This week from our Big Book of Serial Killers by Jack Rosewood is, our third serial killer is John George Haigh. On July 24, 1909, Haigh was born in Stamford, Lincolnshire, and grew up in Outwood, West Riding of Yorkshire. His parents were a part of the protestant sect, the Plymouth Brethren. Haigh later said he suffered religious nightmares that recurred regularly throughout his childhood. When he finished high school, he started working for a motor engineering company. This only lasted a year; he started working for an insurance company. When he was twenty-one, he was suspected of theft and was fired.
Haigh married Betty Hamer on July 6, 1934, but the marriage ended a year later when he went to jail for fraud. Betty gave birth to his daughter while in prison but put her up for adoption and divorced Haigh.
In 1936, Haigh moved to London and became a chauffeur for William McSwann, a wealthy man that owned an amusement arcade. Haigh also performed maintenance on the machines. Soon after, he fell back to his usual criminal activities. He decided to open offices in Chancery Lane, London, Guildford in Surrey, and Hastings, Sussex, where he claimed to be a solicitor by the name of William Cato Adamson. His main business was selling fraudulent stock shares. He was discovered when he spelled “Guildford” wrong and was convicted of fraud and sentenced to four years.
He continued to go on this pattern of fraud and then prison until one day in prison, he decided it would be wise to kill the people that fell victim to him; he wouldn’t get caught or arrested. In prison, he experimented with acid and mice. When he was released in 1943, he began his plan. He learned from the murderer Georges-Alexandre Sarret who used sulphuric acid to dispose of his victim’s body.
After his release, he ran into William Mcswann again. He was introduced to McSwann’s parents. McSwann was working for his parents, and Haigh became jealous. William disappeared on September 6, 1944, and Haigh later admitted that he had lured him into a basement and struck him over the head. He placed the body in a forty-gallon drum and filled it with sulphuric acid. When he came back two days later, the remains had turned to sludge, and he poured them down a maintenance hole.
Haigh later contacted William’s parents and told him that he had gone off to Scottland to hide from the military service draft. He then took over William’s house and started collecting rent from William’s parents, Donald and Amy McSwann. Haigh wanted the money all for himself. Meanwhile, William’s parents questioned why they hadn’t heard from their son. Haigh lured them to the property on Gloucester Road on July 2, 1945, saying William had returned for a surprise visit, but when they arrived, High killed and disposed of their bodies. He then stole their money but wasted it gambling. When he became too poor, he decided to find a new couple to steal from.
He pretended to be interested in a couple’s property, Dr. Archibald and Rose Henderson. He told the couple he could play the piano for their housewarming party. He drove Archibald to the new property on February 12, 1948, on the pretense that he had a new invention to show Archibald. While he was there, he stole a gun belonging to Archibald. He then rented a small workshop and shifted his drums and acid from his Gloucester Road property. He ended up shooting Archibald. He lured Rose to the seminar, saying Archibald had gotten sick; when they got there, he also shot her. He put their bodies in drums filled with acid and forged their signatures, and sold all of their stuff for money.
His last victim was Olive Durand-Deacon, a wealthy widow. Haigh said he was an engineer, and she told him about an idea she had to create artificial fingernails. He brought her to the workshop to discuss on February 18, 1949. As soon as they were in the building, he shot her in the back of the head. He stripped her of her valuables and put her in an acid drum. Two days later, she was reported missing by her friends.
Since Haigh already had a criminal record, they searched his warehouse, finding a receipt for Olive’s coat and other documents for the McSwann’s and Hendersons. He confessed to killing everyone and three other victims. But with the acid, there was no way to identify them.
He tried to plead insanity in the trial, but the court rejected it because of his “malice afterthought.” It was also found that Haigh thought if he could get rid of the bodies, he wouldn’t be able to be convicted. There was forensic evidence, though, that found him guilty. The jury only took a matter of minutes to decide and found him guilty. He was hung on August 10, 1949.
Your blogs are so amazing to read. The details and the storyline you provide are so insightful and fulfilling that I get to know the infamous serial killer. His murders were so insane!
Wow, this serial killer’s story sent chills down my spine. What’s interesting is that he started on a decent life path…with a career, a wife and future family, etc. But the careful and meticulous planning he put into his murders was especially unnerving. I wonder what led Haigh to admit to all his murders, and what psychological disorders he could have had.