Gwynne Owen Evans and Paul Anthony Allen were hanged in April 1964
On August 13, 1964, two men from Preston became the last ever to face the death penalty in the United Kingdom.
It didn't take police long to track down the killers. In the pocket of a raincoat, found neatly folded on a chair in Jack's bedroom, was a gold medallion, inscribed G O Evans along with an Army memo form with the name Norma O'Brien and a Liverpool address written on it. Detectives also discovered Evans had recently changed his name, having been discharged from the Army for being unfit for service, in his birth name John Walby. The name change was an attempt to rejoin the military and successfully joined the Lancastrian Brigade, but was discharged in November 1963 after just a month of service, when it emerged he had not disclosed his criminal record.
Officers went to Allen's house in Clarendon Street, Preston, to speak to their suspects. Allen agreed to go to the police station and was driven to Kendal to speak to the murder squad. Evans was not at the house, and was found on a street corner in Miles Platting, Manchester - carrying Mr West's gold watch. He was quizzed at the police station in Middleton and said he, Allen, Allen's wife and children had gone to Seaton to borrow money from Mr West. He blamed Allen for the killing.
Both men were charged with murder. Three months later they were tried together at Manchester Assizes. Either man could have spared the other's life by claiming sole responsibility for Mr West's killing, but with each blaming the other, the jury found they acted together and both were sentenced to death.
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