Wendell Lightbourne

Case name

Wendell Lightbourne

Background

Wendell Willis Lightbourne was employed as a golf caddie on the sunny island of Bermuda. He was prone to violent outbursts.

The offence

On March 7, 1959, Gertrude Robinson, age 72, was found raped and murdered at Southlands Beach, Bermuda.

Two months later, on May 9, Dorothy Pearse, age 59, was raped and beaten to death in the same vicinity. Her body was found covered with bite marks and scratches.

On September 28, Dorothy Rawlinson, age 29, was found floating in the surf off Bermuda's southern shore. Her body had been mauled by sharks, but investigators discovered that the cause of death had been a savage beating.

No evidence of robbery was found in either the Gertrude Robinson case or the Dorothy Pearse case.

Investigation

Because Bermuda was a British crown colony, CID detectives were dispatched from Scotland Yard, in London, to take charge of the investigation.

Some days after the murders, a local merchant informed police that a black man had entered his shop on the day of the murder, wearing wet clothes and paying his bill with wet currency.

During the investigation into Dorothy Rawlinson, her disappearance led to a search of the beach area because she had been a keen swimmer. Her clothes were found partially hidden and covered in blood. Her body was later found on a coral reef. It had been attacked by sharks after she was dead.

Witnesses said they had seen a young Negro on the beach at the time of Dorothy Rawlinson's disappearance. The description led police to 19-year-old Wendell Lightbourne.

Arrest

The suspect, 19-year-old Wendell Lightbourne, confessed to the crimes under questioning and was later arrested.

Trial

Lightbourne was tried in Hamilton and was found guilty of the murder of Dorothy Rawlinson.

He was sentenced to die, and later his sentence was changed to life imprisonment.

Sentencing

He was sentenced to death, but this was later changed to life imprisonment. The later sentence was to be served in Britain.

Lightbourne told police that sometimes "I just get nasty".

Outcome

His sentence was commuted to a term of life imprisonment, now being served in England.

Other details

Michael Newton - An Encyclopedia of Modern Serial Killers Need to be in control - Wendell Willis Lightbourne

Motive was sex. Method of operation was rape-slayer of female tourists; bite marks on bodies.

Gertrude Robinson lived alone in a beach cottage. Dorothy Pearse lived alone in a beach cottage. The residents on the island had been subject to a number of assaults over the last year but none had resulted in death before.