Foul Deeds in Kensington and Chelsea
Page 1
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First Published in Great Britain in 2010 by
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Copyright © John J Eddleston, 2010
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Contents
Introduction
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1 Francis Losch – 1818
Chapter 2 Thomas Birmingham – 1829
Chapter 3 The Murder of Catherine Elmes – 1833
Chapter 4 William Jarman – 1837
Chapter 5 William John Marchant – 1839
Chapter 6 Robert Williamson – 1842
Chapter 7 Michael and Ann Connell – 1851
Chapter 8 James Mooney – 1867
Chapter 9 Walter Miller – 1870
Chapter 10 Frances Stewart – 1874
Chapter 11 Charles O’Donnell – 1876
Chapter 12 Michael McConnon – 1877
Chapter 13 The Murder of George James – 1878
Chapter 14 Henry Perry – 1880
Chapter 15 Robert Booley – 1883
Chapter 16 Henry John Surtees – 1883
Chapter 17 Samuel Davis and Alfred George Plank – 1885
Chapter 18 James White – 1888
Chapter 19 John Thomas Lawrence – 1890
Chapter 20 Owen Leonard – 1891
Chapter 21 John Noble – 1892
Chapter 22 Walter Hosler – 1892
Chapter 23 Reginald Traherne Saunderson – 1895
Chapter 24 Alice Jane Money – 1908
Chapter 25 Madan Lal Dhingra – 1909
Chapter 26 The Murder of Frances Buxton – 1920
Chapter 27 Ronald True – 1922
Chapter 28 Joseph O’Sullivan and Reginald Dunne – 1922
Chapter 29 George Frank Harvey – 1934
Chapter 30 Harold Dorian Trevor – 1942
Chapter 31 George Cyril Epton – 1946
Chapter 32 Thomas John Ley and Lawrence John Smith – 1946
Chapter 33 John George Haigh – 1949
Chapter 34 John O’Connor – 1951
Chapter 35 Dennis George Muldowney – 1952
Chapter 36 Kenneth Gilbert and Ian Arthur Grant – 1954
Chapter 37 Guenther Fritz Erwin Podola– 1959
Chapter 38 Marilyn Anne Bain – 1962
Chapter 39 Robert Lipman – 1967
Chapter 40 Other Murders and Foul Deeds –Various Dates
Introduction
The upmarket areas of Kensington and Chelsea have seen some fascinating stories, from the darker side of life.
Amongst the most famous cases of all are those of John George Haigh, who claimed his first victims in the area, and Ronald True, the upper-class killer who managed to escape the noose, to a massive public outcry. There are, however, lesser known, but equally fascinating cases.
There is, for example, the murder of Catherine Elmes, a crime for which John Sharpe c
onfessed, later withdrawing his statement, leaving the case unsolved; or the story of Joseph O’Sullivan and Reginald Dunne, who committed a political assassination; or Dennis Muldowney, a man who took the life of a war heroine.
The area set some unique records in the field of true crime. Kenneth Gilbert and Ian Grant, for example, killed in the area and were the last men ever hanged at the same establishment, at the same time, for the same crime. Then there is Guenther Podola, the last man ever hanged for the murder of a policeman.
These areas of London are, perhaps, amongst the most luxurious areas of the modern city, but those well-kept streets have much more sinister tales to tell.
I would like to offer my thanks to Yvonne, my wife, who assisted with the research for this volume, proof read every single chapter and supported me throughout. I would also like to thank the staff of The National Archives at Kew. It is always a pleasure to work there and without their assistance, the research for books such as this would be much more difficult.
