So too were Desmond Cussen and David Blakely. ", Mr Hyde replied, "Is my Right Hon and gallant friend aware that what he has said will reassure those members of the public who were alarmed at a statement to the contrary sense made by the Bishop of Stepney, who visited Mrs Ellis shortly before her execution?". Desmond Cussen is an attorney registered with , admitted in 1990. Reluctantly, at midday on 12 July 1955, the day before her execution, Ellis, having dismissed Bickford, the solicitor chosen for her by her friend Desmond Cussen, made a statement to the solicitor Victor Mishcon (whose law firm had previously represented her in her divorce proceedings but not in the murder trial) and his clerk, Leon Simmons. Like Mrs Smith, Doris Geary brought details to light about Ruths movements that previous commentators missed. Edit Related Hubs Section. Why didnt he ask Nickolls about the distance from which the other bullets were fired? He was Blakelys drinking companion at the Magdala on the night of the shooting. Nickolls also testified at the trial that one bullet had been fired at close range, less than 3" from the body, the other bullets, he said, were "fired from a distance. She had been brainwashed and "shielded those people whod picked her..The ones who promised her she wouldnt die. The whole point is that, according to Public Record Office documents, the police in 1955 claimed they were searching for Cussen the evening before Ruth was hanged, to interrogate him about the gun used to kill Blakely; but couldnt find him. Conley made her the manageress of The Little Club in Brompton Road, Knightsbridge. She remembers Ruth as a "first class woman" whom she liked and says she was not the "troublesome blonde" that warders at Holloway had strangely been told to expect. This painful condition stayed with Ruth for the rest of her life. Born 1923 Add or change photo on IMDbPro Add to list More at IMDbPro Contact info Agent info Credits IMDbPro Archive Footage Previous 1 The Ruth Ellis Files: A Very British Crime Story Self (archive footage) TV Series 2018 3 episodes Personal details Edit Born 1923 She had not admitted it before because of getting "someone into possible trouble. Her sister Muriel gave birth to a child through incest with her father, a bully who started sexually abusing Muriel when she was six. At a time when she needed support her close make friend Desmond Cussen gave her a gun and showed her how to use it. He was no ordinary tobacconist businessman. Ruth had a gun hanging from her hand. Before she reached the Old Bailey her fate was determined. Ruth had protected Cussen in her police statement, claiming a man gave her the gun in a club three years previously. It was word perfect. 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. Some appealed to readers with first hand evidence of Ruth Ellis in the early 1950s, to come forward. Refusing any option to reduce her sentence - like pleading insanity or highlighting the role of her new lover Desmond Cussen, whom had given her the gun and driven her to the pub - her hearing. A publicity still showed a beauty queen line-up. General Ironside, who was one of Churchills generals in the Second World War, lived secretly in one. what happened to desmond cussen. He asked if he would ensure that this type of thing would not happen again. : >>>>>>; : ; : I recently came across a question in parliament dated 8th December 1955. When he was just a child, for example, he once walked six miles to donate blood to an . Had she discovered the shady world in which Ruth was involved?Or was this interesting evidence just another coincidence? Id uncovered a treasure-trove of spies addresses all in the same Kensington street - some dating back to 1932. They knew each other for nearly six years, regularly visiting a risky club together in Surrey from the late 1940s. 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. There are more than enough invisible clues to show Ruth was set up. Desmond ran away; somehow made it on a bus, and went far away. The shooting outside the Magdala pub in Hampstead, London on the evening of 10th April 1955 was described as an open-and-shut case of cold-blooded murder. It was my first lesson in detective work: examine every local connection. Furthermore the recoil after each shot would have knocked her backwards. Andre held explosive information but was not interviewed by the police during the investigation into the crime. The cylinder catch revolves the barrel so that the next bullet is in place for the next shot. Doris Gearys brother, Frank Watson was the Tatsfield "cabbie" for 60 years, and chauffeur to Donald Maclean when he lived in the village from December 1950 to May 1951. Ruth's 27 th birthday on 9 th October 1953 was a particularly memorable one. Two days before the hanging, Ellis's lawyers had submitted evidence, including the testimony of witnesses that Blakely had inflicted repeated beatings on her and that she believed he had caused the miscarriage she suffered just 10 days before the shooting with a punch to the stomach. One doesnt assume anything when there is a death sentence looming. What is more, Ruth knew. Yesterday Wednesday 4th July 2007, at 2.18 pm, I received the following email from 10 Downing Street: 10 Downing Street - Petition to the Prime Minister has been Approved. obituary sophia martinez gokey. WHAT HAPPENED TO DESMOND'S FLASHES OF THE FUTURE? The hanging could easily have been postponed until theyd found him. Desmond Cussen is the General Counsel at Fandom. He was an off-duty policeman who happened to be in the Magdala that fateful evening. More than 17 books and the 1985 film Dance with a Stranger have looked at the events leading up to Ellis's execution, but answers to some of the puzzles that remained unsolved have emerged only in the past few years. Find the perfect desmond cussen stock photo, image, vector, illustration or 360 image. She was executed by hanging