Action for Men, May 1960 — page 20: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

“1 MURDERED THEM ALL” black hair and pulled her head back. Into the arched neck he plunged the knife, twisting the blade once be- fore withdrawing it. . Blood leaked out, pumped feebly by the spasms of a dying heart. The murderer, taking the glass from the table, held it close to the gaping wound in the throat and waited silently and patiently until he had the last drop of blood the body would yield. Then he slowly sipped the warm red blood. Once he pursed his lips and nodded, like a wine taster approving a new vintage. After that his movements became brisk again. He stripped the woman of her black astrakhan coat. a brass crucifix on a chain around her neck, two rings, pearl earrings, and an emerald and diamond snap. With a pair of shears, he cut off her clothes and put these in a separate pile. Finally he slung the naked body over his shoulder and walked the length of the empty, isolated storehouse to where a 45-gallon tank stood against the rear wall. Into this he dumped the corpse. He then went out to his car and drove a short distance into town for tea. Refreshed, he returned to the store- house to complete his work. With a stirrup pump, he transferred some sulphuric acid from a large carboy— a special bottle encased in wickerwork to protect it against breakage—into the tank that now contained the dead woman’s body. He also tossed into the tank his victim’s clothes, her red plastic handbag—from which he had taken a fountain pen and 30 shillings—and other odds and ends he wanted to destroy. After dining that night at the George Hotel in Craw- ley, he drove home to London and slept soundly. Two days later, Mrs. Edith Lane and Mr. John George Haigh appeared at the Chelsea police station to report the disappearance of their mutual friend, Mrs. Olive Durand-Deacon. All three lived in the Onslow Court Hotel in the South Kensington section of London. “I saw Olive Friday morning,” explained Mrs. Lane, “and she said she had an appointment that afternoon with Mr. Haigh. And now it’s three days later, and neither of us knows what has happened to her.” “That’s right,” agreed Haigh, frowning. “We were to meet Friday at half past two in front of the Army and Navy stores. I waited until 3:35, and then I had to attend to other affairs. Next day I asked Mrs. Lane if she knew what had gone wrong, but she had no idea at all. When Sunday went by without word from Mrs. Durand-Deacon, I thought it was high time to go to the police.” | Statements were taken from both witnesses, along with a description of Mrs. Durand-Deacon. When Mrs. Lane had last seen her, she was wearing a black astrakhan coat, black hat and carried a red plastic handbag. These details were reported by phone to the information room at Scotland Yard. They were then relayed over the tele- printer network to every district, divisional and subdi- visional station. Responsibility for the case, however, remained with “B” Division, where it had originated, since London’s metropolitan police do not have a special unit to handle the problem of missing persons. Policewoman Jennifer Lambourne was assigned to make the usual routine in- quiries. She wasted no time. Hours after Haigh and Mrs. Lane had filed their report at the Chelsea station, Police- woman Lambourne was probing into the matter. She spoke to four people: the manager of the Onslow Court Hotel; Mrs. Durand-Deacon’s sister, Emily; Mrs. Lane and John George Haigh. When the day was over, Policewoman Lambourne told Divisional Detective In- spector Gerald Rogers that she was certain something was Charged with murdering the wealthy widow, Mrs. Durand-Deacon, John Haigh (center, in rear of car) was driven off by police. 20 COIN a IDOOKSHEO