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Dennis Nilsen: 'The History of a Drowning Boy' is a two volume autobiography written between 1988-89, five years after his life sentence (later whole life sentence) for six counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder, although he'd later confess to fifteen murders, many of which are still being discovered today. In 2003, a UK High Court and the Home Secretary David Blunkett declared that Nilsen's autobiography must never be published, as it infringes the Obscene Publications Act, even though yet "not publishing it" also infringes his human rights. Read more. 

Nilsen described his reason to write an autobiography as "I have spent almost nine years in a climate of long and detailed introspection, without counselling or therapy of any positive kind. Therefore it has fallen on me to prove the secret recesses of my personality in the hope that I may understand the engine of my actions and effect solutions to problems in a non-destructive way". 

There are three known copies of the full first draft of his 'The History of a Drowning Boy': one with his friend Mark, a second with the cult gay writer P-P Hartnett and a third to his solicitor. That said, Brian Masters interviewed Dennis Nilsen exhaustively for his book 'Killing for Company'. Read a full psychological profile of Dennis Nilsen. 

O J Simpson: '(If) I Did It - Confessions of the Killer' is a slightly tasteless, shamelessly lurid but basically little more than a desperate cash-grab by O J Simpson and ReganBooks, in which Simpson (or more accurately ghost writer Pablo Fenjves and journalist Dominick Dunne) hypothesise over who could have murdered Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, ​given that Simpson was "acquitted" by a US Court in 1995. Essentially '(If) I Did It' is a pretty stupid title as, two years later, O J Simpson was found unanimously guilty of the wrongful death of Nicole Simpson in a civil suit. So really the title should read 'Yes, I Did It.... Now Give Me Your Cash'. 

Ian Brady: 'The Gates of Janus: Serial Killing and Its Analysis' is a semi-autobiographical analysis of the mind of a serial killer written by Moors Murderer Ian Brady, in 2001, during his incarceration at Ashworth Psychiatric prison. Although convicted murderers are banned from distributing or publishing any memoirs, The Gates of Janus was published by Feral House, an underground US publisher (outside the UK/EU jurisdiction), which sparked outrage when it was announced in Britain, as Brady remains one of Britain's most hated killers. 

Simpson would later comment: "Hey, they offered me $600,000 not to dispute that I [wrote] the book", and even though he knew people would think he wrote it, "Everybody thinks I'm a murderer anyway. They're not going to change their mind just because of a book". Although Pablo Fenjves claims the book is "based on extensive discussions with Simpson". You can buy it via Amazon. 

But if you're looking for a "this is how and why I did it", you'll be sadly disappointed, as it's rather waffley and Brady as an author is a bit "up his own arse". That said, Brady's proceeds from the sale of this book were split between four charities, two of which were animal charities. 'The Gates of Janus' is available via Amazon. Read a psychological profile of Ian Brady. ​

Aileen Wuornos: 'Monster' (co-authored by Christopher Berry-Dee) is purportedly an autobiographical account by Wuornos and is supposedly "told in her own words" and yet even though Wuornos gets a co-author title, this is little more than a vanity credit to boost sales as Christopher Berry-Dee (a seasoned true-crime author with an extensive back catalogue) is the sole writer, with Wuornos contributing additional details and a few paragraphs at the start of each chapter. It too is available via Amazon (what isn't?). 

Herman W. Mudgett: Various "autobiographies" purport to have been written by Herman W Muggett (aka Dr H H Holmes), but many simply such as the three-volume book 'The Strange Case of Dr. H.H. Holmes' by John Borowski and Holmes' Own Story, all available via Amazon, simply contain extracts from Herman W. Mudgett's memoir written in 1895 shortly before his execution as well as his Moyamensing Prison diary which was published by Burk & McFetridge Company. H H Holmes original memoir is held at the National Museum of Crime & Punishment in Washington and the court transcript is available to buy online too. 

Myra Hindley: 'One of your Own'. Although an autobiography was written by the Moors Murderer Myra Hindley during her incarceration at HMP Holloway (North London), the book was never published but various extracts of Hindley's autobiography do feature in 'One of your Own', a biography of Myra Hindley which was written by Carol Ann Lee, which is available online here - 'One of your Own'. Read a full psychological profile of Myra Hindley. 

Seito Sakakibara: 'Zekka' is an autobiography written by the 14 year old Robe child-killer, who in May 1997, murdered Ayaka Yamashita (10) and Jun Hase (11); he hacked off Hase's head with a knife, hung his mutilated corpse on the school gate and stuffed into his mouth a note which read "This is the beginning of the game. You police guys stop me if you can. I desperately want to see people die, it is a thrill for me to commit murder. A bloody judgement is needed for my years of great bitterness". 

Because Japanese law prohibits the identification of the perpetrator, Seito Sakakibara is a pseudonym, a mixture of symbols which mean "apostle, sake, devil and rose", although he is commonly known as "Boy A". 'Zekka' was published by Ohta Co on 19th June 2015, and contains vivid descriptions of the murder by Seito Sakakibara, written during his time in a medical juvenile reformatory, before his release in 2005. Upon release, Sakakibara sent a handwritten note of apology attached to a copy of the book to the bereaved families of his victims. Read more. 

