Neville Heath

Case record: Neville Heath

Background

Neville George Clevely Heath (1917–46) was born in Essex, England, and later lived in Wimbledon. He did not do well at school and, on leaving, became an office junior. In 1936 he joined the RAF on a short-service commission, but was soon in trouble for being absent without leave, escaping while under arrest and car theft. He was court-martialled and dismissed from the service in September 1937. Two months later, he was put on probation for fraud and false pretences. In July 1938 he received three years' borstal for stealing £51 worth of jewellery from a friend, as well as having ten other offences taken into consideration.

After his release he joined the Royal Army Service Corps as a private, and while serving in the Middle East in 1940 he was commissioned. He got into further trouble by bouncing checks. He again went absent, was court-martialled, and cashiered. He absconded during his return to England and went to South Africa. He enlisted again using a false name. South African Air Force authorities found that his name was not Armstrong and that he had been in trouble in the past. Because of his present good conduct, he was allowed to stay. In May 1944 he was seconded to the RAF and flew missions over Holland. In December 1945 he underwent his third court-marshal for undisciplined behaviour and wearing unauthorised decorations. He was cashiered and returned to England to live with his parents in Wimbledon.

He used a number of aliases, including "Lord Dudley" and "Lieutenant-Colonel Armstrong". When war broke out, he joined the Royal Army Service Corps and was posted to the Middle East. His marriage ended in divorce on grounds of desertion. He was court-martialled for wearing medals to which he was not entitled. He returned to England in 1946.

The offence

He committed murders involving at least two young women.

Murder of Margery Aimee Brownell Gardner (32)

A young woman, Mrs Margery Aimee Brownell Gardner, was 32-years-old. In March 1946 she was found in a hotel room at a hotel bedroom in the Strand, London. She was naked and had been tied up. She had alerted the staff of the hotel by screaming. She refused to press charges but was clear about who her assailant had been, stating it was Heath. Mrs Margery Aimee Brownell Gardner had a liking for bondage.

In May 1946 she went to the Pembridge Court Hotel with a man later identified as Heath, and was also rescued by the hotel staff.

On Sunday 16th June, Heath took a room at the Pembridge Court Hotel in Notting Hill Gate. He used his real name but added the title Lieutenant-Colonel. He was with a woman, Yvonne Symonds, who he said was his wife; they had only just met. He had promised to marry her, so she spent the night with him and returned to her home the next day.

The following Thursday, Heath spent the evening with Margery Gardner. She was older, a part-time actress, and had left her husband and daughter. Heath and Margery had been dancing together at the Panama Club in Kensington. The following day, the assistant manager entered Heath's room after the chambermaid could not gain entry. Margery Gardner’s body was found naked on the bed. Her wrists and ankles were bound. There were 17 slash marks on her body, and her nipples had been savagely bitten. An instrument had been viciously inserted into her vagina. On the day the chambermaid was cleaning, she knocked on the door, heard no reply, and let herself in. The room was still occupied, though it did not look as if the occupant was likely to complain. Margery Gardner was lying on her back in one of the single beds nearest to the door. She had her ankles bound with a handkerchief. She had a lot of bruising to her face and her nipples had been almost bitten off. Something had been inserted into her vagina and sharply rotated.

On her back there were seventeen criss-cross lash marks. The cause of death had been suffocation after the horrific injuries had been inflicted. A short poker was in the fireplace. Home Office pathologist Professor Keith Simpson said it was responsible for internal injuries. The whip that had inflicted the slash marks on her body was not seen. These marks showed the distinctive diamond pattern of a woven leather riding crop. Professor Simpson estimated Margery’s time of death as between midnight and the early hours of the morning. The police learned that Heath and Margery had arrived at the hotel around midnight and that nothing had been heard until a door slammed at 1.30am. Heath had caught the train to Worthing to see his fiancée.

Murder of Doreen Marshall (21) and events involving Yvonne Symonds (19)

On Saturday 15 June, 19-year-old Yvonne Symonds met a man at a dance in Chelsea. He said his name was Lt. Colonel Heath. Although he was ten years older than her, she soon fell for him. They went back to the Panama Club in South Kensington, followed by the Overseas Club. They made plans to meet the next day. They spent the whole day together and, when he proposed, she accepted. She also agreed to spend the night with him at the Pembridge Court Hotel, Notting Hill Gate, after all they were engaged. They spent the night together and the next day she returned home to Worthing. They spoke several times on the phone over the next few days. He also phoned Margery Gardner, and even after the last embarrassing time she still agreed to meet him on Thursday 20 June. They spent the evening at the Panama Club before retiring to the Pembridge Court Hotel slightly the worse for drink.

Heath told Yvonne that he had been staying at the same hotel where a murder had taken place. He said Margery Gardner was an old friend and that he had lent her his room keys because she had a man she wanted to entertain. He said he had spent the night somewhere else.

On Thursday 20 June, after police interest became public, Yvonne saw the story and telephoned Heath to tell him about it. He agreed that he should see the police and clear the matter up. He wrote to Inspector Barrett, once more repeating the story he had told his fiancée, adding that the name of the man Margery Gardner was supposed to have met was 'Jack'. He also added that he had returned to his hotel room after 2am and found her dead, that he had panicked, and that he had left, grabbing all his things.

