THE CHINA MAIL, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1958.
FRESH OUT OF DARTMOOR THE MAN IN THE SETTY CASE THROWS FRESH LIGHT ON THE CENTURY'S HAUNTING MURDER RIDDLE
I can now disclose the missing link in the case of
Timothy Evans
PREFACE by London Crime Reporter PERCY HOSKINS: The facts below, given to me by Brian Donald Hume, just released from Dartmoor after serving eight years for being an accessory to the murder of car dealer Stanley Setty, throw considerable light on the classic Christie Evans controversy. This revolves round the million-to-one theory accepted by the Crown that two stranglers lived at the same time in Christie's macabre house in Notting
The one unexplained factor has always been the sudden retraction by Evans of his thrice-repeated confession of the murder of his wife and child. Now Hume reveals what heppend when he was with Evans for 12 days in Brixton Jail.
by DONALD HUME
ES, I told Timothy Evans, "Don't stick your YES,
head in a noose."
I thought he was stupid to have made all those confessions to the police. I told him to admit nothing in court, to think out his best story and
stick to it,
A
I helped him to sort out in. I put him down as his defence story the day fush boy he was wearing before he went before the high buckleti shoes, a camel- magistrates.
haired cont.
DONALD HUME, PICTURED IN LONDON
many as you. I've told one story and I'm sticking to it."
Talking to Evans I soon de- cided to myself: "He's a bit of 151 flot this boy. He needs Bome advice."
I told him that otherwise he was only making things difficult for his defending counsel,
Unable to read
1 kept telling him to plek ont FTER the magistrales' hear- the best story for the lot and A ing I gave him a bit more stick to it like I had. "Blame advice. He came back to the everyone but yourself," I said, ward and asked me to read the end I told him to spend some newspaper reports of the time in bed at nights thinking hearing. it out before it was too Inte.
court he asked if he could walk
quiet,
THE CASBAH IS
SO JOLLY
HE Casbah of Algiers la said to be one of the wickedest
THE
places in the world. To me it seemed one of tho jolliest. It is literally thronged with children fighting, playing, dancing, staring and running, without apparently a care in the world. Indeed it looked as if it was where the pied piper had come out of the earth.
But apparently, harmless as it may look, it is nothing of the kind, and during the last year no less than two hundred botnba have been diacovered there.
So when I visited it, it was considered necessary that I should have a military guard. I sald that really I would be quite happy without one but was whit very sensibly told that my death was a matter of ab- solute unimportance the death of a British Member of Parlia- ment would reflect very badly on the securly arrangements of Algiers.
LORD LAMBTON, MP
looks at the wickedest place in the world' now that the tourists are
scored away » ..
Having no answer to this pleen of Galile logle I agrted and our party was made up of the captain myself, the guide, of the military of the Casbab, down it was impossible to tell where we were. Every street three young soldiers who never took their toramy gunig at my neemed exactly like the last with boek, a sinister nobody, and a caves every few yards let into times an exceedingly fat Libyan the walls in which could be seen whose role never discovered, dusky young Arabs
beating but with whom I had one of the metal or burning nuts and then mast unattractive conversations a shop or so and then another cave with an occasional glimpse Into the doorway of a spotless house.
had confessed to murdering Evans's wife I remember men- tioning to the principal officer: "I told you, didn't I? It seems that Evans was telling me the iruth after all."
At the time of the inquiry case the Chrisic-Evans Mr Reardon, who had been promoted to deputy governor, came down to see me while Iot my like, was working in the stores.
Into
Our
and
He edged up 10 me und He said to me: "Regarding pointed at a little boy, saying conversations about Evans Child." "Yes," I said. He then Christie you have very advised me, in broken English, litely read about the inquiry that in the event of shooting they are going to hold in breaking out it would be a wise London. I think you should put move to scize a nearby child as in
appearance
And they
would not want to kili You will have their own children'" give evidence.
what you know and ask for permission to be transferred to à London prison so that you can appear."
have used that to revoke the te petition the Home Office with
It was then I learned for the He came up to me on the A couple of days before he first time that he couldn't read due at the magistrates' he'd been trying to keep it second day and said: was
round with me on exercise,
I told him he was silly not to "You're lume, aren't you? Someone in my case (it turned out to be Christie, He said: "I've been think- have told me before. He could for cuttings of the Setty is about what you said about
Surting out a defence story. W statements he had made. case were found at Rilling you give me a hand?”
