Buck Ruxton
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Buck Ruxton (born Bukhtyar Chompa Rustomji Ratanji Hakim; 21 March 1899 – 12 May 1936) was an Indian-born
physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
convicted and subsequently
hanged Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging in ...
for the September 1935 murders of his
common-law wife Common-law marriage, also known as non-ceremonial marriage, marriage, informal marriage, or marriage by habit and repute, is a legal framework where a couple may be considered married without having formally registered their relation as a civil ...
, Isabella Ruxton (
née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Kerr), and the family housemaid, Mary Jane Rogerson, at his home in Lancaster, England. These murders are informally known as the Bodies Under the Bridge and the Jigsaw Murders, while Ruxton himself became known as The Savage Surgeon. The case became known as the "Bodies Under the Bridge" due to the location, near the
Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries (''Siorrachd Dhùn Phris'' in Gaelic) is a historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the historic county. I ...
town of
Moffat Moffat ( gd, Mofad) is a burgh and parish in Dumfriesshire, now part of the Dumfries and Galloway local authority area in Scotland. It lies on the River Annan, with a population of around 2,500. It was a centre of the wool trade and a spa town. ...
in the
Southern Uplands The Southern Uplands ( gd, Na Monaidhean a Deas) are the southernmost and least populous of mainland Scotland's three major geographic areas (the other two being the Central Lowlands and the Grampian Mountains and the Highlands, as illustrated ...
of Scotland, where the bodies were found. The case was also called the "Jigsaw Murders" because of the painstaking efforts to re-assemble and identify the victims and then determine the place of their murder. Ruxton earned the title of "The Savage Surgeon" due to his occupation and the extensive
mutilation Mutilation or maiming (from the Latin: ''mutilus'') refers to severe damage to the body that has a ruinous effect on an individual's quality of life. It can also refer to alterations that render something inferior, ugly, dysfunctional, or imper ...
he inflicted upon his victims' bodies. The prosecution of Ruxton's murders would prove to be one of the United Kingdom's most publicised legal cases of the 1930s. The case itself is primarily remembered for the innovative
forensic techniques Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and criminal ...
employed to identify the victims and prove that their murders had been committed within the Ruxton household.


Early life


Childhood and youth

Buck Ruxton was born in
Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
,
British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
, on 21 March 1899 into a wealthy middle-class
Parsi Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...
family of Indian-French origin. Ruxton received a respectable upbringing, and despite being a sensitive youth with few friends, he was highly intelligent and received a thorough education. By his teenage years, he had resolved to seek a career in medicine. With the financial support of his parents, Ruxton studied at the
University of Bombay The University of Mumbai is a collegiate, state-owned, public research university in Mumbai. The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. Ratan Tata is the appointed ...
, where he qualified as a
Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...
in 1922. The following year, he qualified as a
Bachelor of Surgery Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...
at the same institute. Shortly after completing his studies, Ruxton obtained employment at a Bombay hospital, where he specialised in medicine,
midwifery Midwifery is the health science and health profession that deals with pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period (including care of the newborn), in addition to the sexual and reproductive health of women throughout their lives. In many cou ...
, and
gynaecology Gynaecology or gynecology (see spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, forming the combined are ...
. He would later gain employment with the
Indian Medical Service The Indian Medical Service (IMS) was a military medical service in British India, which also had some civilian functions. It served during the two World Wars, and remained in existence until the independence of India in 1947. Many of its officer ...
, for which he would be deployed to
Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...
and, later,
Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
. In May 1925, Ruxton married a Parsi woman named Motibai Jehangirji Ghadiali. The marriage was an
arranged In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestra ...
one, which ultimately turned out to be short-lived. When Ruxton relocated to Britain the following year, he concealed all evidence of this marriage, although in 1928, he did contact his father-in-law, Jehangirji, requesting he immediately send him the sum of £200 via
telegraphic transfer Telegraphic Transfer or telex transfer, often abbreviated to TT, is a term used to refer to an electronic means of transferring funds. A transfer charge is often charged by the sending bank and in some cases by the receiving bank. Historically t ...
.


Relocation to Britain

With financial assistance from his family and the Bombay Medical Service, Ruxton relocated to Britain in 1926. He attended medical courses at London's
University College Hospital University College Hospital (UCH) is a teaching hospital in the Fitzrovia area of the London Borough of Camden, England. The hospital, which was founded as the North London Hospital in 1834, is closely associated with University College London ...
under the name Gabriel Hakim, before moving to
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
in 1927 to begin studies towards obtaining a
Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an intercollegiate basis by the four Royal Colleges of Surgeons (the Royal C ...
. Although Ruxton failed his entrance examination, the
General Medical Council The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body that maintains the official register of medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its chief responsibility is to "protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the public" by c ...
authorised his practising medicine in the United Kingdom on the strength of the qualifications he had earlier obtained in Bombay. Shortly thereafter, he legally changed his name via
deed poll A deed poll (plural: deeds poll) is a legal document binding on a single person or several persons acting jointly to express an intention or create an obligation. It is a deed, and not a contract because it binds only one party (law), party. Et ...
to "Buck Ruxton". While studying to become a Fellow of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons in Edinburgh, Ruxton became acquainted with a 26-year-old woman named Isabella VanEss, who managed a café in the city. At the time of their acquaintance, Isabella was still legally married to a Dutchman whom she had wed in 1919, but this marriage had only lasted a matter of weeks, and she had resumed using her maiden name of Kerr. The two began courting, and Isabella was with Ruxton when he relocated to England in 1928. He worked as a
locum A locum, or locum tenens, is a person who temporarily fulfills the duties of another; the term is especially used for physicians or clergy. For example, a ''locum tenens physician'' is a physician who works in the place of the regular physician. ...
to a London doctor, a fellow Parsi named Manek Motofram, and later as an assistant to a
Stepney Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appl ...
-based doctor named. B. R. Rygate. The following year, Isabella gave birth to the couple's first child, a daughter they named Elizabeth.


