65. Pickle Jar

Episode Transcript
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Lady Justice is a true crime podcasttherefore deals with incidents of violence, disturbing
imagery and explicit content. Listener discretionis advised. Lady Justice True Crime offers
their deepest condolences to victims families andoffers thanks to those who work in emergency

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services. Hello, my lovelase,and welcome to Lady Justice True Crime and

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the episode Pickle Jar. My nameis Chantelle and thank you ever so much
for joining me. So without furtherado, here is some of the background
on the timeframe and location of thiscase. This week, we are heading
back to nineteen forty three, Georgethe sixth head of the monarchy. At

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this time with a coalition government runby Winston Churchill. It was of course
wartime and the news would be dominatedby word of troops abroad. We are
taking a trip around thirty miles northof London to the Bedfordshire town of Luton.
Luton contrates its roots back to theAnglo Saxons who had first settled there,

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and it's been through many regenerations overthe years, with industries such as
hat making and car manufacturing dominating today. It is known by many due to
the airport. As always sources arelisted in the show notes. Bertie Gore

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and Hubert Ethelbert Cook didn't have thegreatest job. They were super workers for
Lutant Corporation. The job did offerthe two men's security, however, a
permanent job with little hassle. Thoughon November nineteenth, nineteen forty three,
it would be because of their employmentthat would lead them to become the center

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of national attention. The pair hadbeen sent to complete a routine check of
the water levels of the River Lee, a forty six mile waterway that concludes
the River Thames. The upper Lee, where the memore charged in their duties,
is a substantially more narrow and shallowpart of the course, banking their

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job far easier on the outskirts ofthe town. The men made their way
down the right hand side of theriver, then far less developed than it
stands today, their scenery a mixof overhanging trees a natural grass in branks.
As they came to the steps leadingup to the street level at Osborne

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Road Bridge, the river was onlytrickling, only being a few inches deep.
The men looked down towards the water, it being only ten foot across
the opposite bank side, Yet aroundfour foot in. There seemed to be
something large stuck in the water.The team men made their way down the
grass embankment from the footpath to thewater's edge and began to wade in to

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see if they could remove the item. As they got closer, they realized
it was much larger than they hadfirst expected. It seemed to be something
wrapped in torn potato sacks strung togetherwith string. The team men lifted it
together, not expecting it to beso heavy, and they took it back

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to the side of the water.The winter cold made the water feel much
more heavy, and they placed thesodden sacks on the side. One of
the men pulled at the strains toreveal the contents a woman's body. Reeling
back with disbelief, they had comeface to face with a horrific sight.

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Her face was disfigured from a clearlyviolent incident, with her ear and cheek
torn open, her upper and lowerjaws fractured, her tongue split and blacken,
and small and shot eyes. Shewas toothless and nude. Naturally,
the police jumped into action. Therewas no way in which the woman found

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in the water had come to bethere. From anything other than someone else's
misdeeds. A team of officers cameto the water side, just fifteen yards
from the road and began collecting asmuch evidence at the scene as they could,
taking photographs of the area and placinga wooden steak with a white fabric

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top into the river bed, markingthe position in which the body had first
been seen by the corporation workers.Evidence showed that she had not long been
placed in the water, with anestimated time of around four hours. It
was first believed when looking at hershe had been shot in the face at
close range. The victim's body wouldbe carefully removed and taken to the Lutant

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and Dunstable Hospital, where the bodywould be cleaned. It would be at
this point that doctor Purcell, theexamining doctor, found that she had not
been shot at all, but hadin fact been subjected to a sustained attack
with a blunt object which had lefther skull crushed. That night, police

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gathered all that they knew. Withthe midnight conference being held by Chief Constable
Scott, Superintendent Would and Detective InspectorFinch, it would be decided that Lute
and police, given the gravity ofthe attack that the unnamed woman had received
and the callous stamping of her bodythat they would call in the assistance of

