In February of 1942, police were alerted to the body of Evelyn Margaret Hamilton, a woman who had been murdered during a blitz blackout night. What they didn’t know was that Evelyn’s murder was the beginning of a gruesome pattern of events. You can read more on that in Part 1.
The body of 34-year-old Evelyn Oatley was discovered on the morning of February 10th, 1942. She was discovered by two meter readers, naked and mutilated, on top of her bed covers in her flat.
Initial examination showed that she’d been beaten around her head, especially around her mouth, and all over her chest. She’d then been strangled, and slashed across her throat, Her right carotid artery had been severed. Her body also displayed signs of severe sexual mutilation with sharp objects after death. She had also been found with a flashlight inside her vaginal cavity.
Evelyn’s handbag was in disarray, and the contents strewn about the floor of her bedroom. Near her body, police found a bloodied pair of hair curling tongs, and a bloodstained razor blade near her head, which had been left hanging over the edge of the bed. There were no signs of defensive wounds on Evelyn’s body.
Fingerprints were able to be lifted from evidence at the scene by Detective Chief Superintendent Frederick Cherrill. The evidence presented indicated that Evelyn’s attacker had been left-hand dominant.
Evelyn was a married woman, but when war broke and income was scarce, Evelyn turned to sex work to help supplement her income. This was not an unusual turn of events – many men and women turned to sex work at the outbreak of the war in order to survive. It was an open secret of the time; one many soldiers indulged in.
The night Evelyn was murdered, three eyewitnesses came forward and stated that they’d seen a “young, clean-shaved and moustachioed airman with chestnut brown hair, approximately 170cm (5’8”) in height” approach her just outside of a restaurant. These witnesses also stated that when Evelyn had inquired as to the man’s sexual preferences, he’d simply told her that he liked blondes.
Evelyn was last seen by a fellow tenant of her building around 11:40 PM the evening of February 9th. The witness stated that just after midnight, she’d suddenly been woken when the wireless in Evelyn’s rooms suddenly increased in volume. The witness did not investigate.
A few days following the discovery of Evelyn Oatley’s murder, the body of 43-year-old sex worker Margaret Florence Lowe was discovered im her flat on February 13th, 1942. She’d last been seen by a neighbour at around 1:15 AM on the 11th walking down the hall to her flat. She had been in the company of a client.
Later that same night, the neighbour saw the client leave Margaret’s flat, whistling to himself.
Margaret had been found under her bed covers, which had been drawn up to just below her chin. Pulling them back, police found Margaret on her back, legs apart, and knees bent upwards. She appeared to have been beaten, and then strangled to death with a silk stocking.
Forensic pathologist Sir Bernard Spilsbury remarked that the attack had been vicious, and that the perpetrator had a “wicked lust to perpetrate the most diabolical injuries on the women he killed”.
Like Evelyn, Margaret had also been mutilated. While Evelyn had been mutilated after death, Spilsbury remarked that some of Margaret’s mutilations occurred while she was still alive. Various knives and sharp implements had been used to inflict the damage to her body. Most were found placed near her body, while others were found protruding from her side. Margaret appeared to have been eviscerated, with a wax candle protruding from her vaginal cavity, and a serrated bread knife protruding from a wound near her groin.
Comparing the scenes, Spilsbury was left with no doubt that the perpetrator of the Evelyn Oatley’s murder was no doubt also Margaret Florence Lowe’s murderer. Though he did not make a direct connection between these murders, and that of Evelyn Margaret Hamilton, at this point in the investigations, police would not have been surprised if all three had been committed by the same person.
Police recovered fingerprints from the base of a glass candlestick holder, a glass tumbler, and a half-drunk bottle of oatmeal stout. The fingerprints appeared to come from the perpetrator’s right hand, indicating to police that the murderer was left-handed. This further solidified their theory that the same perpetrator murdered both Evelyn and Margaret.
Between Margaret’s disappearance, and her subsequent discovery, 25-year-old sex worker Catherine Mulcahy was accosted on February 12th, 1942.
She met with a client, and agreed to take him to her flat when he paid her £2 in advance. Upon entering, she lit her gas fire, and began removing her clothes. She then stated that her client had a “strange smile” on his face the entire time he was with her.
