Last week we told you the story of Emily Davison, a feminist who was killed by a horse.
This week you’ll hear the story of a man executed for a crime he didn’t commit.
The channel doesn’t take a position on issues like the death penalty.
In fact, the members of the team cover a broad social and political spectrum.
So, we’re not here with an agenda, just history.
But we welcome your strong opinions in the comments, if only because sometimes we learn
something new.
Most Western countries no longer enforce death sentences for criminals.
The United States is an exception.
But even in that instance, half of the states have a moratorium on death penalties.
The reluctance to punish criminals with death is a recent development.
Resistance arose in the late 20th century when the public began to realize that innocent
people were being killed for crimes they did not commit.
One of the most troubling cases took place in the UK.
Timothy Evans was arrested for killing his wife and daughter.
He was convicted and executed for it.
And the witness that helped ensure Timothy’s conviction was the real killer.
Early Life
Timothy Evans was born in Wales on November 20, 1924.
Timothy’s father abandoned the family before he was even born.
His mother had another child in 1929, and finally remarried in 1933.
Despite some stability at home, Timothy had a troubled childhood.
At school, he had difficulty reading and was slower than other children while learning
to speak.
He also had problems making friends.
After an accident at eight years old, Timothy developed a severe rash on his right foot.
It never completely healed and gave him problems for the rest of his life.
The pain in his foot, and the treatments he received for it, caused him to miss a lot
of school.
Because of this, as an adult Timothy was nearly illiterate.
He also developed a habit of inventing stories about himself.
Telling these lies to others helped Timothy boost his self-esteem.
This unfortunate habit would also contribute to his death.
By 1939, Timothy, his mother, siblings, and stepfather were all living in London.
Timothy’s life was mostly uneventful, and he didn’t have any legal problems.
But in 1946 he did get caught breaking some laws.
Timothy was fined 60 shillings for stealing a car, and for driving without a license or
insurance.
Nothing about Timothy suggested that he might become a killer.
Creating A Family
In early 1947, one of Timothy’s friends tried to set him up on a blind date.
Eventually he agreed and met Beryl Susanna Thorley.
By September of that year the two were married.
At first, they lived with Timothy’s parents.
But in early 1948, Beryl realized she was pregnant.
They decided to move out and got their own flat in the Notting Hill area.
The neighbors below them were John Christie and his wife Ethel Christie.
Timothy and Beryl had a daughter, Geraldine, on October 10.
The marriage had problems before her pregnancy, and it didn’t improve with the arrival of
a child.
Timothy had a short temper, drank too much, and spent all the family’s money on alcohol.
Beryl was also less than perfect by the standards of the time.
She was incapable of managing the family’s finances and was a terrible housekeeper.
The two argued all the time.
The neighbors could usually hear the confrontations.
Physical violence between the two was common, and the neighbors could see it as well.
Their contentious relationship was not a secret.
In 1949, Beryl told Timothy that she was pregnant again.
It was not welcome news as they were already struggling financially.
Beryl wanted an abortion, and Timothy reluctantly agreed.
This would prove to be a fatal decision for both.
Timothy and The Police
On November 30, 1949, Timothy walked into a police station.
He told the police that his wife Beryl was dead, and that she died under unusual
circumstances.
Then he confessed, telling them how it happened.
Timothy said that a man gave him some pills in a bottle.
They were given to Beryl, and it was supposed to abort the fetus she was carrying.
Instead the medication killed her and the unborn baby.
Timothy then told the police that he had put Beryl’s body in a nearby sewer.
He gave Geraldine to someone who could look after her then returned to Wales.
The police investigated and found nothing in front of the building.
They also discovered that removing the manhole cover to access the sewer drain required the
strength of three men.
It was obvious that Timothy wasn’t telling the truth.
When the authorities questioned Timothy again, his story changed.
He said that John Christie offered to perform the abortion.
Timothy claimed to have left John out of the first story to protect him as abortion
was illegal in the UK.
Supposedly, Timothy went to work that day while John performed the abortion.
When he returned home, John Christie informed Timothy that Beryl was dead.
John also said that Geraldine was safe with someone who could look after her and that
Timothy should leave London.
Timothy did go to Wales.
But he returned later asking about Geraldine.
John would not let Timothy see her.
That is when Timothy finally went to the police.
The police searched again and found Beryl’s body in a small building in the back garden.
Geraldine’s body was found next to her.
Both had been strangled.
Unfortunately, Timothy didn’t have a good relationship with the truth.
When asked if he was responsible for their deaths, he replied “Yes”.
After more interrogation, he confessed to strangling Beryl because of arguments about
debts.
And he claimed to have killed Geraldine a few days later.
Timothy Evans was arrested for the murder of his wife and child.
Death Sentence
A book published in 2003 called The Psychology of Interrogations and Confessions examined
Timothy’s confession and found serious issues with it.
The wording of the confession appeared to be like phrases that police would normally
use.
It is unlikely an illiterate alcoholic would speak that way.
Also, Timothy was kept in solitary confinement for two days before his final interrogation.
Finding out his daughter was dead, combined with the effects of isolation, could have
overwhelmed him with guilt.
He would have been primed to give a false confession under those circumstances.
