John George Haigh: The Acid Bath Murderer

Morbid

08/08/24

•

78m

About

Comments

Featured In

On February 20, 1949, police in London arrested thirty-nine-year-old John George Haigh on suspicion of his connection to Olive Durand-Deacon, a wealthy widow who’d gone missing a few days earlier. Haigh had a long criminal history of fraud and theft, so when police discovered that Haigh had recently pawned several items belonging to the missing woman, they naturally believed he had robbed and possibly killed Duran-Deacon. The truth, they soon learned, was far worse.

After days of interrogation, Haigh eventually confessed to the murder of Olive Durand-Deacon, telling detectives he had drained her of her blood, which he intended to drink, then disposed of her body in a forty-five gallon barrel of acid—but she was far from the first of his victims. By the time his case went to trial, investigators had connected Haigh to six victims, all dissolved in acid, and he’d confessed to three additional murders that were unconfirmed.

In his confession, Haigh claimed he’d murdered his victims in order to drink their blood; though, it’s far more likely his motive was primarily greed. Nevertheless, Haigh’s claim was immediately seized upon by the British tabloids, who labeled him a “vampire killer” and provided endless sensational coverage of the arrest, trial, and his eventual execution.

Thank you to the incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research!

References

Daily Record. 1949. "Haigh was a model boy." Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland), July 20: 1.

Evening Dispatch. 1949. "Haigh: Defence will plead insanity." Evening Dispatch (Birmingham, England), July 18: 1.

—. 1949. "Silence in court." Evening Dispatch (Birmingham, England), July 1: 1.

Evening Express. 1949. "Haigh for trial at Old Bailey." Evening Express (Liverpool, England), April 2: 1.

Evening Sentinel. 1949. "Dramatic developments in mystery of missing widow." Evening Sentinel (Staffordshire, England), March 1: 1.

Herald Express. 1949. "'Haigh put the body in a drum' - prosectiuon." Herald Today (Devon, England), April 1: 1.

Lincolnshire Echo. 1949. "Haigh lived to lives, says mind doctor." Lincolnshire Echo, July 19: 1.

Lowe, Gordon. 2015. The Acid Bath Murders: The Trials and Liquidations of John George Haigh. Cheltenham, UK: History Press.

Ramsland, Katherine. 2006. "John George Haigh: A Malingerer's Legacy." The Forensic Examiner 59-62.

Root, Neil. 2012. Frenzy: The First Great Tabloid Murders. New York, NY: Preface Publishing.

Sunday Dispatch. 1949. "Wide search for missing rich widow." Sunday Dispatch (London, England), February 27: 1.

The Times. 1949. "Hiagh sentenced to death." The Times (London, England), July 20: 2.

Western Daily Press. 1949. "Haigh smiles at sentence." Western Daily Press, July 20: 1.

Western Morning News. 1949. "Yard fears for fate of five people." Western Morning News, March 3: 1.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Previous Episode

The Disappearance of Delimar Vera

August 5, 2024

•

54m

On December 15, 1997, ten-day-old Delimar Vera died in a tragic housefire when the Philadelphia home of Luz Cuevas and Pedro Vera caught fire unexpectedly. After a brief investigation, the fire department identified a faulty heater as the cause of the fire and deemed the baby’s death an accident and claimed that the girl’s remains had been completely destroyed in the blaze. Luz Cuevas was skeptical of their explanation and struggled to accept her daughter’s death.

Six years after the fire, Luz was at a party where she ran into Pedro’s cousin, whom she hadn’t seen in several years. The woman, Carolyn Correa, had with her a little girl named Aaliyah, whom she claimed was her daughter, though Luz didn’t remember her having children or being pregnant six years earlier. Even more suspicious was that six-year-old Aaliyah bore a striking resemblance to Luz herself and she couldn’t shake the feeling that Aaliyah was in fact her own supposedly dead daughter, Delimar.

Had Luz Cuevas been right all along? Had Delimar somehow managed to survive the fire? And if so, why was she now in the custody of a strange woman she hadn’t seen in six years?

Thank you to the incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research!

References

Benson, Clea, and Rusty Pray. 1997. "10-day-old baby dies in N. Phila. fire." Philadelphia Inquirer, December 16: 38.

CBS News. 2004. New twist in baby ID case. March 9. Accessed June 28, 2024. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-twist-in-baby-id-case/.

CNN. 2004. Mom finds kidnapped daughter six years later. March 2. Accessed June 28, 2024. https://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Northeast/03/01/girl.found.alive/.

Cuevas v. City of Philadelphia. 2006. 05-3749 (United States District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania, August 11).

Egan, Nicole Weisensee. 2005. "Her side of the story." Philadelphia Daily News, October 13: 3.

Frisby, Mann. 1997. "Heater blamed in fire that clais infant." Philadelphia Daily News, December 16: 10.

George, Jason. 2004. "Girl found and woman held after a ruse lasting years." New York Times, March 3: A13.

Gregory, Sean. 2004. Back from the blaze. March 15. Accessed June 28, 2024. https://time.com/archive/6737931/back-from-the-blaze/.

Pompilio, Natalie. 2004. "Kidnapped girl returned to birth mother." Philadelphia Inquirer, March 8.

Pompilio, Natalie, and Joel Bewley. 2004. "Case of child once believed dead is far from over." Philadelphia Inquirer, March 6.

Pompilio, Natalie, and Thomas Gibbons. 2004. "Woman suspected of kidnapping girl 6 years ago turns." Philadelphia Inquirer, March 2.

Soteropoulos, Jacqueline. 2005. "Abductor of infant gets 9 to 30 years." Philadelphia Inquirer, September 24: 1.

Tampa Bay Times. 2004. Daughter lost in fire returns, but questions swirl in family. March 7. Accessed June 27, 2024. https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2004/03/07/daughter-lost-in-fire-returns-but-questions-swirl-in-family/.

The Record. 2004. DNA testing helps mom find only daughter. March 2. Accessed June 28, 2024. https://www.recordnet.com/story/news/2004/03/03/dna-testing-helps-mom-find/50702564007/.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Next Episode

Introducing GOSSIP'S BRIDLE: A Chat with Spencer Henry & Madison Reyes!

August 10, 2024

•

27m

Weirdos! Spencer and Madison drop by to give us a SNEAK PEAK at their new show, Gossip's Bridle! Get ready to gossip about the gossips! So, pull up a chair, sit crooked, and talk straight with us!

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.