John Haigh - Acid Bath Murderer

John is a charismatic and calculating man who has a knack for getting close to people. Beneath his charming exterior lies a dark ambition: to take everything they've worked for. He cleverly manipulates their trust, playing the role of a loyal friend while secretly plotting their downfall. His intelligence and charm make him a master of deception, leaving his friends unaware of the acid bath that awaits them.

Sources:

• Wikipedia - John Haigh and John George Haigh
• YouTube Serial Killer Documentary: John Haigh (The Acid Bath Murderer)

Instagram: 72_media

Email: 72HousePodcast@gmail.com

Transcript

0:00
All right, fellas, welcome back.
So let me start this off by putting out a request.
0:05
So anyone that works in a field where you deal with emergency based services and see some of the
craziness that comes out of that world, whether you're a nurse, doctor, firefighter, PD, you name it
0:22
or.
Just a civilian that has a crazy story because my.
0:24
Oh 100% a lot of.
People don't know this, but my my brother pulled someone out of a fire because it's just really,
0:29
yeah, just walking past you just and you got.
Burned no shit.
0:32
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, that's a good point, Lance.
0:34
Civilians, anyone with a story that we could tell on this show and put it out there.
Put in the subject line.
0:43
How about cool story?
Just put cool sweet story dude.
0:46
Yeah, bro.
Please do if you got any of those stories, send them in to us. 72 House K Jack 7 Stabbing, 1000 E
1:00
Mission Dr. 72 House K Jack 7 All right, Bingo Bango.
Welcome to another episode of 72 House Dinner at the Deuce.
1:16
I'm one of your hosts, Víctor García.
To my left we got Kung Fu Kenny.
1:21
Again, he's starting to make a a pretty decent comeback.
You know, I keep fighting.
1:26
It isn't.
And I win.
1:27
We got fancy, Lance Carlson.
On my right, I made it.
1:30
Yeah, I'm here.
Yes, Sir.
1:32
All right, pull up a chair, grab a plate.
It's time for dinner at the Deuce.
1:36
Chow's on.
Yum Yum, Yum, Yum Yum.
1:38
All right, so let's start with some small talk here for a minute.
You guys moved into your new station?
1:43
Yes, ran your last call at the deuce at the old deuce and ran your first call at the new deuce.
And it's now truly the Hilton on Hardy.
1:53
It's a very nice station.
Super nice.
1:56
Absolutely.
We obviously, we walked through it with you guys.
1:58
Yesterday and man, that is a nice house.
There was a little bit of sadness just because I'd been in one room my whole entire.
2:04
Career the dirtiest room there, yeah.
And it's.
2:07
Completely disgusting.
You're a disgusting human being.
2:09
I know I am, for the record.
Yes, I just want to be clear with that.
2:13
You're disgusting.
Yeah, but now there's a new station for you to be disgusting and so here.
2:17
We go exactly.
Let's go.
2:20
Yeah.
So that's kind of cool.
2:21
And I thought that was cool for the podcast because we are obviously dinner at the Deuce.
Yeah, which is that house.
2:28
So yeah, brand new house, brand new Deuce to start this podcast off, which is kind of cool.
What else, Kenny?
2:37
What else you got going?
Man I feel like I'm on the spot so I got nothing.
2:45
Perfect.
That's what I expected.
2:47
Though, Well, you know, yeah, when you live like my life.
That's just great.
2:52
Yeah.
All right.
2:52
What about you Fancy?
Well, I don't want to talk.
2:56
I don't want to spend all day talking about me.
Let's just get to the murders.
2:59
Oh yeah, that's why I'm here.
All right, fair enough.
3:02
So this is a good one actually, Lance, this is one that you sent me and a lot of times I don't like
doing the really old ones because it's just hard for people to connect with them.
3:14
I think 'cause they were so long ago.
But I got to reading this one and it, it was really good.
3:21
I was like, man, this is a sick fuck.
So perfect one to do.
3:25
Obviously one of our podcasts on.
So the guy's name is John George.
3:29
Hey, Haigh.
Hey, so John was born on July 24th, 19 O nineteen O 9 in Stamford, Lincolnshire, England.
3:43
Have you been to England, Kenny?
No, I have not.
3:46
Wow, all the places you've been in.
Not England, huh?
3:49
No, just never made it there yet.
All right, so his parents were John Robert and Emily Hay, and they were members of a very strict
4:02
religious sect called the Plymouth Brethren.
And this is a obviously, like I said, a very strict religion that broke off from mainstream
4:12
Christianity because they believe that basically the churches weren't following the Old Testament to
the letter of the law.
4:21
Now, is this the I want to say one of the kings of England actually broke away from the church
because he wanted to divorce his wife and that at the time the Catholic trick would church wouldn't
4:33
let you do it.
So he just came up with his own religion.
4:35
Is this the one that we're talking about?
It's not OK, sorry.
4:38
I'll shut up.
No, dude, you know how it is.
4:40
There's a every Tom, Dick and Harry's come up with their own religion.
Matter of fact, Seth and Dilly have come up with their own religion and it's going to be 5% tithes.
4:53
It's this isn't this is a budget.
Oh, worship God on a budget.
4:58
Yes, and they say you can for five.
Percent.
5:02
You can write a list and get anything you want.
Prostitutes 35 virgins.
5:07
No kidding.
Wait, what?
5:08
All for 5%. 5% that's.
My, I'm not going to lie.
5:12
Salary, yeah, go to them.
What is it I haven't?
5:15
Been a test this theory and you still get full time.
Yeah, you get full time heaven though.
5:20
You do your planet, whatever you.
Want you know it sounds like T MU heaven to.
5:24
Me.
Wait, wait, are we talking about when I die or like?
5:27
Now you, you have to have faith.
This is when you die.
5:29
Well, I have faith if it's there now.
No, no, no, no.
5:32
So no prostitutes.
I have to wait.
5:34
No, no, you went.
To faith in LC.
5:36
Now they're just taking my money.
Come on, come on.
5:38
I got duped.
So these.
5:39
Folks are strict.
They're super strict.
5:42
And as you can imagine, in the Hay household, little Johnny wasn't allowed to have any friends
outside of the church.
5:51
Smart.
Yeah, his parents believed that, which is not far from the truth.
5:55
The world was evil and they should basically stick to their own.
So he literally had no friends.
6:05
His friends were his Pets at Home.
And to even to even take it a step further, they the family built like a super high fence in their
6:17
yard to even keep them away from their neighbors.
That makes sense, yeah.
6:21
Yeah, yeah.
And probably put a shot caller on him just in case he gets wild.
6:25
Oh, absolutely.
Have you worn one of those things?
6:26
Yeah, they hurt him.
They're they're impressive.
6:28
Oh, you've worn 1?
Yeah, I'll show you a video after the pod.
6:31
All right, whatever bro.
So as you can imagine young kids, the thought of discipline and evil and a God, these things are
6:42
scary to young kids.
And so John starts having dreams slash nightmares about well about bloody crosses, church related
6:52
shit.
And he does play some of the blame of who he became on the way he was raised.
7:00
There was a lot of fear and consequence and things that a young child just doesn't grasp.
Now, I will also say this, you're going to see in this story the things that he did and the murders
7:13
that he committed.
He tried to claim a insanity plea.
7:18
And so he went back.
And a lot of these things that he talked about, I don't know if it's complete bullshit to try and
7:25
make him look like he was insane or if they actually were really parts of how he grew up.
You know, I mean, he definitely grew up in that religious sect, but whether his parents messed him
7:35
up or not, I don't know.
If if you're insane, do you know you're insane?
7:39
If you're truly insane, do you know you're insane?
No, you don't.
7:42
Right, so someone has to tell you you're out of your mind.
And then you go, no, you're out of your mind.
7:47
Yeah, and then you don't know what.
You're talking about it's like talking to my wife.
7:51
It's, it just seems like a, like a, like a, like a strategy.
You know, if you're going, no, I can't be charged with murder, I'm crazy 100.
7:58
Percent, Yeah, and.
It justifies it all and.
8:00
That was really what he did.
So yeah.
8:05
So here's another kind of, you know, I talk about the scariness of some of this stuff.
John says that his dad had like this blue birthmark on his forehead that he told John was the brand
8:19
of the devil and he had that because of sins that he had committed in the past.
Actually.
8:24
It's called a Mongolian birthmark.
Which is the brand of the devil?
8:28
No it isn't.
It's just sometimes kids 'cause.
8:31
He's Mongolian are.
You trying to say Mongolians or the devil?
8:33
Well, yeah, sure, why not?
He's a mongoloid.
8:37
No, the English are Mongolians.
Yeah, exactly.
8:40
English are the devils.
I don't.
8:41
Know.
OK, anyway, let's move past that.
8:43
The world's evil the.
World's evil, let's leave it at that.
8:47
So he told John that his mom didn't have one of these because she was an Angel and if John sinned,
he also was going to grow the mark of the devil on his forehead.
9:00
I like this guy, yeah.
So as you can imagine, this has a huge impact on him and he would lay in bed at night wondering if
9:10
he was going to wake up with this mark on his forehead and on a, you know, I'm sure his dad had a
plan with that.