He could have said that the don Place] collects cuttings
story he had for the court was He told me the garbled tales different from other statements on your affair."
be'd told the police. I said: he had made beause he the police rend what Then he started talking "Now, look, I suppose you couldn'
I sup- got down from him. about his case and what knocked the missus off.
pose yours is the same sort of chances he'd got,
This was the last advice I He said innocence as anyone in here."
gave him: "When you go to the We met in the hospital He took the next bed to he was all right because
He said: "No, I didn't knock Old Bailey tell then that. And ward at the Brixton gaol. 1 me in the corner. On that he'd got a policeman to alibi
most make out you're a lot dumber the wife off he was was awaiting trial on the first day we didn't talk for him, (This turned out unphatic. He told me that when than you are." Stanley Setty murder and much. A bloke doesn't when to be Christie, who had l and his wife went to live
At that time I didn't really he was brought there having he first comes in; until the been a special constable. ut allington Plice Christie belleve all he told me-particu- given himself up to the first shock wears off he But at the trial Christie came to an arrangement with his larly that bit about Christie
and that Christle had strangling the kid. wife. police.
usually keeps to himself. gave evidence for the pro- murdered her.
secution.) As far as I remember there were about 24 of us do in the ward except clean- Then, when he said he'd in the ward, all on capital ing the Hoor and making made two or three confes charges or attempted mur- the beds and half an hour's sions I told him what a fool der or attempted suicide.
exercise twice a day--and he was to confess, "I've got T day in the end you start talking my own worries," I said, him about your ease to.someone. "but I've not got half so
I
they
remember the
first
brought
But there wasn't much to
lecting a lovely radiance
always!
'I was there'
THEN he told me about the He said: "It was
cause the kid kept on crying
The last time I saw him was on the last day of his trial ot the Bailey, I went into Number One Court as he was coming
from the dock.
I said: "Any chance?" He
shook his head.
1 told most of this to prison 1 said: "So you did il?" He officers at Wakefield Gaol, where said: "No, but I was there i
began my 12-year sentence. while it was done." He told me Later at the time of the Scott that he and Christle had gone Henderson Inquiry I was asited to the bedroom together, that to give evidence bal refused. Christie had strangled the kid with a bit of rag while he stood and watched.
I told him that if he didn't want to go through a hole in the floor with a coliar on at Penton- ville he'd better get his story watertight.
I talked about it first when
UNSUCCESSFUL
CERTAIN TRADES
In fact,
but for two streeta, the tour might soon have be- come monotonous, In mediaevať citles was the habit of aircola to specialise in, and be called after certain trades and so you had the Street of the Tanner, to the Butcher, the Ironmonger.
Not quite knowing what say, I made what I thought was proval, but it was unsuccessful. haughty gesture of disap-
T
I refused. I suld fist of all, "What do I get out of it other than a bad name with the rest
He winked ut me al} the of the chaps here becouse. morning, as though we had a be helping the police with what seeret in common. I say?"
He said it was my duty as a citizen to help the Inquiry, but I sill refused.
rus
I believe...
is the full story of the part I played and the full story of all Evans told me. Was Evans innocent or guilty?
About the murder of his wife I would not like to say.
"The
alty of a satisfying shop
With tourism and the neces
every up
so often, the streets broke but now momentarily they have recaptured their utility, and with some gaps-their original present moment is the appearance. And so when we best time to visit the Casbah, as came to the Street of the Butch- It is without tourists of any sort ers it was without alleviation or
Zaked and change. 50 that nothing everything is functional.
15
It seemed to me so laby- rinthine with its steep paths-
seldom wider than three feet- and its overhanging houses that whole arsenal could cazily have been concealed. But when I suggested this to the captain he scornfully told me that everyone in the Casbah knew everything.
We had to wade our WRY through carcasses and blood.
The other street which we were shown to as the' pièce de resistance, was the Street of the Women. Along both sides of 11 at the most terrible old har- ridans to each of whom the caplain of the milliary graciousTM ly extended two fingers,,'
But the real noise started up when our military escort op-
But I belive, after all my
As there arc 80,000 people talks with Evans, that if he did not kill the child himself he was have a busy time keeping
there I thought that they must deinitely in the room when it
with the news, but could see peared, the occupants of the was
done, and did nothing to what he meant about the lack houses all rushed out blowing stop it.
of privacy. Every house appar. kisses and waving till the street or four looked the end of some music- familles.
hall farce. After this spectacle
the principal officer took me in I am convinced that be and ently harboured three for my Arst interview with the Christie together actunged to house master; a man called murder the child
Rearden, in charge of the wing.
When I heard in gool that
IN THIS Christle was up for anurder and WAS GUILTY,
EVANS
we came out into the town, ali hands like opposing
cricket teams and we went our different ways.
Our strange tile
caravan shook received many stores but signs whatever of hostility. we wended our way up
no
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THES
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