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FACTFILE
John Straffen
was born in 1930. As he progressed through school life he
became a thief and a truant. At age 10 he was sent to a
school for backward children, and in 1947 he assaulted a
child and was committed to a mental institution.
He was released in February 1951 and had, by August,
strangled two small girls, Brenda Goddard and Cicely
Batstone, both aged only 5. in the town of Bath. He did it,
he claimed, to annoy the police. In October he appeared
before a Taunton court, he was found unfit to plead and was
sent to Broadmoor secure unit.
April 1952, he escaped from Broadmoor, and although
he was caught later the same day, it was not before he had
strangled Linda Bowyer. The body of the young girl was found
the next day in a field close to Broadmoor. Straffen
implicated himself by telling officers ‘I did not kill the
little girl on the bicycle.’ This was before they had asked
him about the murder.
July 1952, Straffen appeared at Winchester Crown
Court and
pleaded not guilty. His ability to plead was accepted and he
was found guilty and sentenced to death.
An appeal against
sentence was lodged , and a reprieve was granted. He was
returned to Broadmoor to see out his days.
He had the claim of being the longest serving prisoner in
the UK having been in continuous custody since 23rd April
1952 until eventually dying behind bars in Broadmoor on
19th
November, 2007, at the age of 77.
Straffen was on
the Home Office list of prisoners who must serve a 'Whole
life' tariff; see the list here >>
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