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00:00:11
[music] The railways transformed Britain00:00:17
from town to town and city to city. The00:00:20
tracks spread. They changed the way we00:00:23
live forever.00:00:26
But there was a darker side to the00:00:28
advent of the railways.00:00:30
This technological revolution offered00:00:33
new opportunities for the oldest of00:00:36
crimes.00:00:38
In this series, we'll be investigating00:00:40
the most notorious murders ever to take00:00:42
place on the British railways.00:00:47
Stories of the men who killed, of the00:00:50
police who hunted them, and of [music]00:00:53
the victims who were left behind. From00:00:56
the files of Scotland Yard and the00:00:58
railway police, this is the history of00:01:01
blood on the tracks of Britain.00:01:26
>> [music] >> It was not the first time he'd been00:01:28
sentenced to death. The 23-year-old00:01:31
former soldier said nothing as he was00:01:34
taken away.00:01:36
A condemned cell was waiting for him.00:01:40
Would he pay the ultimate penalty this00:01:42
time?00:01:43
or would he escape the noose once again?00:01:53
>> It was a time when the death penalty was00:01:56
being reviewed and was quite00:01:59
contentious.00:02:01
But in this case, you know, people would00:02:04
have said, well, if he had faced00:02:06
punishment for the original crime, then00:02:10
actually he wouldn't have been free to00:02:13
have murdered a few years later.00:02:16
>> He was given a pardon and his freedom,00:02:20
which allowed him to kill a second time00:02:23
several years later.00:02:25
This is a case where a nice [music]00:02:27
inoffensive man might not have died if00:02:31
an earlier death sentence [music] had00:02:33
been confirmed.00:02:41
[music]00:02:43
James John Olcott was born in Woolage on00:02:46
the 13th of October 1929.00:02:49
Soldiering was in his [music] blood. His00:02:52
mother, Nelly, was the daughter of a00:02:54
Scots Guardsman. His uncle had been in00:02:56
the Cold Stream Guards, and his father,00:02:58
Joseph, had served as a private in the00:03:01
Second World War. All his life, all God00:03:04
had wanted to follow in their footsteps.00:03:08
But young Jimmy was not an obedient00:03:10
[music] child.00:03:14
His mother described him as a as having00:03:17
a bit of trouble and in high spirits and00:03:20
and that sort of thing when he was00:03:22
young. >> His father00:03:24
seems to have been [music] somebody who00:03:26
was absent a great deal of the time.00:03:30
>> He was brought up very much by his00:03:31
mother who lived in Beexley Heath in00:03:34
South London with three other children.00:03:39
Young Jimmy seems to have got up to a00:03:41
fair amount of mischief, to have been a00:03:45
not untypical00:03:47
young tear away. But as he moves into00:03:51
his early teenage years, he does descend00:03:57
into a greater criminality.00:04:00
somebody who is considered likely to00:04:05
become a career criminal unless action00:04:10
is taken.00:04:14
>> When he was 10 years old, he was caught00:04:16
stealing a bicycle. He was stealing00:04:19
money by the time he was 11. And his00:04:21
behavior became so bad that he was sent00:04:24
to an approved school for young people00:04:26
beyond parental control. He was at the00:04:29
institution in Farbor for 3 years.00:04:37
Approved schools in in those days were00:04:40
designed to try and turn juvenile00:04:44
offenders into more disciplined young00:04:47
adults.00:04:50
It was a charity organization. It was00:04:52
designed to help vulnerable young people00:04:54
and their families when they were in00:04:56
times of trouble.00:04:58
For Jimmy Elk to end up in one of them00:05:02
was00:05:04
a real00:05:06
positive attempt00:05:10
to00:05:12
make him into a useful member of the00:05:15
community. But Alcott never gave up on00:05:17
his dream of becoming a soldier. When he00:05:20
left school, he joined the local00:05:22
cadetses. In 1947,00:05:24
he turned 18. He'd grown into a tall and00:05:29
handsome young man. He volunteered for00:05:31
the Grenadier Guards. He was posted to00:05:34
Germany.00:05:40
The Grenadier Guards were on occupation00:05:43
duties in Germany. It wasn't00:05:45
particularly exciting.00:05:48
It wasn't particularly00:05:50
challenging. At the time, just after00:05:53
World War II, there was an awful lot of00:05:55
um British soldiers stationed in in00:05:58
