Two little angels mark the graves of two young girls who were brutally murdered by John Straffen in Bath in 1951. Five-year-old Brenda Goddard lived with here foster parents and, according to Straffen's police statement, he saw her gathering flowers and offered to show her a better place. After lifting her over a fence into a copse, he strangled her and when she did not scream, bashed her head against a stone. He made no attempt to hide the body and went on to visit the cinema.
On August 8, he met nine-year-old Cicely Batstone at the cinema. He took her first to see another film at a different cinema and then took her on a bus to a meadow on the outskirts of Bath. There he strangled her to death. This time, there were many witnesses who had seen him with the girl and he was quickly arrested.
At a subsequent murder trial, an expert witness said: "In this country, we do not try people who are insane. You might as well try a babe in arms. If a man cannot understand what is going on, he cannot be tried. The jury formally returned a verdict that Straffen was insane and unfit to please. He was committed to Broadmoor - then a 'lunatic asylum for the criminally insane'.
He was the longest serving prisoner in British legal history. He briefly escaped from Broadmoor in 1952 and killed again. This time, he was convicted of murder. Sentence, due to his mental state, was commuted to life imprisonment and he remained in prison until his death more than 50 years later. A lengthy account can be found on Wikipedia here.
Postscript
Next to the two graves is a decaying bench (below). It has seen better days, but I would imagine that for years, the relatives and visitors to this spot in Locksbrook Cemetery sat for hours and grieved. It is a shame that the authorities haven't restored it, so it can be used once more as a site for comtemplation. Perhaps, I should contact them? What do you think?
