In 1885 a man awaited execution at Exeter, Devon, for the murder of his employer, Emma Keyse. The accused was small-time thief, bragger and womaniser John Lee. The case was shocking enough and received fairly extensive news coverage. But the man at the gallows (which he attended three times and lived) may not have been the murderer but the subject of a ‘fix’.
They ‘tried’ to execute Lee three times but the trap, apparently, didn’t work. I have been researching this case for the past twenty-five years. I published on-line all the available archive and court records, amidst huge controversy, in 1999 in the early internet years. Only in the last few days has Lee actually got a domain dedicated to him exclusively, www.johnbabbacombelee.com. Since the 90’s more and more material has landed on my desk. I co-authored a book (now wildly out of date) on the subject back in 2005, I have been the subject of dozens of media interviews and still more material is surfacing.
These days the focus of mystery isn’t the botched execution, but who actually killed Emma Keyse.
I can tell you something. I can say for sure it wasn’t Lee. Although he was a bit of a rogue, he didn’t kill. So who did?
Enter, Reginald Gwynne Templer, an unwell, quite upper-class, well-connected, somewhat unstable young Devon solicitor, who had a thing for Miss Keyse’ servant. A man who within a few hours of the murder was at his desk in Newton Abbot enthusiastically offering his legal services as defence for Lee the man who would take all blame and potentially his life for the killing. Templer died, institutionalised, of ‘paralysis of the insane’ (syphilis) at Virginia Water, Surrey, just two years after the murder. It’s alleged that Templer’s death was a painful one – in his last hours he was shouting a confession of the murder. Documents existed recording his demise – documents that suddenly ‘went missing’ from an archive in 2004 when I requested photocopies.
Reginald Gwynne Templer (left) lived in Teignmouth. He was the eldest of six children born to Reginald William Templer and his wife Emily.
The Templer family built a church at small village on the Stover estate Teigngrace where Reginald’s grandfather was Rector.
At the time of the Emma Keyse’ murder in 1884, the link between the Templer family and the Emma’s family was not known to outsiders. It has since been suggested that Reginald Gwynne Templer was in fact a confidante of Emma Keyse and a regular visitor at The Glen.
During the Victorian era the mere suggestion of a discreet liaison between a gentleman and a female servant was out of the question but a blind eye was turned if such a relationship was not in the public domain. It is my long-held view that a relationship between Reginald Gwynne Templer and the cook, Elizabeth Harris did take place. At the time of the murder Elizabeth was pregnant (see the birth certificate).
The cover-up and false evidence that followed is quite remarkable. You only need to read the witness statements I have transcribed for this website.
Read the full research into Templer here.
Ian Waugh
Old British News