Establishment of medical practice

In 1930 the Ruxtons relocated from London to
Lancaster, Lancashire Lancaster (, ) is a city and the county town of Lancashire, England, standing on the River Lune. Its population of 52,234 compares with one of 138,375 in the wider City of Lancaster local government district. The House of Lancaster was a bran ...
, where he established a medical practice at his family home at 2Dalton Square. Ruxton had made great efforts to assimilate himself into British society, and he quickly acquired a reputation among his patients as a diligent and compassionate general physician who was well respected and popular within the community. He is known to have waived his treatment fees on several occasions when he felt his patients could not afford to pay them. The following year, a second daughter, Diane, was born. Two years later, in 1933, Isabella gave birth to a son named William. The same year, the Ruxtons employed a young maid and live-in housekeeper named Mary Jane Rogerson, primarily to care for their children.


Jealousy and domestic violence

Despite his esteemed reputation within the Lancaster community, the relationship between Buck and Isabella Ruxton was fraught, and he became increasingly suspicious of Isabella's alleged
infidelity Infidelity (synonyms include cheating, straying, adultery, being unfaithful, two-timing, or having an affair) is a violation of a couple's emotional and/or sexual exclusivity that commonly results in feelings of anger, sexual jealousy, and riva ...
, reportedly exploding into fits of rage or bouts of tearful
hysteria Hysteria is a term used colloquially to mean ungovernable emotional excess and can refer to a temporary state of mind or emotion. In the nineteenth century, hysteria was considered a diagnosable physical illness in women. It is assumed that ...
and self-pity behind closed doors. On several occasions, these arguments would prompt Isabella to pack her belongings and return to Edinburgh with her children, although inevitable phone calls from Ruxton in which he would tearfully plead with Isabella to return to Lancaster would prompt her to return to him, and he would later state to investigators that on the frequent occasions Isabella would return to Dalton Square, she would almost invariably say to him: "I wonder how I could ever pick up an argument with you". It is unknown just when Ruxton began to accuse Isabella of
adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...
and assault her, although loud quarrels between the couple had resulted in police interventions on several occasions. The disputes between the couple occasionally had to be settled at the Lancaster police station, where police would observe Ruxton talking erratically before bursting into tears. Furthermore, Isabella is known to have attempted suicide by
inert gas asphyxiation Inert gas asphyxiation is a form of asphyxiation which results from breathing a physiologically inert gas in the absence of oxygen, or a low amount of oxygen, rather than atmospheric air (which is composed largely of nitrogen and oxygen). Examples ...
in 1932, and this suicide attempt had resulted in her suffering a
miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion and pregnancy loss, is the death of an embryo or fetus before it is able to survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks of gestation is defined by ESHRE as biochemical lo ...
. On one occasion in 1933, Isabella complained to police that her husband had begun beating her; when police visited Ruxton's practice to investigate her claims, Ruxton denied he had assaulted his wife, alleging that Isabella had been unfaithful to him. Nonetheless, within twenty-four hours of this incident, Isabella had returned to her partner. On another occasion in April 1934 a Lancaster policeman had been called to the Ruxton household following another quarrel. Upon his arrival, the officer was informed by Ruxton: "Sergeant, I feel like murdering two persons ... my wife is going out to meet a man". In early September 1935 Isabella Ruxton travelled to Edinburgh to visit one of her sisters. In her company were a prominent Lancaster family named Edmondson, with whom the Ruxtons were closely acquainted. To tend to the needs of his practice, Ruxton himself did not accompany his common-law wife on this trip, and thus remained in Lancaster. He would later confess to investigators that he had been convinced that as Isabella had been known to occasionally keep social company with a young man named Robert Edmondson—an assistant editor in the local Town Hall—she had been conducting an affair with him, and thus had used this trip as a means for the pair to continue their supposed affair. Hotel records would later confirm each adult had booked into separate rooms while they had stayed in Edinburgh.


Murders


Commission

On the evening of 14 September 1935 Isabella Ruxton left the family home to view the
Blackpool Illuminations Blackpool Illuminations is an annual lights festival, founded in 1879 and first switched on 18 September that year, held each autumn in the British seaside resort of Blackpool on the Fylde Coast in Lancashire. Also known locally as The Lights ...
and visit two of her sisters (who both lived near
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
). She left Blackpool to return home at approximately 11:30pm. Upon her return to Dalton Square in the early hours of Sunday, 15September, Ruxton's
jealousy Jealousy generally refers to the thoughts or feelings of insecurity, fear, and concern over a relative lack of possessions or safety. Jealousy can consist of one or more emotions such as anger, resentment, inadequacy, helplessness or disgust. ...
and
paranoia Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concer ...
apparently overwhelmed him, and he most likely
strangled Strangling is compression of the neck that may lead to unconsciousness or death by causing an increasingly hypoxic state in the brain. Fatal strangling typically occurs in cases of violence, accidents, and is one of two main ways that hanging ...
Isabella into submissiveness,
unconsciousness Unconsciousness is a state in which a living individual exhibits a complete, or near-complete, inability to maintain an consciousness, awareness of self and environment or to respond to any human or environmental Stimulus (physiology), stimulus. ...
, or death with his bare hands, before beating and stabbing her body. Either to prevent their housemaid from discovering his crime or because she had actually witnessed the act, Ruxton extensively bludgeoned and either strangled or
asphyxiated Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects primarily the tissues and organs. There are many circumstances that can i ...
Mary Jane Rogerson; he probably also stabbed her body either before or after death. The amount of blood subsequently discovered on the stairs, walls, and carpeting of the Ruxton household indicates excessive blood flow prior to the bodies'
mutilation Mutilation or maiming (from the Latin: ''mutilus'') refers to severe damage to the body that has a ruinous effect on an individual's quality of life. It can also refer to alterations that render something inferior, ugly, dysfunctional, or imper ...
, leading to the conclusion that Ruxton had stabbed either or both of the victims extensively shortly before or after death, or during the actual act of murder. On the day prior to the murders, Ruxton informed one of the two charwomen he and Isabella employed not to come to his premises until Monday 16September; within hours of the murders he had visited the home of the other charwoman he employed and likewise told her not to clean his premises until 16September, explaining that Isabella and Mary Jane had travelled to Edinburgh. After he had driven his children to the home of a
Morecambe Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea. Name The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), w ...
dentist with whom he and Isabella had formed a close friendship and asked the couple to look after his children for the day, he returned to his home and proceeded to extensively dismember and mutilate both bodies in the bathroom of his home in an effort to hide their identities. Several hours later, at approximately 4.30pm, Ruxton visited the home of one of his patients, a MrsHampshire, and asked both her and, shortly thereafter, her husband to return to Dalton Square with him to help him "prepare for the decorators", who were expected to arrive the following morning to perform work he claimed had been arranged several months previously. When MrsHampshire arrived at Dalton Square, she found the house in a state of disarray. As she would later testify at Ruxton's trial, all the carpeting had been removed from the stairs, and several sections of the flooring were littered with straw, which also protruded from beneath a locked bedroom door. Moreover, in the waiting-room of the property, Mrs.Hampshire discovered several rolled-up sections of carpeting, stair-pads, and a stained suit. In the garden of the property, she also discovered two further sections of carpeting, and several burned towels. Before the Hampshires left Dalton Square, they were given several sections of stained stair carpeting and Ruxton's stained suit to keep, upon the condition they thoroughly cleaned them.


