John George Haigh - The Acid Bath Murderer

by Read Listen Learn

Haigh did not, in fact, murder people with acid. He killed them first and then put their bodies in baths full of acid because he believed – wrongly – that the police needed a body to arrest him for murder. He became famous for this unusual way of getting rid of the bodies and because he was not sorry for the killings. In fact, he seemed quite happy until the last moment of his life. This made many people believe he was mentally sick.

John Haigh was born in 1919. He had an unusual childhood. His parents were very religious Christians. They believed that enjoyment was wrong. In fact, his father built a high fence around their house so that they could not see the terrible things that happened in the world outside their home. Haigh often said that he had religious nightmares when he was a little boy.

Although his parents were very religious, Haigh did not seem very interested in their beliefs or their way of life. He had many jobs as a young man. When he left school at sixteen, he became a car mechanic but, after a year, got a job in an office. He stayed there for three or four years but his boss sacked him for stealing from a cash box. He then got another job as a rich man’s driver. His name was McSwan. He seemed happy in this job and was friendly with his boss, but left after a couple of years, although he did not have another job to go to.

Instead, he told people he was a lawyer and started taking money from them to help them with their legal problems. Soon, he was in prison for four years and, every time he came out, he started stealing again and went back.

One evening when he was out of prison again, he met his old boss, McSwan, with his parents in a London pub. It was 1943 and the middle of the Second World War. By the next year, McSwan was dead. Haigh killed him and put his body in a bath full of sulphuric acid. He had thought about the perfect murder when he was in prison and decided that he was going to make money by killing people, getting rid of their bodies and selling their things. If the police could not find the bodies, they could not understand that the people were dead. He tried putting a mouse in acid and saw that it was gone in thirty minutes. There was nothing left.

After he killed McSwan, he forged his signature and managed to get all his money. He told the man’s parents that he was in Scotland. A letter from the government told McSwan that he must become a soldier and so he escaped to Scotland. Of course, there was no letter. McSwan was dead. Haigh put him in an acid bath and, after two days, put the acid and the body – now like soup – in a drain. But, it was soon 1945 and the war was ending. McSwan’s parents wanted to know why their son did not return home. They were not sure they believed Haigh about their boy staying in Scotland. So, he killed them too and again forged their signatures to steal all their money. He moved into a hotel and lived a very comfortable life but, in 1947, the money was starting to run out.

Haigh met an old couple and said he wanted to buy a house that they were selling. He became friendly with them. He said he wanted to show the old man a machine he was inventing and took him to the garage where he had killed McSwan’s parents. He shot him in the head and then called his wife to come too, because – he said – her husband was sick. He shot her too. Now, Haigh had more money. He sold everything that the old couple had – but not their dog. He kept that at his home.

It was not long before Haigh needed more. This time, he shot an old lady in the head and stole all the money in her house. But he made a mistake. She was wearing an expensive coat and Haigh decided to sell it. However, he took it to a cleaner’s first. A friend of the old lady called the police because she was worried about her. He also told them about her new friend, John Haigh. The police quickly found out that Haigh was in and out of prison.

They went to his flat, found the coat and the dog he had kept from the couple he murdered. The police also found the acid bath and some teeth from the last lady he killed.

John Haigh was hanged in 1949. He was never sorry for the murders.