Germany. It was the occupying army00:06:02
gradually returning the administration00:06:04
to normal civilian administration of the00:06:08
German state. [music]00:06:09
>> They're on guard duty. They're00:06:12
policing the black [music] market.00:06:14
They're acting [clears throat]00:06:15
as an overseeing force as Germany tries00:06:21
to reconstruct itself.00:06:26
Orcot, however, had not left his00:06:28
rebellious ways behind. In September00:06:31
1948, [music]00:06:33
he snuck away from his base in Germany00:06:35
and went wandering in the countryside.00:06:38
There he met a Czech refugee. The pair00:06:42
decided to walk together [music] to00:06:44
France.00:06:49
>> Basically, [music]00:06:50
Jimmy gets bored and decides to abscond.00:06:54
He's fed up with being a regular00:06:56
soldier. He's very clearly fed up with00:07:00
rules, regulations, and [music] being00:07:02
told what to do.00:07:03
>> Alcott said that he suffered at00:07:05
different times from blackouts. And it00:07:08
was allegedly during one of these00:07:10
blackout [music] periods that he went00:07:12
oal. He went absent without leave.00:07:14
>> They ended up in a small place called00:07:16
Montabau near Cobblins00:07:19
and there was a a a lodging house or00:07:22
small hotel.00:07:26
In its garage was a motor car. The two00:07:29
[music] men tried to steal it, but there00:07:32
was a night watchman on duty. Peter Helm00:07:34
was his name. And when he went to stop00:07:36
the thieves, they attacked him.00:07:41
>> They hit and assaulted this night00:07:45
porter, one with a fire extinguisher and00:07:47
one with a a whiskey bottle.00:07:50
>> We [music] don't know what exactly00:07:53
instigated a brutal and fatal attack on00:07:58
the night watchman.00:08:04
Two days later, Olcott was found [music]00:08:07
and arrested. In January 1949,00:08:11
the young Grenier Guardsman was hauled00:08:13
in front of a general court marshal.00:08:23
A general court marshal is the highest00:08:27
level of court marshal and it [music] is00:08:29
the only one that has the power to pass00:08:35
a death sentence.00:08:37
>> The normal court marshal dealt with all00:08:40
ranks in the army and general breaches00:08:43
of military law. a general court marshal00:08:46
dealt with uh commissioned officers and00:08:48
other ranks uh who had committed serious00:08:51
offenses.00:08:53
Effectively, it was a criminal trial but00:08:57
within the military system with military00:09:02
law that um governed how the proceeding00:09:06
should take place.00:09:12
Olcott insisted he was innocent. The00:09:16
night watchmen had offered them coffee,00:09:18
he said, but had then thrown boiling00:09:20
water in their faces. Orcott and his00:09:23
Czech friend had fought back in00:09:26
self-defense.00:09:28
He was not believed. [music]00:09:30
Olcott was found guilty of murder and00:09:34
sentenced [music] to death. But as the00:09:36
19-year-old waited in a cell in Germany,00:09:40
his story took [music] an extraordinary00:09:42
turn.00:09:45
Olcott's parents, Nelly [music] and00:09:47
Joseph, didn't know about their son's00:09:49
arrest or his conviction. They'd00:09:52
received no official notification. And00:09:55
it was only when an army chaplain wrote00:09:57
to Mrs. Olcott that the truth came out.00:10:06
The newspapers soon took up the story. A00:10:09
Labour MP pressed the war minister in00:10:11
parliament. How could the parents not00:10:14
have been told their son had been tried00:10:17
for murder and condemned to death?00:10:22
[music]00:10:26
Jimmy's family [music]00:10:28
are shown in the newspapers as a family00:10:32
that is shocked by the sentence passed00:10:38
on their son. So, it's a human interest00:10:41
story. There is a subtext in there that00:10:45
A he'd killed a foreigner and b that the00:10:51
attack had also involved another00:10:54
foreigner.00:10:55
So there's something of a hint reading00:10:58
between the lines of perhaps00:11:02
it was the foreigners who really did the00:11:05
fighting. Death sentences handed down by00:11:08
court marshall had to be officially00:11:11
confirmed by the king. But for Jimmy00:11:13
Olcott, the confirmation was delayed00:11:15
[music] and delayed.00:11:18
Then early in April 1949, [music] a00:11:22
dispatch rider pulled up outside the00:11:24
home of Nelly Alcott. He was carrying a00:11:26
letter from the war office. At first,00:11:29
