Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Reading

by John J Eddleston

  Minnie Freeman Lee in her younger days. The National Archives

  Minnie Freeman Lee in death, showing the linen tied tightly around her throat. The National Archives

  The next night, 29 May, he left Maidenhead at 7.30pm and walked to Old Windsor where he slept in a horse-shed, making up a bed from old coats. He rose at 5.30am on Sunday 30 May and walked to Staines, were he had a drink in a coffee shop opposite the police station.

  From there he walked off towards London and earned a few shillings by doing some singing in the street just outside Staines. Then, on Monday 31 May, he went to Brighton where he slept at the Brighton Institution. The next day he went to Epsom, then on to Rowton House in Camden Town and finally on to St Albans, where he was arrested. He denied ever having set foot inside Mrs Lee’s house, let alone being responsible for her death.

  The statement was, of course, checked out. Officers spoke to Mr Cyril John Cook of College farm, Old Windsor. He confirmed that he owned a number of stables and at 6.00am on Saturday 30 May, he had gone into one of those stables to find that someone had made up a bed using some sacks and a couple of old coats.

  This left the police with a major problem. If, as they suspected, and as all the medical evidence seemed to indicate, Mrs Lee had been attacked some time on the evening of 29 May, then Russell had an excellent alibi. He was at Old Windsor then and could not be responsible for her death. Nevertheless, Russell was charged with murder and sent for trial.

  That trial opened at Reading on 13 October 1948, before Mr Justice Hallett. The proceedings lasted until 16 October, during which time the case for the Crown was led by Mr AJ Long, assisted by Mr JF Bourke. Russell was defended by Mr Eric Sachs and Mr GG Baker.

  Two important pieces of evidence seemed to link George Russell to the death of Minnie Freeman Lee. The first of these was the fingerprint, found on the jewellery box, and the second was the blue silk scarf found in his possession when he was arrested at St Albans.

  It wasn’t really disputed that the box had belonged to Mrs Lee, but, nevertheless, the prosecution called Winifred Anne Wall, who had once worked for Mrs Lee. She testified that she had seen the box in Wynford many times and had often dusted it.

  Of greater importance was the silk scarf. The prosecution called Christina Hayman, who was one of the few real friends that Mrs Lee had had. Christina testified that she had first met Minnie some thirty-six years before and since then they had often visited each other’s homes. She admitted that Minnie could be rather careful with money and never paid any of her bills until it was absolutely necessary, usually when she received reminders or final demands. This had led to local gossip that she was a rich old woman with a great deal of cash hidden in the house.

  Referring to the blue silk scarf, Christina said that it looked very much like one Minnie had owned, though she could not confirm that it was the exact one. As for Minnie’s routine, Christina knew that she never went to bed early.

  William Walter Bawden was a general dealer of 6 Harrow Close, Maidenhead and he had known Minnie for some twenty years. He had seen her with a blue silk scarf which she used to drape around her shoulders when she went out or sat in her back garden. He was almost positive that the scarf produced in court was the same one.

  James Stock lodged at the Gardeners Arms public house at 45 Bridge Street, Maidenhead. He told the court that on Friday 28 May, he was rebuilding a wall at Wynford. This had been damaged in recent floods and he recalled that at one stage Mrs Lee had come out and told him, in no uncertain terms, that the name on the front gate needed repainting and he should see to it.

  Some time just before 2.30pm, George Russell came up and began talking to him. Russell explained that he had just done some gardening for a woman in Maidenhead and Stock asked him if he might be interested in doing some work for the old woman who lived at Wynford. Russell had taken one look at the overgrown garden and said it was too big a job for him. He did pass on that the woman he had just worked for needed a cherry tree pruning and Stock might be interested in that.

  The two men got on so well that they arranged to meet up later, in the Gardeners Arms. At 6.30pm, Russell did indeed come into the pub and had a conversation with Stock and the landlord, Mr Carter. Later, Stock and Russell were left alone and it was then that Russell asked him if he were interested in ‘doing’ the house where he was working.

