Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in London's West End
Page 19
Rochester Row Police Station, seen here in August 2005. The former Police Station is being incorporated in a development of luxury flats. The author
Routine investigations revealed that one of the occupants of a two-roomed, second-floor office that overlooked the street, was one John Robinson, who traded as an estate agent under the business name ‘Edwards and Co., Business Transfer Agents’. The investigating officers also established that Mr Robinson had not been seen for several days. Apart from a cracked window pane and a broken fender in the fireplace, nothing seemed amiss, and the police could find no traces of blood.
The funeral of Minnie Alice Bonati took place on Tuesday 17 May 1927. The departure of the open hearse, draped with purple and drawn by two black horses, was accompanied by three funeral coaches. The coffin was of polished oak. The cortege left Mrs Bonati’s mother’s house in Upper Park Place, Marylebone at 1 pm, watched by several thousand people. Interment took place at Hendon Park Cemetery, Mill Hill. Minnie was buried in a common grave, No.31070 and despite her being the last to be buried in that particular plot (I was reliably informed by the female clerk at the cemetery office, when I visited and was shown the book with the entries for plot No. 31070, that Minnie’s coffin was the ninth to be interred in that plot), no memorial was ever erected.
Further investigations by the police revealed that John Robinson employed a clerk, Miss Moore. She was traced and interviewed. She said that on Wednesday 4 May, Mr Robinson had returned to the office at about 3.00 pm in a state of drunkenness, with a man in a military uniform. Alarmed at her employer’s behaviour, she left the office early that day, at 3.30 pm and never returned. At the subsequent trial, Miss Moore told the jury she was offered a cigarette and Robinson touched her on the face. She was so frightened that she decided to go home early and not return again. When the police visited Robinson’s lodgings in Camberwell Gate, they discovered that the bird had flown, without leaving a forwarding address. However, they had a lucky break when they found that a telegram addressed to ‘Robinson, Greyhound Hotel Hammersmith’, had been returned to his lodgings marked addressee unknown. As was later discovered, the telegram had been returned to the sender by a new maid at the Greyhound, who was unaware that the Robinson mentioned in the telegram actually worked at the hotel. However, this was not John Robinson himself, but Mrs Robinson.
Thirty-six-year-old John Robinson was born in Leigh, Lancashire. He left school at the age of twelve and began his working life as an errand-boy for the Co-op. He also worked as a clerk, a tram-conductor, bartender and butcher’s assistant. He had four children by his first wife, whom he married in 1911. He later bigamously married a Tasmanian girl from whom he was estranged and at the time the murder was committed, she worked at the Greyhound Hotel, Hammersmith. Whether it was the discovery that she had been subjected to a bigamous marriage by her estranged ‘husband’ that led to her cooperating with the police, cannot be said for certain, but cooperate she did, when after being contacted by Robinson, at his request, she agreed to meet him. On Thursday 19 May, they met at a public house, the Elephant and Castle, Walworth. Of course, ‘Mrs’ Robinson did not go to meet her husband alone. She was escorted by Chief Inspector George Cornish of Scotland Yard.
On being confronted by Chief Inspector Cornish, John Robinson was surprisingly quite amenable, and agreed to being interviewed at Scotland Yard that evening and also to attend an identity parade. At the interview Robinson denied any knowledge of either buying the trunk or of Mrs Bonati. At the identity parade Robinson was fortunate. Of the three witnesses who attended, the station porter, the taxi-driver and Mr Ward, the dealer who had sold the trunk, not one of them recognized him. The police had no alternative but to release him.
A meeting was convened at Scotland Yard on Saturday 21 May at which all the evidence was reviewed. Chief Inspector Cornish decided that the bloodstained, dirty duster, in which the murder victim’s head had been wound should be washed to see if it revealed any further clues. Once the congealed blood and grime had been removed from the fabric a small tab on the hem of the duster revealed the name ‘GREYHOUND’. A further painstaking search of Robinson’s office suite in Rochester Row revealed a bloodstained match, which had been caught in the wicker-work of a waste-paper basket. A small clue, yes, but the bloodstained match, combined with the duster proved sufficient to break Robinson’s confidence and having been brought back to Scotland Yard from his lodgings in De Laune Street, Kennington, on Monday 23 May, he decided to make a statement.
