Miles Giffard

Case record: Miles Giffard

Background

Miles William Giffard (1927 - 24 February 1953) twice played cricket for the Cornwall County Cricket Club in the 1948 Minor Counties Championship and was later executed for the murder of his parents.

Giffard was born in Oct/Nov/Dec of 1925 and was educated at Rugby School in Rugby in Warwickshire and at Blundell's School in Tiverton.

By the age of 14, Giffard was being seen by a psychiatrist who was concerned at his mental deterioration. It was thought that part of the problem was that he had been oppressed by a very strict father.

By the time Miles was 26, he was described by his doctor as an "idle little waster" who, despite being given every opportunity, had been unable to hold a steady job. Giffard thought it was much easier to live off his parents.

His parents were busy and well respected people in St Austell. His father, Charles Giffard, was a solicitor and clerk of the court to St. Austell magistrates and his mother Elizabeth was vice chairman of the St Austell Conservative Association and President of the Conservative Women's Association.

The offence

Miles hated his father and his father never missed an opportunity to put him down.

In 1952, Giffard met a girl that he liked and developed a serious relationship with her. Gabrielle Vallance was 19 years old and lived in London. His parents did not like her and told him that he had to give her up.

In a letter he wrote to the girl, he said, "Short of doing him in, I see no future in the world at all."

On 7 November, he asked his father if he could borrow the car, but his father said no. That afternoon his parents went out and Miles stayed at home brooding and getting drunk.

By the time his parents returned about 7.30pm, Miles had decided what to do. He went down to the garage and used a piece of lead pipe to beat his father to death. Taking the same piece of pipe into the house, he bludgeoned his mother to death in the kitchen.

He took the bodies and tipped them over the cliff at the end of the garden. He then got in the car and drove to see his girlfriend in London.

The bodies were found the next day.

Police discovered more blood in the garage, but it was not until daylight that the body of Charles Giffard was found at the bottom of the cliff near his home. His wife’s broken body lay nearby. His mother was still alive when she hit the rocks.

Investigation and arrest

Detectives guessed that the missing Miles Giffard was probably on his way to Chelsea. They were right.

Arriving in the early hours of the Saturday, Miles told his girl friend he had an appointment at 10 o’clock that morning. In fact he went off to sell some of his mother’s jewellery for £50.

Then he took his girl friend to a cinema, followed by a pub crawl during which he told her he had murdered his parents. She did not believe him.

At closing time, he hailed a taxi and took her back to her mother’s home in Tite Street. Police were waiting and he was arrested.

Detectives had little trouble tracing Giffard and arresting him.

Trial

Despite clear evidence of schizophrenia presented at his trial at Bodmin Assizes, it took the jury only 35 minutes to find him guilty.

He was convicted and sentenced to death.

At his trial for his parents’ murder, the court heard that he had a long history of mental instability for which he had received treatment. It was heard that he was schizophrenic but not insane.

During admission to killing his father and mother, he said:

“I was tight for money and had no means of tidying myself up, so I said I would go home and get my clothing. But in fact I wanted to go home and try to get some money from my father.”

He also told detectives:

“I can only say that I have had a brainstorm,”
“I cannot account for my actions. I had drunk about half a bottle of whisky on the Friday afternoon before all this happened. It just seemed to me that nothing mattered as long as I got back to London and my girl friend. She just fascinated me.”

Sentencing

He was sentenced to death.

Outcome

Giffard was hanged at Horfield Prison in Bristol on 24 February 1953.

Giffard was executed following an all-night protest vigil and notices confirming the execution of Miles Giffard.

Aftermath

In the 1970 production “Conceptions of Murder: Conversation Piece,” John Castle played the part of Miles Giffard.