John George Haigh appeared polished, persuasive, and respectable—but beneath the tailored suits was a calculating fraudster willing to murder for money. Between 1944 and 1949, Haigh targeted at least six people, including William McSwan and his parents, Donald and Amy McSwan; Dr. Archibald Henderson and his wife, Rosalie; and wealthy widow Olive Durand-Deacon. After killing them, he dissolved their remains in sulphuric acid, forged documents, and took control of their money and property.
Haigh believed he had discovered the secret to the perfect crime: without a body, there could be no murder conviction. But when Olive Durand-Deacon disappeared in February 1949, investigators began examining the smooth-talking businessman who had been among the last people to see her alive. At Haigh’s workshop, police uncovered human remains that the acid had failed to destroy, including part of a foot, teeth, gallstones, and human fat.
Arrogant and convinced he had outsmarted the law, Haigh confessed to multiple murders and attempted to portray himself as a blood-drinking madman. A jury rejected his insanity defense, and on July 19, 1949, he was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. He was executed at Wandsworth Prison on August 10, 1949.
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