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THE MURDER OF PATRICIA CURRAN

Glenravel Local History Project

There is perhaps no more fruitful for of education than to arouse the interest of a people in their own surroundings These words were written by Richard Livingstone and appeared in a book

by Alfred Moore called Old Belfast over fifty years ago. Looking back its hard to imagine that they are as true today as they were way back then. More and more people are becoming interested in the history of Belfast and it was out of this that the Glenravel Local History Project were born in May 1991.

Many could be forgiven for assuming that this name derived from the famous Glens in Co. Antrim and they would be right but in a roundabout way. Glenravel Street was situated directly behind in the old Poorhouse on North Queen Street and contained quite a few beautiful and historic buildings. One of these buildings was situated at its junction with Clifton Street and although it was officially known as the Ulster Ear, Eye and Throat Hospital it was known to most people as the Benn Hospital. This was due to the fact that it was built by Edward Benn (brother of the famous Victorian Belfast historian George). Mr Benn lived in the Glens of Antrim where Glenravel is situated. Although Glenravel Street contained all this history the street itself was totally obliterated to clear the way for the modern Westlink motorway system leaving us to question schemes such as historical areas of importance as well as buildings.

The Glenravel Project was established by local historians Joe Baker and Michael Liggett and has now went on to become the main local historical group in the whole of Belfast. Over three hundred publications have been published by the group as well and several web sites, DVDs and countless newspaper and magazine articles. The Project also conducts several walking tours ranging from the Belfast Blitz right through to a walking tour of the historic Cavehill area. One of these tours is also around the historic Clifton Street Burying Ground which is also situated behind the old Poorhouse and which was opened by them in the mid 1790s. Although our original aim was the historical promotion of this site we have now went on to cover the whole of Belfast as well as assist numerous local historical schemes far beyond our city’s boundaries. This magazine is now our main focus for the local and factual history of Belfast and we welcome all articles of interest relating to the history of our city. And our aim:-

To secure a future for our past

5 Churchill Street, Belfast. BT15 2BP

028 9035 1326

glenravel@ashtoncentre.com 028 9074 2255 2

www.glenravel.com

THE BRUTAL MURDER OF THE JUDGE'S DAUGHTER I n March 1953, after one of the most sensational trials ever witnessed in Northern Ireland, a young RAF man, Iain Hay Gordon, was led away to face an undetermined custodial sentence at the pleasure of Her Majesty in Holywell Mental Hospital. He had been found guilty of the murder of Patricia Curran, the 19 year-old daughter of one of Northern Ireland’s most senior judges, Lancelot Curran.

Patricia Curran's body had been found lying in the undergrowth by a lane which led to the family home at Glen House, Whiteabbey, a short distance outside Belfast. Ian Hay Gordon a young servicman from a nearby RAF base, confessed that he had killed her at the lane and dragged her body into the undergrowth. It was later claimed by many eminent criminologists that his statement was not properly analysed at the time of the trial and what appeared to have been a cut and dry case subsequently went down in Northern Ireland’s history as a 'cover up.' To his day what became known as the Murder in the Glen has been shrouded

A policeman stand guard at the entrance of the Curran home shortly after the discovery of the dead girl in mystery and rumour. There have been many theories put forward as to the motive for the murder ranging from links with witchcraft, a Masonic plot or an attempt to cover a homosexual ring. What is remarkable about Gordon’s conviction is that the murder of Patricia Curran resulted in one of the biggest crime investigations ever conducted in Northern Ireland at that time. It was also the first time in the history of Northern Ireland that detectives from Scotland Yard had been assigned to take charge of the case. Scotland Yard sent Superintendent John Capstick, himself a specialist in murder and jewel robbery investigations and an assistant Sergeant Dennis Hawkins.

Capstick was believed to have been the best man for the job, so to speak. The previous year he had caught the killer of a 72 year-old man just seven days after opening the case. This being so, a lot was expected of the Scotland Yard team.

‘BIGWIGS’ The team was sent in on the direction of Sir Richard Pym, a close friend of Lancelot Curran and Inspector General of the RUC in Northern Ireland. Pym was also a close friend of the Prime Minister at the time, Sir Winston Churchill. It was the influence of all these ‘bigwigs’ which set rumours going in Belfast.

Could the RUC themselves not be trusted to do their job? If not why not? What could they 3

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have uncovered that should be kept from the Ulster public?

Rumours build even more rumours and before long all sorts of theories were abounding in every household in the North. Could it have been the IRA? It was known that there were still several activists in the Belfast area. In fact several had been rounded up and detained the previous year to prevent any serious incidents during a Royal visit.

Republicans were not however even suspected with being involved. How did the police know to rule out their involvement?

BODY MOVED Firstly let us look at what happened on the day Patricia Curran was murdered. There are several key points which are still shrouded in mystery.

Patricia was a 19 year-old arts student at Queens University.

We know that on the morning of 12th November she left home as usual and attended her classes with the other art students. It was later revealed that she had a free afternoon which she spent with her friend, John Steele, at a cafe.

They both had tea together and then he walked her to the bus station at Smithfield where she boarded the 5.00pm bus to her home at Whiteabbey. Several passengers remembered that

she was alone on the bus that night. It was a winter’s evening and by the time the bus reached Whiteabbey village it was dark and wet.

They remembered the young girl getting off at her stop just before the 'Glen' gates at around 5.20pm.

Roy Patterson, a villager also got off at the same stop. Being an acquaintance of Miss Curran he bade her goodnight before setting off in the opposite direction. That was the last time Patricia Curran was seen alive.

considerable length for a young girl to be walking after dark, she used to phone the house and someone would come down in the car and drive her the rest of the way home.

She never walked this lane alone after dark. On this night however there was no such call. It was stated that no one was at home when Patricia would have been getting off her bus at the village. Then again, no one saw Patricia Curran turn and walk up through the gates to Glen House either.

Apparently on that particular night no one was at home at 5.20pm and unlike other nights, instead of using the phone beside the bus stop to summon a lift, it is believed that Patricia decided to walk up the driveway which led to her home. Any other night, because the driveway was dark and lonely and was a

The driveway to Glen House started on the main road and went through thick woods for 600 yards. The Currans shared this driveway for about 300 yards with Sir William Hungerford. From here the Curran’s driveway narrowed and forked away to the left. At around 1.30am the following morning, worried at his 5

daughters non arrival Mr Justice Curran telephoned the local police station and the family solicitor. Mrs Curran and her son Desmond meanwhile went out to search in the grounds for her even though she could have been anywhere. They asked at neighbours’ houses and at one house they borrowed a torch.

Desmond Curran then left his mother and began to search by himself through the dense undergrowth of the Glen. The rain had been falling as drizzle from around 4.00pm and had continued non stop for most of that evening. Desmond Curran later stated, “I started searching in a zig-zag fashion through the shrubbery and I heard my father shout from the drive. I then knew that he was helping in the search.” It was then quite soon afterwards that he claimed he found his sister’s 6

body. She lay on her back at the base of a tree, her head to the left, her right arm flexed and “her right hand and wrist bent like the neck of a swan.”

Desmond Curran then said, “I bent down and put my arms under the body and raised it, and as I did so there was a sound of breathing, but which I now know was not.”

Desmond apparently called out to his father that he had found the body. At that minute Mr Malcolm Davison, the family solicitor and his wife, arrived in the driveway of the Glen by car. A policeman, Constable Rutherford also appeared at the scene. At the trial, Davidson said of their arrival, “I found Desmond Curran standing over the body and it seemed as if the same time, Mr Justice Curran and the constable entered from somewhere.”