John Wayne Gacy Jnr: 'A Question of Doubt' is supposedly a 225 page autobiography by Gacy himself, published in 1992 by Craig Bowley Consultants. A first edition is very rare and only 500 were issued, all of which are signed by Gacy and contain an authentication note. That said, it's hard to tell whether 'A Question of Doubt' was written by Gacy, co-authored or ghost-written, as on the title page it reads; "A Question of Doubt: Commentary on the Trial of John Wayne Gacy (as told) by John Wayne Gacy", which seems odd, as any autobiography author would simply write "by John Wayne Gacy", where-as "as told by" implies it's a second-hand account relayed to someone else. See the book here. Or read a full psychological profile of John Wayne Gacy Jnr. 

The Son of Sam Law: After the arrest of David Berkowitz in August 1977, so rabid was the media interest in the "Son of Sam" and fearing that he would sell his story to a hungry tabloid hack, that the New York State Legislature passed the "Son of Sam" law which was designed to stop convicted felons from profiting from their crimes, even though Berkowitz denied wanting any kind such deal. Now a born-again Christian, who has renamed himself the "Son of Hope", David Berkowitz publishes via his website and his prison journals 'Son of Hope' are available online. 

Danny Rolling: 'The Making of a Serial Killer'. Written by Sondra London, she collaborated with Rolling to write 'The Making of a Serial Killer' during his incarceration on Death Row, following the murder of five students in Gainesville (Florida) and having attempted to murder his father. Rolling was executed by lethal injection in 2006. It's currently out of print. 

Robert "Willie" Pickton: 'In His Own Words': Although "in his own words" does suggest that it was co-authored or ghost-written (based on interviews with Pickton), the 144 page paperback which was released on 29th January 2016 by Outskirts Press, and it is full of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, suggesting it is a first draft, written as and when he could. Supposedly Pickton wrote it in his maximum security cell in Agassiz’s Kent Institution, but because all of his communications are monitored, he slipped each page to an inmate who sent it to a friend in California called Michael Chilldress, hence Michael's name is on the cover. Buy a copy here. 

Donald "Pee Wee" Gaskins: 'The Final Truth' (co-authored by Wilton Earle), this autobiography of the life of Donald Gaskins is described as an "uncensored account of his disturbing crimes and the reasons for committing them" in "graphic detail" before his death by execution in 1992. Hardback copies selling online for £250. 

Others you can pick up include: 'Killer Fiction' by ​G.J. Schaefer and 'Killer: A Journal of Murder' by ​Carl Panzram, to name but a few. If I can find any others, I'll add them here. 

Michael J Buchanan-Dunne is a writer, crime historian, podcaster and tour-guide who runs Murder Mile Walks, a guided tour of Soho’s most notorious murder cases, hailed as “one of the top ten curious, quirky, unusual and different things to do in London” and featuring 12 murderers, including 3 serial killers, across 15 locations, totalling 75 deaths, over just a one mile walk.

Welcome to the Murder Mile true-crime podcast and audio guided walk of London's most infamous (and often forgotten) murder cases, set within one square mile of the West End. 

• 30 minute weekly true-crime podcast - EVERY THURSDAY
  
• 300+ untold or often forgotten true murders
  
• Based on Soho's FIVE STAR rated Murder Mile Walks
• Research collected from original and first-hand sources
• Authentic sounds recorded from the location itself
• An audio guided walk... all from the comfort of your home

To accompany your audio guided walk, what follows is a series of photos, videos and maps, so that no matter where you are listening to this podcast, you'll feel like you're actually there. 

EPISODE THREE

Episode Three: The Bedfordbury Baby-Batterer is one of the West End’s least known, most shocking and brutal murder cases, which is also one of the saddest, and although there’s no mystery over who killed who, this needlessly cruel death will make you question who the victim (or victims) actually were. 

• Date: Saturday 5th September 1901
• Location: 3 Bedfordbury, Covent Garden, WC2
• Victims: 1 (Thomas James Mills)
• Culprit: James John Richardson 

CLICK HERE to download the Murder Mile podcast via i-Tunes and to receive the latest episodes, click "subscribe". You can listen to it now by clicking the green PLAY button on the embedded media player below. All transcribed versions are available in "Podcast Transcripts" (right).

THE LOCATION

Using the interactive Murder Map, you can find every murder location from each episode, which are all marked with a multi-coloured dots, Bedfordbury is the purple dot on the bottom / right. Simply click on the map to zoom in and scroll left/right. 

Ep3 - The Baby Batterer

INTRO:  Thank you for downloading episode three of the Murder Mile true-crime podcast. For your enjoyment, each episode has its own dedicated webpage as well as an interactive murder map, available via my website murder mile tours.com / podcast. Warning: this episode contains graphic descriptions of murder and very realistic sound effects, some of which you may find shocking. Thank you. Enjoy the episode.

SCRIPT: Welcome to Murder Mile; a true-crime podcast and audio guided walk of London’s most notorious (and often forgotten) murder cases, all set within one square mile of the West End.

Today’s episode is a guided walk of one of the West End’s most shocking murder cases, which is also one of the saddest, and although there’s no mystery over who killed who, this needlessly cruel death will make you question who the victim (or victims) actually were.

Murder Mile contains vivid descriptions which may not be suitable for those of a sensitive disposition, as well as photos, videos and maps which accompany this series, so that no matter where you’re listening to this podcast, you’ll feel like you’re actually there.