Mrs. Olcott was too frightened to open00:11:31
it. When she finally worked up the00:11:34
courage to read the letter, she burst00:11:36
into tears. [music]00:11:38
Her son's death sentence had been00:11:40
quashed. [snorts]00:11:42
Jimmy was coming home.00:11:48
[music]00:11:58
James John Olcott was given a second00:12:01
chance. His death sentence was commuted00:12:04
by the king. He returned to England00:12:07
where he was discharged from the army.00:12:14
The royal prerogative of mercy does not00:12:17
overturn the conviction00:12:19
that still stands. So when Olcott was00:12:24
freed, he still had the conviction of00:12:27
murder against him. [music] It's a way00:12:29
of sweeping the whole thing under the00:12:32
carpet. There is a very clear hope that00:12:36
he has learned his lesson and on return00:12:41
to England to his family, he will settle00:12:44
down and be an improved character.00:12:53
Still just 19 years old, he began to00:12:56
build a [music] new life for himself.00:12:58
He got a job on the railways.00:13:02
It was a time [music] of change in00:13:03
Britain. The post-war Labor government00:13:06
had embarked on a massive program of00:13:09
nationalization and reform. There was a00:13:12
brand new system of social security.00:13:14
[music] The National Health Service had00:13:16
been founded and strict controls were00:13:18
introduced on what could be built and00:13:21
where. The reforms touched almost every00:13:24
aspect of life in Britain and the00:13:26
railways were no exception.00:13:31
Originally, of course, they've been set00:13:33
up by individual private companies with00:13:35
their own routes. Gradually, these had00:13:38
sort of amalgamated together. Um, but00:13:41
during the war, they'd had to coordinate00:13:44
an awful lot more because of the war00:13:46
effort. And in 1947 they were00:13:50
nationalized as one national rail system00:13:54
under the British Transport Commission.00:13:56
In 1947 uh the plans were introduced for00:13:59
the nationalization of the railways. In00:14:01
1948 nationalization did take place and00:14:05
there was this unification00:14:09
of all the companies into this one major00:14:12
unit.00:14:22
By 1952,00:14:24
Jimmy Olcott was working as a railway00:14:26
fireman. He was based at the Hither00:14:29
Green Depot in Southeast London. He'd00:14:32
married a French woman [music] and the00:14:34
couple lived in her grandmother's flat00:14:35
on Elton Palace Road.00:14:42
He was a sociable man. [music] It's00:14:44
certainly something that was noted of00:14:46
him by his fellow workmates [music] at00:14:49
Hither Green that he'd always stop for a00:14:52
chat rather than getting on with [music]00:14:55
his job.00:14:56
>> He got a job on the railway as a fireman00:14:59
stoking the boilers of steam engines00:15:00
which were very common in those days.00:15:03
>> He doesn't seem to have distinguished00:15:05
himself in any particular [music]00:15:08
way. He's just average. He doesn't make00:15:13
waves, but he doesn't win the approval00:15:18
of his superiors.00:15:27
Monday the 18th of August was the first00:15:29
day of his annual leave. Olcott and his00:15:32
wife were planning to go to France. He00:15:35
went to the depot to collect his £1600:15:37
[music]00:15:38
holiday pay. But before he headed home00:15:40
to join his wife, there was [music] one00:15:43
more thing he needed to do. He traveled00:15:46
to Alershot. There he spent 15 shillings00:15:49
on a sheath knife. Then he made his way00:15:53
to the nearby village of Ash Veil.00:16:00
He never seemed to go back to his wife00:16:04
and take her to France as he'd promised.00:16:07
And perhaps that was part of his00:16:11
unreliable00:16:12
character that he was wandering off.00:16:16
It's very plain that he deserts again.00:16:20
Whether it's intended to be long-term,00:16:22
whether it's aberration, we just don't00:16:25
know because he never provides any00:16:29
credible explanation. I find myself00:16:32
speculating that he's trying to meet up00:16:36
with old friends.00:16:38
>> It's an area he would have had a00:16:40
reasonable knowledge of because of his00:16:42
school days and because of his military00:16:43
career. It was probably that memory that00:16:47
had drawn him down to that area and he00:16:50
visited the railway station.00:16:53
[music]00:16:58
Ash Vale stood on the line from Alton to00:17:00