After the events with Margery Gardner, he left Worthing and went down to Bournemouth, booking into the Tollard Royal Hotel. He called himself Group Captain Rupert Brooke. Ten days later, on Wednesday 3 July, he met Miss Doreen Marshall. She was 21-years-old and was in Bournemouth to recuperate from a bout of influenza. He worked his charm and she agreed to have tea with him that afternoon. They parted after tea but agreed to meet that evening for dinner.

After dinner, they left the Tollard Royal to walk to her hotel, accompanied by Heath, at about 11.30. On Friday, the manager of the Norfolk Hotel, where Doreen was staying, was worried about one of his guests who appeared to be missing. He contacted the police and telephoned the manager at the Tollard Royal because he knew where she had been going. The manager at the Tollard told him she had indeed dined there the night she vanished. Knowing who her dinner companion was, the manager at the Norfolk, Mr Relf, approached Group Captain Brooke on Saturday morning and asked him to confirm whether his dinner guest had been Miss Marshall. Brooke denied it and said he had known the lady for a long time.

The manager suggested Brooke should contact the police to clarify the matter. Brooke agreed. Brooke rang Bournemouth police, but the officer concerned was out, so he was told to ring back later. He rang back at 3.30pm and spoke to DC Souter. Heath was asked to come to the station to look at a photograph of the missing girl. Heath turned up at the police station at 5.30pm. While he was talking to DC Souter, a detective noticed how much he looked like the photograph circulated of Heath. The detective told his superiors his suspicions.

When they put this to Heath, he still maintained that his name was Brooke. Heath asked if he might have his jacket from the hotel and DI George Gates went to fetch it. When Gates returned the jacket was searched and a cloakroom ticket was found, along with a single pearl that had come from a necklace belonging to the missing girl and also a return half of a railway ticket from Bournemouth to London.

As a long shot, the officers went to the railway station at Bournemouth with the cloakroom ticket. They were handed a suitcase. It contained some clothing marked with the name 'Heath', a hat and scarf stained with Margery Gardner's blood, and a leather-bound riding crop covered with a cross-weave pattern. Heath was questioned again and at 9.45pm he admitted his real identity.

The body of Doreen Marshall was discovered around 8pm on the day her disappearance was being investigated. As she passed a rhododendron bush in Branksome Dene Chine, Doreen's whereabouts were not yet known; however, a young woman, Miss Evans, walking her dog noticed a swarm of flies and, after she was home, told her father about them. The next time they went back to the wooded gorge, they discovered Doreen's body. The body was naked apart from the left shoe. She had been battered about the head and appeared to have been bound. She died from two deep knife wounds to the throat. A nipple had been bitten off completely, and her torso had been mutilated by a Y-shaped cut running from her midriff to each nipple. As with the earlier victim, something had been inserted into her vagina and anus, and she had been badly torn and mutilated.

Heath’s transfer to London occurred after his admission of his real identity. Earlier in the day, while he was denying the murder of Margery Gardner, Doreen’s body was discovered, and it was described as having been treated without struggle, with wounds on her hands suggesting she had grasped defensively at a knife.

Investigation and arrest

Police interest in Heath was triggered after the murders were publicised. Heath wrote to Inspector Barrett and also contacted the police in Bournemouth. He then arrived at the police station where he was compared to a circulated photograph. He initially denied his identity, but searched items from his jacket, including a cloakroom ticket, a single pearl from the missing girl's necklace, and a return half of a railway ticket from Bournemouth to London, led officers to a suitcase containing items marked with the name 'Heath'. The suitcase also held clothing stained with Margery Gardner's blood and a leather-bound riding crop covered with a cross-weave pattern. Heath was questioned again and admitted his real identity at 9.45pm. He was then transferred to London.

Trial

Heath’s trial for the murder of Margery Gardner began on 24 September 1946 at the Old Bailey. He attempted to get off with a plea of insanity.

Two prison doctors testified that although Heath was a sexual pervert, a sadist and a psychopath, he could not be considered normal and was not insane. The jury returned a guilty verdict after one hour.

J.D. Casswell KC defended Heath. Casswell chose not to call him to give evidence. Casswell relied on the defence of insanity and called Dr W.H de Bargue Hubert, described as an experienced criminal psychiatrist, to testify as an expert witness. Dr Hubert testified that Heath knew what he was doing but not that it was wrong; the prosecution destroyed Hubert's argument.

The sentencing was death.

Sentencing and execution

Heath was sentenced to death. He was hanged by Albert Pierrepoint on 16th October 1946 at Pentonville Prison. Heath asked Pierrepoint for a whisky and added "better make it a double".

Appeals

No appeal details were provided.

Outcome

He was found guilty of the murder of Margery Gardner and was executed by hanging at Pentonville Prison on 16 October 1946.

Other details

Heath had been the assailant in earlier events in 1946 involving a woman found naked and tied up in a hotel bedroom in the Strand, London, who alerted staff by screaming. She refused to press charges, possibly to avoid publicity. It was not clear when Heath met Margery Gardner or how he could have attacked her without her screaming. In a statement Heath admitted that he had gagged her, and a saliva soaked scarf was found with the whip.

It emerged after the trial that Margery had been a masochist who liked to be bound and lashed. She had probably gone back with Heath for pleasure and so had probably allowed herself to be bound and gagged.

J.D. Caswell KC later wrote: "it is almost certain that a month before her death she had been with Heath to another hotel room, and had only been saved by a hotel detective."