My name is Michael, I am your tour-guide and this is Murder Mile.

Episode 3: The Bedfordbury Baby Batterer.

Today I’m standing on a slightly forgotten little side-street called Bedfordbury, WC2, in the parish of St Martin-in-the-Fields, right by the very epicentre of the West End’s tourist district; with Covent Garden to the north, Trafalgar Square to the south, Soho to the West and The Strand to the east. And regardless whether it’s day or night, this area bristles with a throng of tourists, taxis and transparent ponchos; bus tours, Boris bikes and good old British Bobbies; buskers, beggars and (of course, the scourge of the modern-day street-performer) floating Yodas.

And yet, even if you’ve lived in London your whole life, it’s unlikely you’ve ever been down the street called Bedfordbury, let alone seen it, or even heard about it. And why would you? At just 460 feet long and 30 feet wide, the street is flanked on either side by an unremarkable mishmash of disjointed architecture, with listed buildings nestling next to modern monstrosities, and office space squeezed into whatever space was free behind the back doors of the English National Opera and the London Coliseum, and yet at either ends of the street, people pass, but no-one seems to walk down Bedfordbury. It has a distinctly desolate feel and its design seems deliberately vague, almost as if it’s trying desperately hard to hide from its own cruel history… over one hundred years after the violent death of Thomas James Mills.

Situated at the street’s south end, near the junction of Chandos Place, snuggled between the Thai Pot restaurant at number two, The Lemon Tree public house at number four and just a spitting distance from the Charing Cross Police Station sits no 3 Bedfordbury; a five-storey townhouse with seven bedrooms, three bathrooms and three kitchens, which recently sold for £2.5million. Its fortune in 2017 very much on-the-up, and a far-cry from the rancid rat-infested hovel that it once was.

In 1901, as a Britain was crippled by yet another Boar War, was gripped in a state of national mourning after the death of Queen Victoria and at around the time that little Thomas Mills’ tiny lungs breathed their very last breath, Bedfordbury was widely considered one of the worst Victorian slums in London.

It was famously chronicled by George Augustus Sala in ‘Twice Around the Clock’ as (CHANGE AUDIO SOUND) “There is a wretched little haunt called Bedfordbury, a devious, slimy little reptile of a place, whose tumble-down tenements and reeking courts, spume forth plumps of animated rags, such as can be equalled in no London thoroughfare. I don’t think there are five windows in Bedfordbury with a whole pane of glass”. (END).

With nearly three hundred tenants, lodgers and squatters crammed into just twenty-four houses, none of which had electricity, gas heating, sewage or running water; and the other properties on the tiny side-street including two slaughter houses, five brothels and six public houses, Bedfordbury was the epitome of inner-city squalor; and number three was a prime example, so much so that just a few years after the brutal murder of two-year old Thomas, the building was demolished.

By 1901, nineteen tenants (from five countries) lived in four cramped flats at 3 Bedfordbury; nine on the first floor, four on the second, three on the third and fourth, with the top floor vacant as the roof had caved-in many years earlier, and was left unrepaired by an uncaring landlord. The conditions were squalid, the stench was feted, and inside everywhere was damp, dank and dark, as with each row of houses separated by a thin alley (some – like Brydges Place - just sixteen inches wide), even on the brightest of days, sunlight rarely shone into their homes, as they were cast into the eternal shadow of gloom.

Three of those tenants lived in their flat for just a few months… and none of them would never return.

The new occupants in flat 3 on the third floor of 3 Bedfordbury were a loving family looking for a fresh start, having left their problems behind them in Nunhead (South London). Although cramped and squalid, the flat was within walking distance from Covent Garden fruit market where James John Richardson, the 41 year old co-tenant had recently accepted a porter’s job with “good prospects”, hoping that one-day he could finally afford to marry his fiancé 30 year old Lavinia Mills, as well as spending more time together with their two-year old son, Thomas James Mills.

Although big, burly and solidly-built, James Richardson found the work hard and the hours long, often starting well-before dawn and rarely finishing till after dusk; a back-breaking job which he undertook every day, of every week, in every weather, simply to earn enough money to feed and clothe his family. So much so that most evenings, James would return to their tiny squalid flat exhausted, his hard work repaid by just a few coins to cover the rent, a loaf of bread, a small sack full of cast-off fruit and vegetables, and (even if he couldn’t afford it) a little toy for his beloved son, Thomas.

By all accounts, James was a doting father who loved his family with all his heart… but as hard as he strived, for as long as he tried, his body simply couldn’t cope, and before long, he’d return home all bandaged, limping and broke. Sadly, in 1901, there was no such thing as sick-pay, so if you didn’t work, you earn. If you didn’t earn, you didn’t eat. And if you didn’t eat, you couldn’t work. It was a viscous circle where the rich got richer and the poor got poorer, until the day that (hungry, homeless and broke) they would either freeze, starve or drink themselves into an early grave.

And so, as James lay there, his pain growing greater as his back got slowly weaker, the bills began to pile up, his mood began to dip, and as hard as he strived to keep them at bay, his demons resurfaced.

