but that seems to be the extent of justification of his famous monicker. Can his monocle be seen today? Yes, but maybe, no. Penrith museum have an exhibition displaying a monocle apparently found on Toplis after he had been shot. Hampshire Constabulary have a monocle in their display at their museum which was handed in by a relative of Superintendent Cox, the Hampshire officer who led the hunt for the fugitive. Maybe he had more than one! Was the gun found on Toplis the same type used to kill Sidney Spicer? Yes. A number 6 Webley revolver. Was there an inquest into the death of Sidney Spicer? Yes, a jury returned a verdict of murder by Percy Toplis. Where is Sidney Spicer buried? London Road cemetery, Salisbury Interested in a talk on this topic? Enquire Now Recent Stories The Acid Bath Murders Read More Britain’s first railway murder Read More The Kray Twins Read More The Rillington Place Murders Read More Load More Topics Crime & Punishment: Death Penalty (4) Crimes Abroad or Colonial Connections (3) Historical Crimes (Pre-1950) (10) Infamous British Murders (6) Miscarriages of Justice & Legal Controversies (3) Psychological & Social Themes (4) Unsolved or Contested Cases (5) Further reading… Who Shot Percy Toplis? Jim Cox Presentations Murder of Sidney Spicer case is available as a presentation. Whether delivered on world-wide cruise ships or in a local village hall, it’s absorbing, informative, and entertaining. Contact Paul Stickler for more information… Enquire Now
The Julia Wallace Murder
The Julia Wallace Murder aka the chess club conspiracy 19 August, 2025 At 6.45pm on 20 January 1931, William Wallace left his home at 29 Wolverton Street, Liverpool. Date of crime: 20 January 1931 He had just eaten dinner with his wife, Julia, and was heading for a meeting with a client in the Menlove Gardens area of the city, just over 4 miles away. He was a Prudential insurance agent and was used to walking the city’s streets selling policies and collecting premiums. However, he was unfamiliar with the Menlove Gardens area and as he travelled by tram, he asked people for directions. Upon arrival he realised that the address he had been given was false and returned home arriving around 8.40pm. “I was horrified to see my wife lying across the rug in front of the fireplace. Her head… was horribly battered” Upon arrival at the house, he found his wife bludgeoned to death in their front parlour; she had received a series of blows to the head. The police were called who were dubious of Wallace’s alibi claim. Wallace elaborated and said that the only reason he had gone to the Menlove Gardens area was because the night before he had a received a message at his chess club from a man called Qualtrough who had earlier telephoned asking him to visit the following evening. There then followed a detailed examination of Wallace’s movements, not only on the night of the murder but also the evening before. A theory was developing that Wallace had made the telephone call himself, fabricated the name Qualtrough and set up a false alibi for the following evening. The theory suggested that Wallace murdered his wife before he left home, travelled to the Menlove Gardens area knowing the address did not exist, made sure he was seen in the area, and then returned to ‘discover’ Julia in the parlour. Wallace was charged with the killing, convicted, but later acquitted on appeal. Other theories would later emerge, but it remains shrouded in mystery as to who brought the murder weapon down on Julia Wallace’s head. The victim… Julia Wallace Julia Wallace was born on 26 April 1861 in North Yorkshire and was the second child of seven children. Her passions seem to have been French, music and painting. It is not clear why, but there is some suspicion that in 1911, she falsified her details on the census return to state that she was eighteen years younger than she was. This deception was carried across when she married William Wallace in Harrogate in 1914 (though now only 16 years younger), but whether Wallace knew of the false claim is unknown. Whether this was to play a part in her eventual killing is similarly not known. They moved to Liverpool in 1915 and eventually settled in Wolverton Street the same year. There is little known about her time in Liverpool before her eventual death in 1931 and seemed to have settled into a quiet life of domesticity. Was the murder weapon ever found? In truth, we are not sure. Something blunt was obviously used and an iron poker was seemingly missing from the premises. There is a suggestion that years later it had been found, but there is no tangible evidence of that. If Wallace had been