I am rather confused. He was definitely intending to take charge.". He was no ordinary tobacconist businessman. Christmas Humphreys opened the case for the prosecution. After the visit he also said he could not forget Ruth Ellis's words to him: It is quite clear to me that I was not the person who shot him.When I saw myself with that revolver I knew that I was another person."". It seemed stranger than fiction that I should come across Ruths alternative lover, at exactly the same time as I was investigating the area around Leatherhead hospital. "She was clean, smart, and certainly did not have stains down her clothes. From my point of view publication of the book was just the beginning. Moreen Gleesons encounter with Ruth and Cussen and Ruths subsequent hanging, troubled her. On the surface, the platinum-blond model may. She broke her silence, confessing to her solicitors that Cussen supplied the gun. In May 1950 he returned to England and was kept under surveillance by MI5. She did not give anything away about Cussen until 12.30 p.m. on July 12th, the day before she was hanged. But two months later at the Old Bailey when questioned by the prosecuting counsel Christmas Humphreys, Nickolls was economical with his words. Ruth replied, "Quite right. Finally, in Ruths letter dated 12th July 1955, to Mr Simmons, her original solicitor, she refers to remarks made by David Blakelys brother in a newspaper article following her trial. The business address is 130 Sutter St Fl 4, San Francisco, CA 94104-4003. The two men were of the same height, were of a stocky build and had a round face framed with greased-back dark hair. He was usually portrayed as Blakelys scathing rival for Ruths affections. obituary sophia martinez gokey. Stevenson stuck to his word. After months of research and trawling through electoral registers and directories I realised I hadnt just found a safe house, Id found a safe street! "As a barrister for fifty years I was just putting the facts of the actual murder. I was baffled. I only have photocopies of six witness statements. She was not looked upon as the common peroxide blonde prostitute as shes been portrayed over the years. Did her light-coloured suit that she was apparently wearing show evidence of oil residue from the bullets? Now Desmond shared with Blakely and Ward a love of motor-racing, however, he also shared the affections of Ruth Ellis. DesmondCussenFalls for Ruth. "She was very calm. Jakubait remembers no mention of her sister's imminent death, only small talk. More witnesses from 50 years ago had revealing things to say. At this point I should mention the afternoon of 10th April, the day Blakely was shot. "Would you pull these tapes Evelyn, Ill pull the others." No one seeing that face framed on the mantelpiece of a pensioner's bungalow near Woking would identify her as Ruth Ellis, the cool platinum blonde from the postwar London nightclub demimonde who shot her lover dead and won enduring fame as the last woman to hang in Britain. The real killer was probably standing there in full view, but totally invisible to them. Desmond Cussen, a potential murder suspect, was never interrogated Credit: Alamy Blakely, who had lived with her on and off for two years, had seemingly left her. Andre, who was nearly 11 years old, added quite innocently that Uncle Desmond that same day, "drove him and his mother (who was in a state) to a forest to teach his mummy how to shoot. Ellis had two young children but, despite huge public sympathy and newspaper campaigns for a reprieve, she was hanged on July 13 1955, only 13 weeks after she shot Blakely dead and three weeks after the trial. It all looks extremely suspicious. She recalled that on occasions "Ruth would come in on her own, invariably crying saying David had vanished. There are 5 other people named Desmond Cussen on AllPeople. Let alone repeatedly pull the trigger on a heavy man-size .38 Smith and Wesson gun that required a 10lb pull for each shot fired; it would have been impossibly large in her hand, its recoil would have knocked her backwards. Hanged killer Ruth Ellis has been secretly denied a pardon by the Government, documents reveal. Refusing any option to reduce her sentence - like pleading insanity or hig Nickolls evidence went unchallenged. Refusing any option to reduce her sentence - like pleading insanity or highlighting the role of her new lover Desmond Cussen, whom had given her the gun and driven her to the pub - her hearing. The authorities still keep some files to do with Ruths trial closed until 2031. He looked like a spiv with dark, greased back hair; with a round boyish face and an unnatural looking thin moustache. He was the older, sugar-daddy, type character that Ellis had turned to when Blakely started getting a bit handy with his fists. Desmond Cussen Ruth Ellis: The model who smiled at her executioner New exhibition explores the life of the last woman to be put to death in Britain MOST READ 1 Irish cookbook is number one. Since our book was published in 2005 I found the statement Nickolls made at the magistrates court on 28th April. It was a place where the best people from London secretly congregated when there were parties on. "He explained to the judge Mr Justice Havers that the close range shot had left the usual circle of powder fouling around the bullet hole. Andre held explosive information but was not interviewed by the police during the investigation into the crime. Evidence showing that Ruth was innocent of the crime she was hanged for.We also identify the group of people in Ruths circle who conspired against her, planned the murder of Blakely with military precision and left Ruth holding a smoking gun.The day before Ruth was hanged, having dismissed her solicitor