Being the mother to a restless two-year-old, Lavinia Mills already had her hands full as she held down three jobs to cover their costs, as James’ infirmity increased. Some of the other tenants at 3 Bedfordbury housed lodgers to supplement their meagre income, but with James’ bouts of melancholy becoming more frequent and a crying child to contend with, there was barely enough space for the three of them. And so, as unskilled labour, Lavinia was part of an army of working-class piece-workers who undertook an endless stream of monotonous roles (whether stitching, peeling, sorting or shovelling), for very little pay and rarely in the same part of the city.

And before too long, Lavinia was holding down five jobs; not only to support her ailing husband, not only to feed and clothe her son, but the keep all three of them away… from the workhouse.

Passed by wealthy Members of the British Parliament following a backlash by middle-class tax-payers who felt they were subsidising the lazy feckless working-classes to sit, drink and breed, The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 saw that illegitimate children (those born out of wedlock, like Thomas Mills) were the sole responsibility of their mother. If their mother, whether working or not, failed to provide the basics for her child such as food, warmth and shelter, she’d receive the dreaded knock at the door by the much-feared Beadle of the Parish (like Mr Bumble in Oliver Twist) who’d rip the fretting and wailing child from its mother’s arms, and drag it to live its short miserable life in the workhouse.

In London by 1901, the mortality rate for children such as Thomas was 74%, three out of every four infants died before they reached the age of five. But inside the workhouse, which was little more than a pauper’s prison where you were punished simply for being poor, each child was subjected to long hours of manual labour, a strict code of conduct, daily beatings and was fuelled by a bland diet of hard bread and watery soup. Therefore, many infants died of neglect, and the workhouse death rate steadily rose to over 90%.

And so, impoverished and with debts stacking up, Lavinia had no choice but to work twice as hard.  

By the height of the summer; with his injuries healing and the pain subsiding, James dragged himself back to work in Covent Garden market, having rested up (on the doctor’s orders) with a good long period of bed-rest. But now James was different, James had changed; with his face being so sullen, his movements clumsy, his eyes all glazed, raw and etched with an unusual yellow hue, his pain was masked but now his agony seemed greater than ever, as weeks of immobility and infirmity had physically helped him recover, but mentally – amidst the damp, dark, dreary walls of his cramped cold flat, with no sunlight to soothe his nerves nor quell his temper, he lived in the shadow of eternal darkness, day after day, night after night, until slowly his black moods returned.

A few months earlier, on the day they’d left Nunhead; carrying just three bags of clothes, a small handful of personal possessions, assured that this would be the fresh start the family needed; a new job, a new flat and a new life, with his mood up, their spirits high and the jagged razor scars across his wrists slowly beginning to heal, it was then (with tears in his eyes) that James promised his beloved wife and son that he would never drink again. Not one drop of alcohol would pass his lips. This was the promise he had made to them and he remained true to his word, for a while at least.

But it was as he lay there in his lice-ridden bed; his body wracked with pain and his brain riddled with guilt, as a dark cloud of depression loomed over him; being poor, hungry and broken, that James made a desperate decision which would change their lives forever. And although he returned to work at Covent Garden market, the new man who had moved to Bedfordbury was slowly replaced by the old monster they had left behind in Nunhead.

His painkiller of choice… was gin. Neat gin.

He would only need enough to lessen his pain, to lull him to sleep and to dull his senses. But even though on Bedfordbury alone there stood six pubs, with a further twelve within crawling distance, James couldn’t afford to buy “pure gin”, as being broke, this clear fresh alcohol (fermented using a fragrant mix of juniper berries, coriander seeds, angelica root, liquorice, orris root, orange and lemon peel) was too pricey to buy, so – like many workers whose lives were an endless state of drudgery and misery - he opted for what he could afford; a bootlegged booze, commonly known as “street gin”; a murky cloudy mix of sulphuric acid and turpentine which is left to ferment in an old steel drum, a sink or a bath, and flavoured with potato-shavings, weeds, sugar and even human urine. It was soporific, numbing, addictive and – worst of all – it was lethal.

It was also James’ little secret.

According to Lavinia’s testimony at the trial on 21st October 1901, James John Richardson was a good man; kind, warm and caring; a doting father who’d take his son for walks and always treated them both well. But ever since she had known him, James always had a dark-side.

By September, with a daily diet of neat “street gin” to keep his physical pain away, James’ moods had begun to blacken, his temper to increase and sadly his employment had ceased. Having been sacked; with debts piling up, money now scarce, an eviction notice issued by the landlord and his shameful addiction escalating, James was once again left alone in the damp dark squalor of flat 3 Bedfordbury, with nothing to occupy him but his own dark thoughts… and his two-year old son, Thomas.

Thomas hadn’t slept in days, as with his nose wheezing, his lungs rasping and his throat red-raw, his bout of “the croup” got steadily worse; exacerbated by damp walls, dirty floors, unclean water and a severe lack of nutrition. The only silence they’d receive in those last few days, as the incessant tears of the sickly tot rang in their ears, was when he would cry himself to sleep, exhausted.

On the morning of Saturday 5th September 1901, as Lavinia caught a few short hours of sleep before the first of her five jobs, and as James took baby Thomas for a stroll, a new toy in hand, hoping that a mix of fresh air and playful distraction would soothe his sickly son, she was awoken by a dreaded knock at the door. As she opened the door, standing before her, with papers in hand, a Policeman by his side and a long list of unfit unmarried mothers whose sickly children were destined to spend the rest of their short hard lives picking oakum in the local workhouse, stood the Beadle of the Parish.

