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Stanley Setty

Age: 46

Sex: male

Date: 5 Oct 1949

Place: Dengie Marshes, Tillingham, Essex

Stanley Setty was murdered between 4 and 5 October 1949 and his body dismembered and dumped out of an aircraft over the Thames Estuary. His remains were later found on 21 October 1949 in Dengie Marshes.

A 29-year-old company director was tried for his murder but acquitted, although he was convicted of being an accessory to murder.

Stanley Setty vanished on 5 October 1949 and on Monday 17 October 1949 a reward of £1,000 was offered for information concerning his whereabouts was offered. When he had vanished, he was said to have had about £1,500 in his possession. The £1,500 was said to have been made up of £5 notes and the man that was tried for his murder was said to have had a large roll of £5 notes on him.

Stanley Setty was a used car dealer and had lived in a flat at 53 Maitland Court in Lancaster Gate and had carried out his business from a garage in Cambridge Terrace Mews in Regent's Park, London.

Following his disappearance his torso was found in Dengie Marshes near Tillingham, about 30 yards from the sea wall, by a farmer that had been out in a punt wild-fowling on Friday 21 October 1949. He said that he first thought that it was a bundle of pheasants or old bedding. He said that he could see that it was contained in a grey blanket and said that when he pulled the stitches apart, he found the body. He said that the arms were tied behind the back by a strap or a piece of rag which, after giving way, floated off. After he found it, he secured it with a stake and then went off for the police.

The farmer said that under normal conditions it would be possible to get a car within half a mile of the sea wall, and in fine weather, right up to it. He also noted that it would have been possible for the body to have floated down from the River Crouch or the River Blackwater.

When the police arrived, they found that the torso was missing its head and legs but that both arms were still intact. He was then identified by his fingerprints after police matched them to fingerprints found in his abandoned cream-coloured car, as well as prints from his criminal record files, and on 27 November 1949 his clothing, a shirt and a pair of dark shorts, was shown to Stanley Setty's brother and sister and who identified them as his.

A doctor that examined his torso said that he found that Stanley Setty had been stabbed five times, three wounds of which had penetrated his lungs, and which were in his opinion the cause of death. However, the doctor noted that he could not say that there were no other causes of death due to the fact that the head was missing.

The police said that they thought that it would have taken several hours to have removed Stanley Setty's head and legs. The police added that the care with which his torso had been sewn into a blanket with his outer clothing supported the theory that it had not been hurried.

The police said that they thought that Stanley Setty had been murdered in London in a room or premises, possibly in the West End and the prosecution at the trial claimed that the company director had murdered or dismembered him at his flat at 620B Finchley Road, Golders Green.

Before the police had considered the theory that his body had been thrown out of an aeroplane, they said that they thought that his murderer had driven as far as he could with his remains, about four miles towards the sea and had then got out and put on rubber boots and had gone on by foot towards the sea wall from where they had gone to a spot between Howe Outfall and Marsh House outfall where they dumped his body.

However, after medical experts later considered the condition of the torso, they considered the possibility that his remains had been dropped by an aircraft and after some investigations the man that was tried was identified.

It was later said that he had attempted to fly out over the sea to dump Stanley Setty's remains but that because the marshes from a height were difficult to distinguish from the sea, he had dumped the body parts too soon and they had landed in the marsh, where they were later found, and not the sea. however, the trial notes suggested that he had dumped them in the sea, but in an area more effected by the estuary tides, and that they had washed back in again.

The man that was tried or his Stanley Setty's murder, the 29-year-old company director, had lived in Finchley Road, Golders Green, London, NW11.

Stanley Setty was first reported missing at Albany Street police station at 12.40pm on 5 October 1949 by his brother-in-law who lived with him at 53 Maitland Court in Bayswater who told the police that he feared that some injury had befallen him.

He described Stanley Setty as being 5ft 7in tall and added that he was a native of Palestine.

A statement was also then taken from the brother-in-law's wife, Stanley Setty's sister, in which she said that Stanley Setty had been born in Irak and had been brought to the United Kingdom as a child.

She said that he carried on a business as a motor trader in Warren Street and that in the course of his business nearly all his transactions were made on a ready cash basis.

She said that she last saw her brother at 5.05pm on 4 October 1949 in Osnaburgh Street, NW1 at which time he had been in a cream-coloured Citroen motor car Index No. CJN 444 and that he had been driving along in the direction of Euston Road accompanied by a man that sometimes worked for him on a commission basis. She said that Stanley Setty stopped his car and spoke to her, saying that he would not be home for dinner that night. She also described the clothing that he had been wearing, although it was later agreed that she made a mistake regarding his shirt.

Stanley Setty was also seen soon after by an independent witness, a 59-year-old man that lived in White House in Albany Street who said that he saw Stanley Setty, who was well known to him, at 5.50pm on 4 October 1949 driving a Citroen motor car south along Great Portland Street. He said that there was another man sat in the front of his car with him who he described and who was later identified by him as a man who was a known criminal, and who was never traced. Intensive enquiries were made to trace the criminal, but without success, and that sighting was the last time that Stanley Setty was known to have been seen alive.

Stanley Setty girlfriend, a clerk who lived in Inverness Terrace, W2, said that she had first met Stanley Setty in May 1946 and that they had kept company and become very friendly. Stanley Setty had been a single man and she said tha they had on one occasion discussed marriage. She said that she was last in his company on Monday 3 October 1949 when he intimated to her that he would be unable to see her the following evening, Tuesday 4 October 1949, as he was going to Watford in connection with a motor car deal. She also said that Stanley Setty called her the following day at about 3.30pm at her place of employment and told her that he would be going to Watford that evening and that he would probably telephone her on his return.

It was noted that Stanley Setty's girlfriend was a convicted criminal with three convictions against her for larceny and receiving.

The police report stated that enquiries revealed that on 4 October 1949 Stanley Setty received the sum of £1,005 in £5 notes as a result of a motor car deal. It was also confirmed by a cashier at the Yorkshire Penny Bank at 97/99 Cheapside, EC2 that he cashed a cheque at his cashiers till on 4 October 1949 for £1,005 which was drawn by a man from Blackpool and made payable and endorsed by another man and which was paid out in £5 notes, 200 of which were numbered M.41 039801 to 040000. It was noted that he could not give the serial number of the additional £5 note that was paid over. He noted that the cash was handed to another man that had been present.

A statement was obtained from the man who was given the cash and it was determined that he was a motor salesman who lived in Genesta Road in Westcliff-on-Sea. He admitted that he had attended the Yorkshire Penny Bank as mentioned and obtained the sum of £1,005, which consisted of 201 £5 notes and that after receiving it he returned to Warren Street and handed the money over to Stanley Setty.

A motor driver who lived in Camelot House in Camden Road, NW1, who was employed by Stanley Setty at his garage in Cambridge Terrace Mews, NW1, said that Stanley Setty came to his garage as usual at 9.30am on 4 October 1949 and that in the course of the day he paid several visits to Warren Street, finally returning to the garage at about 5pm.

