Bio

William Sanchez de Pina Hepper was a Spanish-born artist who lived in England during the final years of his life. By 1954, he was 62 years old and was described in contemporary reports as an artist or painter. He had a studio in Hove, Sussex, and lived in a flat in Chelsea, London. Case summaries also state that he had previously worked as a translator for the BBC and had once carried out spying work for the United States in Spain.

Hepper had a daughter named Pearl. Through Pearl, he knew Margaret Rose Louise Spevick, an 11-year-old girl from Chelsea. Margaret had broken her arm in an accident, and Hepper used that injury as the reason to suggest that she should stay with him at his seaside studio. He wrote to Margaret’s mother and proposed that the child could rest her arm while also sitting for him as a model. Margaret’s mother agreed, and Hepper and Margaret travelled to Hove on February 3, 1954.

The arrangement placed Margaret in Hepper’s care away from her home and family. His later defense centered on a claim of mental illness, but the jury rejected that position after hearing the evidence at trial.

Murder Story

Margaret Rose Louise Spevick travelled with William Sanchez de Pina Hepper to Hove on February 3, 1954. She was 11 years old and had been allowed to accompany him because her family believed the seaside stay would help her recover from her broken arm while also allowing Hepper to paint her as a model. The studio was later identified in execution records as Room 14, 112 Western Road, Hove.

The killing occurred on February 4, 1954, although some later summaries list February 5. Hepper later claimed in court that he had gone for a walk by the sea on the evening of February 4 because he was recovering from an asthma attack. He said he left Margaret reading a book and never saw her again. That account was not accepted by the jury.

On February 7, 1954, Margaret’s mother travelled to Hove to surprise her daughter. When she arrived at the studio, she could not get an answer. A caretaker eventually let her in, and Margaret’s body was found on a bed inside the room. Reports state that Margaret had been sexually assaulted and strangled.

After Margaret’s body was discovered, police began searching for Hepper. He was traced outside England and was arrested by Spanish police in Irun, Spain, on February 10, 1954. Contemporary newspaper reports stated that he had crossed into Spain and was wanted by British police in connection with the strangling of the child at Hove.

Hepper was extradited back to England to face trial. His trial took place at Lewes Assizes in Sussex in July 1954. During the proceedings, he pleaded not guilty. A newspaper report from July 22, 1954, stated that Hepper collapsed in the witness box during cross-examination after being questioned for about two and a half hours.

The defense attempted to raise insanity and described Hepper as paranoid, but the prosecution case connected him directly to Margaret’s death inside his Hove studio. The jury found him guilty. A Reuter report published on July 24, 1954, stated that the 62-year-old artist had been sentenced to death at Lewes for murdering the 11-year-old girl, who was a playmate of his daughter Pearl.

Hepper was held for execution after his conviction and death sentence. He was hanged at Wandsworth Prison in London on August 11, 1954. A contemporary report published the following day stated that William Sanchez de Pina Hepper, described as a 62-year-old artist extradited from Spain, had been hanged at Wandsworth Prison for the murder of Margaret Rose Louise Spevick at Hove.