Prime Crime: Solved Murders - David Blakely Pt. 1

Episode Date: December 2, 2020

In 1955, wealthy racecar driver David Blakely was gunned down outside a bar in London. Passersby were shocked to see a petite, picturesque woman standing over his corpse with the smoking gun. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Due to the graphic nature of this murder case, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes dramatizations and discussions of murder, abuse, and pregnancy loss that some people may find offensive. We advise extreme caution for children under 13. During World War II, Nazi Germany relentlessly bombed the streets of London, leading to widespread destruction. When the war finally came to an end in 1945, the British government undertook a massive reconcernel. construction project to put its capital city back together. After six years of work, the 1951 Festival of Britain declared that national recovery had been achieved. Although London still had major problems, like smog, housing troubles, and poverty, many Britons jumped on the opportunity to

celebrate the reconstruction. The early 1950s saw an explosion of nightlife in London, complete with dance clubs, parties, and more than enough booze to go around. But there was a sharp divide between those who came to drink and those who filled the glasses. Some Londoners enjoyed extravagant wealth while others struggled to find a safe place to live. Such was the divide between David Blakely, an upper-class race car driver with generational wealth and status, and Ruth Ellis, a nightclub hostess fighting to make ends meet for herself and her two young children. When David Blakely came into London's

little club for a cocktail, Ruth was the manager who poured him a drink. David and Ruth had no idea that their chance encounter would end with both of them dead. Welcome to Solved Murder's True Crime Mysteries, a Spotify original from Parcast. I'm your host, Carter Roy.

And I'm your host, Wendy McKenzie. Every Wednesday, we step into the world, world of true crimes, most fascinating murder cases, and tell the tale of how real-life detectives close the case. You can find episodes of solved murders and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free exclusively on Spotify. This is our first episode on the 1955 murder of the extravagantly wealthy Londoner, David Blakely. This week we'll talk about law enforcement's investigation, which only scratched the surface of the truth behind the crime. Next week, we'll dive into the work diligent journalists and interviewers did after the

case had already been closed and learn more about what really motivated the murder. We have all that and more coming up. Stay with us. Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is California's number one entertainment destination for today's superstars. Catch the Jonas Brothers return to the Yamava theater stage on April 30th, the powerful vocals of Demi Lovato on May 17th, and the signature Southern Country Rock of Eric Church on July 19th. Tickets on sale now at Yamava Theater.com, only at Yamava Resort and Casino, celebrating its 40th anniversary. You win? Must be 21 to enter. On the evening of Easter Sunday, April 10, 1955, the Magdala Pub was full of half-drunk Londoners. One of them was Alan Stewart Thompson, a middle-aged, off-duty metropolitan police officer,

enjoying a pint at a table in the back. Around 9.20 p.m., his relaxing evening was cut short by the sound of gunshots outside. Six blasts rang out one after another. Alan pushed his beer aside and rushed out to the street where a crowd was already forming. Just around the corner from the pub, a man's body lay on the cobblestone sidewalk. He was dressed in a perfectly tailored suit and wore a shiny, expensive wine. but Alan only noticed the blood dripping from his mouth. A woman stood a few feet away, her platinum blonde hair bright white underneath the street lamps.

The woman seemed hypnotized by the sight of the bleeding man. It took her a moment to notice Alan walking towards her. Phone the police. I am the police. Did you witness what happened here? I... Excuse me, miss? Yes?

I'm going to have to ask you to hand over that revolver. Alan checked the chamber of the woman's 38th Smith and Wesson revolver for bullets, but it was empty. There was no question that the six shots he heard came from her gun. But arresting the woman wasn't his highest priority. Saving the man she'd shot was. The victim was still lying on the sidewalk, a small circle of onlookers closing in on him. A man named Clive cradled his head. head. Clive was a close friend of the victim, and he identified the bleeding man as 25-year-old

David Blakely. Clive and David had been on their way to a party before the gunshots pierced the evening. David had even been carrying beer he had just purchased when he was shot, pieces of broken glass now mixed with his blood. Shouldn't someone phone an ambulance? A bit of police backup, perhaps. Alan did as the woman suggested. Within minutes, an ambulance arrived. A hush swept across the crowd of onlookers as a paramedic examined David Blakely. The woman stood to the side quietly.