He noted that during the day, at about midday, Stanley Setty gave him a cheque for £450 to cash at his bank in Mornington Crescent which he did and that on Stanley Setty's instructions he handed £400 to the secretary employed by Stanley Setty's brother an returned to the garage and gave the remainder, £50, to Stanley Setty. He said that the money that he gave to Stanley Setty was in £5 notes, but that he didn't know the numbers on them.

He said that Stanley Setty finally left the garage at 5.30pm in his Citroen car, accompanied by a man that he knew as employed by Mansfield Autos in Fitzroy Street, W1. The man was later identified by the police as a man that lived in Fairview Road, South Tottenham, who later himself gave a statement stating that Stanley Setty gave him a lift at that time from Cambridge Terrace Mews to Fitzroy Street, but he was unable to assist the police any further with their enquiry and said that that was the last time that he saw Stanley Setty.

The motor driver said that he arrived at the garage the following day at 9am on 5 October 1949 and noticed that Stanley Setty's Citroen car was stationary in the Mews and some distance from the garage with the ignition key missing from the dashboard. He said that he later examined the Citroen motor car and said that he determined from the petrol that was known to have been in the tank prior to Stanley Setty leaving the garage when he last saw him on 4 October 1949 that the car had travelled about 15 miles.

Stanley Setty's disappearance was a mystery until Friday 21 October 1949 when at about 12.30pm a farm labourer who lived in St Nicholas Road in Tillingham, Essex, who had been sailing in his punt on the flats at Tillingham in search of wild fowl saw a grey bundle floating in the sea. He said that he examined it shortly after finding it, stating that it looked like a bundle of bedding tied up with string. He said that he cut the string and that part of a body floated out. He said that he then noticed that there were braces on the body, which he took to be that of a man and that he also noticed that the man's hands were tied behind his back with something that looked like a piece of leather or brown webbing.

He said that he then secured the body and wrappings by tying it to a stake that he then pushed into the mud and then moored his punt and returned to Tillingham and later went to Bradwell-on-Sea where he reported the matter to a police constable with the Essex County Constabulary.

The man and a police constable later went back to the spot where the man had left the bundle and found that it was still as he had left it.

The man noted that he had been to the same spot the previous day and said that the bundle and the remains had not been there then.

A detective with the Essex Constabulary stationed in Chelmsford said that at 10am on 22 October 1949 that he went to the Dengie Flats at Tillingham where he saw the remains of a male torso and took photographs and then later conveyed them to St John's Hospital in Chelmsford and then at 4.30pm showed them to a pathologist.

He noted that when the bundle was found that there were two large pieces of felt and a piece of thin rope with it.

A post-mortem was carried out on the same day and several body specimens as well as the felt, rope and clothing were taken away to the Laboratory at New Scotland Yard for examination on 24 October 1949. The torso was then also handed over that same afternoon, 24 October 1949, to a professor at the London Hospital for further examination.

The preliminary post-mortem report from 22 October 1949 examination stated that the torso was that of a well-nourished man. The doctor described the wrappings and clothing which were beside the body. He said that the head and both legs had been cut off with some sharp instrument, and that the bones had been sawn through. He said that he then removed the skin from the man's fingers on both hands and placed them in separate jars before handing them to the superintendent.

Following that the doctor performed the post-mortem and said that in his opinion, under normal conditions, that the deceased had not been dead for more than 48 hours before he was put in to the water. He said that there was no evidence of external bruising or gross violence other than wounds on the front of his chest, which he described as puncture-type wounds in keeping with stab wounds, that he thought were probably inflicted by a sharp two-edged weapon about one inch in width and at least four inches in length. He added that the wounds appeared to have been inflicted before death and noted that several of his ribs had been fractured, although that those injuries had been caused after his death.

The doctor stated that he had come to the following conclusions:

  1. From the material available, death was due to stab wounds in the chest.
  2. There was no natural disease present.
  3. After death the ribs had been fractured by a crush-type of injury, leaving no extenal marks.
  4. After death the head and legs had been severed with a sharp instrument, and the bones sawn.
  5. The severing operation must have been associated with blood spillage, since it is impossible, with the data available, to assess with any accuracy, the interval since death and the length of time in the water, but it is reasonable to say that, given normal temperature, 48 hours would be the maximum between the time of death and immersion. Also, that 21 days would be the maximum to produce the external appearance.

Following the preliminary post-mortem results the detective superintendent conveyed the skin removed from the fingers of the body to New Scotland Yard at 7.20pm on 22 October 1949 and handed them to the chief superintendent of the Fingerprint Department. Following their analysis it was determined that the ridge characteristics on the skin were identical with those of Stanley Setty, who had a criminal record, CRO No. 13123/28, having one conviction recorded against him for obtaining credit by fraud and offences against the Bankruptcy Act for which he was sentenced to 12 months and 6 months imprisonment consecutively, imposed at the Manchester Quarter Sessions.

After it was considered that Stanley Setty's remains might have been thrown out of an aeroplane over the marshes due to the nature of some of the injuries, enquiries were then made and the director and chief engineer at the United Services Flying Club at Elstree Aerodrome came forward to say that the company director who was later tried for Stanley Setty's murder had been to see him on 5 October 1949 and had hired an aeroplane. He said that the company director had paid an outstanding account of £20 with four £5 notes and that the aeroplane that he had hired was an Auster, registration no. G-A.GXT and that he had taken off with it from the aerodrome at 5pm saying that he was going to Southend in it.

The chief engineer said that the following day, 6 October 1949 between 10am and 11am, the company director arrived at the aerodrome in a car and told him that he had left the aeroplane that he had hired at Southend Municipal Aerodrome and that he was going to collect it and would fly back to Elstree later that day. The chief engineer said that subsequently, the same day, he received a message from Gravesend Air Control stating that the aeroplane had landed there owing to weather conditions.

He said that when he saw the aeroplane after it had been brought back to Elstree on 10 October 1949 he noticed that the port window had been damaged and the front sliding portion had been jammed back and could not be moved.

It was noted that the four £5 notes that the chief engineer had received in payment for the company directors outstanding account had been paid into the Reigate branch of Barclays Bank, however, subsequent enquiries found that no records were kept of £5 notes received and that it was impossible to determine the numbers of the £5 notes that had been deposited and compare them to the ones known to have been in Stanley Setty's possession.

An aircraft mechanic who lived in Scott's Wood Road in Bushey who was employed at the Elstree Aerodrome said that  he knew the company director who was a member of the United Services Flying Club and who had been flying from Elstree for the previous twelve months. He said that on a day about three weeks before 28 October 1949 (the day his statement was taken from him), he remembered seeing the company director arrive at the aerodrome in a black Singer Saloon motor car and take a parcel from the motor car and put it into an Auster aeroplane. He said that the parcel was about 2ft 6in by 1ft 9in and had been wrapped up in brown coloured material and tied with string. He said that from the manner in which the company director had been carrying it that it appeared to be heavy.

He said that before the company director took off he borrowed a penknife from another man there which he later returned to him on 7 October 1949.

