A Passion for Poison

by Carol Ann Lee

  With that in mind, I want to thank the following people for supporting me through a period where my mental health difficulties became almost overwhelming: my partner Lee, my son River and his partner Morgan, my friends Sharon Moore, Tricia Room, Tina Barrott, Ali Dunnell, Sarah Barnes, Kirsty Koch, Angela Handley, Alan Bennett and Keith Skinner. I haven’t been in touch as often as I should have been, but not a day goes by when I don’t feel grateful to have such amazing people in my life. Additionally, I must thank Mo Lea and Eugene Scardifield, who have endured so much in their own lives but offered such kindness and compassion to me; I am deeply grateful to you both and hope that your books, which I cannot recommend highly enough, reach and touch as many people as they deserve.

  I also want to thank the staff of York Hospital and our local doctors’ surgery in Pocklington for everything they have done over this past year for my family and others. And equally, if not more so, I would like to thank all the staff at my sister’s day care centre, Woldhaven, which must be the best unit of its kind in the country. Although the centre was closed to its usual day visitors, the staff remained a huge source of support throughout the lockdown period and I cannot thank them enough.

  My research for this book relied almost entirely then, given our strange global circumstances and the passing of those who knew Graham best, on written sources from the National Archives. The voluminous files on the case were released fairly recently, and this book has benefitted considerably from having access to the thousands of papers contained within the cardboard folders. I must also thank those other authors, documentary makers and journalists who have written about Graham since he first came to public attention in 1962; I would recommend especially Winifred Young’s book, Obsessive Poisoner, as one of the most compelling true crime memoirs I’ve ever read.

  Finally, I must thank my agent Robert Smith, as always, for being the most terrific literary agent and friend, and also Justine Taylor, Lisa Dyer and all the wonderful team at Bonnier for having such patience, faith and trust in me and my work. I know just how fortunate I am, so from my heart – thank you.

  BIBLIOGRAPHY

  BOOKS

  Christie, Agatha, The Pale Horse (London: HarperCollins, 2017).

  Cummines, Bobby, The Parkhurst Years: My Time Locked Up with Britain’s Most Notorious Criminals (London: Ebury Press, 2017).

  David, Jenni, Poison, A History: An Account of the Deadly Art and Its Most Infamous Practitioners (London: Chartwell Books, 2019).

  Emsley, John, The Elements of Murder: A History of Poison (USA: Oxford University Press, 2006).

  Farrell, Michael, Criminology of Homicidal Poisoning: Offenders, Victims and Detecting (Switzerland: Springer International Publishing AG, 2017).

  Farrell, Michael, Criminology of Serial Poisoners (Switzerland: Springer Nature Switzerland AG, 2018).

  Farrell, Michael, Poison and Poisoners: An Encyclopedia of Homicidal Poisonings (London: Bantam Books, 1994).

  Gordon, Dr Harvey, Broadmoor (London: Psychology News Press, 2012).

  Grant, Thomas, Court Number One, The Old Bailey: The Trials and Scandals That Shocked Modern Britain (London: John Murray, 2020).

  Harkup, Kathryn, A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie (London: Bloomsbury Insignia, 2016).

  Harris, Robert and Paxman, Jeremy, A Higher Form of Killing: The Secret History of Chemical and Biological Warfare (London: Random House, 2002).

  Hawksley, Lucinda, Bitten by Witch Fever: Wallpaper and Arsenic in the Victorian Home (London: Thames & Hudson, 2016).

  Holden, Anthony, The St Albans Poisoner: The Life and Crimes of Graham Young (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1974).

  Hubbard, Ben, Poison: The History of Potions, Powders and Murderous Practitioners (London: Welbeck Publishing, 2019).

  Levi, Jonathan and French, Emma, Inside Broadmoor: Up Close and Personal with Britain’s Most Dangerous Criminals (London: Blink Publishing, 2019), Kindle edition.

  Lowe, Gordon, Escape from Broadmoor: The Trials and Strangulations of John Straffen (London: The History Press, 2013).