She never tried to run. She simply watched with morbid curiosity as first responders lifted David into the back of the ambulance. Clyde jumped in after him. The doors of the vehicle slammed shut. The siren wailed. and the paramedics rushed towards the nearest hospital. Unfortunately, David's heart stopped before he made it to the emergency room. That poor man, who would do such a thing?

And in public, no less. That blonde did it. Her? Don't be ridiculous. I watched it happen. What kind of a woman shoots a man dead in the middle of London? Her kind, apparently. I can hear you. Part of the crowd dispersed after the ambulance drove away,

but some people stayed to see what would happen to the woman who had shot the gun. She was petite and almost impossibly thin. Her mouth was painted with lipstick that matched the blood slowly trickling towards a storm drain. People couldn't believe a woman, let alone a woman who so resembled a porcelain doll, was capable of murder. When Alan's backup arrived a few minutes later, she remained impassive. She simply followed one of the officers

into the back of their police cruiser and rode away without a word. The remaining group of onlookers gradually left the scene. As night fell, all that remained of the chaos was a stain of dried blood, shards of glass, and the cigarette butt the woman had left behind.

Authorities booked the woman into the Hampstead police station. There, they discovered she was 28 years old and her name was Ruth Ellis. After a bit of questioning, investigators believed they had a solid picture of her character. Ruth came from a lower class London family. She was a single mother with two children, a 10-year-old son and a three-year-old daughter from two different men. Although Ruth publicly called herself a hostess, she occasionally engaged in modeling and sex work to keep her rent paid and her children fed.

Although they knew relatively little about Ruth, detectives made numerous assumptions about her based on these scant facts. They reduced her to a type, a femme fatale, a woman unworthy of respect. Ruth could see the contempt in the investigator's eyes as they breached the subject of David's murder. Enjoying the tea?

Very much so, thank you. You do know I have to ask you some difficult questions. Certainly. I've seen the dead body of David Blakely at Hampstead mortuary. I understand you know something about it. Yes. Would you care to elaborate? I'm guilty.

Quite a quick confession. But I am rather confused. What's there to be confused about? When you pulled the trigger, what did you intend? Well, I intended to kill him, of course. Ruth repeatedly incriminated herself. She never fully explained what she was confused about, but she seemed uninterested in arguing her side of the story,

instead opting to confess without offering any extra details. Still, the officer did press her further. Where does a woman like you get a gun like that? A man gave it to me about three years ago. He was paying a debt. Had you ever fired a gun before, Miss Ellis? Never. The officer took down Ruth's statements, and shortly before midnight led her back to her cell.

She was obviously guilty, so his job was essentially done. But something was bothering him. Ruth claimed she'd had the 38th Smith & Wesson in a drawer at home for around three years. However, the gun was too well oiled to have gone untouched for that long. Taking fingerprints was out of the question. The weapon had already been in numerous officers' hands since it was confiscated from Ruth. Authorities had inadvertently destroyed potentially valuable evidence.

It seemed likely that Ruth was hiding the revolver's true origin. If detectives could find out where the revolver came from, it might help them answer an even more pressing question. What motivated the revolver? crime. Up next, investigators learn about David Blakely and his deadly relationship with Ruth Ellis. Hi, listeners, it's Wendy. When you think of a criminal, what do you picture? Do you picture a murderer, a gangster, a thief? I bet you didn't think it could be the mother around the corner or the little old lady next door. In the hit series, female criminals, you'll investigate the lives of the world's

most notorious female felons and explore the stories behind their dangerous crimes. From serial killers and assassins to bank robbers and drug lords, female criminals is like a mystery and crime documentary rolled into one. The psychology, the motivations, the atrocities. This Spotify original from Parcast examines it all. So start picturing criminals in a new light. Follow female criminals free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcast. New episodes air weekly every Wednesday. I knew about investing, but I really didn't know how to go about it. Meet Corey, a Walthfront client.

