Timothy Evans Was Wrongfully Executed For Killing His Family

Timothy John Evans was a Welshman wrongfully accused of murdering his wife (Beryl) and baby daughter (Geraldine) at their home in Notting Hill, London.

Evans married Beryl Susanna Thorley on September 20, 1947, after meeting her on a blind date in January 1947. The couple first stayed with Evans' family on St Mark's Road, but after Beryl discovered she was pregnant in 1948, they moved into the top-floor flat at 10 Rillington Place in the Ladbroke Grove area of Notting Hill.

Their daughter, Geraldine was born on 10 October 1948.

Their marriage was marked by heated arguments; Beryl was accused of being a bad housewife and incapable of handling the family's finances, while Timothy was accused of wasting his salary on alcohol, and his excessive drinking at the time aggravated his already short temper. 

The disputes between Timothy and Beryl were loud enough for the neighbors to hear, and physical violence was witnessed on multiple occasions. Beryl told Timothy she was pregnant with their second child in 1949. Beryl opted to have an abortion because the family was already struggling financially. Evans consented to this line of action after some hesitation.

The Deaths

Several weeks later, on November 30, 1949, Evans notified Merthyr Tydfil police that his wife had died under unusual circumstances. His first confession was that he had killed her unintentionally by giving her something in a bottle that a man had given him to abort the pregnancy;  he had then disposed of her body in a sewer drain outside 10 Rillington Place.

He told the police that he went to wales after arranging for Geraldine to be looked after.   However, when police investigated the drain outside the front of the building, they located nothing and discovered that the manhole cover required the combined strength of three officers to lift.

When questioned further, Evans modified his story, claiming that their neighbor, Christie volunteered to perform an abortion on Beryl. Evans claimed that he left Christie out of his first statement to protect him (abortion being illegal in the UK at this time).

On November 8, Evans got home from work to learn from Christie that the abortion had failed and that Beryl had died. Christie had stated that he would dispose of the body and arrange for Geraldine to be cared for. Evans said he later returned to 10 Rillington Place to ask about Geraldine, but Christie had refused to let him see her.

In response to Evans's second statement, the police performed a preliminary search of 10 Rillington Place but did not uncover anything incriminating. On a more thorough search on 2 December, the police found the body of Beryl Evans, wrapped in a tablecloth in the wash-house in the back garden. Access to the locked wash-house was only possible by using a knife kept by their neighbour, Mrs Christie.

Geraldine's body was discovered alongside Beryl's — Evans had not mentioned killing his daughter in either of his statements. Both Beryl and Geraldine had been strangled.

Mrs Christie was the wife of a serial killer, John Christie who later strangled her to death.

When Evans was asked if he had killed his daughter and wife, being hysterical he responded "yes".

Trial And Execution

When Evans was put on trial on January 10th, 1950. Evans withdrew his confession during consultation with his lawyer. He stated that Christie was responsible for the murders, giving his initial statements his confession were never accepted.

John Christie and his wife testified against Evans, they commented on the arguments the couple had. Christie also denied his involvement with any abortion plans.

Evans maintained his innocence, claiming his neighbor had killed his wife and daughter. He was sentenced to death and hanged on March 9th, 1950.

John Christie Is Arrested

Three years later, Christie vacated his premises at 10 Rillington Place and the landlord allowed an upstairs tenant to use Christie's kitchen.

The tenant found the bodies of three women hidden in a papered-over kitchen pantry, a recess immediately next to the wash-house where Beryl and Geraldine Evans had been found. A further search of the building and grounds yielded three more bodies including his wife.

John Christie admitted killing Evans wife and child.

In January 2003, Evans's sisters received ex gratia payments as a compensation for the miscarriage of justice in Evans's trial.