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Scotland Yard. Chief Inspector William Chapmanwould be in the company of Detective Sergeant
William Judge when traveling up from Londonto assist in the case. Arriving with
a prominent pathologist, doctor Keith Simpsonfrom Guy's Hospital, they reviewed the evidence.
No links to the woman's identity,no knowledge of how she had got

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there, a crime that the presswould call an attempt at the perfect murder.
There would be some clues though.On November twentieth, the same day
as the officers in Scotland Yard hadarrived, a bundle of discarded, unbloodied
clothing had been found in an impoverishedpart of town less than a minute's walk

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from the police station. Frank Smith, a cleaning depot driver for the council,
had been collecting salvage instut place andhad come across a number of torn
scraps of bloodstain clothing in the middleof an alley. One of them would
be a recognizable item, and giventhe news of the woman's discovery being in

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every paper in the UK, hefelt it imperative to hand it to the
police. Police would find the itemsof interest and made an appeal to all
those in Luton to bring in anydiscarded clothing that they found in the district
to the station, with a publicresponding well and remnants being brought in at

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a steady pace. Doctor Keith Simpsonwould complete the postmortem. He would find
signs of strangulation with bruising evident onher neck and tragically, he discovered that
the woman was pregnant, being aroundfive and a half months along. Further
evidence that he hoped might help thepolice in identifying Jane Doe was that he

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could confirm that she had given birthat least once before. A possible indication
of her lifestyle was given through theexamination. Also as it was said that
she possessed quote wall workers hands.On the middle finger of her right hand,
she bore two small marks like tattoospots, and all her fingertips were

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hardened, indicating that she'd worked withiron and could have possibly been a heavy
munitions worker. Appeals to try andplace a name to the woman were given
in Gusta. The police announced asmuch as they could about the woman stating
that she was round featured, withdark brown hair, brown eyes, dark

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eyebrows, of medium build and wasfive ft three. They estimated that she
was between the ages of twenty sevenand thirty seven, and that she'd had
numerous scars, including an impendix removalscar and a large scar between her middle
and third finger on her left hand, which would have required at least three

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stitches. Police now so they believedthat she was likely a local woman and
that they were sure that she hadbeen seen in the Looton area before,
possibly speaking with a large group ofwomen on the ground. More than one
hundred Special constabors were dispatched to helpwith the investigation. From the scene,

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not much could be determined other thanthe fact that the perpetrator must have had
some sort of help in transporting thebody to the spot. Jane Doe could
have been dropped into the water eitherfrom above, over the low wall of
Osborne Road Bridge or from the righthand bank, though the embankment was steep

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and uneven. The spot now standsclose to the former Foxhall headquarters Griffin House,
and the police at the time believedthat the perpetrator must have taken the
body there via a bike or acar. The area, though at the
time was far less developed than itstands today, did have a number of

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attractive houses standing across the road,and police would question those if anyone had
seen anything suspicious yet came away fruitless. Over the course of the investigation,
it became a major point with focusedappeals for details regarding how her killer had
taken her body to the spot.One such stated, nothing is ruled out

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whether it be a wheelbarrow, handcartor lorry. The body must have been
carried there by some means. Therehad been a report of a soldier going
a well with an army truck froma local military installment, occurring at around
midnight on Saturday the twentieth, However, this would be later ruled out as

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having nothing to do with the murder. Others which asked for any information of
anything suspicious on the bridge between theeighteenth and nineteenth of November or on their
identity of the woman, would bespecially aired on BBC radio, as television
broadcasts were halted during war time.The investigation was in part revolutionary, with

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it being the first time special lanternslides were made to display in cinemas.
One of the most popular pastimes inwartime Britain was going to the pictures.
Police would be seen for days completingshoulders shoulder searches of the allotments and wilderness
that lie alongside the river banks,with unoccupied houses and outbuildings being targeted by

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the borough police in their hunt forclues. The police knew that if they
could identify the woman, they wouldbe far closer to catching her killer.
The post mortem showed that most ofher teeth had been removed by a professional
and she would have needed temporary teeth. None had been found with the body,
and it was thought that perhaps thekiller her removed them, or that

