Brighton trunk murders
Encyclopedia
The Brighton trunk murders were two unrelated murders linked to Brighton
, England
in 1934. In both, the dismembered body of a murdered woman was placed in a trunk
.
The murders led to Brighton being dubbed "The Queen of Slaughtering Places" (a play on "The Queen of Watering Places")
as he investigated a smell. He alerted the police and Chief Inspector Ronald Donaldson opened the trunk to find the dismembered torso of a woman. When other stations were alerted a suitcase at King's Cross railway station was found to contain the legs. The head and arms were never found. The press named the victim 'The Girl with the Pretty Feet' or simply 'Pretty Feet' because the corpse had 'Dancer's Feet' thought beautiful.
The post-mortem by Sir Bernard Spilsbury revealed that the woman was about 25 and five months pregnant. Neither the victim nor the murderer were ever identified.
Chief Inspector Donaldson suspected a local abortionist named Massiah based on what was known about him and on Spilsbury's notes:
Donaldson asked officers to watch Massiah covertly. One, drafted from Hove, confronted Massiah, expecting him to come quietly. Instead the doctor wrote a list of names and "...it seemed to the policeman that the sun had gone in: all of a sudden the consulting room was a place of sombre shadows...." (A Coincidence of Corpses by Jonathan Goodman).
The policeman did not tell Donaldson, who only heard when he was warned by a senior officer to back off. Massiah moved to London where a woman died while he was performing an abortion, yet he evaded prosecution. He remained on the General Medical Register and was only removed when he failed to re-register in 1952, following his retirement to Port of Spain
, Trinidad
.
The victim was Violette Kaye (née Watts, also known as Saunders), aged 42. She had been a dancer and prostitute in London, where she had met Toni Mancini, aged 26, a petty criminal with a criminal record including theft and loitering who worked as a waiter and bouncer. He was also known as Cecil Lois England (his real name), Jack Notyre, Tony English and Hyman Gold. They moved to Brighton together in September 1933.
Kaye and Mancini’s relationship was tempestuous. One argument occurred on 10 May 1934 at the Skylark café on the seafront, where Mancini worked, when an obviously drunk Kaye accused him of being familiar with a teenage waitress called Elizabeth Attrell. Kaye was never seen again and the following day Mancini told friends she had gone to Paris
, and gave some of her clothes and belongings to Attrell. Her sister-in-law also received a telegram saying that she had taken a job abroad, which read "Going abroad. Good job. Sail Sunday. Will write. --Vi"; it was later established that this had been sent from Brighton that morning, by which time Kaye was already dead.
Mancini then took new lodgings in 52 Kemp Street, close to the station, and transported a trunk there by handcart. He put the trunk at the bottom of his bed, covered it with a cloth and used it as a coffee table – in spite of the smell and leaking fluids, of which visitors complained.
Kaye’s absence had been noted by police and Mancini was questioned. Apparently panicked, he went on the run. During investigation related to the unsolved trunk murder, police searched premises close to the station and stumbled upon Kaye’s remains in Mancini’s lodgings. Mancini was arrested in South East London. The post mortem was carried out by Sir Bernard Spilsbury.
and lasted five days. The prosecution was led by J C Cassells and on his team was Quintin Hogg
(later Lord Hailsham). Norman Birkett was defence counsel.
The prosecution focused on Kaye’s death by a blow to the head. A graphologist confirmed the handwriting on the form for the telegram sent to Kaye’s sister matched that on menus Mancini had written at the Skylark café. One witness, Doris Saville, said Mancini had asked her to provide a false alibi. Other witnesses, friends of Mancini, claimed he boasted in the days after the murder of giving his “missus” the biggest hiding of her life.
Birkett’s defence focused on Kaye’s work as a prostitute and her character. Mancini claimed he had discovered Kaye’s body at the flat in Park Crescent, Brighton
. Thinking the police would not believe his story because he had a criminal record he kept the matter a secret and put her body in a trunk. Birkett speculated she could have been murdered by a client or fallen down steps into the flat.
The quality and nature of the forensic evidence was also drawn in to doubt by the defence who queried the amount of morphine in Kaye’s blood and proved that items of clothing stained with blood had been purchased after Kaye’s death. A number of witnesses also confirmed that Mancini and Kaye had seemed a contented couple.
