Wife killer Dr Crippen's shock final request in letter from jail days before hanging

A letter detailing the last wishes of one of Britain's most notorious murderers just days before he was hanged has emerged.

Hawley Crippen was an American doctor hanged for the gruesome murder of his second wife Cora, whose partial remains were found buried in his cellar in 1910.

The mild-mannered murderer came to notoriety for being the first criminal to be caught using the wireless telegraph.

Crippen was convicted of poisoning and then dismembering his unfaithful wife, before concealing her headless and boneless corpse under the basement floor.

The other body parts were never recovered.

Crippen was said to be a meek and diminutive man, and rather in the shadow of his intimidating and unfaithful wife. The couple moved to London in 1897 where Crippen employed the services of a young typist, Ethel Le Neve. Crippen and Ethel began an affair and, after the police began to investigate the disappearance of Crippen's wife in 1910, the pair absconded on the SS Montrose, with his lover dressed as a boy.

However, the ship's captain became suspicious and sent a telegraph message informing the owners he believed Crippen was on board.

The pair were arrested upon arrival in Canada on July 31 1910 and returned to London.

The remains were identified as Cora Crippen's by a scar, while Crippen was shown to have bought large amounts of a drug that killed her.

Upon his arrest, Crippen told Chief Inspector Dew: "I am not sorry; the anxiety has been too much."

His lasted only five days and the jury found him guilty in less than half an hour.

Now, a letter that he penned in Pentonville Prison on November 17 1910, just six days before he was hanged on November 23, has come to light.

It explains his decision to name Le Neve as his sole executrix in his will dated November 8 1910

It said: "It should be known how perfectly I trust her in every way, that she has given me the only real happiness I have ever known, that I love her above all else in this life and that for nearly four years she has been united with me in heart, soul and body as my wife."

It is being auctioned by fine art auctioneers Sworders on July 30, with an accompanying small file of photocopied papers related to the document.

Its provenance is from John Rowland Hopwood, solicitor to Ethel Clara Le Neve, by descent to the present owner.

A Sworders spokesperson said: "At his trial, Crippen took every opportunity to protect Le Neve, and at her own trial which took place later, she was promptly acquitted.

His conviction was upheld on appeal on November 5 1910. Three days later Crippen wrote a new will naming Ethel Le Neve as his sole executrix. This was followed, nine days later, by the present codicil in which he insisted that no-one had influenced him to name her as his executrix. He continued to write to Le Neve until the evening before his execution on 23 November."

Although more than a century has passed since the headless body of Crippen's wife was found buried in the cellar of his house, the case continues to hold a macabre fascination with the public. Although many of the details still remain shrouded in mystery - with even the identity of the body having been contested - there is no doubt that Crippen was deeply in love with Ethel Le Neve.

Despite the evidence against him, distant descendants have fought to clear his name with attempts made to get his conviction before the Court of Appeal in 2009.

John Boyne, who wrote the book Crippen: A Novel of Murder, said at the time of the appeal bid: "I think Crippen probably did kill his wife. His actions suggest guilt - his decision to flee the country and to dress Ethel LeNeve as his son rather than allow her to reveal her true identity on the ship as his lover. Cora made his life so miserable that I think he finally cracked."