  Macaskill, Hilary, Agatha Christie at Home (London: Frances Lincoln, 2009).

  Manser, Brian, Behind the Small Wooden Door: The Inside Story of Parkhurst Prison (Isle of Wight: Coach House Publications Ltd, 2000).

  Marriner, Brian, Murder with Venom (London: True Crime Library/ Forum Press, 2002).

  Private Eye, The Anatomy of Neasden (London: Quartet Books, 1973).

  Rowland, John, Poisoner in the Dock: Twelve Studies in Poisoning (London: Arco Publications, 1960).

  Stevens, Mark, Broadmoor Revealed: Victorian Crime and the Lunatic Asylum (Berkshire Record Office, 2011), Kindle edition.

  Thompson, Peter, Bound for Broadmoor (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1972).

  Trestrail, John Harris, Criminal Poisoning: Investigational Guide for Law Enforcement, Toxicologists, Forensic Scientists, and Attorneys (New Jersey: Humana Press, 2000).

  Valentine, K J, Neasden: A Historical Study (London: Charles Skilton Ltd, 1989).

  Wilson, David and Day, Jenni, Broadmoor: A History of the Criminally Insane (Dreamscape Media LLC, 2018), Kindle edition.

  Young, Winifred, Obsessive Poisoner: The Strange Story of Graham Young (London: Robert Hale, 1973).

  BIBLIOGRAPHY: PERIODICALS AND OTHER PUBLICATIONS

  Bowden, Paul, ‘Graham Young (1947–1990), The St Albans Poisoner: His Life and Times’, Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 6: pp.17–24, Supplement, Whurr Publishers Ltd, 1996.

  Emsley, John, ‘The Trouble with Thallium’, New Scientist, 10 August 1978.

  Faulk, Malcolm, ‘After-Effects of the Graham Young Case’, Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 6: 43–49, Whurr Publishers Ltd, 1996.

  Murder Casebook: Graham Young, Issue 59, Marshall Cavendish, 1991.

  Murder in Mind: Graham Young, Issue 30, Marshall Cavendish, 1974.

  Neal, Meg, ‘Nature’s Toxic Gifts: The Deadly Story of Poison’, Popular Mechanics website, 4 October 2020.

  DOCUMENTARY AND FILMS

  Born to Kill? Class of Evil: ‘Graham Young’, Series 1, Episode 5, Twofour Productions, 2017.

  Crime Story: Terrible Coldness: ‘Graham Young’, Blue Heaven Productions, 1993.

  Fred Dinenage Murder Casebook: ‘The Teacup Poisoner’, Series 1, Episode 2, Crime & Investigation Network, 2011.

  The Young Poisoner’s Handbook, Bavaria Film and Television Fund, British Screen Productions, 1995.

  ENDNOTES

  1 National Geographic, ‘Pick Your Poison – 12 Toxic Tales’, Cathy Newman, May 2005.

  2 Popular Mechanics website: ‘Nature’s Toxic Gifts: The Deadly Story of Poison’, Meg Neal, 4 October 2020.

  3 Ibid.

  4 Ibid.

  5 Daily Herald, editorial, 6 July 1962.

  6 In 1999, following the referral of the Hanratty case to the new Criminal Cases Review Commission, DNA samples from Valerie Storie’s underwear and a handkerchief belonging to Hanratty proved a familial match with samples provided by his mother and brother. The evidential DNA was two and a half million times more likely to belong to Hanratty than anyone else. His body was then exhumed in 2001 to extract his DNA, which exactly matched those preserved on the underwear and handkerchief.

  7 ‘I see you . . . ’ Massingberd, Hugh, ed. The Very Best of the Daily Telegraph Books of Obituaries (London: Pan Books, 1987), pp.31–34; ‘a pretty anaemic . . . ’ The Guardian, ‘Men Accused of Rape Are Being Wrongly Acquitted – Thanks to Jurors Who Think Like John Redwood’, Marcel Berlins, 19 December 2007.