Discovery

On the morning of 29 September 1935 a young woman named Susan Haines Johnson glanced over the parapet of an old stone bridge located north of the
Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries (''Siorrachd Dhùn Phris'' in Gaelic) is a historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the historic county. I ...
town of
Moffat Moffat ( gd, Mofad) is a burgh and parish in Dumfriesshire, now part of the Dumfries and Galloway local authority area in Scotland. It lies on the River Annan, with a population of around 2,500. It was a centre of the wool trade and a spa town. ...
. Upon the banks of the stream—named Gardenholme Linn—which ran beneath the bridge, Johnson noted a bundle wrapped in fabric that had lodged against a boulder, with a partially decomposed human arm protruding from the package. Police from the Dumfriesshire Constabulary were called to the scene. Discovering the remains within the package were human, officers searched the stream, surrounding ravines, and the nearby
Annan River The Annan River ( Kuku Nyungkal: ''Yuku Baja'') is a river located in the Wet Tropics of Far North Queensland, Australia. Course and features The river rises in the Yorkey Range below Mount Romeo near , north-northwest of . The river flows ...
, discovering two human heads, and four further bundles, each containing extensively mutilated human remains including thigh bones, legs, sections of flesh, and a human torso and pelvis. These human remains were in an advanced state of
decomposition Decomposition or rot is the process by which dead organic substances are broken down into simpler organic or inorganic matter such as carbon dioxide, water, simple sugars and mineral salts. The process is a part of the nutrient cycle and is e ...
, and had been wrapped in bedsheets, a pillow-case, children's clothing, and several newspapers (two editions of the ''
Daily Herald Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...
'' dated 6 and 31August 1935, an edition of the ''
Sunday Graphic The ''Sunday Graphic'' was an English tabloid newspaper published in Fleet Street. The newspaper was founded in 1915 as the ''Sunday Herald'' and was later renamed the ''Illustrated Sunday Herald''. In 1927 it changed its name to the ''Sunday ...
'' dated 15September 1935, and undated portions of the ''
Sunday Chronicle The ''Sunday Chronicle'' was a newspaper in the United Kingdom, published from 1885 to 1955. The newspaper was founded in Manchester by Edward Hulton in August 1885. He was known for his sporting coverage, already publishing the ''Sporting Chron ...
''). On 1 October the remains were examined at Moffat mortuary by the
forensic scientist Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and criminal p ...
John Glaister Jr., and a doctor named Gilbert Millar. Both men determined the 70 separate sections of human remains thus far discovered were those of two females of notably different heights and ages, and that the mutilation conducted upon the remains had been committed by an individual with extensive anatomical knowledge in an obvious effort to complicate the identification of the remains. In addition to the extensive mutilation across both victims' entire bodies, which both Professor Glaister and Dr.Millar deduced had been entirely committed with a surgical knife as opposed to either a saw or an axe, the murderer had removed the eyes, ears, skin, lips,
soft tissue Soft tissue is all the tissue in the body that is not hardened by the processes of ossification or calcification such as bones and teeth. Soft tissue connects, surrounds or supports internal organs and bones, and includes muscle, tendons, ligam ...
, and several teeth from both heads to make identification via
dental records The Ballistics were a ska band from Ipswich, England. Formed in 2002, they have built up a healthy following across the UK and have garnered airplay in the U.S., Germany, Argentina and Brazil. The band's first album, '' Go Ballistic'', was releas ...
or composite drawings impossible, with additional attention being devoted to areas of the body where possible distinguishing features such as operational scars or
vaccinations Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...
may have been visible. The perpetrator had also removed the fingertips from the sole set of hands initially discovered, and had completely pared all flesh from the legs of one victim, and from the thighs of the other. Glaister also noted in his autopsy reports that had the perpetrator actually thrown the remains into the nearby Annan River as opposed to the
tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...
river Linn (which had been swollen with heavy rains at the time), the bundles would likely have flowed into the
Solway Firth The Solway Firth ( gd, Tràchd Romhra) is a firth that forms part of the border between England and Scotland, between Cumbria (including the Solway Plain) and Dumfries and Galloway. It stretches from St Bees Head, just south of Whitehaven in ...
, thus delaying or permanently preventing their discovery. Given the proximity of the Gardenholme Linn stream to such a major arterial road, detectives from Glasgow
CID CID may refer to: Film * ''C.I.D.'' (1955 film), an Indian Malayalam film * ''C.I.D.'' (1956 film), an Indian Hindi film * ''C. I. D.'' (1965 film), an Indian Telugu film * ''C.I.D.'' (1990 film), an Indian Hindi film Television * ''CID'' ( ...
—who had already established the remains were unlikely to be those of local individuals—began to consider the possibility the perpetrator had travelled to the Southern Uplands to dispose of the remains, and may have been unfamiliar with the area.


