Despite her apparent disapproval of Sheila Griffin, Barbara had also been known, occasionally, to give her lifts too. On 7 December 1966, Barbara gave Sheila a lift home from the offices of the Automobile Association. Exactly one week later, on 14 December, she did the same again, but this time, Sheila was never to complete her journey.
Bulmershe Road, on the left of the map, where Barbara Browne killed Sheila Griffin. Author’s Collection
We will never know what words passed between Barbara Browne and Sheila Griffin in that car on 14 December 1966 but we do know that Barbara drove to Bulmershe Road, where she threw ammonia into Sheila’s face. She then picked up a copper-headed mallet, which she had secreted by the driver’s seat, and struck Sheila over the head at least twenty-one times. Satisfied that the young girl was dead, Barbara then placed a plastic bag over her head, which she tied in place with a stocking. She then used a scarf to wipe the blood off the windscreen before driving home to 18 Silver Fox Crescent.
At the time Barbara arrived home, Roy Browne was in a workshop he had built for himself in the attic. He heard Barbara drive up to the house and put the car into the garage. Then he heard her call for him to come down, adding that she had just done something terrible.
When Roy Browne saw his wife, it was clear that something terrible had indeed happened. Her face and clothing were covered in blood but before he could ask her what had happened, Barbara said that she had just killed someone and wanted his help in disposing of the body. Calmly, Roy suggested that she should go and wash the blood from her face. Barbara did as he suggested and whilst she was cleaning herself, Roy went to the garage to check on the car. There he saw the body of Sheila Griffin, still in the front passenger seat. Knowing what he had to do next, Roy locked the garage doors and went to telephone for the police.
Constable Derek Gardiner timed his arrival at Silver Fox Crescent at 7.15pm. He too checked on the scene inside the car and then went to interview Barbara Browne. She made no attempt to avoid the consequences of what she had done, saying: ‘I killed her. She is in the van. Take me. Where are your handcuffs?’
Constable Gardiner cautioned Barbara but she continued to speak adding: ‘I killed her. I do not know why I killed her. Oh God what a merry Christmas this will be. I killed her. I hit her, and hit her, and hit her. She was a wicked girl.’
Although Barbara appeared to be much calmer than when she had first arrived home, it was still thought best to call out a doctor to examine her. Doctor William G Cheyne saw Barbara at her home and began by asking her how she was feeling now. Barbara merely replied: ‘I have just killed someone.’ Dr Cheyne made his examination and determined that Barbara was suffering from depression.
Charged with murder, Barbara Browne’s final committal hearing took place before the magistrates on Wednesday 31 January 1967, after which she was sent to face her trial at Oxford in February. She duly appeared before Mr Justice Chapman on 27 February, where she pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter. That plea was not accepted by the prosecution, who stated they wished to proceed on the charge of murder. After some discussion, it was ruled that the case should be put back to the next Berkshire Assizes where the evidence would be heard.
Barbara Browne finally appeared at Reading on 24 April before Mr Justice Howard. The case for the prosecution was detailed by Mr Charles Lawson whilst Barbara’s defence rested in the hands of Mr Douglas Draycott.
In effect, since Barbara had admitted being responsible for Sheila’s death, the only case to hear was concerning her mental state at the time. For this reason, many of those who would normally have appeared in court to give their testimony, instead had their statements read out to the court.
Constable Gardiner detailed the various statements Barbara had made to him, both before and after he had cautioned her. His testimony was followed by the reading out of a statement made by the dead girl’s father, Mr Wallace Griffin.
In this, Mr Griffin said that his daughter had worked for the Automobile Association for some four years. She had been going to the Elvis fan club for almost two years and it was there that she met Peter Whittaker. They started seeing each other in May 1966 and had arranged to become engaged on 7 February.
Peter Whittaker’s statement referred to his relationship with Barbara Browne and claimed that his girlfriend knew about the relationship. He said that Sheila had not objected because they felt they were not ready for a sexual relationship yet and this was a way for Peter to satisfy his needs without risking Sheila becoming pregnant.
Doctor Peter Scott had made a psychiatric examination of the defendant and determined that she was of at least average intelligence. She was not suffering from any psychiatric illness, but was certainly childish and emotionally shallow. She had become obsessed with Peter Whittaker and had started to collect souvenirs of him. Thus, she had saved a number of stubs from cigarettes, which he had smoked, and some cups he had drunk from. She had also kept a condom used by him on one of their sexual liaisons.
After Roy Browne had given his testimony, Doctor Edmund O’Connell, the family doctor, was called. He detailed a history of depression going back to 1959, after her miscarriage. He too had been called to the Browne house after Barbara’s arrest and said that he had found her completely devoid of any emotion.
The final witness was Doctor Bertram Mantelbrote of the Littlemore Hospital, who testified that Barbara showed evidence of a personality disorder of a persistent kind. He detailed examples of this, including the fact that Barbara had been in the habit of writing to her own teddy bear. She would write the bear a letter using her left hand and then reply to herself, as the bear, with her right.
After a trial lasting four days, the jury of nine men and three women took just seven minutes to decide that Barbara Browne was not responsible for her actions and thus, was guilty of manslaughter, not murder. The judge ruled that she should be sent to the Fairmile Hospital for treatment.