An hour later, James had returned and the Beadle was gone… but he would be back.

The last time Lavinia saw her son alive was at 9pm that evening, as he slept soundly in his cot, his little chest rising, falling and rattling with every exhale, his cheeks flushed from the strain of crying. At the table sat James, eating a meagre supper, cutting up a few tatty leftovers, having fed his wife-to-be and son first. But that night, his eyes looked odd, stranger than usual; their yellow glaze was red-raw, with heavy dark circles forming beneath. She knew it wasn’t just tiredness nor melancholy, as she’d seen that look before, a few months earlier back in Nunhead. And as he sat there, knife in hand, slicing-up a few small slivers of meat, she asked him directly “have you been drinking?”. His answer was “no”.

Lavinia left for the last of her five jobs moments later, heading out to earn hardly enough money to cover the cost of more medicine to make her son well again. Therefore the following is based on eye-witness testimony, given at The Old Bailey, by the neighbours and those who attended the scene at 3 Bedfordbury.

At a little after 9:30pm, Mrs Tryphena Dimbleby, a widower living on the second floor heard a banging, a “hammering” as she described it, a heavy thumping noise emanating from the flat above; a man’s angry voice was yelling, and in the midst of it all, a small child was screaming. In court she stated “I went up to ask the prisoner what was the matter, I knocked at his door, he said "What do you want?", I said "If this noise continues I shall have to speak to my landlord", I heard the child cry, and that is why I went up”. (END). But beyond the thick wooden door of flat 3, the child’s screams continued, the terrified wail of a two-year old echoing around the dark damp walls of the stairwell.

Louisa & George Chauverre, a couple living on the fourth floor, ran downstairs to intervene. In court, Louisa testified that (AUDIO) “I heard a child scream—I heard Mrs. Dimbelby go to the door—the noise continued, and the child cried again—I and my husband went down to the door—my husband knocked” (END)… but this time James Richardson did not answer, the screaming had stopped and the child was silent. Fearing the worst, George Chauverre broke down the door…

…but he was too late.

James didn’t notice George break down his door. He didn’t notice him enter the flat. And neither did he notice George stop dead in his tracks, his lungs gasp and his mouth drop open in absolute horror.

As standing over the armchair, James stood; his face etched in rage, his teeth gritted in frustration and his body as naked as the day he was born. The room was silent, all except for the soft heavy thud as James slammed his tightly clenched fists, with all of his might, down onto the tiny lifeless body of his two-year old son, James’ trembling voice screaming (AUDIO) “Will you be a good boy now? Will you be a good boy now? Will you be a good boy now?” (END).

At 9:45pm, Constable Frank Hamilton of the Bow Street Police Station arrived at flat 3. The door was hanging off its hinges, James was partially clothed in a nightgown, and he’d unsuccessfully tried to wipe the child’s blood from the armchair, the floor and the wall. Between them, the tiny body of Thomas Mills lay. And amidst his ranting and raving, the only words James uttered which made any sense was this (AUDIO) “I have done it, I have done it, it was my wish it should be done” (END).

It took two men to restrain James and six to hold him down as he was arrested. James was charged with the wilful murder of two year old Thomas James Mills. To which he replied (AUDIO) “I did it for the child’s good”.

Still to this day, it is unclear what drove James to murder his beloved son. Alcohol? Anger? Depression? Maybe all three? Perhaps, as James said (QUOTE) " I thought I was doing it for the child's good" (END) and that he was simply trying to spare his sickly child, born to an unmarried mother, from a short miserable life in the workhouse? (QUOTE) As later he would state, "Me? Kill my child! You must be mad. I love my baby” (END). And clearly he did. Or maybe, lurking under the drink and the depression, lay something more sinister; as he would also later state (QUOTE) “I thought the baby had a nerve, so I bit it through the mouth and on the top of the head, to do it good". (END)

At 9:50pm, having aided Constable Hamilton in restraining the “mad man”, Constable James Grey went to assist the small lifeless body of Thomas; his silent body was slowly cooling and his face was a swollen mass of ruptured skin… but through the blood bubbles, he could see that (somehow) the little boy was still breathing. Cradling the child in his arms, Constable Grey rushed to King’s College Hospital, barely a few minutes away, but as much as two year old Thomas fought a good fight, he succumbed to his injuries at 10pm.

Robert Jakes, the House Surgeon at Kings College Hospital listed Thomas’ injuries as (AUDIO) “he had a cut on the scalp; a piece had been cut clean out, about the size of a florin; both sides of the face were very much bruised, part of the nose and upper lip had been torn away, and one of the front teeth was knocked out… the fourth and fifth ribs on the left side were broken, and the sixth, seventh and eighth ribs on both sides—there was blood in the stomach; the skull was fractured on the left side; there was a small fracture on the right side of the scalp… there was a good deal of laceration to the front part of the brain—the injury to the scalp was a perfectly clean cut—but I cannot say what it was done with.” (END)

At the murder scene, no knife was ever found.