Investigation


Autopsies

The two bodies were transported to the Anatomy Department of the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
, where they were first treated with
ether In organic chemistry, ethers are a class of compounds that contain an ether group—an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups. They have the general formula , where R and R′ represent the alkyl or aryl groups. Ethers can again be c ...
to prevent further decomposition and destroy all maggot infestation, then preserved in a formalin solution before being reconstructed prior to Professors Glaister,
James Couper Brash James Couper Brash, MC, FRCSE, FRSE (24 October 1886 in Cathcart – 19 January 1958 in Edinburgh) was a leading anatomist and embryologist in Britain. Early life and family James Couper Brash was born in Cathcart in Scotland, the son of ...
, and
Sydney Smith Sydney Smith (3 June 1771 – 22 February 1845) was an English wit, writer, and Anglican cleric. Early life and education Born in Woodford, Essex, England, Smith was the son of merchant Robert Smith (1739–1827) and Maria Olier (1750–1801), ...
conducting their formal autopsies. A further bundle containing human remains was discovered shortly after the two bodies had been transported to the University of Edinburgh; this bundle contained two human forearms, with hands attached. The
fingerprint A fingerprint is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. The recovery of partial fingerprints from a crime scene is an important method of forensic science. Moisture and grease on a finger result in fingerprints on surfac ...
s had not been completely obliterated from the sole pair of hands found with the remains, and as such, investigators were able to obtain a complete set of fingerprints. To approximate the time of death of the victims, Dumfriesshire police requested the assistance of a
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
-based
entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...
named Alexander Mearns, who, using the then-fledgling techniques of
forensic entomology Forensic entomology is the scientific study of the colonization of a dead body by arthropods. This includes the study of insect types commonly associated with cadavers, their respective life cycles, their ecological presences in a given environme ...
to identify the age of the maggots found upon the remains, studied the life cycle of the
pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...
e found upon the bodies in order to approximate a time of death of both victims. From his examination of the pupae found upon both sets of remains, Mearns conclusively determined the pupae had originated from a particular breed of blowfly known as ''
Calliphora vicina ''Calliphora vicina'' is a member of the family Calliphoridae, which includes blow flies and bottle flies. These flies are important in the field of forensic entomology, being used to estimate the time of a person's death when a corpse is found a ...
'', and that the maggots discovered on the remains had been laid in the immediate vicinity where they were discovered. Mearns deduced the remains could not have lain where they were discovered for less than 12 to 14days. This conclusion suggested the victims' bodies could not have been disposed of in the location they were found after 17September. From the skull sutures on both bodies, Glaister and Smith were able to determine that one of the bodies was that of a woman aged about 30 to 55, probably between 35 and 45, and that the second body was that of a woman aged between 18 and 25, probably aged between 20 and 21 at the time of her murder. In reference to the
cause of death In law, medicine, and statistics, cause of death is an official determination of conditions resulting in a human's death, which may be recorded on a death certificate. A cause of death is determined by a medical examiner. The cause of death is ...
, the older woman had five stab wounds to the chest, several broken bones, and numerous bruises. In addition, her lungs were remarkably congested, and her
hyoid bone The hyoid bone (lingual bone or tongue-bone) () is a horseshoe-shaped bone situated in the anterior midline of the neck between the chin and the thyroid cartilage. At rest, it lies between the base of the mandible and the third cervical vertebr ...
had been broken, indicating she had been strangled before the other injuries had been inflicted. The limbs and head of the second victim bore signs of excessive
blunt force trauma Blunt trauma, also known as blunt force trauma or non-penetrating trauma, is physical traumas, and particularly in the elderly who fall. It is contrasted with penetrating trauma which occurs when an object pierces the skin and enters a tissue ...
, indicating she had been extensively bludgeoned with an unknown instrument. Professors Glaister, Brash, and Smith further concluded the mutilation of the two bodies would have taken approximately eight hours to complete, and that the two bodies had been drained of both blood and
viscera In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to act together in a ...
at the time of their dismemberment.


Lancaster connection

Several of the pages of the ''Sunday Graphic'' in which the remains had been wrapped had been a souvenir edition of the newspaper which had been printed and circulated solely in the Morecambe and Lancaster area of England on 15September, strongly suggesting the two victims and/or their murderer lived in
North West England North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...
. As such,
Inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...
Jeremiah Lynch of
Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...
—who had been called in to assist the investigation at the request of the Chief Constable of Dumfriesshire—focused his efforts on recent missing persons reports filed within this section of England on or shortly after 15September. In addition, the fact several sections of the victims' remains had been discovered several hundred yards downstream on the banks of the Gardenholme Linn and the Annan River suggested a date on or prior to 19September as to when the remains had been thrown into the stream, as that had been the final date of heavy rainfall in the area and thus when the flow of water had been much greater than at the time of the victims' discovery. Furthermore, sections of the clothing in which the dismembered remains had been found were also distinctive, with unique factors such as repair patches beneath armpits upon a blouse, and knots used to tie a pair of distinctive child's rompers, suggesting either or both of the victims may have borne children. Five days before the discovery of the human remains in Moffat, Ruxton had visited Lancaster police, claiming his wife had "once again" deserted him; he had earlier visited the Morecambe household of the parents of the family maid, Mary Jane Rogerson, claiming their daughter, having recently engaged in an affair with a local youth, had become pregnant and that his wife had agreed to discreetly take her away from their home to arrange an
abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
. As abortions were at that time illegal in Britain, Ruxton had urged the Rogersons not to contact the police. On 1 October the Rogersons visited Ruxton at his practice. On this occasion, he attempted to placate their fears for Mary Jane's safety by claiming both she and his wife had broken into his safe and stolen £30 before eloping from his household. Despite Ruxton's insistence on this occasion that his wife and Mary Jane would almost certainly return once they had spent the money, the fact Ruxton had now given the Rogersons contrary explanations as to why his wife and their daughter were missing from his household aroused their suspicions. As such, the following day, they filed a missing persons report with Morecambe police. (Ruxton himself would not visit Lancaster police to formally report his wife and maid as missing until 4October).


