Serial Killers: John George Haigh

Born:  July 24, 1909 in Stamford, Lincolnshire

Number of victims: 6

Date of murders: 1944 - 1949

Method of murder: Shooting / Bludgeoning

Location: London, England



The case of John George Haigh was a landmark in British legal history. Haigh was a cold-hearted murder-for-profit killer who claimed six victims, including his close friend and his friend’s parents. All of the victim’s corpses were dissolved in acid because Haigh erroneously believed that he could not be found guilty of murder in the absence of a body.

Haigh was arrested after his list victim, a wealthy widow named Olive Durand-Deacon, was linked to him. He initially denied murder, then changed tack and admitted to killing the elderly woman. “I have destroyed her with acid,” he taunted police. “How can you prove murder without a body?”

As it turned out, the murder could be proved and Haigh then tried for an insanity defense, claiming he was a vampire, who had killed his victims in order to drink their blood. It did him no good. Found guilty of murder, Haigh was sentenced to death. He was hanged at Wandsworth prison on August 10, 1949.

Read the chilling story of acid bath killer John George Haigh, plus 9 other fascinating cases in  British Monsters Volume 2. Available Now on Amazon.