  8 Ibid.

  9 Daily Mirror, ‘Fantastic Mind of a 14-Year-Old Poisoner’, 6 July 1962.

  10 Daily Express, ‘One Day Ten Years Ago’, 30 June 1972.

  11 Holden, Anthony, The St Albans Poisoner: The Life and Crimes of Graham Young (London: Panther Books, 1974), p.34.

  12 Graham Young, witness statement, 24 May 1962.

  13 Ibid.

  14 Daily Express, ‘Poison Gave Boy Sense of Pow
er’, 6 July 1962.

  15 Daily Mirror, ‘Fantastic Mind of a 14-Year-Old Poisoner’, 6 July 1962.

  16 Holden, Anthony, The St Albans Poisoner, p.36.

  17 Ibid.

  18 Dr Donald Blair, report on the mental condition of GFY, 25 June 1962.

  19 Ibid.

  20 Ibid.

  21 Ibid.

  22 Daily Mirror, ‘Fantastic Mind of a 14-Year-Old Poisoner’, 6 July 1962.

  23 The Needle Pulls the Thread website: ‘Deadly Pursuits: The Life and Crimes of Graham Young’, Alex Karas, 30 March 2018.

  24 Birmingham Post, ‘Broadmoor for Boy Poisoner’, 6 July 1962.

  25 Ibid.

  26 True Detective, ‘Crimes That Made the Headlines: Graham Young’, November 2012.

  27 Grant, Thomas, Court Number One, The Old Bailey: The Trials and Scandals That Shocked Modern Britain (London: John Murray, 2020), p.14.

  28 Young, Winifred, Obsessive Poisoner: The Strange Story of Graham Young by His Sister (London: Robert Hale & Company, 1973), p.27.

  29 Metro-land, produced by BBC Television, narrated by Sir John Betjeman, released 26 February 1973.

  30 ‘like a lasso . . . ’ MacNiece, Louis, Autumn Journal (London: Faber & Faber, 1938).

  31 Sunday Mirror, ‘My Son, The Poisoner’, Fred Young, 1972.

  32 Young, Winifred, Obsessive Poisoner, pp.25–26.

  33 Sunday Mirror, ‘My Son, The Poisoner’, Fred Young, 1972.

  34 Report from Dr P D Scott, Consultant Psychiatrist, HMP Brixton, 18 April 1972.

  35 Birmingham Post, ‘Poison Killer Had Been Freed from Broadmoor’, 30 June 1972.

  36 Young, Winifred, Obsessive Poisoner, p.26.

  37 Ibid., pp.25–26.

  38 Ibid.

  39 Ibid., p.26.

  40 Ibid.

  41 Ibid., p.35.

  42 Sunday Mirror, ‘My Son, The Poisoner’, Fred Young, 1972.

  43 Report from Dr P D Scott, Consultant Psychiatrist, HMP Brixton, 18 April 1972.

  44 Young, Winifred, Obsessive Poisoner, pp.25–26.

  45 Report from Dr P D Scott, Consultant Psychiatrist, HMP Brixton, 18 April 1972.

  46 Young, Winifred, Obsessive Poisoner, p.27.

  47 Sunday Mirror, ‘My Son, The Poisoner’, Fred Young, 1972.

  48 Birmingham Post, ‘Poison Killer Had Been Freed from Broadmoor’, 30 June 1972.

  49 Dr Donald Blair, report on the mental condition of Graham Frederick Young, 25 June 1962.

  50 Young, Winifred, Obsessive Poisoner, pp.25–26.

  51 Report from Dr P D Scott, Consultant Psychiatrist, HMP Brixton, 18 April 1972.

  52 Frank Walker, interviewed on Great Crimes and Trials of the Twentieth Century: ‘Graham Young, The Compulsive Poisoner’, Series 3 Episode 6, 1996.

  53 Report from Dr P D Scott, Consultant Psychiatrist, HMP Brixton, 18 April 1972.

  54 Document, ‘Part B – Treatment and Progress; type of care: Broadmoor after-care’ regarding Graham Young, 5 February 1971.