London [music] Waterloo. It was not a00:17:03
busy station most of the time, but at00:17:04
weekends it thronged with soldiers on00:17:07
leave from the nearby army base. [music]00:17:10
In hours, it could sell hundreds of00:17:12
pounds worth of tickets. That money was00:17:16
Jimmy Olcott's target.00:17:19
He planned his robbery carefully. At00:17:22
first, he [music] just watched. Ashef00:17:25
station was spread over three stories.00:17:28
Passengers [music] entered at street00:17:30
level. They bought their tickets on the00:17:32
first floor, then climbed the stairs to00:17:34
the platforms and waiting rooms at the00:17:36
top. From 6:00 in the morning to 8:00 at00:17:40
night, at least two porters and a00:17:43
booking cler were on duty. [music] Every00:17:45
evening at 7:45, the cler in the booking00:17:48
office drew down the shutters. Tickets00:17:50
and date stamps were handed to the00:17:52
senior porter. After that time,00:17:55
passengers had to buy [music] their00:17:57
tickets on the platform.00:18:02
We have to assume that Alcott did not00:18:04
manage to meet anybody from his previous00:18:08
life and he therefore drifted to the00:18:13
[music] railway to meet up with railway00:18:16
staff.00:18:17
>> It was about 30 mi south of London. The00:18:19
station itself was very small uh just a00:18:22
station and two lines running parallel00:18:25
to the Bazing Stoke Canal.00:18:28
It was not a huge station, but it was a00:18:33
busy station. There was a lot of00:18:35
traffic. A lot of people from the00:18:38
garrison, the nearby military camp would00:18:41
choose to use Ashvale because it was00:18:43
more convenient than going all the way00:18:46
into Aldershot or all the way into00:18:48
Farnbr.00:18:57
>> [music]00:18:59
>> On Thursday, the 21st of August, Oralot00:19:02
returned once again to Ashevale Station.00:19:06
At around 5:00 in the afternoon, he00:19:08
asked senior Clark Norman Thompson if he00:19:11
could use the telephone in the booking00:19:13
[music] office. He showed his British00:19:15
Railways staff pass. He wanted to call00:19:18
his depo.00:19:24
He worked the sidings at Hither Green,00:19:26
which was quite a large goodsard, and in00:19:30
shoveling the sort of clinker, which is00:19:32
the remains of ash from the boilers of00:19:35
these steam engines, he'd apparently00:19:38
shoveled some of this out and had00:19:40
injured one of his colleagues. An00:19:43
unconssidered motive00:19:46
behind00:19:48
his actions this week is an expectation00:19:53
that he's going to be disciplined00:19:57
or even dismissed on his return from his00:20:00
holiday and that he wants to find out00:20:03
what's happening.00:20:08
>> Olcott was let in. He phoned his depo.00:20:12
They were going to check, he said. Could00:20:14
he wait there for a call back?00:20:16
>> No such call ever comes in.00:20:20
And00:20:22
he drifts off again, but he keeps coming00:20:25
back to Ash [music] Vale.00:20:27
>> Was hanging around the station. There's00:20:30
no other word to describe it. He he he00:20:32
was there all the time. In retrospect,00:20:35
it does seem that he was actually00:20:39
examining the the normal working00:20:41
practices of the railway staff on that00:20:45
railway station00:20:47
um to see what the pattern was when the00:20:51
booking office would close and so on.00:20:53
There was no attempt um to conceal an00:20:57
identity which is which is surprising in00:20:59
view of what he was planning.00:21:04
By closing time, Olcott had become so00:21:07
charming with Norman Thompson that the00:21:09
older man offered him a lift back to00:21:11
Alershot on his motorbike. Orcott knew00:21:14
the staff, their duties, their00:21:16
schedules. He knew where the money was00:21:19
kept and how he could access it. And he00:21:22
had the knife. [clears throat]00:21:24
Everything was ready. The next day was00:21:27
Friday. It would be one of Asheville's00:21:29
busiest days of the week. The perfect00:21:32
day for a robbery.00:21:51
Jimmy Olcott had finished his00:21:53
reconnaissance. It was time to put his00:21:56
plan into action. On Friday the 22nd of00:21:59
August 1952, [music]00:22:02
he returned once more to Ashvale00:22:04
station.00:22:05
At 6:30 in the evening, he again asked00:22:09
to use the station telephone.00:22:11
He then got chatting with the booking00:22:14
cler on duty in the tiny gas lit office.00:22:18