9:18
It didn't work because John was smart enough that he realized when he didn't wake up with this mark
and he had done shit that day.
9:27
That was bad.
Huh, Looks like this might be kind of bullshit and I can do whatever the fuck I want.
9:33
Kind of like Santa Claus.
Kind of.
9:35
Well.
Santa.
9:35
That kind of reminds me of when my dad told me if you play with it too much you'll go blind.
Yeah.
9:42
I've never went blind.
My vision actually got better.
9:44
Liar.
Yeah, yeah, or your.
9:46
Hands gonna grow hair on it come.
On Yeah, Yeah.
9:48
Come on Dad, I'm 34.
There's all these white lies that we tell our kids, you know?
9:53
Starting to make it better people.
I stopped checking my hand for hair at 40 easily.
9:58
Yeah.
Yeah, nothing else.
10:00
You just get that stuff lasered off.
Oh, 100.
10:02
Percent.
It's not even a big today 2020.
10:04
Five.
Yeah, Yeah.
10:04
Give me a break.
Yeah.
10:05
Grow up.
So when John would get caught misbehaving.
10:10
Or masturbating.
Or masturbating, his mom would slap the back of his hand with this bristled brush and it would cause
10:17
his hand to bleed.
And so, per John, he would lick the blood up, and this is how he developed what he called a thirst
10:26
for blood.
Is he a vampire?
10:27
Is this a vampire guy?
I just got excited.
10:30
He's not a vampire, but you'll see.
And again, I don't know if this is one of those things that he uses to try and basically shore up
10:40
this insanity thing, or if he genuinely had like this taste for blood, which he says he drank all of
these people's blood.
10:49
And so we'll, we'll, we'll.
See, that sounds kind of very vampirish.
10:53
Well, except for he, you know, didn't hang from a ceiling.
And you know, he wasn't drafting.
10:58
And all these.
Religions, I think the crazy stories about people drinking blood or bathing in it and stuff like
11:02
that, and they consider them vampires.
This guy's a vampire.
11:04
All right, so you just mentioned that this dude obviously killed multiple people, right?
Oh yeah.
11:09
And did any part of this sect of religion?
Brown.
11:13
Upon they banished him.
OK, so they don't murder people.
11:17
They don't murder.
People.
11:18
OK, so this guy's full of shit.
Oh, OK, yeah.
11:20
Just out of the gate.
For sure, I don't know.
11:22
That's my.
So this he also wasn't allowed to play any sports which he didn't mind because he hated dirt.
11:33
He had like AI don't know what you would call it, but like obsessive compulsive, he couldn't get
dirt.
11:39
Germaphobe.
Yeah, He was a most certainly a germaphobe.
11:42
And so because he didn't play sports, music ended up being one of the things that his family allowed
him to do and he was able to do within the church.
11:51
And so it worked out for him.
He ended up getting pretty good, from what I understand about the piano.
11:56
And he actually started attending concerts.
And that was one of the few outlets he actually had with, like, the normal world, you know, had to
12:06
do with music.
You.
12:07
Know make God happy.
That's right.
12:09
Sing to the angels.
Absolutely.
12:12
Yeah.
So if.
12:13
You want to go to heaven?
Yeah.
12:15
That's overrated.
Yeah, I know.
12:17
So John was actually a good student and he eventually won a scholarship to Queen Elizabeth Grammar
School, Wakefield, and then to Wakefield Cathedral.
12:29
He was also a choirboy at Wakefield Cathedral.
We all know.
12:33
How that goes?
Yeah, exactly.
12:36
You know, not to bang up religions.
I'm that's not what I'm here for.
12:40
But I will say there has been a lot of bad stories about young kids coming from very strict
religious groups and things that happened, especially this is in the 1900s, like early 1900s, where
12:55
things were different, the beliefs were different, science had strong part, right?
And so I got to believe there was some damage done in this deal.
13:05
I I mean, yeah.
So after graduation from high school, he takes an apprenticeship with a motor engineering company.
13:12
So he's smart.
He's he's not a dumb ass.
13:16
And this actually comes into play because a lot of times people like this, and we'll talk a little
bit more about it, but you're really smart.
13:24
Criminals and in particular murderers, sociopaths, they believe they're smarter than everybody else.
And they get to a point when they don't get caught after one or two crimes where they believe I
13:36
can't be caught.
I'm better than everybody else.
13:39
I'm.
Better than you.
13:41
Yes, you're not going to catch me, correct?
Well then, they're beginning to taunt the police, right?
13:46
There's a piece of that, yeah, just to.
See if they can catch on to my smartness exactly.
13:51
Yeah, exactly.
And so he was intelligent to an extent, right?
13:58
That job lasted about a year.
He then jumps into basically insurance advertising and writing.
14:06
So he would write insurance policies.
And this is where shit kind of started going off the rails for this guy.
14:12
Well.
It's insurance policies that would drive me, yeah.
14:14
That alone, right?
No shit.
14:17
So at the age of 21, he gets fired from this insurance gig because they didn't catch him, but they
pretty certain he was stealing from their petty cash fund.
14:28
And as you listen to his story coming up, you'll go OK yeah, he most certainly stole that fucking
money.
14:34
And luckily for him, they let him go without punishment.
So he was just fired.
14:40
In 1934 at the age of 23, John stopped attending his parents church.
He gets married to a woman he hardly knew.
14:49
Her name was Beatrice Hammer.
I know.
14:51
What a fucking name.
Beatrice.
14:54
Hammer, I'm guessing?
She's a hammer.
14:55
I'm guessing she wasn't a hammer.
Do we have a picture?
14:57
Of that we do.
Actually have a picture?
14:58
I want to see the hammer.
Yeah, she's she's not the kind of hammer you're thinking about turns.
15:03
Out.
Beatrice Hammer weighed 13 stone, yes.
15:08
What's 13 stones one.
Stone is about 20 lbs.
15:13
Is that right?
Let's.
15:15
Oh, no, no.
I saw that with you in the math.
15:16
Let's not do let's not even go this way anymore.
So look it up.
15:22
So the marriage lasted four months and it ends when John was arrested and sent to prison.
So I looked this up and I tried my ass off to find why he was arrested and sent to prison for that
15:37
first time.
He got caught that first instance because he stole.
15:40
Petty cash no.
No, but he stole £20.
15:44
Guarantee.
You it was it was some type of fraud that got him in there.
15:49
I just don't know what.
Yeah, he.
15:51
Married a hammer that turned out to be a Not a hammer, not the.
Hammer, he thought you're fired.
15:55
Exactly.
Lied to me, You.
15:57
Son of a bitch so.
While he's in prison, that wife gave birth to a baby girl.
16:03
She was given up for adoption, which is probably the smartest thing that woman ever did in her life,
just in the fact that John didn't have anything to do with that child did.
16:16
He in his like later years, did he have anything to do with this crazy religion or did he?
Kind of OK, so at.
16:23
What point did he break off from 23?
OK, 20.
16:25
Three, OK.
That's when you got wise to it.
16:29
Yeah, well.
That's when he.
16:30
Figured out he was smart.
Isn't she kind of cute?
16:32
Gee.
That's not a that's a.
16:34
That picture does her better justice than us.
Well, not for him.
16:37
Yeah, that.
Guy, he actually wasn't a bad looking guy when you see other pictures of him, all right?
16:43
Well, most.
Sociopaths are good looking people too.
16:47
Yeah, he's.
Not I mean women.
16:49
He definitely didn't do poorly with women for sure.
Good for him.
16:53
So his next job involved bank fraud.
Not a boy, I like it.
16:59
Moving up in the.
World he would basically create fake loan forms for vehicles that didn't exist and he would get
17:07
banks to loan him money under obviously fake names.
So you know, I read that and my first instinct was to go how the hell did he do that?
17:17
But this is the early 1900s.
There there.
17:19
Was no.
It was probably a lot easier to do that kind of stuff.
17:23
You know there was.
Talking back and forth and Internet and checking things like very easy yeah if.
17:29
You read it.
If it's on a piece of paper, it's probably true.
17:32
Oh, it's factual. 100%, yeah.
That's science right there.
17:35
Look it up.
Yeah, look it up.
17:36
It's in the Geneva Convention.
Well, and also.
17:38
I mean everyone is fairly honest back then so thieves could easily.
That's nice, true.
17:43
You don't think so?
No, man, they were.
17:45
No, I'm saying the.
Average person was definitely more honest than they are today.
17:48
I I still.
If I thought, yeah, I, I, I, I'm pushing back on that.
17:52
I'm not saying that.
Everybody was good.
17:53
I'm just saying that people were more.
I don't know that.
17:56
They were any more or less, I think people are just fucking people man.
And they'll you give people anything, whether it was in 1920 or 2020, and they'll fuck it all up
18:05
fine.
You.
18:06
Didn't get this.
He, he actually says, John, that when he realized there were easier ways to make money than sitting
18:16
at a desk and actually working, he knew that that was what he was going to do.
So he starts figuring out these crimes and figuring out shit, this is easy.