in July 1955, and indeed, was the last woman executed in Britain. On 21 May 2005 The Mirror newspaper published an exclusive story, NO PARDON FOR ELLIS. Desmond has been featured in major outlets such as The New York Times, NBC News . In a conversation with Sylvia Smith, she told me that Ruth Ellis and David Blakely, who she described as a "good looking young man" frequented the pub between approximately 1951 and 1953. Sir Paul Beresford MP wrote to Home Secretary Charles Clarke on my behalf. Ruth Ellis with Desmond Cussen (Image: Daily Mirror) Blakely was pronounced dead at the scene and was found to have multiple injuries to the intestines, liver, lung, aorta and trachea. Apparently nobody else was involved. It was well known apparently in Blakelys social circle. Somewhere hidden in books written about the Cold War, Cussens other identity is waiting to be uncovered. He lived in 1881, at address. In the Air Force List at the Public Record Office the entry for Desmond Cussen, 197248, was odd. By 4th June 2002, three months after beginning my research, new light had been thrown on Cussens wartime activities. Dance with a Stranger (Widescreen): Amazon.ca: Miranda . 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. Ruth replied, "Quite right. 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. I received three replies. His character was best known for his "old African sayings". ", she sealed her fate by responding: "It is obvious that when I shot him I intended to kill him.". Mark Frost threw fans a bone and expounded on Annie's fate in his new canon novel Twin Peaks: The Final Dossier, although her ending isn't exactly a cheery one. Fiona Mactaggart MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State replied to Sir Paul Beresfords letter: "The case of Ruth Ellis has always attracted interest over the years and more particularly in this the fiftieth anniversary of her execution. On the surface, the platinum-blond model may. She recalled that on occasions "Ruth would come in on her own, invariably crying saying David had vanished. 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. If they had known the full story, Ruth would not have been convicted of murder or hanged. I was so alarmed at my findings on 9th May 2002, I wrote in my diary, "Papers at the Royal Court of Justice have been adjusted; gun, police, timings.". Referring to the rheumatic fever for which Ruth had been admitted to the hospital as a teenager, he said bones in her left-hand ring finger had been destroyed and were badly affected by septic arthritis. In 1955, at the age of 28, Ellis was the last woman to be hanged in the UK after she shot her lover dead outside a pub in Hampstead two months earlier. The Sevenoaks Chronicle, Warrington-Worldwide, Cornish Guardian and Northumberland Gazette are just a few of the local papers that published reports about the book. Found 250 colleagues at Gracenote. Melford Stevenson QC, assisted by Mr Sebag Shaw and Mr Peter Rawlinson instructed by Messrs Cardew-Smith and Ross appeared on behalf of the prisoner Ruth Ellis. She told me about Ruths last few minutes before her execution. 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. 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. More witnesses from 50 years ago had revealing things to say. She was pointing it towards Blakelys dead body. Related Hubs. ", At the Old Bailey on 20th June Mrs Yule was not asked if she recognised the prisoner. Justice Havers directed the jury; he was "judge, jury, defence and prosecution. I took her in. Source: History Extra. All have spoken out for the first time.One gentleman from Penn in Buckinghamshire casually mentioned to me that the family of Donald Maclean had lived in the village for thirty years. Ruth didnt murder anybody. I couldnt tell her.". But the judge, Sir Cecil Havers, ruled it out. Dapdune was coincidentally just 300 yards from Leatherhead hospital where Arthur Neilson, Muriel Jakubaits father, was an in-patient for a year. Available for both RF and RM licensing. Desmond Cussen works as a General Counsel at Fandom, which is a Broadcasting company with an estimated 200 employees; and founded in 1999. Ruth Ellis and David Blakely were a tragedy waiting to happen. BBC Radio Kent broadcast a feature and News item after reading my appeal in the Sevenoaks Chronicle for readers recollections of the House at Home between 1951 and 1953.No one else came forward with further evidence of Ruths connection with the pub at this time. David Blakely was away at the Le Mans races. ", On 27th May 1955, Mr W Mackenzie, medical registrar at St Giles hospital prepared a report for Ruths solicitor Mr Bickford. The Cussen and Co microfiches led to another breakthrough in my investigation. It was a long shot. "This was the opinion that Christmas Humphreys, the prosecuting counsel at Ruth Elliss murder trial, was still vehemently defending twenty-seven years later when he spoke to Ruths son Andre McCallum. It is standard procedure in all police stations for the arresting officer to make a list of possessions belonging to the prisoner on a charge sheet. Therefore she was guilty. Registration Number: 2333870 : Full Name: DESMOND CUSSEN : First Name: DESMOND : At her first court appearance she saw a youngish man run out of the saloon bar of the Magdala, "followed, almost on his heels, by a blonde woman. "I kept pushing it and pushing it and pushing it. The message reaching the public in 1955 was of the common, peroxide blonde, nightclub manageress who was a part-time prostitute.The message not reaching the public was about the poorly educated, gullible young woman, desperate for money and who probably unwittingly became involved with spying and died in a dramatic way for her country, in the process.Five years before her death, Ruth, looking very different with natural auburn hair, frequented the White Hart Hotel in Brasted, Kent, which was more like a private club. He was recalling what Cussen told him in 1955: how Ruth lied at the trial and how he (Bickford) had hidden that information. But Ruths list of property and clothing is noticeable by its absence. It was an understatement. Jakubait and her mother visited Ellis on the eve of her execution. 