JOHN CHRISTIE'S STORY
John Reginald Halliday Christie was a British Serial Killer who killed 7 women (two were pregnant) and a 13 month old baby in London between 1943 and 1953, although he only confessed to killing the 7 women. He hid his victim's corpses in various locations at his home, 10 Rillington Place, Notting hill. (Which was demolished.) Christie was ultimately hanged for his crimes.
Like most Serial killers, Christie followed the same MO. He would invite his victims over to his flat, using various guises, such as a property viewing - to rent the flat from him. Once inside, he would gas them, rendering them unconscious before preceding to rape them. Whilst raping them he would then strangle them to death. Because of this, Christie is labelled a necrophiliac, although this is incorrect as he was clear in his confessions that he never had sex with them once they were dead.
It could be debated that his total victim count was 10, if you include the x2 fetuses of his pregnant victims and Timothy Evans, who was framed, convicted and hanged for the murder one of Christie's crimes.
Read more below....
See also - John Christie's VICTIMS.
John Reginald Halliday Christie (known as Reg / Reggie to those who knew him) was the 6th child (out of 7) born to Ernest John Christie and Mary Hannah Halliday Christie on 8th April 1899, in Northowram, Yorkshire. His father was a strict disciplinarian type who didn't much care for the children. He ruled over his family, often dishing out beatings for minor misdemeanours. His mother, Mary, and older siblings would flit between loving and protecting John to dominating and bullying him, unknowingly installing a hatred towards women into the young boy.
Christie's Grandfather treated him much the same as his father, John, did so Christie wasn't particularly bereaved when his Grandfather died. In fact he experienced a satisfactory pleasure at seeing the old man laid out on the table, no longer intimidated or scared of him as he was now just a corpse. At just 8 years old Christie's fascination with death had begun.
Whilst Christie excelled at school with an superior IQ score of 128, he struggled socially, tending to keep himself to himself as he was ostracised by the other students.
In 1916, three years after leaving school, Christie joined the army. During his time fighting in France he was injured in a mustard gas attack which he claimed left him permanently unable to talk louder than a mere whisper. He later claimed he had also been temporarily blinded by the attack but experts dispute this due to there being no records of that happening. As a result he was labelled a hypochondriac. Despite his injuries from the attack, John continued to serve in the army, and later the RAF until 1924.
In May 1920, Christie married Ethel Simpson, they remained married for for four years, during which time Ethel had suffered a miscarriage. During their marriage, Christie struggled with impotency, a problem he'd had since his teens, earning him the nickname 'Reggie-no-dick. The majority of the time he was only able to perform sexually with prostitutes, who he had been visiting since he was 19. and continued frequenting throughout his marriage.
Christie spent the next ten years in and out of prison for petty crime, car theft and assault on a lady he lived with, rumoured to be a prostitute . Perhaps Ethel was unaware of this because in 1934 she and Christie reconciled and moved to a flat at 10 Rillington Place, Notting Hill, London.
Notting Hill back then was a poor, run down area of London, not the affluent, trendy area it is today.
During World War II Christie somehow managed to bag himself the role a Special Constable, despite his criminal record. While working out of Harrow police station, Christie met a woman called Gladys Jones and the two began an affair, which ended abruptly after a few years because Gladys' husband assaulted Christie when he returned from fighting in the war and discovered the two of them together.
Christie was still frequently visiting prostitutes, despite being married to Ethel, and in 1943, while she was visiting family, he committed his first murder. (See victims) In total he killed seven women and a child, (As far as we know!) burying them all in the house and garden of his home. His murder spree lasted a decade, ending only upon his arrest on 31st March 1953.
Christie moved out of 10 Rillington Place just weeks prior to his arrest. He had sub-let the flat to a couple who were promptly evicted by Christie's Landlord when he discovered them living there. For whatever reason, the landlord gave permission to a tenant from a different flat to use what was originally Christie's kitchen. Whilst trying to put up a shelf on the kitchen wall, the tenant discovered the three bodies of Maloney, Nelson and MacLennan hidden in the alcove. A forensic search of the property led to the shocking discovery of all the other victims Christie had buried there.
A successful police hunt led to Christie's apprehension when a police officer stopped him near Putney bridge and asked to see his ID. At first Christie only confessed to killing Maloney, Nelson and MacLennan but ultimately, when faced with all the evidence against him, he confessed to all the murders, except for baby Geraldine's. (It's widely accepted that Christie was responsible for Geraldine's death)
On 22nd June 1953 Christie was tried for the murder of his wife, Ethel Christie. His insanity plea was rejected when a Dr testified against him, stating that he had a hysterical personality, not insanity.
Christie was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging. He was hanged at Pentonville Prison, the same place and by the same executioner as Timothy Evans, who was wrongly hanged for killing his wife, Beryl Evans, and their daughter. Crimes Christie had committed.
See also - John Christie's VICTIMS.