Acknowledgements
All references are from The National Archives:
HO 64/3/130: Catherine Elmes
CRIM 1/29/6: James White
CRIM 1/37/1: Owen Leonard
CRIM 1/37/6: John Noble
CRIM 1/38/3: Walter Hosler
HO 144/543/A54575: Walter Hosler
CRIM 1/41/4: Reginald Saunderson
CRIM 1/108/7: Alice Jane Money
CRIM 1/113/5: Madan Lal Dhingra
MEPO 3/2688: Frances Buxton
CRIM 1/200/4: Ronald True
DPP 1/71: Ronald True
HO 45/25421: Ronald True
HO 144/2568: Ronald True
MEPO 3/1572: Ronald True
CRIM 1/748: George Frank Harvey
DPP 2/238: George Frank Harvey
HO 144/19912: George Frank Harvey
HO 144/19913: George Frank Harvey
MEPO 3/1696: George Frank Harvey
DPP 2/900: Harold Dorian Trevor
DPP 2/949: Harold Dorian Trevor
HO 144/21586: Harold Dorian Trevor
MEPO 3/2194: Harold Dorian Trevor
PCOM 9/2099: Harold Dorian Trevor
CRIM 1/1928: George Cyril Epton
DPP 2/1738: George Cyril Epton
DPP 2/1755: George Cyril Epton
MEPO 3/3007: George Cyril Epton
PCOM 8/2136: George Cyril Epton
CRIM 1/1836: Thomas John Ley and Lawrence John Smith
DPP 2/1579: Ley and Smith
DPP 2/1609: Ley and Smith
DPP 2/1840: John George Haigh
HO 45/23633: John George Haigh
HO 45/23634: John George Haigh
MEPO 3/3128: John George Haigh
PCOM 9/818: John George Haigh
CRIM 1/2252: Dennis George Muldowney
DPP 2/2169: Dennis George Muldowney
PCOM 9/1634: Dennis George Muldowney
CRIM 1/2428: Kenneth Gilbert & Ian Arthur Grant
DPP 2/2336: Gilbert and Grant
MEPO 2/9543: Gilbert and Grant
CRIM 1/3246: Guenther Fritz Erwin Podola
DPP 2/2979: Guenther Podola
HO 291/245: Guenther Podola
MEPO 2/9896: Guenther Podola
CRIM 1/4013: Marilyne Anne Bain
DPP 2/3535: Marilyne Anne Bain
CRIM 1/4885: Robert Lipman
DPP 2/4443: Robert Lipman
Chapter 1
Francis Losch
1818
Francis Losch was a native of Luxembourg and, at the age of seventeen, had joined the Austrian Army. Having served his adopted country with credit, he then moved to England and joined the 3rd Battalion of the 60th Regiment of Foot, stationed in the West Indies. Finally, after many years of military service, he retired from the army, and married a much younger woman, Mary Ann, who went by the name of Nance. Losch then settled down at 7 Jew’s Row, Sloane Street, as a Chelsea Pensioner.
On Friday, 9 October 1818, Ann Diamond, a widow, who lodged at the same house as the Loschs, saw them at the top of Lawrence’s Yard. Mary Ann Losch was walking a few paces ahead of her husband, and as she approached Ann, Mary asked how she was. Ann replied that she was well and, unable to clearly see the man who was still approaching, asked Mary if it was her husband.
Even before Mary Ann could reply, Francis Losch stopped near the two women and said, ‘Nance, you are drunk, come and go home.’ Immediately, Mary Ann called back, ‘If I am drunk, it is caused by prostituting myself to keep such an idle fellow as you.’ There was no reply. Francis merely stepped forward, took something from beneath his coat and plunged it violently into Mary Ann’s side.
Mary Ann staggered against Ann Diamond and then slowly fell to the ground. As she dropped, Mary Ann screamed out, ‘Take the knife out of my body.’ As Ann looked on in horror, Francis Losch calmly leaned back against a wall and said, ‘Here I am, and anybody may take me that chooses.’
Various people came to Mary Ann’s aid and she was rushed to St George’s Hospital. However, despite prompt medical attention, she died from her wound later that night and Francis found himself facing a charge of wilful murder.
The inquest opened before Mr Hugh Lewis, the coroner for Westminster, at the Triumphant Chariot public house in Grosvenor Place. Before any witnesses were called, the jury were first escorted to the hospital to view the body, and were then taken back to Grosvenor Place.
After Ann Diamond had given her testimony, Richard Clark was called to the stand. He stated that at approximately 8.00pm on 9 October, he had been in Lawrence’s Yard and had seen the two ladies talking together. Richard heard Francis Losch say something, in a low voice, and then heard a scream as Mary Ann fell to the ground.
Richard Treadway was also in Lawrence’s Yard and he heard Mary Ann shout, ‘My God, I am murdered!’ He saw her fall and ran to see if he could offer any assistance. Although it was quite dark, he could see that she had a very bad wound through which her bowels were protruding. Richard, with another man named George Carter, took Francis into custody and began to escort him to the local watchhouse. On the way, Francis remarked, ‘You may as well let me walk without holding on, for I shall not attempt to run away.’