The four men, Constable Rutherford and three lawyers, Lord Justice Curran, Desmond Curran and Malcolm Davison then carried the body to the car.

It later was revealed that they had difficulty getting her body in as rigor mortis was beginning to set in. The only explanation in this case for three lawyers and a policeman moving a dead body from the scene of a crime are that they either panicked or that they thought, as Desmond claimed he did, she was still alive.

FRENZIED ATTACK They then drove to Dr Kenneth Wilson’s surgery at Whiteabbey where they arrived at around 2.20am. Dr Wilson at this point estimated Patricia Curran’s death at between 11.00pm and midnight and initially suspected that the wounds had been caused by a shotgun. It was later to be revealed that she had been stabbed in what appeared to have been a frenzied knife attack. She had 37 knife wounds in total on the body, over the chest, neck and legs and had a quite deep cut to the face. Further evidence of a struggle was indicated by the fact that the face of her wrist watch had been turned towards her arm. When this was further investigated it was discovered that the hands, the winder and the glass were missing. Her various other personal effects lay scattered about - a glove, a handbag, shoes, a yellow Juliet cap, two scarves and her portfolio with two books inside.

THREE SPOTS OF BLOOD What turned out to be one of Northern Ireland’s biggest murder hunts then began. Dr Morrell, a pathologist, arrived at 5.00am and the police sealed off the driveway to Glen House where they at once began

PATHOLOGISTS FINDINGS Dr Firth, director of the NorthWestern Forensic Laboratory, near Liverpool, was flown over to supervise the autopsy.

This had been the first time also that the pathologist had to be flown over from England to oversee such a murder investigation. From the autopsy report and the report from the forensic evidence at the scene of the crime Dr Firth made two deductions.

The arrow points to the spot where Patricia’s body was found scouring the area for clues of the watch winder or hands which would lead to the would prove that some kind of killer’s capture. Several things struggle took place in the greatly hampered their search, vicinity, mine detectors, the main one being that the sensitive enough to pick a body had been moved and button out of the shrubbery therefore the scene of the crime were brought to help the search They were had been irrevocably (below). disturbed. It had also been unsuccessful. raining since 4.00pm. - that fine drizzle rain which is familiar to Northern Ireland.

On the side of the driveway Patricia’s portfolio had been neatly stacked on the kerb. A strange fact and perhaps a vital clue, for if she had been taken by surprise then the books would have been scattered all over the place. Not only that but the books had not been soaked through.

At the spot where the body had been found forensic’s experts could only find three spots of blood. Knowing that the find

1. Patricia Curran had been seized unawares from behind.

The killer had struck her, then stabbed her. As she sank to the ground, he stabbed her another 36 times.

2. After she was dead, he picked her up and carried her

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Dr J.B. Firth

from the laneway to where she had been found. “The nature of the wounds indicates the manner of the attack....blood spots some distance from where the body was found, plus the absence of drag marks, either in the soil or her clothing, tell us that she was carried. She weighed some nine stone - not an easy burden.

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The murderer’s clothing ought R.A.F. BASE to be heavily stained with The police questioned Patricia blood.”

Curran’s friends and fellowvillagers and her father, Judge She had been stabbed 21 times Curran, appealed for in the chest, her heart had been information which might help pierced twice. The doctors resolve the crime. who examined the body “We plead,” he said “with concluded that death was due everyone who has the slightest to shock caused by piece of information that might haemorrhage from multiple help, to give such information stab wounds inflicted on the to the police .. we are chest, scalp, abdomen and concerned to see that this foul right thigh. From the nature murderer is brought to justice, of the wounds it was believed not through any spirit of that they were caused by a vengeance, but to ensure that other people’s daughters may stiletto-type knife. be safe. We keep asking Dr Firth’s second deduction ourselves who will be the next however has been questioned victim.” to this very day. There was no substantive evidence to prove During these door to door that Patricia had been killed at investigations a check was the laneway so how could he made on the Edenmore RAF come to such a conclusion and Station nearby. more importantly why did he There were 22 airmen stationed at the camp at the come to that conclusion?

Police stop traffic at Whiteabbey in their search for clues time, including the man who way up the lane and a short not notice the portfolio of was later accused of the distance past where the body books stacked neatly at the side murder. The RAF began their was later found. The boy said of the road nor the yellow own investigations on that on his return he heard a Juliet cap, even though he was November 13th. The airmen noise to his right, “like lighting his path with a torch. were interviewed individually somebody’s foot in the leaves, Lighting up time that night was and each accounted for their louder than the other noises. I 4.58pm. At 4.30 it was too movements between 11.00pm ran .. because I was dark for a local gardener to and 12 midnight on the 12th. frightened.” Although this work and at 5.00pm to 5.10pm After Gordon was called he seems to have been a vital it was pitch black and there went back and told the piece of information it proved was no artificial light on the investigating officers that he to be significant. As with any driveway. lonely wooded path it could be knew the Curran family.

BOOKS said that the imagination plays tricks. It is human nature to Stranger still no one else BOYS STATEMENT An 11 year old newspaper be afraid of the unknown and seemed to notice the portfolio, delivery boy, George it could have been that he was stacked neatly 11 inches from Chambers came forward and frightened. He did not hear the verge of the narrow made a statement to the police. screams or scuffling and more laneway. It was not only the He claimed that he had been importantly, even though it newspaper delivery boy who in the lane at about 5.30pm. was a winter’s evening and the failed to notice the portfolio Curran’s post box was half undergrowth was bare, he did but it was not noticed on eight 9

Silent villagers line the route as the funeral of Patricia Curran passes through Whiteabbey other occasions. Mrs Curran passed the spot when she returned from the house of the family solicitor, Malcolm Davison, where she had been playing cards. Justice Curran and his taxi driver failed to notice it when he came home at 7.20pm. Desmond Curran failed to notice it when he returned from the Belfast Law Courts. Desmond Curran and his mother drove past the spot yet again when the alarm was raised at 1.30am. Justice 10

Curran walked down the driveway at around the same time and Michael Curran arrived at the scene shortly after the body was found.

None of these people noticed the portfolio of books neatly stacked by the side of the lane.

A local gardener, Tom Elliot, who was on the following bus less than a minute later and who alighted at the same stop as Patricia Curran did not notice anything strange. He did not see anyone in the

vicinity. This gardener’s statement was never produced in court.

After a week of investigations the RUC maintained that they still had no idea who they were looking for. Several things were clear. Patricia had been stabbed in a frenzied knife attack but where the actual killing had taken place still could not be verified. On the 17th November the RUC Inspector General, Sir Richard

Pim, stated that he doubted that Patricia was killed where her body was found. In the Belfast Newsletter he said that the body may have been “carried to the spot where it was found.”

STRANGE OCCURENCE The murder weapon had not been found either but it was believed to have been a double edged knife. The time of death had been initially estimated at between 11.00pm and midnight because rigor mortis had set in. As early as November 18th, the then County Inspector, Albert Kennedy was quoted at a press conference as saying, “I do not think anyone, a medical man or anyone else, would be able to say the exact time Miss Curran died.”

A strange occurence on the night of the murder was reported by a woman who lived close by the Manse Road.

She was leaving her friend down to her gate when she heard the unmerciful screams of a girl coming from the direction of the Glen. The time was approximately 8.45pm.

Patricia Curran’s funeral took place on the 15th and shops and businesses in the area were closed as a mark of respect as the cortege passed by.

SCOTLAND YARD CALLED At this stage Scotland Yard were called in.

