John Reginald Halliday Christie

John Reginald Halliday Christie was a British serial killer in the 1940s and '50s. He was arrested and hanged in 1953 after being involved in one of the most sensational murder trials in British legal history, in which his tenant Timothy Evans was executed for the murders of Evans' wife and child; some critics have speculated that Christie actually committed the murders and framed Evans for it. While neither Christie's guilt nor Evans' innocence have ever been conclusively proven, the case sparked massive public outrage, contributed to the suspension of the death penalty in Britain in 1964, and later abolition, and remains controversial to this day.

Murders

Christie's first known victim was a mistress, Ruth Fuerst, whom he impulsively strangled during sex in 1943. The following year, he murdered a neighbor, Muriel Eady, by promising to cure her bronchitis with a "special mixture," a gas he had concocted which contained carbon monoxide that would render a person unconscious; once Eady was knocked out, Christie strangled her, and raped her corpse. It was a ritual Christie would compulsively act out for the rest of his life.

Related Topics:
Strangled - 1943 - Bronchitis - Carbon monoxide - Rape

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Christie, the landlord of a property at 10 Rillington Place (both Fuerst and Eady were buried in his garden there), took on new tenants in 1949 that would eventually prove his undoing: Timothy Evans, his wife, Beryl, and their infant daughter, Geraldine. According to Kennedy's book, Christie set his sights on Beryl immediately, and, upon learning she was pregnant with an unwanted child, promised the couple that he could abort the baby. He then used his "special gas" to incapacitate Beryl, whom he then strangled and raped. When Evans returned, Christie told him his wife had died during the procedure and that they had to hide the body to avoid prison, as abortion was, at the time, illegal in England. Christie then convinced Evans to hide with a relative and leave Geraldine in his care.

Related Topics:
Garden - 1949 - Pregnant - Abort - Prison

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Evans turned himself in to the police a few weeks later, but appeared stunned to hear that his daughter was also dead. Initially accusing Christie of the murders, Evans eventually confessed to them himself. This confession, along with other, contradictory statements he made during the police interrogation, is often cited as proof of Evans' guilt, although Kennedy writes that the interrogation Evans went under was brutal and manipulative. In any event, Evans recanted, and the case went to trial. Christie was a key witness for the prosecution, and was instrumental in Evans being found guilty. Evans was hanged on March 9, 1950.

Related Topics:
Interrogation - Hanged - 1950

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Christie murdered four women over the next three years, including his wife. He moved out of 10 Rillington Place in 1953. Soon after, a maintenance man discovered the bodies in the cellar. A citywide manhunt ensued, ending weeks later when Christie was arrested while looking for dock work.

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Christie was found guilty of murdering his wife and executed by hanging in 1953. Evans was granted a posthumous pardon in 1966.

Related Topics:
Pardon - 1966

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