John Christie British serial killer. Date of Birth: 08.04.1899 Country: Great Britain

Biography of John Christie

John Reginald Halliday Christie, a British serial killer, was born on April 8, 1899, in Halifax, West Yorkshire. He was the fifth of seven children in his family. Christie had a difficult relationship with his father, Ernest John Christie, who was a carpet maker and was known to be stern and uncommunicative towards his children. Christie believed that he was dominated by his five sisters and that his mother, Mary Hannah Halliday, was the head of the family, which affected his self-confidence.

At the age of 11, Christie won a scholarship to attend Halifax Secondary School, where he developed a love for algebra. He later revealed that he scored 128 on an IQ test. After completing school at the age of 15, Christie worked as an assistant cinema projectionist. In September 1916, he enlisted in the army and was seriously injured by a gas attack in June 1918. Christie claimed that he was blinded and deafened for 3.5 years, but it was later revealed that he exaggerated the effects of the gas poisoning for sympathy during his trial.

Christie faced lifelong difficulties with impotence, likely due to his wartime injury, which earned him nicknames such as "Christie the Impotent" and "Christie without a penis." He only managed to have intimate relationships with prostitutes. On May 10, 1920, he married Ethel Simpson Waddington, but continued to seek the services of sex workers. After four years of marriage, Christie and his wife lived separately, with Christie moving to London while Ethel remained in Sheffield. Despite his criminal activities, which included theft, obtaining money under false pretenses, and aggression, Christie managed to reconcile with Ethel.

During World War II, Christie, despite his criminal record, obtained a position as a special constable and was assigned to the Harrow Road police station. It was there that he met a woman with whom he had an affair. However, their relationship ended when her husband, who had returned from the war, attacked Christie. According to Christie, his first victim was an Austrian woman named Ruth Fuerst, whom he strangled during sex in August 1943 and buried in his backyard. Christie later left his position as a constable and worked as a clerk at a radio factory, where he met his second victim, Muriel Amelia Eady. He lured her to his home by claiming to have a special mixture to help her with bronchitis. Instead, he exposed her to carbon monoxide gas, raped her, and strangled her.

In 1948, Timothy Evans and his wife Beryl moved to Rillington, where Christie and Ethel lived. Beryl gave birth to their daughter Geraldine in October. Beryl became pregnant again, which didn't please her husband, so Christie offered to perform an abortion. In late 1949, the bodies of Beryl and Geraldine were discovered, and it was revealed that they had been strangled. Initially, Evans claimed that Christie had killed his wife during a failed abortion attempt. However, Evans later confessed to killing his wife and daughter himself but then retracted his confession, once again blaming Christie for the double murder. Evans was found guilty and hanged on March 9, 1950, for crimes committed by Christie.

On the morning of December 14, 1952, Christie strangled his wife in bed to silence her. He created various stories to explain her disappearance, sold her belongings, forged her signature, and emptied her bank account. From January 19 to March 6, 1953, Christie killed three more women—Kathleen Maloney, Rita Nelson, and Hectorina Maclennan. He used gas on all three victims, raped them, and then strangled them with a rope. Christie hid their bodies in a wall cabinet concealed behind wallpaper in his kitchen. He sold his house and left in 1953, but the new owner discovered the hidden bodies when changing the wallpaper. Christie was quickly located and arrested. He confessed to the murders and was sentenced to hang in just 85 minutes of jury deliberation. His execution took place on July 15, 1953. Timothy Evans was posthumously cleared of all charges.