With Wealthfront, it could put money in, and it would automatically distribute it into a diversified portfolio. Then it starts to compound. The compounding compounds on the compounding. Just let it run, and it's great. Over 1 million clients trust Wealthfront. Get started at Wealthfront.com. Client was paid $1,000 for their testimonial, creating a conflict of interest. Outcomes vary. Investment Management and Advisory Services provided by Wealthfront Advisors LLC and SEC registered investment advisor. Investing involves risk to principle regardless of the strategy used. Has performance does not guarantee future results. Now back to the story. On April 10th, 1955, a platinum blonde woman shot a sharp-dressed man dead outside the McDala pub in London. The man was identified as 25-year-old David Blakely.

The woman's name was Ruth Ellis. She was 28 years old and she was still holding the murder weapon when an off-duty police officer approached the scene. It could have been an open and shut case, but two crucial aspects of the case remained unclear. Law enforcement didn't know where Ruth really got the gun, or what drove her to commit such a ghastly, public murder. Investigators hoped an autopsy would reveal more about the weapon. On Monday, April 12th, a medical examiner assessed David's body. He determined that David had been hit by four bullets. But Alan Thompson, the off-duty police officer who approached Ruth at the scene, heard six shots.

This meant two of the bullets missed, even though Ruth was in very close proximity to David. For investigators, this lent weight to her claim that she'd never fired a gun before. She clearly didn't have very impressive aim. After speaking to the medical examiner, Hampstead police met up with Clive, the friend who was with David at the time of his death. to learn more about the victim's background. Clive told detectives that David was a race car enthusiast who lived as fast as he drove.

In other words, David could never turn down a good time. That's how he got mixed up with Ruth Ellis in the first place. David and Ruth met about two years prior in 1953 while she was working as a manager at the Little Club in Knightsbridge, London. David came in for a few drinks. Ruth batted her eyelashes. Next thing they knew, David had made his way upstairs to Ruth's small flat. Within days they were sleeping together, within two weeks he'd moved in with her.

But David came from a very different world than Ruth. His parents divorced when he was 11 years old, and his mother remarried an extraordinarily wealthy man with a massive estate in a large line of drapery stores. Before he was even a teenager, David went from being well-off to being filthy rich. He was accustomed to a life of luxury and believed there were no mistakes money couldn't fix. Ruth, on the other hand, came from a difficult lower-class background. Her father, though once an impressive musician, was frequently unemployed and according to the memoir

of one of Ruth's siblings, abused his children for years. Ruth left school at the age of 14 and started to work as a waitress to gain some independence. She gave birth to her son Andre when she was just 17. Andre's father, a Canadian serviceman who was married with three children, soon went back home, leaving the young Ruth to care for her son alone. It was around this time in the mid-1940s that Ruth began modeling and engaging in sex work. It was one of the only ways to keep her family afloat, but it nevertheless carried a stigma that would continue to haunt her. By the time Ruth met David, she had had another child, a daughter named Georgina, and was at the tail end of a messy divorce with Georgina's alcoholic father.

At first, David didn't intend to have a relationship with Ruth. The nights they spent together were simply a fling, but David couldn't deny that he liked Ruth almost as a woman. much as he likes sleeping with her. Still, no amount of affection could change their circumstances. In mid-20th century Britain, class boundaries were rarely crossed. In the two years they knew each other, David never brought Ruth home to his stepfather's estate in Buckinghamshire. He lived with her, and not the other way around, because he knew his parents would never approve of the relationship.

When will you take me home to Buckinghamshire? your darling, I just adore meeting your mother. I'm telling you, Ruthie, you'd hate it there. And why is that? You'd never fit in. None of this went over Ruth's head. She was very fond of David, and marriage to him would have been a dream. One-way ticket to Britain's upper class.