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she'd yet to pick up a denture. Dentists from across the region were asked
to check their records to see ifthey had a patient who would yet to
claim any orders. Yet nothing wasto turn up. A photograph of the
woman's face was taken at the postmortem, and the grim image was used

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by the police in hopes of tracingher identity. The police completed door to
door inquiries where they would visit morethan ten thousand Luton homes. The image
was also taken out onto the streetby constables who interviewed hundreds of pedestrians yet
to know a fail. More thantwo hundred and fifty lorry drivers from the

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local Foxhor motor works were questioned,yet no one recognized her. More efforts
were made, with the image beingused in large posters that were hung up
in shop windows across the region.Alongside such bore the message murder Do you
know this woman? If you doand can give any information as to her

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identity, please communicate with police immediately. Police would foster support from other police
forces, both from across the UKand Ireland. Lines of inquiry would take
the team of investigators to Saint Albansin Hertfordshire and Great Yarmouth in Norfolk.
Though every time would be in vain. No less than thirty nine people would

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be escorted to view the body,believing it may be one of their missing
relatives. Her identity remained unknown.Jane Day would also be seen by the
thousands of troops fighting abroad when herimage was sent by the police with the
approval of the military to see ifa clue could be found. Again,
there wasn't. Throughout December and January, police in Northern Ireland would help with

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the investigation When armed with the imageof the woman, constables were sent out
to the Union Place and Milltown districtsof Dungannon. The photograph was also distributed
throughout Ireland and officers were seen downat the docks in Dublin asking if anyone
knew her. Workers at factories acrossBedfordshire, Gloucestershire and London were also engaged

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in the questioning, yet no onehad answers. Just how dedicated this search
was can't be stressed enough. Justthree weeks into the investigation, a series
of articles were apprinted sharing this.When it was reported that more than two
hundred and fifty women who had previouslybeen reported as missing persons had been successfully

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traced across the UK, police wouldlook at the other spare scraps of clues
that they had. The string thatwas used in the trusting of the victim
was of an everyday household kind,extremely common in general use at the time.
Four potato sacks had been used.Each one had been opened up to

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become one flat piece. Each onebore a stamp dating MFP Ministry of Food
Potatoes, though only one bore anadditional mark. It belonged to Frank Redmond,
a merchant from Upper Gravenhurst, aboutten miles north. Police had traced

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the sales of his potatoes, thoughagain it was a dead end given the
fact that woman had been pregnant atthe time of her death. Checks were
made with prenatal clinics and nursing establishmentsin the area to see if any of
their registered patients had gone missing orif they recognized the face and the image.

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Yes, again, no items thoughtto be related to the crime,
such as possible all murder weapons,were often brought into the station by concerned
residents, and another clothing clue wouldbe found in the basement area outside the
town hall in the center of Luton. Salvage jumps had been scoured for traces

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of more clothing, and after sometime police believed they knew what the woman
had been wearing on the day ofher death. They had identified a pair
of brown suede shoes that fit thewoman, a brown skirt and a gray
spotted dress. A number of blackpieces of fabric had been found which had

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been painstakingly put together like jigsaw that, though was not complete, showed that
she'd been wearing a long line blackcoat with a military style collar, large
patch pockets and one button. Aftersome weeks had passed, police were checking
with many of the local businesses,such as dry clean bootmakers, repair shops

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and photographers to see if any oftheir customers had not collected items in hopes
that perhaps the woman had something waiting, though it appeared to not. More
than three months had passed and thepolice had as yet not been able to
identify the women who had been foundfloating in the river, and investigators had

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begun to feel deflated with Scotland Yards, Chapman started to think that the case
was quote hopeless. Despite the lackof any clues, the police would charge
on with the little that they had. Detectives would still be searching through the
tons of second time clothing and fabricscraps that had been handed into the police

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more than ten weeks after the investigationhad been launched. It would be that
dogged determination that led to a breakthroughin the case. On Monday, February
twenty first, nineteen forty four,a piece of black cloth with a shoulder
pad attached would be found in anunsorted fabric pile. It was of the

