Grip of the Strangler

The history of the Haymarket Strangler. It's all here.

Five unfortunates lured to their doom...

half-strangled and slashed to death.

Here you are. Only a ha'penny.

The history of Edward Styles, the Haymarket Strangler.

He terrorized the metropolis.

Five young women murdered in as many months.

The life story of Martha Stuart.

Only a ha'penny. An eyewitness account of the Haymarket orgies.

Martha's last night at Judas Hole.

Only a ha'penny. The life story of Edward Styles.

Five lovely young girls slashed to death.

Only a ha'penny gets the infamous history of the Haymarket Strangler.

It's all here.

Five unfortunates lured to their doom.

No! But I didn't...

I never knew Martha Stuart!

I'm innocent!

You can't hang me for the murder of Martha Stuart!

Listen! I didn't do it!

You're getting your just deserts!

Cover him well over. Quicklime is cheap enough.

We therefore commit his body to the ground.

Earth to earth, ashes to ashes...

dust to dust.

Doctor Tenant's fainted! Quick, give us a hand.

I've been back over the records and given you at least a dozen cases.

Why on earth choose this one?

It's the one clear case that'll prove my point.

If Styles had had the money to buy an adequate defense...

he never would have hanged.

Very well. Let's take this to my office.

- There's more fresh air up there. - Right.

I don't know why you social reformers always

want to play detective to prove your theories.

Because you detectives always leave such gaps in your investigations.

Well, that doesn't apply to me. I wasn't on this case.

Now, then, what is it you want?

There was a Dr. Horsely, the police surgeon on the case.

I'd like to see his report.

Ah, yes.

Yes, here it is.

I don't know what you expect to find. If ever a case was proved, this one was.

Oh, no, Burk.

There's nothing in Styles's life to show that he was capable of such violence.

Except for this.

Here's positive identification of Styles.

A dozen people saw him that night in the Judas Hole.

Why, one of them, Cora Seth, she still sings there.

It's quite impossible for her to have mistaken a one-armed man.

Is the knife still in the box?

You nearly had me that time.

- You know it isn't. - No, and it never was found.

That's one of the gaps I was talking about.

Ah, here's what I want.

A young doctor, named Tenant, Horsely's assistant.

Horsely sent him to do the autopsy on Styles's body.

Well, the law demands an autopsy on anyone who's died an unnatural death.

Tenant collapsed at Styles's graveside.

- Well, you said he was a young fellow. - Young, perhaps, but not squeamish.

Look, it's all here. Five young women brutally murdered in the neighborhood.

And the autopsy on all of them was performed by Tenant.

What are you suggesting?

Why, that he might know as much about the murders as anybody else.

But I can't find him. He never went back to Horsely...

not even to collect the salary that was owed him.

Why did he disappear so soon after Styles was hanged?

It looks as though you're concocting some

far-fetched theory out of your imagination.

Is it so far-fetched? I wonder if he knew that Styles was innocent.

I wonder if he was hiding something.

My dear Rankin, I've known you for an awful long time.

Allow me to tell you I've never heard such rubbish in my life.

How can you call it rubbish if you don't even know why Tenant disappeared?

But I do. Look, it's all here in Horsely's report.

Here. Tenant was admitted to Guy's Hospital seriously ill.

It was from there he disappeared.

Where are you going?

To Guy's Hospital of course, to concoct another far-fetched theory.

Yes, here it is. The third.

"Dr. Tenant admitted.

Brought in from Newgate Prison unconscious."

Ah, yes.

"Suffering from hallucinations, loss of memory...

and some form of paralysis of the left side."

Here is an opinion that "if the hallucinations...

and attacks of paralysis with accompanying violence continue...

he must be certified and confined to an asylum."

Is that what you want?

It makes no mention of the fact of his disappearance?

It says here, "Dr. Tenant missing from his room. Authorities notified."

- And that's all. - Only a note.

"In the event of any person claiming Dr. Tenant's possessions...

I have placed them in the lost property room, pigeonhole number 602."

If they're still there, I'd like to see them.

Well, it's strictly against the regulations, of course.

But should we look in the pigeonhole first...

Thank you.

Ah, here we are, sir.

Safe as the day it was placed there.

Now, let me test my memory.

That'll be Dr. Tenant. Yes, that's the one.