18:26
This really is not that fucking hard, especially at that.
Time too, especially.
18:29
At that time mixed with being.
Narcissism, thinking that you can get away with anything.
18:32
Absolutely.
I'm so.
18:34
Much smarter than all these idiots.
I can make my money just taking it from them.
18:39
And so he consciously made a decision that I'm going to be a criminal the rest of my life and I'm
going to rob people.
18:46
Basically.
Smart.
18:47
Well, good.
A lot of people don't get that, you know, idea till much later in life.
18:51
So, I mean, he's way out of the well, no.
Like that though, but he has a goal to accomplish exactly so he sounds a very goal oriented.
18:57
Personalize him, but he's he.
Yeah.
19:00
He's, he's starting a legitimate profession.
Yeah.
19:02
I respect, right?
Yeah, we call them.
19:04
Lawyers now.
Oh, I like that one.
19:07
I am yeah, throwing.
Shade.
19:08
That's right.
So he got away with his little lone scam for a few months, got captured and put back in the fucking
19:17
clink for 15 months?
Yeah, allegedly.
19:20
So now this is his second time in prison, right?
The last offense that he got busted for, that's when, like I told you, Lance, they expelled him from
19:31
the Plymouth Brethren, but his parents allowed him to come back home.
So the church said, Nope, you're done.
19:39
We don't want you.
Parents were still, you know, parents.
19:43
Yeah, that's what you do, right?
Enabling.
19:45
Yeah, but.
I want to be honest with you dude, those strict religious sects like that, it wouldn't have shocked
19:51
me for them to say no, get out of here.
You're you're no good.
19:54
But I.
Think well when he came.
19:56
Back he didn't have the Mongolian birthmark exactly Good.
Point so they knew he hadn't seen that.
20:01
Much you know how bad and what kind?
Of lies is he weaving like hey it's not me you know true true true so you know if he's that sadistic
20:09
right he's even smarter than his parents absolutely so and they believe his you hit the.
Nail on the head.
20:14
He probably convinced his parents he got wronged and everything.
Yeah, thank you.
20:19
So I'm smart.
His next business, and this is kind of where like the it's the start of the end for him.
20:28
But his next venture was into the dry cleaning business and things were actually going well.
He was honest.
20:35
Things were happening, right?
It was a legitimate business.
20:38
But his partner ends up getting killed in a motorcycle accident.
The business ends up getting liquidated.
20:45
John's pissed off and says fuck this, I'm out of here.
So he beats feet to London and basically he's like, oh, I'm going to go find some more the marks in
20:55
London.
And so while in London he starts working as basically a secretary for an amusement park business.
21:04
The owner of this business was a guy named William Donald Mcswan.
They actually become really good friends with John and William even introduces him to his parents.
21:15
He likes him like, hey, man, this is, you know, they're they're boys, they're buddies.
Oh wow, they're.
21:19
Dating I like.
It.
21:21
No, they're not aggressive.
They're not dating.
21:23
Yeah, not like you and Kenny.
They're not dating.
21:25
Are you sure?
I'm positive Kenny's never.
21:28
Met my parents, yeah.
Well, you don't think that highly of him, clearly.
21:31
Well, obviously.
Not That's because we're not dating.
21:33
Yeah.
We're friends, whatever.
21:36
Hey.
John, I really like you.
21:38
I'd like to introduce you to my parents.
Thank you God.
21:42
This was different times, Lance, when everyone was honest and kind.
Remember that?
21:46
Yes.
Yeah.
21:47
OK, we're definitely not dating.
No.
21:50
I want you to meet my parents. 12 Quinn.
Plays.
21:54
So so after a year or so John ends up leaving the amusement park business and and tells him hey, I
can't work for people breaking.
22:02
Up.
Exactly.
22:05
No, he broke up.
With him and said, hey, I got to, I got to get in my own business, which basically means I need
22:10
people to RIP off.
So he didn't want to RIP this guy off because he actually liked him.
22:15
He loved him.
I.
22:15
Think because they were dating sexual.
Tensions could drive anybody to murder, I think.
22:20
So, but you'll see where it goes.
Murder smacks so so his own business, right?
22:28
Another scam.
This time the scam involved fake estates and the sale of public company shares.
22:35
So he's very.
Diversified he is.
22:38
He is and this guy.
Is actually pretty smart.
22:40
Well.
He's not a dummy.
22:42
I like your dad, his wife.
Was a hammer.
22:44
His wife was a hammer.
He had that going for him, you know he.
22:47
Realized he can't date his best friend.
Are they?
22:50
Still married, I guess not, since he's in No, no, no.
No, no, they got divorced four months later.
22:54
Oh.
Yeah, good.
22:56
No.
So she got nailed by.
22:58
Somebody else?
I see what you did there.
23:01
Nail so so once again the law catches up with this dude, and this time he did a four year stint in
prison.
23:10
Damn, he almost.
Did a nickel?
23:11
Yep.
Just under.
23:13
And you know I.
Do think this is a time when there wasn't necessarily a white collar crime and a blue collar crime
23:20
type prison crime.
You were in a prison.
23:22
Yeah.
And I got to believe that he picked up some things there which he actually did that weren't good for
23:30
a guy like him to learn.
You know, he knew how to rob people.
23:33
I would say the white collar way, but he learned how to add some blue collar stuff to it while he
was in prison if that makes sense.
23:39
Like armed robbery.
With a knife.
23:42
That's right.
Yeah.
23:43
So within a year of getting out of prison for that last business venture of his, he was back in.
Maybe he is.
23:52
He should stop just getting caught.
That's so smart.
23:55
He seems to get caught a lot, so theft of goods was the case that they gave him.
You catch that?
24:02
Just like my boy Snoop.
Dogg, Yeah, that's.
24:04
Right, Yeah, I was wondering the same.
Person catch.
24:07
That, yeah, that's what you call writing genius.
I like that.
24:10
That.
Was cool.
24:10
You're welcome.
I picked it up.
24:11
You're welcome.
Yeah.
24:13
So according to John, he was asked to sell these goods that he was awning off.
He didn't steal them, but look, the guy's saying I stole them, but he told me to please sell these
24:24
for me, I believe.
Already.
24:26
Yeah.
So case closed. 21 months in prison.
24:30
So is.
This his fifth time in the in the clink, it's his fourth.
24:33
I think yeah, he.
Sucks. 21 months, though, still hasn't got that nickel, Yeah.
24:38
So he does decide here that, and I'm not sure what pushed him this direction, but he decided he was
going to focus his business acumen on rich old women.
24:50
He kind of, whatever reason, looked and went, hey, these are the marks.
He's back.
24:54
On my radar, Yeah, I dig this guy.
He's.
24:57
He's you're kind of.
Yeah, man, like I wish I thought of those terms.
25:01
Yeah, you didn't start.
Thinking about that till you were probably 40, yeah, this guys coming up with this in his.
25:06
I just didn't.
I realized how I could launch off in that direction.
25:10
It's funny.
Let's get some rich.
25:11
Cougars and kill them off.
That's right.
25:14
And that's exactly what he does.
Oh.
25:16
Let's talk about it.
Let's talk.
25:17
About it.
So OK, so while serving his last stint in prison, he starts learning about the uses of sulfuric
25:24
acid.
He actually was gangbusters.
25:28
Dude, yeah, I dig it.
He's a.
25:29
Hazmat tech as well, I love it.
So he would actually practice dissolving mice that they would catch in prison.
25:37
How?
Wait, how did you get the?
25:38
Acid in prison, though, Well, they.
Worked jobs in there and I'm guessing they had acid for whatever procedures they were doing there,
25:44
whether it's etching metal or who knows what the hell they were doing but they had access.
I I was feeling that.
25:50
Idea to give inmates acid?
Yeah, I mean teach.
25:53
Them how to throw it on the?
Bars and get.
25:55
Out, yeah.
Exactly.
25:58
So his first job out of prison was with an engineering firm because remember, he did have the
engineering background.
26:05
He actually lived with the owner, a guy named Mr. They called him Mr. Stevenson for a short period
of time.
26:11
So you can see too, he's meeting these people and they like him.
You know, everywhere he goes, he doesn't struggle making friends or having people invite him into
26:19
their homes.
He's very personable.
26:22
Well, and.
Also they didn't have background checks very.
26:26
Much so, yeah.
So you.
26:27
Know you could say I work for this company wink wink and there's no way for him to check or your
prison record though too.
26:34
Is it Wikipedia?
Yeah, you couldn't.
26:36
Just call and find out things even that you couldn't do, you know, be like a.
Word of mouth, right?
26:42
So one of the things that did catch his eye with Mr. Stevenson is he had a daughter named Barbara,
and she was a she was a Pretty Woman.
26:51
And they start developing a close friendship that was basically built on a mutual love for music.
So that's one of the ways he would get in with some of these people is one he could play music, he
27:02
enjoyed music, he knew about it.
And this was at a point in time where there was not the Internet with a million different ways to
27:11
entertain people.
You had some basic things, music, sports.
27:15
Well.
Not only that, you're right, but I would also say that's all they had though though too.
