He looked like a spiv with dark, greased back hair; with a round boyish face and an unnatural looking thin moustache. 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. Although he didnt know it, Mr Steels recollections about the young chap who he paired up with in the Home Guard were to prove invaluable in my search for the truth. I found a letter at the Public Record Office from a Mrs Robinson of Ealing to the Home Secretary. where so many protested Ruth's execution. Trivia (1) Cousin of Edward Cussen. Early on, he comes across a happy, religious couple who was thinking of adopting, and instead God put Desmond in their path. She shot her lover, David Blakely, outside the Magdala pub in Hampstead on the night of Easter Sunday, 1955, felling him with one bullet and pumping four more into him before an off-duty policeman removed the revolver from her hand. "Ruth had clearly been brainwashed.To the police it was an open and shut case of cold-blooded murder. Newsam advised the home secretary: "It would be a bad day for this country if we adopted the doctrine of crime passionelle This was a deliberately planned and cold-bloodedly executed murder.". More than 17 books and the 1985 film Dance with a Stranger have looked at the events leading up to Ellis's execution, but answers to some of the puzzles that remained unsolved have emerged only in the past few years. He lied again at Ruths trial when he said on oath that hed known Blakely "Approximately three years.". His words "She was holding the revolver loosely" (crossed out) "pointing it downwards at a slant" (crossed out) became "she was holding the revolver in her right hand pointing it downwards.". He was an off-duty policeman who happened to be in the Magdala that fateful evening. 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.". One month and thirty phone calls after beginning my detective work I traced Cussens accountant. The business address is 130 Sutter St Fl 4, San Francisco, CA 94104-4003. Miss Gleeson went to the police twice, and a solicitor, but they disregarded her evidence. She went round to the flat on Good Friday and made a scene, only leaving when he phoned the police. Ruths defence counsel Melford Stevenson did nothing for her.Later when I found this statement that Stevenson made on the first morning of the trial, I asked myself what was going on. Desmond has been featured in major outlets such as The New York Times, NBC News . Newcastle West History & Heritage. Desmond Cussen was born in 1923 in Epsom, Surrey, England, UK. I wondered. He added, "He was a cut above the rest of us, well spoken and well educated, a gentleman" and lived next door at Dapdune. In the 90s, however, judges softened the law on provocation, opening it up to battered women and others whose self-control was affected by despair or depression. He was no ordinary tobacconist businessman. 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. It didnt come out in the trial. Again Ruths barrister had no questions. It would appear he deliberately omitted the reference to the effort needed to fire the Smith and Wesson gun. Now Desmond shared with Blakely and Ward a love of motor-racing, however, he also shared the affections of Ruth Ellis. It's the middle of the night, I can't sleep so I'm going with option #4. 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. "This was the opinion that Christmas Humphreys, the prosecuting counsel at Ruth Elliss murder trial, was still vehemently defending twenty-seven years later when he spoke to Ruths son Andre McCallum. In January 2006 I managed to make contact with Mrs Hogg. Five bullets: the last, a coup de grace. The pavement outside the Magdala was covered in blood when I looked the following day.". I believe she thought that at the last minute they'd say, 'You'll go to prison instead.'". Jakubait revealed only four years ago that their father had raped her at the age of 14, producing a son who was brought up as her brother, and had abused Ellis as well. I should have demanded to hear the defence if I was the jury. "As a barrister for fifty years I was just putting the facts of the actual murder. Her counsel, Melford Stevenson, had wanted to argue provocation as a defence. Stevenson could have established what really happened. Quite by chance, in December 2003 I made another major discovery. She was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. Also residing in the same block of flats in Devonshire Street was a man by the name of Desmond Cussen. He looked like a spiv with dark, greased back hair; with a round boyish face and an unnatural looking thin moustache. Cussen seemed to be following Ward around.When the names Ward, Keeler and Profumo cropped up later in the Atlantic hotel, I realised that Cussen whod been staying there for two years was not there by accident. ", In 1955, Ruth Ellis was hanged for murder. donna summer niece; nanda devi expedition cost; pet friendly houses for rent in rigby, idaho; piscine hors terre prix club piscine 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. An early draft of RUTH ELLIS, MY SISTERS SECRET LIFE contained this information, but our publishers felt it was complicated and the whole section was dropped. "His father looked like a city gent.". The authorities still keep some files to do with Ruths trial closed until 2031. It was an understatement. He failed to raise any of these discrepancies.The more I read the transcript, comparing it to witness statements prior to the trial, the more I saw the skulduggery that took place. The trial in June, only two months after the shooting, lasted just over a day. What happened Desmond Cussens? This could have been a turning point in the trial yet Ruths defence gave the prosecution an easy ride. Ellis, 28, put to bed her. Furthermore the recoil after each shot would have knocked her backwards. 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." Are they going to charge him? I told him that Muriel Jakubait wished to handle the gun (displayed in the Museum) that was retrieved at the scene of the shooting. 