Five Very British Unsolved Murders From The 1930s
In the early decades of the twentieth century, even when detectives felt they had their suspect “bang to rights”, there were times when they still couldn’t get a conviction. On other occasions, certainly without the many aids of modern science and technology, they were left completely baffled. The 1930s was a world away from how murders are investigated today, and some of the most evil murders that took place in the decade are still unsolved to this day. What’s more it is highly unlikely - three quarters of a century later - that any new evidence will come to light. Here are just five such murders.
Evelyn Foster – Burned to Death on the Northumberland Moors
Although 27-year-old Evelyn Foster was still alive when she was found, burnt so severely she was hardly recognizable in early January 1931, she knew she was dying. Her last words to her mother as she lay on her death bed, which she referred to herself in the past tense, were “I have been murdered!”
The police and investigators however had doubts regarding what Evelyn had managed to tell them before she had succumbed to her horrific injuries.
Evelyn, a taxi driver, had stated that she had picked up a fare, a man who said he wanted to be taken to Ponteland. However he forced her to drive to the secluded moors instead. Once there he proceeded to knock her unconscious before pouring petrol over her and setting her alight. He then pushed the car, down a hill and made his getaway in another vehicle. Evelyn managed to force her way out of the now burning car, and collapsed on the moor in Otterburn, Northumberland where she was found.
She even managed to give a description of her assailant. She claimed he was smartly dressed and wore a bowler hat. She estimated him to be in his mid-20s and around 5ft 6in, with a distinct Tyneside accent.
The police and investigators however had doubts regarding what Evelyn had managed to tell them before she had succumbed to her horrific injuries.
Evelyn, a taxi driver, had stated that she had picked up a fare, a man who said he wanted to be taken to Ponteland. However he forced her to drive to the secluded moors instead. Once there he proceeded to knock her unconscious before pouring petrol over her and setting her alight. He then pushed the car, down a hill and made his getaway in another vehicle. Evelyn managed to force her way out of the now burning car, and collapsed on the moor in Otterburn, Northumberland where she was found.
She even managed to give a description of her assailant. She claimed he was smartly dressed and wore a bowler hat. She estimated him to be in his mid-20s and around 5ft 6in, with a distinct Tyneside accent.
However, when doctors examined her body they could find no evidence that she had been assaulted. When investigators spoke to witnesses who had seen Evelyn driving her taxi that evening, all of them stated that they had seen her alone in the car.
Rumours began to swirl that perhaps Evelyn had made up the “man” and had in fact set fire to the car herself in order to claim the insurance. Perhaps, they wondered, she had accidentally been engulfed in the flames. So much so that the coroner even instructed the jury not to return a verdict of murder in the enquiry – they went against this however and did exactly that.
Although her murder was never solved, in 1934, Edwin Brown was hanged for the murder of his boss, Frederick Morton, whose wife he had been having an affair with. He had shot Morton before placing him in his car and setting it on fire. He also matched quite precisely the description Evelyn had given of her attacker – right down to the smart suit and bowler hat. Apparently before the trap door was opened, after being given the chance to “confess his sins” he was said to say the word “Otterburn!”
You can read a little more about this case here and check out the video below for further viewing.
Rumours began to swirl that perhaps Evelyn had made up the “man” and had in fact set fire to the car herself in order to claim the insurance. Perhaps, they wondered, she had accidentally been engulfed in the flames. So much so that the coroner even instructed the jury not to return a verdict of murder in the enquiry – they went against this however and did exactly that.
Although her murder was never solved, in 1934, Edwin Brown was hanged for the murder of his boss, Frederick Morton, whose wife he had been having an affair with. He had shot Morton before placing him in his car and setting it on fire. He also matched quite precisely the description Evelyn had given of her attacker – right down to the smart suit and bowler hat. Apparently before the trap door was opened, after being given the chance to “confess his sins” he was said to say the word “Otterburn!”
You can read a little more about this case here and check out the video below for further viewing.
The Murder of Julia Wallace, Liverpool
When William Wallace had his guilty verdict for the murder of his wife, Julia Wallace quashed, not only did it keep her murder unsolved, but it was the first time in British legal history that such a thing had happened.
The events of the murder really began the night before the killing on 19th January 1931, when William received a strange phone message upon arriving at his chess club. The message requested that he call at 25 Menlove Gardens East the following evening at 7:30 pm in order to discuss insurance (which is how William made a living) with a R. M. Qualtough.
The following evening, William left his home in plenty of time to attend the meeting, only to discover that the address did not exist. He spent around 45 minutes searching for the property, asking several passers-by for help, but eventually he admitted to himself that he had seemingly been part of a silly prank.