CHAPTER 16
Sacrifice Olton Goring and Eileen Goring 1971
The neighbours had had enough. For the best part of a week now, there had been chanting and shouting from the house at 19 Waylen Street, Reading and this had culminated on the night of Tuesday 19 January 1971 with stamping, the sound of girls screaming and wailing, and still more chanting. It was time to call in the police.
The police did indeed attend, but they failed to quieten the racket coming from the house. They had determined that the occupants of the house, Olton Goring, his wife Eileen and their children, were all members of a fundamentalist sect, but even when officers called in a pastor from the church, the noise still continued. The neighbours were spoken to and they reported that in addition to the noise, there had also been a naked woman hanging out of an upstairs window and spitting into the street below.
It seemed that the only way out might be some sort of civil action in the courts.
The noise, already intolerable, increased even further over the night of 25 January and it soon became clear that something more than a religious chanting was going on at number 19. So awful did things become that on Wednesday 27 January, neighbours broke into the house and tried to quieten things down for themselves. What they found caused the police to be called for again. This time, officers could take direct action for, on the landing, they found the body of sixteen-year-old Keith Anderson Goring, one of the sons of Olton and Eileen.
Taken into custody, Olton and Eileen made various appearances before the magistrates where Mr Rodney Higgins, for the prosecution, opposed bail for both of the accused. They were, consequently, remanded in custody having been advised to seek legal aid.
The inquest on the dead boy was opened on Tuesday 2 February before the Deputy Coroner of Reading, Mr Arthur Sheppard. Evidence of identity was given by Brenda Rowen Goring, the dead boy’s sister, who said that Keith had been born on 21 March 1952, in Barbados. He was a labourer who had wanted to join the army when he was old enough.
Medical evidence was given by Dr Arthur
Keith Mant, a pathologist from Harley Street, who told the court that he had first seen the body at 2.00am on 27 January. At a subsequent post-mortem, Dr Mant had determined that Keith Goring had died from asphyxia as a result of compression to his neck. There were signs of manual compression and there was no possibility of it being self-inflicted. The inquest was then adjourned so that the police might make further inquiries.
The final appearance before the magistrates took place on 3 March when both defendants were committed for trial at the next Oxford Assizes. When that trial finally took place, before Mr Justice Milmo, Mr O B Popplewell and Mr JP Smith appeared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. Mr John Marchie appeared for Olton Goring whilst Mr Nicholas Freeman appeared for Eileen. She pleaded not guilty to murder whilst her husband pleaded guilty but with diminished responsibility.
There could be little doubt that Olton and Eileen were responsible for the death of their son. In addition to their own statements to the police, there had also been statements from some of the Goring’s other children and these allowed the authorities to build up a picture of what had taken place inside 19 Waylen Street.
Apparently, the entire family had engaged in a week of fasting and chanting in the belief that this would render them into a state of religious meditation. During the state of trance thus induced, it was believed that members of the sect would be possessed by the Holy Spirit, and be able to talk in tongues.
On Saturday 23 January, Keith had been seen hanging out of the window, waving his arms about and coughing violently. This was not, however, some attempt at seeking help or assistance for there was also the incident of the naked woman spitting into the street and the fact that one of Keith’s sisters had been made to cough repeatedly for a long period of time. This, it transpired, was a way to get rid of demons.
In due course, some of the children were sent to stay with friends in Reading. Soon after this, Olton Goring told the remainder of his family that one of them would soon be killed by a destroying angel.
At around midnight on the night he died, Keith, along with the other remaining members of his family, went into his mother’s room. They found Eileen Goring in a frenzied state and Olton then announced that Keith would have to be sacrificed in order to save his mother’s life.
The other sons of the family were then ordered to sit on Keith whilst Eileen and Olton beat him. Once this was done, Olton then held Keith down whilst Eileen walked up and down his body. Finally, Olton strangled his son whilst his wife looked on. When the police finally arrived at the premises soon afterwards, Olton had shouted to them: ‘Glory, glory. Give me strength.’
With so much evidence against them, the defence teams did not dispute the basic facts but sought to show that both defendants had been suffering from some mental instability at the time they killed their son.
Doctor Paul Doran was the medical officer at Holloway prison where Eileen Goring had been held. He had interviewed Eileen, who told him that she had been deeply concerned about her son’s attitude to their religion since the beginning of the year. She went on to say that the family were members of the Pentecostal Church and had participated in the chanting, fasting and dancing as part of their religious faith.
On 19 January, Eileen had seen her family doctor, complaining of feeling physically unwell and rather depressed. Since her admission to prison, this had not really improved and she seemed to be exhausted. In Dr Doran’s opinion, Eileen was suffering from a severe mental illness at the time she had taken part in the attack upon her son.
This testimony was confirmed by that of Dr David Duncan, who had also examined Eileen and testified that at the time of the murder she would not have known the nature and quality of her actions.
After listening to all the medical evidence, the trial judge directed the jury to find Eileen Goring guilty by reason of insanity. Olton, of course, had already entered a plea of guilty with diminished responsibility and it remained only to sentence them both.
Orton Goring was sentenced to be confined in Broadmoor, for an unlimited period. His wife, Eileen, was ordered to undergo a regime of treatment in hospital. No other prosecutions followed from the tragic death of Keith Goring.
Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Reading Page 12