After two and a quarter hours the jury returned a verdict of not guilty.
In 1976, just before his death, Mancini confessed to a News of the World
journalist. He explained that during a blazing row with Kaye she had attacked him with the hammer he had used to break coal for their fire. He had wrestled the hammer from her, but when she had demanded it back, he had thrown it at her, hitting her on the left temple. A prosecution of Mancini for perjury
was considered but rejected due to lack of corroboration.
The case was dramatized in a 1951 episode of Orson Welles
' radio drama The Black Museum
entitled "The Hammerhead".
, then transported her body in a trunk on a wheelbarrow to Lover’s Walk in Preston Park, Brighton and buried the remains. Holloway was arrested, tried and hanged in Lewes.
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1934. In both, the dismembered body of a murdered woman was placed in a trunk
Trunk (luggage)
A trunk, also known as a travelling chest, is a large cuboid container for holding clothes and other personal belongings, typically about wide, and each deep and high. They were most commonly used for extended periods away from home, such as for boarding school, or long trips abroad...
.
The murders led to Brighton being dubbed "The Queen of Slaughtering Places" (a play on "The Queen of Watering Places")
Unsolved June murder
The first murder came to light on 17 June 1934, when an unclaimed plywood trunk was noticed by William Joseph Vinnicombe at the left luggage office of Brighton railway stationBrighton railway station
Brighton railway station is the principal railway station in the city of Brighton and Hove, on the south coast of England. The station master is Mark Epsom...
as he investigated a smell. He alerted the police and Chief Inspector Ronald Donaldson opened the trunk to find the dismembered torso of a woman. When other stations were alerted a suitcase at King's Cross railway station was found to contain the legs. The head and arms were never found. The press named the victim 'The Girl with the Pretty Feet' or simply 'Pretty Feet' because the corpse had 'Dancer's Feet' thought beautiful.
The post-mortem by Sir Bernard Spilsbury revealed that the woman was about 25 and five months pregnant. Neither the victim nor the murderer were ever identified.
Chief Inspector Donaldson suspected a local abortionist named Massiah based on what was known about him and on Spilsbury's notes:
Internal examination of the torso had not revealed the cause of death; the legs and feet found at King's Cross belonged to the torso; the victim had been well nourished; she had been not younger than twenty-one and not older than twenty-eight, had stood about five feet two inches, and had weighed roughly eight and a half stones; she was five months pregnant at the time of death.
Donaldson asked officers to watch Massiah covertly. One, drafted from Hove, confronted Massiah, expecting him to come quietly. Instead the doctor wrote a list of names and "...it seemed to the policeman that the sun had gone in: all of a sudden the consulting room was a place of sombre shadows...." (A Coincidence of Corpses by Jonathan Goodman).
The policeman did not tell Donaldson, who only heard when he was warned by a senior officer to back off. Massiah moved to London where a woman died while he was performing an abortion, yet he evaded prosecution. He remained on the General Medical Register and was only removed when he failed to re-register in 1952, following his retirement to Port of Spain
Port of Spain
Port of Spain, also written as Port-of-Spain, is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the country's third-largest municipality, after San Fernando and Chaguanas. The city has a municipal population of 49,031 , a metropolitan population of 128,026 and a transient daily population...
, Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
.
Violette Kaye and Toni Mancini
Although the first murder was almost certainly unrelated to the second, it did lead to discovery of the second trunk murder.The victim was Violette Kaye (née Watts, also known as Saunders), aged 42. She had been a dancer and prostitute in London, where she had met Toni Mancini, aged 26, a petty criminal with a criminal record including theft and loitering who worked as a waiter and bouncer. He was also known as Cecil Lois England (his real name), Jack Notyre, Tony English and Hyman Gold. They moved to Brighton together in September 1933.
Kaye and Mancini’s relationship was tempestuous. One argument occurred on 10 May 1934 at the Skylark café on the seafront, where Mancini worked, when an obviously drunk Kaye accused him of being familiar with a teenage waitress called Elizabeth Attrell. Kaye was never seen again and the following day Mancini told friends she had gone to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, and gave some of her clothes and belongings to Attrell. Her sister-in-law also received a telegram saying that she had taken a job abroad, which read "Going abroad. Good job. Sail Sunday. Will write. --Vi"; it was later established that this had been sent from Brighton that morning, by which time Kaye was already dead.
