Gordon Cummins

Background

Gordon Frederick Cummins was called “The Count” due to his claims of noble birth, and the newspapers later gave him the pseudonym “The Blackout Ripper”. He was allegedly the illegitimate son of a titled member of the peerage. He married a theatre producer's secretary in 1936.

Cummins enlisted in the R.A.F. when World War II began in September 1939. He was nicknamed “The Count” by his fellow airmen because of his claims to have noble heritage. He was described as having social pretensions.

He visited his wife on Saturday 8th February 1942, borrowed some money, and went into the West End of London for a night on the town.

The offence

In a period of six days in February 1942, during the London blackout, Cummins murdered four women and attacked two others. Three of his victims were mutilated after death. The newspapers dubbed him “The Blackout Ripper”.

Victim 1: Evelyn Hamilton

On the morning of Sunday 9th February, the body of teacher Evelyn Hamilton (aged 40 or 42) was discovered in an air raid shelter in Montagu Place in the Marylebone district. She had been strangled. Her handbag, containing £80, was missing. There were no signs of sexual assault, and her body was not mutilated. The killer either placed her in the shelter after death or attacked her when he found himself alone with her within its walls. The killer had either placed her in the shelter after death or launched his attack when he found himself alone with her within its walls.

Victim 2: Evelyn Oatley

On Monday 10th February, Evelyn Oatley (aged 35) was found dead in her Wardour Street flat (apartment) in the Soho district. Oatley had turned to prostitution and used an assumed name, “Nita Ward”. The cause of death was strangulation, and her throat had been cut. She was naked and her body was sexually mutilated with a tin opener. The tin opener was found close by, covered in Oatley’s blood, and it provided fingerprints. An examination of the body yielded that the killer was left-handed. Her throat had been cut after she had been strangled.

Victim 3: Margaret Florence Lowe

On Tuesday 11th February, Margaret Florence Lowe (aged 42 or 43, also known as “Pearl”) was murdered in her flat in Gosfield Street. She had been strangled with a silk stocking and mutilated with both a knife and a razor blade. Her body was not discovered until three days later. The pathologist Bernard Spilsbury stated, after examining this victim’s body, that the murderer was “a savage sexual maniac”. Spilsbury commented that the injuries were “quite dreadful” and that the murderer was “a savage sexual maniac”.

Victim 4: Doris Jouannet

On Wednesday 12th February, Mrs Doris Jouannet (aged 32 or 40, also known as “Doris Robson”) was murdered in a 2 room ground floor flat in the Paddington district that she shared with her husband, a hotel manager. Jouannet was known to be in the habit of picking up servicemen in Leicester Square. She was strangled with a scarf and her naked body was sexually mutilated.

Attempted attack 1: Greta Hayward

Greta Hayward was attacked on Friday 14th February, near Piccadilly Circus. A delivery boy on his rounds interrupted the attack and Hayward escaped. Cummins fled and left his RAF-issue gas mask behind at the scene (another air raid shelter).

Attempted attack 2: Catherine Mulcahy / Kathleen King

A prostitute called Catherine Mulcahy (also known as “Kathleen King”) was attacked in her flat located near Paddington Rail Station. She resisted Cummins so effectively that he abandoned his murderous intentions, gave her an extra £5, and left quickly. In the account of the later attack, Cummins left his belt behind this time, and he gave her another £5 and left after she kicked him in the shins and made him release her.

Cummins’s attack on Greta Hayward caused him to leave behind the gas mask case. According to Mrs Mulcahy, “a strange look came over his face.”

Investigation

Cummins left an RAF-issue gas mask behind at the scene near Piccadilly Circus. The gas mask container was marked “525987”. The number was easily traced and linked to Cummins, and police established a lead connected to him.

The similarities between the killings and mutilations convinced the police that the same killer was responsible. The killer was left-handed, including in the examination related to Evelyn Oatley.

Police searched Cummins’s quarters after his arrest and found several items that belonged to his victims. His fingerprints matched those on the bloody tin opener and matched those found in two of the flats where the killings took place. Fingerprints also matched those found on the tin-opener used to mutilate Evelyn Oatley.

Scotland Yard later claimed that Cummins had murdered two other women during air raids in London in October 1941. The foremost fingerprint expert of the day, Detective Chief Superintendent Frederick Cherrill, was instrumental in proving the case against Cummins.

Alibi investigation

When police traced Cummins, he had a seemingly perfect alibi. His name was in the booking-out book as having returned before midnight all week, earlier than the times when Evelyn Oatley, Margaret Lowe and Doris Jouannet had all been killed. DCI Greeno established that it was standard practice for airmen to sign each other in, and that one night Cummins had left with another airman by way of a fire escape after checking in.

Arrest

On 16th February, the police arrested Gordon Frederick Cummins in the St. John’s Wood district. When his quarters were searched, several items that belonged to his victims were found. His fingerprints were found in two of the flats where the killings took place, and his fingerprints matched those found on the tin opener used to mutilate Evelyn Oatley.

Trial

Cummins was tried for the murder of Evelyn Oatley at the Old Bailey on 27th April, before Mr Justice Asquith. He was charged with only one murder, presumably so that the authorities could immediately charge him with any of the other 3 homicides in the unlikely event of an acquittal in the Oatley case. The Prosecution was handled by Mr G.B. McClure, and Cummins was represented by Mr J. Flowers.

The trial lasted only a single day, and the jury took a mere 35 minutes to find Cummins guilty of the murder of Evelyn Oatley. Cummins was sentenced to death by hanging.

Appeals

Lord Chief Justice Humphreys dismissed Cummings’ appeal and confirmed the sentence.

Sentencing / Outcome

Cummins was sentenced to death by hanging for the murder of Evelyn Oatley. He was executed at London’s Wandsworth Prison on 25th June, during an air raid, as he was led to the gallows. After the execution, Cummins was still proclaiming his innocence.

Aftermath

A delivery boy on his rounds interrupted the attack on Greta Hayward, and Cummins ran off into the darkness. Cummins left behind his gas mask which bore his serial number, rank and name.

When police traced Cummins, a cigarette case belonging to Mrs Lowe was found in his tunic pocket. Police also found that he had taken a fountain pen belonging to Mrs Jouannet and that his fingerprints matched those found on the tin-opener in Evelyn Oatley's flat.

Other details

Cummins was described as being 28 years old during the period of the murders. He was good looking and well-educated and came from a good family. He was born in New Earswick, north of York. He was called to the colours in 1941 and joined the RAF.

Cummins was not described as having a criminal record or a history of violence.

Bedlam Asylum Crime Files described Cummins as a 28-year-old sexual psychopath who killed four women in six days and was executed on 25 June 1942, and it stated that he was nicknamed “The Count” and “The Duke” by his fellow airmen because of his social pretensions.

Quoted statement: “Quite dreadful” appeared in connection with Bernard Spilsbury’s comments about the injuries of Margaret Florence Lowe.