27:22
You know, it's almost like if you talked about music, probably back then you sounded more educated.
Oh absolutely.
27:28
With it more if I play a bit.
Sure.
27:30
Exactly when?
More worldly, yeah.
27:34
And so file that away, Barbara.
We'll talk about her a little bit later.
27:38
So in 1944 John rents the a basement space at an address 79 Gloucester Road, and this would be the
site of the unthinkable atrocities that he would end up committing hold.
27:52
On I just have to ask 1944 So World War 2 is going on at this time, correct?
So stuff's getting bombed all over the place and I don't know, like I would imagine like
28:06
investigations like I don't.
Know how far along Hitler had been in his camp?
28:10
Well, it's kind of coming.
To an end right we have I'm just saying like I just it just dawned on me yeah that this is all going
28:16
over World War 2 correct OK a lot of.
Distractions.
28:19
Yeah.
Yeah, A. 100% So very interesting time, yeah.
28:22
And and to be honest, it makes crime even that much easier.
Well.
28:26
Yeah, case in point, right?
Somebody goes missing, they got killed by a bomb.
28:30
Yeah.
I don't know, You know, like my alibis would be solid and.
28:34
And actually, you'll see that does factor into how he was able to kill so many people.
So.
28:41
So he rents the place in 44.
Later that year, he has a chance meeting with his old friend Mick Swan, and this would be,
28:51
unfortunately, the start of his murdering spree.
So you remember Mick Swan was a guy that had the amusement parks?
28:57
Oh, right.
Yeah.
28:57
His best friend.
His buddy?
28:59
Yeah, his lover boy.
Yeah, his boyfriend, yes, No, wasn't his boyfriend.
29:04
Whatever, but doesn't matter.
A good friend, right?
29:07
We're telling the.
Story now yeah, that's.
29:08
Right, right.
That's.
29:10
Right, we got this.
Yeah, we got.
29:12
This Yeah, You guys can make up your own story to this.
I'm sure it's going to be a good one That's like most fire department stories, isn't it?
29:18
Yeah, I.
Think so?
29:19
There's only half.
Truth, and that's if you got a really don't run a good story with.
29:23
Facts.
Exactly.
29:24
Exactly.
Good.
29:25
So anyway, the guy.
Doesn't have a sex?
29:26
Go on.
OK.
29:27
So he runs into Mick Swan, and Mick Swan's pumped.
He's runs into his boy.
29:32
And he's like, man, we ought to come talk with my parents.
So he cruises him right back to his parents house.
29:38
Lance.
That's how much he liked him.
29:40
Yeah, Yeah.
And so the family sees him.
29:43
I'm gonna have my mom.
Stew that's.
29:45
Right, it's Rabbit.
Stew, it's rabbit.
29:47
Stew so please, Sir.
Might have some more so.
29:50
They they go back to the parents house and they start talking with him about like investments
they're doing and property that they have, because John is that's the things he's interested in.
30:02
And so he I'm sure spurs conversation that takes him to these areas.
He's also.
30:07
Interested in prison.
That's why he goes back so often.
30:09
Very true.
Very.
30:10
Yeah, Some lovers there, too.
Yeah, big time.
30:12
Oh, I'm sure he did.
That's why he was so.
30:14
Popular.
Exactly so.
30:16
Friendly.
The gift of.
30:17
Gab.
So, John.
30:18
Spent just enough time there to start getting some ideas about additional investment opportunities.
Mick Swan, his buddy, last seen on September 6th, 1944.
30:31
No did.
He he didn't, no.
30:34
He smoked him.
So listen to this.
30:37
It's like a.
Black Widow?
30:38
Yeah.
You feel that You're a lover.
30:40
Exactly.
He wasn't his.
30:41
Lover but but we'll keep that story for you guys.
So according to John, Mcswan was in the basement property with him.
30:51
He whacks him on the head with a chair leg, slices his throat and according to John, he pulls out a
mug, fills the mug with Mick Swan's blood from his neck and drinks it.
31:04
That's kind of gross.
That is, kind of.
31:05
Gross.
Very.
31:06
Vampirish though, Well.
You like the vampires?
31:09
Hey, man.
This guy, you know, he's crazy.
31:12
He's a.
He's a he's a man of your cut your same cloth.
31:17
Yeah.
I'm not drinking blood.
31:19
No, nor do I want to.
But you're into the weird shit.
31:21
I am.
I am, and he's and he's a weird dude.
31:24
Now here's the real question, though.
I got to know why.
31:26
Why do you drink the blood?
Yes.
31:28
So we talked about it.
Remember, he said, his mom used to whack him with a bristle, but he started licking his.
31:32
Hand and he'd start licking.
His hand, that's where he says he got a taste for blood.
31:37
Dude, we all.
Got bumps, scrapes, bruises, cuts as a kid we all like you prick your finger, you drink your blood
31:43
it's.
I know I didn't dude.
31:45
You're telling me right now, did you drink your?
Blood.
31:47
No, I'm not saying drink.
No, no, stop right there.
31:50
I didn't mean to drink your blood.
You get scrape on your knuckles and you do one of these right, you get.
31:55
Sense knock it out if you.
Didn't do that?
31:57
Then you didn't play hard enough.
Oh my God.
31:58
I'm telling you right now.
Everybody's tasted their own blood and nobody turned into a mass murdering maniac.
32:04
I'm learning something.
About you, Yeah, yeah.
32:05
Yeah, well guess what, You'll never know where I buried him.
They're a.
32:10
Vampire, Yeah.
Yeah, Lance is a vampire.
32:12
Let's move on.
Let's go on.
32:14
All right, sorry, count so.
He puts Mcswan's body in a 55 gallon drum.
32:19
He he says, hey, this was a fucking pain in the ass.
Like it took him 45 minutes to get this guy in the drum.
32:27
And then he had the sulfuric acid that he would start pouring in with buckets.
Yeah, into the drum and so different with.
32:35
Mice than it is with men and he's.
Figuring this out.
32:38
And So what he didn't understand is that the the basement wasn't well ventilated and so he had no
idea about the fumes that were going to come up from dissolving a human body with sulfuric acid.
32:53
So the fumes start cranking up and I almost see this like a Seinfeld episode.
I see like Kramer in the basement.
33:00
Yeah, it's stuffing some dude and the fumes blow up and he's like, yeah.
Exactly, that's almost how I see this thing working out.
33:07
And so he actually has to like run outside.
He's like starting to get overcome with the fumes.
33:12
So he finally comes back in and he also noticed, so maybe he wasn't a tech yet.
He also noticed that holy shit this drum is hot as fuck.
33:23
You know the chemical reaction is criminal.
Drum, too, yeah.
33:27
It's right eating it away.
Yep.
33:29
So he's creating all this heat and he's like ohh, fuck man, this ain't good.
It stinks like shit.
33:34
The drums about to fucking blow up.
Abort, abort, abort.
33:38
So he, he fucking, he beats feet out of this right.
Meanwhile, he's like.
33:43
Sipping on his mug of blood.
You know, I'm just like.
33:46
Hold on, I forgot my blood.
Yeah, yeah, his fucking hair all burnt.
33:49
Yeah, I.
Dude, I got a picture in my head of this fucking guy and it's not good.
33:53
I think I would just torch the.
House and like man I know what happened yeah, no.
33:57
Shit, so get this, he's, he's exhausted, right?
He spent half an hour, 45 minutes trying to get this guy in the fucking barrel, running around from
34:04
smoke, you know, burning his ass off on the barrel.
He goes home and says I pass out like I'm fucking exhausted.
34:12
He says.
He ends up coming back to the place two days later, and I think what happened is he's like, I could
34:19
get out of here if this thing fucking blows up or something, or then I'll be gone.
And so he waits two days, nothing happens, doesn't hear any shit.
34:26
So he goes back and he's the only.
One who occupies this place?
34:29
He's the only.
One that occupies around the basement.
34:31
There's people above him and they.
Don't they?
34:33
Don't they don't know?
At least that we know they didn't know anything.
34:37
Or if they did, they're like, well, that stinks.
And moved on about their.
34:40
Yeah, well.
Back then though, too, probably smells or probably common with the war and just yeah, I.
34:46
Would have guessed like, plumbing wasn't the best.
And yeah, probably that was probably the case.
34:52
So two days later he comes back and again, he's kind of shocked.
He's like, holy crap, there's what was left is what he described as a brown sludge.
35:02
And it had like red streaks going through it.
And he said it fucking smelled like a bag of ass.
35:10
And so End Quote.
End Quote.
35:14
Bag, bag.
Of ass why does?
35:16
That bag of Dicks.
It smells.
35:17
Like a bag of Dicks in here, yes?
£12 of Dicks so be doing that and if.
35:23
You know, and if you want to know something about acid, it's super heavy.
Is it?
35:28
It's very heavy, Yeah.
It's at least 1 1/2 times more than water.
35:31
So water weighs 8.3 lbs per gallon.
This is an.
35:34
Educational podcast as well, yeah.
Yeah, get your notes out.
35:37
So a gallon of water is 8.3 lbs.
How much a gallon?