An aircraft fitter who lived in Watling Street, Barnet, said that he had seen the company director arrive at Elstree Aerodrome at about 5pm on 5 October 1949 in a motor car. He said that he saw him take two parcels from his car and put them into the aeroplane, noting that he put one in the co-pilots seat and the other in the back of the plane. He said that the parcels appeared to be bulky. His statement was corroborated by another aircraft fitter who lived in Featherstone Gardens, Boreham Wood.

A statement was also taken from a man who worked for the United Services Flying Club in Elstree who said that on 5 October 1949 that he was residing at the Southend Flying Club and that at about 5.30pm that day he saw an Auster aircraft G-A.GXT from Elstree  land. He said that he then saw the company director who he knew get out of the aircraft and said that he asked him to fly it back to Elstree, but said that the company director refused. He said that he noted that there were no parcels in the aeroplane at that time.

The manager of Southend Airport said that the company director arrived at Southend airport at 6.25pm on 5 October 1949 and that from his record he could say that it later took off from Southend for Elstree at 4.07pm on 6 October 1949.

During the investigation, the police asked the Southend airport manager about the possibility of parcels being dropped from an Auster aeroplane into the sea and subsequently took off with him in an Auster single-engined monoplane and flew round the aerodrome and opened the right-hand door of the aeroplane, thus proving that air resistance would not prevent parcels or bundles being disposed of in the manner referred to.

Further enquiries at the Southend Municipal Aerodrome found that a man that lived at Tudor Gardens in Leigh-on-Sea had also seen the Auster aircraft from Elstree land at Southend. He said that the following day, 6 October 1949, at about 4pm, he saw the pilot transfer a large heavy package from a motor car to the aeroplane and volunteered to assist him in loading the package into the aircraft, but said that the pilot declined. The police report noted that from the man's description  of the pilot that it was clear that that man was the company director, however, the report also noted that he was obviously mistaken when he also said that the man he described was at the aerodrome during the morning of 6 October 1949 and also when he said that the vehicle that the pilot had arrived in with the parcel at the aerodrome had been a brake or van.

A man who was employed by the Pavilion Hire Service who operated principally from Southend Municipal Airport and who lived in Leigh Hall Road in Leigh-on-Sea said that he had been at the airport on 5 October 1949 at about 6.30pm having a meal in the restaurant there when the pilot of the Auster aircraft, the company director, asked him to drive him to Golders Green. He said that the man was in a hurry and that he left his meal to drive him to London. He said that he drove the man to London along the North Circular Road and dropped him off at Golders Green. He said that when the passenger was informed by him that the charge was £4 5s, the man handed him a £5 note and stated that he didn't want the change. The cab driver said that as far as he could remember that when the man handed him the £5 note that he had taken a roll of notes out of his pocket, removed one and handed it to him.

The police noted that enquiries were made to trace the £5 that the man had been paid with, which he had paid in the Highlands Branch of Barclays Bank in Leigh-on-Sea, but said that no note was made of the number there and that it could not be traced.

The police report noted that as a result of the information that they had obtained, it was clear that the pilot of the Auster, the company director, had taken off from Southend on 6 October 1949 but did not fly to Elstree, but instead landed at Gravesend. The police said that a statement was taken from a man that lived in King's Drive, Gravesend, in which he said that the Auster aircraft had landed at Gravesend at about 5.45pm on 6 October 1949. He said that the pilot, who gave his name as the company director, then hired a taxi to get to London. He said that the company director at time had been carrying a grip and a green rug rolled up and tied with string.

A taxi-driver who lived in Ingoldsby Road in Gravesend said that soon after 6pm on 6 October 1949, that he was hired to drive a man from Gravesend Airport to Finchley, noting that the fare for the journey was £3. 10a. 0d and that he was handed a £5 note, number L52 038716 by his passenger to whom he then gave the appropriate change.

The police report stated that following their enquiries at Elstree and Southend aerodromes that they decided to interrogate the company director regarding the parcels that he was seen to put in the Auster aircraft.

The company director lived in a rented flat at 620B Finchley Road in Golders Green with his wife and 3-month-old child, paying 25/- rent per month. The police went to interview him at 7.45am on 26 October 1949. When they saw him, the Chief Inspector said to him, 'We are Police Officers enquiring into certain serious matters in connection with which I think you can help' to which the company director replied, 'What is it all about?'. The Chief Inspector then said, 'I don't think this is a convenient place to discuss the subject. It would perhaps be better if we went to the police station', the officer noting that it was because his wife was there and the company director replied, 'All right, I will come with you'. When he got into the police car he said, 'Can't you tell me more about it now?' and the Chief Inspector replied, 'Our enquiries are in connection with the murder of Stanley Setty, who disappeared on 4 October 1949', and the company director replied, 'Oh, I can't help you with that. I know nothing about it'.

The company director accompanied the police to Albany Street Police Station and, when asked to account for his movements on 4 and 5 October 1949, he replied, 'That's going to be difficult'. He then stated that he didn't own a motor car and last drove one three or four months previously. However, upon further questioning he admitted that he did drive a car to Elstree Aerodrome on 5 October 1949 and hired a plane to go to Southend but had had no parcels with him.

He was seen by a Scotland Yard detective at 10am that morning, 26 October 1949, and after introducing himself, the detective explained that he was making enquiries into the murder of Stanley Setty who disappeared on 4 October 1949 and whose body was found on the Essex coast on 21 October 1949 and the company director said, 'I can't help you. I can't see where it has anything to do with me. Setty has not been to my place'. The detective then said, 'I understand you hired an aeroplane at Elstree Aerodrome on 5 October 1949, on which you loaded two parcels and took off for Southend at about 5pm', and the company director said, 'It's a lie. I put no parcels in the plane, all I had with me was my overcoat'.

When the company director was informed that witnesses had seen him putting two parcels into the aeroplane on 5 October 1949 and that the following day he was seen to put a heavy parcel in the same aeroplane at Southend, the company director hesitated for a few moments, put his head in his hands and added, 'I'm several kinds of a bastard, aren’t I'.

He then made a lengthy statement which was taken down in writing which he signed.

In his statement he said that he was a member of the United Services Flying Club at Elstree and was able to fly solo and that about three years earlier he had become acquainted with two motor dealers who had facilities in Warren Street and that whilst there once he had met a man who he described as being aged about 35, 5ft 10in or 5ft 1in tall, with a heavy build, clean shaven, and with fair hair parted in the centre.

He said that on 30 September 1949 that he was in the motor dealers office when he saw the man again and said that he spoke to him and that during the conversation the man had asked, 'Are you the flying smuggler?' to which he replied, 'Yes'. He said that after some conversation regarding the sale of dollars the man invited him to have a cup of tea at a nearby cafe where the man introduced him to another man, saying, 'This is him'. The company director described the man as being about 31 years old, 5ft 7in tall, with a dark complexion, with a thin black moustache and with black hair, adding that he thought that he looked like a Cypriot.

The company director said that the first man then told the Cypriot that the company director was not doing much business and that the Cypriot then asked him, 'You would like to make some money? I can put you on a deal if you keep your mouth shut'.

