John Christie’s killings at his flat in Notting Hill unfolded over nearly a decade and exposed serious shortcomings in police procedures and forensic practices of the time.
John Reginald Halliday Christie lived at 10 Rillington Place from 1938 onwards. He presented himself as an ordinary, if somewhat reclusive, man who had worked in various clerical roles and served briefly in the First World War. Behind this unremarkable exterior he committed a series of murders that began during the Second World War and continued into the early 1950s. His victims included his wife Ethel, several other women, and the wife and infant daughter of neighbour Timothy Evans. The case later became notorious because Evans was hanged for one of the murders before Christie’s own guilt came to light.
The murders occurred in a cramped terraced house divided into flats. Christie exploited the shared spaces and his own position as a resident to lure victims inside. He used coal gas to incapacitate them before strangling them, a method that left little outward sign of violence. Bodies were hidden in the garden, under floorboards, and in a small alcove behind the kitchen. The concealment succeeded for years because the property was poorly maintained and inspections were infrequent.
Background
Christie was born in Halifax in 1899. He experienced a strict upbringing and later claimed health problems that limited his military service. After the war he moved to London and married Ethel Waddington in 1920. The couple’s relationship was strained by Christie’s criminal record, which included convictions for theft and violence. By the late 1930s they had settled at Rillington Place, a short street of modest Victorian houses near the railway.
The area suffered bomb damage during the Blitz. Many residents moved away, leaving empty rooms that Christie sometimes offered to newcomers. He also posed as a former police officer or medical orderly when it suited him, claims that helped him gain trust from women seeking lodgings or assistance. These deceptions formed part of the pattern that allowed his crimes to continue undetected.
The Crimes
Christie’s first known murder took place in 1943. Ruth Fuerst, a young Austrian woman working in a munitions factory, visited the flat and was killed. Christie buried her remains in the back garden. Two years later he murdered Muriel Eady, a colleague from his workplace. He had promised her a cure for catarrh using a homemade inhaler that delivered coal gas. After her death he again buried the body in the garden.
In 1949 the Evans family moved into the top flat. Beryl Evans was pregnant and the couple already had a daughter, Geraldine. Relations with Christie were initially neighbourly, but Beryl confided in him about an unwanted pregnancy. Christie offered to perform an abortion. Instead he killed Beryl and later strangled Geraldine. Timothy Evans, who had learning difficulties, was persuaded by Christie to leave London. Evans later made contradictory statements to police that led to his arrest.
In 1952 Ethel Christie became the next victim. Christie strangled her in bed and placed her body under the floorboards. Three further women were killed in the following months. Kathleen Maloney, Rita Nelson and Hectorina MacLennan were all lured to the flat with offers of accommodation or work. Their bodies were hidden in the alcove behind the kitchen.
Investigation and Arrest
The discovery of the bodies began in March 1953 when new tenants found human remains in the kitchen alcove. Police excavated the garden and recovered additional skeletons. Christie had already fled the property. He was arrested days later in a café near Putney Bridge. During interviews he confessed to the murders but attempted to justify them as mercy killings or responses to advances by the victims.
Forensic examination confirmed the use of coal gas and manual strangulation. The remains showed no defensive injuries consistent with Christie’s account of sudden attacks. Pathologists noted that the victims had been undressed after death and in some cases posed, details that Christie later confirmed in statements.
Trial and Execution
Christie stood trial at the Old Bailey in June 1953. He was charged with the murder of Ethel Christie. The prosecution presented evidence of the other killings to establish a pattern. Christie offered an insanity defence based on his war experiences and claimed memory lapses. The jury rejected the plea after three days of evidence. He was sentenced to death and hanged at Pentonville Prison on 15 July 1953.
The Wrongful Conviction of Timothy Evans
Timothy Evans had already been tried and executed in 1950 for the murder of his daughter Geraldine. His conviction rested heavily on statements he made to police that Christie had helped shape. After Christie’s arrest a fresh inquiry examined the evidence. It concluded that Evans had not killed his wife or child. Evans received a posthumous pardon in 1966. The case contributed to growing public concern over capital punishment and led to procedural reforms in police interviews.
Psychological Profile
Contemporary assessments described Christie as a man of average intelligence who displayed traits of control and manipulation. He collected small personal items from victims and maintained detailed accounts of his actions. Medical witnesses at trial noted possible sexual motivation in the undressing of bodies, though Christie denied this. His preference for gas as a method suggests a desire to avoid direct confrontation or visible injury.
Later reviews by criminologists have placed Christie among offenders who combined domestic killing with opportunistic murders of strangers. The long period of concealment points to careful planning rather than impulsive violence.
Legacy and Impact
The Rillington Place case prompted changes in how police handled confessions and scene preservation. It also formed part of the debate that led to the abolition of the death penalty for murder in 1965. The street itself was later demolished and the area redeveloped. Public interest has continued through books, documentaries and official inquiries that re-examined the original files.
The victims’ families received limited public recognition at the time. Modern accounts focus on restoring their identities and acknowledging the systemic failures that allowed the crimes to persist.
Conclusion
John Christie’s murders at Rillington Place stand as a clear example of how ordinary appearances can mask sustained criminal activity. The case highlighted weaknesses in investigation methods and the irreversible consequences of wrongful convictions. Its influence on legal reform remains part of British criminal justice history.
Bibliography
Eddowes, J. (1994) The Two Killers of Rillington Place. London: Warner Books.
Kennedy, L. (1961) Ten Rillington Place. London: Victor Gollancz.
The National Archives (1953) CRIM 1/252: Rex v John Reginald Halliday Christie. Kew: The National Archives.
Simpson, K. (1978) Forty Years of Murder. London: Harrap.
Tennison, C. (2015) The Murders at Rillington Place. London: John Blake Publishing.
Woffinden, B. (1987) Miscarriages of Justice. London: Hodder & Stoughton.
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