Lot 413

Haigh, John, "the acid bath murderer"

Books, Maps, Photographs & Manuscripts

Auction: 12 July 2005 at 13:00 BST

£598

Description

Autograph Letter Signed from John Haigh to Mr Rasbridge. "Thank you for your very sympathetic consideration of the case yesterday and for giving so much of your time to Pat: I am very grateful. I delivered him according to arrangements to Dr. Burns in Reigate tonight. Dr. Burns is I understand passing him over to Prof. Salisbury tomorrow. I am still very interested in Pat's welfare of course and I hope that from time to time you will be able to let me know how he is getting on and particularly to let me know when he is finally put down... Speaking from an artistic standpoint purely the vision of your own dogs eye through the opthalmascope was a really magnificent sight. Yours sincerely John Haigh", "Onslow Court Hotel" headed paper, dated 31 March 1948 and 5 June 1948

Footnote

Note: John Haigh had approached Mr Rasbridge saying that he was looking after a dog ("Pat") belonging to his friends, Mr and Mrs Henderson, who had gone to South Africa. He explained that he lived in a hotel and had a business to attend to. He therefore found the dog very burdensome and sought his help to find him a home for it. When Mr Rasbridge diagnosed it as seriously ill and suggested leaving it with him to be destroyed, Haigh had rejected the suggestion unhesitatingly explaining that if Dr and Mrs Hnderson (both of whom he had shot and disposed of) came home, how could he face them and tell them what he had allowed to happen to their dog. Shortly afterwards Haigh was arrested and revealed as a cold-blooded murderer who shot his victims, dissolved thir bodies in acid and flushed the solution down the drain. Yet he had qualms about a dog being put down! One of Haigh's previous victims, Mrs Olive Durand-Deacon, was a resident of the Onslow Court Hotel, from where this letter was written. Haigh murdered the Hendersons on February 12 1948, several months previous to this letter. Haigh was executed by hanging on 10th August 1949.
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