Timothy John Evans (November 20, 1924 – March 9, 1950) was a young man, possibly mentally retarded, who was hanged in the United Kingdom in 1950 for the murder of his infant daughter. Events subsequent to his execution, including a book proclaiming his innocence and a pardon for his daughter’s murder, led to abolition of capital punishment in Britain. November 20 is the 324th day of the year (325th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar). ... March 9 is the 68th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (69th in Leap years). ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Mental retardation is a term for a pattern of persistently slow learning of basic motor and language skills (milestones) during childhood, and a significantly below-normal global intellectual capacity as an adult. ... A pardon is the forgiveness of a crime and the penalty associated with it. ... Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the execution of a convicted criminal by the state as punishment for crimes known as capital crimes or capital offences. ...

Life prior to the murder of his wife and daughter

Evans was a native of Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales. In 1935 his mother and her second husband (Evans's natural father walked out on the family just after Timothy's birth) moved to London and he found work as a painter and decorator. At the time of his arrest, he was working as a lorry driver - no small feat for somebody who was illiterate. Merthyr Tydfil (Welsh: ) is a town and county borough in Wales, with a population of about 55,000. ... This article is about the country. ... A modern painter and decorator. ...

On September 20, 1947, Timothy married Beryl Susanna Thorley. At Easter 1948, the couple moved to the top-floor flat at 10 Rillington Place, North Kensington, London. Their daughter Geraldine was born on October 10, 1948. September 20 is the 263rd day of the year (264th in leap years). ... 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... Easter, also known as Pascha (Greek Πάσχα: Passover), the Feast of the Resurrection, the Sunday of the Resurrection, or Resurrection Day, is the most important religious feast of the Christian liturgical year, observed between late March and late April (early April to early May in Eastern Christianity). ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... 10 Rillington Place, Ladbroke Grove, Notting Hill, London, was the site of the crimes of John Reginald Christie, one of Britains most notorious serial killers, resulting in a miscarriage of justice which contributed towards the abolition of the death penalty in Britain. ... Kensington is an area to the west of Central London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... October 10 is the 283rd day of the year (284th in leap years). ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ...

It is not disputed that Evans was prone to tell elaborate, fantastic, and generally harmless lies about himself - lies which tended to constitute a form of bragging designed to defend a rather fragile ego. He and Beryl were also given to having loud arguments which could be heard by the neighbours.

Events leading to Evans' arrest

On 30 November 1949, Evans went to the police in Merthyr Tydfil and confessed to killing Beryl and disposing of her body down the drain outside the apartment building. He said that he had given his wife some “abortion pills” and that she died after taking them. He told the police that afterwards he had made arrangements to have his daughter Geraldine looked after, and had returned to Wales. November 30 is the 334th day (335th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 31 days remaining. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ...

When police examined the drain they found nothing. When re-questioned, Evans told a different story. He now claimed that his neighbour and fellow tenant, John Reginald Halliday Christie, had offered to provide an abortion for Beryl. Evans had returned home from work on 7 November to find Beryl dead. He said Christie then disposed of the body and made arrangements for some people to look after Geraldine while Evans lay low with relatives in Wales. John Reginald Halliday Christie (Halifax, West Yorkshire, April 8, 1898–London, July 15, 1953) was an English serial killer active in the 1940s and 1950s. ... November 7 is the 311th day of the year (312th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 54 days remaining. ...

During a search of 10 Rillington Place, on 2 December 1949, the police found the bodies of Beryl and Geraldine hidden in the wash house in the back garden. Both had been strangled. December 2 is the 336th day (337th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ...

When Evans was shown the clothing taken from the bodies of his wife and child, he was asked whether he was responsible for their deaths. He replied with a simple “Yes.”

Evans now confessed to having strangled Beryl during an argument over debts on 8 November 1949, and to having strangled Geraldine two days later, after which he left for Wales. For other uses, see Debt (disambiguation). ... November 8 is the 312th day of the year (313th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 53 days remaining. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ...