Unfortunately, nobody would care about these details until several years later.
Timothy was put on trial in January 1950.
He was charged with a single count of murder for killing Geraldine.
Timothy had legal representation, and the solicitor withdrew his confessions.
And although they informed Timothy it was difficult to prove, Timothy insisted his defense
was that John Christie was the killer.
The trial was essentially John Christie’s word against Timothy’s.
It lasted three days, and Timothy was found guilty.
Timothy Evans was hanged for the death of Geraldine on March 9, 1950.
In addition to the false confession, the trial also failed to present evidence that supported
Timothy’s claims.
It was a decision which would become controversial later.
There were two workmen who stored their tools near where Beryl and Geraldine’s bodies
were found.
They were willing to testify that the bodies were not there for several days after Timothy
supposedly hid them.
This would have helped demonstrate that Timothy’s confessions were false.
But they were not allowed to testify.
The police even re-interviewed the workmen and made them change their stories to more
closely match details provided by Timothy.
The legal system failed Timothy at almost every level.
But there was an important fact which was completely unknown to everyone, and it would
have made all the difference.
John Christie was a serial killer.
The Serial Killer
John Christie had a long criminal history.
In early 1921, he started working as a postman.
Within four months, he was convicted for stealing money orders.
He served three months in prison.
Two years later John was convicted of obtaining money on false pretenses and violent conduct.
He got lucky and only received twelve months’ probation for that offense.
Almost as soon as probation ended, he was convicted of two counts of larceny.
That resulted in a six-month prison sentence.
After leaving prison in 1924, John Christie worked as a taxi driver.
He stayed out of prison for several years.
He was also separated from his wife and living with another woman.
In 1929 he beat her with a cricket bat and was sentenced to six months hard labor for
it.
Not long after being released, John stole a car and received three more months.
Released from prison yet again in 1934, John reunited with his wife Ethyl.
In 1938, they moved into the ground floor of the flat where Timothy and Beryl would
also live.
John Christie made the transition from petty crime and assault to murder in 1943.
He visited prostitutes whenever possible.
He claimed to have met Ruth Fuerst, a 21-year-old woman who sold sexual services to supplement
her income.
While Ethyl was away, John invited Ruth to his house for sex.
He then strangled her and buried her in the backyard.
In 1944 he was working in a factory and met Muriel Amelia Eady.
She had a bad case of bronchitis.
John Christie told her he had a gas she could inhale that would help it.
The gas he gave her was mostly carbon monoxide and rendered her unconscious.
He raped and strangled Muriel, then buried her beside Ruth.
In 1948, John killed Beryl and Geraldine.
Of course, Timothy took the blame for that.
John Christie managed to avoid killing for a few more years.
But one morning in 1952, he lost control and strangled Ethyl.
He made up several stories to explain her disappearance to neighbors.
In the meantime, he sold her belongings.
Somehow nobody suspected that John killed her.
During early 1953, John killed three more women.
But he got lazy about disposing of the bodies and put them in a kitchen alcove.
He moved out of his flat in March without moving the corpses.
A tenant discovered the most recent victims while trying to find something in the kitchen.
John was arrested soon thereafter.
John confessed to the murders of the women in the alcove, and to the victims in the backyard.
He also admitted that he killed Beryl.
John did not admit to killing Geraldine.
He was tried in June for the murder of Ethel.
The verdict was guilty, and he was sentenced to death.
On July 15, 1953 John Christie was executed.
Timothy’s Innocence
Once John Christie’s crimes were discovered, the public began questioning Timothy’s conviction.
The Home Secretary commissioned an inquiry to investigate.
It ruled that Timothy’s conviction should be upheld.
In 1955, several newspaper editors formed a group that called for a new inquiry into
Timothy’s case.
That same year a British lawyer wrote a book about the trial and concluded Timothy
Evans could not have committed the murders.
Still, there was no new inquiry.
Another book several years later resulted in a new Parliamentary debate in 1961.
But there was no agreement to open a new inquiry.
In 1965, a committee finally created enough pressure that a new inquiry was opened.
It found that Timothy was probably guilty of murdering his wife, but most likely did
not kill Geraldine.
Since he was only tried for killing Geraldine, Timothy was given a posthumous pardon in 1966.
The public outcry forced suspension of executions in 1964.
It was finally abolished altogether in 1969.
In January 2003, the UK government awarded Timothy’s sisters payments for the miscarriage
of justice in his trial.
They also admitted that he most likely did not kill Beryl or Geraldine.
The government never did admit that Timothy Evans was innocent.
Who is to blame for the death of Timothy Evans?
Is John Christie entirely to blame?
He is the only murderer in this story after all.
Timothy Evans isn’t entirely blameless either.
He had a bad habit of lying.
He frequently beat his wife in public.
Then he confessed to killing her.
It isn’t difficult to see why police weren’t motivated to investigate further.
Unfortunately, because they weren’t interested in finding the truth, authorities allowed
John Christie to kill four more women before finally being caught.
Activists against the death penalty assert that the real lesson is that the only way
to avoid killing innocent people is to not kill people.
What do you think?
Tell us your thoughts about the death penalty in the comments below.
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Thank you for watching Bad Things in History.