However, she knew the chances of being with David long-term were low. Perhaps that's why she kept her options open. According to Clive, David wasn't her own. love interest. She was involved with another man, 32-year-old Desmond Cusson. Right away, Hampstead police managed to get Desmond's phone number and call him into the

station for questioning. Of course I knew Ruth was involved with another man. And that didn't bother you? I'll admit there was some competition between David and I. Oh? Naturally. But I knew I never stood a chance. I was just happy to be with Ruth whenever she'd have me.

Officers likely thought Desmond's involvement was a red flag, two men vying over the same woman. That story had been told a thousand times. But Desmond claimed he never felt extreme jealousy, and it was hard to argue against him. He was older, less dashing, and less wealthy than David. He knew he was Ruth's second choice, but it didn't seem to bother him that much.

Ruth had been the one to shoot the man after all. Did you ever know Ruth to carry a gun? I believe she kept a revolver in her nightstand. She happened to tell you where that revolver came from? A customer at the Little Club gave it to her, I think, some years ago. Desmond's story of the revolver's origin matched Ruth's. It wasn't a completely far-fetched idea. After World War II ended, many veterans kept the guns that they were issued during their service.

The weapons were valuable but somewhat easy to come by. It was possible that someone gave Ruth the revolver as payment for sex work or security for a debt. At least, that's what authorities decided to believe. The gun was well oiled, but that could be explained. Her flat was above a busy club and she often had male visitors. It made sense that she kept the gun ready in case she ever needed to use it in self-defense. satisfied that they had discovered where the murder weapon came from, detectives set to work answering their second and perhaps most important question.

Ruth's motive was still hazy. The murder could have been motivated by romantic jealousy, but Ruth didn't seem to have anyone to be jealous of. Considering their economic differences and the security that a relationship with David would have afforded her, it seemed strange that Ruth would kill her. rather than try to keep him around as long as possible. To find out what caused the crime, authorities needed to reconstruct the events that happened in the days prior to it.

At the police station, Ruth was quietly chain-smoking cigarettes behind bars. She gave a statement to a man named Detective Inspector Peter Smith Gill, who wrote down her words as she spoke. David and I have shared a flat for quite some time. On the morning of Good Friday, he left about 10 o'clock a.m. and promised to be back by 8 p.m. to take me out. I waited until half past nine, and he had not phoned. I rang some friends of his with the last name Finn Letter. But the man I called told me he wasn't there.

Although David told me he would be visiting them. I didn't believe he wasn't there. And indeed, I took a taxi to the Finn Letter's apartment and saw David's car parked outside. I continually rang the doorbell, but they wouldn't answer. I became very furious, so I went to David's car and bashed in three of the windows. The thin letters must have heard the ruckus I made because the police came along and spoke to me, but left soon after. David did not come home Saturday. On Sunday, I waited all day for him to phone, but he didn't. Around 8 p.m. on Sunday I put my son to bed and put the revolver in my handbag.

I intended to find David and shoot him. And you, Miss Ruth Ellis, swear this to be an accurate retelling of events? I swear. According to Ruth, after placing the gun in her bag, she took a taxi to the Findlutter's home, but quickly noticed David's car parked at the Magdala pub down the road. In a flash of anger, she shot. him dead as he and Clive were walking from the pub to his car. The story was simple and straightforward, but it didn't really add up.

Ruth had been impressively calm since her arrest. She didn't seem temperamental enough to resort to murder after a few days of unreturned calls. There had to be something more to her story. But the police didn't bother digging any deeper. The next day Ruth was brought before a judge at the Hampstead Magistrar, Court, where she was formerly charged with a murder of 25-year-old David Blakely. She would remain in custody until her trial on June 20, 1955. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. I suppose I will be hanged.

Hampstead police might have thought they were doing the right thing by delivering swift justice for David Blakely. The story of Ruth's arrest was printed on the front page of the Manchester Guardian and appeared on BBC's 6 o'clock news. People were happy to see a murderer put behind bars. But people didn't know the whole story. Nobody except Ruth did. The detectives had rushed their investigation and passed over major details that might have changed Ruth's fate. Soon, Ruth was moved from the Hampstead police station to London's Holloway Prison. There she was subject to a physically exam and another interview conducted by the facility's hospital staff. When she undressed before the examiner, he saw that her small body was covered in bruises.

