Patrick Joseph Byrne
Murderer
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- Gender
- male
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Location
- Birmingham, West Midlands, England, United Kingdom
- Date of birth
- 1931
- Age at first offence
- 28
- Characteristics
- beheading, sex with corpse, rape
- Victim profile
- Stephanie Baird, 29
- Method of murder
- Strangulation
- Date(s) of murder
- December 23, 1959
- Years active
- 1959
- Date of arrest
- —
- Status
-
Life imprisonment
Sentenced to life in prison in 1960
Background
Patrick Joseph Byrne was a 27 year old Irish labourer.
Margaret Brown was a 21 year old girl.
Stephanie Baird was 29 years old.
The offence
On 23 December 1959, police were called to investigate an attack on Margaret Brown. Margaret Brown had been in the ground floor laundry room of the YWCA, and she had screamed and her attacker had run away.
When police forced entry to an inaccessible room, they found the naked, headless body of Stephanie Baird on the floor of her room, and they found her head on the bed. The body had been mutilated. The cause of death was strangulation. The state the body was in when police found it left no doubt that the crime was sexually motivated.
A note was found in the room that read: “This is the thing I thought would never come.”
Investigation
Police searched the building and checked all rooms. After being unable to enter one room, they forced the door. They were greeted by the sight of the headless body of a young woman on the floor and the head on the bed.
A full-scale search of the surrounding area failed to turn up anything of significance.
A search of the room found no significant fingerprints but did turn up the note that read “This is the thing I thought would never come.”
Over the next few weeks, over 20,000 men were interviewed as part of routine investigations.
Arrest
Patrick Byrne lived in Warrington at the time police interviewed him, but he had previously lived near the YMCA hostel. He became agitated when police asked for his fingerprints. Not long after this, he confessed to the killing.
Trial
In March 1960, Patrick Byrne was tried at Birmingham Assizes Court. He pleaded diminished responsibility, and medical evidence was given describing Byrne as an aggressive psychopath with a long history of sexual abnormality.
He was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Appeals
The verdict was later reduced to that of manslaughter upon appeal, but it did not alter the sentence.
Outcome
Patrick Byrne received a life imprisonment sentence.
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