Of the three tenants at no 3 Bedfordbury, WC2;  James John Richardson was declared insane, tried at the Old Bailey on 21st October 1901, found guilty of infanticide and was detained at Her Majesty’s Pleasure until his death (six years later) in 1907. With his family unable to afford a plot, a funeral or even a headstone, Thomas James Mills was buried in a pauper’s grave, along with several other children who’d died that day, many in the local workhouse. And whereas, his mother, Lavinia Mills? Exhausted, she arrived home that evening at 11pm, an hour after her son had died. In her hand she held her wage, which was barely enough money to buy the medicine she had needed, to make her son well again. She left Bedfordbury the very next morning, and never returned.

OUTRO: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for listening to Murder Mile. If you enjoyed this podcast, please rate us and subscribe to the Murder Mile podcast on iTunes, and also “like” and “share” us with your friends. And if you’re in London, why not take part in the Murder Mile Walk, it’s my guided walk of Soho’s most infamous murder cases, featuring 12 murderers, 15 locations and 75 mysterious deaths over one mile, in just two hours. Tickets are available via www.murdermiletours.com

Murder Mile was researched, written & performed by Michael Buchanan-Dunne, with the music written and performed by Erik Stein & Jon Boux of Cult With No Name. For gigs, tour-dates and albums, please visit www.cultwithnoname.com

The next episode is entitled: The Mysterious Death of Dutch Leah.

 Thank you and sleep well.

DOWNLOAD this episode of Murder Mile Episode #3 - The Bedfordbury Baby-Batterer. 
​You can also listen to the podcast live, by clicking PLAY on this embedded player above. 

Credits: The Murder Mile true-crime podcast was researched, written and recorded by Michael J Buchanan-Dunne, with the sounds recorded on location (where possible). The music was written and performed by Erik Stein & Jon Boux of Cult With No Name. ​​

The next episode: The Mysterious Death of "Dutch Leah" (due 2nd November 2017). 

Michael J Buchanan-Dunne is a writer, crime historian, podcaster and tour-guide who runs Murder Mile Walks, a guided tour of Soho’s most notorious murder cases, hailed as “one of the top ten curious, quirky, unusual and different things to do in London” and featuring 12 murderers, including 3 serial killers, across 15 locations, totalling 75 deaths, over just a one mile walk.

What part does a domineering mother play in the creation of a future serial killer (especially male mass murderers)? As, with many cases, there seems to be an odd connection between how controlling the matriarch of the family is, and how subservient, afraid, besotted or aroused the son is of his mother. Obviously, although devastating, a violent, scary and domineering mother isn't the only aspect of a serial killer's upbringing which aides their psychological disintegration, but (for many killers) it is an important aspect of their psyche, and often a method to their madness. 

In this blog, we shall be delving into the lives of some of the world's most infamous serial killers and mass-murderers, and asking "what impact did a domineering (and even an uncaring or sexually promiscious) mother have on the upbringing of a future serial-killer?"

As always, this is not a comprehensive or complete list, and it will be updated as and when new information comes to light, so don't get all "stressy" if I'm missing a name or two. Instead, be a sweetie and share your knowledge, by tweeting me @mmiletours. Enjoy the blog. Mx

Ed Gein "The Plainfield Buicher": Raised by his strict Lutheran mother - who kept Ed away from the sinful influences of the outside world, she was staunchly teetotal and regarded all women as "prostitutes" - and Ed was besotted by his mother. But by 1941, Augusta Gein had suffered two strokes and required daily support from Ed to achieve the simplest tasks, and although her son cared for her deeply, she never showed him any affection, which he craved so deeply. 

Unfortunately, on 29th December 1945, Ed’s world collapsed when his Augusta died aged 67, leaving him all alone in an empty family farmstead, unable to cope and grief-stricken over the loss of “best and only friend" and his "one true love”.After her death, Ed dug up freshly laid corpses from Plainfield cemetery in the hope of making himself a "woman suit" and "re-animating his deceased mother". Read a full psychological profile of Ed Gein. ​

Dr Harold Shipman "Doctor Death": Raised as a strict Methodist by his mother Vera, who bestowed upon him a belief that he was superior to everyone else, she was the dominant force in his life, and kept him away from unsavoury influences such as girls, music, films, alcohol and drugs. On 24th June 1963, when Shipman was 17 years old, his beloved mother died after a long battle with lung cancer. Having been her carer, Shipman oversaw her daily needs and during the latter stages of the disease, a local doctor injected her with morphine (a strong painkiller) and Shipman witnessed her release as the insufferable pain subsided. 

This need to “alleviate the pain” and “put elderly women out of their misery” (even if they weren't sick) would mirror the way that Shipman would kill an estimated 257+ patients over a 25 year period. Read a full psychological profile of Harold Shipman. ​

Edmund Kemper "The Co-Ed Butcher": Belittled, humiliated and abused on a daily basis by his neurotic, alcoholic and domineering mother Clarnell Elizabeth Kemper (divorced three times), Ed would often be locked in the basement of their family home overnight, simply for disobeying her orders, he was ridiculed for his size (6 foot 4 inches by the age of 15) and would deny him any affection for fear that a cuddle "would turn him gay". 

Ed shot and killed his grandparents aged 15, spent six years in a psychiatric unit, and then was released into the custody of his abusive mother, who he'd later describe as a "sick angry woman". In April 1973, Kemper battered her to death with a pick hammer as she slept, cut off her head, raped her decapitated torso and used her head as a dartboard. He attempted to flush her vocal chords down the garbage disposal but they were too tough for the waste masher, Ed later stated "that seemed appropriate... (given how) much as she'd bitched and screamed and yelled at me over so many years". ​Where is Edmund Kemper now? Click here. 

