Bio 

Arthur Heys was born on November 1, 1907, in Colne, Lancashire, England. He was the son of Edward Heys and Mary Laycock Heys. His father worked as a cotton weaver and died by suicide in 1913, when Arthur was still a young child. Heys was the youngest of four sons in the family.

By 1944, Heys was serving in the Royal Air Force as a Leading Aircraftman. He was stationed at the RAF base near Beccles, Suffolk, during the Second World War. He was 37 years old, married, and had three children. Local historical accounts describe him as a man who could appear settled in family life, but who was also reported to behave differently when under the influence of alcohol.

Heys was stationed in the same general RAF environment as Winifred Mary Evans, a 27-year-old member of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. Evans was from the London area and worked as a radio operator. She was temporarily stationed at Ellough RAF station near Beccles when she was killed.

Murder Story

On the night of November 8, 1944, Winifred Mary Evans attended a dance at an American aerodrome outside Norwich. She returned to base shortly before midnight and changed into her duty uniform. She was last seen walking alone down a lane toward her duty post, which was nearly a mile away.

Around the same time, a WAAF corporal encountered a man in RAF uniform inside or near the women’s hut area. The man appeared to be lost and under the influence of drink. She directed him back toward his own camp. Later, at a men’s pay parade, she identified Arthur Heys as the same man she had seen that night.

On the morning of November 9, 1944, local man Wilfred Payne found Winifred Evans’s body lying face down in a muddy ditch near Ellough. Reports state that she had been raped and had died from strangulation, suffocation, or asphyxiation. A black tie was found around her neck, and the evidence showed she had been subjected to severe violence before death.

Police from Beccles called in Scotland Yard because the area included several possible suspect groups, including RAF personnel and other wartime personnel stationed nearby. The investigation soon focused on Heys after witnesses described his movements and behavior after the time Evans disappeared.

Heys claimed that he had returned to his own barracks by about 12:30 a.m., but other accounts placed his return later, after 1:00 a.m. Witnesses also reported that he cleaned his clothing and shoes after returning. Investigators found dirt and brick fragments on his shoes and on Evans’s shoes that were consistent with material from the ditch where her body was found. His clothing also appeared to have been recently cleaned, and there was a tear in his greatcoat.

Additional physical evidence connected Heys to the case. Hair samples recovered from the crime scene were compared with samples found on Heys’s uniform. Capital Punishment UK notes that the hair evidence matched samples from the crime scene and from Heys’s clothing, although it also matched his wife, which made the physical evidence less decisive by itself.

The strongest later evidence involved an anonymous letter. While on remand, Heys wrote or attempted to send a letter to the commanding officer of Camp No. 1. The letter claimed that Heys was innocent and that another person was responsible for the killing. Prosecutors argued that the letter came from Heys himself and included details known only to the killer and investigators.

Heys was tried at Bury St. Edmunds before Mr. Justice Macnaghten from January 22 to January 24, 1945. He pleaded not guilty and denied killing Evans. The prosecution relied on circumstantial evidence, including witness identification, his movements, the condition of his clothing and shoes, forensic comparisons, and the anonymous letter.

On January 24, 1945, the jury found Heys guilty of murder. When asked whether he had anything to say before sentence was passed, he said that God knew he was innocent of the crime. He was sentenced to death.

Arthur Heys was hanged at Norwich Prison on March 13, 1945. Capital Punishment UK’s execution list records him as age 37, executed at Norwich for the murder of Winifred Evans. A local historical account states that he was later buried in the Norwich Prison yard on March 17, 1945.