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same type of fabric as the otherparts of the torn coat that they had
reassembled, and it matched a missingpiece. The cloth also had an identifying
mark, a tag with a codeV one two two four seven. The
tag was identified as a dyer's tagand could be traced to a branch of

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the Sketchly Dye Works and Dry Cleaners, located in Wellington Street, Luton.
A check of their records would showthat the shoulder pad and in cloth had
in fact been part of a coatwhich had been brought in for dyeing by
a local resident, missus Caroline Manton. Her dress stated on the shop's records

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would indicate that she lived at fourteenRegent Streets, an area of the town
which had already been canvassed by police. Cross reverencing their own records, police
saw that they had visited fourteen RegentStreet when completing door to door inquiries,
and noted that the two teenage boyswho had been at the residence had not

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recognized the photograph. The neat residentialaddress was indeed home to the Mounton family,
however not Caroline. It had beensaid that she had moved many months
before in November the previous year,though she was well and healthy now living

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in the Capitol, London. Aninitial check on if the story was true
did indicate such. Some people hadheard from her, with notes being sent
to people such as her midwife,which has stated that she originally moved to
Lincolnshire, where her brother lived.Other later letters received to people such as

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Caroline's mother, that began in lateNovember, showed that she had settled at
an address in Hampstead, London.The letters were postmarked from the area,
though in the handwritten portions Caroline hadspelt Hampstead wrong forgetting the pea. The
children at the address, as Isaid, had not recognized the women in

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the photo, so it seemed thatperhaps the scrap of fabric had no connection
to make doubly sure, though,Detective Inspector Chapman decided to visit the property
on February twenty second. When hearrived, he sat with a forty year
old Bertie Horace William Manton. Theofficer asked him where his wife was,

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and Bertie said that his wife hadleft him after an argument on November twenty
fifth, though he knew that shewas well and living in London as their
children had received correspondence from her.He explained that Caroline born Irene Caroline Seagrave
Avster on December third, nineteen oheight, was the mother of their four

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children, seventeen year old Ivy one, fifteen, Roy fourteen and Sheila ten,
and that they'd been married at LuconRegistry office in nineteen twenty six.
The couple had been having issues fora few years, and he didn't think
much of his wife leaving him,as she'd previously done so before returning home

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a few months later. Bertie wascalm as he spoke to the officer about
his relationship, and when looking atthe photograph of the woman found in the
River Lee, he showed no reaction, stating that he could not recognize her.
Chapman had with him some of theirletters that had been collected by detectives
when completing their welfare check. WhenCaroline and asked Bertie if he could indulge

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his quirks, taking a pen andpaper out, Chapman requested that Bertie wright
in his own and a dictation ofsome of the passages, which the man
did. Manton passed the sheet ofpaper back over and Chapman could tell the
handwriting differed. However, there seemedto be something that nagged him He passed

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one of the letters that he'd hadwith him to Bertie and asked him to
confirm the handwriting was that the sameas Carolines. Bertie agreed it was.
Looking back down at the sample givenby Bertie it clicked what was wrong.
Bertie had also spelt Hamsted without apea. It was entirely possible that Bertie

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could have traveled to London to senda lesser without anyone noticing. Something didn't
add up, and as search ofthe Manton home was completed, it became
clear that the suspicions of the detectivewere not misplaced. Dried blood spots would
be found on a door jam inthe living room, on the ceiling,

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and on an envelope near the cellarstairs. The search was attended by Superintendent
Frederick Cheryl of Scotland Yards, afingerprint expert, to ensure that not a
single piece of evidence would be lost. He may note that when in attendance
of the property he found something asunusual for a busy family home with five

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people actively living in the propercy.It was exceptionally clean. All the quackery
was polished, jam jars sparkling andthe bottles stood or washed on the shelves.
It was the same even in thecellar. Every item on the lower
level had clearly been washed and prettyrecently. Cheryl would ensure that every item