The clark's name was Jeffrey Charles00:22:20
Dean. Like Olcott, the 27year-old was an00:22:23
exs soldier. He'd served with the00:22:25
paratroop regiment in Norway during the00:22:27
war. By August 1952, he had a 5-year-old00:22:31
daughter and his wife was expecting00:22:33
their second [music] child.00:22:39
He was in charge of selling the tickets,00:22:43
counting the money. He was the booking00:22:46
office cler, so he was in charge of00:22:49
running that. He'd had this job for00:22:52
about 15 months or so. So, he'd probably00:22:55
joined the railway as a booking cler00:22:58
after he'd been um demobbed00:23:01
after the war.00:23:03
>> He is someone who had served with00:23:07
respectability if not huge distinction00:23:11
during the war. He had been a dutiful00:23:14
member of the armed forces and he was00:23:16
very proud of that service. His role at00:23:19
the station was that of sort of a wages00:23:21
cler and to see the tickets and to to up00:23:24
the cash at the end of each working day.00:23:26
>> He settles down to work for the railway,00:23:30
marries and becomes a much liked a much00:23:35
respected member of the local community.00:23:38
He gets involved with local things like00:23:42
football and he's not in any way [music]00:23:47
an inmperate man. He's a beautiful and00:23:50
dedicated employee and he was liked.00:23:53
Everybody liked this unassuming,00:23:56
inoffensive [music]00:23:57
man.00:24:03
Olcott lingered in the booking office00:24:05
with Dean. Like everyone else, he was00:24:07
soon calling Jeffrey Dixie. The nickname00:24:10
was inevitable. Dixie Dean [music] was00:24:13
not only a world famous footballer, he'd00:24:15
also worked on the railways as a boy.00:24:21
He was Dixie Dean because of his own00:24:24
interest in football. And of course00:24:29
these were the days when Dixie Dean, the00:24:32
great footballer, was still very much00:24:35
remembered00:24:36
um and with huge affection.00:24:40
Renowned for playing at Everton. He00:24:43
actually had the record number of goals00:24:45
scored in a season. People had nicknames00:24:49
in those days sort of very frequently.00:24:51
If his name was Wood, he'd have been00:24:53
called Timber. If his name was White,00:24:55
he'd have probably been called Chalky00:24:57
White. So, he was known um by his00:25:00
nickname of Dixie Dean.00:25:03
[music]00:25:08
At 7:45, as usual, Dixie closed [music]00:25:12
the office hatch. He handed the tickets00:25:14
over to the senior porter on duty. He00:25:17
told [music] him he'd be staying a00:25:19
little late to work on his accounts. a00:25:21
change in the fairs was coming and he00:25:23
wanted to be ready.00:25:25
[music]00:25:30
That was part of his job. He had to make00:25:32
sure all the money tallied up and with00:25:34
all the records and that was a job that00:25:37
they would have to do, you know, by00:25:39
manuscript because there were weren't00:25:42
computers doing that sort of thing in00:25:43
those days. The last thing the uh porter00:25:46
saw as he moved away from the office was00:25:50
Olcott sitting in the office uh talking00:25:53
to Dean.00:25:59
Orcott was still there as Dean counted00:26:01
[music] up the day takings over £16800:26:06
just shy of £5,000 [music]00:26:08
in today's money.00:26:10
The pair chatted and joked. Dean was00:26:13
having trouble with his books. He was00:26:15
£10 over and couldn't work out [music]00:26:17
why. But behind his smile, Orcott's00:26:21
thoughts were on his back pocket where00:26:23
the knife was waiting in its sheath.00:26:29
James Turt had asked to use the00:26:32
telephone in the booking office to check00:26:34
up on this colleague that he had injured00:26:37
at Hither Green and had actually over00:26:40
that week um invagled himself into the00:26:45
normal kind of um activities of the00:26:50
staff become known to the staff at00:26:52
Ashvale and they had trusted him as a00:26:55
fellow railwayman. He doesn't seem to00:26:57
have raised any particular surprise or00:27:02
alarm or comment. He was a fellow00:27:05
railwayman. He was hanging around.00:27:08
Nobody quite knew why, but he seemed00:27:10
affable and pleasant and he's young and00:27:16
chatty, so why not?00:27:24
At 8:45 that evening, Army Corporal00:27:27
Kenneth Vincent arrived at Ashvale00:27:29
Station. He climbed the steps to the00:27:32
first floor and went to the booking00:27:34
