Norman Thorne was born around 1902 in England. By the early 1920s, he worked as a Sunday school teacher and later attempted to make a living as a chicken farmer in Crowborough, Sussex. While appearing outwardly respectable, Thorne’s life was fraught with personal and financial difficulties.

On Christmas Day 1922, he became engaged to Elsie Cameron, a 24-year-old woman from Kensal Rise, London. The engagement, however, was not a happy one. Elsie reportedly suffered from psychological issues and grew increasingly dependent on Thorne, who in turn became emotionally distant. By 1924, he no longer wished to marry her, having started a relationship with another woman.

Despite this, Thorne lacked the courage to end the engagement. Elsie and her family pressured him relentlessly to set a wedding date. Elsie further claimed she was pregnant, though she and Thorne had never consummated their relationship. Her insistence and manipulations created tension, and Thorne began to feel trapped. By the autumn of 1924, Elsie was determined to visit him at his farm in Crowborough.

On December 5, 1924, Elsie Cameron traveled from her home in London to Crowborough, Sussex, for a planned visit with her fiancé, Norman Thorne. According to Thorne's later statements, he claimed she never arrived. In fact, Cameron was seen by multiple witnesses that day in Crowborough and specifically on Thorne’s chicken farm. After her disappearance, Thorne sent a note to her home on December 7, feigning confusion and asking why she hadn’t come.

The police soon launched an investigation. Suspicion quickly turned to Thorne, particularly after locals reported sightings of Cameron on his property. On January 14, 1925, police arrested Thorne after searching his farm and uncovering personal belongings of Cameron, including an overnight bag. The following day, Thorne made a statement to police confessing that he had dismembered Cameron’s body and buried it on the grounds. However, he insisted that she had committed suicide by hanging herself from a beam in his hut and that he had panicked and disposed of the body to avoid suspicion.

Investigators found inconsistencies in Thorne’s story. A forensic examination of the beam showed no signs consistent with hanging. Furthermore, police found newspaper clippings in Thorne’s possession about a previous, unrelated murder that involved the dismemberment and burial of a body on a beach in Sussex. Prosecutors argued that this suggested premeditation and pointed to Thorne’s awareness of similar criminal cases. The discovery of Cameron’s body, dismembered and buried on the property, added a grim and sensational detail to the case, earning it the nickname “The Chicken Run Murder.”

Thorne’s trial began at Lewes Assizes on March 11, 1925, presided over by Mr. Justice Finlay. The prosecution, led by Sir Henry Curtis Bennett, rejected the suicide theory outright. The key forensic testimony came from Home Office pathologist Sir Bernard Spilsbury, who testified that Elsie Cameron had not hanged herself but had instead been beaten to death. The defense, led by J.D. Cassels, argued that Thorne had indeed found her dead and dismembered her out of panic, not guilt.

Despite the defense’s attempt to frame the case as an act of post-mortem concealment, the jury found Thorne guilty of murder on March 16, 1925. The verdict sparked debate across the country. Some, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, questioned whether the prosecution had met the standard of proof “beyond reasonable doubt.” Nevertheless, Thorne’s appeal was quickly dismissed, and his execution was scheduled.

Norman Thorne was hanged at Wandsworth Prison in London on April 22, 1925—the same day that would have marked Elsie Cameron’s 27th birthday.