The company director said that the first man then asked him for his name, address and telephone number which he supplied him and said that he then enquired of him, 'They tell me you can get hold of and use aeroplanes? How about getting hold of a plane that will carry five or six people without worrying about customs?' and the company director said that he then gave them to understand that he was an experienced pilot.

The company director said that the man then called him on 2 October 1949 during the forenoon and enquired about hiring an aeroplane and said that he told him that he would require some money before hiring a plane and added that he would only be able to obtain a single-engined type. The company director added that he tried to put the man off from flying abroad, explaining to him the difficulties of obtaining trip tickets and other formalities. He said that after further conversation he stated that he could hire a plane and by flying in and around England, no papers would be necessary.

He said that on 3 October 1949 that the man telephoned him again and asked him to hire a single-engined plane, adding that he would provide him with the necessary money, but said that he telephoned him again later that day to say that he would not require an aeroplane that day.

The company director said that on 5 October at about 10am, the man called him again and said, 'We will call round and see you. We want that 'plane''.

The company director said that that same morning he telephoned the United Services Flying Club in Elstree and booked a single-engined aircraft for that afternoon and that at about the same time he hired a self-drive motor car for 24 hours at Saunders' Garage in Golders Green.

He said that between 2pm and 3pm the same afternoon the man, the Cypriot and a third man called at his address. He described the third man, who was known as 'Boy', as being about 35 years of age, 5ft 9in tall, of medium build, clean shaven, with brown hair and added that he sometimes wore steel rimmed glasses.

He said that the Cypriot and Boy were each carrying a parcel. He added that he didn't know whether or not his wife saw the men. He said that they then went upstairs to his flat where the man spoke about forged petrol coupons that he had been making and told him that he wanted to get rid of the plates or presses adding that he went on to say that he wanted them dumped in the water. He said that the three men inferred that the plates or presses were in the two parcels. 

The company director said that when he suggested that that was an expensive way to get rid of the plates and offered to bury them, that the men impressed on him that they wanted the parcels disposed of in the sea.

The company director noted that during the conversation, Boy and the Cypriot, pulled large bundles of notes from their pockets and that Boy handed him ten £5 notes as payment for disposing of the parcels in the manner they described. He said that the men emphasised that the parcels had been done up properly and that it would be unwise for him to interfere with them. He added that before the men left that the man said, 'We will call round about eight o'clock to a quarter past and pay you another £50'.

The company director then described the parcels to the police, saying that he pushed his foot hard against one and found that it was firm. He said that the other was heavy, but that when he squeezed it, it had a soft feeling. He noted that he didn't see any dry or wet stains or moisture on either of the packages and that he then put them in a cupboard in the kitchen.

He said that he later placed the parcels in the back seat of his car that he had hired at 3.30pm and drove to Elstree Aerodrome and upon arrival took the parcels from the car and put them into the aeroplane. He said that before he left the airport that he paid an outstanding debt of £20 with four £5 notes.

He said that he then took off from Elstree at about 4.30pm and flew towards Southend and that upon reaching the pier that he flew out to sea in the direction of the Kent coast and then opened the door on the pilots side of the plane with both hands and threw the parcels out into the sea. He said that he thought that it was at that stage about 4 to 5 miles from the end of Southend Pier.

The company director then went on to describe how he landed at Southend Airport, spoke to a man there and hired a car to drive him back to Golders Green, arriving at about 8.45pm, noting that he paid the driver with a £5 note.

He said that when he got to the street door leading to his flat that the man was there and that he came up to him and said, 'You are really late', and said that he told him that he had dumped the parcels in the Channel. He said that the man then asked him to walk across the road to where a Humber motor car was stationary in which there sat the Cyriot and Boy and that in the back he saw another bulky package leaning against the seat. He said that he told the man that he had already spent about £30 and that that would leave him £70 for himself but that the man then said, 'We are going to give you a chance to earn another £50 tonight. We want you to drop another parcel in the sea'. The company director said that he then explained that the aeroplane was at Southend and that he had not done any night flying and that he would not be able to dispose of the large parcel. However, he said that the man then impressed on him that they wanted the parcel thrown into the sea, but refused to assist him in conveying the package to Southend. He said that Boy then took some money from his pocket and handed him £100 saying that he could keep the package upstairs in his flat until the following day and then dispose of it at his convenience.

The company director said that the £100 was made up of £90 in £5 notes and 10 £1 notes. He said that the man and Boy then took the package out of the car and carried it into his flat and put it into the far cupboard in his kitchen.

The company director said that the following morning, 6 October 1949, that he went to Elstree Aerodrome, arriving at about 9.30am having hired a chauffeur-driven hire car from Sunder's Garage and that on reaching the Airport he dismissed the chauffeur-driven car and returned to Golders Green in the one he had hired the previous day. He said that during the morning, at about 11am, he drove the car to the front of his flat and that with the assistance of an employee from Saunders' Garage, he carried the package downstairs and placed it in the car.

The company director noted that whilst they did that that he heard the parcel make a gurgling noise and sid that he thought that the parcel contained a small body and that it crossed his mind that the package might have contained Stanley Setty's body as he had read in the papers that morning that Stanley Setty was missing. He said that he had known Stanley Setty because he had previously sold him a motor car about two years earlier.

The company director described the package and the material with which it was wrapped and said that it was very heavy and that it was as much as he could do to lift it.

He said that he drove to Southend with the package and put it into the aeroplane and took off and that he afterwards, with some difficulty, dropped the package into the sea at about the same spot that he dropped the other two parcels the previous day. 

However, he said that he then lost his bearings and landed at Faversham in Kent after which he took off again and eventually landed at Gravesend Airport where he left the plane and hired a car in which he was driven back to London.

He said that as far as he could remember, on the morning of Friday 7 October 1949, having seen mention in the newspapers the numbers of the £5 notes that were reported to have been in Stanley Setty's possession when he disappeared, that he checked the numbers with those on the notes that had been given to him by Boy and found that four of the notes were identical with four of those reported to have been obtained by Stanley Setty from his bank.

The company secretary then went on to explain how he disposed of the £150, saying that he gave £80 in £5 notes to his wife, £40 of which she put into the baby's Post Office Savings Bank account and £40 of which she put into her own bank account, Martin's, Edgeware Road Branch, but said that he could not remember how he disposed of the others, with the exception of four, one of which he paid at Fortnum and Mason's in Piccadilly for a telephone address book, one he changed at a shop in Burlington Arcade in payment for a set of scissors in a red leather case, and the other two he paid to a tobacconist and confectioner in Edgeware Road.

He said that on the Sunday 23 October 1949 that he read about part of Stanley Setty's body being found in the newspapers tied up in a blanket in Essex and that at about 11am the same morning Boy telephoned him and asked him if he had read the Sunday newspapers and added, 'I hope you are not getting any views about getting squeamish and claiming any reward. You have a wife and baby'. The company director said that he replied, 'I am in it I presume as deep as you are, for £150 at that'.

However, he said that he had not seen any of the three men since 6 October 1949 and had not heard from any of them since 23 October 1949.