35:41
Yeah.
And acid.
35:43
I don't know how much it weighs, but it's more than that.
It's more than it's more than that.
35:47
So no, I know that.
I don't know the weight, but you're absolutely right now.
35:51
So it's significantly.
More so.
35:53
He's learning about this right as it goes, and he's figuring things out that he didn't know.
So he actually used a bucket to scoop his buddy and dump him into a manhole drain that was around
36:06
the area.
Oh, just.
36:08
Flush his ass I.
Like him?
36:10
He just went up a notch again.
Yeah, he's gone up one and then back down to now he's back.
36:16
To even.
So he's learned this new trade, new business model, and he's like, all right, it's time to get down
36:23
to fucking business now.
I'm going to make some money now, so.
36:26
What did he do?
Take over his business So.
36:29
He takes a letter to Mick Swan's parents telling them hey your son took off to avoid the draft.
Which actually was semi believable.
36:42
His son had been making comments about the draft and that hey if it was coming to him he was going
to just get the fuck out.
36:49
And so although they were skeptical it wasn't too far fetched.
So he tells them that he takes them the note.
36:56
He would even send them postcards supposedly from their son.
He had a plan together and we'll talk about the parents, but that's where he started to take over
37:08
and learn how to take over people's stuff.
So this was clearly.
37:12
Premeditated.
It wasn't like he wanted.
37:14
He wanted blood.
No, he.
37:15
Well, that's what he tries to tell people and he tries to like I said, he tried an insanity plea,
right?
37:21
And drinking the blood to make exactly more crazy.
He said not a.
37:25
Vampire.
Exactly.
37:26
He said Oh no, this wasn't about money or anything, it was about me drinking the blood.
So it was.
37:30
So According to him, it was drinking the blood and then holy shit, I killed this person.
Now I got to fabricate this story how?
37:36
Why I took over his life exactly and.
This is where the cookie crumbles because their stories never match up.
37:42
They get too complicated 100% instead of just staying nice and even, you know?
Yeah.
37:49
Like we said in the one of the last ones we did, then they start talking too much.
Yep.
37:52
So during this time, right?
So he kills his buddy.
37:55
He he says that he murdered a middle-aged woman from Hammersmith, but she was never identified.
I know it's England.
38:03
Yeah, exactly.
Forgot about that.
38:04
So this person was never identified.
All you have is his word that he killed a female at this time.
38:10
But kind of like you said, Kenny, it very well could be true.
I mean, in these times, there were a lot of ways people could die and not really ever be seen again.
0:00
Life was harder.
38:19
Back then, life was.
Harder, especially during the war, you know?
38:22
Absolutely.
So he's killed his buddy, right?
38:24
He says he kills this girl in Hammersmith.
Next up, he kills the Mcswan's parents, kills his buddy and these fucking people that brought him
38:32
into his their house and employed him, you know?
Yeah, took care of him.
38:37
They were nothing but nice and inviting to him, he says.
He hit them in the pipe, hit them in the head with a pipe or possibly the same chair leg that he hit
38:47
their son with.
He keeps that cheerleader.
38:49
He's.
Got sentimental value to him exactly.
38:51
This one really this one in my back.
Pocket, yeah.
38:54
Yeah, that chair.
Leg, you never know.
38:58
So he says he drank their blood natural and dissolved them in a barrel of acid.
They were last seen on July 2nd, 1945.
39:07
OK, so first one.
Was in 4440 no oh OK you're right 44 September yeah in 44 and now it's almost a year later he kills
39:18
the parents the.
Parents, correct?
39:20
And he told everyone then their circle, the Mcswan circle, he told them that they went away to
America.
39:27
So he takes over all of their assets to include the elder Mcswan's pension and how this happened
back then, like you said, Lance, literally you would have notes, handwritten notes that were like
39:43
certified, you know, he would whatever.
He just fake shit, you know?
39:47
Well, he was.
In the insurance policy, so he probably has the right documentation or letterhead and then was able
39:54
to somewhat forge their signature on this type of letterhead.
So I would just go to Lance.
39:59
Hey, I have all Victor's.
A state, right?
40:03
And they look at it, they're like, ohh, yeah.
Looks like you do.
40:06
Looks cool man.
Here's all your.
40:07
Money went he.
Victor went to America, so yeah.
40:10
No more, no further questions.
He's pretty.
40:12
Much case.
Solved.
40:13
Yeah, right.
So yeah, so he's literally able to take over everything, including the fucking guy's pension.
40:20
Geez.
Yeah.
40:21
Exactly, Pension Hawk.
Pension.
40:23
Hawk So I I.
Take it he didn't.
40:25
The son didn't have any other siblings to pass any of that stuff down.
Or nor to be a contestant, no.
40:31
He was the only one, the Mick Swan, that he killed the son.
And so it's no, I mean did did.
40:36
The family did the family.
Have any other siblings that would contest this random dude coming in and taking over the estate?
40:42
I mean no.
He got, he took all their shit.
40:44
And I'll take it a step further.
Their disappearance wasn't discovered.
40:49
This happened in 45.
Their disappearance wasn't discovered until 1949, and that's only because he confessed.
40:57
Wow.
So no.
40:58
OK, Yeah.
That's what I'm telling.
41:01
So it's more trusting back then.
No.
41:03
No, they were just Dumber, just harsher.
And did we just?
41:07
Not talk about you, they just.
Didn't have the same story that I heard.
41:09
Yeah, I heard for five.
Years.
41:12
Yeah, but that just had to do with the systems in place to monitor Sherlock Holmes.
Was it?
41:16
Oh, really?
'Cause you need a system to have friends in your circle to ask stupid questions.
41:20
No, but I mean outside of your little area.
Yeah, because OK, you can't.
41:25
You can't get on the Internet and say hey or call them on your cell phone.
And Sherlock Holmes wasn't even around.
41:31
Yeah, my neighbor went missing.
And some random dude just took over their estate anyway.
41:35
There's not a system to play.
It's not gonna.
41:38
I bet you that was.
A lot more common than what we realized, Lance.
41:41
To show them, Yeah, yeah.
They didn't have to have ID back then.
41:44
OK, good.
Point SO.
41:47
So John also claims, right, that was in 49.
He, he claims that that summer he also killed another young man from Kensington who he said his name
41:56
was Max.
But this is also another one that couldn't be proven.
41:59
I'm guessing he probably did kill these people like you said, it's so easy back then at that time to
actually have had that happen.
42:08
So who knows though, and you guys will see as we start talking more about once he's caught in the
things that he tries to use to get off, it makes more sense.
42:16
Did they find?
A Max dead and he just admitted to it or he just no, completely randomly admitted to a murder that
42:22
he may or may not correct.
Correct.
42:24
All right, enough questions, your honor.
So.
42:27
So he had got £6000 from the Mick Swans and basically selling their estate.
You might ask me, Victor, how much is £6000 in today's money, can I guess?
42:41
Guess 6000 lbs with inflation Boo Boo Boo Boo.
Probably 500 to $1,000,000 not.
42:53
Too bad 3/3. 131.
Thousand.
42:55
I was going to say I.
Know you could buy a house for £6000 back in back in those days so. $331,000 in today's money.
43:04
So he took that.
I'd kill.
43:06
Someone.
Yeah, for sure.
43:07
Big time I'd kill.
That's definitely worth.
43:09
Someone's life, yeah, a whole family.
Why I'd I'd wipe out a whole entire family for that.
43:13
But.
Back then, 6000 lbs.
43:15
That's a lot of money, actually.
Oh yeah.
43:17
No, it's a lot of money.
It's.
43:18
It's he just said it's worth $300,000 in today's money.
Yeah, it's a lot of.
43:22
Money for sure.
Remember that part?
43:24
The.
Hell yeah, we're.
43:26
The I thought.
We're I thought we're the IT just.
43:28
It just came to me, OK.
Sometimes you got to slow things down a little bit.
43:31
Yeah, yeah.
So.
43:32
It took him two years to basically milk them for the 6000 lbs and then from there he's broke again.
He's on to the next poor fuck.
43:40
Oh boy.
Good.
43:41
Yourself a gambling edition so next.
Up is a guy named Doctor Archibald Henderson and Archibald.
43:47
Yep, and his wife.
So John's fucking sheisty ass posed as a potential buyer for a home that was for sale.
43:55
This was the Henderson's house.
Harry and the Henderson's SO.
43:59
Bigfoot.
So of course he has no intentions of buying the house, he doesn't even have any fucking money.
44:06
But what he wanted to do is Burrow into their lives.
He was good at meeting people like we'd said and them liking him and taking him in and start telling
44:15
him shit.
So this is what he does.
44:17
And of course, him and the Hendersons form a friendship.
Through this friendship, he learns everything that he needs to know about these people and their
44:26
finances.
He asks all the right questions.
44:28
He's learned now from the Mcswans what he needs, the information he needs to take things over.
And so he's slowly, slowly getting these things from these people like.
44:39
Get them in a well ventilated area before you dip them in acid.
Exactly.
44:43
He actually, well we'll talk about that in a minute, but yes, you're correct.
