Haigh Murder

John George Haigh, known as the Acid Bath Killer, was born on July 24, 1909. Haigh, who was born in Lincolnshire and raised in West Yorkshire, committed one of the most bizarre and disturbing cases of mass murder. Haigh’s parents were fanatically religious and believe all was evil in the world. The Lord was often used in the Haigh household as a reminder that there was always a higher deity watching. As a young boy, John was separated from the rest of the world. He spent many years in and out of prison for fraud. The mass murder spree began on September 9, 1944.

Haigh Senior told John that if you lied or committed sins, god would mark you. After not being marked for his questionable acts and deceitfulness, John began to believe that he was invincible and above all laws. Haigh was later known to be manipulative and a compulsive liar. Before anyone knew the real John Haigh, to him or her he was a respectable, well dress, middle-class man with charm. John rented a basement space, known as his workshop, for his killing grounds. He disposed of seven victims in the late 1940’s in a manner that led him to being labeled as a Vampire. Haigh claimed to drink the blood of his victims before finishing them off with the bath of sulfuric acid.

The first victim of John George Haigh’s mass murder spree was Mac McSwan on September 9, 1944 (“John haigh,”). Mac, Haigh’s former employee, was dumped into a 40-gallon barrel that was full of sulfuric acid. Mac was assumed to be Haigh’s first victim of vampire like acts, such as drinking the person’s blood. After the sulfuric acid, Mac’s remains were dumped down a drain. Most of Haigh’s murders were for gain in property and/or money that the victims owned. The second and third murder was ...

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.... Psychologists agreed that he had mental health issues; he was not insane and knew that his murderous actions were wrong. After being reviewed by psychologists, Haigh was found to have an acute sense of omnipotence and believed he was above the law (“John george haigh,”).

The trial began in July of 1949. He pled not guilty but eventually found guilty and sentenced to death. John George Haigh was hanged at Wandsworth Prison on August 6, 1949 (“John haigh,”). After five years of vampire-like acts and a mass murder spree of seven people, Haigh’s victims were brought to justice. Haigh killed to gain money and property that he could potentially change into more money. After his fortune would run low, he would kill again to support his wealthy spending. Even the “best” murder plan, such as a sulfuric acid bath, unravels and criminal will almost always get caught.