  Stock said he wasn’t, mainly because the police would be on to him immediately as a suspect. To this, Russell said he knew a place where he could get some carpets, without doing any breaking and entering. When Stock asked where, Russell had said it was just down the road. The two men then went down Bridge Street and Russell told Stock to wait and keep watch whilst he went into a garage. He returned, moments later, with a rolled up carpet under his arm which they took back to the Gardeners Arms.

  That night Stock and his wife, Florence, asked Russell to stay and he slept on a settee. Russell left the house very early the next morning but was back there by 8.00am. Later that same day, 29 May, Russell went back to Wynford where Stock was working again. It was just beginning to rain, so the two men went for a drink in the Thames Hotel, where they stayed until noon. That evening, Stock and Russell were back in the Gardeners Arms but, at around 7.00pm, Stock noticed that Russell had left without saying goodbye. He had not seen him again until now, at the trial.

  Russell had said that he had bought the blue silk scarf from a man at a Salvation Army Hostel, and this transaction had been witnessed by a man named Alfred Radcliffe. That gentleman was now called to give his evidence. He confirmed that he had indeed been staying at the hostel in Great Peter Street, Westminster, up until around 4 June. A few days before that, he had met up with Russell and confirmed that he had purchased some underwear from another resident there. He could not, however, recall Russell buying a blue silk scarf.

  On the final day of the trial, the jury retired to consider their verdict. After one hour and fifty minutes they returned to announce that Russell was guilty as charged. He made no comment as the death sentence was passed.

  An appeal was heard, before the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Goddard and Justices Humphries and Lewis, on 15 November. Here it was claimed that the fingerprint found on the jewellery box was only a partial print and did not tie Russell to the crime, and that the trial judge had misdirected the jury in regard to the silk scarf. Both points were dismissed, the appeal was lost and Russell’s fate was sealed.

  On Thursday 2 December 1948, forty-five-year-old George Russell was hanged at Oxford prison. It was the seventh execution in a year that saw nine men hanged: two in Wales, one in Scotland and six in England. There remains, however, a number of unanswered questions.

  In the first place, if George Russell had indeed broken into Wynford and robbed and killed Mrs Lee, why was it that the only thing he had apparently taken was a blue silk scarf? There is also the fact that if one looks at the original typed list of property found on Russell, one can see that the words ‘A Blue Silk Scarf’ have been added, presumably at a different time. Then we have the fact that when it seemed that Russell might have a cast-iron alibi for the originally perceived time of the murder, Dr Keith Simpson, the pathologist, adjusted his findings to say that Mrs Lee might have died at any time between 1.00am and 1.00pm on 30 May. In addition to this, it was clear that if Russell were the killer, he did not wear gloves since it was claimed that his print had been found on the jewellery box. Why was only one print ever found?

  Finally, we have the curious statement, which Russell is supposed to have made to the police at St Albans when told that he was being investigated on a charge of murdering Mrs Lee. He is said to have replied: ‘Did I murder this poor woman for something she was supposed to have, and had not?’ The inference was that Russell had heard the local rumours of Mrs Lee having money hidden in the house, but hadn’t found any.

  It may well be that George Russell was guilty of the murder of Minnie Freeman Lee, but there is also the possibility that the evidence was adjus
ted to fit a suspect with a long criminal record.

  CHAPTER 11

  Fire! Donald Zombie Batholomew Walton 1963

  Nicholas Goodchild, a bus driver for the Reading Borough Council, was just starting his shift on the morning of 9 January 1963, when he spotted smoke coming from the building at 16-18 London Street.

  The building at that location was Brennan’s General Store but Goodchild knew that there were a number of flats on the upper floors of the building and people might possibly be trapped in there. He shouted to his conductor who ran to dial 999 from a nearby telephone box, whilst Goodchild ran to the building and tried to raise the alarm.