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. After Bickfords confession a police investigation followed but no further action regarding Cussen was taken. 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." I was baffled. The Welsh peroxide blonde glamour model turned cold . Ruth stood no chance against them.The story about spying and the shadowy characters in Ruths circle continued to unravel by an extraordinary twist of fate. He was an ARP warden based in General Ironsides house that had been commandeered by the government for the Home Guard when it was first formed. Forensic expert Lewis Charles Nickolls, Director of the Metropolitan Police Laboratory examined the revolver and bullets. She was holding a gun, pointing it at a dying man. 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? Nobody has ever put two-and-two together before.The trumped up murder charge that Ruth admitted to and for which she was hanged obscured the truth about Britain "in the grips of a spying scandal.". It has also been claimed that Desmond was a party to the killing. But neither Frost's book nor . Watch popular content from the following creators: Brayton(@braytontheschoolbullyvip), Desmond Dennis(@desmonddennis), Desmond Dennis(@desmonddennis), Desmond Dennis(@desmonddennis), Desmond(@desmond__2006) . One of the pleasures in my new detective role is scrutinising every new lead!So on 2nd May 2002 I wrote to the Leatherhead local paper asking for anyone to contact me if they had memories of wartime in Garlands Road. A loaded phrase, bearing in mind the details that have come to light about Ruths double life.Like Christine Keeler in 1963, Ruth was in a position to bring down the government with what she knew. Stevenson stuck to his word. Discover short videos related to Desmond Cussen on TikTok. It would appear he deliberately omitted the reference to the effort needed to fire the Smith and Wesson gun. Either way, the truth has been obscured. Ruth had to be found guilty. After months of research and trawling through electoral registers and directories I realised I hadnt just found a safe house, Id found a safe street! He was from an exceptionally well to do family. There are no answers to any of these questions in any police file about the case. Evelyn Galilee was the warder who guarded Ruth in the condemned cell for three weeks before her execution. She calmly admitted murdering Blakely. Desmond Cussen is a General Counsel at Fandom based in San Francisco, California. Muriel never could understand why her sister didnt put up a fight, if only for the sake of her children.But its the circumstances of Ruths police statement, in a previously unpublished Home Office file, which were odd.It sounded as if she had previously rehearsed her statement. They had to be tight. Norman Beaton's wasn't the only tragic death to come out of the Desmond's cast. the stylings and visuals evoke an inky, foggy london that was still struggling to get back on its feet after world war ii. Over the years, Desmond Cussen, Ruths so-called alternative lover, has been described as a bit of a drip, an unassuming, docile, father figure. As far as I am aware, they have not previously been made public. Go and have a chat with her.". 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. Ruth Ellis admitted pulling the trigger of the heavy .38 Smith and Wesson British service revolver. "Is that all right?" I can only guess there was an unwritten law that exempted them from being properly cross-examined. It can be no accident that Christine Keeler, Mandy Rice-Davies, John Profumo and osteopath Dr Stephen Ward were frequent visitors there at the same time as Cussen. The authorities considered prosecuting Cussen, who later died in Australia, as an accessory, but decided it would be impossible without Ellis as a witness. "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. Education. A prison officer who had sat in on the interview confirmed Mishcon's account but added that Ellis had said she asked Cussen for the gun, a detail that was to prove crucial to the Home Secretary's decision to let her hang. Desmond Cussen was born in 1923 in Epsom, Surrey, England, UK. Christmas Humphreys opened the case for the prosecution. 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. In what appeared to be an open-and-shut case of cold-blooded murder, where a prostitute murdered one of her lovers, it didnt matter about anyone else.But those characters should have been investigated.David Blakely had a darker side. (Features) by "Western Mail (Cardiff, Wales)"; News, opinion and commentary General interest . Where she was travelling to is another mystery. He gave the prosecution an easy time, subjecting prosecution witnesses to a minimum of cross-examination. The only documented evidence being two entries on the voters list for 1950 and 1951.The defection of Donald Maclean and Guy Burgess was being planned at that time.By 1949 Maclean was under suspicion for passing secrets to the Russians. But in 2019, she had her conviction overturned and finally walked free. The statement was changed to read "The accused was firing the gun into his back," not the same. It seems that he was . So the question of their stay near Westerham remains a mystery. Too many crucial questions were left unasked. It was a place where the best people from London secretly congregated when there were parties on. She said, "I had been there and knew this was all wrong.". His words "She was holding the revolver loosely" (crossed out) "pointing it downwards at a slant" (crossed out) became "she was holding the revolver in her right hand pointing it downwards.".