Murder of the Sweethearts

On 19 July 1951, Dennis Moore and Alfred Reynolds were hanged at Norwich Prison by Britain's senior executioner, Albert Pierrepoint. They would be the last to hang in Norfolk. Moore was a Norwich city lad, and Reynolds, a Norfolk country boy from Dereham; both were in their twenties, both came from crowded homes, and both had been in trouble with the law for petty crimes. Neither was considered vicious or malicious, but tragically, in unconnected incidents only days apart, they both murdered their pregnant sweethearts.The question of whether both these young men were truly culpable for their actions was raised by medical experts at their trial, but they were overruled by the evidence of the Senior Medical Officer, the same man who declared Timothy John Evans fit to hang and would do the same for Derek Bentley.These crimes cast long shadows over all the families involved and their communities for decades afterwards. For the first time, the case files are examined in detail by renowned crime historian Neil R. Storey, and readers can decide whether Dennis Moore and Alfred Reynolds were hanged for their crimes or more as an example to others.