John Christie (Crime Archive)

What you need to know before your trail

John Reginald Halliday Christie murdered at least eight women including his wife, a baby girl and several prostitutes from 1943-1953. Like Crippen, Christie was a respectable seeming man and this ensured his victims trusted him; it also deflected the suspicions of the police. He would use gas to render his victims unconscious and then strangled them whilst raping their live or dead bodies. It wasn’t until Christie disappeared and a new tenant discovered the dead bodies around the house hidden in walls amongst other places. Justice was served when Christie was apprehended whilst taking a walk along the River Thames.