The inmate states the bruise on her thigh is due to David knocking her about last week. States two weeks ago, he struck her on the left ear, resulting in loss of hearing for some time. There is almost a complete absence of emotion, but she is obviously very tense in and trying hard to be matter of fact. But that wasn't the end of the examiner's revelations. The inmate states that she has not given a full account of the quarrel to police, as it would have entailed dragging in the names of other people whom she did not want to mention.

Rather than digging further into Ruth's story, detectives had taken her statements at face value. She hid the true nature of her relationship with David and lied about another person or numerous other people being potentially involved in the murder. The fact that David was physically abusing Ruth could have been a deciding factor in his murder, and although Ruth shot the gun, an accomplice could have given it to her or even driven her to the scene of the crime. For some reason, Ruth took full responsibility for a crime that she may not have committed on her own.

Coming up, Ruth reveals the identity of her co-conspirator, but insists on taking the fall for the murder. And now, back to our story. On Sunday, April 10, 1955, 28-year-old Ruth Ellis fatally shot her lover, 25-year-old David Blakely, outside London's Magdala pub. Detectives were quick to uncover what they considered to be the most pertinent details of the case. Ruth was a hostess club manager and sex worker who became romantically involved with David, a marvelously wealthy race car driver after the two met at a bar about two years prior.

Officers believed Ruth was driven to murder after David ignored her calls over that Easter weekend. Authorities wasted no time putting Ruth behind bars. By nightfall on the very next day, Ruth had been formally charged with murder and booked into London's Holloway Prince. prison. There, a staff member conducting a physical exam found that Ruth's body was covered in bruises. It was much more likely that David's physical abuse rather than a few days of missed calls prompted Ruth to murder.

But David's death had been covered in major publications and on the BBC. Hampstead police were proud to say they already had their culprit behind bars. Their continuing investigation focused mainly on finding more evidence. to support the idea that Ruth was a poor, jealous woman who couldn't convince a rich man to stay by her side. They wanted to prove that she murdered David to stop him from abandoning her. Worse yet, it seemed Ruth wasn't particularly interested in setting the story straight. She accepted total blame willingly,

though whether she truly accepted her fate or was simply putting on a brave face is difficult to know. Indeed, Ruth fully expected to receive the death penalty for her crime, as evidenced by a letter she wrote to David's mother. Please try to believe me when I say how deeply sorry I am to have caused you this unpleasantness. Please do forgive David for deceiving you about his relationship with me. I have forgiven him. I only wish I could have done it while he was still alive. Please know I shall die, having loved your son.

and you should feel content knowing his death shall be repaid by my own. Sadly, many people, David's mother included, thought of Ruth as more of a character than a person. They reduced her to her work or her status as a single mother. In the papers and the popular consciousness, there was only room for one victim, and that was David. But there was so much the public didn't see. As Ruth approached her trial, she met John Bickford, who was in. interested in the case and offered to act as Ruth's solicitor. Solicitor are the first rung in the defense ladder.

They meet with the accused to organize the details of their case. Ruth was in no position to refuse him. John spoke with her on multiple occasions, intending to convince the judge and jury to spare her life. But Ruth's attitude shocked him. I can get you out of this. That won't be necessary. I'm sorry?

I took David's life. I don't know. ask you to spare mine. Miss, I... I don't want to live. What about your children? Someone else will have to watch over them. I don't know what to say.

Well, Mr. Bickford, I suppose there's nothing to say. I don't regret my actions, and I know what's coming, so don't worry yourself too much about the trial. It's sure to be tragic, and I've simply chosen not to dwell on it. But if I might ask one favor... Yes? Pass along a message. to my dear Desmond.