He made his way back home, only to find he could not gain access to his house. Neighbors of the Wallace’s spoke with him about this, and witnessed him eventually manage to force the back door of the property open. When he did so, he saw his wife lying dead on the floor, seemingly beaten to death.
Despite multiple witnesses having seen him on the other side of the town when the murder took place (time of death was estimated to have been 8 pm), as well as a milk delivery boy stating that he had seen Julia Wallace alive around the same time that William had left to travel for his meeting, the police soon began to suspect him of his wife’s murder.
The phone call message that William had received the previous evening was traced to a phone box only a few hundred yards away from the Wallace’s home. The person who took the message from the elusive Mr. Qualtrough told police he was certain the person he spoke to wasn’t William Wallace.
The police however still followed this route of enquiry – even changing the time of death from 8 pm to 6:30 pm, seemingly just to fit their timeline of events. They put forward that William had made the call himself in order to provide himself with an alibi for the following evening. Ultimately he was arrested and charged with Julia’s murder, but the distinct lack of evidence caused the Court of Appeal to instantly overturn the verdict.
In 2013, crime novelist PD James stated that she had indeed “solved” the 80-year-old crime. She claimed that the call was made from a young man who William had discovered was fiddling the books at the insurance firm where they worked, Richard Parry. Parry, who was only twenty-two years old, had done this to exact some kind of revenge against the older man. She also attests that the police had it right however about everything else. That William did in fact kill his wife, and the fact that Parry had chosen to unwittingly provide him with an alibi was purely coincidence!
Check out the short video below that looks at this strange case and there is a little further reading here.
The events of the murder really began the night before the killing on 19th January 1931, when William received a strange phone message upon arriving at his chess club. The message requested that he call at 25 Menlove Gardens East the following evening at 7:30 pm in order to discuss insurance (which is how William made a living) with a R. M. Qualtough.
The following evening, William left his home in plenty of time to attend the meeting, only to discover that the address did not exist. He spent around 45 minutes searching for the property, asking several passers-by for help, but eventually he admitted to himself that he had seemingly been part of a silly prank.
He made his way back home, only to find he could not gain access to his house. Neighbors of the Wallace’s spoke with him about this, and witnessed him eventually manage to force the back door of the property open. When he did so, he saw his wife lying dead on the floor, seemingly beaten to death.
Despite multiple witnesses having seen him on the other side of the town when the murder took place (time of death was estimated to have been 8 pm), as well as a milk delivery boy stating that he had seen Julia Wallace alive around the same time that William had left to travel for his meeting, the police soon began to suspect him of his wife’s murder.
The phone call message that William had received the previous evening was traced to a phone box only a few hundred yards away from the Wallace’s home. The person who took the message from the elusive Mr. Qualtrough told police he was certain the person he spoke to wasn’t William Wallace.
The police however still followed this route of enquiry – even changing the time of death from 8 pm to 6:30 pm, seemingly just to fit their timeline of events. They put forward that William had made the call himself in order to provide himself with an alibi for the following evening. Ultimately he was arrested and charged with Julia’s murder, but the distinct lack of evidence caused the Court of Appeal to instantly overturn the verdict.
In 2013, crime novelist PD James stated that she had indeed “solved” the 80-year-old crime. She claimed that the call was made from a young man who William had discovered was fiddling the books at the insurance firm where they worked, Richard Parry. Parry, who was only twenty-two years old, had done this to exact some kind of revenge against the older man. She also attests that the police had it right however about everything else. That William did in fact kill his wife, and the fact that Parry had chosen to unwittingly provide him with an alibi was purely coincidence!
Check out the short video below that looks at this strange case and there is a little further reading here.
Alice Thomas – The Third Victim of Mulitple Murderer Annie Hearn? Cornwall
Both Alice and William Thomas each complained of feeling unwell slightly after they and Annie Hearn had eaten. They had taken a trip to Bude, a small seaside town in Cornwall, and had brought along tinned salmon sandwiches prepared by their guest Annie, who had experienced very tough times recently. Her Aunt had passed away five years earlier in 1926 after Annie and her sister, Minnie, had moved to the area to care for her. And only last year, Minnie had suddenly passed away.
By the time the trio had arrived back at the Thomas’ home, Alice was considerably worse – so much so that her husband sought the help of the town doctor, Graham Sanders. He examined Alice and stated she had nothing worse than general food poisoning and fully expected her to recover.
She initially did show signs of recovery, and a week after first falling ill, Alice had built up the strength to venture downstairs and enjoyed a meal that Annie had prepared.
