John George Haigh “The Acid Bath Murderer” By: Abbey Watkins

CHILDHOOD Background John George Haigh was born on July 24, 1909 in Stanford, Lincolnshire He grew up in Outwood, West Yorkshire His parents, John Robert and Emily, née Hudson, were part of Plymouth Brethren (a conservative Protestant sect who advocated a strict lifestyle) Haigh claims that his childhood was bleak and lonely His father built a tall fence around the house to keep out people looking in and any social contact with the outside world. He believed the world was evil His father also told John that a blemish would appear if he sinned A turning point in John’s life when he realized that nothing would appear if he sinned, so he believed that he was invincible and can get away with anything

Background Cont. He claims of being afflicted by Gothic nightmares where trees would turn into crucifixes weeping blood In 1943 he stopped going to his parents church and married a 21-year-old, Beatrice Hammer, who he barely knew and the marriage only lasted 4 months She gave birth to a baby girl but she was put up for adoption In 1944 he was involved in a car crash where he suffered head trauma which bled into his mouth, and later then referred back to this event for being a catalyst that rekindled his blood-filled dreams.

Career’s Worked as an underwriter for an advertising and insurance at 21 years old and was fired for being accused of stealing cash Was a hire-purchase inspector of a car company so that he could elicit money from the company Worked at an amusement park run by Mr. William ‘Mac’ Donald McSwan and his parents Donald and Amy McSwan He left the amusement park to set up a FALSE solicitor’s office

Crimes (Not involving murder) Sent to prison in 1934 for fraud for 15 months Had 4 years in prison for the false solicitor’s office Imprisoned for 21 months for theft

Murder Crimes on Glouscester street In 1944 John convinced Donald McSwan to his basement he rented and he hit Donald in the head and then places him in a 40 gallon barrel with sulfuric acid over night John told Donald’s parents he went to Scotland to cover up his disappearance In 1945, John killed Donald’s parents, Amy and Donald McSwan by also knocking them unconscious and placing them in sulfuric acid John told the landlady the went to America He forged the deed on their property, and he made nearly £2000 from selling the property and £6000 from securities and sales of possession

Murders in Crawley, London Haigh rented a store house on Leopold Road in Crawley, London for a new place to kill. He got 3 carboys of sulfuric acid and 2 40-gallon drums In 1946, Haigh drove to Dr. Archibald Henderson house and shot him then took him to the storehouse and left the body to go back for Mrs. Henderson to take her to the storehouse where he ended up shooting her Haigh then tied them up and left overnight Later claimed that he drank their blood from both of them Then he dissolved the bodies but this did not erase all the evidence as Mr. Henderson’s foot was left behind and dumped the remains in the corner of a yard Trying to make it seem like they were still alive, Haigh forged letter By Mrs. Henderson to her brother. He sold their properties and possessions and got about £8000, then gave some of Mrs. Henderson clothes to his girlfriend Barbara

Murders in Crawley, London Cont. Mrs. Henderson’s brother was about to go to the police but Haigh convinced him that they emigrated to South Africa and the Dr. Henderson had carried out an illegal abortion In 1948 he claimed that his car was stolen and was found smashed at the foot of the cliff, later a unidentified body was found nearby but the police decided that the 2 incidents were unrelated and Haigh claims he didn’t have anything to do with the body He killed a woman named Mrs. Durand-Deacon by only shooting her Mrs. Henderson’s brother was still trying to locate his sister by going to the police Haigh wanted to silence him too but was arrested before he could kill him.

Trial Haigh confessed to everything when he was arrested but he pleaded not guilty at the trial that was on July 18, 1949 His defense counsel tried to blame the issue on how his “mental illness” and how it could affect his appreciation the morality of his acts. He obviously knew what he was doing since he attempted to cover up his crimes The prosecution declared that John was a man who believed he ha d found the perfect was to get personal gain and pretended to be insane when he was caught

Criminal Terms Plymouth Brethren- are a conservative, low church, nonconformist, Evangelical Christian movement, whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland, in the late 1820s, originating from Anglicanism. Solicitor’s Office- lawyer ‘s office Fraud- wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain Theft- the action or crime of stealing Securities and sales of possession- stocks and bonds; owned property Sulfuric Acid- a strong acid made by oxidizing solutions of sulfur dioxide and used in large quantities as an industrial and laboratory reagent. The concentrated form is an oily, dense, corrosive liquid. Carboy- a large globular plastic bottle with a narrow neck, typically protected by a frame and used for holding acids or other corrosive liquids. 40 gallon drum- CARBOY

Evidence 1. 28 pounds of human body fat 2. 3 faceted gallstones 3. Part of a left foot, not quite eroded 4. 18 fragments of human bone 5. Upper and lower dentures, intact 6. The handle of a red plastic bag 7. A lipstick container

Sentence Haigh was found guilty Sentenced by the judge to be “hung until dead” Was in prison at Wandsworth Prison for less than a month On August 6, 1949, John George Haigh was executed by being hung

Cultural reference John George Haigh, the Acid-Bath Murderer: A Portrait of a Serial Killer and His Victims- By Jonathan Oates John George Haigh - Acid Bath Murderer (True Crimes Book 31)- By Andrew Alexander On the T.V. show Murder Case Studies- “The Acid Bath Murder”- which aired May 1, 2011

“THE acid bath Murderer” "I saw before me a forest of crucifixes which gradually turned into trees. At first there appeared to be dew, or rain, dripping from the branches, but as I approached I realized it was blood. Suddenly the whole forest began to writhe and the trees, stark and erect, to ooze blood...A man went to each tree catching the blood...When the cup was full he approached me. 'Drink,' he said, but I was unable to move." TALKING ABOUT HIS DREAMS “THE acid bath Murderer” "Although my parents were kind and loving, I had none of the joys, or the companionship, which small children usually have. From my earliest years my recollection is of my father saying: 'Do no' or 'Thou shall not'. Any form of sport or light entertainment was frowned upon and regarded as not edifying. There was only condemnation and prohibition..." TALKING ABOUT HIS PARENTS WHILE AWAITNG EXECUTION

Sociological Theory When is comes to defining a criminal by a sociological theory, you need to look at every detail to pick the right one. John George Haigh was a trick man to pinpoint a theory on. His parents were very harsh on him by not letting him have social contact and also putting in his mind that if he sinned, a blemish would appear. Then I had researched more and Haigh then made a realization that what his parents told them was a lie. He then rebelled against them and thought he was invincible and could do anything. I finally thought of a theory that would fit this man. Under the anomie theory there are 5 ways an individual adapts. The first wat is conformity which is non deviant behavior which was a perfect fit for Haigh when he was young because he wasn’t bad when he was younger. The next way is innovation, and this applies to Haigh because he would start to act in crime by stealing money from people. The third wat is ritualism, with Haigh, it came to the point where if he was running out of money he would just go and kill someone like it was his job. The fourth way is retreatism and this is when Haigh was running out of people to hurt and had limited opportunities. And the fifth way is rebellion, this all started when his parents lied about the blemish when you sinned and he rebelled against his parents word which caused him to kill about 6 people. John George Haigh meets all the ways to adapt under the anomie theory.