Tell him to remember I got that gun from a fellow at the little club about three years ago. The fact that Ruth asked John to remind Desmond about the revolver

seemed very suspicious. It suggested possible collusion between the two. If she had made a similar statement to police, perhaps they would have

looked more closely at Ruth's other lover. Instead, it was John who discovered a crucial piece of the story. According to him, the conversation went something like this.

Why would she have asked me to tell you that? Well, I gave her the gun, of course. I mean, I really can't believe the coppers bought her ridiculous story. You? Oh, sure. I oiled it. I loaded it. I took her out for target practice.

I even drove her to the pub. But it wasn't my idea. Certainly not. Ruth was determined to kill that man. I just made it a tad bit easier for her to do it. John allegedly rushed back to Holloway Prison, where Ruth was inching ever closer to her trial. Desmond gave you the gun. Yes.

Ruth, that makes him an accessory to murder. Nonsense, Mr. Bickford. I don't want Desmond involved whatsoever. But why? Have you ever been in love, Mr. Bickford? You're in love with Desmond? Certainly not, but he is in love with me. I already told you I don't care to live. I'm clearly guilty.

The least I could do is keep a kind man out of prison. According to John, the other people Ruth previously referred to were really just one person. Desmond Cussin. She was ready and willing to completely cover up his involvement in the crime. As Ruth's solicitor, John thought it was his responsibility to honor his client's wishes. He wouldn't reveal his knowledge of

Desmond's alleged involvement until nearly 20 years later when it was already too late. John still attempted to get Ruth's murder charges lowered to manslaughter. He wanted her lawyers to argue that David had provoked her violence, but the assertion was weak. David hadn't seen Ruth all weekend, so it seemed like he didn't even have the opportunity to provoke her. John also didn't understand why Ruth was so ready to give up her own life. She clearly felt guilty for shooting David, but that didn't explain her persistent numbness and suicidal ideation. But near the beginning of May, around three weeks after the shooting, Ruth gradually opened up to John, to investigators, and to prison hospital staff. She claimed David had been physically abusing her practically since they met.

As she spoke, a possible provocation defense seemed more and more tenable. I felt there was no alternative. On two occasions, David nearly strangled me. I really thought he was going to kill me. A fortnight before. Ruth could barely bring herself to say the truth aloud. She'd been holding it in for so long, fighting to maintain her composure,

but she couldn't do it any longer. Unbeknownst to almost everyone except David and her closest friends, Ruth was pregnant with David's child, or at least she had been. Less than two weeks before David's murder, Ruth lost the baby. It remains unclear exactly what caused Ruth's pregnancy loss. It's possible that she obtained an abortion at an unlicensed clinic, in which case it makes sense that there would be no record of the procedure. However, the time of her pregnancy loss lines up with the time that David

left bruises on her thigh and temporarily deafened her left ear. He beat her horribly, and Ruth claimed that about two weeks before the murder, he punched her in the stomach, leading to nearly a week of illness and bleeding. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Suddenly Ruth's motive looked less like jealousy and more like revenge. This bombshell was about to make her trial and out, right sensation. Thanks again for tuning

into solved murders. We'll be back next Wednesday with part two of David Blakely and Ruth Ellis' story. For more information on David Blakely and Ruth Ellis, amongst the many sources we used, we found a fine day for a hanging

the real Ruth Ellis story by Carol Ann Lee, extremely helpful to our research. You can find all episodes of Solved Murders and all other Spotify Originals from Parcast for free on Spotify. We'll see you next time. If we live till next time.

Solve Murders, True Crime Mysteries is a Spotify original from Parcast. It is executive produced by Max Cutler. Sound design by Brian Golub with production assistance by Ron Shapiro, Carly Madden, and Isabella Way. This episode of Solve Murders was written by Karis Allen with writing assistance by Giles Hofsef. Fact-checking by Claire Cronin and research by Mickey Taylor. The amazing cast of voice actors includes Tom Bauer, Eddie Lee, Rebecca Thomas, and Dan Velasquez.

It stars Wendy McKenzie and Carter Roy.