Fred West "The Gloucester Road Killer": Growing up on a small farm in Much Marcle, with no electricity nor heating beyond a simple log-fire, and struggling to get any attention from his parents amidst his five other siblings, Fred strived to be his mother's favourite. Seen as a "mother's boy", Fred claimed he was introduced to sex by his mother when he was aged 12 years old, that he engaged in bestiality and that incest in the family was commonplace, but Fred's younger brother Doug claims that this is all false, and a fiction within Fred's vivid imagination. Where's Fred Now? 

Carroll Edward Cole: Whilst his father was serving overseas during World War Two, Cole's mother (a local prostitute, unable to afford a babysitter) would bring her young son with her as she "entertained" young men and would make him watch as she had sex with them, only to be beaten and whipped if he dared tell her husband about her sexual shenanigans. Being born with a girl's name "Carroll" for which he was frequently teased, his abusive mother would often dress him as a girl and would ridicule and beat him for any minor infractions in his duties, hence by his teens, having only had one female role-model in his life, he had began to have a deep-seated hatred of women. Read more about Carroll Edward Cole. 

Bobby Joe Long: Born with an extra X chromosome, during puberty Long began to grow breasts, for which he was mercilessly teased by school-friends and his own mother. As well as suffering numerous serious head injuries as a child, Long slept in the same bed as his angry and domineering mother until he was in his teens, and (as she'd been divorced multiple times, he later stated that) she'd often bring back  a series of lovers to their one-bedroom apartment and would engage in sex with them whilst Long was in the same room, although Long's mother denies his allegations. With a deep-seated hatred of women, Long regarded all women as "sluts and whores" and killed any who reminded him of his mother. Read more about Bobbie Joe Long. 

Henry Lee Lucas: Described as a "violent angry prostitute", Viola Lucas would regularly beat her sons, often for no reason, but the beatings were so brutal that in his early years Lucas was beaten about his head with a two-by-four so hard that he was in a coma for three days. After a fight with his brother when Lucas damaged his eye, she denied his any medical help, an infection spread and he lost his eye. And, having been given a mule (donkey) as a present by his absent father's friends, his mother shot the mule in front of him. On 12th January 1960, Lucas stabbed his mother to death (in self-defence) and claimed that she'd attacked him during the night with a broom. Read more about Henry Lee Lucas

Charles Manson: Born the illegitimate son of (scandalously in the 1940's) a black cook and an unmarried 16 year old mother (Kathleen Maddox), baby Manson was unloved from day one and dubbed "no name Maddox" as his mother couldn't be bothered to name him. She was a violent promiscuous alcoholic thief who successfully traded her son to a childless waitress for a pitcher of beer, and later (after he'd been returned to her), she unsuccessfully tried to have him placed in a foster home and then dumped at a Boy's School, but ten months later, he fled the school to be with his mother... but she rejected him. 

Gary Ridgway "The Green River Killer": Born into a violent, unsettled and argumentative household, to an aggressive father and his domineering mother Mary Rita Ridgway, the terrified boy was in the habit of wetting his bed, for which he would be belittled and ashamed, and yet his mother would immediately bathe him, instilling (what he described as) conflicting feelings of anger and sexual attraction toward her. Read more about Gary Ridgway. 

If you liked this blog, there are many others including murderers and their Kids, serial killers spouses, psychological profiles of Hindley, Brady, Shipman, Gacy, Gein and Dennis Nilsen, killers and their pets, killer cannibals, deadly canals, serial killers by weight, height, zodiac sign, birthday, food, drink, music tastes and failing that there's even some quizzes. 

Michael J Buchanan-Dunne is a writer, crime historian, podcaster and tour-guide who runs Murder Mile Walks, a guided tour of Soho’s most notorious murder cases, hailed as “one of the top ten curious, quirky, unusual and different things to do in London” and featuring 12 murderers, including 3 serial killers, across 15 locations, totalling 75 deaths, over just a one mile walk.

If you love true-crime podcasts, subscribe to Murder Mile true-crime podcast on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podbean, Pocketcast, Stitcher, Acast, Tune-In, Otto Radio or Libsyn

Anytime an infamous serial killer's childhood is mentioned, there are always four topics of conversation which are mentioned as "possible" clues to their terrifying future as a murderer - bed-wetting, animal abuse, arson and - of course - sustaining a serious head injury at an early age. Obviously, these aren't the only factors which create a serial killer, the most important one being abuse by a parent (whether physical, sexual, emotional, or often all three), but in this blog we'll just focus on serial killers who sustained a serious head injury whether by accident or by beatings from an abusive parents during their formative years, and whether their head injury caused a change in their personality, an isolation, or a lack of empathy with other people. That said, I'm not trying to justify their killings by suggesting it was entirely the fault of any brain injury.  

As always, this is not a comprehensive and complete list, there I will be updating it as and when information comes to light, but if you feel there are any cases that need to be added, please feel free to comment below, or tweet me @mmiletours. Enjoy reading. Mx

Glen Edward Rogers "The Cross Country Killer" – As a toddler, aged 1-2 years old, Rogers would sit and rock back and forth, continually banging his forehead against hard surfaces (such as walls, doors, floors) and yet never once cried, as it he had no emotions or feeling. 