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was taken out and dusted for france, and every time there was never a
smudge. That was until they cameto a lowly old pickled jar slotted at
the very back of a shelf.A layer of dust across the surface of
the glass showed that it had notbeen touched for some time, a forgotten

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food stuff, and when tested adistinct thumb mark could be found. It
would be that sole finger print foundon the pickle jar that cracked the whole
case open. Cheryl, after examination, would find sixteen markers proving a match
the fingerprint belonged to Caroline Manton,the woman in the water. Bertie would

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be arrested on the spot and takento Luton Station, where he would hold
true to his assurances to detectives thathe was innocence and that he truly had
no idea how Caroline had come tobe in the river Lee. He claimed
that he last saw his wife onNovember twenty fifth, after the body was

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found in the water. Clearly somethingwasn't adding up. After a long day
of questioning, Bertie was tired,and the pressure finally got to him.
Shortly after midnight on the twenty third, he broke down and told that he
wished to make a statement. Hisconfession started with the circumstances that led up

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to the death of Caroline, explainingthat they had been quite happily married for
many years. However, as timehad passed, his wife had started to
grow bored as their four children hadgrown up and relied less on her.
Caroline had wished to expand her worldand talk to him about starting a job

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at a local tobacco factory. Headmitted that he wasn't happy about it,
but understood her need for more companyand agreed, given the times, that
the extra money would be beneficial.He explained that she started her job in
nineteen forty two, yet it seemedbecame apparent that Caroline had fallen into bad

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company. She had been drinking alcoholon a regular basis, smoking more,
and started to spend more time awayfrom the family home. It was known
that she would spend all evening atlocal dancers, often not making it home
until after dark. If she wasn'tat dances, she would be seen in

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the company of others, especially soldiersat the cinema. Bertie admitted that the
couple experienced friction because of this,and he felt that his wife was unfaithful
to him. He agreed that hequestioned his wife on many occasions about such
and they had quarreled so much thatshe would leave their family home during November

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nineteen forty two. He stated thatshe did not come back for five months,
and when she did, she hadcome back through the door, quote
smelling strongly of drink. Bertie hadquestioned her about her whereabouts it now being
marched the following year, asking ifshe'd been with another man, to which

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she laughed and replied, wouldn't youlike to know? They would have a
big arguments after this, Yet Carolinehad returned to live in the family home
and they tried to continue they're nowvery strained relationship. It soon became clear
that Caroline was pregnant and the stainof mistrust was very much ingrained, with

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a couple having frequent rows. OnNovember eighteenth, nineteen forty three, Bertie
told of how the whole family hadeaten their lunch together at time with their
three older children returning to work forthe afternoon, and their youngest daughter,
Sheila, leaving to make her wayback to school. Bertie and Caroline tied

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it up together and decided they wouldhave a spot of tea, with Bertie
taking charge of making such. Carolinehad settled in the front room of the
property and the pair would chat abouttheir day and upcoming plans. Bertie casually
mentioned that he was thinking about headinginto the Plume of Feathers, a local
public house where he sometimes helped outfor extra money. The idea had completely

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upset Caroline, with Bertie telling detectivesthat she became enraged, telling him that's
all you think about going to work. Bertie then stated that she became more
heated and held accusations at him,stating that he only wanted to go there
because he was interested in the barmaids. Soon, Bertie said her frustration had

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moved from verbal abuse to physical abusewhen she picked up a teacup filled to
the brim with the freshly brewed teaand threw it in his face. He
told the detectives, I only killedher because I lost my temper. I
did not want to. I pickedup a heavy wooden stool, and it

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hit her about the head and facedseveral times. Bertie then stumbled a little,
telling the police that he had littlememory of what happened next and that
he felt that he must have blackedout. Continuing his confession, he said,
when I came to and got mysenses again, I saw she was
dead and decided to do something tokeep her away from the children. I