Identification

On 9 October Scottish police visited the Rogerson household and asked Mary Jane's parents if they were able to identify any sections of clothing in which the bodies had been wrapped: MrsRogerson immediately recognised a blouse with distinct patchwork repair beneath one armpit as having belonged to her daughter, whom they had last seen on Saturday 14September. MrsRogerson was unable to identify the pair of child's rompers shown to her, but suggested the police should show the garment to a friend of hers named Edith Holme, who lived in
Grange-over-Sands Grange-over-Sands is a town and civil parish located on the north side of Morecambe Bay in Cumbria, England, a few miles south of the Lake District National Park. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 4,042, increasing at the 2011 ...
and with whom Isabella, Mary Jane, and the Ruxton children had briefly lodged earlier that year on a brief vacation to
Morecambe Bay Morecambe Bay is a large estuary in northwest England, just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of . In 1974, the second larges ...
. When MrsHolme saw the rompers, she immediately recognised them as a pair she had bought for one of the Ruxton children the previous summer. Conversing with his Lancashire counterpart, the Chief Constable of Dumfriesshire discovered that Mary Jane's employer, Ruxton, had informally reported his wife missing the previous month, and that the final confirmed sightings of Isabella alive by anyone other than Ruxton himself had been on the evening of 14September, when she had left her two sisters in Blackpool to return to her Lancaster home, having travelled to the seaside resort to view the Blackpool Illuminations. The same day that police identified several items of the clothing used to wrap the dismembered remains, Ruxton again visited the Lancaster police station; on this occasion, he burst into tears, complaining that local rumours had begun to circulate regarding the discoveries of the human remains in Scotland as being those of his wife and maid, and that these rumours were proving to be detrimental to both his medical practice and his general reputation. He then requested they conduct discreet enquiries to locate his wife and maid, before demanding police search his house to quash these rumours. Although Ruxton was placated by officers before being driven home, at this point he was considered the
prime suspect ''Prime Suspect'' is a British police procedural television drama series devised by Lynda La Plante. It stars Helen Mirren as Jane Tennison, one of the first female Detective Chief Inspectors in Greater London's Metropolitan Police Service, who ...
in the murders by all law enforcement personnel thus far involved in the investigation. Lancaster police had by this stage spoken to one of the Ruxtons' two charladies, Agnes Oxley, who confirmed to officers that on 15September, Ruxton had arrived at her home and informed her that it was unnecessary for her to work at his premises until the following day, and that when she had arrived at 2Dalton Square the following day, the house had been in a general state of shambles, with carpets removed, a pile of burned fabric-like material in the garden, and the bathtub extensively stained with a yellowish discolouration. Furthermore, Ruxton had specifically requested she clean the bathtub that day, before explaining to her that the reason his hand was bandaged was that he had jammed it in a door. Conversing with the Ruxtons' neighbours, Lancaster police also discovered that Ruxton had asked MrsHampshire and her husband to extensively clean his house in preparation for redecoration, explaining that he was unable to do so himself as he had badly cut his hand opening a tin of fruit several days earlier. He had also given the Hampshires several stained carpets and a suit, saying they could keep them if they washed them.


Arrest

On the evening of 12 October Ruxton was arrested by Lancaster police and extensively questioned throughout the night. When asked to account for his whereabouts between 14 and 29September, Ruxton produced a handwritten document entitled 'My Movements', which he then passed to investigators before making a voluntary statement based on what he had written. He then acquiesced to the investigators' interview. In this interview, Ruxton denied he had ever been to Scotland after having established his Lancaster practice. However, he was unable to explain just why his car registration number had been logged by a young cyclist whom he had knocked over in the
Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...
n town of
Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, south-east of Windermere and north of Lancaster. Historically in Westmorland, it lies within the dale of th ...
on 17September, which had led to his vehicle being intercepted in nearby
Milnthorpe Milnthorpe is a small market town on the southern border of Cumbria, 7 miles south of Kendal, civil parish and electoral ward are in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. Historically in the county of Westmorland and on the A6, the ...
the same day, as the cyclist had reported his registration number—which he had logged in his pocketbook—to police when he had failed to stop at the scene of the accident. Lancaster police suggested to Ruxton this incident was strong
circumstantial evidence Circumstantial evidence is evidence that relies on an inference to connect it to a conclusion of fact—such as a fingerprint at the scene of a crime. By contrast, direct evidence supports the truth of an assertion directly—i.e., without need ...
as the incident had occurred as he had been driving enroute to Lancaster from Moffat—which he denied. He was further unable to explain just why a police search of his home the previous day had revealed extensive traces of bloodstains on the stairs, railings,
balustrade A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...
, and various carpets within the property despite evidence of the house being extensively cleaned, and several walls around the staircase being recently redecorated. Moreover, he was also unable to explain why traces of human fat and
body tissue In biology, tissue is a biological organizational level between cells and a complete organ. A tissue is an ensemble of similar cells and their extracellular matrix from the same origin that together carry out a specific function. Organs are th ...
had been discovered within the drains of the property, with much of this material recovered within the section of the drains leading directly from the bathroom. Throughout the several hours of questioning, Lancaster police repeatedly conversed with their Scottish counterparts, who had previously visited Ruxton's household to remove objects such as sections of wallpaper, carpeting, skirting boards, and silverware for a more detailed forensic examination at Glasgow University. In the early hours of 13October, the finger and palm prints upon the second set of human hands discovered were found to be a match for impressions upon items Mary Jane Rogerson had habitually handled at Dalton Square. Upon hearing of this forensic match, Ruxton was formally charged with the murder of Mary Jane Rogerson at 7:20am that morning. When Ruxton heard the recitation of the charge, he stated: "Most emphatically not! Of course not! The farthest thing from my mind! What motive and why? What are you talking about?" Following an appearance in custody of the Borough of Lancaster Police Court, situated on the ground floor of
Lancaster Town Hall Lancaster Town Hall is a municipal building in Dalton Square, Lancaster, Lancashire, England. It is a Grade II* listed building. History The building was commissioned to replace the aging town hall, now the city museum, in Market Square. The n ...
, Ruxton was remanded in custody. On 5 November he was further charged with the murder of his wife, whose remains were positively identified using the technique of
forensic anthropology Forensic anthropology is the application of the anatomical science of anthropology and its various subfields, including forensic archaeology and forensic taphonomy, in a legal setting. A forensic anthropologist can assist in the identification o ...
, in which an
X-ray An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10  picometers to 10  nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...
of a victim's skull was superimposed on a photograph taken of Isabella Ruxton in life. Professor James Couper Brash would later construct replica models of the two victims' left feet in a flexible gelatin-glycerin mixture; when placed in shoes the women had worn in life, the replica foot of the first victim recovered from the vicinity of the Annan River precisely fitted a shoe worn by Mary Jane Rogerson, whereas the replica foot of the second victim recovered precisely fitted shoes worn by Isabella Ruxton.