Thank you.
44:48
So on February 12th, 1945, John drives the doctor Henderson, the husband, to see some property and
shoots him in the back of the head with a revolver that wasn't.
45:01
Very nice, yeah.
What?
45:02
What happened to the?
Yeah, he upgraded.
45:03
From the peg leg.
Yeah, the peg.
45:05
Leg, he kept that.
Special as a memoir for the Mcswans.
45:08
Do you think they.
Signed it.
45:09
He didn't want to.
Solely the history of that, yeah.
45:12
He put it in the shadow.
So.
45:13
One weapon per family.
OK, exactly.
45:15
He.
Put it in the.
45:16
Shadow Box?
He's not What?
45:17
Kind of animal do you think this guy is?
Yeah, it.
45:20
Sounds very civilized.
He is.
45:22
Yes, he's a.
Refined gentleman, He's a gentleman.
45:25
In London.
So you're heathen?
45:28
He would understand.
He goes back now to Mrs. Henderson and says, hey, your husband's sick, he needs you.
45:34
And she actually is like doesn't want to go.
She he has to kind of convince her to go influenza.
45:42
Yep.
And so that was the end of her, unfortunately.
45:46
So according to Hay, he drinks blood from both of them and then dumps him in acid.
How did he kill her?
45:54
Shot her in the head.
Blood poisoning.
45:56
Yeah.
He he shoots her in the head and he supposedly drinks their blood and then puts him in the acid.
46:05
He's a wannabe vampire.
Now.
46:07
Get this too, I forgot to tell you guys this.
So he was actually under the impression while he was in prison, right, He got with all the prison
46:14
attorneys and kind of like in the Firehouse, we got all our Firehouse attorneys that know the law
and and they figure out, or at least they think that hey, if there's not a body, you, I could even
46:28
tell you I killed someone.
But if they don't have a body, they can't put me in jail.
46:32
And it's called like there's a name for it, Corpus do something or another, whatever.
But he's completely fucking wrong.
46:40
That is absolutely not the case.
But when you admit.
46:43
To the crime of people who've killed without the body, well.
That's not what he thought.
46:48
Well.
Also, they don't have plead the fifth though too, so you can't incriminate yourself.
46:52
Yeah, he didn't.
Plead the 5th.
46:53
There you go.
Governor, Yeah, he.
46:55
Was like being an American.
Is great he was.
46:57
Completely open to telling people whatever the fuck he did.
So he's getting pretty bold.
47:03
You know, as you guys can see at this point, he was dumping the sludge that would be leftover from
these people outside of the building, kind of like in a little like dirt courtyard where anyone
47:15
could see it.
And.
47:18
That guy, Mr. Henderson, one of his feet didn't completely dissolve.
He would fucking dump that shit out with a fucking foot right there and just leave it.
47:28
And nobody.
Are you serious?
47:30
Oh yeah.
Yeah, I guess a.
47:33
Nice person would just walk by and say that's normal.
Yeah, look at.
47:37
That look at that like that.
Like that the war is.
47:39
Going up your dog's shit.
It's like, pick up your foot.
47:42
Yeah, pick up your foot, you dirt bag.
Yeah.
47:45
This neighborhood's going to shit, Yeah.
We're moving out.
47:47
Yeah, we're.
Happy here.
47:48
That's right.
Moving to America, so once again he takes all of their shit and sells it.
47:56
He actually sold some of Missus Henderson's clothes to people he knew, other people kind of in his
life, which ended up coming back to bite him in the ass because they didn't have any bodies when
48:07
they caught him.
So they needed a bunch of other evidence to truly convict him and some of this shit that he sold,
48:13
they were able to connect to him.
He made £8000 from the sale of the Henderson shit.
48:18
Very.
Nice SO.
48:20
Lance Kenny got the last one.
How much is £8000 in today's money?
48:24
You said 6. 1000 lbs to 330 something.
Yeah, right.
48:27
So another two carry the one, I'd probably say $475,000.
Look at you big.
48:33
Lands 441,000 All right, you're off in today's money.
Close enough.
48:38
You should have.
Subtracted the one, yeah, yeah, that's.
48:41
Where I went wrong?
No remainder.
48:43
So hey, tells the friends of the family that the Hendersons decided to immigrate to South Africa.
Yep.
48:51
Well, you got to go somewhere different.
You got to go somewhere.
48:54
South Africa at the time seemed pretty promising, yeah.
Shit was going real well in South Africa in 1949.
48:59
Apartheid.
Everything, yeah.
49:02
That's where I'm going to go.
Why not?
49:03
For sure didn't.
Even have a freaking passport.
49:07
So according to Hay again, he killed another girl in East Byrne around the same time.
Another one that can't be proven.
49:14
So kind of backtrack just a little bit to 1948, kind of give you an idea how this guy's making his
money to even do anything to feed himself.
49:24
He has a car that he probably took from one of the other people he killed.
He says the car stolen and basically ran off a Cliff.
49:32
So police find the car off this Cliff and they also find the body of a young female that was not far
from the wreckage but not in it.
49:43
And oddly enough, one police determine these aren't connected, which I'm like, well, I don't know
about that, but, well, they don't.
49:53
Know, though they don't know the past, no.
So I can still.
49:56
If you got a car.
Over the edge and not too far down the way a body, common sense to me would go.
50:01
There's probably somehow a connection here, but they decide.
Watch English, Yeah.
50:06
Sherlock Yeah.
Come on, man, they decide.
50:09
No connection here, boys.
Hey actually says he doesn't claim that that body was his.
50:15
He says no, I didn't kill that person.
Trust.
50:19
Me and he.
Says also I didn't put my car over the Cliff, which is weird.
50:23
I'm certainly he did because he was got he got a great payoff from the insurance company for the
car.
50:30
But again, it just makes it that much more where you don't know what you can even fucking believe
from this guy.
50:35
You know he's telling you he killed people, which you go, why would he say it if he didn't?
But then he's telling you he didn't kill people that he probably did or didn't do crimes that he
50:42
probably did.
But.
50:43
Maybe he's crazy.
So maybe he's crazy.
50:44
Yeah.
Or maybe.
50:45
He's just trying to throw them off the track.
He killed her.
50:49
Run the car over and say, yeah, man, why would I do that?
I already told you I killed three other people.
50:53
This is just some girl I don't know, cuz can't find other bodies.
But you found the body of this one.
50:58
Yeah, maybe.
Oh, good point.
50:59
Good point.
Part of his.
51:00
Plan.
Yeah, that.
51:01
Could be this is the actual only body they could pin to him.
Exactly.
51:04
Yeah, good point.
So genius.
51:08
So he it's not too long again after this whole deal that he's broke again, right?
This guy is a fucking businessman.
51:16
He's reading the obituaries looking for Yeah, and he notices the death of a father of a schoolmate
that he obviously knew and went to school with.
51:29
So he sends a kind letter to his wife.
Right.
51:35
And.
He's trying.
51:37
To come see her, he's like, I want to come see you and pay my condolences.
Oddly enough, just kind of his luck at this point.
51:44
She dies before he can get there.
And so his plan was to get there, find out what you need to find out, kill her and take her shit.
51:51
But she ended up dying anyways before.
How disappointed.
51:55
He wasn't.
I missed it by what am I?
51:57
Supposed to do with this 55 gallon drum of.
Acid.
51:59
Exactly.
I fucking bond a drum.
52:02
For her, Yeah, that bitch.
Now I'm.
52:04
In debt, so I'm.
Broke SO.
52:08
He, he actually was trying to get a bunch of different people at that time to come see him at his
factory and no one was coming.
52:15
They didn't know anything.
They're just like, yeah, sorry, bro, can't make it.
52:18
And literally, dude, they would have been floating in a fucking VAT, VAT of acid.
Yeah.
52:25
Nothing but their foot hanging out in the drainage grade.
Yeah.
52:27
Exactly.
So he ends up coming across a woman name.
52:30
Her name was Duran Deacon.
She approaches John about helping her create these fake fingernails that she wants to basically put
52:39
on the market.
Oh, I can make them fake.
52:41
Yeah.
Yeah.
52:43
I got a plan for that.
Yeah, exactly.
52:45
So real ones.
Like yours?
52:48
Yeah.
So she of course gets smoked and even with the things that he takes from her, he's barely able to
52:55
cover his debt.
So the fat acid that he bought that he didn't need now, you know, hotel rent from where he was
53:02
staying, he barely is able to just get ahead with with this new woman that he killed.
It's actually around this time that he's finally arrested and caught.
53:12
Of note, the only person, and This is why I brought her up.
The only person to visit him was his friend's daughter.
53:20
Remember I told you about her Barbara, that he really liked she would visit him because she actually
thought at some point they're going to get married.
53:28
And that's kind of the the impression that she had got from him that, hey, we're going to get
married at some point.
53:34
And so he gets locked up for these murders.
She actually is the one going to visit him.
53:39
And she asks him like, hey, why, why didn't you kill me?
You know, I don't understand.
53:44
And he told he, she said he was like, disgusted.
Like, I can't believe you would think that I would do that to you, you know?
53:52
And right.