the murderer, surely he would have been covered in blood? Yet, he was not. The killer almost certainly would have had some blood on their clothing. It is true that there is no evidence of any blood being found on any of Wallace’s clothes but there are theories – and no more than that – that he dealt with that by either wearing a raincoat and leaving it at the scene (making it look like the real killer had worn it) or he had removed his clothing before the attack and dressed afterwards. There is no evidence to support either of these theories. Is it true that other suspects emerged during the investigation? Yes, two in particular, Richard Parry and Joseph Marsden. Based on the material available, it is not clear the extent to which these people were properly investigated but it is equally clear that there is little evidence to connect them to the actual killing or being responsible for the ‘Qualtrough’ call. What was the basis for Wallace’s eventual acquittal at the appeal court? The court ruled that the evidence presented to the jury could not justify the jury’s guilty verdict and quashed the conviction under S.4 Criminal Appeal Act 1907. What happened to William Wallace after his acquittal? His acquittal did not stop tongues wagging and many people still considered him responsible for his wife’s death. He eventually moved house as a result, but he died on 26 February 1933, just over two years since his wife had been killed. He protested his innocence to the end. Interested in a talk on this topic? Enquire Now Recent Stories The Acid Bath Murders Read More Britain’s first railway murder Read More The Kray Twins Read More The Murder of Sidney Spicer Read More Load More Topics Crime & Punishment: Death Penalty (4) Crimes Abroad or Colonial Connections (3) Historical Crimes (Pre-1950) (10) Infamous British Murders (6) Miscarriages of Justice & Legal Controversies (3) Psychological & Social Themes (4) Unsolved or Contested Cases (5) Further reading… Checkmate: The Wallace Murder Mystery Mark Russell2021 Buy the book:Amazon Move to Murder Antony M Brown2018 Buy the book:Amazon The Killing of Julia Wallace Jonathan Goodman1969 Buy the book:Amazon Presentations The Julia Wallace Murder case is available as a presentation. Whether delivered on world-wide cruise ships or in a local village hall, it’s absorbing, informative, and entertaining. Contact Paul Stickler for more information… Enquire Now
The Green Bicycle Murder
The Green Bicycle Murder aka the killing of Bella Wright 18 August, 2025 Around 6.30pm, on 5 July 1919, 21-year-old Bella Wright left her home in the quiet village of Stoughton just to the east of Leicester. Date of crime: 5 July 1919 She intended to cycle a journey of just over 4 miles to the village of Ga(u)lby to see her uncle and his family. Bella arrived at her uncle’s house around 7.45pm and went inside to see the family. While inside, her uncle, George Measures, went outside and saw a man cycle past on a green bicycle paying obvious attention to his house. He thought no more of it until 9pm when Bella left the house as she did not want to cycle home in the dark. She developed a problem with her bicycle and a family member spent a short time repairing it. As he was doing so, the same man on the green bicycle pulled up and spoke to the family gathered outside. Despite ostensibly not knowing this man, she cycled away from the house in company with him much to the amazement of the family. Fifteen minutes later, she was found dead a short distance from the village; she had received a single bullet wound to the head. “He saw the woman’s bloodied face and a pool of blood extending from underneath her hat” Despite exhaustive enquiries by the local police and Scotland Yard, no suspect was identified. However, in February 1920, a green bicycle frame was recovered from the nearby Leicester canal. A further trawl by the police recovered the rest of the bicycle together with a revolver holster and some .45 calibre ammunition. The bicycle was traced to Ronald Light, a schoolteacher in Cheltenham. Light was picked out on a series of identification parades by witnesses who saw the man with Bella on the day she met her death. Light was charged with the murder and admitted being the man last seen with Bella only minutes before she met her death. He also admitted disposing of the bicycle and the ammunition in the canal but was acquitted by the jury. Fresh information emerged after the trial but the case today remains unsolved. The victim… Annie Bella Wright Annie Bella Wright (known as Bella) was 21 years old at the time of her death. She was described as an attractive and happy woman