Mr Bickford who represented her at her trial, she was visited in the condemned cell at Holloway prison by Mr Mishcon, now Lord Mishcon, and Mr Simmons, solicitors whom she consulted on domestic matters prior to the murder.Simmons asked her what really happened on the day of the shooting. Where she was travelling to is another mystery. Was the gun produced at the trial and now housed at the Crime Museum, the crime weapon or was it the second gun that Andre saw Cussen cleaning on the day of the shooting? When the prosecuting counsel asked her: "When you fired that revolver at close range into the body of David Blakely, what did you intend to do? David Blakelys list of property in possession of the Hampstead police in 1955 was recently released for public scrutiny. Why werent samples taken from the accused as well as the deceased? It followed my discovery of Desmond Cussen's signature on a business document in 1964 while he was lying low at a London hotel. Using new evidence that Ive uncovered, I say we now need to go back to the scene of the murder, choose a dark evening at about 9.30 pm and reconstruct the crime. But it was not enough to save her, although nine out of 10 women sentenced to death in the 20th century have been reprieved and served jail terms instead. Why didnt he ask Nickolls about the distance from which the other bullets were fired? My enquiries were met with assurances that nobody knew anything. After all, he transformed her, gave her nice clothes, made her feel special.Vickie Martin, Ruths best friend, was another of Wards proteges. I was so alarmed at my findings on 9th May 2002, I wrote in my diary, "Papers at the Royal Court of Justice have been adjusted; gun, police, timings.". As well as provocation, they claim she suffered from diminished responsibility, another partial defence that can reduce a murder charge to manslaughter. "I could see her hair was very blonde and she wore a light coat." Shut away in a previously closed file is a police statement made by Nickolls on 25th April 1955 along with a further one-page report written on the identical date but on Metropolitan Police Laboratory headed notepaper. Mr Hyde, MP asked Gwilym Lloyd-George, the Home Secretary if he was aware that prisoners and staff were disturbed by the noise of scaffolding being erected for Ruth's execution just before she was hanged. Andre secretly taped their three-hour conversation at the Buddhist Society in London.Just weeks later Andre, aged 38 committed suicide.Humphreys was blinkered; for it was exactly what was going on in the background, amongst the shady characters in Ruths circle, that led to the shooting of her ex public schoolboy lover David Blakely outside the Magdala pub in Hampstead in 1955 and to Ruths execution three months later.Ruths friends, some were prosecution witnesses at her trial, were more complicated than you would imagine from simple statements they made at the Old Bailey.As I read the transcript of the trial and police statements it was clear that nobody was interested in witnesses backgrounds. Jakubait believes that her sister protected him during the trial because he had promised to look after her family. In a conversation with Sylvia Smith, she told me that Ruth Ellis and David Blakely, who she described as a "good looking young man" frequented the pub between approximately 1951 and 1953. He was later captured by the Templars, who wished to obtain his ancestor's memories through the Animus to find Pieces of Eden. He was avoiding her and his friends denied he was there. At a time when she needed support her close make friend Desmond Cussen gave her a gun and showed her how to use it. According to another, recently opened, Metropolitan Police document dated 24th June 1955 (two days after Ruth was found guilty at the Old Bailey) Hampstead police handed her property to her solicitor Mr Bickford against "Receipt number 99.". Five bullets: the last, a coup de grace. She and her husband Donald Maclean Yule (who was not called to give evidence) were walking to the Magdala for a Sunday evening drink. He was Blakelys drinking companion at the Magdala on the night of the shooting. Ruth Ellis was a London bar hostess and call girl, from Rhyl in North Wales originally, who took up with an ex-public schoolboy called David Blakely, a motor-racing enthusiast and, like her, a heavy drinker. are takis halal; derrick stafford nba referee; what does it mean when a guy sends you a picture of himself shirtless. It came as something of a surprise to find a hand written document signed by Cussen in London in May 1964. One month and thirty phone calls after beginning my detective work I traced Cussens accountant. Berta told Muriel that Ruth had shot and killed Blakely. what happened to desmond cussen. Cussen had one gun and gave another to Ruth. A week before she died, a reprieve was granted to a 40-year-old woman who had battered her 86-year-old neighbour to death with a shovel after a long-running feud. Sylvia remembers how the landlord, Ernie Dumbleton, would say, "Ruths here and boyfriend has hooked off again and shes quite tearful. As part of my research, I wanted to compare magistrates court statements with the trial transcript. Some appealed to readers with first hand evidence of Ruth Ellis in the early 1950s, to come forward. On 11th April the prison medical officer noted that as a teenager she had "rheumatic fever, which was followed with arthritis in the fingers of the left hand and of the ankles." Early on, he comes across a happy, religious couple who was thinking of adopting, and instead God put Desmond in their path. Andre didnt say much to Muriel that day except that hed seen Uncle Desmond cleaning and oiling two guns in his Goodwood Court flat the day before. Her wedding ring was worn on an adjacent finger. Like Mrs Smith, Doris Geary brought details to light about Ruths movements that previous commentators missed. I was sooo surprised to see that Abstergo got their hands on Desmond's body, he deserved more, not to be experimented on.