When the company director was asked to account for his movements on 4 October 1949, he stated that as far as he could remember that he had met a man that lived in the Belsize Park area at 6pm by appointment and that they had gone to the Shepherds public house in Shepherds Market and had remained there drinking until 10pm.

He concluded his statement by saying that he banked at the Midland Bank in Golders Green and that as far as he could recall that he had a credit balance of about £10.

The police report stated that intensive enquiries were made by several officers in the Warren Street district with a view to identifying and tracing the three men described by the company director and many frequenters and business people in the district were seen but no information to suggest who the men were was forthcoming and the report concluded that it was almost certain that no such men ever existed.

Further notes stated that the investigating officers felt that it was interesting to point out that several of the details that the company director had given regarding the three men were details associated with the book 'Brighton Rock' by Graham Greene in which there was a character called Boy and that the Cypriot had a name similar to the author. The detective further stated that he thought that it was likely that when the company director was describing the first man that he was actually describing him, the detective. These details were also later confirmed by the company director after his conviction.

The police report stated that as a result of that they again saw the company director who had been detained at Albany Street Police station at 10am on 27 October 1949 and asked him, 'Can you tell me anything more about the three men you mentioned in your statement' and said that the company director replied, 'No, I have told you all I know about them'.

The police next saw him later that same day at 5.30pm and showed him the felt that had been wrapped round the torso and the rope with which it was tied and the company director made a short statement to the effect that the wrappings on the large packet that he had put into the sea and the rope with which it had been tied were similar to those shown to him.

He was next seen at 2.30pm on 28 October 1949 and asked, 'Have you been able to remember anything further about the three men you described, as I have had many enquiries made and they cannot be identified', but the company director replied, 'No, I have been thinking hard but I can't tell you anything more about them. You should be able to pick them up in Warren Street'.

The police then said, 'I understand you had a knife sharpened in Saunders' Garage at lunch time on Wednesday, 5 October', to which the company director responded, 'Yes, I got it sharpened for the joint'.

The police then said, 'I understand you offered to sell a man two motor vans on Friday, 29 September 1949, when you were in his office', to which the company director replied, 'I didn't have two motor vans for sale. I was only romancing to get the man to take an interest in me'.

The police said that they saw the company director again on 28 October 1949 at 6.30om and charged him with the murder of Stanley Setty, saying, 'As the result of enquiries made I am going to charge you with murdering Stanley Setty between 4 and 5 October 1949'. They then cautioned him, and he said, 'No, I didn't kill him. I am not guilty'.

He was then taken to Bow Street police station where he was charged and cautioned and he said, 'I am absolutely not guilty'.

He was then searched and amongst his other property in his possession the police found two pawn tickets, one in respect of a ring pledged for £5 on 1 October 1949 and the other for a suit pledged on 25 September 1949 for £4.

The company director then appeared at Bow Street Magistrates Court the following morning.

The police said that further enquiries were then made and numerous statement taken that showed as association between the company director and Stanley Setty and examinations were made at his flat at 620B Finchley Road in an effort to trace the other £5 notes that had been issued to Stanley Setty, noting that there was also the fact that the company director had been hard pressed for money shortly before Stanley Setty disappeared.

A statement was taken from a 56-year-old motor boat proprietor who lived in Kensington Road in Southend-on-sea and who had been in business as a waterman at Southend all his life regarding the tides and currents and he said that he was conversant with the currents around those parts and that in his opinion that if a body was put in the River Thames east of Southend that it would be carried to the Dengie Flats where the parcel containing Stanley Setty's was found.

The company directors wife was also interviewed. She was 28-years-old. However, she said that she could not remember three men calling to see her husband between 2pm and 3pm on 5 October 1949 and said that she had no recollection of two men coming into her flat after 8.30pm on the evening of 5 October carrying a large heavy package. She also said that she did not see her husband and an employee from Saunder's Garage taking a large package from the kitchen on the morning of 6 October 1949 and carrying it downstairs. She said that she did remember her husband giving her about £80 in money, principally in £5 notes, noting that she thought that he had given it to her during the evening of 4 October 1949. However, she said that there was the possibility that he might have given it to her the following morning.

The company directors wife said that on 5 October 1949 that she paid £23 of the money into her post office savings bank account in Golders Green, the transaction for which was shown in her savings bank book and the same day paid £50 of the money into the Midland Bank Limited in Golders Green to the credit of her account at Martin's Bank in Edgeware, London, W2.

She said that her husband never told her that he had been threatened by any man or men, or that any threat had been made as to her personal safety. She added that so far as she knew, that her husband had been earning a living recently flying aeroplanes because he had told her that that was his occupation.

A man that was employed at Golders Green Post Office who lived in Hornsey Lane East, N19 said that on 5 October 1949 that he received from some person a deposit of £23 to be credited to the account of the company directors wife. However, he said that he could not recollect the composition of the £23 deposit as no record was kept of the numbers of any Bank of England notes deposited. It was noted that the post office at which he was employed was open for business between 8.30am and 6pm.

Similarly, an accountant who lived in West Way, Pinner and who was employed at the Midland Bank in Golders Green was seen and he made a statement, which it was noted that because of Bank regulations, he declined to sign, after he was promised that the information that he imparted would not be used until a subpoena had been served on him. He said however, that the business hours of the branch at which he was employed were 10am to 3pm Mondays to Fridays and 9.30am to 12 noon Saturdays.

The police investigation found that the company director, whose latest address was noted as being at 620B Finchley Road, NW11, had opened an account at the Golders Green branch of his bank, and a certified copy of his account was secured by the police which showed that towards the end of August 1949 that the company director requested that he be allowed an overdraft of up to £70 until 14 September 1949 which was agreed to.

The police report stated that on 27 September 1949 that the company directors account was overdrawn to the extent of £78. 0s. 5d and that it was found that between 24 and 30 September 1949 that the bank dishonoured some of the cheques drawn by the company director. However, the police found out that on 5 October 1949 that the company director saw a man at his bank and paid £90 into his account which put his account back into credit to the extent of £11. 19s. 7d. It was noted although that no one at the bank could say whether that amount, which was paid in in cash, was in £5 notes or notes of a smaller denomination. It was also noted again that a record of £5 notes paid into the bank or paid out to customers in the course of business was no longer being kept.

It was also noted that the £50, consisting of 10 £5 notes, numbers unknown, was paid into the account of the company directors’ wife on 5 October 1949 at Martin's Bank in Edgeware Road, London, W2.

The police also took statements from the two motor dealers who traded in Warren Street who both spoke of their business dealings with the company director and Stanley Setty. They also took several other statements from other motor dealers, including a man and his uncle who both spoke of seeing the company director talking to Stanley Setty in his garage in Cambridge Terrace Mews around the middle of August 1949 as well as another company director who spoke of seeing the main company director accused of Stanley Setty's murder speaking to Stanley Setty at Stanley Setty's garage in January 1948.

The police investigation also dealt with a credit control manager who lived in Boleyn Avenue in Ewell East who was employed by a firm of bullion dealers and assessors who stated that his employers had supplied a concern controlled by the company director, Little Atom Electrical Products Limited, with metal used for the manufacture of electrical switches and that the company director owed his employers £197. 12. 6d, and that he had pressed the company director on several occasions to pay the outstanding debt, the last occasion being on 5 October 1949.