They immediately began an inch by inch search of the grounds and questioned even more people.

Their net widened and eventually included the airmen at Edenmore. It was now believed that it was a possibility that the murder could have taken place a short time time after Patricia got off the bus. The police played about with the theory that perhaps, having got off the bus, she had met someone she knew who agreed to escort her up the laneway. Maybe this person had been waiting on Patricia that night knowing he would not have been noticed because the family was not at home.

ALONE Later that November the airmen arranged among themselves who they were with between 5.00pm and 6.00pm on November 12th and reported this to the RAF police. Two airmen were alone on that evening, Ian Hay Gordon and Corporal Henry Connor. Both concocted an alibi claiming they were together at the time. It had been common practice for airmen to cover up for each other and, it was claimed, no great significance was placed on

their story at this time by their contemporaries at the base.

SCAR FACED MAN On the 20th November Mrs Hettie Lyttle came forward with a vital piece of information. She went to Montgomery’s grocery store in Whiteabbey village where she told Montgomery that she had seen a man coming out of the gates of the Glen around 6.00pm on the night of the murder. She claimed that he was pale and was wearing a dustcoat. She also described the mysterious man as being tall. Having received this piece of information the police believed that the killing had been committed a short time after Patricia had got off the bus. They now believed that they were closing in on the killer. On November 23rd Mrs Lyttle was shown police photographs of suspects and she told Montgomery later that she had seen a picture which resembled the pale-faced man but she was not able to positively identify him. After this tip-off the police began to build up a picture of their suspect. A previous witness, a taxi driver, claimed he had seen a man drive away from the scene just as he was dropping off Mr Justice Curran. His description was also taken into consideration.

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County Inspector Kennedy (centre) with Superintendent Capstick (right) and DetectiveSergeant Hawkins of Scotland Yard Finally the police issued a Scotland Yard detectives met Iain Haye Gordon’s particular statement to the press saying with a total blank. Between responsibility at Edenmore November 1952 and January was to take the post to they “wish to interview a man aged 1953 forty thousand people Whiteabbey Post office and he about 30, height about 6 foot, were interviewed. Nine had become quite well-known thin build, noticeably old scar thousand of them made written to the shopkeepers and on left side of his face and statements. On January 1st residents. However, he mouth. Seen wearing a soft hat 1953 a £1,000 reward was increasingly became the of American type with a wide offered in a bid to solve the number one suspect. Unknown to Gordon, Desmond Curran brim and may be wearing case. and another member of the either a fawn raincoat or a grey church he attended, the Rev CONFESSION herringbone overcoat.”

The hunt for the man known The police began to turn their Wylie were tipping off the as ‘scar face’ drew no further attentions again to the RAF police about their suspicions of clues however. Even with all base at Edenmore. They had a Gordon’s guilt. their previous experience in particular interest in a Desmond Curran was murder investigations the serviceman called Gordon. questioned at length by the 13

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police about his movements on the tragic night. His alibi was verified by fellow solicitors and clerks that he had not left Belfast Law Courts until around 8.00pm. This story seemed to satisfy the police.

Gordon’s first contact with Scotland Yard came on November 29th. He had already made a statement to the RUC about his relationship with the Curran family and it was revealed that Gordon showed Hawkins over the various places that he mentioned in his statement.

Hawkins even examined the clothes in Gordon’s locker but found “nothing of interest.”

Ten days after this however Gordon was interviewed at length by Superintendent Capstick. He was asked about his sexual preferences at length. It was known at this stage by the police that Iain Gordon had no interest in women. Homosexuality at that time was a criminal offence and society in Northern Ireland were extremely homophobic.

On January 13th Gordon was again brought for an interrogation which went on to last for three days. Gordon it is alleged was questioned by Capstick regarding his relationships with various men in the area including a meeting with a local man named Wesley Courtenay. After three

hours of notes and names Gordon finally agreed to sign a confession.

Gordon gave a statement to the police admitting he had murdered Patricia. His motive was sexual. The murder weapon, he claimed, was an army issue service knife. The time and place of the murder was the laneway at 5.45pm.

DUPED Gordon however claimed he had become friendly with Desmond Curran and had been a guest at the Curran house on several occasions, a strange scenario considering the class difference. He also had come into contact with other evangelical religious people, including Rev Wylie from the Whiteabbey Presbyterian Church. Rev Wylie acted as the chaplain to the servicemen at Edenmore. The police asked Gordon if the Curran family seemed to be on the good terms with each other and if he knew Patricia well. “She struck me as being very intelligent, full of life and the last person anyone would wish to harm.

They seemed a very happy family and on the best of terms,” he replied. Gordon claimed that he had struck up a friendship with Patricia’s brother, Desmond, after meeting him at a religious service one Sunday. Desmond

Curran at the time was a young barrister following in his father’s footsteps. He was a religious fanatic and was a keen member of Moral Rearmament, a fringe evangelical religious movement which believes in direct “Divine Guidance” and the sharing of sin by public confession. Ian Gordon was also fanatically religious. His association with Desmond came under close scrutiny by the police. It was revealed later that the two men would meet at a Presbyterian Hostel in Belfast’s Howard Street.

This hostel housed dormitories for foreign students at Queen’s University. Gordon claimed that he found Desmond to be a strange character but the two gradually began to grow friendlier with Gordon actually being invited to the Curran’s home for dinner.

Having admitted the murder of Patricia the seriousness of the offence began to unfold.

According to Gordon, he had been duped into making a confession. This line of protest had been used by many people down the years after realising that the police did not have sufficient evidence to convict them. This time however, even after his release, Iain Haye Gordon has consistently maintained his innocence.

The confession read as follows 15

I left the camp at Edenmore shortly after 4.00pm on Wednesday afternoon, November 12, 1952, to deliver the mail to Whiteabbey P.O. I was there from 5 to 10 minutes, then went to Montgomery’s paper shop in the main street to collect the camp newspapers. I would not have been very long there. I believe, I called in at the bookies, approximately opposite Quiery’s, but off the main road. I placed a bet there on a horse for one of the airmen at the camp, I forget his name. I think I then went back to the camp with the newspapers. I probably had my tea about 5.00pm.

It took me about five minutes for my tea. I think I then changed into my civilian wear of sports coat and flannels. I then walked back alone to Whiteabbey and met Patricia Curran between the Glen and Whiteabbey Post Office. She said to me ‘Hello Iain,’ or something like that. I said ‘Hello Patricia.’

We had a short general conversation. I forget what we talked about but she asked me to escort her to her home up the Glen. I agreed to do so, because it was nearly dark and there was none of the family at the gate to the Glen. I can understand anyone being afraid of going up the Glen in the dark, because the light is completely cut out because the trees meet at the top. I noticed that Patricia was carrying a handbag and something else. I just forget what it was. It appeared to be wrapped up, whatever it was, books or something. She was wearing a yellow hat.

It was just about the Glen entrance where she first spoke to me.

We both walked up the Glen together and I think I was on her left hand side. After we walked for a few yards I either held her left hand or arm as we walked along. She did not object and was quite cheerful. We carried on walking up the Glen until we came to the spot where the street lamps light does not reach.

It was quite dark there and I said to Patricia ‘Do you mind if I kiss you’ or words to that effect. We stopped walking and stood on the grass verge on the left hand side of the drive.

She laid her things on the grass and I think she laid her hat there as well. Before she did this she was not keen on me giving her a kiss, but consented in the end. I kissed her once or twice to begin with and she did not object. She then asked me to continue escorting her up the drive. I did not do so as I 16

found I could not stop kissing her. As I was kissing her, I let my hand slip down her body between her coat and her clothes.