Quite a scandal there was about it at the time.

- We old ones still talk about it. - Scandal? What sort of scandal?

Well, the young nurse who ran away with him.

The doctors all said he was mad.

She thought she knew better.

And when the asylum van came, no patient, no nurse.

- I never heard what became of them. - Do you remember the name of the nurse?

I'm afraid you've got me there, sir.

Very quiet. Very quiet and reserved she was.

Do you have records that go that far back?

It would mean quite a search.

It would be a great help if I could have that information.

And if I could borrow these things.

I should have to consult my superiors of course.

But I think it could be arranged.

- Will you come this way? - Yes, thank you.

- Ah, good evening, Hannah. - Good evening, sir.

- Has Dr. McColl come yet? - Yes, sir.

He's in the conservatory with Miss Lily. Shall I tell him you've come back?

No, I'll find him all right. Oh, by the way.

How's that young scamp of a brother of yours?

Oh, sir, he's doing very well.

He's got himself a job as a porter at Covent Garden.

Well, good. That will keep him out of mischief.

Ma and I will never forget what you did for him, sir.

Well, no need for him to go to prison simply because he had bad friends.

Is that you, Jim?

Aren't they beautiful?

Now, don't frown.

I've been most careful not to touch any of your precious papers.

- Thank you, my dear. - Did you have a good day?

Splendid, I made great strides.

How much longer are these investigations going on?

Oh, I'm afraid the end isn't quite in sight, Barbara.

But it's all past.

That man was dead and buried 20 years ago. Let him rest.

I know I can't bring Styles back from the dead.

But one could force a change in the legal system...

so that a poor man would have a lawyer to defend him.

Styles's was a typical case, and there'll be plenty of others.

- Jim, I realize how much... - I must find this young assistant of mine.

By the way, we're going out again. We won't be back for dinner.

- I wanted to talk to you about Lily. - Later, dear.

Oh, Ken, you must never return to Canada.

- I couldn't bear it. - Unless you come with me as my wife.

But that won't be for years. Not until you've completed your studies.

Psychological medicine seems such a big thing.

Darling, it's new.

When I win my diploma, think of the prospect...

a new idea in a new country.

With you at my side, nobody can stop me.

I can't wait.

- Ah, there you are, McColl. - Good evening, sir.

I'm sorry, Papa. I didn't know you were back.

Evening, Lily. My boy, just give me a hand with this table.

As usual, Burk was most helpful.

Showed me the complete file on the Styles case.

The trail led to Guy's Hospital where I found these things.

They belong to Dr. Tenant.

First of all, a letter.

From Australia?

Yes, from a sheep farmer named Temple...

saying he can give him work on his station up-country

when he gets there.

Then another letter from a shipping company...

offering him a berth on a grain ship...

but saying arrival in Sydney can't be guaranteed under six months.

And here's the actual ticket, unused.

- He never left England. - Exactly.

And that's not all. The usual paraphernalia...

stethoscope, surgical dressing...

and an instrument case from which a surgeon's knife is missing.

- I don't follow you, sir. - What was the last case...

that he was employed on before we lost sight of him?

- You mean the autopsy on Styles? - Exactly.

An autopsy on which a surgeon's knife would be an essential instrument...

also the perfect instrument for murder.

Excuse me, sir. There's a cab waiting.

- Says you ordered him. - Thank you, Hannah.

Get your coat, McColl.

Come on, giddap. Giddap.

As you will see, the contents of Tenant's notebook are most revealing.

Intimate details of the killings of all five girls.

Details that go far beyond an ordinary, routine report on an autopsy.

Why was he so fascinated by these gruesome details?

Well, he was young. Perhaps he took trouble to follow through on the cases.

- I would want to myself. - Oh, I doubt that very much, my boy.

I regard it more as the abnormal, morbid streak...

that is quite lacking in everything we know of Styles...

but could be used to build a case against Tenant.

There is a point I think you overlook, sir.

- Tenant had the use of both arms. - I know, I know.

And the women were only half-strangled and then slashed to death.

Of course it's perfectly true Styles was a one-armed man.

But we mustn't overlook the word paralysis in Tenant's case history.

Oh, I see we're getting close to our destination.

Where is that, sir?

The place where the last victim was killed...