--------- Monthly giveaway: May 2022. The shooting outside the Magdala pub in Hampstead, London on the evening of 10th April 1955 was described as an open-and-shut case of cold-blooded murder. He drove Ruth to Hampstead - that is not in doubt. After Bickfords confession a police investigation followed but no further action regarding Cussen was taken. Nobody has ever put two-and-two together before.The trumped up murder charge that Ruth admitted to and for which she was hanged obscured the truth about Britain "in the grips of a spying scandal.". I suspect that forensics were not carried out on Ruth, and the gun conveniently broke during testing because the results would have saved her and proved she could not have killed Blakely. (Features) by "Western Mail (Cardiff, Wales)"; News, opinion and commentary General interest . Related Hubs. Next week, the court of appeal will hear evidence that will try to prove it was manslaughter. It would appear he deliberately omitted the reference to the effort needed to fire the Smith and Wesson gun. She read something about Cussen and the murder in a national paper but dismissed it as "ill-informed." Everything pointed to undercover operations and the British Secret Service. I contacted anyone who might spread the word about our new findings, from editors of parish magazines and village newsletters to local newspapers in areas connected with the story.Three years of detective work has taught me there will always be more to discover. I used to think Ruth was behind me doing it. On her second appearance on 20 th April, Desmond Cussen was called as a police witness. Much later it emerged that her friend and "sugar daddy", Desmond Cussen, an accountant with whom she had had a brief sexual liaison, had driven her to the pub and provided the gun. ", At about 9 pm on the night of the shooting Moreen Gleeson, a Hampstead resident saw Ruth and Cussen outside 29 Tanza Road in Hampstead, where Ruth believed Blakely was conducting an affair with another woman. This was Cussens one and only trail left anywhere since 1955. The two young men worked together at night-time two to three times a week from summer 1940 until April 1941, guarding bombed places against looters and keeping watch for parachutists. Cussen, her "alternative" lover, wound her up like a spring, got her drunk, drove her to the scene of the crime and put a gun in her hand. The Welsh peroxide blonde glamour model turned cold . "Is that all right?" All Melford Stevenson had to say was "No questions.". It stated he achieved pilot officer status in the General Duties Branch on 10th April 1945 and left on 10th October 1945. It was only hours before. Fiona Mactaggart MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State replied to Sir Paul Beresfords letter: "The case of Ruth Ellis has always attracted interest over the years and more particularly in this the fiftieth anniversary of her execution. She had not admitted it before because of getting "someone into possible trouble. Home Office documents released only in 1999 reveal that Ellis made a dramatic death-cell revelation on the morning before her execution to a prominent solicitor, Victor Mishcon. Ruth Ellis with Desmond Cussen (Image: Daily Mirror) Blakely was pronounced dead at the scene and was found to have multiple injuries to the intestines, liver, lung, aorta and trachea. He lied again at Ruths trial when he said on oath that hed known Blakely "Approximately three years.". On the weekend she killed Blakely, she had been making frantic attempts to contact him at the home of friends. Its worth mentioning here that Peter Rawlinson (now Lord Rawlinson) Ruths junior defence counsel, met Ruth at the Old Bailey on 11th May one month after her arrest. pepperidge farm outlet store locations; marketisation of education sociology; brmp certification worth it; seneca . The scandal that Keeler was having a simultaneous affair with a Soviet spy led to Profumos resignation.Years later it was revealed Ward had been a double agent, working for MI5 and for the KGB.Those who think his spying activities began and ended in 1963 should think again.Stephen Wards involvement with pretty, young girls who became the eyes and ears for his spying activities did not just start suddenly in 1963. In January 2006 I managed to make contact with Mrs Hogg. On the evening of Friday 25th May 1951, Watson drove Maclean to Woldingham station. The visit of Dr Joost de Blank who was the Bishop of Stepney at that time was mentioned in both of his published biographies. 27,814: Yesterday Wednesday 4th July 2007, at 2.18 pm, I received the following email from 10 Downing Street: 10 Downing Street - Petition to the Prime Minister has been Approved. Whether he was really aware of her intention to kill David is not clear. Ruths defence counsel made nothing of this at her trial. Referring to the rheumatic fever for which Ruth had been admitted to the hospital as a teenager, he said bones in her left-hand ring finger had been destroyed and were badly affected by septic arthritis. That abuse and the beatings and other harsh treatment by Blakely and her husband, George Ellis, will also form part of her case for the appeal court. I now have evidence of Cussens long term friendship with David Blakely. I suspect that the gun conveniently broke during test firing as the results would have cleared Ruth of the murder. 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