Ronald True (17 June 1891 – 8 January 1951) was an English murderer who was convicted of the 1922 bludgeoning and murder by asphyxiation of a 25-year-old prostitute and call girl named Gertrude Yates. He was sentenced to death for Yates's murder, and an appeal was dismissed by the Lord Chief Justice.
True was later reprieved following a psychiatric examination ordered by the Home Secretary which determined that True was legally insane. True was then confined for life in Broadmoor Hospital in lieu of his death sentence. He died of a heart attack while still confined at Broadmoor in January 1951, aged 59.
Early life True was born in Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester, England on 17 June 1891, the son of an unmarried 16-year-old girl named Annabelle Angus, who doted on her son.
As a child, True was markedly disobedient and selfish to his family and peers, and his public school attendance record poor. He was regularly disciplined for acts of truancy and disobedience,The Murder Guide to Great Britain p. 47 and is known to have regularly committed acts of petty theft. He is also known to have frequently exhibited cruelty to animals.
In 1902, True's mother married a wealthy man named Arthur Reginald French, who would later inherit the title Baron de Freyne, enabling both mother and son access to many provisions money could not previously afford. True was subsequently educated at the prestigious Bedford Grammar School, although he also habitually truanted from this school. Three years later, his mother developed a serious illness. When True's aunt informed him of this fact, he simply replied: "Oh well, if she dies all her property will be mine. I'll give you her two best rings straight away."Famous Trials 2: Herbert Rowse Armstrong, Field and Gray, George Joseph Smith, Ronald True p. 171
Employment In 1909, at age 17, True left Bedford Grammar School. He had grown into a well-built man, well above the average height of his peers,Famous Trials 2: Herbert Rowse Armstrong, Field and Gray, George Joseph Smith, Ronald True p. 170 although he displayed little interest in finding employment or learning a trade. In response, his stepfather sent him to various colonial countries such as New Zealand and Argentina to learn various trades such as farming and management, although True was invariably dismissed from each of these employment roles after short periods of time, returning to England. By approximately 1912, he had become a frequent user of morphine.The Murders of the Black Museum: 1870-1970 p. 234
By the summer of 1914, True lived in Shanghai, although following the outbreak of World War I, he returned to England.Famous Trials 2: Herbert Rowse Armstrong, Field and Gray, George Joseph Smith, Ronald True p. 172
Royal Flying Corps
True was commissioned into the Royal Flying Corps as a student pilot in 1915, training at a flying school in Gosport, Hampshire.Crimes of Horror p. 112 Contemporary records indicate his performance was substandard. He is known to have crashed his plane on his first solo cross-country trial flight in Farnborough in February 1916, suffering severe concussion and remaining unconscious for two days.The Murders of the Black Museum: 1870-1970 p. 235 The following month, he again crashed his plane—this time in Gosport—suffering only minor cuts and bruises. Shortly after this second accident, he suffered a nervous breakdown. Seven months later, in October 1916, True was discharged from the Royal Flying Corps. Just weeks later, he would be briefly hospitalised following his collapse inside a Southsea theatre. True himself would later ascribe this period of hospitalisation to his having contracted syphilis.
Early the following year, True obtained a job as a test pilot at the Government Control Works in Yeovil, although he soon lost this job due to his erratic behaviour, short temper, and poor performance.
Relocation to New York In June 1917, True travelled to New York. Falsely claiming to be an English pilot with combat experience, he briefly obtained a job as a flying instructor with the United States War Department. He was soon deployed to Houston, although his poor performance soon saw his dismissal. True then briefly travelled to Mexico before returning to New York in June 1918.Famous Trials 2: Herbert Rowse Armstrong, Field and Gray, George Joseph Smith, Ronald True p. 239
Marriage At a party in New York, True became acquainted with a young actress named Frances Roberts; introducing himself as a Royal Air Force pilot. The two married prior to his deployment to Houston, and following his return to New York in June 1918, they travelled extensively across America before relocating to England in February 1919.
Shortly after relocating to England, True's family secured a job for him as an assistant manager at the Taquah Mining Company, located within the Gold Coast (now Ghana). He and his pregnant wife set sail for the region in late February. His habitual lying and general poor conduct saw him dismissed from the position within six months, and he and his wife again returned to England. This dismissal infuriated his stepfather, who severed all contact with True upon his return to England, but did continue to grant him a financial allowance to support himself and his family.
Dissociative identity disorder By 1920, True's daily morphine intake had increased to up to thirty grains. His behaviour was also markedly more erratic. At the insistence of his wife and mother, he spent approximately six months in a Southsea nursing home for treatment of his morphia addiction and the resulting mental ailments, which included an incipient split personality. While incarcerated at this facility, True was observed to be prone to sudden mood swings, and to frequently simply sit in silence for long periods of time while staring at either the sea or the sky.The Murders of the Black Museum: 1870-1970 p. 236 He was also convinced he was shadowed by a doppelgänger who shared his name (but spelled Ronald Trew) and who was his mortal enemy.
