40 Facts About Alfred Rouse

Alfred Arthur Rouse was a British murderer, known as the Blazing Car Murderer, who was convicted and subsequently hanged at Bedford Gaol for the November 1930 murder of an unknown man in Hardingstone, Northamptonshire.

The murder was notable because the identity of the victim has never been established, resulting in Alfred Rouse being tried, convicted and executed for the murder of an unknown man.

Alfred Arthur Rouse was born in Milkwood Road, Herne Hill, London on 6 April 1894, one of three children born to an English father and an Irish mother.

Alfred Rouse's father, Walter, was a hosier, whereas his mother was reportedly an actress who deserted her husband and children in 1900.

Alfred Rouse was known as a well-behaved child; he and his siblings attended a local council school where he was regarded as a bright and athletic student.

Alfred Rouse worked at this firm for five years before training as a carpenter, all the while furthering his education by attending numerous evening classes.

In 1909, Alfred Rouse obtained employment at a West End furniture manufacturer.

Just four days after the outbreak of World War I, Alfred Rouse enlisted in the British Army and was assigned to the 24th Queen's Regiment as a Private.

Alfred Rouse arrived in France on 15 March 1915, and was stationed in Paris for some weeks before his unit was sent into battle.

Alfred Rouse would serve with distinction, although he is known to have fathered an illegitimate child during this time.

Alfred Rouse did not regain consciousness until his hospital train passed through the town of Bedford en route to a UK Ministry of Defence Hospital Unit.

Alfred Rouse was sent to recuperate at military hospitals in Leeds and, later, Clacton-on-Sea.

Alfred Rouse was formally discharged from the Army on 11 February 1916, and awarded a military pension of twenty shillings per week.

In July 1916, Alfred Rouse's doctor noted that his memory was defective and that he was unable to wear a hat of any kind because the scar around his temporal lobe was irritable.

In late January 1917, Alfred Rouse's doctor discovered he had made a degree of progress in his recuperation from his leg injury and believed this injury could, by Alfred Rouse's own endeavour, be overcome.

In September 1918, Alfred Rouse again complained that he was suffering from a defective memory.

On 30 July 1919, a doctor examining Alfred Rouse observed that, while he would not allow his knee to be flexed by more than 30 percent, he now suffered no long-term disability from the head wound he had suffered in battle.

Many of these jobs involved the use of vehicles, resulting in Alfred Rouse's becoming a moderately skilled mechanic.

Four years later, in 1925, Alfred Rouse began an affair with a Hendon-based domestic servant named Nellie Tucker.

In June 1929, Alfred Rouse found employment as a commercial traveller for a Leicester-based firm which primarily sold braces and garters, typically at locations around the South Coast and the Midlands.

At just what point Alfred Rouse decided on his scheme is not settled, nor how he arrived at it, as following his arrest, he gave several contradictory accounts as to just how and when he devised his plan.

However, Alfred Rouse did mention that initially, he had begun to think about committing a murder in which he could fake his own death after he had read reports of the murder of a young Scottish barmaid named Agnes Kesson, who had been found murdered in a rural lane in the market town of Epsom in June 1930, and whose murder would ultimately remain unsolved.

Alfred Rouse was then asked to accompany police to Northampton to assist in the identification of the victim.

Mrs Alfred Rouse stated the items of clothing looked like those her husband had worn, but she could not be certain; the wallet had definitely belonged to her husband.

Alfred Rouse assured Jenkins that he had reported the theft to both the police and his insurance company.

Early the following morning, Alfred Rouse's mistress showed him a newspaper displaying an image of his burned-out car which speculated as to whether the deceased occupant had been the owner of the vehicle and questioning whether he had been murdered.

Consequently, that evening, Alfred Rouse was arrested at Hammersmith coach terminal by a Detective-Sergeant Skelly of the Metropolitan Police, who had been waiting for him at the coach terminal.

At the Hammersmith police station, Alfred Rouse was informed that officers from Northamptonshire Police were already travelling to Hammersmith to interview him.

At Northampton police station, Alfred Rouse contradicted his earlier statement by claiming that he had encountered the victim hitchhiking along the Great North Road towards the Midlands and had offered the man a lift.

Alfred Rouse had driven to Hardingstone Lane accidentally, because he had lost his direction.

Alfred Rouse had, he claimed, attempted to open the door of the vehicle, but had been beaten back by the flames.

Furthermore, when questioned as to why he had been seen by the two young men walking from the scene of the fire with a briefcase in his hand, Alfred Rouse claimed he had taken the briefcase out of the car because he had earlier noticed the man had placed his hand upon it.

The trial of Alfred Rouse began at the Northampton winter assizes on 26 January 1931.

On this date, Alfred Rouse formally pleaded not guilty to the charge of the murder of an unknown man.

Spilsbury further testified that one of the few fragments of clothing found upon the victim not to have been destroyed in the fire was a section of the fork of the victim's trousers, which was found to be soaked in petrol, thus corroborating the prosecution's contention that Alfred Rouse had extensively doused both his victim and his vehicle in petrol before setting his vehicle ablaze.

Alfred Rouse himself testified in his own defence at his trial.

Alfred Rouse's appeal was heard on 23 February 1931, although it would prove unsuccessful.

On Tuesday, 10 March 1931, Alfred Rouse was hanged in Bedford Gaol.

Alfred Rouse did offer a general description of his victim's identity.

Furthermore, he had been wearing police boots which Alfred Rouse claimed the man had informed him had been given to him by London police.