and lived with her parents Kenus and Mary in the village of Stoughton a few miles from where she was found shot dead. She had a younger brother called Philip; other siblings had unfortunately already died by the time of Bella’s death. All came from a farming community. She had a boyfriend at the time of her death but who was away at sea with the navy at the time. She had originally worked in domestic service though more recently she had worked at a rubber factory. She is buried in Stoughton churchyard where her grave is tended by some of her descendants. Did the calibre of the bullet wound to Bella’s head match that of a .45 calibre weapon? We cannot be sure of this due to a lack of detailed information, but everything indicates that it was a smaller calibre which had been used to fire the fatal shot. How did the police trace the bicycle to Ronald Light? Amazingly, despite a serial number having been erased from the frame, anther was found on the handlebar stem. This was traced to a shop in Derby who were able to say they had sold the bicycle to Light. Where exactly did Bella meet her death? By a gate on Gartree Road close to the village of Little Stretton. Did the attack have a sexual motive? Nothing is obvious that sex was a motive in the attack. She had not been ‘outraged’ as it was described at the time. This, of course, does not mean that a sexual motive can be completely ruled out. What ever became of Ronald Light? It appears he later married, changed his name and moved to Kent. Interested in a talk on this topic? Enquire Now Recent Stories The Acid Bath Murders Read More Britain’s first railway murder Read More The Kray Twins Read More The Murder of Sidney Spicer Read More Load More Topics Crime & Punishment: Death Penalty (4) Crimes Abroad or Colonial Connections (3) Historical Crimes (Pre-1950) (10) Infamous British Murders (6) Miscarriages of Justice & Legal Controversies (3) Psychological & Social Themes (4) Unsolved or Contested Cases (5) Further reading… The Green Bicycle Mystery Antony M Brown2007 Buy the book:Amazon Presentations The Green Bicycle Murder case is available as a presentation. Whether delivered on world-wide cruise ships or in a local village hall, it’s absorbing, informative, and entertaining. Contact Paul Stickler for more information… Enquire Now
The Corner Shop Killings
The Corner Shop Killings aka The murder of Elizabeth Ridgley 18 August, 2025 On the morning of Monday 27 January 1919, neighbours of Elizabeth Ridgely were concerned for her welfare as she had failed to open her corner shop in Nightingale Road, Hitchin. Date of crime: 25 January 1919 She lived alone with her dog and despite repeated banging on her front door, the silence made one of the neighbours go to the police station to get help. Police Constable Alf Kirby found the back door insecure, entered the property and found both Ridgely and her dog dead. Both had been battered about the head and the shop, in her converted front room, was heavily bloodstained and obviously ransacked. Kirby called for assistance after making sure he had preserved what was so obviously a murder scene. Within the next 24 hours, the local superintendent of police concluded that Mrs Ridgley had died as a result of a tragic accident, allowed the crime scene to be cleaned and re-opened, and she was buried in an unmarked grave. With two dead bodies to deal with, it was going to be a busy day and more cold and snow was on its way. However, the chief constable was unconvinced and called in the services of Scotland Yard who despatched the infamous Detective Chief Inspector Fred Wensley. Within a few days, he arrested John Healy, an Irishman who had arrived in Hitchin a few months earlier. Healy had no alibi, had dog bites to his hand, blood on his torn clothing and had been seen in the shop moments before Ridgley met her death at 9pm on 25 January. He was charged but acquitted by the jury at Hertfordshire assizes. This is a fascinating insight into how county and borough police forces coped with murder investigations in the inter-war period. It paved the way for a radical review of how provincial forces were expected to call upon the services of Scotland Yard sooner rather than later. The victim… Elizabeth Ridgley Little is known about Elizabeth Ridgley. She was 54 years of age at the time of her death. Her husband, William, had died two years earlier in 1917 and they had both lived in Hitchin, probably since 1910. She had no children but had a large number of sisters and brothers, most of whom attended her funeral on 1 February 1919. She was described as a rather serious woman but with a good ear for business. Her