  55 Patrick McGrath, letter, 12 March 1965.

  56 Document, ‘Part B – Treatment and Progress; type of care: Broadmoor after-care’ regarding Graham Young, 5 February 1971.

  57 ‘A hoarder . . . ’ Patrick McGrath, letter, 12 March 1965; ‘markedly ambivalent . . . ’ Report from Dr P D Scott, Consultant Psychiatrist, HMP Brixton, 18 April 1972.

  58 National Archives file.

  59 Ibid.

  60 Report from Dr P D Scott, Consultant Psychiatrist, HMP Brixton, 18 April 1972.

  61 Birmingham Post, ‘Poison Killer Had Been Freed from Broadmoor’, 30 June 1972.

  62 Hertfordshire Constabulary Report: Graham Frederick Young, born 7.9.47; ‘Murder, Attempted Murder and Administration of Poison’; 1971– 1972.

  63 Winnie Victoria Jouvenat, witness statement, 2 February 1972.

  64 Report from Dr P D Scott, Consultant Psychiatrist, HMP Brixton, 18 April 1972.

  65 Patrick McGrath, letter, 12 March 1965.

  66 Sandra Lynn, full witness statement, 10 February 1972.

  67 Daily Mirror, ‘Scandal of the “Cured Killer”’, 30 June 1972.

  68 The New Statesman, ‘Dreams Don’t Come to Neasden to Die: They Could Never Have Lived Here in the First Place’, Nicholas Lezard, 29 August 2018.

  69 Daily Mirror, ‘Scandal of the “Cured Killer”’, 30 June 1972.

  70 Young, Winifred, Obsessive Poisoner, pp.38–39.

  71 Daily Mirror, ‘Poison Death Diary’, 20 June 1972.

  72 Holden, Anthony, The St Albans Poisoner, p.20.

  73 Frank Walker, interviewed on Great Crimes and Trials of the Twentieth Century, ‘Graham Young, The Compulsive Poisoner’, Series 3, Episode 6, 1996.

  74 Report from Dr P D Scott, Consultant Psychiatrist, HMP Brixton, 18 April 1972.

  75 Ibid.

  76 Sandra Lynn, full witness statement, 10 February 1972.

  77 Patrick McGrath, letter, 12 March 1965.

  78 Holden, Anthony, The St Albans Poisoner, p.22.

  79 Daily Mirror, ‘Scandal of the “Cured Killer”’, 30 June 1972.

  80 Ibid.

  81 Winifred Margaret Young, full witness statement, 10 February 1972.

  82 Young, Winifred, Obsessive Poisoner, p.34.

  83 Rowland, John, Poisoner in the Dock: Twelve Studies in Poisoning (London: Arco Publications, 1960), pp.9–10.

  84 Ibid., p.30.

  85 Rowland, John, Poisoner in the Dock, p.46.

  86 Holden, Anthony, The St Albans Poisoner, p.22.

  87 Ibid.

  88 Ibid., pp.22–23.

  89 Dr Donald Blair, report on the mental condition of GFY, 25 June 1962.

  90 Geoffrey Ronald, committal hearing declaration, 6 June 1962.

  91 Ibid.

  92 Frederick Charles Young, committal hearing declaration, 6 June 1962.

  93 Geoffrey Ronald, committal hearing declaration, 6 June 1962.

  94 Graham Young, witness statement, 24 May 1962.

  95 Daily Mirror, ‘Scandal of the “Cured Killer”’, 30 June 1972.

  96 Clive Percy Creager, committal hearing declaration, 6 June 1962.

  97 Birmingham Post, ‘Poison Killer Had Been Freed from Broadmoor’, 30 June 1972.

  98 Daily Mirror, ‘Scandal of the “Cured Killer”’, 30 June 1972.

  99 Dr Derek Solomon Goldfoot, committal hearing declaration, 6 June 1962.

  100 Ibid.

  101 Holden, Anthony, The St Albans Poisoner, p.23.

  102 Christopher John Williams, committal hearing declaration, 6 June 1962.

  103 Clive Percy Creager, committal hearing declaration, 6 June 1962.

  104 Ibid.

  105 Daily Mirror, ‘Scandal of the “Cured Killer”’, 30 June 1972.

  106 Richard John Hands, committal hearing declaration, 6 June 1962.

  107 ‘A phial . . . ’ Chris Creager, interviewed on Great Crimes and Trials of the Twentieth Century: ‘Graham Young, The Compulsive Poisoner’, Series 3 Episode 6, 1996; ‘He would . . . ’ Holden, Anthony, The St Albans Poisoner, p.22.

