04/03/69 - Kray twins guilty of McVitie murder
BBC News On this day
The Kray twins, Ronald and Reginald, are facing life sentences
after being found guilty of murder at the Central Criminal
Court. The jury deliberated for six hours and 55 minutes
before returning the unanimous guilty verdict for the
murder of Jack McVitie.
Christopher and Anthony Lambrianou and Ronald Bender were
also found guilty of murder. Ronald Kray and John Barrie
were also convicted of murdering George Cornell. Anthony
Barry was found not guilty of murder and discharged.
Albert Donaghue who pleaded guilty to being an accessory
to murder earlier in the trial will be sentenced tomorrow.
The Kray's elder brother, Charles, Frederick Foreman and
Cornelius Whitehead were all found guilty of being accessories
to the murder of Mr McVitie.
The judge, Mr Justice Melford Stevenson, will pass sentence
tomorrow. The accused were brought up into the dock one,
by one, to hear the jury's verdict. The Old Bailey trial
has lasted 39 days so far, the longest and most expensive-ever
held at the London court.
In the dock were 10 men, the judge tried to make them
wear numbers to make life easier for the jury, but the
twins just ripped them off. The court was told how Ronald
Kray shot dead George Cornell in front of customers at
the Blind Beggar pub in the East End in 1966 for calling
him a "fat poof".
It also heard how Jack "The Hat" McVitie was
repeatedly stabbed by Reginald Kray in a north London
flat while his brother held him down. Their elder brother,
Charles, was convicted to helping to dispose of the body.
After the verdicts, the judge turned to the jury and thanked
them for the "devoted and selfless attention"
they had given to the evidence. He added: "You set
a standard with which I shall judge all juries in the
future." |