That night however, Alice began to experience terrible pain, even becoming delirious. Dr. Sanders saw her the following morning and immediately had her transferred to a hospital. 24 hours later, Alice Thomas was dead.
A post-mortem quickly revealed that Alice had lethal amounts of arsenic in her organs. Her death was ruled, murder by poisoning. Suspicion fell almost instantly on Annie. When William Thomas defended Annie, some people began to wonder if he too was guilty of his wife’s untimely death.
Annie insisted she was innocent of any wrong doing, stating the same thing in a letter she sent to William a week after she had disappeared. It was discovered she had traveled to the town of Looe and assumed she had thrown herself from the cliffs. Local fishermen insisted to the police, if the woman had thrown herself from these cliffs, they would have either found her body or it would have washed up on the shore. Detectives made it known to the public that they suspected Annie to be alive and that they wanted to talk to her if she was seen.
Investigators had also exhumed the bodies of her aunt and her sister, who had both died after suffering similar symptoms as Alice Thomas. They discovered that both of her relatives did indeed have high levels of arsenic in their bodies.
She was eventually discovered working as a housekeeper in Torquay under the name, Mrs Faithful and was arrested.
During the trial, the prosecution argued that Annie had used weed killer to poison Alice Thomas, but her defense stated that this would have stained any food it was added to a bright blue/purple color. And while arsenic was present in Alice’s body, there was no evidence that Annie had been the person who was responsible for this. They also argued that the levels of arsenic in her aunt and sister’s body was most likely due to them having been buried in Cornwall, which was known to have high levels of the natural arsenic in its soil.
Annie Hearn was ultimately found not guilty and seemed to vanish out of the limelight. It is believed that she changed her name again and moved back to Yorkshire.
The key to who killed Alice Thomas, whether it was her husband (who was never charged) or indeed Annie Hearn, could quite possibly lie within the diary of her Annie’s sister, Minnie. Perhaps tellingly, Annie’s solicitor went out of his way to make sure it was not allowed as evidence in the trial.
You can read a little more about this case here.
By the time the trio had arrived back at the Thomas’ home, Alice was considerably worse – so much so that her husband sought the help of the town doctor, Graham Sanders. He examined Alice and stated she had nothing worse than general food poisoning and fully expected her to recover.
She initially did show signs of recovery, and a week after first falling ill, Alice had built up the strength to venture downstairs and enjoyed a meal that Annie had prepared.
That night however, Alice began to experience terrible pain, even becoming delirious. Dr. Sanders saw her the following morning and immediately had her transferred to a hospital. 24 hours later, Alice Thomas was dead.
A post-mortem quickly revealed that Alice had lethal amounts of arsenic in her organs. Her death was ruled, murder by poisoning. Suspicion fell almost instantly on Annie. When William Thomas defended Annie, some people began to wonder if he too was guilty of his wife’s untimely death.
Annie insisted she was innocent of any wrong doing, stating the same thing in a letter she sent to William a week after she had disappeared. It was discovered she had traveled to the town of Looe and assumed she had thrown herself from the cliffs. Local fishermen insisted to the police, if the woman had thrown herself from these cliffs, they would have either found her body or it would have washed up on the shore. Detectives made it known to the public that they suspected Annie to be alive and that they wanted to talk to her if she was seen.
Investigators had also exhumed the bodies of her aunt and her sister, who had both died after suffering similar symptoms as Alice Thomas. They discovered that both of her relatives did indeed have high levels of arsenic in their bodies.
She was eventually discovered working as a housekeeper in Torquay under the name, Mrs Faithful and was arrested.
During the trial, the prosecution argued that Annie had used weed killer to poison Alice Thomas, but her defense stated that this would have stained any food it was added to a bright blue/purple color. And while arsenic was present in Alice’s body, there was no evidence that Annie had been the person who was responsible for this. They also argued that the levels of arsenic in her aunt and sister’s body was most likely due to them having been buried in Cornwall, which was known to have high levels of the natural arsenic in its soil.
Annie Hearn was ultimately found not guilty and seemed to vanish out of the limelight. It is believed that she changed her name again and moved back to Yorkshire.
The key to who killed Alice Thomas, whether it was her husband (who was never charged) or indeed Annie Hearn, could quite possibly lie within the diary of her Annie’s sister, Minnie. Perhaps tellingly, Annie’s solicitor went out of his way to make sure it was not allowed as evidence in the trial.
You can read a little more about this case here.
A crowd gathering outside the courts eager to see Annie Hearn!