corner shop in Hitchin appears to have been a bit of a gold mine which made her susceptible to being the victim of an attack. Quite a number of people owed her money including John Healy who was charged with her murder. Her dog, which was killed alongside her was a terrier called Prince. She is buried in Hitchin cemetery in an unmarked grave. What was so special about the case? Despite the injuries and the apparent ransacking of the shop, the local police superintendent, George Reed, concluded that Ridgley had died as a result of a tragic accident. He claimed that somehow she had been wandering around the shop, fell over and cracked her head open on a collection of earthenware pots. During her fall, she must have fallen on her dog and accidentally killed it. Even the first constable on the scene, Alfred Kirby, declared it a murder scene but his opinion was ignored. Ridgley was quietly buried in an unmarked grave in Hitchin cemetery. What happened next? The Chief Constable of the Hertfordshire Constabulary, Alfred Letchworth Law, was not convinced of his superintendent’s conclusion and drafted in Scotland Yard to re-investigate. Detective Chief Inspector Frederick Porter Wensley took over the investigation on 6 February 1919, ten days after the bodies had been found. What was the outcome of his investigation? After reconstructing the scene and interviewing a large number of witnesses, Wensley arrested an Irish labourer, John Healy, who was living just a few hundred yards away in Radcliffe Road. There was a great deal of circumstantial evidence including witnesses seeing Healy acting suspiciously inside and outside of the shop just before Ridgley met her death. Healy was charged and appeared at Hertfordshire Assizes in June 1919. What was the outcome at court? Probably John Healy, but there was clearly some doubt cast in the minds of jurors, probably over one of the key witnesses, William Augustus Craswell. He had claimed he had seen Healy in the shop at the time of the murder. In essence, Healy claimed that all the prosecution witnesses were lying and that he was being picked on because he was Irish. The incident was at the height of the Anglo-Irish war over Home Rule. Was any other person identified as the murderer? No. However, 100 years later, Paul Stickler, the author of the book, The Murder that Defeated Whitechapel’s Sherlock Holmes: At Mrs Ridgley’s Corner, was researching this case when he stumbled across original material never seen before. The name, Worbey Dixon, featured in the original Hertfordshire investigation but his name was never referred to during the trial. To what extent was the fact that Superintendent George Reed initially concluded that it was an accidental death, a factor in the juries mind? This was brought up during the trial and the judge, Mr Justice Darling, clearly stated that this was a murder but of course we do not know how much that first decision at the scene weighed on the mind of the jurors. Why else will this case be remembered? It fundamentally changed murder investigations in provincial forces. The Home Office mandated that provincial forces must consider the services of Scotland Yard’s murder squad in cases of murder where the killer is not immediately known. After this case, there was a gradual increase in detective officers in rural and provincial forces. Interested in a talk on this topic? Enquire Now Recent Stories The Acid Bath Murders Read More Britain’s first railway murder Read More The Kray Twins
The A6 Murder
The A6 Murder aka the James Hanratty affair 15 July, 2025 In August 1961, 22-year-old Valerie Storie and her partner, 36-year-old Michael Gregsten, were approached by a gunman as they were sitting in their Morris Minor car in a cornfield in Dorney Reach, Buckinghamshire. Date of crime: August 1961 The gunman demanded their valuables and then held them captive for 2 hours before ordering them to drive towards London. Seemingly with no obvious plan, the gunman continued to order the couple to drive through the night. They eventually found themselves driving along the A6 and just north of Clophill, Bedfordshire, they were ordered to pull over into a layby. Within the hour, Michael had been shot dead in the back of the head and Valerie was raped as blood poured from her partner’s wounds. The killer then shot Valerie five times but miraculously she survived, though she would be paralysed from the neck down for the rest of her life. Within 2 months James Hanratty was arrested and charged with the murder and the following year he was convicted and hanged. He was 25 years old. But this was the beginning of the story. For forty years there