what happened to desmond cussen

He must have known about the gun breaking. I suspect that the gun conveniently broke during test firing as the results would have cleared Ruth of the murder. She was protecting someone.The two-day murder trial was a travesty. During an interview in August 2005 on BBC Radio London, Vanessa Feltz was curious to know what Cussen was doing between 1941 and 1945. Theyd actually enjoyed each others company for approximately six years; something that has never been made public. Firstly he joined the RAF aged seventeen, trained mainly in South Africa, was a bomber pilot, throughout the war, flying Lancasters and was demobbed in 1946. In May 1950 he returned to England and was kept under surveillance by MI5. Take the murder weapon, a heavy .38 Smith and Wesson revolver. At the time of the trial, provocation was narrowly interpreted, applying only to killers who reacted "in hot blood" to something happening immediately before the killing. This sensational finding was pivotal in uncovering the real Ruth Ellis story.Most people associate Wards name with the 1960s Profumo scandal. Another mystery: the Metropolitan Police did forensics on the gun and on Blakely but not on Ruth. obituary sophia martinez gokey. There was no need to consider if 28 year-old Ruth, the 52," 7-stone woman with tiny bird-like hands, one gnarled as a result of rheumatic fever, with poor eyesight and suffering the after effects of a recent miscarriage, was physically capable of shooting anyone. One led me to a new witness, John Steel, an elderly Leatherhead gent, with a phenomenally accurate memory for everything wartime. Theres no record in any file of fingerprints even being taken or evidence on her fingers or clothing of having fired a gun. Cussen, who moved to Australia after the trial, has since died. Looking at the transcript of the trial released over forty years after Ruths death its clear how Ruth Ellis, who pleaded not guilty, was given scant help by our judicial system. At a time when she needed support her close make friend Desmond Cussen gave her a gun and showed her how to use it. Explore the latest videos from hashtags: #desmond, #desmonddoss, #desmondcroes, #desmondoss, #desmonddennis . Eleanor Hogg was the policewoman who guarded Ruth all night in her cell at Hampstead police station, following her arrest. Related Hubs. What happened Desmond Cussens? Andre secretly taped their three-hour conversation at the Buddhist Society in London.Just weeks later Andre, aged 38 committed suicide.Humphreys was blinkered; for it was exactly what was going on in the background, amongst the shady characters in Ruths circle, that led to the shooting of her ex public schoolboy lover David Blakely outside the Magdala pub in Hampstead in 1955 and to Ruths execution three months later.Ruths friends, some were prosecution witnesses at her trial, were more complicated than you would imagine from simple statements they made at the Old Bailey.As I read the transcript of the trial and police statements it was clear that nobody was interested in witnesses backgrounds. All Melford Stevenson had to say was "No questions.". Using new evidence that Ive uncovered, I say we now need to go back to the scene of the murder, choose a dark evening at about 9.30 pm and reconstruct the crime. I can confirm that an application for a posthumous free pardon, limited to sentence, was considered and rejected earlier this year.". I suspect that forensics were not carried out on Ruth, and the gun conveniently broke during testing because the results would have saved her and proved she could not have killed Blakely. The Welsh peroxide blonde glamour model turned cold . He was usually portrayed as Blakely's scathing rival for Ruth's affections. But neither Frost's book nor . Cussen had one gun and gave another to Ruth. He then repeated that the other shots had been fired at a distance. During one of many visits to the Public Record Office (PRO) I was surprised to find buried in a Home Office document, that Ruths lover was actually homosexual. During the Christmas of 2005 I sorted through information that kept coming in. As stated earlier he was a director of the family business, a wholesale tobacconists called Cussen & Co. If they had known the full story, Ruth would not have been convicted of murder or hanged. "He looked like a rat and was an extremely jealous person, " she says. At the time of her trial, the case against Ellis, a nightclub hostess and manager, seemed overwhelming. Also the "Letter officer" at Holloway prison would have blanked out names on letters that Ruth sent from prison, yet names are clearly mentioned in Ruths correspondence. It was accepted at the time that the residue from an exploding cartridge is driven backwards on to the hand that pulls the trigger. "It seems they may have actually known each other a lot longer. The Ruth Ellis story wasnt about a crime of passion it looked that way though.The shooting of Blakely obscured the truth about the country in the grips of a spying scandal. In her letter to Muriel Jakubait she wrote, "When Cussen, as I believe he is named, appeared behind her I was frightened. Did her light-coloured suit that she was apparently wearing show evidence of oil residue from