A hairdresser who lived in Finchley Road, Golders Green near to the home of the company director who had known the company director for the previous 12 years said that he had loaned the company director sums of money at various times, the last time being on or about 10 September 1949 when he borrowed £9 from him which he said was repaid on 5 October 1949.

It was also ascertained that Little Atom Electrical Products Limited, which was located in Castle Factory, Market Street, Hay-on-Wye in Hereford, owed £667 to Ebonestos Industries Limited in Rollins, Street, SE15. the police report noted that a secretary who lived in Draycott Avenue in Kenton and who worked for Ebonestos Industries Limited stated that he had pressed the company secretary for payment of that account which was, at the time of the investigation still outstanding and for which subsequent bankruptcy court proceeding in respect of the debt had been commenced.

A further witness, a man employed with WH Smith & Sons, Newsagents in Finchley Road and who himself lived in Bulwar Road in New Barnet, said that the company director owed his employers the sum of £5. 4s. 3d. for newspapers. He said that on 6 October 1949 that when he called on the company directors address and requested the outstanding account be paid that the company director handed him a £5 note, adding that he would call later with the balance of 4/3d.

It was noted that when the director of the Metropolitan Police Laboratory supplied his preliminary report in respect of the death of Stanley Setty that he stated within it that Stanley Setty's blood type belonged to Group 'O' although it was also noted that 42% of the population were blood group 'O'.

On 25 October 1949, the police went to Elstree Aerodrome with the director of the Metropolitan Police Laboratory and examined the Auster aeroplane in which they found traces of blood on the floor immediately behind the pilot’s seat.

They then visited 620B Finchley Road on 29 October 1949 and took possession of a green carpet that had been laid on the lounge floor on which was later found to be a fairly extensive stain on the underside which was determined to have been human blood. However, it was noted that the process of recent dyeing and cleaning had rendered it impossible to group the blood.

The police again went to 620B Finchley Road on 31 October 1949 and made an examination of the floor of the dining room. They made a plan of the floor on which they numbered each of the floorboards consecutively from 1 to 20 , commencing at the door leading to the small hall, and found distinct traces of blood in the crevices between the boards numbered 8 to 19 inclusive in that part of the floor lying directly between the door of the dining room and that of the kitchen.

The police then removed floorboards numbered 11, 12 and 13 on which they found traces of human blood belonging to blood Group 'O'

The police also found a considerable amount of dried blood had soaked into the laths and plaster underlying the floor joists in the same area from which the floorboards 10, 11, 12 and 13 had been removed which was also found to be of blood Group 'O'.

The police returned to the flat on 1 November 1949 and lifted further floorboards and additional bloodstains were found on the underlying plaster between floorboards 7 and 8 and 17 and 18, and the area where bloodstains had been traced was then photographed.

The police also examined the bathroom on 1 November 1949 and found traces of blood were present on the edge of the linoleum covering the floor where it adjoined the bath panel and at the door that led to the bathroom.

The police then made a further examination of the flat on 3 November 1949, making an intensive search of the stairs and floor of the flat and found traces of blood on the edges and surfaces of the green linoleum covering the small hall between the lounge and the dining room and in the crevices of the three floorboards of the lounge nearest the hall. Traces of blood were also found on several of the stairs leading to the top floor where the bathroom was situated.

The police also found a considerable number of small splashes of dried blood on the wall flanking the staircase between the first and second floors, some of which were removed so that they could be tested to determine whether or not they were of human origin and, if possible, their blood group.

The police also found a small irregular blood stained fragment of what appeared to be skin or flesh on the wall above the handrail of the stairs that led to the front door of the flat which was also taken away for further examination.

It was noted that the amount of blood that would have been in Stanley Setty would have been about 9lbs worth and that if he had been dismembered in the living room that the blood would have poured out from his legs and formed a large pool with rivulets. The suggestion of the packages having been brought to the flat and then having leaked was thought unlikely as they were described as being dry by witnesses and that the blood would have coagulated soon after the remains were dismembered, the blood being expected to have coagulated completely within 10 minutes. It was also noted that it was quite clear that the blood had been fluid when it had seeped through the floorboards although some of it might have been pressed through by wiping.

A pathologist said that when the legs and head were cut off that the liquid blood would have flown from the vessels and that as they were the main vessels in the body, viz top of legs draining the main veins of the lower body and neck draining the veins from the heart and upper limbs, they would empty at the time of 'cutting' up. Hence, it was stated that the possibility that the chest might have leaked after dismemberment was too remote to be considered and that if the body had been cut up before it arrived at the flat that it would have arrived bloodless and could not have produced the mess found.

When the flooring was examined in total, several points were made. Regarding the stains on the carpet, they were described as representing the maximal amount of soiling that might have occurred and could well have been an exaggeration of the original contamination if attempts were made to wash or clean it. It was reported that the significance of the blood stains on the carpet near the door was that it was possible that either a blood soaked bundle had been placed there or that somebody with stab wounds had been standing there which was thought was further supported by the fact that further staining was found on the floor between the carpet and the door. However, it was further noted that if the felt below at the spot near the door was the original then the amount of blood there would not have been excessive although it was noted as being a very prominent position.

The report noted that the blood found in the hall, staircase and bathroom did not represent the amount that might have been there as it was all on the linoleum which could have been washed or wiped with greater ease. It was also noted that the amount found in the hall could have represented quite a lot of blood which was possibly substantiated by the absence of the original rug. The notes stated that it was thought that the hall could itself have been the pivot of activities, being possibly contaminated in passage from movement between the lounge and the dining room to the lower staircase and to either room to the upper staircase. It was additionally noted that the hall could have been contaminated by either the body moving by its own volition or by being dragged or carried.

The police interviewed a domestic help who lived in Sneath Avenue, London, NW11 and who had been employed by the company director’s wife at 620B Finchley Road from 1 June 1949 until 19 October 1949 on Wednesday afternoons between 2pm and 5pm. She said that on Wednesday 5 October 1949 that she visited 620B Finchley Road and that when she did she noticed that the pale green carpet that ordinarily covered the lounge floor was missing. She said that the company director told her that he had had it taken away to be dyed and also mentioned that he had tried to wash some stains off of it but that as he had been unsuccessful, that he had decided to have it dyed.

The domestic help said that during the afternoon that she had been there that the company directors wife had been there and that she had been preparing to leave the flat with their baby and that the company director told her that he was going to clear out the cupboard in the kitchen and that he would be busy and must not be disturbed on any account. She said that about an hour after that that the company director brought her out a cup of tea which he gave her in the lounge.

She said that soon after that she saw the company director in the hall with a parcel under each arm and that he asked her to shut the front door after him as he could not easily do that himself. She said that the parcels that he had been carrying had been wrapped up in brown paper and appeared quite bulky and weighty.

