Bathtub Murders | Herne Bay to Blackpool

Profile of George Smith, by Mandeep Rai

In 1912, the people of Herne Bay, Kent would learn of the tragic passing of one of their own, Bessie Williams. At the time, it was believed that Williams had accidentally drowned in her bathtub. It's always the spouse that did it right? Well Williams' husband, known as Henry William (real name George Smith) was questioned by the police, but later released due to lack of evidence. Case closed. 

After Williams' death, Smith moved out of the Herne Bay area to Blackpool. In 1913, he would go onto marry a second woman, Alice Burnham. Similarly, Burnham would go on to suffer from the same fate as Williams in Herne Bay: accidental drowning in the bathtub.

Once again, Smith adopted another alias and moved to a different area. The following year, 1914, Smith would marry a third woman, Margaret Lofty, who would, you guessed it, drown in her bathtub. Purely accidental of course(!). Fortunately, a friend of Burnham, Smith's second wife, had heard of Lofty's passing, and connected the dots. She made the call to the police, and Smith was later charged with the murder of all 3 women. 

In August 1915, he was executed in Maidstone, Kent.




Source:

https://www.kent-life.co.uk/people/kent-s-true-crime-10-grisly-murders-1-6370901

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