office to buy a ticket. The wooden00:27:36
shutter was down, but he could hear00:27:39
people inside, muffled voices, a00:27:41
scuffling sound. He wrapped on the sill00:27:44
with the coin, but nobody came to the00:27:47
hatch. Then he saw the notice. After00:27:50
8:00 p.m., passengers must buy tickets00:27:52
[music] upstairs. The corporal left. He00:27:56
didn't know it, but just inches away on00:27:59
the other side of the hatch, Jeffrey00:28:01
Dean was fighting for his life.00:28:06
Olcott's attack had been sudden and00:28:08
vicious. He plunged his knife into the00:28:11
back of Dean's neck, but the booking00:28:13
cler had fought back. He'd screamed for00:28:16
help, kicking and punching at Olkard. In00:28:19
the cramped space of the bookie office,00:28:20
the two former soldiers had wrestled00:28:23
desperately over the knife.00:28:27
>> It seems that he was very largely taken00:28:31
by surprise. One can only speculate that00:28:35
Alcott took him off guard, that he had00:28:38
absolutely no suspicion of Alcott having00:28:42
any sinister intent in spending time00:28:45
[music] with him. Dean was stabbed in00:28:48
the face, the chest, the abdomen.00:28:50
>> He must have been stabbed continually00:28:53
long after he'd been unable to resist.00:28:56
>> So it was very clearly a vicious,00:29:00
sustained, and brutal attack.00:29:13
Shortly before 9:00, a 15-year-old00:29:16
porter [music] spotted something00:29:18
strange. Young Cedric Bull had just00:29:21
helped a passenger take some luggage00:29:23
down from the platform to the street.00:29:26
And as he [music] was heading back up00:29:27
the stairs, he tripped and fell. Getting00:29:30
up, he saw a light on in the booking00:29:32
office. Surely Dixie wasn't still00:29:35
working.00:29:37
He knocked. There was no answer. He00:29:41
tried the door. It was locked.00:29:45
Cedric went out of the station. He00:29:48
climbed the grass embankment towards the00:29:50
window of the booking office and00:29:51
perching on the sill, [music] he peered00:29:53
into the tiny room. He could see Dixie00:29:57
on the floor. The booking cler was00:29:59
covered in blood and he wasn't moving.00:30:03
The boy scrambled back down the slope00:30:05
and ran inside. He alerted the station00:30:08
master, Mr. Luck, who ordered the office00:30:11
to be forced open.00:30:17
They saw Dean's body partly concealed by00:30:20
the desk. He was lying in a great pool00:30:22
of blood. The safe door was opening and00:30:25
the there was about £160 worth of cash00:30:28
had been taken from the safe. Now, this00:30:31
must have happened00:30:33
within00:30:35
a very short time of the murder having00:30:37
happened. It's sometime between 8 and 900:30:41
that the murder was perpetrated. The00:30:44
body was actually found just after 9.00:30:47
>> Poor Jeffrey Dean had suffered some00:30:50
really serious injuries.00:30:52
>> He had been stabbed 20 times, one behind00:30:57
the ear.00:31:00
was particularly deep and fatal. Um,00:31:03
another stab wound got the jugular.00:31:07
>> He had seven stab wounds in the back,00:31:10
nine in the chest, one of which went00:31:13
through the sternum, the chest bone in00:31:15
into the heart.00:31:17
>> Basically,00:31:19
there was no question of Dean being able00:31:22
to survive this frenzy attack.00:31:31
Police were quickly alerted, but there00:31:33
could be no doubt as to who had00:31:35
committed [music] this terrible crime.00:31:38
The attacker must have been the young,00:31:40
handsome railway who'd been hanging00:31:42
around the station for days. But by00:31:45
then, James John Olcott was nowhere to00:31:49
be seen.00:31:59
>> [music]00:32:10
>> Police arrived at Ashevail station00:32:13
within an hour of the murder. The bookie00:32:16
office was photographed.00:32:18
Then the body of Clark Jeffrey Dean was00:32:21
removed to Farnum Morttery.00:32:29
[music]00:32:30
The police investigation moved rapidly.00:32:33
They commandeered a waiting room by the00:32:35
platform [music]00:32:36
and began interviewing passengers and00:32:38
staff at Ashvale.00:32:42
>> [music]00:32:43
>> The overall investigation was in the00:32:45
hands of the Surrey conabulary. They00:32:49
were assisted by the local Hampshire00:32:51
conabulary and they in turn were00:32:54
assisted by the British transport00:32:55
police. The railway police undertook all00:32:58