Her coat was open and my hand may have touched her breast, but I am not sure. She struggled and said ‘Don’t don’t, you beast,’ or something like that. I struggled with her and she said to me: “Let me go or I will tell my father.” I then lost control of myself and Patricia fell on the grass sobbing. She appeared to have fainted, because she went limp. I am a bit hazy about what happened next but I probably pulled the body of Patricia through the bushes to hide it. I dragged her by her arms or hands, but I cannot remember. Even before this happened I do not think I was capable of knowing what I was doing. I was confused at the time and believe I stabbed her once or twice with my service knife. I had been carrying this in my trouser pocket.

I am not quite sure what kind of knife it was. I may have caught her by the throat to stop her from shouting. I may have pushed her scarves against her mouth to stop her shouting. It is all very hazy to me, but I think I was disturbed either by seeing a light or hearing footsteps in the drive. I must have remained hidden and later walked out of the Glen at the gate lodge on to the main road. As far as I know I crossed the road and threw the knife into the sea. I felt that something awful must have happened and quickly walked back to the camp. I went to my billet and arrived there at roughly 6.30pm. There was no one in the billet at the time and I saw I had some small patches of Patricia’s blood on my flannels. I took a fairly large wooden nail brush from my kit. I got some water and soap from the ablutions and scrubbed the blood off my flannels. I must have done this but I do not quite remember. As far as I know no person saw me doing it. I then went to our Central Registry and did some typing as I was preparing for an examination. I went to bed at between 9.30pm and 10.00pm I got up roughly at about 7.00am on Thursday November 13, 1952. I had my breakfast and did my routine duties. At between 8.15am and 8.30 am that day the postman was delivering mail to our camp, and he told me that Mr Justice Curran’s daughter had been found dead in the grounds.

He may have said she had been shot. I cannot just remember 17

He then confessed to having concocted alibis, claiming he did it in a blackout and made his apologies.

With the death sentence a certain outcome of such a murder trial a formidable team of both defence and prosecution lawyers were engaged. The prosecution included the Unionist Attorney General, Edmund Warnock Q.C., and two other Queen’s Counsel, G Hanna and Bradley McCall.

Leading Gordon’s defence team were two Queen’s Counsel, H A McVeigh and John Agnew. Backing them was a junior barrister, Basil Kelly, later to become Attorney General himself.

Lord Justice McDermott was the presiding judge.

FOURTH WOUND Desmond later told Capstick that Gordon talked incessantly about the murder. He told the detective that at one of their meetings Gordon had said to him as they were going up in the lift: “Now we’re going up to the heavens and somebody will be asleep in five minutes.”

Desmond claimed that he thought at this stage that Gordon was going to kill him.

When Capstick wrote his memoirs in the Empire News in 1958 he specifically mentioned this meeting with 18

Desmond. He went on to say, “A conversation I had with Desmond Curran convinced me that we were on the right track.” In one conversation Gordon made a statement which at his trial proved to be incriminating evidence. He allegedly stated that he could not understand why, if Patricia was killed by the fourth blow, 20 other stab wounds were inflicted. When Desmond asked him how he knew it was the fourth knife wound which killed her he replied that he had read it in the papers. Of course there had been no mention of such forensic evidence in the papers. But the possibility that the police had made such allegations during his interrogations was never really questioned during the trial because Iain Haye Gordon did not go into the witness box.

Gordon allegedly also asked Desmond on a later occasion had Patricia ever mentioned him in her diaries and these points were heard in court as part of evidence which showed that Gordon was worried about who knew of his acquaintance with Patricia. Prompted by Curran as to how the crime had been committed Curran claimed that Gordon said, “He thought it was planned and committed by someone who knew the place well. He thought the motive was fear of

Patricia because she found out something about someone...”

Desmond Curran also claimed that Gordon “wondered what the advantages of an Italian stiletto were. He supposed that it might go in and out more easily but he thought an ordinary English or Irish knife might be used...”

BRIEF After listening to this extraordinary story, the jury must have found the later evidence of the statement all the more convincing proof of Gordon’s guilt. What was more convincing was the fact that Gordon did not go into the witness box to refute these allegations.

The cross examination of Desmond Curran by the defence lawyers was quite brief. In all he was only asked thirteen questions. Years later Gordon alleged that a letter sent to him by Curran at the beginning of January 1953 would have put a different emphasis on that last meeting.

These letters however were, he claimed, confiscated by the police when he was arrested and Gordon claimed he never saw them again.

Iain Gordon, it was claimed, was treated with derision by his fellow airmen and was of a very nervous disposition. He had often been the subject of

The murdered girls brothers Michael and Desmond practical jokes one of which was to convince him that he had to put L Plates on his bicycle while cycling in Northern Ireland.

IN NEED OF HELP At his trial Gordon’s defence did not contest instead they tried to convince the jury that Gordon was in need of

psychiatric help. The jury found him “guilty but insane.”

He narrowly missed being executed.

What made Gordon’s conviction surprising and controversial to this very day was the fact that no scrap of evidence such as hair, clothing fibres, or scratched skin tissues traceable to him was ever found, either

at the scene or on the body of Miss Curran. Gordon was not put into the witness-box himself but instead his lawyers, with the help of their key witness, a leading psychiatrist Mr A R Lewis, concentrated on proving him insane. If it were not for glaring discrepancies not only in his statement but also the 19

lack of in depth questioning of the statements of Desmond Curran, the case would have been cut and dry. Iain Hay Gordon has consistently claimed his innocence to this very day.

FALSE NAME The confession of Gordon was his only damning evidence. A confession which he claims he was brainwashed at the time into making.

The distinguished writer Ludovic Kennedy investigated the case, which he likened to that of Timothy Evans. Unlike that case however the Curran case

did not cause the same amount of interest and Gordon remained in custody until August 1960. Elaborate arrangements were then made by the Minister for Home Affairs, Mr Brian Faulkner to get Iain Hay Gordon onto a plane and back to Glasgow under the false name of John Cameron. The Home Office issued a statement about his release five days later. The case has certain questions which everyone would like answered. Mainly, if Gordon was innocent, as he has consistently suggested, then who did kill Patricia Curran?

If Gordon is guilty and the only real evidence is his own confession then how do we explain the nitty gritty questions which people are still asking to this very day?

In his confession he states: I probably had my tea about 5.00pm. I think I then changed into my civilian wear of sports coat and flannels....

The time of the murder was a crucial point which the detectives had to ascertain. It was suggested that had he been in his billet changing at that time then surely other servicemen would have saw

The Lord Chief MacDermott (front) 20

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him. In post trial statements four or five airmen said that they were in the billet at that time.

He then goes on to state that he “met Patricia Curran between the Glen and Whiteabbey Post Office.”

No other evidence was produced to show that Gordon met Patricia after she got off the bus. All the other witnesses who saw Patricia get off the bus did not give evidence to seeing Gordon at any time.

Neither did the daughter of the gardener. The only person who claimed to have saw Gordon was Hettie Lyttle. No one saw him walk from the camp to the Glen even though he would have had to have walked through the village.

“I struggled with her..... I then lost control of myself and Patricia fell down on the grass sobbing ...... I believe I stabbed her with my service knife.”

The post mortem evidence given by Dr Firth concluded that Patricia had been standing for a short while during the stabbing. Forensic experts who have studied the case maintain that the wounds would not have been caused by a service knife but by a double edged stiletto-type knife.

