Inside 10 Rillington Place: John Christie and me, the untold truth

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Both deal with an established sequence of events: in the spring of 1948, Beryl and her husband, Timothy Evans, moved into the top flat of 10 Rillington Place in Notting Hill, London. On the ground floor lived John ‘Reg’ Christie and his wife, Ethel. In October of that year, Beryl gave birth to a daughter, Geraldine, but the marriage was unhappy – Evans was a drunk and a gambler, who was physically and verbally abusive to his wife. Camps, F. E. (1953). Medical and Scientific Investigations in the Christie Case. Medical Publications. The film’s forensic, quasi-documentary intentions are established immediately by the opening text: “This is a true story. Whenever possible, the dialogue has been based on official documents.” As the words appear, an air raid siren is heard, establishing both period and imminent threat. The sound blends into John Dankworth’s sparely used score, unexpected swells of harp aptly suggesting frenzy and disturbance beneath the austere woodwind surface, as the credits play over the Rillington Place street sign. In 1949, Tim and Beryl Evans move into 10 Rillington Place, west London, with their infant daughter Geraldine. Beryl is pregnant again and attempts an abortion by taking some pills. When she informs Tim, they have a violent argument, which Christie breaks up. Soon after, Christie offers to help Beryl terminate the pregnancy. He pretends to read a medical textbook one day in an effort to convince Tim of his expertise. Tim is essentially illiterate and cannot tell that Christie is lying. The Evanses agree to let Christie perform the procedure.

In September 1916, during the First World War, Christie enlisted in the British Army; he was called up on 12 April 1917 to join the 52nd Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Regiment to serve as an infantryman. In April 1918, the regiment was despatched to France, where Christie was seconded to the Duke of Wellington's Regiment as a signalman.

The Murder Of Beryl Evans And The Trial That Followed

Four days after Christie moved out, a tenant broke through the hollow wall while trying to install a shelf for his wireless radio. The police search that followed also uncovered the body of Ethel Christie in the parlour and a tobacco tin containing clumps of pubic hair. Following Christie's conviction, there was substantial controversy concerning the earlier trial of Timothy Evans, who had been convicted mainly on the evidence of Christie, who lived in the same property in which Evans had allegedly carried out his crimes. [123] Christie confessed to Beryl's murder and although he neither confessed to, nor was charged with, Geraldine's murder, he was widely considered guilty of both murders. [124] This cast doubt on the fairness of Evans' trial and raised the possibility that an innocent person had been hanged. [124] When police searched 10 Rillington Place, the bodies of Beryl and Geraldine were found in the shared washhouse. In a different story under heavy questioning by police Evans said he had killed his wife. He went on trial in January 1950. Evans said at trial he didn’t kill Beryl, he once again said John Christie was the one who killed his wife. He was however found guilty. On March 9, 1950, Timothy Evans was hanged for murder. Barber, Sian (22 January 2013). The British Film Industry in the 1970s: Capital, Culture and Creativity. Palgrave Macmillan. p.17. ISBN 978-1-137-30592-3.

August 2020 brought with it the publication of a new book entitled Inside 10 Rillington Place. Far from being ‘just another’ book to add to the many already written upon the whole subject, this constituted a historical watershed in that the writer was none other than Beryl Evans’s youngest brother Peter Thorley. Richard Attenborough, who played Christie in the film, spoke of his reluctance to accept the role: "I do not like playing the part, but I accepted it at once without seeing the script. I have never felt so totally involved in any part as this. It is a most devastating statement on capital punishment." [9] The film was produced by Leslie Linder and Martin Ransohoff. [10] Hangman Albert Pierrepoint, who had hanged both Evans and Christie, served as an uncredited technical advisor on the film to ensure the authenticity of the hanging scene. [11] Evans did confess to both murders. Over the course of time, he made five varying statements to the police which contained numerous fabrications and contradictions. But the truth was there. Only the killer himself could know the details about the murders; he shared this knowledge with the police.

A Shocking Discovery About John Christie

Adapted by Clive Exton from Ludovic Kennedy’s crusading non-fiction book of the same name, 10 Rillington Placeexpertly tells the bleak story of English serial killer John Reginald Christie (Richard Attenborough), and the terrible miscarriage of justice created by his crimes. Please note that, as Christie remains infamous, this piece will include spoilers (as I’m assuming many readers will at least be aware of the basic historical facts). I am also going to confine my analysis solely to the version of events portrayed onscreen, rather than discussing discrepancies or omissions compared to the real case.

This uncertainty led to a second inquiry, chaired by High Court judge Sir Daniel Brabin, which was conducted over the winter of 1965–1966. Brabin re-examined much of the evidence from both cases and evaluated some of the arguments for Evans' innocence. His conclusions were that it was "more probable than not" that Evans had killed his wife but not his daughter Geraldine, for whose death Christie was responsible. Christie's likely motive was that her presence would have drawn attention to Beryl's disappearance, which Christie would have been averse to as it increased the risk that his own murders would be discovered. [132] Brabin also noted that the uncertainty involved in the case would have prevented a jury from being satisfied beyond reasonable doubt of Evans' guilt had he been re-tried. [133] These conclusions were used by the Home Secretary, Roy Jenkins, to recommend a posthumous pardon for Evans, which was granted, as he had been tried and executed for the murder of his daughter. [134] [135] Jenkins announced the granting of Evans' pardon to the House of Commons on 18 October 1966. [135] Evans' remains were subsequently exhumed and returned to his family, who arranged for him to be reburied in a private grave. [134] There was already debate in the United Kingdom over the judicial killing. Evans' execution and other controversial cases contributed to the 1965 suspension, and subsequent abolition, of capital punishment in the United Kingdom. [136] He spent the next week sleeping rough on benches before being spotted by a police officer on Putney Embankment on March 31. He was carrying a newspaper clipping referring to the arrest of Timothy Evans. His turn to stand trial in Court One at the Old Bailey came on June 22, 1953. Pleading not guilty by reason of insanity, he described all seven murders from the witness box.

The film, the books, they’ve clouded everybody’s judgement,” Lea says, sitting beside Thorley in their garden. “There has only ever been that one version of events. Nobody approached Peter’s family.” Thorley nods. “You would have thought she was an orphan.” a b Eddowes, John The Two Killers of Rillington Place, pp. xiv–xviii details the pervasiveness of the view that Evans was innocent and the subsequent campaign undertaken to overturn his conviction. See for instance Marston's summary of barrister Geoffrey Bing's criticism of the trial, p. 100: "Bing pointed out that Evans's guilt depended on two incredible coincidences. The first was that two murderers, living in the same house but acting independently, strangled women... The second was as extraordinary as the first: that Evans accused the one man in London who was strangling women in the identical way that he, Evans, had strangled his wife and child". Filming also took place in the village of Merthyr Vale, the real life hometown of Timothy Evans. The pub scenes were filmed at the Victoria Hotel on Burdett Road in east London. The pub was subsequently demolished as part of the redevelopment of the area in 1972–73. It seems odd that Christie should have said hair came from the bodies in the alcove if in fact it had come from those now reduced to skeletons; not very likely that in his last four murders the only trophy he took was from the one woman with whom he did not have peri-mortal sexual intercourse; and even more odd that one of his trophies had definitely not come from any of the unfortunate women known to have been involved. [119]