the railway [music] connected inquiries00:33:01
and the Surrey police took over the00:33:04
other inquiries roundot and so on. The00:33:07
inquiry soon led to the suspicion about00:33:11
James Orcott. And he was an unusual00:33:13
character, if not downright suspicious.00:33:16
He'd been hanging around, so it was00:33:18
natural the police should want to trace00:33:21
him.00:33:24
>> [music]00:33:27
>> A description of the chief suspect was00:33:29
circulated to cafes and shops in the00:33:32
area and a check was made of all local00:33:35
hotels and lodging houses. [music]00:33:37
Police quickly scored a lead. There was00:33:40
a bed and breakfast inshot at number 1000:33:43
Victoria Road. A young man had checked00:33:46
in there late the previous [music]00:33:48
night. The owner, Mrs. Edith Dagger00:33:51
confirmed to a police constable that her00:33:53
new guest matched the description of the00:33:56
wanted [music] man. In the front bedroom00:33:59
on the first floor, the constable found00:34:01
a bloodstained navy blue jacket. In the00:34:04
pocket were two 10 shilling notes and a00:34:07
passport in the name of James John00:34:10
Olcott.00:34:17
Elkot was not a particularly clever man.00:34:21
I don't even know whether he'd actually00:34:24
intended to kill Dean and that quite00:34:27
literally he was bewildered. He did not00:34:31
know what to do.00:34:33
>> James Olcott was a strange character and00:34:36
probably had been a strange character00:34:37
ever since he was a boy. It seems00:34:40
looking at his his youthful behavior00:34:42
that he had no idea of what the logical00:34:46
consequences of some of his actions00:34:48
would be.00:34:49
>> He doesn't return home. He doesn't hide.00:34:52
He just makes it easy for the police to00:34:55
find him. And I think that is explicable00:34:58
only by saying that quite literally he00:35:02
himself00:35:03
did not know what to do and where to go.00:35:10
After his savage attack on Jeffrey Dean,00:35:13
Orcott had moved quickly. A Mac had been00:35:16
hanging on the back of the door, and00:35:17
Orcot grabbed it, pulled it over his00:35:19
bloodstained clothes, emptying the safe00:35:22
he'd stuffed the money and his knife00:35:23
into his pockets, and hurried away from00:35:26
the station. At a stream nearby, he'd00:35:29
washed the blood from his hands. Then00:35:32
he'd caught a number 44 bus from North00:35:34
Camp back to Alershot00:35:37
and gone to the pub.00:35:44
>> It is very difficult to work out exactly00:35:48
what was going on in his mind.00:35:50
>> He didn't seem to make any attempt to go00:35:54
to France with his wife or to leave the00:35:57
area. And I think nobody quite00:36:01
understood his mentality. He he had his00:36:05
passport with him and instead of making00:36:06
his way abroad or back to London, he00:36:10
stayed overnight in the area. And so um00:36:13
a doorto-door inquiries the next morning00:36:15
quickly located his presence.00:36:23
The next day, as police closed in,00:36:26
Alcott went shopping. He bought a new00:36:29
jacket, some gray flannel trousers, and00:36:31
a pair of shoes. He wrapped his old00:36:34
trousers in paper and dumped them on00:36:36
waste ground near Ordinance Road in00:36:38
Orishot. But when he returned to his00:36:40
lodgings at 11:15 that night, the police00:36:44
were waiting for him.00:36:50
He virtually admitted that he had been00:36:53
involved um in the murder. And first of00:36:56
all, um, he denied knowing where the00:37:00
knife was, but then said that the knife00:37:03
was hidden up in the chimney. He must00:37:05
have realized that having spent00:37:09
3 days at the Asheville station, there00:37:13
were people who knew him. They knew his00:37:15
name, they knew the station he worked at00:37:18
in London, they'd seen his British rail00:37:21
pass. when he was arrested, [snorts] he00:37:24
made no secret of the fact that he had00:37:28
been responsible for the attack. So00:37:32
there was never any question of it being00:37:36
important to look for anybody else.00:37:44
Olcott's trial, the Surrey Assises,00:37:47
began on the 18th of November 1952.00:37:52
No witnesses were called for the00:37:54
defense. Alcott's barristister tried to00:37:57
plead insanity. Why else would the00:38:00
killer make such a poor attempt to00:38:02
[music] conceal his crime? The only00:38:04
defense that was possible was that00:38:09