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. Muriel told me about events at her flat in St Pauls Cray on 11th April 1955. Theyd actually enjoyed each others company for approximately six years; something that has never been made public. Ruths learned defence counsel Melford Stevenson did not ask. The two men were of the same height, were of a stocky build and had a round face framed with greased-back dark hair. It would appear that he was doing nothing. Born 1923 Add or change photo on IMDbPro Add to list More at IMDbPro Contact info Agent info Credits IMDbPro Archive Footage Previous 1 The Ruth Ellis Files: A Very British Crime Story Self (archive footage) TV Series 2018 3 episodes Personal details Edit Born 1923 She read something about Cussen and the murder in a national paper but dismissed it as "ill-informed." Recently released hospital prison records reveal that Ruth fabricated the main thread of her defence. But Ruths list of property and clothing is noticeable by its absence. All said Ruth had certain characteristics that had made a deep impression on them: she was a lovely, kind person with grace and style. Statements from new witnesses had one thing in common. It was word perfect. The imposing Desmond Castle and Banqueting Hall in the centre of Newcastle West is the town's obvious historical landmark and a must-see for any visitor but there are also many other wonderful places of historical significance worth checking out. Firstly he joined the RAF aged seventeen, trained mainly in South Africa, was a bomber pilot, throughout the war, flying Lancasters and was demobbed in 1946. However as we know now that Ruth lied at her trial from start to finish, it would be fair to assume she lied when she claimed shed only known Blakely for two years. He was perfectly placed when the Profumo fiasco broke in 1963.This discovery opened up a new line of investigation, which in turn led to the infamous spying activities of Donald Maclean and Guy Burgess.The convincing story, spun and repeated for fifty years, disguised the real Ruth Ellis. Ruth lied in court. : >>>>>>; : ; : But in 2019, she had her conviction overturned and finally walked free. She was pointing it towards Blakelys dead body. Ruth Ellis admitted pulling the trigger of the heavy .38 Smith and Wesson British service revolver. Originally he described Ruth pursuing Blakely and pointing the gun at his back. This was Cussen's one and only trail left anywhere since 1955. Any decent lawyer would play on the fact that no ballistics were done. The so-called witnesses would have seen nothing else, only the eye-catching blonde causing a diversion. She said, "I had been there and knew this was all wrong.". She blended in with the special people who congregated there, including nuclear weapons bigwigs from nearby Fort Halstead, top ranking RAF and spies Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean.I have tracked down witnesses in London, Northumberland, Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Buckinghamshire and Australia who have memories of the characters involved in the story. What is little know though is that Blakely was violent and controlling. These thick padded calico knickers were brought and I was told they had to be put on her. But neither Frost's book nor . He merely said, "To fire each shot the trigger has to be pulled as a separate operation." When he was seventeen he was not in the RAF, he was in the Home Guard working alongside John Steel. Desmond Miles was born into the Assassin Order, but he ran away from the lifestyle, hoping to pursue his own dreams. Apparently nobody else was involved. what happened to desmond cussen. OK 100%100 56 50 669/10 221AW They used to work . Mrs Gladys Yule was a prime witness for the prosecution. The real killer was probably standing there in full view, but totally invisible to them. Stevenson had a golden opportunity to get to the truth. In his autobiography he described her hands as "small and limp. Ruth asked what they were for. She was the innocent pawn in a game of espionage planned by intelligence officers whose job was to lie and who wanted to get rid of her. Its obvious now; Cussen lied about their friendship to cover the secret world theyd actually been part of for several years; a world that Ruth could have blown wide open if she had lived. 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. "I could see her hair was very blonde and she wore a light coat." Desmond accompanied her, and he provided her with the gun. In what appeared to be an open-and-shut case of cold-blooded murder, where a prostitute murdered one of her lovers, it didnt matter about anyone else.But those characters should have been investigated.David Blakely had a darker side. Statements Mrs Yule made between 11th April and 20th June were inconsistent. Two days before the hanging, Ellis's lawyers had submitted evidence, including the testimony of witnesses that Blakely had inflicted repeated beatings on her and that she believed he had caused the miscarriage she suffered just 10 days before the shooting with a punch to the stomach. However the magistrates court papers were listed as FRUSTRATED (not available) at the PRO in Kew; they could not say where they were. In a postscript he added, "I should be interested to know from a medical point of view, the present state of her joints.". As part of my research, I wanted to compare magistrates court statements with the trial transcript. There are more than enough invisible clues to show Ruth was set up. Jakubait believes that her sister protected him during the trial because he had promised to look after her family. I wrote to the Home Office for further details about the passport but after "thorough searches" nothing could be found. But it was not. "Prior to the drop Ruth wanted to go to the toilet. His activation of the Isu artifact had unintended consequences, however, as it merely postponed the . Id uncovered a treasure-trove of spies addresses all in the same Kensington street - some dating back to 1932. This was Cussens one and only trail left anywhere since 1955. They had tapes back and front to pull. ", Ruths defence counsel, Melford Stevenson, stated categorically that Ruth was guilty. The employer name is FANDOM, INC.. Then she admitted she would not recognise "the blonde woman again who shot Blakely. Ruth Ellis did not kill David Blakely. Evelyn spoke to me following the publication of our book. Too many crucial questions were left unasked. I met Mr Wallis, a retired Leatherhead dentist with an interesting story to tell about the very private Paddock Club at the end of a long gravel drive in the Surrey village of Ashtead. Two decades later, in the 70s, according to Bernard de Maid, the solicitor handling the appeal, Ellis's solicitor, John Bickford, a friend of Cussen, wrote to Scotland Yard admitting that he had concealed from the jury that "Cussen had driven her to Hampstead, provided the gun, and had goaded her into shooting Blakely to remove a love-rival from the scene.". Over the years, Desmond Cussen, Ruths so-called alternative lover, has been described as a bit of a drip, an unassuming, docile, father figure. As the New York Times, NBC News property and clothing is noticeable by its absence England, UK ``. Decent lawyer would play on the fact that no ballistics were done no ballistics were done when looked. 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