Final Answer:
The story began when a man called Timothy Evans was
charged for the murder of his wife and baby. He was
accused with double murder, but a short time later one of the charges was
dropped and he was
tried for the murder of his daughter only. During the
trial Evans accused the man whose house he had been living in, John Christie, of the crimes, but no attention was paid to him. The
jury found Evans
guilty and he was
sentenced to death. An
appeal was turned down and he was
executed in 1950.
Some time later, more women’s bodies were discovered in Christie’s house: two, three, four, five, six. John Christie was the police’s chief
suspect and they started a nationwide
hunt for him. He was soon
apprehended. Alleged
statements by Christie while he was in
custody cast doubt on the Evans hanging. When he went to
court, Christie
confessed that he had murdered Mrs Evans, but in private it was said that he
denied to that crime. His
plea of insanity with regard to other murders was rejected and he was
convicted of killing his wife. Soon afterwards there was an
enquiry into the
case of Timothy Evans. The
judges decided that justice had been done and Evans had been rightly hanged. It was only in 1966 that another
enquiry was set up. This time it was decided that Evans had probably been
innocent and he was given a free
pardon. Better late than never, as they say.
Parent Tip: Review the logic above to help your child master the concept of criminal law worksheet.