Yeah, because you're, you know, above that, Yeah.
53:56
He's clearly a gentleman, yeah.
I only smoked my one of my good friends who she.
54:02
And Wally World and his parents and the fucking parents.
And so she actually puts timelines together and realizes, like, holy shit, I saw him and hung out
54:14
with him on this day.
He killed someone that night, you know?
54:17
So like, she's kind of figuring it outgoing.
Like, I slept with this dude.
54:19
Yeah.
Or how about I feel ashamed.
54:21
Yes.
Why are you?
54:23
There in prison asking a mass murderer who dissolves people in acid because lynch.
She needs to know why, not me.
54:31
That's right.
Yeah.
54:32
Don't you love me?
Love.
54:33
Yeah, that's right up in English, is it?
Yeah, is that true love?
54:39
You didn't murder me.
Oh, oh, John.
54:43
Jeepers.
Creepers, Yeah.
54:46
Oh.
Dude they're so fucked so.
54:48
Hay actually claims to have killed nine people total.
Over.
54:52
Over.
A span of how many years?
54:54
Well, from. 1944 to 1949, So five years.
Five years, yeah.
54:59
Yeah, goodness, that's a lot of people.
And so how many did you really?
55:02
Well, only six could be proven OK.
So real quick side note.
55:05
So he's he's over 21.
He's made 6000 another one he made 8000.
55:10
So that's in today's dollars around 750 ish.
He had damn.
55:14
Here $1,000,000.
Right damn here 1,000,000.
55:16
Dollars and you keep saying that he's broke.
Were his spending habits just yes.
55:20
Out of control, like living.
Like the highlight 100%.
55:23
OK, yeah.
I mean he, he.
55:25
Was the equivalent then of hookers and blow?
Yeah.
55:28
Boy, I like this, like I said.
Kenny, this is your guy.
55:31
Yeah, you are Kung Fu Kenny.
Hey.
55:34
Hey.
Hey now, that's why I'm gonna start.
55:36
Calling you Kung Fu, Kenny.
Hey now.
55:38
Hey now.
OK, so the question is this though, did he kill nine people or 6?
55:43
Did he use the 9 to try and bolster basically the insanity defense that he claimed?
Who knows, We'll never know.
55:50
But the police actually did do a good job investigating.
Hey, which is crazy because, you know, this is 1949.
55:57
You'd think they'd be way shittier, but somehow they actually did a good job where we seem to flub
things up pretty frequently.
56:04
You.
Think they had like his picture with yarn going to different people.
56:07
You know I'm saying I.
Hope they do.
56:09
That's kind.
Of cool, yeah.
56:10
I always want to do that.
Me too, yeah.
56:13
They end up sifting through these piles of sludge that he's got out near that basement, and they're
able to find a bunch of human parts because, like, like we said, they need some evidence to back up
56:26
what they what he's saying he did.
So they find a human gallbladder stone.
56:33
I'm sorry, human gallbladder stone.
OK.
56:35
Yeah.
Yeah.
56:36
They find pieces of human bone that had not been dissolved yet.
They took 475 lbs of sludge back to the lab for analysis.
56:48
OK, So what?
Kind of lab do they have?
56:50
Well, back then, yeah, 19. 49 I'm guessing their lab was like a couples beakers and a Bunsen burner.
I don't know.
56:58
Yeah.
Yeah, they.
56:59
Just called the lab to like they were bluffing.
Yeah, exactly.
57:02
Yeah, I just wore a white coat lab, OK.
Come on, Johnson Lab, if you don't.
57:06
Confess.
Yeah, so here I go.
57:09
I have that.
Little beaker here, and it might come going to the lab.
57:11
This is your last.
Chance.
57:12
The last Chance.
To confess or else we're going to the.
57:15
DNA was back then, like, you know, yeah, I found a.
Gallstone, I want you to know it was armed with a gallstone.
57:21
It's.
Just a stone.
57:22
It's just a stone, yeah.
In the floor, Johnson.
57:26
In the four. 170. 5 lbs of sludge they find 28 lbs of it is human fat, which I didn't know.
Apparently human fat doesn't dissolve well in acid.
57:36
It's pretty resistant to it, so they found a whole bunch of of human fat.
They ended up finding a total of 3 gallstones, a hairpin that they could link to one of the females
57:47
he said he killed out.
Of everything you just said there, that's the only thing that makes sense.
57:51
The hairpins, the.
Hairpins.
57:53
That those are consistent, yeah.
Because hairpins would be more personable.
57:58
Yeah.
And for sure, 'cause it was a.
58:00
You can link it to somebody.
Exactly, Yeah.
58:03
The Gallstones.
Not too much.
58:05
Well, but you know that.
A human was is in that pile somewhere, right?
58:09
They find a piece of a left foot, which, OK, right, we know what that is.
That's what they had.
58:15
In the lab 18.
Fragments of human bone, an intact upper and lower denture, which is from.
58:22
They could again connect that to one of the females, right?
And they found a handlebag and a lipstick container, so that's just being sloppy.
58:32
That's.
What I mean?
58:33
The foot wasn't enough.
Do you think now you can leave the lipstick too?
58:36
Yeah.
Do you think they did like a footprint?
58:39
Like, you know.
Like your kids did.
58:41
Yeah, like your kids did that.
I didn't.
58:43
I.
Wonder how much of that foot was left to know it was even.
58:45
I really hope they did.
What made him confess to anything?
58:49
I mean, did they did?
Well, I don't.
58:50
Know how he got caught?
Exactly, but like I said, he had this arrogant belief that it it didn't matter.
58:56
You don't have any bodies, so I didn't give a fuck, you know, so he can.
Confess all he wants.
59:01
So he thought he was he was going to walk out of there unscathed, yes.
That's exactly he didn't know.
59:06
About the lab the.
Lab.
59:08
With the guy in the lab, yeah.
They clearly didn't anticipate the lab.
59:11
No, Yeah.
Bill Nye the.
59:13
Science guys going hey, I'm going to I'm.
Going to start making I'm.
59:17
Going to start making experience means dude, if you don't, you know, tell me everything you know,
don't make me.
59:21
Start this buns.
All right, I.
59:22
Confess once I start.
The Bunsen burner, It's OK.
59:24
Yeah, yeah.
Exactly.
59:27
Like.
You're cooked, as my daughter would say.
59:30
Look.
I don't even get me started on the Petri dishes.
59:32
OK OK so I'll pipette this shit so hard.
So.
59:39
The dentures they found were proven to be they were, the dentures were from that Durant Deacon that
we had talked about and they were also able to get witnesses that saw Missus Deacon with hay on the
59:51
day she went missing.
The investigators did some research with the sulfuric acid because I don't think they had any
59:59
fucking clue.
I don't know that people had data on sulfuric data, you know, melting people down at that point.
1:00:05
But they probably the Germans did, but they didn't.
Well, I was going to say.
1:00:08
They probably knew where it came from though.
Yeah, how?
1:00:11
Many.
Oh yeah.
1:00:11
They knew so many companies that would.
They knew, They knew.
1:00:15
They knew where the acid came from for sure.
They go, yeah.
1:00:17
This guy was in here like twice a week, yeah, buying 55 gallon drums.
So I I.
1:00:22
Could see that connection, you know, like that would be an easy one.
I should be a cop.
1:00:26
So the still circumstantial.
Though, I mean, I mean well, we'll.
1:00:29
Talk about that in a second.
So they do some research, right, And one of the things that they find is that, like I told you guys,
1:00:36
fat is highly resistant to acid.
Just so happens to be Missus Deacon was a Biggin so so so they had quite original.
1:00:46
Hammer, she has the.
Original hammer.
1:00:47
So they had quite a bit of evidence from Missus Deacon and so I thought that was pretty funny.
So the trial started on April 1st. 19. 49 And you can see some videos of him like getting taken to
1:01:00
court and stuff and you can see he's very light hearted.
That actually is a picture of him, a court picture of him in his suit over there.
1:01:08
So he's very light hearted, almost seemed to enjoy the intent tension, which I'm sure he did.
People like this with those kind of does he have a Hitler?
1:01:19
Mustache he does.
Oh my God, He kind of looks a little bit like Hitler doesn't.
1:01:24
No one is going.
To say that earlier, but very clean cut.
1:01:29
Look, he's just.
Laughing, yeah.
1:01:30
Yeah, he's enjoying his time for sure.
Like a younger.
1:01:33
Fit Hitler, he looks.
Innocent to me.
1:01:35
Crime solved.
Exactly I.
1:01:37
Think he's making it up.
He looks like a nice.
1:01:38
Guy, he did.
I I didn't invite him in and tell him about my finances.
1:01:41
Why not?
Sure, yeah.
1:01:42
Yeah, oh you.
He has a.
1:01:44
Pension hawk though, yeah.
Yeah, You wanna know about my pension?
1:01:47
Sure.
Let me tell you all about it here.
1:01:49
He's on my pen skills so.
What's that barrel in the corner like so?
1:01:53
So get this, he thinks that because he's done all the he's talked to all his jailhouse attorneys and
they've given him excellent advice.
