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The Secret of the Babbacombe Murder: The mysterious case of John Lee, "The man they could not hang"
In 1885 'Babbacombe' Lee was found guilty of the vicious murder of his employer, the elderly Miss Keyse, at the quiet Torquay suburb of Babbacombe. John Lee always maintained that he was innocent, and his case gained national notoriety when, having been condemned to death, the hangman was unable to carry out the sentence. Three times he tried to hang the unfortunate Lee: three times he failed. Finally, Lee was taken down from the scaffold and had to serve 22 years in prison.
In this book, previously unpublished facts and photographs reveal some startling evidence which shows that John Lee was indeed innocent, and the true perpetrator of the crime is revealed.
In this book, previously unpublished facts and photographs reveal some startling evidence which shows that John Lee was indeed innocent, and the true perpetrator of the crime is revealed.
64 pages, Paperback
First published February 28, 1995
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March 8, 2017
Emma Ann Keyse lived at The Glen, an idyllic 13-acre estate overlooking the beach in the South Devon village of Babbacombe. She was considered slightly eccentric and very methodical in her habits. In 1878, she required a boy to care for an elderly pony and carry out odd jobs around the property. Her young cook, Millie, suggested that her brother could fill the post and, following an interview, John Lee from the Devon village of Abbotskerswell was appointed.
Lee remained at The Glen until he joined the Royal Navy in October 1879 but, discharged on medical grounds in January 1882, he accepted Miss Keyse's offer to return to The Glen, where his half-sister Elizabeth Harris had replaced Millie as cook.
He became engaged to dressmaker Kate Farmer but when he could not get a pay rise from Miss Keyse he threatened to leave the area and to call off his engagement. In addition The Glen was due to be sold so he knew he would probably be losing his position. On 28 October 1884 the property was auctioned off and fetched £13,000 but that same evening Lee had what was termed 'a furious row' with his employer. He told his half-sister that he would be leaving and that he would somehow or other seek his revenge on his employer.
The purchase was subsequently to fall through because on the morning of 15 November 1884 Miss Keyse was murdered in her home; she had suffered a broken skull, a cut throat and her body had been set alight. There had also been an attempt to burn the house down.
The police began piecing together the events of the evening and at the end of it all John Lee was arrested on suspicion of murder. All the evidence against him was circumstantial and when arrested he said, 'Oh, on suspicion.. That's all right.' But it wasn't.
At the subsequent trial , the case for the prosecution was presented by two eminent counsels, Mr A Collins QC and Mr Vigor, instructed by Torquay solicitor Isidore Carter. The case for the defence, such as it was, was presented by Mr W Molesworth, St Aubyn Member of Parliament, who ironically had prosecuted Lee on an earlier theft charge.
The prosecution case was not a particularly strong one but with no witnesses called for the defence, Lee himself not permitted to speak on his own behalf and the judge's somewhat biased summing up, it was no surprise that the jury found him guilty. He was sentenced to be hanged.
The story of his execution is bewildering; three times the hangman tried and each time he failed so in the end the authorities gave it up as a bad job and instead he was sentenced to life imprisonment. Lee declared that he had dreamed of three attempts to hang him the evening before his planned execution and he said that each time he survived. Was it therefore providence?
He went on to serve 22 years in prison before being released, still proclaiming his innocence. But had he covered up for someone, his half-sister, the prosperous eligible bachelor Reginald Gwynne Templer or any other member of the household? The blurb on the back cover of the book states, '... and the true perpetrator of the crime is revealed'. Well if it is I missed it, or is it done in a covert rather than an overt way?
It is an absolutely fascinating tale and the reader will have to make his/her mind up as to who he/she thinks is the true murderer. As for John Lee's later life, some detail is known but then he disappears into obscurity but there are one or two suggestions as to where he ended his days but none are overwhelmingly convincing.
Lee remained at The Glen until he joined the Royal Navy in October 1879 but, discharged on medical grounds in January 1882, he accepted Miss Keyse's offer to return to The Glen, where his half-sister Elizabeth Harris had replaced Millie as cook.
He became engaged to dressmaker Kate Farmer but when he could not get a pay rise from Miss Keyse he threatened to leave the area and to call off his engagement. In addition The Glen was due to be sold so he knew he would probably be losing his position. On 28 October 1884 the property was auctioned off and fetched £13,000 but that same evening Lee had what was termed 'a furious row' with his employer. He told his half-sister that he would be leaving and that he would somehow or other seek his revenge on his employer.
The purchase was subsequently to fall through because on the morning of 15 November 1884 Miss Keyse was murdered in her home; she had suffered a broken skull, a cut throat and her body had been set alight. There had also been an attempt to burn the house down.
The police began piecing together the events of the evening and at the end of it all John Lee was arrested on suspicion of murder. All the evidence against him was circumstantial and when arrested he said, 'Oh, on suspicion.. That's all right.' But it wasn't.
At the subsequent trial , the case for the prosecution was presented by two eminent counsels, Mr A Collins QC and Mr Vigor, instructed by Torquay solicitor Isidore Carter. The case for the defence, such as it was, was presented by Mr W Molesworth, St Aubyn Member of Parliament, who ironically had prosecuted Lee on an earlier theft charge.
The prosecution case was not a particularly strong one but with no witnesses called for the defence, Lee himself not permitted to speak on his own behalf and the judge's somewhat biased summing up, it was no surprise that the jury found him guilty. He was sentenced to be hanged.
The story of his execution is bewildering; three times the hangman tried and each time he failed so in the end the authorities gave it up as a bad job and instead he was sentenced to life imprisonment. Lee declared that he had dreamed of three attempts to hang him the evening before his planned execution and he said that each time he survived. Was it therefore providence?
He went on to serve 22 years in prison before being released, still proclaiming his innocence. But had he covered up for someone, his half-sister, the prosperous eligible bachelor Reginald Gwynne Templer or any other member of the household? The blurb on the back cover of the book states, '... and the true perpetrator of the crime is revealed'. Well if it is I missed it, or is it done in a covert rather than an overt way?
It is an absolutely fascinating tale and the reader will have to make his/her mind up as to who he/she thinks is the true murderer. As for John Lee's later life, some detail is known but then he disappears into obscurity but there are one or two suggestions as to where he ended his days but none are overwhelmingly convincing.
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