Alcott was not sane00:38:12
at the time that he had suffered a00:38:17
fit of temporary insanity00:38:19
>> with the murder of Peter Helm.00:38:22
He said that he'd had these periodic00:38:25
blackouts and at his trial00:38:29
he again referred to these periodic00:38:32
blackouts. He said that he'd suffered00:38:34
one at the time of the murder and in00:38:36
fact he didn't even know why he was at00:38:38
Alershot, but he'd also admitted the00:38:40
killing.00:38:42
He he told the police on at the time of00:38:44
his arrest that that he had done the00:38:46
killing. So it was a cast iron case00:38:49
against him. with the forensic science00:38:51
examination.00:38:53
The blood stains on the knife and on the00:38:56
wallet and on banknotes00:39:00
and oncot00:39:02
clothes were all um found to be blood00:39:06
group O and that matched Jeffrey Dean's00:39:12
blood group. They also found some fibers00:39:16
on the knife on the murder weapon which00:39:19
matched a pullover that Jeffrey Dean had00:39:22
been wearing at the time.00:39:24
>> Circumstantial evidence,00:39:26
forensic evidence,00:39:29
all makes it absolutely clear that00:39:34
Alcott was the one who wielded the knife00:39:37
and took the life of [music] Jeffrey00:39:39
Dean.00:39:41
No question of it.00:39:49
>> The jury, 10 men and two women,00:39:52
deliberated for 20 minutes. Then they00:39:55
returned with their verdict. Alcott was00:39:59
guilty. The judge, Mr. Justice Finemore,00:40:03
sentenced the 23-year-old to death.00:40:06
Alcott had heard the words before,00:40:09
but this time there had been no00:40:12
newspaper campaign, no questions in00:40:14
Parliament, and no reprieve.00:40:18
Olcott was executed at Wsworth Prison on00:40:21
the 2nd of January 1953.00:40:32
The local papers, [music] though they00:40:34
acknowledge that he had previously been00:40:38
sentenced to death and been reprieved,00:40:42
there's no sign of any major popular00:40:45
outcry, which I have to admit I find00:40:49
surprising.00:40:51
perhaps out of loyalty to the armed00:40:53
forces and the Grenadier Guards, they00:40:55
just regarded it as something very00:40:57
separate from if it had been a murder00:41:01
that had been committed on on British00:41:04
soil.00:41:05
>> To have criticized the previous [music]00:41:07
decision would of course have been to00:41:10
criticize the recently deceased [music]00:41:12
king.00:41:14
So I think that helps to explain why00:41:18
more is not made of that [music]00:41:20
particular aspect00:41:22
and it's more a question of well he was00:41:26
lucky before this time justice has00:41:29
caught up with him properly.00:41:31
>> He knew what he was doing. He seemed to00:41:34
plan the uh murder because he bought the00:41:37
knife uh in advance. He seemed to be00:41:41
casing out the railway station in order00:41:44
to work out the best opportunity for00:41:47
committing the crime. The real sympathy00:41:51
goes to Dean's wife and daughter and00:41:55
that's where the real comment comes in.00:41:59
[music] In many ways, Alcott is00:42:01
dismissed.00:42:08
Olcott's victim, Jeffrey Dean, was laid00:42:11
to rest on [music] the 29th of August,00:42:13
1952.00:42:16
The cemetery by St. Peter's Church in00:42:18
ash was just a short distance [music]00:42:21
from the railway. As 27year-old Dean's00:42:25
coffin was lowered [music] into the00:42:26
earth, amid the tears of family and00:42:30
friends, a passing train slowed to a00:42:34
mournful pace.00:42:41
>> [music]00:43:02
[music]Description:
This is the grizzly true crime story of James Olcott. After being pardoned for a murder in Germany, Olcott found work on the railways. He returned to his old ways, casing a busy ticket officer before carrying out a brutal, planned attack on fellow railwayman Jeffrey 'Dixie' Dean to rob the day's takings. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits! 👉 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr5qeBG9g7bGtMGyHG2GzbQ/join 📺 You can now become a History Hit member right here on YouTube! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more. Get an exclusive release every week by signing up here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZwU2G-KVl-P-O-B35chZOQ/join This channel is part of the History Hit Network. Any queries please contact: owned-enquiries@littledotstudios.com #AbsoluteHistory
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