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undressed her and got four sacks fromthe cellar, cut them open and tied
her up in them. I carriedher down to the cellar and left her
there. I had washed up theblood before the children came home to tea.
After tea, Ivy went out witha friend, and the two boys
and Sheila went to the pictures.When it was dark, I brought the

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wife up from the cellar, gotmy bike and laid her across the handlebars,
and I wheeled her down to OsborneRoad. I laid her on the
edge of the bank over a pushand she rolled down into the river.
Asked about what he had done withCaroline's stenches, Bertie told of how he
burned them alongside some blood stained clothing. The following day. The murder weapon,

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the heavy wooden stool had actually brokeninto pieces during the attack, and
he had hid the evidence for afew weeks before finding an opportunity to burn
it. Also, Bertie, aformer lightweight boxer, explained his detectives that
when the children asked where their motherwas, he had told them that she
needed some space and had gone tostay with their grandmother. He admitted to

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sending letters to various people posing ashis wife in hopes of not alerting anyone
of her disappearance. He would finallyclose his statement with a remark, I
am terribly sorry. It was donein the spur of the moment, and
if it had not been from mychildren, I would have given myself up.

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The police had finally, in thematter of hours, not only identified
Caroline, but had solved how shehad come to be killed. Later that
day, February twenty third, BertieManton would be charged with murder, appearing
at Looting Magistrates and remanded into custodyfor two weeks. In court, Detective

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Inspector Finch would give details of Manton'sconfession and stated that on receiving the charge
of murder, Bertie responded, Ihave nothing else to say. Bertie was
an average man, who had noreal wealth, and the court asked if
he wished to have legal aid toensure that he could have access to a

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defense. Bertie was stated that hedidn't think it was necessary, though the
Bench would press him, and Bertiereluctantly agreed, saying all right if it
would do any good. Bertie Mantonwould come before magistrates again on March twenty
third, where he sat calmly throughhis committal hearing. The basis of the

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Crown's case was outlined by the prosecutioncouncil mister Roby, who claimed that Bertie
had killed Caroline due to their relationshipproblems and went through calculated methods to cover
his deeds. Chief Inspector William Chapmanwould tell the bench of how the investigation

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had come together and went on toread Manton's confession. He spoke to the
letters which had the same spelling mistakes, and how that had been the basis
of his suspicion on Manton. Thecouple's youngest daughter would testify that she had
received such letters and they were postmarkedDecember thirty first, the seventh and the

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ninth of January and February second.Caroline's dentist would confirm her dental record matching
the three remaining routes Caroline had withthat of the body in the water.
A plaster cast of her drawer hadalso been made and examined, along with
photo identification. Details to the causeof death were discussed, with it being

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said that Caroline had suffered a heavycrushing wound to the left half of her
face, which would have been atsuch force it would have rendered her unconscious.
The post mortem examination, however,pointed to Caroline possibly still being alive
after Bertie had undressed her and tiedher in the sacks, with evidence showing

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that she had been trust prior toher death. Pregnant Caroline had not died
immediately from her wounds as due toblunt force trauma. Bertie would be committed
to trial scheduled for May that year, with him was serving his defense.
On May eighteenth, nineteen forty four, the case that had become known as

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the Luton sac murder would be seenbefore the Court at Bedford's Size, presided
over by Mister Justice Singleton. TheNain, father of four, would plead
not guilty to murder and seeing composedas he listened intently to the Crown's arguments
he had killed his wife, withwhom he had grown unhappy, and then

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callously hid his deeds by rendering Carolineunidentifiable and concealing her death to others by
posing as her in letters. Evidenceincluded what had been found forensically at fourteen
Regent Street, and the post mortemreport compiled by doctor Keith Simpson was Whett

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establishing the time of death as beingon November eighteenth. Very few witnesses were
called, but Bertie was to takethe stand to tell the judge and jury
in his own words, how hiswife had come to be killed. He
took more than an hour were inhis retelling, much of which was included
in his previous statements, though addeddetails throughout the examination. He explained that