Gordon however did not possess a service knife. One vital question which has to be asked is where was all the 22

blood? After all the girl had been brutally stabbed 37 times.

The police stated at an early stage that the murderer would have been covered in blood yet there was no evidence of the apparent struggle either at the scene or on any of Gordon’s clothing. There was no evidence of scratch marks on the face of Gordon when he returned to the camp that night.

No evidence was produced to prove that any blood traces found on Gordon's clothes matched that of the murdered girl. At the scene only three leaves had been found with spots of blood Although the chest wounds would not have necessarily bled much if she had fallen and was lying on her back when they were inflicted, the wounds on both her face and legs would have produced

quite a large amount of blood according to the forensic scientists.

“As far as I know I crossed the road and threw the knife into the sea.”

This contradicts the statement of Mrs Hettie Lyttle who claimed to have saw Gordon on that night. She did not say he crossed the road.

Furthermore another woman was with Hettie Lyttle at the time but she did not remember seeing anyone on that particular night. Mrs Currie’s evidence was known to the police but she was not called.

“I went to my billet and arrived there at roughly 6.30pm...... I saw I had some small patches of Patricia's blood on my flannels.... I scrubbed it off...

I must have done this but I do not remember.”

Crowds watching at the gate of the Girls Remand Home, Whiteabbey where Gordon was charged

What happened to the murder weapon if Gordon's statement is said to be true? Hettie Lyttle said the man did not cross the road. Hettie Lyttle said he was wearing a dustcoat. Gordon did not have a dustcoat. She also said he was tall. Gordon was not tall and walked with a distinctive limp.

As had been stated Patricia Curran always phoned for a lift. On this occasion she knew no one was at home so what reason would she have had to phone. Surely a taxi or some other form of transport would have been organised for her.

Her family would also ensure that she had her key to let herself in if it is true that the servants had been dismissed early.

How could she have died in the have been blood everywhere.

Where is the forensic proof laneway? If she had been The forensic team believed that she died at the laneway? stabbed 37 times there would that she was stabbed while standing and after the fourth blow she died. However some of the wounds to the arteries in her legs would have resulted in a mass of blood gathering at the scene. She therefore must have been carried to where her body was found.

Would it have been possible for Gordon to have carried Patricia Curran 40 yards into the undergrowth? Highly unlikely.

On the night of November 12 Gordon had a black eye. He The scene outside the Courthouse during the holding of the also walked with a distinctive special court in Whiteabbey limp. At the initial ID parade 23

Gordon was not picked out by the witness, Hettie Lyttle. It was not until 73 days after the murder and after she saw his photo in the local newspaper that Hettie Lyttle positively identified Gordon.

Who would have had the most to lose if the true story of the murder was fully revealed?

Obviously with a huge operation of this size someone was going to speak. Capstick’s interview with Gordon was crucial to cracking the case.

He claimed that it was based on other matters and was centred on the sexual preferences of Gordon. Who else did Gordon name before he agreed to make his confession?

Despite all the arguments the Curran case continues to cause controversy to this day.

Perhaps one of the most interesting people to have investigated the case was a journalist called Duncan Webb. For years the mystery and intrigue relating to this particular case fascinated him.

He was convinced that Patricia was murdered elsewhere, a belief which was strengthened after many years of studying the case. At one point, after the Currans had left Glen House, he was able to gain access to their home. In one of the upstairs rooms he discovered a dark stain on the 24

floorboards which he believed was blood - Patricia Curran’s blood. Unfortunately Webb died suddenly and his findings were never published.

A BBC programme a few years ago revealed however that after careful analysis by forensic experts in London a statement was issued claiming, "that there should be no further investigation at the house" and furthermore that the samples taken from the house showed that blood may be present but its grouping could not staisfactorily be identified, and therefore the use of this as evidence was very weak, to say the least.

Although a jury found Gordon guilty many believe he was what the Americans call a ‘patsy’ - someone who has the blame pinned on him so that the truth can be covered up.

After his committal for trial to Crumlin Road jail, he repeatedly asked his parents to “get Wesley Courtenay.”

Courtenay himself told a private detective before his own death, that he had information which would lead to Gordon’s release, but he wanted money - more than anyone could afford.

The graveyards hold many of the secrets, as most of those involved in the tragic events of November 1952 are now dead themselves - Mr and Mrs

Curran, Rev Wylie, Capstick of the Yard and of course Patricia Curran herself.

If Iain Gordon did not kill Patricia then the perpetrator is still on the loose. Not only that but the time of the murder will again be queried. Could it be possible that she was murdered shortly before her body was found. After all rigor mortis was only beginning to set in at that stage (2.00am) and the portfolio which was found was not soaked through. If she was not killed where her body was found then is it possible that she was killed elsewhere and her body was dumped in the undergrowth by either the killer or his/her accomplices.

It is quite probable that whoever was directly involved in the murder are now dead themselves. As far as the police are concerned their files are closed, the murder solved.

Iain Haye Gordon was found guilty and even though a campaign to gain his pardon has received considerable support, his explanation of events on that night are those which are excepted as true.

Nevertheless, the general public, to this very day, believe that the true story has never been revealed. The motive for her murder is still a mystery, a mystery which shall fascinate crime investigators for many years to come.

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MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS

In January 1995 the BBC broadcast a two part documentary on the case which claimed to analyse the ‘Murder in the Glen.’

“42 years on, the questions remain,” stated the newspaper reviews.

The programme makers went on to promise that their programme would shed new light on the case and raise further questions about Gordon’s confession.

The 'Home Truths' programme was called, 'More Sinned Against than Sinning,' and the story started with the statement, “The suspicion lingers that this was Northern Ireland’s greatest unsolved crime and that the man who paid the penalty was not Patricia Curran’s killer.”

Home Truths tracked Desmond Curran to a South African township where he now works as a priest amongst some of Africa’s most deprived communities. Preferring to be remembered more for his fight for social justice he was asked some in-depth questions about his life back in Northern Ireland and the death of his sister.

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The programme makers also tracked down Iain Gordon.

Living in a tenement block in Glasgow. Gordon maintained that Desmond Curran held the key to solving the murder.

“I believe that Desmond Curran could tell us a great deal more about what happened that night. He is the only surviving direct member of the family. He owes it to himself; he owes it to his family; and he certainly owes it to me because I was locked up for eight years for a murder I did not commit,” asserted Gordon.

Desmond Curran came from a prominent Unionist background and the viewers heard a friend of the family, describe him as a “very tense and in many ways awkward young man - tall and somewhat imposing but not intimidating because he was a very kind gentle soul.” Desmond himself admitted that he was a very shy individual. He appeared to have overcome this shyness whenever he met Gordon because, according to Gordon, it was Desmond who

instigated the friendship in the first instance, when he approached him in the local church and invited him home for dinner.

beginning of the journey the convoy numbered seventeen and it was possible to see several ships had been sunk during the night having been attacked and torpedoed by Uboats. Other harrowing tales from Gordon’s childhood painted a picture of considerable traumatic disruption. Throughout the programme Iain Gordon’s nervous disposition was quite obvious. Enlisting for national service in 1951 Iain claimed that he was sent to Northern Ireland purely on the grounds that his marching ability was not up to standard.

comfortable following in his father’s footsteps. Perhaps it was his interest and involvement in the Moral Rearmament movement which convinced him that there was still something missing in his life. Still a comparatively young man he had not decided his life’s vocation yet. The constant questioning of his own ideas and religious beliefs in this organisation, claimed Desmond led to his first real opportunity to meet Catholics on an equal basis. Even though he had these moral problems he continued to attend Sunday services with his family.