the bullets? On the surface, the platinum-blond model may. "In effect she signed her own death warrant. The hanging could easily have been postponed until theyd found him. The impression of the "ineffective drip" was quite misleading. The next few months were busy. It was in case anything came out. I believe she thought that at the last minute they'd say, 'You'll go to prison instead.'". Justice Havers directed the jury; he was "judge, jury, defence and prosecution. Her counsel, Melford Stevenson, had wanted to argue provocation as a defence. Its clear to me he had some sort of immunity. OK 100%100 56 50 669/10 221AW Desmond Cussen Ruth Ellis: The model who smiled at her executioner New exhibition explores the life of the last woman to be put to death in Britain MOST READ 1 Irish cookbook is number one. Jakubait believes that her sister protected him during the trial because he had promised to look after her family. She claimed at the time to have been given the gun by an American serviceman as security for a nightclub debt, and to have taken a taxi to the pub. One London address in Kensington stood out. ", At the Old Bailey on 20th June Mrs Yule was not asked if she recognised the prisoner. The former hostess had tracked her inconstant and abusive lover David Blakely to a Hampstead pub a few months before getting the ride, and the murder weapon, from her unrequited hanger-on Desmond Cussen and shot Blakely dead on the street. She read something about Cussen and the murder in a national paper but dismissed it as "ill-informed." Originally he described Ruth pursuing Blakely and pointing the gun at his back. In the spring of 1969 Ruths widowed mother, Berta Neilson, was found unconscious in a gas-filled room in her flat in Hemel Hempstead; she never fully recovered and did not speak coherently again. The last of Ruth's family, she has been fighting for nearly 50 years to overturn her sister's conviction. I met Mr Wallis, a retired Leatherhead dentist with an interesting story to tell about the very private Paddock Club at the end of a long gravel drive in the Surrey village of Ashtead. it delves into her relationships not only with David Blakely and Desmond Cussen, but shows the impact Blakely's friends the Findlaters had on Ruth, and which may have contributed to her . Desmond has been featured in major outlets such as The New York Times, NBC News . Over the years, Desmond Cussen, Ruths so-called alternative lover, has been described as a bit of a drip, an unassuming, docile, father figure. Like Ellis, Challen was subjected to decades of abuse at the hands of her husband and this was recognised in her appeal, which took into account the insidious nature of coercive control. They are part of the Legal Counsel team within the Legal Department Desmond graduated from Cornell University School of Law in 1989 and is currently based in San Francisco, United States. On April 10 1955, Ruth was ready to end it all and headed to the Magdala pub where David was drinking. He was recalling what Cussen told him in 1955: how Ruth lied at the trial and how he (Bickford) had hidden that information. Much later it emerged that her friend and "sugar daddy", Desmond Cussen, an accountant with whom she had had a brief sexual liaison, had driven her to the pub and provided the gun. Might the results of the test firing of the gun have planted a seed of doubt in the minds of the jury about Ruths shooting capability? The incident happened 10 days after he punched her in the stomach and caused her to miscarry their baby. The Sevenoaks Chronicle, Warrington-Worldwide, Cornish Guardian and Northumberland Gazette are just a few of the local papers that published reports about the book. Somewhere hidden in books written about the Cold War, Cussens other identity is waiting to be uncovered. I used to think Ruth was behind me doing it. A firearms expert advised me that accuracy with a .38 Smith and Wesson would have been hopeless except in trained hands. It would have been crucial in confirming that Cussen was near to the scene of the crime.The authorities appear to have ignored any explanation of events other than the one that would lead to Ruths execution. It came as something of a surprise to find a hand written document signed by Cussen in London in May 1964. In return they did the dirty work, becoming a listening service for intelligence organisations, gathering information from high-powered men, generally in their beds, during the Cold War.Both Ward and Antony Beauchamp, about whom little was known, were members of the Little Club in Knightsbridge, also shrouded in mystery, the club where Ruth Ellis would become manageress in 1953.The Press tried to portray it as some sort of low-class dive for losers.Its membership actually included King Hussein of Jordan, film stars Douglas Fairbanks Jnr and Burt Lancaster, society photographer Baron a close friend of Prince Philip, racing driver Stirling Moss and Anthony Armstrong-Jones who became Princess Margarets husband.Ruth fitted the bill for Ward and Beauchamps game. Edward had 6 siblings: George Cussen, Cornelius Cussen and 4 other siblings. Ruth replied, "Quite right. Bear in mind foreign travel then was fairly limited apart from business matters. Available for both RF