William Gray and Jack Field

William Thomas Gray and Jack Alfred Field (died 4 February 1921) were two British murderers who perpetrated one of the so-called "Crumbles murders" - two unrelated murders which occurred on the Crumbles shingle beach in Sussex in the 1920s. They killed 17-year-old Irene Munro during a robbery in 1920.

Crime

Irene Munro was on holiday in Eastbourne in August 1920 when she encountered Gray and Field on 19 August. Eyewitnesses claimed that they had struck up conversation with Munro and offered to show her some local landmarks before having a drink in the local pub, making plans to meet up outside the Archery Tavern later that day. Munro briefly returned to her hotel before leaving at approximately 3:00 pm and meeting up with Gray and Field. She was last seen alive an hour later at 4:00 pm, when witnesses saw her walking in the direction of the Crumbles with Gray and Field.

Hours later, Gray and Field returned alone to Eastbourne, where they bought several drinks at the Albemarle Hotel and visited the Eastbourne Hippodrome to pay two men they owed money to. The following day, the body of Irene Munro was found partially buried upon a secluded section of the Crumbles. A large bloodstained ironstone brick and two rusty shovels were recovered from the scene. Her gold ring and a large quantity of money were missing, making it clear she had been killed during a robbery. An autopsy concluded she had been killed 24 hours before and her cause of death had been extensive bludgeoning.

During the investigation, barmaids at the Albemarle Hotel claimed that two men calling themselves Billy and Jack had visited the bar at 2:30 pm on 19 August but had been unable to pay for drinks and had left promising they would return later with money. They had then returned in the evening with a large quantity of money. After Munro's movements were established by numerous witnesses, police made the men known as Billy and Jack their main suspects. One of these witnesses was taken round Eastbourne to look for the men, pointing out Gray and Field after seeing them talking to women by the road. Both men were arrested on suspicion of murder. They admitted having been at the Albemarle, but claimed that they had obtained the money from unemployment benefits. They were initially released without charge after other witnesses did not identify them, but were rearrested when more witnesses identified them as the men they had seen with Munro, contradicting their account of their movements. The clothes the two men had been wearing were found in their possession, as was a walking stick with a distinctive ferrule at one end that two witnesses claimed Field had been carrying.

Gray and Field were charged with murder. At their trial, Gray was represented by Edward Marshall Hall, one of the greatest defence lawyers of the time, and Field was represented by J.D. Cassels. Dr. Cadman, who had performed the autopsy, admitted under cross-examination from Marshall Hall that his examination concluded Munro could not have been murdered prior to 11:00 pm, as fluid which appeared to be blood had flowed from her nostril when her body was recovered and if she had been dead for that long her blood would have clotted. However, two other doctors who had examined Munro's body testified that their examinations had established she died between 3:30 and 5:30 pm, and the fluid discharged from her nostril had not been blood. A woman named Hilda Baxter, who Gray and Field claimed to have been with in between visits to the Albemarle, testified that she had never met either man until they approached her after the murder and asked her to provide them an alibi. Several prisoners also testified that Gray had admitted being present at Munro's murder and had asked them to tell police they had seen Munro with someone else after 4:00 pm or that they had been with him. Field, testifying on his own behalf, was forced to admit that after the murder he and Gray had attempted to enlist in the army, which would have protected them from prosecution.

On 17 December 1920, the jury found both men guilty after deliberating for only an hour. Justice Horace Avory sentenced both to death by hanging. Gray and Field both appealed, each claiming they had not been present at the crime and that the other had confessed to them that he killed Munro. Both appeals were rejected by the Lord Chief Justice and Gray and Field were hanged at HMP Wandsworth on 4 February 1921.