Iain Gordon was also described as an awkward, nervous and extremely shy young man. Iain’s grandfather was the headmaster of a local school in Scotland and viewers heard how Iain’s childhood was marked by a series of traumatic events during the Second World War. He had been separated from his parents on several occasions while still a boy, as his father was employed overseas. On one occasion he travelled to Even though Desmond It was at one such service in Burmah in a convoy of practised at the bar it was the local Presbyterian church merchant ships. At the claimed that he did not feel that Gordon claimed Desmond Curran introduced himself. He said that Desmond welcomed him by shaking his left hand and not his right one as is usual. In so doing he immediately set himself out from everyone else. On this first meeting Desmond Curran invited Iain Gordon back to his home for dinner where he met the rest of the Curran family.

He claimed Judge Curran dominated the whole household and Gordon claimed it was plain that he (Gordon) should not have been Police engaged combing the beach for the murder weapon there. Indeed he claimed that at Whiteabbey. Gordon claimed he threw it here but it was Patricia seemed to be the only never found normal person in the house that

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day. These opinions were highlighted on the programme.

Desmond Curran, claimed Gordon, tried to convert him to the Moral Rearmament movement. Even though Gordon did not go to any of the organisation’s meetings his friendship with Desmond continued. Dealing with his relationship with Patricia Curran, Gordon claimed that he had only ever met her at the house or at church and although she was quite friendly to him, he had no intentions at the time of forming any type of relationship with her. Reenacting the supposed sequence of events on the night of the murder, the programme depicted Desmond discovering the body. Together with his father and a policeman they carried the body to a laneway where the family solicitor had just pulled up in his car. The legs were already stiff and they had difficulty in getting the body into the back seat.

Desmond maintained that he picked up the body but he went on to claim that even if the others had known that she was already dead, then they would not have let their fears be known lest it should upset him.

Desmond Curran’s recollections of that night were scanty, to say the least. He could remember finding the 28

body but minute details of what he thought and what people actually said, he could not readily recollect. This however, according to medical experts, could have been caused by the human mind blacking out events at the time as a result of extreme trauma.

Indeed finding your own sister in a laneway after having been brutally stabbed to death would be a memory etched into the mind forever and the traumatic effect of such a shock could justifiably result in memory loss.

On the other hand Gordon’s recollections of his arrest and subsequent discussions with Desmond and the police were extremely precise. In fact, they did not seem to be effected with the passage of time whatsoever. He readily recollected that on the night of the murder he was practising for a typing examination in the central registry while the rest of the servicemen attended a WRAF dance at Dundonald.

Police enquiries switched their initial suspicion that the murder took place around midnight to assuming that instead the murder could have taken place around 5.30pm.

All the servicemen were questioned again and they quickly teamed up and prepared alibis for their

movements. Gordon had no witnesses for his movements at that particular time. Neither had another serviceman named Corporal Connor. Both decided to provide an alibi for each other. A decision which proved to be the downfall of Iain Gordon. At the same time, Desmond Curran, the victim’s brother, was being asked to provide an account for his movements. Home Truths told how Desmond had been severely questioned by Sergeant Devenny but that he was eliminated from police enquiries once a number of solicitors and court officials verified his presence at the Belfast Law Courts up until 8.00pm.

Wing Commander Richard Popple MBE, who was the Camp Commandant at Edenmore claimed that at the time he was not unduly concerned when Gordon was being questioned because several other people were being questioned also.

However when he was charged with the murder the Wing Commander remembered being absolutely amazed at this incredible turn of events as it was so completely out of character for Gordon. The Wing Commander said that Iain Gordon’s confession was one approaching disbelief as

Iain Hay Gordon 29

Iain Hay Gordon is led away by a detective following the sitting of the special court 30

there was a general feeling that he could have been worked upon and that he would not be as resilient as the majority of the other servicemen.

Corporal Connor, the man who made the false alibi along with Iain Gordon, also stated that he firmly believed that Gordon “could not have done it.”

Desmond Curran however had no doubts that Gordon had indeed killed his sister and he went on to tell how he formed that opinion. Gordon had allegedly told him how he carried a knife for protection and in a series of letters which he sent to Desmond he told of his fears and beliefs in relation to the case. While Iain was confiding in Desmond in the belief that he was his close friend, unknown to him Desmond was relaying their private conversations to the police. The contents of these letters however, according to the programme, dealt with a wide scope of events and indeed it seemed as if Iain Gordon was being encouraged to reveal secrets about his own private life.

Indeed the activities of homosexuals in the Whiteabbey area were the ‘main’ interest of these revelations. One person in particular was mentioned on the programme and Gordon

revealed on air that he had in fact been acquainted with him.

That man was Wesley Courtney. Iain Gordon revealed that he had in fact been involved in minor homosexual encounter with him but he denied knowing whether or not there was any type of homosexual ring in Whiteabbey.

Desmond Curran resolutely denied that he was involved in a homosexual relationship with Iain Gordon when asked bluntly by the Home Truths interviewer. He also denied that he was involved in Patricia’s death.

The method of obtaining the confession was analysed and the viewers heard that Gordon's interviews were conducted without the presence of an RAF officer at Gordon’s request, according to the police. On the first day he was interviewed he had no officer present and no legal counsel. On the second day of interrogation a similar procedure was followed except that on this particular day the questioning was far more intensive. Gordon claimed that his interrogation went on from 9.00am to 7.45pm.

According to him he was not asked if he wanted to have an officer present. Gordon’s

alleged homosexuality coupled with the discovery that he had made a false alibi and that he was known to the Curran household was used by the police to coerce him into admitting the murder.

Capstick himself interviewed Curran on the third day for three hours on ‘matters beyond the scope of the inquiry.’ The dictation of the confession was made by Capstick according to Iain Gordon. He claimed that he was confused, disorientated and drowsy. So drowsy in fact, that at one stage he believed that his coffee had been drugged.

He eventually agreed to sign the confession. Amazingly, he claimed that he believed that he would have been released and that revelations about his relationships with Wesley Courtney and various prostitutes in Belfast would not be brought to the attention of his mother. It appeared that he was more concerned that these revelations would be revealed than worrying about the more serious charge of murder which could have been placed against him. The method of obtaining his confession was brought under the spotlight on a number of occasions and in fact it became the subject of dispute before the trial proper could begin.

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The second part of the programme brought into question the way the trial had been conducted. Gordon was left in a position, because of who he allegedly murdered, where he had considerable difficulty in finding a defence team. Viewers heard how H.A. McVeigh QC only agreed to take the case provided he did not have to cross-examine the Curran family. This was an extremely unusual precondition by any defence counsel. Before the trial began the court had to judge on the admissibility of the confession as evidence.

The defence team argued that the confession was acquired in unfair circumstances and in an atmosphere of terror. Capstick was cross-examined in court and it was believed at that stage that the confession had been discredited, however Lord Justice McDermott admitted the confession as evidence. When the trial started Capstick was never called into the witness box again.

This time the questioning relied on County Inspector Albert Kennedy’s testimony. The testimony of Capstick, the man who led the investigation, was never heard by the jury.

appeared that a deal had been reached somewhere along the line because the defence began to prove that their defendant was insane at the time of the murder. It appeared that there was some collusion between the defence and the prosecution as it became readily apparent that both were chasing the same result with the same evidence.

The prosecution was also seen not to be pushing for the death penalty in this particular case.