When the two went to the bed, her client climbed on top of her, then kneed her in the stomach. He then attempted to strangle her, pinning her to the bed with his own weight. Catherine fought for her life, kicking him in the stomach. She managed to break free as her kick hit him hard, and her attacker fell to the floor. Catherine then ran screaming from her flat, to the safety of a neighbour’s house.
Catherine’s attacker then partially dressed himself, and approached the neighbour’s house. He gave Catherine eight more £1 pound notes, and apologized. He claimed he’d had too much to drink, and fled the scene as Catherine screamed at him that she believed he was a murderer.
Gordon Frederick Cummins made the mistake of leaving his Royal Air Force (RAF) webbing belt behind.
Not long after Cummins left Catherine, he ran into 32-year-old Doris Jouannet. She was seen by a friend around 10:20 PM on the evening of February 12th, 1942. The friend indicated that Doris had told her she intended on seeing a regulat client, whom she referred to as “The Captain”.
The two went their separate ways, and Doris ran into Cummins. He propositioned her, and she accepted, taking him to the flat she shared with her husband. Her husband was aware of his wife’s sex work, and often gave her privacy to take clients home.
The following evening, Doris’s husband, Henri, arrived home to find that the bedroom door was locked. Unable to get in, he phone the police for assistance. Constable William Payne was dispatched to answer the call.
Payne pried the door open, and discovered Doris’ body. She was naked, save for an open, black nightgown. She had been placed diagonally across the bed, and her left hand had been placed between her legs. She was found with silk stockings knotted around her neck.
Payne advised Henri not to enter the room, and returned to his station in order to alert Scotland Yard’s Criminal Investigation Department.
Shorty after 8:00 PM on February 13th, 1942, Divisional Detective Leonard Clare arrived on the scene. His investigation found that Doris’ jaw had been broken before she was strangled to death. Extensive mutilations had been done to her body, resembling the wounds found Evelyn Oatley and Margaret Lowe.
The knife used to mutilate her body was found placed on her left thigh. Two used condoms were found on the floor beside the bed, and a gold watch had been stolen.
Sir Bernard Spilsbury determined that Doris had been strangled prior to the mutilations occurring. He theorized that the perpetrator had restrained himself when inflicting some of the wounds, but worked themselves up into a frenzy when it came to the wounds around her genitalia.
The Blackout Ripper’s actions were growing increasingly violent and gruesome. Investigators knew that they needed to catch him as soon as possible, but they were very short on leads.
The same evening that Margaret Lowe’s body was found, Margaret Heywood was accosted.
She’d been seen sharing a drink, and a sandwich, with a gentleman, before the two walked away, in the direction of Haymarket. Margaret stated that as they walked, her companion became increasingly “unpleasantly forward”, and pushed her into a doorway near Piccadilly Circus. The man then groped at her waist, and attempted to get her into a nearby raid shelter.
Margaret had consented to one kiss, but as her companion became more and more handsy, she fought him off more and more. She pushed his hands away from her, only to have him grab her by the throat, and push her back into the doorway.
Margaret was strangled to unconsciousness, when her attacker began rifling through her handbag. He was interrupted by John Shine, an 18-year-old delivery boy, who was carrying a bottle of drink into a nearby pub. This forced Margaret’s attacker to flee the scene, leaving behind his Royal Air Force issued gas mask and haversack behind.
Having noticed that Margaret had regained consciousness, John assisted her to the hospital. En route, they ran into James Skinner, a policeman, who suggested that they accompany him to the West End Police Station. There, Margaret gave her statement before going to the hospital with both of her saviours.
In the meantime, Gordon Cummins had fled into a pub. While there, he’d realized that he’d left evidence behind that could identify him. Realizing he couldn’t risk going back to retrieve his gas maks and haversack, which both had his Regimental number printed on them, Cummins began plotting his alibi.
In order to get away with the murders, and the attacks, he decided to steal another airman’s gas mask and haversack, and return to base. That way, he figured he could claim they had been switched. Gordon Frederick Cummins never imagined that he would ever be caught as the Blackout Ripper.
You can find Part 3 here.
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Sources:
The Tale of the Blackout Ripper – Jacob Wilkins – Medium
Depraved London wartime serial killer who was ‘worse than Jack the Ripper’ – Dan Wiggins – MyLondon
The Blackout Ripper: A serial killer in wartime London – Cime & Investigation
The Dark Histories Podcast – S05Ep05 – Gordon Cummins: The Blackout Ripper
Gordon Cummins Wikipedia page
[…] Read Part 2 here. […]