Trunk
Murders
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This is really more a method of disposal than actual means of murdering
someone. It has never been very successful as the trunk will be opened
at some time and the contents found. The trunk itself is also an item that
can often be traced without too much difficulty. Here are just a few of
the more celebrated cases in which a trunk has been used for the disposal
of the body
Brighton Trunk murder
Arthur Devereux killed his wife and twin children because he could not
afford to keep them on his megre wages. It was a particularly callous murder
and made worse by the fact that it was carefully planned. Devereux worked
as a chemists assistant. While it wasn't a bad job it was not very well
paid. In 1896 Devereux met and married Beatrice and they were very happy
for a time and then Beatrice became pregnant. Arthur was happy to be a
father but it did make things very difficult on his low wages, still he
was sure they would cope somehow. Beatrice became pregnant again and as
if that was not bad enough this time she produced twins. This threw the
family into a state of poverty and piled pressure onto Arthur.
In 1905 he purposely went out and purchased a large trunk and some Morphine
and Chloroform. He persuaded his wife to drink the drug and then gave it
to the children telling them it was a cough medicine. He only gave it to
the twins. Once they were dead he put their bodies in the trunk and then
sealed it. It was then taken to a warehouse in Harrow.
Winnie Ruth Judd
Winnie Ruth Judd was responsible for the murder of both Hedvig Samuelson
and Agnes Leroi on 16 October 1931. After she had shot them both she put
the bodies into a trunk. Agnes Leroi was just 27 years old.
John Robinson
This was a very famous murder that became known as the Charing Cross Murder.
He was found guilty of the murder of Mrs Minnie Alice Bonati. She was 36-years-old
and had been working as a prostitute. After the murder he had bought a
knife and the trunk and had dismembered the corpse and deposited it at
Charing Cross Station. On Wednesday 13th July, 36-year-old Robinson was
sentenced to death. It was perhaps not the murder that had disgusted everyone
but the manner in which he had tried to dispose of the body. He was hanged
at Pentonville Prison on 12th August 1927.
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For more information contact:
Gregg Manning