Mancini then took new lodgings in 52 Kemp Street, close to the station, and transported a trunk there by handcart. He put the trunk at the bottom of his bed, covered it with a cloth and used it as a coffee table – in spite of the smell and leaking fluids, of which visitors complained.
Kaye’s absence had been noted by police and Mancini was questioned. Apparently panicked, he went on the run. During investigation related to the unsolved trunk murder, police searched premises close to the station and stumbled upon Kaye’s remains in Mancini’s lodgings. Mancini was arrested in South East London. The post mortem was carried out by Sir Bernard Spilsbury.
Trial
Mancini's trial opened in December 1934 in Lewes AssizesLewes Crown Court
Lewes Crown Court is a Crown Court in Lewes, East Sussex, England. It is housed in the Lewes Combined Court Centre which it shares with Lewes County Court in the Lewes High Street...
and lasted five days. The prosecution was led by J C Cassells and on his team was Quintin Hogg
Quintin Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone
For the businessman and philanthropist, see Quintin Hogg Quintin McGarel Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone, KG, CH, PC, QC, FRS , formerly 2nd Viscount Hailsham , was a British politician who was known for the longevity of his career, the vigour with which he campaigned for the Conservative...
(later Lord Hailsham). Norman Birkett was defence counsel.
The prosecution focused on Kaye’s death by a blow to the head. A graphologist confirmed the handwriting on the form for the telegram sent to Kaye’s sister matched that on menus Mancini had written at the Skylark café. One witness, Doris Saville, said Mancini had asked her to provide a false alibi. Other witnesses, friends of Mancini, claimed he boasted in the days after the murder of giving his “missus” the biggest hiding of her life.
Birkett’s defence focused on Kaye’s work as a prostitute and her character. Mancini claimed he had discovered Kaye’s body at the flat in Park Crescent, Brighton
Park Crescent, Brighton
Park Crescent is a mid-19th-century residential development in the Round Hill area of Brighton, part of the English city of Brighton and Hove. The horseshoe-shaped, three-part terrace of 48 houses was designed and built by one of Brighton's most important architects, Amon Henry Wilds; by the...
. Thinking the police would not believe his story because he had a criminal record he kept the matter a secret and put her body in a trunk. Birkett speculated she could have been murdered by a client or fallen down steps into the flat.
The quality and nature of the forensic evidence was also drawn in to doubt by the defence who queried the amount of morphine in Kaye’s blood and proved that items of clothing stained with blood had been purchased after Kaye’s death. A number of witnesses also confirmed that Mancini and Kaye had seemed a contented couple.
After two and a quarter hours the jury returned a verdict of not guilty.
In 1976, just before his death, Mancini confessed to a News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
journalist. He explained that during a blazing row with Kaye she had attacked him with the hammer he had used to break coal for their fire. He had wrestled the hammer from her, but when she had demanded it back, he had thrown it at her, hitting her on the left temple. A prosecution of Mancini for perjury
Perjury
Perjury, also known as forswearing, is the willful act of swearing a false oath or affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to a judicial proceeding. That is, the witness falsely promises to tell the truth about matters which affect the outcome of the...
was considered but rejected due to lack of corroboration.
The case was dramatized in a 1951 episode of Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
' radio drama The Black Museum
The Black Museum
The Black Museum was a 1951 radio crime drama program independently produced by Harry Alan Towers and based on real-life cases from the files of Scotland Yard's Black Museum. Ira Marion was the scriptwriter, and music for the series was composed and conducted by Sidney Torch...
entitled "The Hammerhead".
The 1831 Brighton trunk murder
The press attention to the 1934 trunk murders revived interest in a previous Brighton trunk murder. In the nineteenth century, John Holloway murdered his wife Celia Holloway, a painter on the Chain PierThe Royal Suspension Chain Pier
The Royal Suspension Chain Pier was the first major pier built in Brighton, England. Generally known as the Chain Pier, it was designed by Captain Samuel Brown and built in 1823. The pier was primarily intended as a landing stage for packet boats to Dieppe, Seine-Maritime, but it also featured a...
, then transported her body in a trunk on a wheelbarrow to Lover’s Walk in Preston Park, Brighton and buried the remains. Holloway was arrested, tried and hanged in Lewes.