The domestic help said that no mention of the carpet being dyed had been made to her prior to 5 October 1949. She said that she clearly remembered that when entering the flat that day that the company director said to her, 'Here's half a crown. I have spoilt your new floor cloth trying to wash the carpet. Get yourself another one'. She said that she thought that it was strange for a man to ruin a floor cloth completely upon a carpet and said that she didn't see the ruined floor cloth in the rubbish bin in the scullery. She added that when the company director left the flat with the parcels he had had something loose over his arm that looked like a small rug.

The police report stated that it was later ascertained that the company director had taken the carpet to Burtol Cleaners Limited in 618 Finchley Road, NW11, where he had seen the manageress there, a woman who lived in Princes Park Avenue, NW11. When the police spoke to the manageress she said that she knew the company director and his wife, stating that they were customers there and that about midday on 5 October 1949 that the company director had come into the shop and had asked if they dyed carpets. She said that he then asked her how long it would take to dye one and said that she told him that it could not be done in less than 14 days.

The manageress said that she then offered to send a man to his address to collect the carpet but said that he declined the offer and brought the carpet to the cleaners himself. She said that when he brought the carpet in, she explained to him that it would be difficult for her to estimate the cost of dyeing the carpet unless it was unrolled, but said that the company director did not appear anxious for the carpet to be undone and that he agreed to pay the sum of £2, and asked for it to be dyed a darker green. She said that it was sent to the dyers and that it was returned to Burtol Cleaners Ltd in Golders Green on 19 October 1949.

The manageress said that in the meantime, on 13 October 1949 that the company director enquired as to whether the carpet had been brought back from the dyers and that from that day on worried her on numerous occasions over it until he finally collected the carpet on 19 October 1949.

On Tuesday 25 October 1949 the company directors wife also took a gent's tie into the cleaners to be cleaned, but at the time of the writing of the police investigation, it had not yet been returned and the police took it away for possible scientific examination at the laboratory.

A painter who lived in Crown Terrace in Cricklewood and who was employed by HA Saunders Limited in St Albans Lane, Golders Green said that he had known the company director for some years and said that about three weeks prior to 28 October 1949, in mid-week, he had been asked by a fellow employee to call on the company director to do a staining job in his flat during his lunch hour. He said that when he called the company director gave him some Darkaline Stain and showed him parts of the floor that he wanted stained, which included the portion of the dining room floor that extended from the hall door to the door leading to the scullery. He said that the company director paid him £1 for the work done, but that he was unable to complete the staining as he had only had an hour's break and had to return to work after his luncheon period.

He said that at about 12.30pm as he was about to leave the flat that the company director said to him, 'I want you to help me take a parcel downstairs into the car'. He said that he indicated to a large parcel which was wrapped in what looked like carpet felt that was tied with a rope similar to sash cord. He said that the package was taken downstairs with difficulty and placed in the car. The painter said that the company director told him that it was valuable property and that he didn't want anything broken. The felt that the torso had been wrapped in and the rope were later shown to the painter and he agreed that they were similar to that which the package had been wrapped in that he had assisted the company director in taking downstairs to the car.

It was also observed that if Stanley Setty was not murdered in the flat at 620B Finchley Road that the source of the blood found in the floorboards was not known.

Two of the witnesses at Elstree Aerodrome were also shown the felt and rope and both said that it was similar to the felt and rope that they had seen on one of the parcels that they had seen conveyed by the company director from the car to the plane at Elstree Aerodrome on 5 October 1949.

Another employee at Sunders' Garage who lived in Russel Road, NW11 made a statement to the effect that at some time after 1pm on 5 October 1949 that the company director asked him to sharpen a knife, saying that he wanted it done so that it would cut his cut. The employee described the knife and when he was shown a knife that the police found at the company director's flat, he identified it as the one that he had sharpened on the date in question.

The police report noted that the knife was also shown to a doctor on 3 November 1949 and that he had said that in his opinion that the stab wounds on the torso could have been inflicted with it. He also said that he thought that the knife could have been used to dismember his body.

The police report also noted that the hire of the cars by the company director from Saunders' Garage in Golders Green could also be proved by a man there who made a relevant statement on that matter.

The police report additionally noted that on 3 October 1949 that the company director paid an outstanding debt of £30 to a doctor who lived in Kingsley Way, N2 which was made up of six £5 notes which the doctor was still in possession of when he was interviewed by the police. However, the police noted that it appeared, although they could not prove it, that the company director had borrowed the £30 that he paid the doctor with from someone else, which was said to have been borne out by the fact that on 30 September the company director endeavoured to borrow 18/6d from one of the motor dealers in Warren Street.

A woman who lived in Northumberland Avenue, Welling and who was employed by Fortrum and Mason Limited at 181 Piccadilly said that on the morning of 22 October 1949 the company director bought a telephone address book in the shop for 42/6d, and that he paid with a £5 note that she later identified when the police went there to interview them. The telephone address book was later found by the police at the company director's address. The £5 note was actually paid into the companies bank, the National Provincial Bank Limited at 208 Piccadilly, W1, but was later handed to the police by a cashier there who lived in Orchard Avenue in Shirley after it was received from Messrs Fortnum and Mason on either 24 or 25 October 1949.

The company director paid his rent on 5 or 6 October 1949 to a man who lived in Sandringham Road, Golders Green, with a £5 note that the company director handed him, although the number was unknown. The man said that when the company director paid the rent he noticed that he did so from a large roll of £5 notes that he had taken from his pocket which had been about two inches in diameter. He said that the £5 note was later passed on to his son and was paid to Wooderson's at the Vegetable Market in Covent Garden the following day. Enquiries were made to trace the note, but without success.

The police also spoke to a man who lived in Finchley Road who said that the company director spoke to him about changing £5 notes in Ireland, but said that he told him that the banks there were loath to take them and that if they did, the person tendering them would be required to endorse them with his name.

The police report noted that the company director had said in his statement that as far as he could remember that he had gone to Shepherds Market and met a man who lived in Upper Park Road in Hampstead, on the night of 4 October 1949, the day that Stanley Setty disappeared, but said that when they spoke to the man he said that he was definite that he had not met the company director on that particular night.

The clothing that Stanley Setty had been wearing when he was found was later identified by his sister as that that he had been wearing when he was last seen on 4 October 1949 although it was noted that the shirt that she had mentioned in her first statement was not the one that was found on his torso, but it was noted that the laundry number in the latter was the one mentioned by her in her first statement.

It was noted that in view of the fact that banks were no longer recording the numbers on £5 notes that it had been impossible to trace any of the notes that had been issued to Stanley Setty on 4 October 1949 with the exception of two. The first was the one that was used to buy the telephone address book by the company director at Fortnum and Mason's of Piccadilly and the other, number M.41 039803 was accepted by a totalisator clerk at Romford Dog Track from some unknown person on 25 October 1949. The police report noted that the company director had mentioned seeing the numbers of the £5 notes that Stanley Setty had had with him when he disappeared in the newspapers, but it was further noted that press were not given details of the £5 note numbers until late on Friday 7 October 1949 and that the information was not published in the newspapers until the following morning on 8 October 1949.

