Francis Joseph Huchet was born in 1927, likely in Jersey, where he would spend his entire life. He lived in St. Helier and worked as a fitter—described by neighbors as quiet, unassuming, and sober. There’s no indication he led a criminal life until 1959. His world was small and local; he maintained a modest lifestyle, owning a Hillman car, and socialized casually at pubs like the Horse and Hounds and La Pulente Hotel.

Late on March 30, 1959, Huchet and Perrée had consumed alcohol together. Perrée went missing the following day. On April 4, 1959, siblings Alan and Ann Heath discovered his body in a shallow grave amid sand dunes near Mont à la Brune, St. Brelade—his shoe sticking out attracted their attention.

An autopsy revealed Perrée had been shot once in the face from close range using a shotgun. Forensics uncovered compelling evidence linking Huchet to the crime: matching rope, traces of sand in the weapon’s barrel, and clothing from Huchet’s wife found at the site. Witnesses confirmed they had seen Huchet and Perrée leave together in Huchet’s Hillman car. Furthermore, tire tracks nearby suggested Huchet’s vehicle had become stuck in the dunes and needed towing.

Huchet was questioned on April 5, and he claimed he had dropped Perrée off near Red Houses after visiting La Pulente Hotel. But this alibi was swiftly invalidated by witnesses from Horse and Hounds pub. The presence of incriminating items at the scene cemented his link to the crime.

He was tried from September 7–10, 1959, before Deputy Bailiff Cecil Harrison in a historic trial that featured a jury of 24, including women for the first time in Jersey. Forty-four witnesses testified, and jurors heard evidence of a staged “confession” Huchet had attempted to fabricate by smuggling a placeholder confession via a prison book margin to misdirect investigators.

After just 85 minutes of deliberation, the jury returned a guilty verdict on September 10, sentencing Huchet to death, the only punishment allowed under Jersey law at the time.

Huchet was executed by hanging at 7:30 a.m. on October 9, 1959, at Newgate Street Prison. The procedure was carried out by British hangman Harry Allen and two assistants—Royston Rickard among them—and was witnessed by prison officials.