True Life Tuesday: Timothy Evans

Born on November 20, 1924 in Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorgan, Wales. His father abandoned his mother and older sister before he was born. As a child he had trouble speaking and struggled in school. After an accident when he was 8 years old he developed tubercular verruca (a painful rash) on his right foot which never fully healed. Because of this he missed a lot of school and had low literacy throughout his life. Evans would often create wild stories about his accomplishments to boost his self-esteem. This lead to problems with his credibility with police and the courts. In 1935 he moved to London with his mother, step-father and sisters to London. While there he worked as a painter and decorator while attendind school. He returned to Wales in 1937 where he worked briefly in the coal mines before he had to quit due to issues with his foot. In 1939 he returned to his family in London and in 1946 they moved to Notting Hill.

Evans married Beryl Susanna Thorley, who he met on a blind date, on September 20, 1947. The couple lived with his family for a time but ended up moving to the top floor of a flat, also in Notting Hill, in 1948 when they found out the Beryl was pregnant. Their daughter, Geraldine, was born on October 10, 1948. The marriage was marked by arguments, mostly about money, and physical violence that was witnessed by neighbors. In 1949 Beryl advised that she was pregnant again. Due to financial problems she convinced Timothy that she should have an abortion, which was illegal at the time. 

On November 30, 1949 he informed police that his wife died under unusual circumstances. He first told them that she died after he gave her something a man gave him to induce an abortion. He said that he disposed of her body in a sewer outside the house When it was searched nothing was found and it was found that it took 3 police officers to remove the manhole cover. He then said that their neighbor, John Christie, offered to perform an abortion for them. When Timothy returned home from work on November 8 he was told by Christie that Beryl had died. He said that Christie told him that he would take care of the body, would find someone to look after Geraldine and that Evans should return to Wales. He left for Wales on November 14. On December 2 the bodies of Beryl and Geraldine were found wrapped in a tablecloth in a wash house in the back garden of the flat. Both of them had been strangled. When he was questioned again he confessed to both murders. 

Evans was put on trial for Geraldine's murder on January 11, 1950. Legal practice at the time was to only prosecute one charge at a time. However, evidence of Beryl's murder was used by the prosecution to show his guilt. He would recant his confession and stated that the story about Christie performing the abortion was the truth. Christie and his wife were the star witnesses for the prosecution and would testify to the arguments and violence in the marriage. However, there were issues with his confessions that were never explored along with witnesses who would testify to his innocence that were never called. After a 3 day trial and 40 minutes of deliberation Evans was found guilty of Geraldine's murder. His appeal was denied on February 20 and he was hung on March 9, 1950.

Three years later the bodies of 3 women were found in the home of John Christie, During his interrogation he confessed to the murders of Beryl and Geraldine Evans. Christie was found guilty of murdering his wife and was hung on July 15, 1953. An inquiry into Evans' execution was undertaken. His conviction was upheld because the tribunal stated that Christie only confessed to support his insanity defense. After many inquiries and calls for justice from the media Evans was granted a royal pardon in October 1966. In January 2003 his sisters were awarded payments due to the miscarriage of justice. Outrage over Evans' execution contributed to the suspension and eventual abolition of capital punishment in the United Kingdom.