Since a medical defence was now being followed, Gordon did not have to enter the witness box and his ‘blackout’ was construed by an eminent Harley Street specialist, called Arthur Rossiter Lewis as proof of his insanity. The jury heard Iain Gordon described as ‘very childish,’ of ‘abnormal personality,’ a ‘schizoid person’ and ‘an inadequate psychopath.’

Gordon was subsequently found guilty but insane, a verdict which was tantamount to an acquittal. He was guilty of the crime but not responsible for committing it.

The verdict meant that he would not be sentenced to a punitive prison sentence but instead would be treated as a criminal lunatic and sent to an The rest of the trial however asylum until his sanity was then took a strange turn and it restored.

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Forensic psychiatrists from London however later claimed, after his conviction, that Dr Lewis’s evidence was disreputable and that the subsequent insanity verdict was unsound medically.

Home Truths went on to question the validity of Gordon’s insanity. Viewers heard barrister Hugh Pierce, who went on to represent Gordon at an appeal for his release, testify that the Medical Superintendent at Holywell Asylum, Dr Gilbert Smith, did not believe that Iain Gordon was insane. Dr Smith, having examined his patient on many occasions, wrote that he was of the opinion that Iain Gordon was “not of unsound mind” and that he could find “no evidence of mental illness.”

The Government’s Ministry of Health Inspector examined Iain Gordon at least annually but he described him as having ‘schizoid tendencies’ and it was on his advice solely that the Government were satisfied that he should remain incarcerated. When asked about Gordon and any treatment he was receiving at the hospital the official Government response was that he was “receiving treatment appropriate to his condition.”

This statement was at odds to

the medical evidence from Holywell Asylum itself which maintained that there was nothing wrong with him.

So trusted was Iain Gordon while he was ‘held’ at the hospital, that he was allowed access to the hospital grounds and it was revealed on the programme that, in fact, Gordon could have easily walked out through the front gates at any time. Viewers heard how he had been kept in an open ward for most of his time there. The opinion of all who met him was that he was not insane and that there was no evidence of insanity.

It was alleged that the Stormont Government were aware that his insanity would be subject of questioning fairly quickly after his conviction.

Home Truths produced documentation, which purported to come from a source in the Ministry of Home Affairs. These papers were only released to the BBC from the Northern Ireland Office after repeated requests.

In analysis the documents showed that the Government at the time were anticipating this diagnosis and pondering how they would deal with it, even before Gordon had been sent to Holywell. One document which was dated just two days after his

conviction, stated, “If it is quite possible, in a very short time, he is pronounced sane we cannot expect the mental hospital to keep him and we will have to detain him in gaol or even to let him loose absolutely or conditionally.”

Gordon’s stay at Holywell made for yet more unbelievable disclosures but by the time he was released in 1960 the public appeared to be unconcerned. There was no general feeling that a psychopathic killer had been released. By that time it was alleged that the general public in Northern Ireland were probably of the belief that he had not been the actual killer.

To say that his conviction was unsafe would be an understatement, since his conviction was based purely on the alleged confession. The programme finished on the statement; “They had to get an accused.

They had to convict somebody. It wasn’t going to be left in the air,” With this statement in mind it is a matter for grave concern that if in fact Gordon did not commit the murder then who did? What possible motive was there for her death - was it the actions of a psychopath intent only in sexual gratification? The police at the

time stated that after a detailed examination of her body showed that 'there had been a violent attempt on Miss Curran's virtue.

An undergarment was torn and bloodstained and a determined effort had been made to remove it. She appeared to have put up a firm resistance.'

The facts remain as puzzling today as they had been back then. Perhaps one aspect which was not touched upon was the fact that if indeed Patricia knew there was not going to be anyone at home at 5.20pm on that particular night then why did she not make prior arrangements not only to get home but also to get into the house. There is no mention of her ensuring that she had her own door-key as is a usual arrangement if one is faced with coming home to an empty house.

We know that she was on the bus and got off at the stop at Whiteabbey. We don’t know for sure that she indeed went up the lane to Glen House.

What we do know is that her body was found off the laneway to the house at around 2.00am by which time rigor mortis had already set in. We know that once her body was found, four professional people, even though they were involved with criminal law 33

every day of the week, panicked and removed the body from the scene of the crime. Do we assume that perhaps her body had been dumped there having been killed somewhere else, close by maybe? After all, there were no traces of blood at the scene to indicate that she had been stabbed 37 times at the spot where her body was later found. The murder weapon was never found. The case is still surrounded in mystery and after finally tracing the two men who were at the centre of the case we are still ‘none the wiser.’

dismissed any suggestions that he was trying to ‘run away from something.’

The beginning of the Home Truths programme heard Iain Gordon saying that he believed that Desmond Curran could reveal a lot more about what happened that night. It was insinuated that Desmond held a vital piece of the jigsaw but by the time the programme finished it became quite obvious that the veil of secrecy surrounding the murder is still very much in place.

Desmond Curran was adamant that he believed Iain Gordon had committed the crime. Iain Gordon was equally as The Home Truths programme adamant that he is innocent. asked Desmond Curran directly if he was involved Judge Lancelot Curran was with the murder and touched quoted by the Sunday Times upon the fact that his if he thought the courts had conversion to Catholicism, justifiably sentenced the right ordination in Rome and his man he replied, “In my leaving Ireland to live as a opinion, Gordon was rightly missionary priest in South convicted.”

Africa, was suspiciously Wesley Courtney is now interpreted by many as if he unfortunately dead but his was trying to ‘make a bolt for opinions and views are it,’ so to speak. Desmond certainly relevant to the case. claimed that any guilt he may After all Gordon believed that have had for indirectly causing he could shed some light on his sister’s death was as a his innocence from the very result of him introducing start when he was in Crumlin Gordon to his family. He Road Gaol. The allegation stated that his religious that he tried to sell his story to conversion had been journalists would also have developing for a long time provided an interesting twist to before the murder and he the story.

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Certain letters which Gordon allegedly sent to Desmond Curran in January 1953, and which he claimed had been confiscated by the police, were not mentioned at all even though there appeared to have been some attempt to suppress facts contained within them by their confiscation.

We do not know whether or not Desmond knew Courtney as he was not asked this question directly by Home Truths. They did ask him if he was involved in a homosexual affair with Iain Gordon at the time to which he replied that he had never had any homosexual encounters. A popular rumour exists that perhaps Patricia stumbled upon something that she was not meant to see. The association of prominent personalities in the legal profession has also led to the rumoured suspicion that an even greater conspiracy was involved, a conspiracy where even the Masonic lodge has been targeted for rumour.

The conviction of Iain Gordon and the subsequent ‘witchhunt’ against homosexuals could well have resulted in the real killer escaping the attention of the police.

THE LEGAL AND CLERICAL CONNECTION One of the main reasons why the Curran case has raised so much suspicion and caused such an amount of controversy is simply because of the conection of both Church and State.

Patricia Curran was set apart from the majority of other girls in her class because pure and simply, her father had been one of the most important public figures not only in Whiteabbey but also in Northern Ireland. Lancelot Curran was the MP for Carrick (1945-1949). He was also the Senior Crown Prosecutor for County Down. Lancelot Curran was the youngest Attorney

Lord Justice Curran

Edward Warnock QC General for Northern Ireland before he was elevated to the High Court Bench in 1949. While a member of Stormont Parliament he was Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance and Chief Whip. He received his knighthood in 1964. As a High Court judge he was a close colleague of Lord Justice McDermott who presided over the case of Iain Gordon. He died in 1984 .

Other dignatories who featured in the case were the man who succeeded

Lancelot Curran as the Attorney General, Edmond Warnock QC. He prosecuted the case, was also a Unionist MP and went on to become a Unionist Cabinet Minister.

