PC Stephen Henton was on duty in the Welsh mining village of Wattstown on the night of 12th October 1947. As he had gone past the Butcher's Arms three men had left the pub on their way to a dance in Porth. There was nothing unusual in young men going to the dance, but it was unusual for this particular group to have only three members as there was usually four of them.

Around 11.20pm the peace of the small mining village was shattered by a piercing scream. Mary Morris had just come across the body of 76-year-old Rachel Allen. Rachel's body was just yards from her one-roomed cottage and she had her door key in her hand. She had been beaten and kicked to death.

Known as 'Cat Woman' because of her fondness for adopting any local stray feline, she supplemented her meagre pension by taking in washing. That evening she had spent in the Butcher's Arms before buying a tin of snuff on her way home.

The first name on PC Henton's list was Evan Haydn Evans, a 22-year-old miner. He was the one missing from the group going to Porth and it was soon discovered that he had rowed with Rachel, who could be a bit cantankerous, in the pub.

Officers who went to question Evans in his home in Heol Llechau were suspicious when he dressed in a blue suit. It was known from witnesses that he had been wearing a brown suit the evening before, and were even more suspicious when he told them that the blue suit was the only one he had.

His mother handed him a pair of recently polished black shoes but he insisted on wearing his brown shoes. The black shoes were taken for forensic examination and were later found to have small pieces of bone embedded in them. They were part of Rachel's skull.

Back in the Evans home, detectives noticed that the settee had bright new nails fastening the covering in place. Once the nails were removed the brown suit, splattered with blood, was found inside the settee. Evans confessed, telling officers that he had had a serious amount to drink and lost his temper after the old lady had called him a pig

At his trial at Cardiff Assizes Evans tried to get a verdict of manslaughter but the jury found him guilty of murder. Evans was executed at Cardiff Prison on 3rd February 1948.

Murder-UK.com