Trial

On 2 March 1936 the trial of Buck Ruxton opened at Manchester's High Court of Justice. He was tried before Mr Justice Singleton for the murder of Isabella Ruxton, and on this date chose to enter a formal plea of not guilty to the charge of murder. Following this formal plea, a jury was empanelled and sworn to duty. The prosecutors at Ruxton's trial,
Joseph Cooksey Jackson Joseph Cooksey Jackson King's Counsel, KC (12 January 1879 – 26 April 1938) was a British barrister and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician. He was the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament for Heywood and Ra ...
KC,
David Maxwell Fyfe David Patrick Maxwell Fyfe, 1st Earl of Kilmuir, (29 May 1900 – 27 January 1967), known as Sir David Maxwell Fyfe from 1942 to 1954 and as Viscount Kilmuir from 1954 to 1962, was a British Conservative politician, lawyer and judge who combine ...
K.C., and
Hartley Shawcross Hartley William Shawcross, Baron Shawcross, (4 February 1902 – 10 July 2003), known from 1945 to 1959 as Sir Hartley Shawcross, was an English barrister and Labour politician who served as the lead British prosecutor at the Nuremberg War Cri ...
contended that Ruxton, inflamed by jealousy and paranoia, had murdered Isabella Ruxton and Mary Jane Rogerson in the family household, and that he had then discarded their bodies more than 100 miles from Lancaster, in the Gardenholme Linn stream in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. In his opening speech to the jury, Joseph Cooksey Jackson stated to the jury: Ruxton's defence counsel,
Norman Birkett William Norman Birkett, 1st Baron Birkett, (6 September 1883 – 10 February 1962) was a British barrister, judge, politician and preacher who served as the alternate British judge during the Nuremberg Trials. Birkett received his education ...
K.C. (assisted by Philip Kershaw K.C.), based their defence upon their contention that the bodies had been misidentified, and that the two bodies were not those of Isabella Ruxton and Mary Jane Rogerson, but of two other unknown individuals, and that, as such, the evidence presented to the jury was flawed. Birkett and Kershaw further contended the bloodstains found upon the suit and carpeting Ruxton had given to the Hampshires, and located within his home following his arrest, had been innocently accrued throughout the years Ruxton had operated his practice.


Witness testimony

The prosecution called numerous witnesses to outline their case. Each witness to testify presented his findings to the court with the same patience and diligence he had used to determine his conclusions, and each was examined by a combination of Jackson, Shawcross and Fyfe; they would then be tirelessly cross-examined by either Birkett or Kershaw, who frequently seized on the slightest discrepancy in the evidence given, and frequently challenged assumptions made by medical and technical witnesses on each occasion an opportunity arose. Birkett also frequently offered his own conjecture as to how some evidence presented could have innocently accrued. For example, on one occasion, Birkett contended the blood found on the balustrade within 2Dalton Square may have accidentally spilled there through either a birth, an abortion, or a woman's
menstrual cycle The menstrual cycle is a series of natural changes in hormone production and the structures of the uterus and ovaries of the female reproductive system that make pregnancy possible. The ovarian cycle controls the production and release of eggs a ...
occurring within the property. Despite both defence counsels subjecting the numerous eyewitnesses, and the medical and forensic experts whom the prosecution introduced as witnesses, to intense cross-examination in an effort to challenge their findings, the vast majority of prosecution witness—including all medical and forensic personnel to testify—remained steadfast as to his conclusions regarding the identification of the victims, and that their murders had been committed by Ruxton at 2Dalton Square. Nonetheless, Ruxton's defence counsel did occasionally succeed in getting a witness or expert to concede as to a possibility of an alternative explanation as to his or her findings, or recollections.


Defence testimony

The sole witness to testify on behalf of the defence was Ruxton himself, who—upon the suggestion of his defence counsel—testified on the ninth day of the trial. Overall, he conducted himself poorly on the stand, being prone to bouts of hysterical sobbing as he clutched a silk handkerchief and hysterically claiming that he had last seen his wife when she had taken Mary Jane Rogerson to Edinburgh to discreetly arrange an abortion for her. He readily admitted to having frequently argued with his wife over her alleged infidelity and justified the mental and physical hardships to which he had occasionally subjected his wife by simply stating, "Who loves most, chastises most." Despite this admission, Ruxton was insistent that both women would be found alive and further stated that if the actual identification of the bodies was correct, his "happy home" was now in tatters. He ardently denied the earlier testimony of various prosecution witnesses, whom he frequently accused of either lying or simply being mistaken, and frequently gave rambling, contradictory accounts of his own behaviour and actions prior to his arrest when questioned by both his own defence counsel and when subjected to cross-examination by the prosecution.