  The fire brigade were on the scene within minutes but the premises were already a raging inferno. The store was mainly built of wood, and the fire had, by now, spread rapidly through the premises. Nevertheless, no fewer than seventeen people were rescued from the fire and only seven had to be taken to hospital for further treatment. Of those seven, only three had to be kept in hospital overnight: Annie Greenfield and Michael Crawley, who were both suffering from slight burns, and June Hardie who had fractured one of her heels in escaping. However, once the fire had been brought under control, officers found a single body in the bedroom of a flat on the third floor, that of eighty-two-year-old Georgina Taylor, who had lived in the building for some twenty-four years.

  It soon became clear that the fire had almost certainly been started deliberately. Fire officers had determined that the seat of the fire had been a number of wooden and cardboard boxes, which had been left close to the stairwell on the ground floor. They had caught fire easily and soon spread to the stairwell itself, which then acted as a funnel, forcing the flames and smoke upwards and trapping the occupants. It was fortunate indeed that only one fatality had occurred.

  The police, however, did not have to look too far in order to find the culprit. At 8.20am on the morning of the fire, a man walked into the police station and announced: ‘I think I caused that fire, quite by accident mind you. It just shows what a single match can do. I lit half a fag and threw the match away. That must have started it.’

  The man identified himself as Donald Walton and made a full written statement in which he said that he had first arrived in Reading on 11 December 1962, and lodged initially at the Salvation Army Hostel, also in London Street. Later, he had moved to new lodgings, at 55 Argyle Street. However, what Walton was claiming was a tragic accident, was believed to be something more for when officers checked up on Mr Walton they discovered that he had a long history of mental instability, had been in various institutions and, indeed, had escaped from one the previous year.

  Despite his mental history, Walton was charged with manslaughter and, after various remands before the magistrates, was sent to face his trial at Oxford, which opened before Mr Justice Stable on 15 February.

  The only witnesses called were medical gentleman as it was clear that Walton’s mental condition meant that he would not be able to enter a plea to the charge.

  Doctor Edmund Hemsted had performed the post-mortem on Georgina Taylor and confirmed that the cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning, asphyxia and shock.

  Doctor James Orr was the medical officer at Winchester prison where Walton had been held. He had observed the prisoner since his reception and had come to the conclusion that he was of unsound mind.

  Doctor Bertram Mantelbroke was a consultant psychiatrist at the Littlemore Hospital and had made a number of examinations of the prisoner. Dr Mantelbroke testified that Walton had a history of sudden violent outbreaks and his moods fluctuated widely from day to day. He agreed that Walton was insane and unfit to plead.

  Mister Justice Stable listened to the arguments on Walton’s sanity and then addressed the jury saying: ‘If a man was to be tried on a criminal charge he must have the mental facilities to follow all the proceedings, to instruct his lawyers, and to defend himself.’ He then directed the jury to return a verdict that Walton was unfit to plead to the charge.

  The jury obeyed that direction, Walton was then ordered to be detained during Her Majesty’s pleasure. It was, perhaps, little consolation for the family and friends of Georgina Taylor.

  CHAPTER 12

  Fingerprints Benjamin Frank Achilles Comas 1966

  On 31 March 1966, seventy-one-year-old Alice Beatrice Cox spent a pleasant afternoon shopping in Reading. Beatrice was with her married daughter who saw her to her bus stop, where the two women parted at approximately 6.15pm.

  The area around Reading West station, showing where the murder took place. Author’s Collection

  Not long after this, at some time between 6.30pm and 6.45pm, Cecily Elaine Wood, Mrs Cox’s next door neighbour, saw Alice in the garden of her home at 55 Salisbury Road, Reading. For the rest of the evening, all was quiet in Salisbury Road.

  At 1.00am the following morning, 1 April, Mrs Avenell, who lived at number 59, was woken by the sound of a window rattling nearby and what sounded like a woman screaming. As she strained to hear for any other sounds, Mrs Avenell heard nothing more and drifted off back to sleep.

