Timothy Evans Story - Crime Vocabulary

Adapted from wikiepedia

The Trial of Timothy Evans

Timothy John Evans (November 20, 1924 – March 9, 1950) was a young man, possibly mentally retarded, who was hanged in the United Kingdom in 1950 for the murder of his infant daughter. Events subsequent to his execution, including a book proclaiming his innocence and a pardon for his daughter’s murder, helped to get capital punishment abolished in Britain

Evans was a native of Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales. On September 20, 1947, Timothy married Beryl Susanna Thorley. In Easter 1948, the couple moved to Notting Hill, London. Their daughter Geraldine was born in1948.

It was well known that Evans was prone to tell elaborate lies about himself – lies which tended to be a way of showing off to defend a rather fragile ego. He and Beryl were also known to have loud rows which could be heard by the neighbours. They had financial difficulties and at the end of 1949 Beryl announced that she was going to have another baby.

On 30 November 1949, Evans went to the police in Merthyr Tydfil and confessed to killing Beryl and disposing of her body down the drain outside the apartment building. He said that he had given his wife something contained in a bottle and that she died after ingesting it. He told the police that afterwards he had made arrangements to have his daughter Geraldine looked after, and had returned to Wales.

When police examined the drain outside the front of the building they found nothing and also found that the weight of the drain cover required the combined strength of three Police officers to lift it. When re-questioned, Evans told a different story. He now claimed that his neighbour and fellow tenant, John Reginald Halliday Christie, who was a doctor, had come to visit Beryl and when he arrived from work, Christie told him that she had died.

During a search of the house in Notting Hill the police found the bodies of the wife and child in the back area of the building. When Evans was asked whether he was responsible for their deaths, he replied with a simple “Yes.”

Evans went on trial at the Old Bailey in January 1950. The court heard evidence related to both killings, although Evans was officially charged only with the killing of his daughter. During the trial, he reverted to his story that his neighbour Christie was the actual killer. The jury found Evans guilty of his daughter’s murder and he was hanged on 9 March 1950.

Three years later, a new tenant in Christie's flat, Beresford Brown found the bodies of three women (Kathleen Maloney, Rita Nelson and Hectorina Maclennan) hidden in the kitchen cupboard. Christie was convicted and hanged in 1953 after confessing to having murdered Beryl Evans.

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WORKSHEET

Timothy Evans Worksheet:

Match the words to the correct definition:

Abolish To go back to
Actual Accused of
Prone to doing Throw away
Execution Have the tendency to do
Dispose of Plans
Arrangements Real
Charged with Putting a condemned person to death
Revert To get rid of


Comprehension Questions:

Why did Tim tell lies?
What kind of problems were there in Tim’s marriage?
What was name and occupation of Tim’s neighbour?
How many people confessed to the murder?
What evidence showed that the story which Tim told the police wasn’t true?

Grammar

Find examples of the following in the text:

The passive
Relative clause
Reported Speech with the past perfect.
Reported question
Gerund after a prepostion

SONG:


Fill in the gaps with a word from the box below:The Ballad of Tim Evans
Christy Moore (1975)

Screws (slang for prison guards) Deaf Crime Hangman Prison Condemned Appeal Murder Guilty Cell


Tim Evans was a prisoner,
Down in his _________cell
And those who read about his crimes,
____________his soul to hell,
"Go down, you murderer, go down."

For the killing of his own dear wife
And the __________ of his own child
The jury found him ___________
And the hangin' judge, he smiled.
"Go down, you murderer, go down."

They took Tim Evans from the dock
And they led him to the _________
They closed the door behind his back
Saying “damn your soul to Hell”"
Go down, you murderer, go down.

" Tim Evans walked around the yard
And the _________, they walked behind;
And he saw the sky above the wall
But he knew no peace of mind."
Go down, you murderer, go down.

" The governor came to his cell
With the chaplain by his side,
Saying “your __________has been turned down,
Prepare yourself to die”
"Go down, you murderer, go down."
They took Tim Evans to the place

Where the _____________did prepare
They tied the rope around his neck
With the knot behind his ear
“Go down, you murderer, go down."

A thousand lags were cursing
And a-banging on the doors;
But Evans couldn't hear them,
He was _______for ever more.
"Go down, you murderer, go down."

They sent Tim Evans to the drop
For a ________ he did not do.
It was Christie was the murderer
And the judge and jury too.
"Go down, you murderers, go down."