Ethel Clara Neave (22 January 1883 – 9 August 1967), known as Ethel Le Neve, was the mistress of Dr.

Hawley Harvey Crippen Hawley Harvey Crippen (September 11, 1862 – November 23, 1910), usually known as Dr. Crippen, was an American homeopath, ear and eye specialist and medicine dispenser. He was hanged in Pentonville Prison in London for the murder of his wife Co ...

, a

homeopath Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths, believe that a substance that causes symptoms of a dise ...

hanged for the murder and mutilation of his wife in 1910. She was born in Diss, Norfolk, the eldest child of Walter William Neave and Charlotte Anne Neave (''née'' Jones), Ethel was hired as a typist by Crippen in 1900, and was his mistress by 1905. After the murder of Crippen's wife, Cora, they fled the country on the on which the couple aroused the suspicion of the ship's master, who telegraphed their location to Scotland Yard. Scotland Yard sent Chief Inspector

Walter Dew Detective Chief Inspector Walter Dew (17 April 1863 – 16 December 1947) was a British Metropolitan Police officer who was involved in the hunt for both Jack the Ripper and Dr Crippen. Early life Dew was born at Far Cotton, in Hardingstone ...

to arrest them upon their arrival in Canada. Returned to England, she was exonerated of the charge of complicity to murder. Between his conviction and execution Crippen made a will, appointing Le Neve his

executrix An executor is someone who is responsible for executing, or following through on, an assigned task or duty. The feminine form, executrix, may sometimes be used. Overview An executor is a legal term referring to a person named by the maker of a ...

and leaving all his estate to her. Crippen's wife had died

intestate Intestacy is the condition of the estate of a person who dies without having in force a valid will or other binding declaration. Alternatively this may also apply where a will or declaration has been made, but only applies to part of the estat ...

, and Le Neve applied for letters of administration of her estate. The probate court refused her application on the ground that, as Crippen would not have been permitted to profit from murdering his wife, anyone claiming under him was also debarred from benefiting from his crime.''In the estate of Cunigunda (otherwise Cora) Crippen deceased''

911 911 or 9/11 may refer to: Dates * AD 911 * 911 BC * September 11 ** 9/11, the September 11 attacks of 2001 ** 11 de Septiembre, Chilean coup d'état in 1973 that outed the democratically elected Salvador Allende * November 9 Numbers * 91 ...

P. 108 After the trial, Le Neve traveled to Toronto, working as a typist there for three years before returning to London under the name Ethel Harvey. While working at Hampton's furniture store off

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...

, she met and in January 1915 married Stanley Smith, with whom she had two children. They lived in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

, where Ethel died in 1967.

References

Further reading