would be claims that there had been a miscarriage of justice, the police had allowed the real killer to slip through their fingers and Valerie had been mistaken in her identification of her attacker. She was subjected to public ridicule for sending an innocent man to the hangman’s noose until 2001 when DNA evidence confirmed Hanratty’s guilt. This is the story of a brave and resourceful woman who maintained a dignified silence throughout the 40-year ordeal. After she died in 2016, her personal papers were passed to Paul Stickler who has described the events from 1961 to 2016 in great detail in his book, The Long Silence. The victims… Valerie Storie Valerie Storie was born on 24 November 1938 in Cippenham, Buckinghamshire. She was the only child of Jack and Marjorie. She was a bookish child and went to grammar school but refused to go to university. Instead, she took a job at the Road Research Laboratories in Langley where she met Michael Gregsten. After her shooting and subsequent paralysis, she returned to the laboratory and became involved in assessing the causes of car accidents. After the death of her parents, who had become her full-time carers, she fended for herself and immersed herself in work and several hobbies, particularly family history research. Those who knew her well, described her as brave, intelligent and a no-nonsense sort of woman. Despite her horrendous ordeal and paralysis, she never complained about her predicament and was always seen with a smile on her face. She died on 26 March 2016. Michael Gregsten Michael Gregsten was born in December 1924 and after attending grammar school he joined the RAF. He left the service in 1946 and a few years later he met his wife-to-be, Janet Phillips. Michael and Janet married in 1951 and had two children, Simon (1953) and Anthony (1959). Michael met Valerie Storie at the Road Research Centre at Langley in 1957. After this, Michael and Janet’s relationship started to deteriorate which resulted in Michael leaving home on a number of occasions though he remained a devoted father to his two children. It is clear that Michael was suffering from episodes of anxiety and depression but no more so than many others who found themselves in similar positions. On the day that Michael was shot dead, he had separated once more from his wife and had seemed set to start a new life in Maidenhead. What were Valerie and Michael doing in the cornfield in the first place? They had stopped there on the way home from the Old Station Inn at Taplow to discuss their future. Michael had recently left his wife and had found a new home in Maidenhead. Where did Valerie live? She lived in the house in which she had been born in Anthony Way, Slough with her parents. She died in the same house in 2016. Why would James Hanratty be in cornfield with a gun when he was a petty thief from London? This is a long answer and is outlined in detail in The Long Silence. However, he was not a petty thief, and he was an accomplished burglar for which he had been sent to prison three years earlier. He had boasted about getting a gun and becoming a stick-up man. He routinely toured the countryside looking for houses to break into. On 22 August 1961, he accidentally stumbled across Michael and Valerie in their car. At this point, he became a stick-up man. What made Hanratty turn into a killer and a rapist? Again, this is a long answer and is outlined in detail in The Long Silence. In essence, he got carried away with his adventurous plan and suddenly panicked when he thought he was about to be overpowered. He pulled the trigger of his gun and then turned his attentions on Valerie. Was James Hanratty the last man to be hanged in Britain? No, but he was the last man to be hanged in Bedford prison on 4 April 1962. Interested in a talk on this topic? Enquire Now Recent Stories The Acid Bath Murders Read More Britain’s first railway murder Read More The Kray Twins Read More The Murder of Sidney Spicer Read More Load More Topics Crime & Punishment: Death Penalty (4) Crimes Abroad or Colonial Connections (3) Historical Crimes (Pre-1950) (10) Infamous British Murders (6) Miscarriages of Justice & Legal Controversies (3) Psychological & Social Themes (4) Unsolved or Contested Cases (5) Further reading… The Long Silence Paul Stickler2021 In August 1961, Valerie Storie and Michael Gregsten were kidnapped at gunpoint. Michael was murdered, and Valerie was left for dead. The Long Silence is Valerie’s posthumous account, authored with Paul Stickler, detailing the infamous A6 murder and her decades of silence before the truth could be fully told. “The car crept through the silent streets of