Historical Murders presented by Paul Stickler
The
Rillington Place Murders
aka the cases of Timothy Evans and Reg Christie
Between 1943 and 1949
In December 1949, the bodies of Beryl Evans and her young baby, Geraldine, were found in a wash-house in the rear garden of 10, Rillington Place, west London.
Both had been strangled. Timothy Evans, the husband of Beryl and father of Geraldine was arrested. Evans was a man of low intellect and initially admitted killing his wife, then blamed it on someone else and then admitted to killing both his wife and daughter. At his subsequent trial, he reverted to blaming a downstairs tenant called Reg Christie. The jury convicted Evans and he was hanged in 1950. Had a search of the premises been more thorough, two more skeletal human remains would have been found buried a few feet away in the back garden
“She was incurring one debt after another and I couldn’t stand it any longer, so I strangled her with a piece of rope”
Three years later, the remains were discovered in the back garden.
At the same time, the bodies of three recently strangled women were found in an alcove adjacent to the kitchen of the premises. Each had been raped and strangled. Another body was found buried underneath the floorboards of the living room. The police arrested the former resident of the premises, Reg Christie, who admitted the killing of all the women; the body under the floorboards was his wife. He now also admitted the killing of Beryl Evans three years earlier. Christie pleaded not guilty on the grounds of insanity but was convicted of murder and hanged in 1953.
A later judicial review concluded that Evans did not kill his daughter but probably killed his wife despite Christie admitting responsibility. The decision paved the way for Timothy Evans to be posthumously pardoned and his name would forever be synonymous with the abolition of the death penalty in 1965. To this day, doubt remains over who killed who in Rillington Place.
The victims...
Ruth Fuerst, Muriel Eady, Kathleen Maloney, Hectorina McClellan, Rita Nelson, Ethel Christie, Beryl and Geraldine Evans
Could both Christie and Evans be responsible for different killings?
In theory, yes. Both Christie and Evans were prolific liars and there is evidence that some of their admissions could not possibly have been true. Many authors have claimed that they have unearthed the truth, but in reality there are many gaps in our knowledge and there will always be room for doubt. Most people believe that Christie was responsible for all the killings and that Evans was a man wrongly convicted.
What was Christie’s motive for killing?
Quite simply, sexual gratification. He was a regular user of prostitutes (to use the language of the day) and it seems that strangulation and rape was his ultimate fantasy.
Is Rillington Place still there?
No, it was knocked down in 1971.
Where was Timothy Evans arrested?
He surrendered himself to Merthyr Vale police station where he declared, “I want to give myself up. I have disposed of my wife”
With all those bodies in the house, surely there must have been a horrible smell?
There was, though it was masked by cold conditions throughout the winter of 1952/53 and Christie was seen to be putting disinfectant down the drains.
Further reading...
10 Rillington Place
Ludovic Kennedy
1971
Rillington Place - The Brabin Report
HMSO
1966
Murder with a difference
Molly Lefebure
1958
Presentations
Rillington Place 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...
Content is copyright of Historical Murders 2024.
Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Website by 23rd and Pine.