The author of a new book about the Brighton trunk murders is to speak about the case at the Old Police Cells Museum tomorrow (Friday 29 May).
Jonathan Oates is a researcher and author of several true crime books including the best-selling John Christie of Rillington Place.
His new book is called The Brighton Trunk Murders, published by Baker Street Studios.
Dr Oates, an archivist by profession, is said to have produced the first properly researched and comprehensive account of the two crimes that became known as the Brighton trunk murders.
He said: “In 1934, the corpses of two women were found in trunks in Brighton. No one was ever convicted of either murder.
“The first one to be found was never identified. Over the years several suspects have emerged.
“As to the second, the killer was identified but got away with murder and later confessed.
“This new examination of these crimes draws heavily on the case files at the National Archives and East Sussex Record Office and is the most comprehensive to date.”
Dr Oates is giving a talk at Brighton Town Hall tomorrow morning, signing books and taking part in a guided tour of the Old Police Cells Museum in the town hall basement.
For more information, click here.
There was a mad biography of Graham Greene by Professor Michael Shelden in 1994 who claimed that the novelist was the trunk murderer. I had to read the section several times to make sure I had not misread it but, no, Shelden was claiming that. John Updike called it “a new low in biography”.
My favorite bit in that was Shelden’s repeated declaration that it was not possible to libel the dead so he was legally in the clear.
Shelden was probably the worst of Graham Greene biographers. Luckily Richard Greene (no relation) did a splendid job with all of his, especially Russian Roulette and A Life in Letters. Highly recommend for anyone interested in Greene’s incredible life adventures outside of his writing.