John Haigh

Murder is usually a very gruesome subject. However, it is also a very interesting subject, especially in the case of John Haigh who managed to evade the criminal justice system for many years on end. Although he was a murderer he was also one of the greatest criminal masterminds of all time.

Haigh entered this world on the twenty fourth of July 1909. He was born into a religious family and grew up a content child. Everyone who knew him said he would grow up to be a perfect gentleman. However, as Haigh began to grow up he joined a gang of youths and appeared in court on several occasions. Finally, in 1934 he was sent to prison for theft.

Being a man of optimism, Haigh viewed prison as a “temporary setback,” and vowed to gain knowledge during his time there that would be useful to him when his sentence ended. To fulfil his vow, he read many books and in one book came across a particular passage that intrigued him. The Passage was entitled “Corpus Delicti” and Haigh convinced himself, after reading the passage several times that murder could not be proved without a body. During the long months he spent in prison, he became positively obsessed with murder. Whilst in prison, he worked in the tin factory and obtained sulphuric acid

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Incredibly, Haigh lost all this money in one night but the night was to get worse still. Haigh was no doctor, but was convinced his friend was dead. Overcome by the powerful fumes, Haigh was forced to exit the workshop immediately. However, the police were sure they could catch him out. Then he was faced with the real challenge. The last three bodies he had disposed of had not completely dissolved and as a result the police found twenty-eight pounds of human body fat, eighteen fragments of human bone, part of an eroded left foot and upper and lower dentures. He came upon his fist victim by pure luck.

In conclusion, many think of serial killers as simply horrible, ghastly individuals however these people must remember Haigh was an extremely intelligent individual who sadly put his gift to the wrong use.

Haigh allowed himself little time to dwell on the severity of the crime he had committed. Then he sold all of her possessions and withdrew every last penny from her bank account. While there he was charged on three accounts of murder and was thrown into the police cells. Sadly for five unsuspecting people he found his theory to be correct. Haigh’s first murder had been a success. He did this to test his theory on destroying an animal bone structure.

Approximate Word count = 1083
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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