Convicted murderer, born in Rhyl, Denbighshire, NE Wales, UK. A night-club hostess, in a jealous rage she repeatedly shot her former lover, David Blakely, a motor-racing driver, outside a Hampstead pub (10 Apr 1955). The case achieved notoriety as a crime passionnel - Blakely was trying to extricate himself from their tempestuous, often violent, relationship at the time of his murder. Ellis was the last woman to receive the death penalty in Britain, and was hanged on 13 July 1955.
Ruth Ellis, née Neilson (October 9, 1927 – July 13, 1955) was a British murderer who was the last woman to be executed in the UK.
Biography
Ellis was born in the Welsh seaside town of Rhyl in 1927. Ruth left school at fourteen to work as a waitress.
At 17, she became pregnant by a married Canadian soldier, and gave birth to a son, Clare Andrea (Andy), in 1944. The father continued to visit and pay maintenance until he returned to Canada, but Ruth's faith in men had been badly shaken. In 1950, looking for some security, she married 41 year old George Ellis, a divorced dentist with two sons, who had been a customer. Unfortunately, George was an alcoholic who became violent when drunk, and Ruth was jealous and possessive, convinced he was having an affair. When Ruth gave birth to Georgina in 1951, George refused to acknowledge paternity, and they separated shortly afterwards.
David Blakely
In 1953, she became manager of a nightclub, and met David Blakely, three years her junior. She eventually accepted Blakely's proposal of marriage, although Ruth was still married to George Ellis. Ruth also had another older lover, Desmond Cussen, who hated Blakely.
On Easter Sunday, April 10 1955, Ruth Ellis shot David Blakely outside The Magdala public house in Hampstead.
The case caused widespread controversy at the time: on the day of her execution the Daily Mirror columnist Cassandra wrote a famous column attacking the sentence, writing "The one thing that brings stature and dignity to mankind and raises us above the beasts will have been denied her - pity and the hope of ultimate redemption."
Legacy of The Ellis Case
The hanging of Ruth Ellis strengthened public support for the abolition of the death penalty, which was halted in practice for murder in Britain ten years later.
Factors which counted against Ruth Ellis included her appearance, her lifestyle, her supposed lack of remorse, the fact that a passer-by was slightly wounded, and the sensational aspects of the case. Unfortunately, the murder and Ruth's arraignment also occurred during the 1955 General Election campaign, which was won by the Conservatives on a strongly pro death-penalty platform. It may be that the publicity and furore surrounding the case was counter-productive to Ruth Ellis' cause, and the newly-elected Home Secretary could not be seen to bow to a section of public opinion in exercising the Royal Prerogative of mercy.
The execution brought world-wide condemnation.
The tragedy of David Blakely and Ruth Ellis was not confined to them. Within weeks of her execution, Ruth's 18-year old sister died suddenly, allegedly of a broken heart. Ruth's husband, George Ellis, descended into alcoholism and hanged himself in 1958. Christmas Humphreys, the prosecution counsel at Ruth's trial, paid for his funeral.
The case continues to have a strong hold on the British imagination, reinforced by the dramatic portrayal in Dance with a Stranger, and the case was referred back to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission.
Burial And Reburial
The body of Ruth Ellis was buried in an unmarked grave within the walls of Holloway Prison, as was customary. Most remains were reburied in Brookwood Cemetery, with the exception of Ruth Ellis who was reburied in Saint Mary Churchyard in Amersham, Buckinghamshire. The headstone in the churchyard is inscribed with the name Ruth Hornby.
In Film
Her story was told in the 1985 film Dance with a Stranger (director Mike Newell), featuring Miranda Richardson as Ellis.
In the film Pierrepoint (2006), Ellis was portrayed by Mary Stockley.
Yield to the Night
The 1956 film Yield to the Night, starring Diana Dors as a doomed murderess bears a close resemblance to the Ellis case - however, the work is in fact based on a 1954 book of that name by Joan Henry.
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