Closing arguments

The trial of Buck Ruxton lasted eleven days, with the majority of the testimony delivered being from eyewitnesses and from medical and forensic experts who testified on behalf of the prosecution. In his
closing argument A closing argument, summation, or summing up is the concluding statement of each party's counsel reiterating the important arguments for the trier of fact, often the jury, in a court case. A closing argument occurs after the presentation of eviden ...
delivered on behalf of the prosecution, Joseph Cooksey Jackson summarised the testimony delivered by each of the medical and forensic experts regarding the painstaking identification of the victims, and how items used to conceal the remains could be traced to Dalton Square, including a section of luxury sheeting wrapped around several sections of the bodies that had been proven to precisely match the sheeting from the bed in the master bedroom at Dalton Square. Outlining the inconsistencies in the accounts Ruxton had given to numerous individuals as to the whereabouts of his wife and maid, Jackson reminded the jury of the eyewitness testimony delivered by numerous individuals who had earlier testified, before turning to Ruxton's exhaustive efforts to destroy evidence and pacify Mary Jane Rogerson's parents as to their daughter's whereabouts in the weeks between the murders and his arrest. In reference to the actual motive for the murders, Jackson suggested the jury look no further than Ruxton's obsessive jealousy and violent temper. In accordance with British legal tradition, Norman Birkett, having called his client to the stand, had entitled himself to make his closing argument on behalf of the defence after the prosecution address, as opposed to before the prosecution. In his closing argument delivered on 13March 1936, Birkett reiterated the defence's case that, although the victims were indeed two women who had been murdered, the remains were not those of Isabella Ruxton and Mary Jane Rogerson, as the Crown had alleged they were, and that the idea that the motive for Isabella's death had been Ruxton's suspicions of his wife's infidelity was merely conjecture. Birkett further emphasised that, although some of the testimony delivered had allowed the possibility the bodies may have been those of Ruxton's wife and family maid, that these conclusions been drawn in part from circumstantial evidence and that this evidence still did not prove Ruxton had been their actual murderer. Birkett then emphasised that in any British murder trial, the burden is not upon the defence to prove innocence, but rather on the Crown to prove guilt. Upon completion of both counsels' closing arguments, MrJustice Singleton delivered his final instructions to the jury. This address lasted for several hours, and in reference to all evidence and testimony which had been presented at the trial, Judge Singleton instructed the jury that Ruxton must be given the benefit of any
reasonable doubt Beyond a reasonable doubt is a legal standard of proof required to validate a criminal conviction in most adversarial legal systems. It is a higher standard of proof than the balance of probabilities standard commonly used in civil cases, becau ...
that may exist in their minds, adding: "If there is an avenue, let him walk down it to freedom, but if there is not, he cannot." Following this final instruction from Mr Justice Singleton, the jury retired to consider their verdict.


Conviction

Following the closing arguments and Judge Singleton's final instructions, the jury retired to consider their verdict; they would deliberate for just over one hour before returning a verdict of
guilty Guilty or The Guilty may refer to: * Guilt (emotion), an experience that occurs when a person believes they have violated a moral standard Law *Culpability, the degree to which an agent can be held responsible for action or inaction *Guilt (law) ...
against Ruxton. Consequently, MrJustice Singleton sentenced Ruxton to death. When asked by Judge Singleton if he had anything to say in response to the verdict and sentence, Ruxton responded by stating, "I am very sorry", before politely thanking the court for its patience and the fairness of his trial. Ruxton then informed the judge of his intentions to
appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...
the verdict.


Appeal

Ruxton did file an appeal against his conviction. In this appeal, Ruxton contended that in the judge's final instructions delivered to the jury, the jury had been urged to consider prosecution testimony pertaining to bloodstains found upon the suit Ruxton had given to the Hampshires which had been introduced as evidence, but that he had not instructed the jury to also consider the testimony also delivered by a prosecution witness who had conceded that the bloodstains upon the garment may have originated from completely innocent sources. Furthermore, the appeal stated that a forensic examination of his vehicle—contended by the prosecution to have been the vehicle used to transport the bodies—had revealed no traces of either mud or blood. Ruxton thus contended that the cumulative effect of all matters raised were tantamount to a substantial misdirection. As such, Ruxton contended the verdict should not be allowed to stand. This appeal was heard at the Court of Criminal Appeal by then-
Lord Chief Justice Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...
Lord Hewart Gordon Hewart, 1st Viscount Hewart, (7 January 1870 – 5 May 1943) was a politician and judge in the United Kingdom. Background and education Hewart was born in Bury, Lancashire, the eldest son of Giles Hewart, a draper, and Annie Elizabeth Jo ...
, MrJustice du Parq, and MrJustice
Goddard Goddard may refer to: People * Goddard (given name) * Goddard (surname) Places in the United States *Goddard, Kansas *Goddard, Kentucky *Goddard, Maryland *Goddard College, a low-residency college with campuses in Vermont and Washington *Goddar ...
on 27April 1936. The appeal was dismissed that same day as being "insufficient as to even remotely suggesting" any form of misdirection on the part of the judge at uxton'strial.