1:02:01
So he thinks, hey, I'm going to get 12 years in a mental institution Max and I'll be back out
fucking before I know it.
1:02:11
Yep, with my acid and cooking people soon enough.
So when he was in prison to even bolster this fucking insanity plea more, he would drink his urine
1:02:23
in his cell.
Oh my.
1:02:24
God, they actually say they like the taste and it's sterile.
It's.
1:02:29
Right, it's not bad.
Yeah, don't ask me how.
1:02:32
It's like the blood use of drink, right?
Yes, right.
1:02:34
Yeah.
We all drink our piss, right?
1:02:36
You're telling me.
OK.
1:02:37
So when you're and you got your knuckles busted up and you licked your like your blood and then like
when you went to the bathroom and nobody makes.
1:02:44
Me on your hands.
You didn't.
1:02:46
Oh well, that.
I did, yeah.
1:02:47
Yeah.
Oh, OK.
1:02:48
So thank you.
I'm not crazy.
1:02:49
Yeah, I appreciate it everyone.
Licks their urine.
1:02:51
Thank you.
Yeah, I don't.
1:02:52
Want to I don't have time to wash my hair, I'll just.
Do you think he.
1:02:54
Had a iron deficiency.
I don't, OK.
1:02:59
I don't, no.
So the prison doctors and the people that the prosecution brought in, they had 12 doctors that
1:03:05
evaluated him and he tried his vampire drinking blood insanity shit. 11 of the 12 were like, this
guy's fine.
1:03:15
Oh, he got.
One, though, he did get.
1:03:17
One, but that one still, although he bought into there was mental illness there, which he probably
wasn't wrong.
1:03:24
There probably is some mental illness.
He he actually diagnosed him as an ambitious paranoiac, which I think I don't know what the term is
1:03:36
in nowadays.
He was a doctor.
1:03:37
He.
Was a psychologist well?
1:03:39
Yeah, whatever.
It's like a dentist, right Doctor?
1:03:43
You're.
Not you're not a real doctor I.
1:03:45
Think you are?
No, you're not a dentist.
1:03:47
No.
All right.
1:03:49
Well, certainly not a.
Psychologist.
1:03:50
Yeah.
Exactly.
1:03:51
So get this.
So this ambitious, paranoic, it's, it's considered the worst type of this type of illness and it's
1:03:58
illustrated best by Adolf Hitler.
This is what they say he was.
1:04:02
These people truly believe that they are smarter than everyone else and there is no way they could
possibly get caught well.
1:04:10
Hold on.
So they're in Hitler's defense.
1:04:13
He was high on meth.
Don't.
1:04:14
Defend Hitler.
So, you know, he was high on meth and you know, we know meth heads.
1:04:19
They So was this guy smoking meth?
He wasn't smoking meth.
1:04:22
OK, so you know he was high on.
Acid fumes, yeah, that's.
1:04:25
True.
That's true for.
1:04:27
Sure, so Hay's lawyers actually made a deal with him because Hay was broke as fuck they go.
Hey, listen here dude.
1:04:35
We're going to offer to represent you for free, but we want the rights to your life story.
They knew he's going to lose.
1:04:43
Yes.
And while in prison, they had him start writing his book, which he loved.
1:04:48
He was like, fuck it.
Yeah.
1:04:49
Like they clearly seem my genius.
OK.
1:04:52
All right.
Yeah.
1:04:53
Yeah.
That's that's how you get them.
1:04:55
You you stroke their ego a little bit.
Yeah, yeah.
1:04:57
And then they will spill the beans.
How?
1:05:00
Trippy is this though?
I said Lawyers at the beginning made a joke about them being lowlifes.
1:05:05
Any lawyers listening?
I'm sorry, but they're fine.
1:05:08
They'll just.
Sue us.
1:05:08
Yeah, it's OK.
Yeah, exactly.
1:05:10
I laughed because they're representing a guy they know damn well killed these people.
He's telling them he did.
1:05:16
And they're like, well, how can we make money off of him because he can't pay us?
Yeah, So like, well, you got to give us your story, buddy.
1:05:22
They.
I mean, they're also.
1:05:23
Ambitious and statistic and whatever.
The but they're not.
1:05:26
Obligated to tell the court what they know, right?
So a a good lawyer would be John already.
1:05:33
Did that he's.
Oh yeah.
1:05:34
Well.
Yeah, yeah, I admitted to it.
1:05:36
Yeah.
But I'm saying all the details though, right?
1:05:39
So they can hold back stuff, true.
Because really it's the burden of the prosecutor, right to prove it.
1:05:44
They just have to have the doubt true.
So he blew my mind.
1:05:48
Just there.
Good job.
1:05:49
You just have a.
Seizure.
1:05:50
No.
No.
1:05:51
Man, I just spoke for a second all.
Right, so.
1:05:53
Cool.
Hey?
1:05:54
Actually pleads not guilty, and while the trials going on, this dumb fuck's actually playing with
the crossword puzzle.
1:06:01
He paid little attention to the whole trial.
Just fucking.
1:06:06
He's like, he's like, yeah, hurry up so I can get to my fucking mental institution for 12 years and
get the fuck out of here, he hears.
1:06:11
Guilty.
He's like, what?
1:06:13
Yeah.
So what?
1:06:15
The fuck what happened?
I gave you my own life, should I be?
1:06:19
Paying attention.
I mean, I should myself.
1:06:22
You told me not to listen.
Yeah.
1:06:24
The fuck happened?
Jesus.
1:06:26
So so get this.
What?
1:06:28
Anyway, you broke bitch.
We got your life story now jokes on.
1:06:32
You see you in hell.
Motherfucker.
1:06:34
Yeah.
So.
1:06:36
So, Madame Tussaud, you know who that is?
Never heard of I should the wax.
1:06:40
Figure Person.
Yeah, OK.
1:06:43
She.
Actually asked and made a fitting of John Hay's face for a for her wax figure showings.
1:06:49
Oh, he.
Probably dug that so he.
1:06:51
Was like a kind of a.
Superstar.
1:06:53
He was a star back and at least in his mind, Yeah, right.
And that's all.
1:06:58
That matters, and that's all.
That matters.
1:07:00
Perception's reality, dude.
This reminds.
1:07:02
Me of our Japanese guy that our issue ohh.
Yep, see wait tray.
1:07:07
Tray issue say.
Say.
1:07:10
Saigawa.
Saigawa.
1:07:12
Who?
Who was a cannibal and who was this little Midget Hobbit dude?
1:07:17
Ugly little blood suck troll.
And he became famous after he murdered a bunch of people, Yeah.
1:07:24
This is the same.
This is similar.
1:07:25
What is wrong with this as a?
Society there was very few.
1:07:28
Things to entertain people back then, apparently so get this it takes the jury 15 minutes to come to
a conclusion that's.
1:07:35
It Yeah, I'm not.
A smart man, but if I'm a murder suspect and they come back in 15 minutes, oh, I'm.
1:07:42
Thinking I'm off, I'm going to the.
Yeah, I'm thinking, yeah, that's what he's thinking.
1:07:47
Yeah.
Yeah.
1:07:48
These people are clearly smart because they didn't even Dick around.
They didn't come back and tell me I'm.
1:07:52
I'm, I'm free.
Yeah, clearly.
1:07:54
Yeah, they saw me playing.
The crossword.
1:07:56
Case yeah, open and shut.
Unfortunate for him, he was sentenced to death.
1:08:01
He was hanged on August 6th, 1949.
OK, so they didn't even fuck around.
1:08:06
Wow, there was no.
Appeal.
1:08:08
I wish they would.
Have done the acid they should.
1:08:09
Have put in an acid alive, yeah, that'd.
Be cool.
1:08:13
Yeah, 100%.
So his parents didn't even come to his hanging.
1:08:18
They sent a message, though, through a reporter.
OK.
1:08:21
Yeah, like, hey, sorry to hear about it.
Yeah, bye.
1:08:25
Bye, dear John.
Yeah.
1:08:27
Dear John.
All right.
1:08:34
I thought you had it.
I know I was.
1:08:36
Waiting for the I lost it.
For the.
1:08:38
Punch and it never can.
All right, so anyway, fellas, listen, that was a good one.
1:08:42
That's the story of John Hay, the acid bath murders, and that's it.
Let's clean up.
1:08:48
All right, Lance, get the fucking dishes.
I will do that now.
1:08:51
I will, most certainly.
Do that right after all of our listeners join us on 72 House Under Score Media on Instagram and
1:08:57
e-mail us all your.
All your things well.
1:09:03
No your passcodes.
If you.
1:09:05
Yes.
Yeah, but your finances.
1:09:07
Finances.
Know it but if if anybody out there has got a story to tell us or wants us to research anything
1:09:13
anything any cool stories that they want to know about we can certainly research it at 72
housepodcast@gmail.com so hey I'd just.
1:09:22
Like to plug that I sell 55 gallons acid I.
Got acid for sale for sale?
1:09:28
So I'll take a.
Jug of that.
1:09:29
OK, cool.
All right.
1:09:32
Thanks everybody.
All right.

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