1915: Brides in the Bath Killer Hanged at Maidstone Prison
George Joseph Smith, operating under aliases including Henry Williams and John Lloyd, was convicted of drowning three women in their baths after marrying them bigamously and insuring their lives. His victims were Bessie Mundy, found dead at Herne Bay in 1912; Alice Burnham, drowned at Blackpool in December 1913; and Margaret Lofty, found dead in her bath at Highgate in December 1914. Each death was initially recorded as accidental, but Divisional Detective Inspector Neil and pathologist Dr Bernard Spilsbury determined that accidental drowning in any of those baths was effectively impossible.
Smith was tried in 1915, convicted of all three murders, and hanged at Maidstone Prison by executioner John Ellis on 13 August 1915.
Smith protested his innocence to the end.