  108 Patrick McGrath, letter, 12 March 1965.

  109 Report from Dr P D Scott, Consultant Psychiatrist, HMP Brixton, 18 April 1972.

  110 Ibid.

  111 Young, Winifred, Obsessive Poisoner, p.59.

  112 Report from Dr P D Scott, Consultant Psychiatrist, HMP Brixton, 18 April 1972.

  113 Sunday Mirror, ‘My Son, The Poisoner’, Fred Young, 1972.

  114 Young, Winifred, Obsessive Poisoner, p.32.

  115 Patrick McGrath, letter, 12 March 1965.

  116 Daily Mirror, ‘Scandal of the “Cured Killer”’, 30 June 1972.

  117 Sunday Mirror, ‘My Son, The Poisoner’, Fred Young, 1972.

  118 Dr Donald Blair, report on the mental condition of GFY, 25 June 1962.

  119 Graham Young, witness statement, 24 May 1962.

  120 National Archives file.

  121 Ibid.

  122 Sunday Mirror, ‘My Son, The Poisoner�
�, Fred Young, 1972.

  123 Ibid.

  124 National Archives file.

  125 Frederick Charles Young, committal hearing declaration, 6 June 1962.

  126 Sunday Mirror, ‘My Son, The Poisoner’, Fred Young, 1972.

  127 Young, Winifred, Obsessive Poisoner, p.36.

  128 Ibid.

  129 Report from Dr P D Scott, Consultant Psychiatrist, HMP Brixton, 18 April 1972.

  130 Graham Young, witness statement, 24 May 1962.

  131 Michael Hodgetts, committal hearing declaration, 6 June 1962.

  132 Young, Winifred, Obsessive Poisoner, pp.40–41.

  133 Ibid.

  134 Ibid.

  135 Dr Peter Dobell Maddocks, committal hearing declaration, 6 June 1962.

  136 Young, Winifred, Obsessive Poisoner, pp.40–41.

  137 Dr Peter Dobell Maddocks, committal hearing declaration, 6 June 1962.

  138 Young, Winifred, Obsessive Poisoner, pp.40–41.

  139 Ibid.

  140 Graham Young, witness statement, 24 May 1962.

  141 National Archives file.

  142 Michael Hodgetts, committal hearing declaration, 6 June 1962.

  143 Winifred Margaret Young, full witness statement, 10 February 1972.

  144 Chris Creager, interviewed on Great Crimes and Trials of the Twentieth Century: ‘Graham Young, The Compulsive Poisoner’, Series 3 Episode 6, 1996.

  145 The Needle Pulls the Thread website: ‘Deadly Pursuits: The Life and Crimes of Graham Young,’ Alex Karas, 30 March 2018.

  146 Young, Winifred, Obsessive Poisoner, p.36.

  147 Ibid., pp.38–39.

  148 Graham Young, witness statement, 24 May 1962.

  149 Christie, Agatha, The Pale Horse, (London: HarperCollins Publishers, 2020), p241.

  150 Graham Young, police interview, File DPP2/5063.

  151 National Archives file.

  152 Ibid.

  153 Sunday Mirror, ‘My Son, The Poisoner’, Fred Young, 1972.

  154 National Archives file.

  155 Winifred Margaret Young, full witness statement, 10 February 1972.

  156 Hertfordshire Constabulary Report: Graham Frederick Young, born 7.9.47; Murder, Attempted Murder and Administration of Poison; 1971– 1972.

  157 National Archives file.