Robinson told the police that Minnie Bonati had propositioned him at Victoria railway station at about 4.15 pm on the afternoon of Wednesday 4 May. When they arrived at his office suite, Robinson said that his female companion asked him for money and when he told her he hadn’t any, the woman became abusive and threatened violence. There was a struggle in which he broke a window pane as he stumbled backwards and his head hit it. She fell, knocking herself insensible as she struck her head on a chair. Fearful of the racket they had made and well aware of the close proximity of the police station, in a panic, Robinson said he decided to leave the office building. He said he thought the woman was only dazed and would soon recover and go home. However, on his return to the office the following morning, much to his surprise, he found Mrs Bonati was lying facedown on the carpet and she was dead. At no time did Robinson ever admit to killing Minnie Bonati but he did not deny that he had cut up her body and placed the remains in the trunk. At his trial, when asked why he did not go to the police, he replied, ‘Because I was in a blue flunk and did not know what to do.’ He said that he bought a carving-knife from Staines’ Kitchen Equipment Shop in Victoria Street and set about dismembering the body.
Having wrapped the pieces in her own clothes, a towel and the duster, he parcelled up her remains in brown paper, then left the office. The following morning, he returned to the office with the trunk, which he had purchased especially and had transported it by omnibus. The conductor had helped him carry the trunk to the upper deck. He disembarked in Vauxhall Bridge Road at about 10 am, then dragged the trunk along Rochester Row and up the stairs of No. 86 to his office suite. He placed the parcelled up remains of Mrs Bonati inside the trunk, as well as her shoes and her handbag. Having dragged the trunk out onto the landing, he then set about cleaning up the suite of two rooms. He scrubbed, cleaned and polished until he was satisfied that any trace of Mrs Bonati was gone. He almost succeeded. But for the bloodstained match, with only the name ‘GREYHOUND’ on the duster wrapped around Minnie’s head, the police would have been hard pressed to have obtained a conviction against him. The cleaning up being done, Robinson retired to a nearby pub at around noon. There he met a Mr Judd with whom he struck up a conversation. As they talked Robinson mentioned he was in business as an estate agent and Mr Judd expressed interest in a flat Robinson mentioned to him, which was to let. Mr Judd returned with Robinson to 86 Rochester Row, where he was given details of the flat. Robinson asked Mr Judd if he would mind helping him carry the trunk on the landing downstairs. Mr Judd obliged and he asked Robinson if he was travelling in lead, as the trunk was so heavy. Robinson replied ‘No, I’m taking some books to the country.’ It was shortly after this that Robinson hailed the taxi-cab that was to take himself and the trunk to Charing Cross Railway Station. The knife he had used to cut up the body, he buried under a white may tree on Clapham Common, which was later recovered.
Rochester Row, seen here in August 2005. 86 Rochester Row, the site of Minnie Bonati’s murder has now been incorporated in the large office building at 100 Rochester Row, seen here. The author
On Tuesday 24 May, at Thames Police Court, John Robinson was remanded, charged with the murder of Mrs Minnie Alice Bonati. The Evening Standard reported:
The premises, 86, Rochester-row, Westminster, where, according to the wording of the charge, the murder was alleged to have taken place, are directly opposite the police court, close to the police station, and only a few yards from the mortuary where the inquest on Mrs Bo
nati was opened.
The trial of John Robinson was held at the Old Bailey and began on Monday 11 July 1927. The judge was Mr Justice Rigby Swift, with Mr Percival Clarke leading for the Crown, assisted by Mr Christmas Humphreys. Robinson’s defence was ably conducted by Mr Lawrence Vine, assisted by barristers Mr M D Lyon, the Somerset and MCC cricketer and Mr G D Roberts, the former English rugby international. Despite his efforts, Mr Vine was unable to convince the jury that Minnie Bonati was the victim of an unfortunate accident. In his own evidence Robinson admitted virtually everything that was put to him, excepting an intention to kill. The defence called Dr Bronte to dispute the evidence given by the police surgeon and Sir Bernard Spilsbury. Robinson contended that he found Mrs Bonati face down, on the morning of Thursday 5 May. Dr Bronte said that she could have suffocated with her face in the folds of the carpet (which the prosecution showed to have been threadbare), or in the crook of her elbow. He also disputed Sir Bernard’s comments regarding the bruising on the victim’s body, caused several hours before death took place. He suggested that they could have been inflicted before Robinson met her. However, Spilsbury’s contention that the bruises on Mrs Bonati had been caused by direct blows and pressure and that she had been asphyxiated after a violent assault, seemed to hold more water with both the judge and the jury. Another defence witness, the victim’s stand-in husband, Mr Frederick Rolls, told the court that Minnie was much addicted to drink and was sometimes very violent. He added that she had attacked him many times. Perhaps it was Robinson’s reply to a question put to him by the judge Mr Justice Swift, that finally sealed his fate. When the judge asked why he did not seek help for the unconscious woman lying on his office floor, why, when he realized that she was dead, he did not summon the police to explain matters, Robinson replied, ‘I did not see it in that light.’