On several occasions, True would absent himself from his nursing home and travel to London, where he would survive via acts of theft and passing forged cheques, although whenever confronted with bills or proof of his fraudulent activities, he would insist the matter he was confronted with did not belong to him, but "the other Ronald True."Famous Trials 2: Herbert Rowse Armstrong, Field and Gray, George Joseph Smith, Ronald True p. 180
Upon discharging himself from this nursing home, True relocated with his wife to Portsmouth. He and his wife lived together in this city for approximately twelve months.Famous Trials 2: Herbert Rowse Armstrong, Field and Gray, George Joseph Smith, Ronald True p. 181 At the insistence of his family, True again became an in-patient at a nursing home in an effort to cure him of his morphine addiction. Upon his discharge, he briefly lived with his aunt in Folkestone, to whom he claimed three palmists across the world had informed him he was to be murdered at "the hands of a woman" and that, as he was only destined to live a short life, he intended to maximise his pleasures.Famous Trials 2: Herbert Rowse Armstrong, Field and Gray, George Joseph Smith, Ronald True p. 183
In late 1921, True abandoned his wife and child—removing both as beneficiaries from his will—after learning she had resumed her acting career. Shortly thereafter, he relocated alone to London, falsely informing his family a Mr. Harris had offered him a lucrative job. From thereon, he supported himself via his weekly allowance and by committing various acts of petty theft and fraud.The Murders of the Black Museum: 1870-1970 pp. 235; 240
Relocation to London On or about 7 January 1922, True severed all physical contact with his family and relocated to London, where he frequented various West End bars and clubs, living affluently but surviving upon his allowance, via acts of theft, and by paying various hotel and restaurant bills with forged cheques. Whenever confronted with suspicion of acts of theft or caught red-handed in the act, he would insist the perpetrator was one Ronald Trew, whom he described as an "armed and dangerous criminal" and who was continually shadowing him, passing about dud cheques which his own "poor mother" was having to honour.Famous Trials 2: Herbert Rowse Armstrong, Field and Gray, George Joseph Smith, Ronald True p. 187 To protect himself against this individual, in early February, True purchased a pistol from an acquaintance named James Armstrong for £2, explaining he was determined to find and kill this individual.The Murders of the Black Museum: 1870-1970 pp. 236-237 Later the same month, True informed a female acquaintance—whom he had threatened to continually keep his company or be shot—that he intended to commit the perfect murder, for which he would not be punished.
In the months prior to True's separation from his wife, she had become increasingly concerned about his general state of mind. On two occasions in early 1922, she travelled to London to successfully trace his whereabouts. On the second occasion, True's wife located him at a Soho restaurant and was sufficiently alarmed by his demeanour to report her concerns to Scotland Yard, who in turn referred her to a private detective. However, by the time she had relayed her concerns to Scotland Yard on 3 March, True had again vanished.The Murders of the Black Museum: 1870-1970 p. 237
Acquaintance with Gertrude Yates True had first encountered 25-year-old Gertrude Yates on 18 February. Yates was a prostitute and call girl whose regular clients were frequently—if not exclusively—affluent individualsCrimes of Horror p. 106 who could afford to entertain her at venues such as cinemas, restaurants, and dance-halls before spending the evening with her. She had first become acquainted with True in a West End lounge,Famous Trials 2: Herbert Rowse Armstrong, Field and Gray, George Joseph Smith, Ronald True p. 190 being informed by True that he was a Major within the British Army.
On the first occasion the two spent the night together, True stole approximately £5 from her handbag before leaving her flat the morning after their acquaintance, resulting in Yates initially resolving never to see him again. However, over the following fortnight, True regularly pestered her with both haranguing and pleading telephone calls and by calling at her flat unannounced, although Yates would invariably refuse to speak with him.
By 2 March, True resided at the Grand Hotel on Northumberland Avenue. The same day, he acquired the chauffeuring services of a Knightsbridge-based vehicle hiring firm. His appointed chauffeur was a man named Luigi Mazzola, who frequently drove True to destinations across London as far afield as Richmond to locations such as dance-halls and hotels. Typically, True would spend all his money at these venues and, in the short duration of time Mazzola was employed as his chauffeur, True never paid the chauffeuring firm for his services.Crimes of Horror p. 111
On three consecutive evenings between 2 and 4 March, True instructed Mazzola to drive to Finborough Road, where Yates lived, although on each occasion, Yates was either not present in her home or refused to permit him entrance into her flat. On the third occasion, he returned alone to his chauffeur from the direction of Yates's flat and instructed Mazzola to drive him to the Castle Hotel, where he dined with a Mr. and Mrs. Sachs.Trial of Ronald True p. 182 In the course of their meal, he informed the couple of his knowledge of a woman who lived in a basement flat in Fulham who had money, and that he intended to obtain this money even if via the act of murder.The Murders of the Black Museum: 1870-1970 p. 238
Murder