and RM licensing. It followed my discovery of Desmond Cussens signature on a business document in 1964 while he was lying low at a London hotel. At the magistrates court in 1955 Cussen stated hed known Blakely, "Just over two years, maybe three." What is more, Ruth knew. Instead he summarised, "We have heard the evidence about your taking a revolver up to Hampstead and shooting him. "Would you pull these tapes Evelyn, Ill pull the others." When I began ghost writing Muriel Jakubaits autobiography I intended to find the truth about her sister Ruth. I dismissed the taxi and walked back down the road to the nearest pub where I saw Davids car outside.". sharepoint 2013 to 2016 migration checklist. On Easter Sunday, 10th April, Ellis arrived outside the pub where Blakely was drinking. There are no answers to any of these questions in any police file about the case. Desmond Cussen was an expert liar, disguised as a boring businessman and usually portrayed as Blakelys rival for Ruths attention. Over the years, Desmond Cussen, Ruth's so-called alternative lover, has been described as a bit of a drip, an unassuming, docile, father figure. Nickolls did not say what distance. Yet he did not ask Ruth what made her take a twelve-minute walk in the dark when she could have taken the taxi that she was in. She was very calm. Desmond Napoles is a teenager who is changing the world. Jakubait remembers no mention of her sister's imminent death, only small talk. "And that is where the truth of what really happened remained hidden in the background for nearly fifty years.It will shock most people to learn that Ruth Ellis fell under the spell of Dr Stephen Ward in the 1940s. He starts to live a fulfilling life. she said to me. Firstly, all her letters (photocopied from the originals at the Public Record Office) were written in pen. But it was not enough to save her, although nine out of 10 women sentenced to death in the 20th century have been reprieved and served jail terms instead. He said Ruth took a gun which she knew was loaded, and shot David Blakely dead by "emptying that revolver at him, four bullets going into his body, one hitting a bystander in the hand, and the sixth going we know not where. One bullet was fired at close range, therefore the other three bullet wounds in Blakelys body, had been fired accurately from a distance, out of arms reach. Desmond ran away; somehow made it on a bus, and went far away. Evidence showing that Ruth was innocent of the crime she was hanged for.We also identify the group of people in Ruths circle who conspired against her, planned the murder of Blakely with military precision and left Ruth holding a smoking gun.The day before Ruth was hanged, having dismissed her solicitor Mr Bickford who represented her at her trial, she was visited in the condemned cell at Holloway prison by Mr Mishcon, now Lord Mishcon, and Mr Simmons, solicitors whom she consulted on domestic matters prior to the murder.Simmons asked her what really happened on the day of the shooting. Desmond Cussen is the General Counsel at Fandom. : >>>>>>; : ; : This painful condition stayed with Ruth for the rest of her life. I noticed this statement made by Clive Gunnell who called himself a Mayfair car salesman. A statement made by Police Constable Thompson caught my eye. As well as provocation, they claim she suffered from diminished responsibility, another partial defence that can reduce a murder charge to manslaughter. From a young age, Desmond Doss, born on February 7, 1919, radiated the kind of empathy that he'd display as a soldier later in life. My mum said, 'Don't ask any questions and let Ruth do the talking.' It seems odd therefore that twenty-three days after the start of my research I began uncovering alarming inconsistencies to the accepted story about him.Was it just poor research by commentators over the last fifty years or had those writers been fed misinformation, part of the big lie being spread, to hoodwink the public about the real Ruth Ellis story? The real murderer was Desmond Cussen. (Another missed entirely and winged a passerby.) With many theories about what really happened, this account attempts to lay out the facts, rather than speculating on hearsay and unprovable notions. Nickolls evidence went unchallenged. This video. The scandal that Keeler was having a simultaneous affair with a Soviet spy led to Profumos resignation.Years later it was revealed Ward had been a double agent, working for MI5 and for the KGB.Those who think his spying activities began and ended in 1963 should think again.Stephen Wards involvement with pretty, young girls who became the eyes and ears for his spying activities did not just start suddenly in 1963. That day Melford Stevenson applied for the case to be postponed until after 14th June, "Owing to the large number of enquiries still to be made by the defence." Over two years, maybe three. stated hed known Blakely, Just. 1960S Profumo scandal outside the pub where Blakely was drinking take the murder 2005. Wesson would have been hopeless except in trained hands her letters ( from! To think Ruth was behind what happened to desmond cussen doing it has since died 10 1955, Ruth was behind doing... 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