Former Thames Police Court, Rochester Row, situated immediately across the street from Robinson’s office, seen here in August 2005, where Robinson appeared before magistrates. The former court is being incorporated in a luxury flats development. The author
On Wednesday 13 July, after deliberating for about an hour, the jury returned a verdict of ‘Guilty’. Mr Justice Swift donned the customary black cap and pronounced sentence of death on the prisoner. John Robinson was hanged at Pentonville Prison on 12 August 1927 and buried within its precincts.
Hendon Park Cemetery, Mill Hill, the site of Minnie Bonati’s grave. She was the last of nine burials in common grave No. 31070, which faces diagonally outwards to the left of the image and is situated directly beneath the bench. The author
Sources & Further Reading
Chapter 1
Foul Deeds and Murder through the Ages, 1236–1984
The Chronicles of Newgate Arthur Griffiths. Bracken Books, London (Originally published 1883, this edition published 1987)
The Complete Newgate Calender Vol 111. Collated & Edited by J L Rayner & G T Crook. Privately printed for the Navarre Society Limited, London MCMXXVI
The History Today Companion to British History Edited by Juliet Gardiner & Neil Wenborn. Colin & Brown Limited, London (1995)
The Illustrated Police News 6 July 1867
Tyburn London’s Fatal Tree Alan Brooke & David Brandon. Sutton Publishing, Stroud (2004)
Tyburn Tree Its History And Annals Alfred Marks. Brown, Langham & Co., London (1908)
A Man of Singular Virtue A L Rowse. The Folio Society, London (1980)Notable Historical Trials Volume 1 Selected & Edited by Justin Lovill, The Folio Society, London (1999)
English Treason Trials C G L Du Cann. Frederick Muller Limited, London (1964)
The Book of Knowledge Volumes 2 & 3 Edited by Gordon Stowell. The Waverley Book Company Ltd, London (1952)
The Oxford Companion to the Theatre Fourth Edition. Phyllis Hartnoll. Oxford University Press, Oxford (1995)
Byron Andre Maurois. D Appleton and Company, New York (1930)
Byron Elizabeth Longford. Hutchinson of London in association with Weidenfield and Nicholson, London (1976)
Byron Frederick Raphael. Sphere Books Ltd, London (1982)
THE MURDER CLUB TRUE TALES OF DARK DEEDS AND ARCH FIENDS Brian Lane. Harrap Books Ltd, London (1988)
Murderers’ London Ivan Butler. Robert Hale, London (1992)
Murder Guide To London Martin Fido. Grafton Books (1987)
The New Murderers ’Who’s Who J H H Gaute and Robin Odell. Harrap Books Ltd, London (1989)
The Murders of the Black Museum 1870–1970 Gordon Honeycombe. Bloomsbury Books, London (1984)
Murder In High Places Jonathan Goodman. Guild Publishing, London (1986)
Trail Of Havoc Patrick Marnham. Guild Publishing, London (1987)
Real Life Crimes And How They Were Solved Nos. 52, 57, 87 Various authors. Eaglemoss Publications Ltd (2004)
Mad Frank’s London Frankie Fraser with James Morton. Virgin Books Ltd, London (2001)
Evening News 14, 15, 21 March, 28 April, 7 June 1922, 10, 11, February, 27, 28 April, 25 June 1942, 29, 30 April, 19 September 1947, 18, 19 April 1984.
