Friday, November 5, 2021

UNIDENTIFIED: November 6, 1930 Hardingstone, England John Doe

 

In November 1930, 35-year-old Alfred Rouse met a man outside of a London, England pub. The man would tell him a down-and-out and a hard-luck story, he was looking for work and mentioned he had no family. Alfred would then bring the unknown man to a pub for drinks. He would drink lemonade as he pays for the unknown man's drinks.

Alfred for a while thought of faking his own death for a while. He was fed up with his life and was expecting children from his mistresses. He wanted to start life over again and realized that the man would not be missed and took the opportunity. He would search out for the man on the 2nd or 3rd of November and would find him. Alfred would tell the man that he was going to Leicester on Wednesday and would give the unknown man a lift there. He would make an appointment to meet the man to meet on November 5th at 8 p.m.

On the 5th he would meet the man outside of the pub. The two men would ride in Alfred's Morris Minor. On the drive, the two would talk a lot, and the man would drink the whisky Alfred gave him. When they got to Hardingstone the man would be half dozing due to the whisky. He would grip the man's throat with his right hand and pushed his head against the back of the seat. The man did not resist and just gurgled. 

Around 1 a.m. on November 6th Alfred would then go and loosen the feeding pipe between the petrol tank and the carburetor. He would take the petrol can from the boot and poured it on both the victim and the vehicle before placing it back in the rear of the car and grab his attaché case Standing from a distance he would catch the vehicle on fire. The man was unconscious and burned alive.

His intention was to walk to Northampton and travel to Scottland by train to start his new life. But when he was walking away from the vehicle he would pass two young men. The men noticed the smoke and said something about it. In response, Alfred responded with "It looks like someone's having a bonfire up there." Alfred would then abandon his plan and return home as the men had seen him and he believed that no one would think it was him who was dead. He would then report the vehicle stolen.

The victim was badly burned in the vehicle. He would not be identified. Alfred would be soon arrested for the murder. He would be insistent during the trial that the car was caught on fire due to John Doe's Cigar. That John Doe had been asked to fill the petrol and he must have accidentally lit the car on fire. The Jury would find him guilty and he would be sentenced to hang. 

It wasn't until a few days before his execution on 10 March 1931 that Alfred admitted to the murder. He would write to the Daily Sketch of the events that happened. Alfred would refuse to help the police find the man's identity. He would though give some descriptions of him. He did not know the man's name as he had no reason to ask.

John Doe was between 33 and 40-years-old. He was 5'6" to 5'8". The autopsy revealed that he had worked in an extremely dusty place throughout his lfe. The following descriptions are from Alfred. The man was respectfully dressed in a light-colored overcoat and had an overall appearance of a clerk. He had a slight brogue and had a sporting or boxing tattoo on his right forearm. At the time he was wearing police boots and had told Alfred that London police had given them to him. He had also carried a sports diary. 

In 2012 DNA was taken from the John Doe, but this has not led to an identification yet. 

SOURCES:

Unidentified Wiki

Wikipedia

BBC

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