Elizabeth Holloway kept a small stall opposite the Coach and Horses Inn and she heard a terrible scream echo from somewhere in Lawrence’s Yard. Going to see what had happened, she saw Mary Ann Losch, lying on her back and writhing in terrible pain, her internal organs protruding through a wound in her side. As she looked on in horror, Mrs Holloway saw some men bring candles so that a search could be made for the weapon Francis had used. She saw a man find the bloodstained knife in a gutter and hand it to a constable.
Constable Richard Maybank was on duty in the lock-up when Francis Losch was brought in by Treadway and Carter. After placing Losch in a cell, Constable Maybank went to the scene of the attack, where the knife was handed over to him. A few minutes later, Maybank went to Dr Turnbull’s surgery in Sloane
Square. By now, some men had placed Mary Ann on a shutter and carried her to the surgery. When Maybank arrived, the unfortunate woman was still alive, but in acute pain.
John Kitching was the house surgeon at St George’s Hospital. He was the first doctor to examine Mary Ann when she was brought in, and he noticed a deep, eight-inch-long wound on the right side of her abdomen. Mary Ann’s bowels, and part of her stomach, protruded through the wound. There was very little he could do for her and she died soon after admittance.
The jury at the inquest had little trouble in deciding that Mary Ann had been murdered by her husband. He faced his trial, at the Old Bailey, before Mr Justice Dallas, on 28 October. When all the evidence was heard again, Francis Losch was adjudged to be guilty and sentenced to death.
There was to be no escape from the noose and, on Monday, 2 November, forty-four-year-old Francis Losch was hanged outside Newgate prison. After his body had hung for the statutory hour, it was taken down and sent to St Bartholomew’s Hospital for dissection.
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Chapter 2
Thomas Birmingham
1829
At approximately 4.10am, on the morning of Thursday, 14 May 1829, William Davis, a watchman, was walking along the bottom of St Mary Abbott’s Terrace, Kensington, heading towards the Uxbridge Road, when he noticed a woman lying face down in the road, in Addison’s Place.
Rushing to offer what aid he could, William gently turned the lady over and saw that she had received a severe wound in the area of her left breast. Unsure as to whether the poor woman was alive or dead, William ran off to find a surgeon.
The medical gentleman that William Davis found was Dr Henry Parkin and he confirmed that the woman was beyond all aid. His examination showed the one single wound, possibly caused by either a knife, or more probably, a bayonet. The problem now, was to identify her.
In fact, identification of the victim proved to be a rather simple affair, for she did have one most distinguishing feature. The woman found by William Davis had her right eye missing. Publication of this fact led Elizabeth Price to come forward to the police.
Elizabeth explained that she was a prostitute and she had a friend named Mary Ann Waite, who was also a lady of the streets. Mary Ann had lost her right eye and, shown the body of the stabbed woman, Elizabeth confirmed that it was indeed Mary Ann. Elizabeth, however, was able to give the police even more useful information, for she identified a client of the dead woman’s, a man who had been with her at least four or five times over the last few weeks. Further, Elizabeth had last seen Mary Ann at around 10.00pm on 13 May, when she had said that she was going to meet up with this gentleman again. His name was Thomas Birmingham and he was a groom to Lieutenant Ives, who was based at Kensington barracks.
Naturally, the next port of call for the police was those barracks, where they spoke to Birmingham. He flatly denied even knowing a girl with only one eye and, since this was clearly a lie, he was taken into custody and charged with murder.
At the inquest, it appeared that the case against Birmingham was certain to collapse. He claimed that he had spent the entire night in his barracks, with a young lady named Susan Bennett, and she confirmed that she had been with Birmingham from around midnight on 13 May, until around 5.00am the following morning. However, under questioning, Miss Bennett broke down and admitted she had lied. She had indeed met Birmingham and gone back to his barracks at midnight but she had seen him leave soon afterwards. She then fell asleep and only woke at 5.00am the next morning as he returned to his room. Birmingham’s alibi had collapsed and, despite other factors being contradictory, he was sent to face his trial for murder.