The Star 10, 11 February, 27, 28 April, 25 June 1942
Evening Standard 14, 15, 16, 21 March, 28 April, 7 June 1922, 10, 11 February, 27, 28 April, 25 June 1942, 29, 30 April 1947 16, 17, 18 April 1984
The Times 15 March, 28 April 1922, 8 June 29 April, 26 June 1942, 30 April, 20 September 1947, 16, 17, 18, 19 1984
Daily Mirror 8 June 1922, 26 June 1942, 30 April, 1 May, 20 September 1947
News Chronicle 30 April 1947
Daily Express 30 April, 20 September 1947, 20 January 1975
Daily Mail 8 June 1922, 30 April, 20 May 1947, 18 April 1984
Chapter 2
Gunpowder Treason and Plot 1605
Historical Trials Volume 1 Selected & Edited by Justin Lovill, The Folio Society, London (1999)
English Treason Trials C G L Du Cann. Frederick Muller Limited, London (1964)
A History of the English-Speaking Peoples Volume 2 Winston S Churchill. Cassell & Company Ltd (1956)
The Tudors & Stuarts M M Reese. Edward Arnold (Publishers) Ltd, London (1940)
England Under the Stuarts G M Trevelyan. Methuen & Co Ltd, London (1904)
Britain And The Stuarts D L Farmer. G Bell and Sons Ltd (1967)
The Stuart Age Barry Coward. Longman, London (1980)
Chapter 3
Execution of Charles 1, Whitehall, 1649
The Moderate 23–30 January 1648 (1649 by our present reckoning of New Year)
The Trial of Charles I C V Wedgewood. Collins, London (1964)
Clough’s Stuart Period Ralph Holland & Co., London (1898)
Cavaliers And Roundheads Christopher Hibbert. BCA, London (1993)
Death to the King The English Civil War C L Alderman. Bailey Brothers and Swinfen Ltd., Folkestone (1973)
A History of the English-Speaking Peoples Volume 2 Winston S Churchill. Cassell & Company Ltd, London (1956)
Historical Trials Volume II Selected & Edited by Justin Lovill, The Folio Society, London (1999)
The Common Hangman James Bland. Ian Henry Publications, Hornchurch (1984)
Lord High Executioner Howard Engel. Firefly Books, Ontario (1996)
House of Commons Journals 8 Feb 1649
King Charls [sic] His Speech Made Upon the Scaffold at Whitehall-Gate. Published by Special Authority and printed by Peter Cole, Cornhill, London (1649) Guildhall Library Pam 4229
Chapter 4
Claude Duval, the Dashing Highwayman 1670
Tyburn Tree Its History And Annals Alfred Marks. Brown, Langham & Co, London (1908)
The Crimson Book of Highwaymen Peter Newark. Jupiter Books, London (1979)
The Chronicles of Newgate Arthur Griffiths. Bracken Books, London (Originally published 1883, this edition published 1987)
Criminal London Mark Herber. Phillimore & Co. Ltd., London (2002)
The Complete Newgate Calendar Vol 1. Collated & Edited by J L Rayner & G T Crook. Privately printed for the Navarre Socie
ty Limited, London MCMXXVI
Chapter 5
The Burning of Catherine Hayes 1726
Criminal London Mark Herber. Phillimore & Co. Ltd., Chichester (2002)
Tyburn Tree Its History And Annals Alfred Marks. Brown, Langham & Co, London (1908)
The Chronicles of Newgate Arthur Griffiths. Bracken Books, London (Originally published 1883, this edition published 1987)
The Common Hangman James Bland. Ian Henry Publications, Hornchurch (1984)
The Complete Newgate Calendar Vol III. Collated & Edited by J L Rayner & G T Crook. Privately printed for the Navarre Society Limited, London MCMXXVI
World Famous Crimes of Passion Colin & Damon Wilson. Siena, an imprint of Parragon Book Service Ltd, London (1996)
Chapter 6
Murdered by a Poet 1727
The Chronicles of Newgate Arthur Griffiths. Bracken Books, London (Originally published 1883, this edition published 1987)
Gay Was The Pit Robert Gore-Browne. Max Reinhardt, London (1957)
The Artificial Bastard Clarence Tracy. University of Toronto Press (1953)
An Account of the Life of Mr. Richard Savage Samuel Johnson, London (1744)
The Complete Newgate Calendar Vol III. Collated & Edited by J L Rayner & G T Crook. Privately printed for the Navarre Society Limited, London MCMXXVI