Richard Ramirez "The Night Stalker" – Aged two, Ramirez sustained a significant injury to his head when a dresser fell on top of him, causing a laceration which required 30 stitches, and aged five years old, he was knocked out by a swing in the park, this head injury caused him to suffer from epileptic seizures which remained until he was a teenager. 

John Wayne Gacy "The Killer Clown" - Aged six, Gacy as beaten unconscious by his father wielding a broomstick, and aged eleven, he was struck in the head with a swing, which (although not diagnosed until he was sixteen) it resulted in his suffering from black-outs, which were exacerbated by his congenital heart arrhythmia.​​ Read more. 

Fred West "The Gloucester Road Murders" - Aged 17, West suffered a fractured skull in a motorbike accident, which left him unconscious for seven days. Two years later, aged 19, West groped a girl on a fire escape outside the Ledbury Youth Club, she punched him and he fell two floors. Both injuries caused him to blackout and frequently suffer from violent rages. 

David Berkowitz "Son of Sam" - In 1960, six year old David Berkowitz ran into the road outside his childhood home, was struck by a car and suffered unspecified head injuries, although it is not known if this had any lasting affects. A few months later, he ran into a wall and again suffered from head injuries. And aged 8, he was hit on the head with pipe and received a four inch gash. ​

Albert Fish "The Werewolf of Wysteria" - At the age of seven years old, Fish fell from a cherry tree, which caused severe head trauma (exact injuries unspecified) which caused him to suffer from dizzy spells and severe headaches for the rest of his life. 

Ed Gein "The Plainfield Butcher" - Gein came from an abusive family and would later claim that his violent alcoholic father would beat him about the head “so hard my ears would ring”. Read more about Ed Gein

Carlton Gary, aged eight years old, Gary (who suffered from ill-health owing to malnutrition) was knocked unconscious in a playground accident, although the exact details are unspecific. 

Ian Brady "The Moors Murderer" - At the age of ten, Brady was playing with a balloon in the kitchen when he slipped on spilled water (as his adoptive mother was peeling potatoes) and broke his leg. Although there is no reference to a head injury, his leg healed and wouldn’t cause him any pain/injury, it is uncertain whether his affected his personality. Read more about Ian Brady

Gary Heidnek - aged six years old, Heidnek fell out of a tree whilst playing, and although his injuries are unspecified, the fall resulted in his skull being "oddly shaped", for which he was mercilessly teased by the other children. 

Charles Whitman "The Texas Tower Sniper" - Although not injured in an accident, Whitman (who murdered 17 people and injured 31 in a shooting spree), during his autopsy he was found to have a "pecan-sized" tumour inside his brain. 

Alexander Pichushkin "The Chessboard Killer" - Although initially he was a sociable child, Pichushkin's personality changed when he fell backwards off of a swing, which struck him in the forehead as it swung back, damaging his frontal cortex which can produce poor impulse regulation and aggression. 

Robert Joe Long "The Classified Ad Rapist" - Suffered serious head injuries in his early years; aged five he was knocked unconscious when he fell from a swing. Aged six, he lost several teeth and suffered concussion when he crashed his bicycle headfirst into a parked car. Aged seven, he fell off a pony, concussed his head and suffered from dizzy fells and nausea for weeks. 

Peter Sutcliffe "The Yorkshire Ripper" - Sutcliffe was born five days premature and was starved of oxygen at birth, which resulted in him being incubated for the first ten days, fighting for his life. 

Arthur Shawcross "The Genesee River Killer" - Shawcross suffered two relatively serious head injuries during his early years; aged 16 years old he was hit in the head with a sports discus and aged 20 when he fell off a ladder, hitting his head and concussing himself.

Henry Lee Lucas "The Highway Stalker" - Lucas claims to have received numerous head injuries between the ages of five and ten, the most significant was when aged seven, his mother hit him across the back of his head using a two-by-four block of wood. This injury resulted in a three day coma and caused significant damage to the pre-frontal lobe of his brain. 

Dennis Rader "The BTK Killer" - In his recently released biography Confession of a Serial Killer, he stated that as an infant, his mother had accidentally dropped him on his head, he had stopped breathing and had turned blue, but she did not taken him to a hospital. 

Interestingly, after Ted Bundy's execution, his brain was removed during the autopsy and was x-rayed, but showed no evidence of injury or abnormality. It's worth noting, there was a fascinating piece in the Washington Post which claimed that serial killers and more likely to have suffered from a head trauma as a child, or even autism. Read the article here. Criminologist Dr Adrian Raine scanned the brains of 40+ convicted killers and compared them to "ordinary people" and he found that serial killers have lower activity in the pre-frontal area of the brain. “This is the area that controls aggression, concentration and regulates impulse control. Psychopaths also have shrunken amygdala – the seat of the brain that controls emotion, which explains their lack of empathy, remorse or guilt when they hurt others” 

Michael J Buchanan-Dunne is a writer, crime historian, podcaster and tour-guide who runs Murder Mile Walks, a guided tour of Soho’s most notorious murder cases, hailed as “one of the top ten curious, quirky, unusual and different things to do in London” and featuring 12 murderers, including 3 serial killers, across 15 locations, totaling 75 deaths, over just a one mile walk.