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he had been happy about Caroline's pregnancy, but his wife had not shared the
same glee with him, describing heras being less than happy about it.
He examined his home life throughout hisevidence, explaining in intimate detail how his
marriage had slowly broken down. Hestated that by the time of Caroline's death,

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he had in practice become a soloparent, telling that when he had
completed his work duties, he wasobliged to look after his children as she
was spending an increasing time out ofthe house late into the night. During
his testimony, he stood tall despiteoffers from the judge for him to be

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seated, keeping his tone level andhis voice steady. He recalled how the
fight had broken out whilst the childrenwere not home, and after Caroline allegedly
threw a cup of piping hot teain his face, he'd lost his temper.
In this account, he also admittedto taking her by the throat in

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his rage and attempting to strangle her, though maintained that he had for some
part of the incident still not recovereda memory. Bertie Manton's defense, led
by mister Ward King's counsel, wasone of provocation, stating the crime only
amounted to man's laughter given that Mantonhad no premeditated desire to kill his pregnant

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wife. He would tell the juryhow Bertie had been a hard working man
who placed his family above all else, being a devoted father to his children.
He would speak to how Manton workedas a driver for the fire service
full time, and he was aman who often would take small extra jobs

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to give his children an extra allowance. Mister Ward placed emphasis that Bertie was
a single parent and that's his devotionto his children was clear, and a
man such as that was incapable ofpremeditated murder. The only time Bertie would

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show any emotion throughout the hearing wasat this point when he could be seen
drying tears streaming from his eyes witha handkerchief. Mister Justice Singleton would address
the jury in summing up, touchingon a few points for consideration. Though
Bertie had spent more than an hourin the witness box explaining his version of

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offense, the judge made a pointthat it was one sided, saying,
you have had an account from theman of his family life. We do
not know what the woman would havesaid had she been here. You may
wonder if she was as black aswas said. The judge did not deny

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that Bertie Manton was a man previouslyknown for his good character, yet also
noted that some aspects of the crimehad hinted to a darker, more calculated
side. He highlighted the disposal ofCaroline's body as being something of note,
with the careful removal of all identifyingfeatures, including her dentures. The jury

(38:32):
was left to consider whether Bertie hadacted in malice or whether his wife's death
was an unfortunate act made in adesperate moment. Mister Justice Singleton to the
jury just before they would leave thecourt for deliberations. The test to be
applied in such cases is whether theprovocation was sufficient to deprive a reasonable man,

(38:58):
as Manton was of his self control. It would take two hours for
the jury to come to a conclusion, with the court filing back in to
hear their decision in hushed silence.Bertie Manton's story had not been enough to
spare him, as they found himguilty of murder and he would be handed

(39:19):
down the death sentence. The newswould make it into newspapers across the UK,
yet some of the public disagreed withthe verdict. Legally, an appeal
was launched, yet had no grounds, but other options to stop Bertie from
the drop as still being considered.The Manton children also felt that mercy must

(39:42):
be granted to their father, witha petition soon Mean set up to ask
the then Home Secretary, Herbert Morrisonfor a reprieve. Soon twenty six thousand,
six hundred and fifty nine signatures hadbeen collected, though before they could
be delivered, the Luton MP wasgiven a message Bertie Manton had been spared

(40:05):
the death penalty and who was suspendsthe rest of his life in prison.
Bertie was transferred to Parkhurs Prison andwould die while still incarcerated just three years
later, It's death being recorded duringOctober nineteen forty seven. Now, that
just about brings us to the end. But of course will you take time

(40:29):
to remember Caroline Manton and her unbornchild before we depart. I think there
is just enough time to see ifwe can balance out those scales somewhat with
a small act of kindness. Thisweek, I want you to take some
time to have a cup of teaor coffee with someone you've been meaning to
catch up with. It's the holidaysand the perfect opportunity to take some time

(40:54):
and get connected in real life withsomeone you haven't seen in door keys.
Also, as this is coming outjust before Christmas, I really do want
to wish you only yours are happyand safe holiday. With that, go
be good people, go be kind, go be safe, and most importantly,

(41:19):
go be happy.

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