Evans' trial and execution

Evans went on trial at the Old Bailey in January 1950. The court heard evidence related to both killings, although Evans was officially charged only with the killing of his daughter. During the trial, he reverted to his earlier story that his neighbour Christie was the actual killer. The jury found Evans guilty of his daughter’s murder and he was hanged by Albert Pierrepoint and Syd Dernley on 9 March 1950. Albert Pierrepoint (30 March 1905 – 10 July 1992) is the most celebrated member of a Yorkshire family who provided three of Britains Chief Executioners in the first half of the 20th century. ... Syd Dernley was dubbed the last British hangman. He was a welder by trade, but was appointed assistant executioner by the Home Office in 1949, and participated in 20 hangings until he was replaced in 1954. ... March 9 is the 68th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (69th in Leap years). ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Discovery of evidence which cast doubt on Evans' conviction

Three years later, a new tenant in Christie's flat found the bodies of three prostitutes hidden in the kitchen pantry. A further search of the building and grounds turned up three more bodies, including Christie’s wife. Christie was arrested on March 31, 1953, and during the course of interrogation confessed to killing Beryl Evans. He denied killing Geraldine Evans, however. Christie was found guilty of murdering his wife and was hanged on July 15, 1953. Prostitution is the sale of sexual services (typically manual stimulation, oral sex, sexual intercourse, or anal sex) for cash or other kind of return, generally indiscriminately with many persons. ... March 31 is the 90th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (91st in leap years), with 275 days remaining. ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... July 15 is the 196th day (197th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 169 days remaining. ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday. ...

Christie’s conviction, and his confession to Beryl Evans’s murder, raised questions about the execution of Timothy Evans three years earlier, but a brief inquiry at the time found no reason to doubt Evans’s guilt in the murder of his daughter.

The campaign to overturn Evans' conviction

Journalist Ludovic Kennedy wrote a book about the case, 10 Rillington Place, and he and barrister Michael Eddowes fought to clear Evans's name. Evans was granted a posthumous pardon in 1966. The outcry over the Evans case contributed to the abolition of the death penalty in the UK. Sir Ludovic Kennedy shown on the cover of his book All In The Mind: A Farewell To God Sir Ludovic Henry Coverley Kennedy (born 3 November 1919) is a British journalist, broadcaster, and author. ... 10 Rillington Place, Ladbroke Grove, Notting Hill, London, was the site of the crimes of John Reginald Christie, one of Britains most notorious serial killers, resulting in a miscarriage of justice which contributed towards the abolition of the death penalty in Britain. ... Michael Eddowes was a British lawyer, author and investigator. ... A pardon is the forgiveness of a crime and the penalty associated with it. ...

On 16 November 2004, Timothy Evans's half-sister, Mary Westlake, started a case to overturn a decision by the Criminal Cases Review Commission not to refer Evans's case to the Court of Appeal to have his conviction quashed. She argued that although the previous inquiries concluded that Evans probably did not kill his daughter, they did not declare him innocent, since a pardon is a forgiveness of crimes committed. The request to refer the case was dismissed on November 19, 2004, with the judges saying that the cost and resources of quashing the conviction could not be justified, although they did accept that Evans did not murder his wife or baby. November 16 is the 320th day of the year (321st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 45 days remaining. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Criminal Cases Review Commission is the independent public body set up to investigate possible miscarriages of justice in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. ... Court of Appeals is the title of certain appellate courts in various jurisdictions. ... November 19 is the 323rd day of the year (324th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Timothy Evans in popular culture

• Ewan MacColl wrote the song The Ballad of Tim Evans (also known as Go Down You Murderer) about the case.
• A film of 10 Rillington Place directed by Richard Fleischer and starring Richard Attenborough as Christie, Judy Geeson and John Hurt as Timothy Evans was released in the UK on May 12, 1971.

Ewan MacColl (25 January 1915 - 22 October 1989) was an English folk singer, songwriter, socialist, actor, poet, playwright, and record producer. ... 10 Rillington Place, Ladbroke Grove, Notting Hill, London, was the site of the crimes of John Reginald Christie, one of Britains most notorious serial killers, resulting in a miscarriage of justice which contributed towards the abolition of the death penalty in Britain. ... Richard Fleischer (born December 8, 1916) is an American film director. ... Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough, CBE (born August 29, 1923) is a prolific English film and stage actor, and Academy Award, BAFTA and three-time Golden Globe winning director, producer and entrepreneur. ... Judy Geeson (born September 10, 1948 in Arundel, Sussex) is an English actress. ... John Hurt as Chancellor Adam Sutler in V for Vendetta. ... May 12 is the 132nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (133rd in leap years). ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday. ...

External links

• BBC News Hanged man's pardon 'inadequate'
• The Ballad of Tim Evans.