George Hanna QC was also part of the prosecution team. A Unionist MP he went on to become Minister of Home Affairs and finally a County Court Judge.

In the defence team as a junior barrister was Basil Kelly. He later became a Unionist MP and Attorney General.

As a High Court judge Justice Curran was a close confidant of Sir Richard

H.A. McVeigh QC 35

Desmond Curran was a barrister at the time of the murder. He was closely acquainted with the Presbyterian Minister of Whiteabbey, Rev S J Wylie, who was his close neighbour. Rev Wylie was also the chaplain to the RAF camp at Edenmore.

Lord Justice MacDermott Pim, then the Inspector detectives appointed to the General of the RUC, who case but a senior was in turn a close friend pathologist, Dr Firth from of the Prime Minister, North West Forensic Winston Churchill. The Laboratories was sent over case therefore went not to administrate. only right to the corridors of Stormont but straight to the powers to be at At a later stage Colonel Topping became involved Westminister. in the case as did Brian When Scotland Yard Faulkner the Minister for therefore were sent to take Home Affairs who agreed over the case it seemed that Iain Gordon’s release in a this particular enquiry was deal with the Gordon going to be conducted like family that the affair no other. Not only were should be kept from the two senior Scotland Yard attention of the public.

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He had been in close contact with the murder squad detectives throughout their investigations and was apparently, at a later date, in touch with the Ministry of Home Affairs. He took up the role of Gordon’s mentor from the time Gordon had been introduced to him by Desmond Curran. Wylie left Northern Ireland for Canada in 1959. After Iain Gordon’s arrest it was revealed that Rev Wylie continued to visit him

Rev. Wylie

while on remand at Crumlin Road Gaol.

These visits were stopped by the Gordon family at the suggestion of the prison chaplain. When Iain’s mother later contacted Rev Wylie in her attempts to prove her son’s innocence he allegedly said to her, “I know he did it. If you don’t let this pass you will get more than you will like.”

Africa where he has been associate with Catholics. engaged in commendable (His father had been work as a missionary to known for his remarks this day. The BBC’s Home about disenfranchising Truths programme went Catholics in Northern part of the way to discredit Ireland.) Desmond Curran any suspicions that he denied being guilty in any somehow joined the way and explained that he priesthood to escape from had always been involved Northern Ireland or that he in religious type had been in any way organisations. connected with the murder.

His conversion was Indeed anyone who knows extremely remarkable anything about Northern since it was not in the Ireland knows how Desmond Curran initially tradition of his particular important both religion followed in his father’s upbringing to even and politics are. footsteps and served at the bar. He was at the Law Courts at Belfast on the night his sister was murdered and witnesses confirmed his presence at the courts up to 8.00pm on that night. As a practising Presbyterian he was also deeply involved in an evangelical religious grouping called Moral Rearmament.

His association with this group led him to reassess his religious convictions.

Desmond eventually converted to the Roman Catholic religion. Not only did he become a convert but he went on to become a priest and was ordained in Rome in 1964.

After his ordination he was Desmond Curran sent to Cape Town in South 37

TO CATCH A KILLER There have been many instances throughout Belfast and even further afield where women have been murdered. In the majority of cases they have been murdered by people who were known to them.

In fact you could go further than that and state that it is only in extremely rare occasions where this particular type of murder has been committed by a complete stranger. In the case of Patricia Curran it has been assumed that she also met someone she knew and, convinced of her relative safety, agreed that evening to walk through the secluded and lonely laneway to her home. It was in this laneway that her body was subsequently found.

Iain Gordon admitted in his confession that he accompanied her up the laneway and after trying to kiss her she repelled his advances.

He then proceeded to stab her to death. There is no doubt that she died in a frenzied knife attack - the kind of attack which unfortunately has been committed from time to time against 38

defenceless young women.

Patricia Curran had been stabbed 37 times around the chest, legs and abdomen.

up until he was about to be executed. While on the scaffold it is alleged he finally admitted his guilt.

The case of the last person to be hanged in Northern Ireland, Robert McGladdery, had similarities to the Curran murder. That case also centred around a young 19 year-old girl. Her name was Pearl Gamble and she had been to a dance at a local hall near Newry in January 1961. Anticipating that she would not be home until late, her parents left the key in the door for her.

When she had not returned by the following day a search began and her body was found. Her body had been naked except for a pair of stockings.

She had also been stabbed but the extent of her injuries were banned from publication. Her body had also been concealed in undergrowth and she too had been lured to her death by a man whom she knew.

The motive for her death was quite obvious in this instance although McGladdery denied having committed the murder right

Another similar case which came before the Belfast Court was that of Harold Courtney. He was hanged for the murder of a young girl called Minnie Reid whose body was found hidden in whin bushes near Derryane, County Armagh in August, 1932. It was revealed by the court that 21 year-old Miss Reid had been pregnant and it was believed that Courtney had been the child’s father. He denied this allegation and the court heard that his attempts to conceal the full parentage of her unborn child was the true motive for the crime. Like the other murder cases against young women, Minnie Reid was lured to her death. She arranged to meet him in his car. He then allegedly drove her to a lonely country road where he cut her throat and dumped her body beneath some bushes.

Courtney continued to deny the murder and went to his grave protesting his innocence.

By far the most notorious case of murder which had similarities to the Curran murder was that for which William Woods was convicted. He used a razor to attack and kill women on at least two different occasions (Mary Irwin in 1890 and Bridie McGivern in 1899). Woods was finally executed at Belfast in 1901. He lulled his victims into a false sense of security before brutally subjecting them to a cruel death by stabbing.

knife for his own protection. However it was proven that she had been stabbed repeatedly with a stiletto type knife. The find of her mutilated body in the undergrowth added to the psychological dread which is associated for those women who live in fear of male violence. All these add to the terror which fills women who have to walk alone in the knowledge that they might be vulnerable to attack. It was the police who initially assumed that the murderer was male.

It was with this background They also suggested that he that we try to analyse what must have been known to happened to Patricia Curran his victim. on that fateful night in November 1952. Here we One point which raises had a young woman who curious questions was the was killed for no apparent broken watch which reason. Gordon’s statement Patricia Curran was which has been brought wearing on the night her into considerable disrepute body was found. A search lately would certainly for the watch hands using explain how the attack powerful metal detectors developed. It was believed proved to be unsuccessful. that when she threatened It will be remembered how him with her father he important it was to confirm panicked and stabbed the the time of death in this girl. particular case. There was He claimed it all happened a certain amount of in a ‘blackout.’ His reasons controversy arising from for carrying a knife were the point that rigor mortis explained by Desmond had only just began to set Curran during the trial in when the body was when he claimed Iain initially found, indicating Gordon carried a service that she had been killed not

long beforehand. The missing watch hands also added to the speculation that her watch might have revealed the time of death.

In 1867 the infamous Dan Ward was convicted of the murder of Charles Wilgar at Ballyleeson, Lisburn, after Wilgar’s body was pulled from the River Lagan. The exact time of his death was ascertained when his watch was produced as evidence.

It had been concealed inside his waistcoat and had stopped the minute it was submerged in the water.

Had Patricia Curran’s watch also stopped at the exact time of her death?

Had this fact been noticed by the clinical mind of her murderer and was the watch deliberately doctored before her body was left in the undergrowth? This point and the other unanswered questions connected with the case are just some of the reasons why The Murder in the Glen has intrigued many people over the years who are interested in the study of crime and detective work.

An intriguing mystery which we may never solve satisfactorily.

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