The police report also noted that it was clear that the person that drove Stanley Settys Citroen motor car back to Cambridge Terrace Mews during the night of 4/5 October 1949 knew Stanley Setty and knew where he garaged his car. The police stated that they drove a police car from Cambridge Terrace Mews to 620B Finchley Road in Golders Green and found that the distance shown on the speedometer was 4.5 miles and noted therefore that the return journey from Stanley Setty's garage to Golders Green, provided a direct route was taken, would have been 9 miles on the speedometer.

A plan of the company directors flat at 620B Finchley Road was prepared and photographs of the bloodstained area of the dining room floor and of the bathroom were also taken.

A search was made of the company directors flat for Stanley Setty's fingerprints, but none were found and Stanley Setty's car and his home were also examined for fingerprints, but none were found that could assist in the enquiry.

The company director was noted as having had a criminal record which included convictions against him for falsely suggesting that he was in HM Services, wearing RAF uniform to gain admission to a prohibited place and possessing a forged official document to gain admission to a prohibited place.

At his trial he described himself as a 'semi-honest' man.

At his trial he was acquitted of murder after the jury failed to reach a verdict, but he was convicted of being an accessory to murder and sentenced to 12 years which he spent in Dartmoor Prison, earning full remission for good behaviour.

At his trial it was said that much of the deliberation revolved around whether Stanley Setty could have been killed by one assailant or two. The pathologist that examined Stanley Setty's body said that he was of the opinion that more than one person was concerned in the murder.

The issue of the blood found in the flat at 620B Finchley Road was also considered which was said to have been more consistent with a body having been dismembered there rather than a man having been murdered which would have probably left some trace of blood on the walls and furniture. It was speculated that Stanley Setty might have been murdered elsewhere and then taken to 620B Finchley Road and then dismembered. As such, it was claimed that it was improbable that the company director had murdered Stanley Setty.

On the note of the company director’s wife, the counsel noted, 'I do not say that she had no part in the murder. I certainly do not agree necessarily that she had no part in the cutting up of the body and the tidying up of the flat'. However, it was observed that she had not been charged with being an accessory after the fact. However, it was also noted that it was peculiar that she had not noted in her statements anything that might have indicated that a body had been dismembered at her flat, which had resulted in massive staining to the carpets and flooring and that if Stanley Setty's body had been dismembered there as claimed that she must have noticed something.

After his conviction, the company director asked to see the detective and claimed that his wife had murdered Stanley Setty and that he had helped her to dispose of the remains. He said:

'I want to tell you some facts, but I want some further time to think things over. I will put my story in writing and send it to you, I mentioned this to the solicitor when he saw me about my appeal. You need not waste time looking for the three men. That was just a story I made up. I didn't actually do the knifing, I have been shielding my wife, she hasn't played the game. I did the cutting up of Setty's body in the flat and worked all night on it. I came home unexpectedly. Setty was a bastard with women. I hope you bear me no ill will for telling lies. I was fighting for my life. The judge saw through me from the start, but my wife seemed so nice, coy and demure in the witness box that they all fell for her. She is a wicked woman. I will write out my story and let you have it later'.

The company director was also quoted as saying, 'My wife is a bitch, I know of five different men who have been associating with her since we married. I am not even sure that the child is mine. She will not stand by me as she promised. She and her father have had all my money'.

His solicitor said that when he spoke to the company director in prison after his conviction the company director said to him, 'If my wife does not come and see me here I am going to send for the superintendent and tell him the whole story. I am not going to carry the can for her, she is not worth it'. The solicitor said that when he asked the company director whether he killed Stanley Setty, the company director replied, 'No, I came home unexpectedly and found him with my wife, I laid him out and she stabbed him four or five times. She knew him before I did and in fact introduced us. I worked all night cutting up the body. The three men I mentioned in my statement to the police never existed. I took two of the names from the book 'Brighton Rock' and the third was the detective’s description'.

In late March 1950, shortly before the company director suggested that his wife had been involved in the murder, the police went to the Golders Green Station cloakroom to look for a case but were informed that after four months that such items were taken to the Lost Property Office in Baker Street. When the police went there they found a case and took a statement from a deputy clerk who told them that the trunk was delivered to the Lost Property Office on 8 February 1950 after having been sent there from Golders Green Station. It was a small black trunk and the cloakroom ticket in respect of it had been No. A.39190 which was issued at Golders Green Station on 9 October 1949. However, there was no property in the trunk, but it was found to have been bloodstained and was thought to have once contained either parts of Stanley Setty's body or implements that had been used in its dismemberment.

It was later reported that the company director had a lengthy history of criminal activity, CRO No. 23312/42, and alleged that his business was a front for his criminal activities. It was further noted that he had known Stanley Setty well and that he was actually stealing cars for him to order that matched log books that Stanley Setty had for other cars although this is not mentioned in the main court files.

It was also noted that Stanley Setty also had a criminal record, CRO No. 13123/28.

It was further noted that following his release from prison in June 1958 that the company director confessed to the murder of Stanley Setty to the Sunday Pictorial for which he was paid £2,000 which serialised the confession in their publication.

After that he was involved in several bank robberies and later confessed to shooting and injuring a bank clerk in a bank raid at a bank in Brentford, Middlesex in 1958 after which he went to Switzerland where he robbed a bank and was convicted for murdering a taxi driver, Arthur Maag, who he shot in Zurich, Switzerland.

He was later transferred back to the United Kingdom in 1976 and detained in Broadmoor after Swiss authorities said that they didn't want him after he finished serving 17 years imprisonment there. Whilst in Switzerland he was known as the 'Beast of Regensdorf' because of his violence.

He was released from Broadmoor in April 1988 aged 67 to a low security hospital. He was thought to have died shortly after but verification of that cannot readily be found.

It was noted that although the company director had admitted that he had murdered Stanley Setty in his confession to the Sunday Pictorial, that it was not guaranteed that he did murder him as there were said to have been a number of inconsistencies between his confession and the known facts. Adverts for the company director’s confession in the Sunday Pictorial were placed in numerous newspapers. The Sunday Pictorial was noted for including photographs of the company secretary posing in his flat at 620B Finchley Road and also in the Auster aeroplane showing how he threw the packages out of the door.

It was claimed in the confession that the company director and Stanley Setty had gone back to the company directors flat where they had had an argument after Stanley Setty kicked the company director’s dog and that in the argument he had murdered him.


*map pointers are rough estimates based on known location details as per Place field above.

see www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk

see The Scotsman - Friday 27 January 1950

see National Archives - MEPO 3/3144

see Belfast News-Letter - Monday 17 October 1949

see Aberdeen Evening Express - Thursday 24 September 1959

see Reading Evening Post - Wednesday 20 April 1988

see Aberdeen Evening Express - Thursday 22 April 1976

see Coventry Evening Telegraph - Friday 06 June 1958

see Coventry Evening Telegraph - Tuesday 25 October 1949

see Torbay Express and South Devon Echo - Monday 07 November 1949

see Nottingham Journal - Monday 24 October 1949

see Crime and Investigation

see Murderpedia

see New Yorker

see Essex Family History

see Crminal Encyclopedia