Haig john

In 1930, John Haig almost went to jail. At that time he worked in an advertising firm and was considered a very promising employee. His fees were almost the highest at the agency, but he was low. He agreed with the client that he would intentionally understate the cost of the contract, and they would share the difference. The scam came to light quickly. The owners of the company managed to prove that Haig acted arbitrarily. John spent a lot of money on expensive lawyers, lost his car (sports Alfa Romeo), work, got into debt, but he managed to avoid responsibility. In 1934, Haig went to prison for 15 months because of a scam selling a rented car ^[2] . During his incarceration, Haig read a lot, including newspapers and magazines. There, he came across an article about the Paris lawyer Maitri Sarrete, who was executed for a double murder in 1934 ^[3] .

Haig was not particularly interested in the article. After serving his sentence, he was released. For some time he worked in an amusement park run by William Maxwen. Here he was very much appreciated (for a year and a half he made a career from driver to deputy director). Soon, he decided to start his own household business. So he spoke to everyone. In fact, Haig registered an invisibility company, took a commodity credit, sold it at a lower price and tried to hide ^[2] . He again went to prison, where he spent 4 years. His cellmate, experienced in legal intricacies, told John about " corpus delicti ". Haig also remembered the “Sarrett case” and its way of getting rid of the bodies. While still in prison, he decided to conduct the necessary experiments. In prison, there was a workshop on tinning and soldering metal products, where sulfuric acid was used. He settled in the workshop and began to steal acid. When a certain amount had accumulated, Haig caught the mouse and placed it in acid. And watched as the acid dissolves organic. John declared prisoners that he was ready to buy mice for experiments ^[2] .

Killings

Haig was released from prison in 1942 , and began to prepare for the first murder. He rented a semi-basement, brought a large barrel with a valve at the bottom. Began to import acid there. All these preparations took Haig almost two years.

An old acquaintance of Haig, William Maxwen, met John in Kensington in the summer of 1944 . He hailed Haig, whom he had not seen for several years. They went to a cafe, drank coffee, talked. In September 1944, Haig lured William into the forest, where he killed him ^[2] . Now it was necessary to deliver the body to the basement and finally try to practice one’s own idea. Haig carried the body to the basement and put it in a barrel, where he poured acid. At the same time, he himself almost suffocated from sulfur vapor. Haig lied to Maxven's parents that he left for Scotland, hiding from mobilization. Parents believed: they really liked Haig. Almost a year later, Haig lured Maxven's parents into the woods and killed them. Their bodies, he dissolved in sulfuric acid. Then he sold out their property. When asked about property owners, Haig responded that they had left for the United States ^[2] . After that, after killing two more people, he turned his attention to her roommate Olivia Durand-Decon. An elderly woman Haig offered to participate in the production of false nails. The conversation took place with a witness, Olivia's friend, Constance Lane. On February 19, 1949, Haig brought Olivia to Kervli, led her to the outhouse, and killed her. It was necessary to arrange an alibi. Constance had heard that it was Olivia who made the trip with Hayg ^[2] .

Exposing

John came to Lane the next day and said that Olivia never came to the station, where they agreed to meet. Constance said it was urgent to go to the police and Haig could not refuse. In the police, John stated that he was the director of the company “Harstle Product” and repeated the legend of Olivia who had not arrived at the station. Behaved calmly and confidently. The case fell into the hands of a female detective sergeant Lambourne ^[2] . She conducted the third interrogation of Haig as a witness, and he did not instill confidence in her, appearing to be overly compliant. He repeated his testimony without apparent contradictions, but attentive and corrosive Lambourne found it necessary to verify his data and her suspicions were justified - by searching, she found out about many suspicious facts about Haig’s fraudulent career. At her request, a note was published in the newspaper about the disappearance of Olivia Durand-Deon. Next to the portrait were photographs of Lane and Haig. The day after the publication, the owner of the Lombard shop came to the police. He said that on February 19 , on the day Olivia disappeared, John Haig came to him. He asked to evaluate women's jewelry. But the price did not suit him. Two days later, he came back and sold the jewelry, not arguing about the price. The jewelry was presented by Constance Lane, and she recognized Olivia’s things in them. It became clear that Haig was involved in the disappearance. He was taken to the station ^[2] .

After three hours of interrogation, pressed against circumstantial evidence, Haig calmly confessed to the murder. However, he did it without a lawyer, and therefore he could subsequently refuse his words. Moreover, he told the police not only about the murder of Olivia, but also about the murders of 5 more people. He was fully confident that the court would not authorize arrest. However, the famous forensic expert at Scotland Yard, Professor Keith Simpson, collected enough indirect material remains (gallstone, Mrs. Durand-Deon's denture, traces of blood on the floor in the barn in Crowley ), which allowed the judge to decide on the involvement of John Hurag in the disappearance of Olivia Durand Decon and imprison him. Then the frightened Haig decided to feign insanity and told him that he had killed his victims for the sole purpose of drinking their blood. A body dissolved in acid, so that no one would guess about the true causes of murder ^[2] .

Haig made an agreement with the News of the World newspaper. He promised an exclusive autobiography and a story about his crimes, in exchange for the work of the best lawyers in the country. In his autobiography, he wrote that he killed more than 20 people ^[2] . He was tried, and the jury deliberated only 15 minutes. Then John Haig was unanimously recognized as sane and guilty of the murder of Olivia Durand-Deon Haig was sentenced to death ^[2] . Haig was hanged on August 10, 1949 ^[2] in Wandsworth Prison ^[4] .

The haiga pantry still exists in the city of Crawley, West Sussex, being a familiar target for criminal tourism.

• After the execution, Haig’s personal clothes and hair were transferred to Madame Tussauds to make a wax figure.
• The song “ Acid Bath Vampire ” of the group “ Macabre ” tells about John Hage.

• John Haigh: The Acid Bath Murderer (English) . The circulation date is December 10, 2010. Archived March 15, 2012.
• Alina Maximova. "Ideal crimes" of the London vampire ... // Crime . - April 1, 2010. - № 14 (622) .