Unknown Torso Murder, River Severn, England, Cheltenham
While fishing on the River Severn three fisherman caught more than they bargained for when something became entangled in their fishing nets. They pulled the netting out of the water, and to their horror found they had “caught” a human torso.
The torso had had its arms, legs and head “hacked off” and although some limbs were recovered around the area near Haw Bridge, perhaps the most important in terms of being able to identify the victim – the head and the hands – were not found.
Although the murderer and even the victim are still unknown, historian, Brian Brooks, believes that the body likely to be that of William Butts, who was the alleged lover of dancer, Brian Sullivan.
It was rumored that Sullivan was involved in putting young girls who were pregnant in contact with his mother, who it was alleged was performing abortions – which was illegal. Brooks believed that Butts was going to inform authorities of this, which ultimately led to his untimely end.
Sullivan himself committed suicide two weeks after Butts had gone missing – was it out of despair, or out of guilt? Quite possibly the latter when you figure in that Butts' bloodstained clothing was discovered hidden away at Sullivan’s house upon later investigation.
Check out the short video below for more on this case and you will find further reading here.
The torso had had its arms, legs and head “hacked off” and although some limbs were recovered around the area near Haw Bridge, perhaps the most important in terms of being able to identify the victim – the head and the hands – were not found.
Although the murderer and even the victim are still unknown, historian, Brian Brooks, believes that the body likely to be that of William Butts, who was the alleged lover of dancer, Brian Sullivan.
It was rumored that Sullivan was involved in putting young girls who were pregnant in contact with his mother, who it was alleged was performing abortions – which was illegal. Brooks believed that Butts was going to inform authorities of this, which ultimately led to his untimely end.
Sullivan himself committed suicide two weeks after Butts had gone missing – was it out of despair, or out of guilt? Quite possibly the latter when you figure in that Butts' bloodstained clothing was discovered hidden away at Sullivan’s house upon later investigation.
Check out the short video below for more on this case and you will find further reading here.
Margery Wren Refuses To Name Her Killer, Ramsgate
When Margery Wren was found in her shop by 12-year-old Ellen Marvell on 20th September 1930 in her shop in Ramsgate, she was still alive – barely. She appeared as though she had beaten repeatedly about the head with a pair of fire tongs. Yet as she laid there in a pool of her own blood, she insisted to Ellen that she had just “had a tumble!”
The eighty year old lady was taken to hospital after the young girl ran to inform her parents. Once there, Margery began to make one contradictory and confusing statement after another to doctors and police alike. At first it appeared she was just confused and disorientated due to what was quite obviously an attack. After a while though, it appeared she was protecting her attacker.
She eventually relented somewhat and described a mustached man with “glaring eyes” and a “red face” but she insisted that they would not catch him. She even stated that “I do not wish him to suffer. He must bear his sin!”
She died five days after the attack. Much has been made of her death after the fact, although no-one has been arrested or even suggested as a suspect. Her customers spoke of her telling people that she kept large amounts of money on the premises and that despite her apparent poverty, that she claimed to own a dozen properties. Local rumor ran quite rampant that she was in fact a descendant of the famous architect Sir Christopher Wren, although there doesn’t appear to be anything to back the rumors up.
Did she know her killer and was protecting them from prosecution despite their crime? Or was she simply not thinking properly due to the severity of the attack? It is highly unlikely that anyone will ever know.
For further viewing, check out the short video below. These are not limited to 1930s Britain, but simply five of the creepiest unsolved murders of all time.
[Marcus Lowth November 2016]
The eighty year old lady was taken to hospital after the young girl ran to inform her parents. Once there, Margery began to make one contradictory and confusing statement after another to doctors and police alike. At first it appeared she was just confused and disorientated due to what was quite obviously an attack. After a while though, it appeared she was protecting her attacker.
She eventually relented somewhat and described a mustached man with “glaring eyes” and a “red face” but she insisted that they would not catch him. She even stated that “I do not wish him to suffer. He must bear his sin!”
She died five days after the attack. Much has been made of her death after the fact, although no-one has been arrested or even suggested as a suspect. Her customers spoke of her telling people that she kept large amounts of money on the premises and that despite her apparent poverty, that she claimed to own a dozen properties. Local rumor ran quite rampant that she was in fact a descendant of the famous architect Sir Christopher Wren, although there doesn’t appear to be anything to back the rumors up.
Did she know her killer and was protecting them from prosecution despite their crime? Or was she simply not thinking properly due to the severity of the attack? It is highly unlikely that anyone will ever know.
For further viewing, check out the short video below. These are not limited to 1930s Britain, but simply five of the creepiest unsolved murders of all time.
[Marcus Lowth November 2016]
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