Episode 266: Anything for Jackson / John Reginald Christie

This week we celebrate seasonal slaying, come to grips with a British serial strangler, & talk grief and grandparents as we review Justin G. Dyck's, Anything for Jackson. Want even more? Join the Frightday Society, at http://society.frightday.com You'll have access to all Screamium content (Behind the Screams, It's Been a Weird Week, A Conversation With..., Toast to Toast PM with Wine Kelly, Cinema Autopsy, the Writers' Room, bonus episodes of Captain Kelly's Cryptids & Conspiracies, Byron's Serial Corner, and so much more!  You'll also be part of our interactive community dedicated to the advancement of horror, hauntings, cryptids, conspiracies, aliens, and true crime. All things frightening.  Keep our mini-fridges full of blood...I mean...not blood...normal things that people drink...by going to http://shop.frightday.com Theme music by Cemeteries Produced by Byron McKoy Follow us in the shadows at the following places: @byronmckoy @samfrightday @kellyfrightday @frightday http://frightday.com http://facebook.com/groups/frightday http://instagram.com/frightday http://facebook.com/ffrightdayy   John Christie Transcript: -December, 1939 In the days approaching christmas, as a bitter cold whispered outside ,a family sat around the breakfast table. Bacon, scrambled eggs, toast. The father sat hunched over the day’s newspaper, filling out a puzzle. Mother at the stove, stirring eggs in a pan. A quiet lull in conversation was shattered with a question. Something that’s on the minds of most kids during this time of year, even today! ...Christmas presents.   “Hey, Dad. I’ll bet you’ll never guess what I got you for Christmas”. The old man, breaking his gaze, cocked his head back, towards the ceiling with a look of desperation on his face, “A new furnace”. An ironic wisecrack that was well received by the room due to his reputation for being one of the most feared furnace-fighters in Northern Indiana. With only mere minutes left before being forced to leave the table for school, the oldest son, on tenterhooks about what he would say next, could feel the Christmas noose beginning to tighten. A question that both excited and terrified him was shot in his direction. “What would you like for Christmas?” -Now...what he said in response certainly wasn’t important. The request was met with reasonable resistance, you may hurt yourself, or something like that. And although slightly more somber, breakfast continued, and the old man went out to start the family car. An Oldsmobile. But something was wrong...during the night, the vehicle had frozen up.  While filling up a large pot with warm water, the father turned, and shushed his family. Beyond the quiet sounds of a radio, he heard something. It was coming from the basement… A vent whose purpose is to provide invisible comfort and warmth, was emitting something much uglier. A cloud of black smoke creeped in, like an unwanted guest, as the sounds downstair grew louder. ”It’s a clinker!” The father grabbed his gloves, and stepped into the basement, a black cloud welcoming him, patting his back on the way down.  13 years after the fictionalized events that i’ve just described, based on the semi-autobiographical accounts of Jean Shepherd originally published in Playboy magazine in the mid-1960’s, made famous by the Bob Clark holiday classic , ”A Christmas Story, and almost 4000 miles away, on the other side of the pond, a string of unfortunate events would transpire over five days in December, 1952 -that when dissipated, would leave between 10,000 and 12,000 residents dead -100,000 more sick   -Citizens strangled by the exhaust of poor fuel meant to keep them warm -capped by a weather anomaly  -which filled the city faster than A Christmas Story kitchen.   -And surviving inside this tragedy, a soft spoken, tall, thin, pathetic man  -who had been luring women into his home under the guise of assistance -had been doing some strangling of his own..   -and it’s at this point i’d like to recognize my sources  -and tell y’all...I fucked up. -For a while now, i’ve been wanting to read Kate Winkler Dawson’s book -”Death in the Air: The True Story of a Serial Killer, the Great London Smog, and the Strangling of a City” -that the New York Times calls “Deeply researched and densely atmospheric -I did read that book, and it do agree.    -and although a little tedious in it’s structure, i enjoyed it quite a bit. -The author does a wonderful job painting a picture of London -just on the heels of the 2nd world war   -what it was like to be a first responder during this killer fog. -police desperately trying to keep up with transportation accidents -and crime under the cover poisonous clouds -doctors blindly shuffling door to door -overwhelmed hospitals, packing in patients   -accounts of people, stuck inside their homes -family members struggling to breathe -doctors saying “this person needs to be hospitalized” -but there are no beds left -and even so, there’s no way to transport them -HOWEVER...It’s that deeply researched part that posed a problem. -I didn’t expect to learn so much about coal...and parliament...regulation… -All very interesting content, and I will share a little bit about what I learned -but this is supposed to be a one part episode for Christmas. -Over the last two weeks, I could have booked us up for over a month.    -There was even a point where I was gonna take a detour and talk about why freakin Santa gives nautghy folks coal.  -which led me to La Befana, an italian witch  -as well as Sinterklaas’s assistant in German and Dutch folklore, Zwarte Piet (Zwar-tah, Pete) -or “Black Pete -an extremely controversial “boogyman” figure that in recent years has caused quite a stir -after neo-nazi groups have started violently defending their “right” to dawn the traditional costume of -red lips, curly black wigs, blackened faces, and a ministerial-like costume… -We’ll save that for next year   -But of course...this is Byron’s serial corner.  -and although this particular fog did kill thousands...if you think about it… -it’s really more of a spree killer…   -SO...with all that said...the focus of my report tonight will be on the life, and deaths attributed to a real pitiful piece of shit named John Reginald Halliday Christie     -and  -Kelly, I hate to give you the collywobbles right before Christmas -who am I kidding, I love it   -but as an apology, I will remind and allow you to use British phrases like, bollocks, wanker -and even the Frightday Classic, “Bob’s Your Uncle”, whenever you feel necessary  -Merry Christmas  -John Reginald Christie  -Know to most as “Reg” -came into this world on April 8th, 1899 -near Hallifax, in Northern England -to Mary Hannah & Ernest Christie -He was raised with 5 sisters and one brother, in a working-class household.    -Mary was a sweet woman, -however, her husband was not. -He was cold, strict, quiet, and although he didn’t drink -rare within my research  -he was prone to physical and verbal abuse.    -Every Sunday he would march his family 5 miles to church -and i do mean march. Shoulders back, and arms swinging    -Reg respected his father, but feared him.  -One story in Death in the Air recalls a story shared about a beating received after being accused of stealing tomatos (which he didn’t even like) -Once his mother convinced Ernest otherwise, Reg was telling the truth, he was given a shilling for his trauma.   -When Reg turned 8, his Grandfather David Halliday passed away -While seeing the body laid out in preparation for the funeral, he became captivated.  -A once powerful man has seemingly lost that appearance -Now nothing more than a body -This experience changed him forever. -he later recalled “You would expect that for a little boy this would be a terrible experience. For me it was not. I was not frightened, worried, or perturbed in the slightest. I looked at the corpse with a strange pleasant thrill”   -At age 11, he was granted a scholarship to Halifax Secondary School, -He was a bright kid that excelled in math. -A very detailed student.  -the kind of person that tinkered with clocks for fun... -It was later determined that he had an IQ of 128.    -which led me down a road, and I’m sorry for a tangent this early -the average IQ is between 90 and 110 -I had always assumed that the more prolific serial killers would have a high IQ -but in my digging...it’s really all over the board…   ON THE HIGH END -not a surprise -Ted Kaczynski  167 -Andrew Cunnan 147 -Ed Kemper 145 -Dahmer 145 -Bundy 136   HIGHISH -Gacy 118 -Kenneth Bianchi 116 -David Berkowitz 115   BUT, a majority of serial killers have an IQ in the 90s or below. -Henry Lee Lucas was a dumb dumb (89) -Robert Pickton was a dumb dumb (86) -Gary Ridgeway (which surprises me) not smart (82) -Otis Toole (no surprise here) double dumb (75)   -and the way killers kill, actually says a lot about how smart they are -on average (and keep in mind, there’s not a lot of data here, so it feels a little skewed) -but bombers have the highest IQs -followed by stranglers assisted by guns or bludgeoning instruments   -poisoners  -solo strangulation -stabbers -Shooters -strangle assisted by stabbing  -and at the bottom, with IQs in the 80s and 70s  -are all variations of bludgeoning -which makes sense, i suppose....   -Anyway, this smart little boy proved himself a skilled athlete,  -was a boy scout, even an assistant scout leader eventually.  -but was nervous, and awkward, even from an early age. -he was scared of the dark -and even as an adult, was easily spooked...frequently from bad dreams -which gives me great joy -y’all need to see a picture of this dork in the show notes of this episode at frightday.com   -After leaving school on 22 April 1913, he began a job as an assistant projectionist. -a profession for artistic cool people, or creeps -and i did forget to mention Reg loved photography  -It’s an odd venn diagram….   -Reg’s coming-of-age didn’t go great.  -His thoughts on sex and violance were already getting jumbled up -Being raised in such a strict religious home, with a majority of women around,  -he denied ever engaging in “the sin of self-pleasure”,  -but claimed he caught a brief glimpse of his sister’s stocking top, and this thrill, brought about “strange feelings”.   -However, much like many serial killers, this crossing of wires causes “issues” with physical intimacy.  -One day, 16 year old Reg and two of his blokes went to a place known as “Monkey Run”.  -a lover’s lane of sorts in Savile Park.  -The boys paired up with some girls, and went down the lane to “love”. -Still a virgin, Reg was with someone he later described as “a mill girl of loose morals” -While his friends successfully scored, he struggled... -trembling with his limp penis in his hand as the girl mocked him.   -Reg’s account was a little different “I remember that we kissed and cuddled, but i heard later she told my friends i was “slow””   -A week later, the same girl slept with his friend, and she very publicly compared the two…   -A school word spread, giving him the nickname “Can’t do it Christie” and “Reggie No-Cock” -which a later autopsy would confirm...his dick was fine. Normal size.    -”All my life since I have had this fear of appearing ridiculous as a lover” he would later admit -This is where his need to be in complete control during sex started. -It’s also at this time he became increasingly hypochondriac, prone to hysteria, -we’ll talk more about that soon.   -Still, he would spend his cree time hanging out at pubs. -even through he never drank -Only talking to women. -He was playing the part of a good moral young man, while secretly obsessing over sex and death.    -On September 19th, 1916, two years into World War 1 -originally know as World War -Reg enlisted in 52nd Nottingham & Derbyshire Signal Corp -he was a signalman.  -During his 16 months of service, he was reprimanded twice for sneaking off-base to find sex-workers. -this would become a habit for Reg, as he could usually pay enough for them to do whatever he asked.   -But he saw more than just woman. This was the time of trench warfare, and he was in the thick of it.  -Shells exploding all around him.  -bodies of his buddies rotting around him.  -On June 28th, 1918 -A mustard gas shell exploded near him, knocking him unconscious as the gas crept around him.  -somehow he survived, but he was not alright.    -The gas left him blind for five months, and unable to speak for over three years,  -leaving him with a permanent, soft, whiney voice.  -...or so HE says. -Military medical records state that he had no major symptoms of exposure (blisters on skin or in throat or lungs) -and had no injury to his eyes. -He was diagnosed with Functional aphonia (acute voice loss) -but it wasn’t from the gas...it was from fright -He was hospitalized for 32 days, and treated for laryngitis...then told to go home.   -and on October 22nd, 1919, he did.  -where he quickly got a job at Sutcliffe’s Woolen Mill so he could pay for more sex-workers.  -However, soon found real love or something like that in a woman named Ethel Simpson. -The daughter of a rug designer...I believe. -i wrote this part at 1am, and couldn’t find where i read that. -By all accounts she seemed to be a good woman, from a good family.   -The two married on May 10th, 1920, just months after meeting. -But married life didn’t come naturally to Reg.  -not much did -His visits with sex-workers continued and escolated  -he was unable to get pregnant with Ethel -and disappointing his parents with his failings, he was disowned -They separated after four years, when Christie moved to London and Ethel lived with relatives. -but reconciliation was not far out.    -I’m gonna yadda, yadda some of the next ten-ish years of his life -not to minimize his crimes, but because I would rather focus on the lives of the people he eventually took.  -As a quick summary, over the next decade, Reg would be in and out of prison for  -3 months for stealing packages while he was a mailman -9 months for theft -6 months hard labor for assaulting a prostitute -he hit her over the head with a cricket bat -blood everywhere, he shoved his fingers down her throat when she screamed for help -it was awful -There were other assaults he was suspected of, but never charged for   -he was however given 3 months for stealing a laurie -did you forget about the slang offer, kelly?  -that’s a car.   -While inside, Reg met a priest who convinced him to change his ways.  Which of course he didn’t -This is when he asked for Ethel back.  -and since she very much still loved him, she moved to London to be with him.  -They soon remarried, and in December of 1938, the couple moved into a small, ground floor flat,  -at an address soon to be infamous -10 Rillington Place in the Ladbroke Grove neighbourhood of Notting Hill -A cheaply constructed three-story brick building in a low income area -the train was so close to the building it was “deafening”    -Obviously not cut out for war. when WWII did happen,  -Reg did a good job of playing the part of a good citizen, joining the Police Force -as a volunteer war reserve officer -The power and control over people was exhilarating   -He would follow women and take notes.  -spy on neighbors -he became almost fanatical about upholding the law,  -and he eventually got the nickname, "the Himmler of Rillington Place."    -Reg was there for a while -but he resigned in 1943 after the affair he was having with co-worker was interrupted by her real soldier husband, who beat him up.    -Ya see, his bad behavior never stopped.  -right after he got out of prison the last time, he went right back to visiting sex-workers -escalating his fantasies, more and more violent and disgusting    -His hypochondria had progressed as well   -Sometime in 1938, Reg was hit by a car while riding his bike -As if he wasn’t already primed to be a serial killer, he injured his head -among other things.   -This impacted his life significantly, leaving him more concerned about his health -not leaving the house as often.  -His ailments would become more clear in the subsequent years.  -Fibromyalgia, headaches, hemorrhoids, and nervous diarrhea -As things progressed, he would claim to be unable to lay down for extended periods of time -a combination of enteritis, and extreme back pain would leave him unable to bend at the waist -do anything at all really. -or so he claimed… -and this is where I wanna say, I know many folks out there are struggling with invisible illnesses -I don’t really even want to speculate further with what Reg Christie did have -but I do wanna make fun of his diarrhea -and whether or not he was actually sick -I am glad he was in pain, because of the awful things he did later.    -Between 1937 and 1952, Reg Christie made 174 visits to a man named Dr Matthew Odess -one of my favorite stories of his ailments was when he approached Odess with a particularly bad case of enteritis… -The Doctor recommended a starvation diet of only milk, toast, and barley water. ...so lactose, gluten, and more grain? -Back home his sweet wife had prepared him a big glass of barley water -but slipped, and spilt it all over him.  -wet, in pain, and starving    -That night however...while lying in bed, the couple heard a loud thud from the flat above them. -something like a flour sack hitting the floor.  -They got our of bed, and went to the window.  -silence. then more moving -It sounded like moving heavy furniture... -at least...that’s what they would soon tell the police.    -In April of 1948, Timothy Evans and his then pregnant wife, Beryl, moved into the top-floor flat at 10 Rillington Place -6 months later, they gave birth to a daughter, Geraldine.    -Tim was a working-class guy. A van driver for a food company.  -Not terribly smart. -Due to health problems as a child, he missed much school,  -and would go on to say he couldn’t write, or read beyond comics. -He was known to embellish, and boast to boost his self-esteem.  -The marriage wasn’t a good one. Neighbors noted hearing heated arguments. -Beryl kept a messy house full of dirty diapers, and spoiled food -She wasn’t great with money either.  -but Tim was an abusive drunk who was having an affair with a 15 or 16 year old girl….so….   -Things got even worse for the Evans family, when Beryl found out she again, was pregnant.  -She immediately said she didn’t want to have the baby,  -that they couldn’t afford the added cost, and she couldn’t handle the stress. -Also, their relationship was shit   -but of course abortion wasn’t legal in London at the time.  -and anyway, Tim coming from a religious home, was staunchly against the idea.    -However, this didn’t stop Beryl from trying.  -popping mystery tablets, and attempted to douche  -Saying she’d rather die than have another baby.  On November 30th 1949 -Reg opened his front door to see three police officers struggling to pry up the drain cover underneath his front bay window.  -They asked when was the last time he saw Beryl Evans and her child…   -150 miles away, Timothy was in a jail cell in South Wales -The day before he had turned himself in, confessing to the murder of both his wife and young daughter.    -and what he admitted during interrogation does change a couple times -The first time detectives walked through his account -which they had to write down due to his inability to write -took almost two hours to tell.  -it was extremely detailed. Too detailed.  -That his 3 month pregnant wife had been injecting herself in the vagina with a strange mixture -when that didn’t work, was popping tablets.  -That she started looking ill. -When Beryl threatened to kill herself and this born child. -He didn’t believe she would follow through, so he went to work -During his deliveries, he claimed to have met a man at a diner, who gave him an abortion pill. -When he came home, he told Beryl the story.  -She found the pill while searching his pockets for a cigarette -The next day, Tim returned home from work to find her dead, on the bed.  -He fed the baby, waited up till 2AM, and slipped her body into the drain -went back upstairs and smoked a cigarette.    -Over the next few days, he “got the baby looked after”, quit his job, sold his furniture.  -He returned to his parents home, claiming that his wife and daughter were on holiday   -But this confession didn’t see right. He seemed detached.  -couldn’t follow up on details.    -and back at 10 Rillington Place, once the drain was finally pried open… -it smelled wet and rotten...but there was no bodies.    -Upon hearing the news, detectives pressed Tim again, whose story quickly changed.  -”I said that to protect a man named Christie” -”It’s not true about the man in the diner either I’ll tell you the truth now”.    -And this second statement...oooh it’s not good for Reg.   -A week before Beryl died, Red had Tim over for a chat.  -The pregnancy, and the pills came up, and Reg responded. -”If you or your wife had come to me in the first place, i could have done it for you without any risk.”   -Confused, Reg reassured Tim that he had learned a thing or two about practicing medicine in the war.  -that he had helped woman with unwanted pregnancies before.  -but that 1 in 10 women wouldn’t survive -After much discussion, the Evans had decided to take Reg up on his offer.  -The day of the procedure, Tim returned home from work, and was met by Reg at the base of the stairs. -”Go upstairs and i’ll follow behind” -On the bed, Beryl was wrapped in blankets, dead.  -Upon closer look, Tim noted: “I could see that she was dead and that she had been bleeding from the mouth and nose and that she had been bleeding from the bottom part” -Reg said that he would dispose of the body and would make arrangements for a couple from East Acton to look after Geraldine.    -The last time he saw Beryl, was Reg carrying her body down the stairs.    -a these conflicting statements would come to haunt Tim Evans -and Reg Christie    -During the investigation, the Christie’s were extremely helpful.  -Recalling the bickering, even a time that Beryl said Tim tried to strangle her. -that she wanted to leave, but was scared.    On December 2nd, 1949,  -Three days after Tim confessed, another search was conducted.  -The focus was washouse with a stuck lock, which Ethel helped open  -Inside, a woodpile walled in the corner of the sink. -Behind was a something wrapped almost like a package -A green tablecloth, wrapped around a blanket, tied tightly with a  thick cord.  -Behind the door was a much smaller package.  -Beryl and Gerildine were found.  -The cause of death for both was strangulation. -Beryl with an undetermined cord from behind -Gerildine still had a striped tie around her neck.   -When presented with this evidence, Tim’s statement changed again -He had strangled his wife because she was causing him to go into debt. “In a fit of temper i grabbed a piece of rope from a chair which i had brought home off my van and strangled her with it” -The baby was strangled because it wouldn’t stop crying.   -The details of his confession seemed to match the evidence, so when taken to trial that’s what the prosecution focused on.  -But remember, this confession was always dictated by someone other than himself -and signed without reading it. -There’s also the possibility of coercion, as he once mentioned being afraid the cops would rough him up if he didn’t say the right thing…   -but Tim had a history of violence -the stress of the pregnancy -the neighbors had heard them fighting  -Beryl had told Ethel Christie about the prior strangulation.    -10 days after the murder, Reg visited Dr Odess complaining of pain in the left lumbar muscles of his back. -saying it was caused not by stress, but by physical strain, having lifted something heavy. -The trail was set for January 11th, 1950. -Under british law, a suspect could only be tried for one murder at a time, -so senior counsel CHRISTMS HUMPHREYS figured that the strangulation of his would be a more likely conviction.   -The trial wasn’t covered much by the press. They dubbed it “fish and chippy” -A dull double-murder. -During the trial it was revealed that Beryl was indeed pregnant -16 weeks with a boy -Also more details of her condition.  -There was swelling on her right eye and mouth.  -her lip was actually touching her nose.  -She had bruising and scarring on the walls of her vagina  -most likely due to self inflicted abortion attempts.  -...it’s very likely that she was raped and this was overlooked by a medical examiner  -They neglected to take a vagina swab because they knew it was the husband.   -It came out in trail that Tim had an IQ of less than an Otis Toole -65, with a mental age of an 11-year-old.   -Tim withdrew his confession, saying that the 2nd was indeed the truth -that Reg Christie had killed his wife.  -but most everyone considered the story too wild to be true.   -The Christies were key witnesses for the prosecution, -denying everything and pointing to the dysfunctional relationship of their neighbors.  -I mean, how could the feeble Reg carry a body downstairs?   -The Defense tried to bring up Reg’s criminal past, but his redemption story was convincing.  -Although there was a handful of evidence that could have cleared Tim -a timecard, other witnesses,  it was all omitted -or never shown to the jury.    -The trial only lasted 3 days, and The jury took just forty minutes to convict him. -Reg wept at the verdict.    -On March 9th, 1950, Timothy Evans was hanged by the neck until dead. -If only police would have looked harder during that second search,  -maybe they would have found the two bodies buried in the small shared garden at 10 Rillington Place -possibly even the human femur being used to prop a portion of the fence up.    -At this point in preparing my report, it’s 4AM, and i’ve realized that even though I prefaced it all with a warning that I had maybe taken on too much for one episode -I continue to fuck myself by digging deeper into details -the opposite of what Reg did when disposing of two corpses that we’ll talk about in a minute.  -I might need to cut the fog talk even more… -which makes that extended A Christmas Story coal segway up top even less significant... -so I apologize, once again.  -Merry Christmas    (First Victim) -Ruth Fuerst  -a slender, short, dark haired, olive skinned woman with deep brown eyes shaped live ovals -had a tough life.    -She was Austrian, and in 1939, at 17 was separated from her parents -As a half-Jewish woman, she fled to while she still could. -A year later, she was forced into an internment camp on the Isle of Man -She was troubled over what happened to her parents -fearing they had died in the concentration camps -it was later discovered they had safely immigrated to New York City -She had a baby girl with a Greek waiter that was immediately given up for adoption.  -Ruth eventually found herself barely making ends meet in London. -She was bright, but shy, and bordered on depressed.  -Keeping jobs was a struggle as she had poor work ethic, was frequently absent -and would quit with short notice, -She could never seem to develop strong friendships, but appreciated male attention -She would frequent a place called David Griffin’s Refreshment Room -a place where she met a distinguished vetrean and war reserve police officer.  -in August of 1943.   -He became a frequent client of hers -and the two would have sex while he taking a break during patrol -Sometimes even at his home. -In late August, after expressing that she may want something more than just a sexual relationship with Reg, he welcomed her into his bed -later recalling “The poor girl did not dream she was walking into the room of her death”. -While they were having sex, things escilated. -He reached over and grabbed a piece of rope from the side of the bed -wrapped it around her neck, pulling tight, and killing ruth.  -Suddenly, there was a knock at the door -a boy passed Reg a note informing him that his wife, who was out of town visiting her bother -would be home soon.  -Reg pulled up the floorboard of his front room, and briefly hid the corpse underneath. -the next day, while his wife was out, he moved Ruth to the washhouse. -and that night, at around 10PM, he excused himself, telling his wife he had to use the bathroom -one that had shared between the entire building -but instead, he used this time away to dig a shallow grave in the shared garden -later commenting that the neighbors watched him digging -that they gave him nods and cheerios. The greeting not the cereal  -But Ruth wouldn’t be alone in that garden for long.   -While working at Ultra Electric Ltd, a factory in northwest London, Reg noticed her right away. -Muriel Amelia Eady -an assembly line worker who made plane parts during the war.   -He began working on his second victim almost immediately -asking her to have tea with him -When she responded with reluctance, he changed his invitation to tea at his home -with his wife. -They would become fast friends -and would frequent movies. -but Reg never stopped looking for a time to strike -In October, 1944 -as the smokey fog started sticking, he noticed Muriel’s persistent cough  “I have something that can cure that” -he said, elaborating that he had medical training from the war.  -She agreed to visit his home for treatment.    -Reg would consider this his “clever” murder. “Much cleverer than the first” -Using a mask, tubing, and a jar, he build a breathing treatment apparatus. -Punching two holes in the lid of the jar. -one for each tube. -the first led from the mask to the jar, which contained steaming water infused with Friar’s Balsam -the second tube was much longer, and connected to the gas pipe behind his stove.   -On October 7th, Muriel arrived for her appointment.  -She sat in the kitchen, and slipped on the mask -seemingly unaware of the second tube -a scarf was placed over her head to keep the steam around longer -and the gas was turned on. -Soon, she went unconscious. -Reg laid Murial on the bed,  -strangled her with her stockings -then raped her body -After a brief period on the washhouse -she joined Ruth in the garden. -Over the years, Reg lost track of where exactly the bodies were, -once he drove a shovel into the neck of a skeleton, separating Murial’s skull. -he threw it into a bombed out house nearby, where it was soon found by some kids   -His illness intensified and subsisted -usually getting worse around his acts of violence   -but in the winter of 1952, as one of the worst “pea-soupers” in London history rolled in -Reg Christie was planning on killing again.    -London has long suffered air quality issues -dating back to the 13th century -in 1257, in Nottingham, the burning of sea coal inside the castle filled it with a smoke so thick -that it forced Queen Eleanor to leave -fifteen years later, Edward the 1st banned it’s use -threatening to tortue and kill anyone who used it. -But citizens continued burning, even after someone was executed.  -They simply couldn’t afford wood to burn.   -The burning of this seacoal admits higher concentrations of sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, and nitric oxide.  -and in the 1600s, it was attributed to rickets that affected half of the populations children.   -During WWII however, London used their pollution problem to their advantage -creating a smokescreen to make targets harder to hit.   -After the war, the production of coal was one of the only profitable industries that England had to offer.  -but they didn’t keep the high quality coal for themselves.  -Instead they sold their citizens a mixture of powdered coal, peppered with nuggets called “Nutty Lack” -However inefficient: -creating less heat, and more smoke, -this is what Londoners burnt.   -During the colder months, they became accustomed to the frequent dense, stinking fogs -yellow, green clouds that became known as, again, “pea-soupers”    -But on December 4th, 1952, an huge anticyclone, that stretched from Spain to Germany -moved over a windless-london. -causing a temperature inversion -which happens to us quite often in the valley we live in.  -Cold air trapped below a lid of warm air.  -As temperatures dropped, factories continued pumping exhaust -and more and more coal was fed into furnaces across london -filling the city with a fog, dense with full of soot, sulfur, carbon dioxide, and nitric oxide   -This event would last five days, take the lives of over 10,000 -sickening 100,000 more. -and again, if you want to know exactly what this experience was like -definitely grab a copy of Death in the Air -very descriptive account from many perspectives    -Nonetheless while this was happening...Reg had an epiphany…   -He didn’t very much like his job, his home...or his wife.  -On December 6th, he quit his decent job at the British Roads Services -saying he had lined up a better job in Sheffield -and that his wife didn’t feel safe in their neighborhood anymore -at the time, there was an influx of immigrants from the west indies  -and much like in the US at the time -everyone were disgusting racists -Landlords would hang signs on their buildings declaring “no coloreds”   -Recently a man named Charles Brown -Not that one, but an immigrant from Jamaica had purchased their building -and started allowing all renters.    -Reg disliked this cultural shift very much...  -The claimed the new tenets would laugh loudly and cook food that smelled disgusting.  -That the women would spit in the halls -Charlie accused the Christies of causing the conflict.  -Even more concerning, he was planning on excavating the garden to flatten it out.  -A lawyer was hired, and this paused Charlie’s plans.   -But there was no new job. -No move to Sheffeld planned -and a few days after the Great Smog of London lifted  -Ethel Christie was strangled with a stocking while she layed in her bed.  -She remained their for 3 days,  -the stocking still around her neck -a makeshift diaper beneath her -until Reg could no longer bear sleeping next to her   -With the garden near capacity, he again pulled up the floorboards -making this a more permanent hiding place.   -Before hammering the boards down, he took of her ring -and snipped off some of her public hairs as a memento.    -Over the next several days, Reg wrote letters to relatives saying she was too sick to write them for the Holidays  -but not to worry.  -He sent several gifts from “Ethel and Reg”   -Neighbors were told that Ethel had gone to Sheffield, and that he would follow shortly, -A smell was noticed, and Reg was seen sprinkling his house and garden with disinfectants   -In January, a still jobless Reg sold all the furniture in the flat, along with a watch, and his wife’s ring. -He forged her signature and emptied their bank account.  -Reg was sleeping on a mattress on the floor. -he had three chairs, and was using one as a table. -a serious case of the post holiday season blues   -While out one day, he bumped into a woman looking for a place to rent.  -He invited her to look at his place, but was disappointed when she showed up with her husband -Etherway, they agreed to take Reg’s place, and paid him 3 months rent in advance  -He euthanised his cat and dog -borrowed a suitcase from the couple, and moved on on March 20th.    -Not even one day after moving in, Charlie Brown informed this couple that they had no right to be there -and kicked them out.  -which money aside, they were happy to go. The place stunk.    -With the flat empty, the landlord allowed an upstairs tenant, Bresford Brown, to use their kitchen.  -Bresford quickly noticed the smell, and attempted to locate its source.  -While investigating, small remodeling plans were made. -he wanted to install some brackets on the wall for his radio -Tapping the wall, he discovered it was hollow.  -the door next to it was nailed shut -Thinking this was just an old coal cellar, he peeled back the wallpaper,  -and shined a light inside.   -Shocked by what he saw, the police were called.  -Between 19 January and 6 March 1953 had killed three women. -Behind that nailed door were their bodies. -All had been tired up, strangled, and raped, repeatedly -before and after death    -The gas tube technique had been used on all of them.   -Investigators also discovered the body of his wife when they noticed the loosened floorboards   -It was later determined that the unidentified victims were  -Kathleen Maloney, Rita Nelson, and Hectorina MacLennan    -Kathleen was a sexworker experiencing homelessness -She looked older than she was, and had troubles with alcohol.  -Several bars had banned her for obnoxious singing… -too much red wine -She called it a “jolly jump up” -But she didn’t have a great start to her life -She was orphaned at age 3, raised by nuns -Seemingly no one wanted anything to do with her -terribly sad. -Kathleen was lured in by Reg when they met at a fish and chips place -He wanted her for a photoshoot -something he did often with sex-workers -the morning after the murder, Reg stepped around her dead body -and made tea. -Rita, 6 months pregnant, stumbled into Reg’s trap while at a cafe -She asked him for cigarette. -He admitted to eavesdropping on a conversation she was having a friend -Rita was looking for a new flat, and Reg had one she might be interested in.  -She unfortunately had arrived alone.  -Reg claims to have filled the room with gas...but that doesn’t make sense, since he would have been gassed himself.  -However, she did black out -and shortly later was strangled so hard, it broke her neck. -She was only 25 -Hectorina -who was 27 at the time of her death -bounced between two relationships at the time -one with a married man, the other who was in prison -She was a vulnerable woman, struggling to survive in London -She met Reg outside of a movie theater, -he was offering to sublet his flat to her and her boyfriend -hours after Hectorina’s murder, her boyfriend showed up wondering where she was.  -Reg walked him through, room to room. -He left, finding nothing -Due to the small size of the flat, and it being empty, police found very little else inside.  -but on the second search, two days later -they made their way to the garden.  -There, they discovered burnt bone fragments in a bucket, that led them to excavate -Ruth and Muriel were finally found.  -in a pile of garbage in the garden, they found a tin that once held cough drops -Inside were four clumps of matted public hair -Momentos left behind.    -Now considered the main suspect, Reg was on the run...kinda. -He had gotten a bed at a hostel in central London, -paying for several days, using his real name. -Even though his name and face were on the front of all newspapers -He went to the movies -and Relaxed at cafes   -And 11 days after he left, on Tuesday March 31st, 1953, at 9:30AM -a police officer approached a disheveled Reg, watching a river barge being loaded.  -when asked for ID, he said he didn’t have any.   -The officer requested he remove his hat. -The bald head and glasses gave him away.    -In the pockets of his wrinkled raincoat was his ID,  -some coins,  -and old newspaper clipping about the trail of Timothy Evans,  -with details of the murders.   -When questioned, he did mention the four bodies -but referenced “something he couldn’t quite remember” -gaging if they had discovered the bodies in the garden   -at 10:45AM, Reg was charged with murder.    -The trial of John Reginald Halliday Christie began on Monday 22nd June 1953 in Court One of The Old Bailey -The same courtroom that Tim Evans was tried in….   -and again, that weird British rule, you can only be charged for one murder at a time -the selected victim was his wife, Ethel.  -Reg tried to plead insanity, but he was determined to have a hysterical personality  but was not insane -and honesty, i haven’t heard him say one funny thing yet...i don’t know where they got that ;)   -When insanity fell away, he settled into having a spotty memory of the events.  -After four days proceedings, it only took the july an hour and 20 minutes of deliberation.  -on Thursday June 25th 1953 -Reg was found guilty of murder.  -He did not appeal the conviction   -While awaiting execution, Reg spent his time playing dominos, and clipping out articles about himself.  -He willingly spoke of his crimes, revealing details of the murders to guards.  -a stark difference to how he spoke before his conviction -where he said he DID kill the women, but it wasn’t his fault.   -On the morning of July 15th, 1953 In the same execution chamber, and with the same executioner who had hung Tim Evans -a man who was eventually given a posthumous pardon for the murder of his wife and daughter -Reg stood -Hands tied behind his back, a noose around his neck.  -He refused last words and whiskey,  -but did mention to the hangman that the rope made his neck itch -he replied, “it won’t bother you for long”.  -The trap doors opened,  -Reg fell seven and a half feet before the rope caught him -dislocating his 3rd and 4th vertebrae -he was dead.    -His body was buried within the walls of the prison.   -and back to that tin of pubes real quick… -He claimed they belonged to the four victims found in the house on 10 Rillington Place -which was eventually flattened in 1978 -however...they only matched one.   -It’s very likely that Reg killed more people than what we know, -but no further attempts to identify victims have been made. -And similar to the visual of “the old man” disappearing into the black, coal smoke of a basement -if there is a hell, I hope Reg was forced to descend into it’s pits.  -May his back and belly ache forever.  -Merry Christmas, Kelly. -Merry Christmas, everyone!