  At 10.15am that same morning, Mrs Sear, who lived next door to Alice Cox at number 53, spoke to Elsie Edith Porton who lived on the other side of the road, almost directly opposite. The two ladies were growing rather concerned. Mrs Cox was a creature of habit and was usually up and about by this time of day. The curtains were still drawn at number 55 and there was no activity to be seen.

  Elsie Porton had a key to number 55, given to her by Alice Cox in case of emergencies. Perhaps the old lady had been taken ill and it would surely be nothing more than neighbourly to check on her. Elsie took her key and gingerly unlocked the front door of Alice Cox’s house but immediately she could see that something must be wrong. The house, normally neat and tidy, was in a state of disarray. Not sure what she should do next, Elsie returned to her own home and telephoned for Mrs Cox’s son.

  Harry Arthur Cox soon arrived and he now went into his mother’s house, accompanied by Mrs Sear and Mrs Porton. The house was indeed in disarray and, as they passed from room to room, it became clear that someone had broken in and ransacked the place. Going upstairs, Harry Cox found his mother lying in bed with one of her legs dangling over the side. She appeared to be dead and Harry dashed back downstairs and telephoned for the police.

  Constable Edward White was the first officer to arrive. He noted that the bedroom curtains were still drawn, a point that would prove to be crucial later, and then removed a bolster from the bed in order to confirm that Alice Cox was indeed dead. Then, mindful of a need to preserve the crime scene, Constable White replaced the bolster and waited for other officers to arrive.

  The police soon determined that the most likely scenario was that this was a robbery, which had gone wrong. Someone had broken into the house by smashing a window at the rear and since only a sixpence and a half-penny had been found in the house, it was reasonable to assume that other cash had been stolen. Perhaps Mrs Cox had disturbed the burglar, or woken when he smashed the window or came into her room. Either way, she had then been subdued, stabbed, although that wound was only slight, and subsequently suffocated.

  No time was wasted in seeking the help of Scotland Yard. The same day that the body was discovered, a telegram was sent to London, asking for assistance. So it was that Detective Superintendent Herbert Guiver and Detective Sergeant Leslie Emment travelled over to Reading to take charge of the case.

  A very large number of fingerprints were found inside the house at 55 Salisbury Road. Meticulously a list was drawn up of anyone with legitimate access to the house such as friends, relatives, neighbours and even tradesmen. Their fingerprints were taken for elimination purposes and after all that had been done, one set of prints remained unidentified. These almost certainly belonged to the intruder but the problem was that, whoever that person was, he had no criminal record. His prints were not on file with the police.

  It was then that Superintendent Guiver decided that the only way forward was
a mass fingerprinting of all males within the area. Over the next few days, officers called at homes and workplaces and took more than 10,000 sets of prints. None of them matched the set found at Salisbury Road.

  It was 23 April, more than three weeks after Alice’s body had been found, when Constable Allan Charles Kennerley called at 3 Cambridge Place to take the fingerprints of a lodger there, a man who went by the name of Frank. Going into Frank’s room, Kennerley saw that it was in a state of disorder but of Frank, there was no sign. The officer decided that he would have to call back at another time.

  In fact, Kennerley returned later that same day, accompanied by Detective Sergeant Ivor Dyer but there was still no sign of Frank. Determined not to miss out on fingerprinting a possible suspect, the two officers decided that they should fingerprint certain items within the room, including a tin of boot polish, which had an excellent surface for holding prints. After all, they reasoned, the occupant must have touched the items and it was just as valid a way of obtaining his prints. In fact, it was a very wise decision indeed for when the prints of the elusive Frank were checked, they were found to be a match to those left at the crime scene.

  Further checking revealed that Frank was actually Benjamin Frank Achilles Comas, a native of St Vincent in the Caribbean. A full description was circulated and all officers were warned to be on the lookout for him. In fact, the very next day, 24 April, Constable Kennerley and Constable Hounslow were in the centre of Reading when they spotted a man fitting Comas’ description sitting in a café.