Execution

In the hours immediately prior to his execution, Buck Ruxton wrote a letter to his chief defence counsel, Norman Birkett K.C. In this letter, Ruxton thanked Birkett for the skill in which he had conducted his defence, before stating: "I know that in a few hours I shall be going to meet my Maker. But I say to you, sir, I am entirely innocent of this crime." Despite a petition from Lancaster residents urging
clemency A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...
for Ruxton having collected over 10,000 signatures, Ruxton was
hanged Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging in ...
at
HM Prison Manchester HM Prison Manchester is a Category A and B men's prison in Manchester, England, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. It is still commonly referred to as Strangeways, which was its former official name derived from the area in which it is ...
on the morning of 12May 1936. His executioner was
Albert Pierrepoint Albert Pierrepoint (; 30 March 1905 – 10 July 1992) was an English hangman who executed between 435 and 600 people in a 25-year career that ended in 1956. His father Henry and uncle Thomas were official hangmen before him. Pierrepoint ...
. The day after Ruxton's execution, a Sunday newspaper published a brief handwritten confession, written by Ruxton the day after his arrest, and which he had instructed be opened only in the event of his execution, or returned to him should he be
acquitted In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...
. In this confession, Ruxton admitted to killing his wife while in a state of jealous fury, only to be interrupted in the act by Mary Jane Rogerson as a result of which he "had to lsokill her".


Aftermath

Despite intense police searches, the torso of Mary Jane Rogerson was never found, having likely flowed into the
Solway Firth The Solway Firth ( gd, Tràchd Romhra) is a firth that forms part of the border between England and Scotland, between Cumbria (including the Solway Plain) and Dumfries and Galloway. It stretches from St Bees Head, just south of Whitehaven in ...
. The remains of her body actually recovered were buried in a churchyard in the village of Overton. The area in and around Gardenholme Linn where Ruxton had disposed of the dismembered body parts of Isabella Ruxton and Mary Jane Rogerson would become colloquially known in and around Moffat as "Ruxton's Dump". The house on Dalton Square where the murders were committed would remain empty for decades. In the 1980s the building underwent substantial internal renovation, particularly the bathroom, which would become architects' offices. The building itself remains non-residential. The bath in which Buck Ruxton dismembered his two victims was removed from the property to be used as evidence during his trial. The bath was later used as a horse trough by the mounted police division at Lancashire County Police headquarters, in the
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
of
Hutton, Lancashire Hutton is a village and civil parish in Lancashire, England. It is located south west of Preston, in the South Ribble borough and parliamentary constituency. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 2,277. History The villa ...
, and is currently on display at the Lancashire Police Museum at
Lancaster Castle Lancaster Castle is a medieval castle and former prison in Lancaster in the English county of Lancashire. Its early history is unclear, but it may have been founded in the 11th century on the site of a Roman fort overlooking a crossing of ...
. Elizabeth, Diane and William Ruxton are believed to have been brought up in an orphanage in
the Wirral Wirral (; ), known locally as The Wirral, is a peninsula in North West England. The roughly rectangular peninsula is about long and wide and is bounded by the River Dee, Wales, River Dee to the west (forming the boundary with Wales), the Ri ...
.


Media

* The case of the ''Bodies Under the Bridge'' has been dramatised by British radio
scriptwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. T ...
and
screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...
Harry Alan Towers Harry Alan Towers (19 October 1920 – 31 July 2009) was a British radio and independent film producer and screenwriter. He wrote numerous screenplays for the films he produced, often under the pseudonym Peter Welbeck. He produced over 80 ...
as part of the radio crime drama series, ''Secrets of Scotland Yard''. This episode, entitled ''Dr Ruxton Axe Killer'', was first broadcast in approximately 1950. * The American criminal justice television series ''
American Justice ''American Justice'' is an American criminal justice television program airing on the A&E Network. From 1992–2005, the show was hosted by television reporter Bill Kurtis. The show features interesting or notable cases, such as the murder o ...
'' has also broadcast an episode focusing on the murders committed by Buck Ruxton. Commissioned by the
A&E Network A&E is an American basic cable network, the flagship television property of A&E Networks. The network was originally founded in 1984 as the Arts & Entertainment Network, initially focusing on fine arts, documentaries, television drama, dramas, and ...
, the episode focusing upon the Ruxton murders was first broadcast in December 2000. * ''Catching History's Criminals'', a
BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002
forensics series, has also broadcast an episode focusing on the case of Buck Ruxton. This episode, entitled ''A Question of Identity'', was first broadcast in June 2015. * The first book exclusively devoted to the murders committed by Buck Ruxton, ''Medico-Legal Aspects of the Ruxton Case'', was co-authored by John Glaister Jr., and James Couper Brash. This book was released in 1937 and focuses primarily on the innovative forensic techniques used both to identify the victims and identify the locations of their murder and dismemberment; thus ensuring the conviction of their murderer.


See also

*
Capital punishment in the United Kingdom Capital punishment in the United Kingdom predates the formation of the UK, having been used within the British Isles from ancient times until the second half of the 20th century. The last executions in the United Kingdom were by hanging, and t ...
*
Domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...
*
HM Prison Manchester HM Prison Manchester is a Category A and B men's prison in Manchester, England, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. It is still commonly referred to as Strangeways, which was its former official name derived from the area in which it is ...
*
List of executioners This is a list of people who have acted as official executioners. Algeria Alger Monsieur d'Alger: The Executioners of the French Republic In 1870 the Republic of France abolished all local executioners and named the executioner of Algiers, ...


Notes


References


Cited works and further reading

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links

* 2008 BBC Lancashire news articl
describing the Ruxton case
* British Execution
case file pertaining to Buck Ruxton

''Forensics Library''
article pertaining to the Ruxton murders * Buck Ruxto


Contemporary news article
pertaining to the Ruxton case

The Ruxton case at the National Library of Medicine * Ful
trial transcript
of the Ruxton case *
University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...
br>archive photographs
pertaining to the Ruxton case {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruxton, Buck 1899 births 1935 in England 1935 murders in the United Kingdom 1936 deaths 20th-century British medical doctors 20th-century English criminals 20th-century executions by England and Wales 20th-century Indian medical doctors Annandale and Eskdale British India emigrants to the United Kingdom British people convicted of murder British people of French descent British people of Indian descent British people of Parsi descent British Zoroastrians Executed British people Executed Indian people Indian people convicted of murder Indian people of French descent Medical doctors from Mumbai Parsi people from Mumbai People convicted of murder by England and Wales People executed by the United Kingdom by hanging People executed for murder University of Mumbai alumni