During Easter of 1948, Timothy Evans and his wife Beryl moved into the top-floor flat at 10 Rillington Place, where Beryl gave birth that October to their daughter, Geraldine. In late 1949, Evans informed police that his wife was dead. [45] A police search of the building failed to find her body, but a later search revealed the bodies of Beryl, Geraldine, and a 16-week male foetus [46] in an outdoor wash-house. Beryl's body had been wrapped twice, in a blanket and then a table cloth. The post-mortem revealed that both mother and daughter had been strangled and that Beryl had been physically assaulted before her death, shown by facial bruising. [47] Evans at first claimed that Christie had killed his wife in a botched abortion operation, but police questioning eventually produced a confession. The alleged confession may have been fabricated by the police, as the statement appears contrived and artificial. [48] After being charged, Evans withdrew his confession and once again accused Christie, this time of both murders. The jury retired for only 40 minutes before returning a verdict of guilty on January 13. Evans was hanged by Albert Pierrepoint at Pentonville on March 9, 1950. Above all, this book is a moving personal story of the enduring love a boy had, and still has, for his beloved big sister and tiny niece, both of whom he still misses and mourns to this day. As though such pain were not enough to have borne, he and his family have had also to live with the sensationalised, endlessly trawled over and almost always erroneously depicted events which are so very far from the truth as he alone knew it to be – alone, that is, until now, thanks to this belated but heartfelt and crucially valuable contribution. The film dramatises the case of British serial killer John Christie, who committed many of his crimes in the titular London terraced house, and the miscarriage of justice involving his neighbour Timothy Evans. Hurt received a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Evans.

After persuading her that her bronchitis could be cured by inhaling his ‘special mixture’, Christie subdued her with carbon monoxide before raping and strangling her. Benwell, Max (24 November 2016). "Rillington Place: What John Christie's Residential Burial Ground Looks Like Now". The Independent . Retrieved 21 December 2016. Emmerdale spoilers: Aaron Dingle’s terrifying violent threat to Vinny as he issues dangerous demand And there the matter would have rested had liberal journalist Ludovic Kennedy not decided to get involved. Three years later, on March 21, 1953, Christie left Rillington Place and three days after that Beresford Brown, a new tenant, found six bodies in the garden, kitchen and under the sitting room floor.Christie also admitted to strangling Beryl after offering to abort her unborn child but did not mention the daughter Geraldine. Peter: The trial of Evans lasted only three days. That would be ridiculous by the standards of today. There was so much to be criticised. For a start, the numerous people who knew Evans and his capabilities and threats towards Beryl. These included her brother Basil who did very little to support her. There were many others including her closest friend Joan Vincent who was so well aware of Beryl’s marital problems. Neighbours saw and heard the regular violent rows in the Evans household. Also, several workmen had been present at No.10 for nearly three weeks. Not one of these people was called to give evidence at his trial. Had they done so there would have been no question of his guilt. For me, this has been a lifetime of frustration and regret. April 1953: Crowds of the curious gather to watch as the contents are cleared from 10 Rillington Place, in London’s Notting Hill (Picture: Ronald Startup/Picture Post/Getty Images) Neither corpse was discovered when detectives searched the house looking for missing mother Beryl Evans and her daughter Geraldine in late November 1949.

Christie committed his murders over a ten-year period between 1943 and 1953, usually by strangling his victims after he had rendered them unconscious with domestic gas; some he raped as they lay unconscious. One scene opens with the doorbell at 10 Rillington Place ringing as Christie goes up the stairs to perform the abortion on Beryl. Evans met Beryl Thorley in 1946 and the two married a year later. Soon after, they were expecting and, desiring a larger home, moved to a flat at 10 Rillington Place, where they met Ethel and John Christie. Per the Watford Observer, Christie later enlisted in the British Army during the First World War, where he joined the 52nd Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment as an infantryman in 1918.Q11: You have had a very positive response to your book and the extensive research you have carried out for the last 35 years into the murder of your sister and niece. What is the main message you wanted to get out to the world through your book? Do you feel satisfied now after all this time that you’ve been able to achieve that? Peter: Yes, Christie did claim to have murdered Beryl. His belief was ‘the more the merrier’ on the grounds that he would put forward a plea of insanity. That way, he would escape the death penalty. Needless to say, that wasn’t accepted and he was regarded as fit to stand trial for the murder of Ethel, his wife. He was hanged for that crime. This is the story of John Christie’s horrific reign of terror and how Timothy Evans paid the price for it. John Christie’s Troubled Youth And First Forays Into Crime Murderpedia John Christie stashed the bodies of his victims inside alcoves and under floorboards in his home at 10 Rillington Place in London’s Notting Hill neighborhood.

A year later Rillington Place had its name changed to Ruston Close but number ten continued to be rented out to tenants. A huge fight erupted towards the end of 1949 and Peter Thorley told his father about the bruises he had seen on his sister.

The film’s forensic, quasi-documentary intentions are established immediately by the opening text: “This is a true story. Whenever possible, the dialogue has been based on official documents.” As the words appear, an air raid siren is heard, establishing both period and imminent threat. The sound blends into John Dankworth’s sparely used score, unexpected swells of harp aptly suggesting frenzy and disturbance beneath the austere woodwind surface, as the credits play over the Rillington Place street sign. Born in 1924 in South Wales, Timothy Evans grew up without his biological father and reportedly suffered from health issues that caused him to miss much of school. As a result, he never learned to read or write properly. Hardy, Phil (1997). The BFI Companion to Crime. University of California Press. p.319. ISBN 978-0-520-21538-2. In the ground floor apartment were John Christie and his wife Ethel, a couple the Evans’ had become friends with during their time at 10 Rillington Place. Evans said John Christie had tried to abort the baby Beryl was carrying and it was his fault Beryl had died. He said Christie currently had their baby Geraldine and was going to find people to adopt her.