On 6th March 1936, an unusual article appeared in Torquay’s Herald & Express newspaper. Without explicitly naming individuals, it presented an alternative version of events surrounding Miss Keyse’s murder, claiming it as the “true” story derived from Lee.
According to the informant who spoke to the reporter, Lee had confided that he had been wrongly convicted of the murder while trying to protect a friend. This unnamed friend, a prominent figure in public life, had engaged in a secret affair with an unnamed young woman at The Glen. On the night of the murder, Lee had organised a late-night supper party in the kitchen, attended by himself, his girlfriend, John Lee, and another young woman. The party was interrupted abruptly after midnight by a furious Miss Keyse, who ordered them out of the house and instructed John Lee to summon the police. A heated argument ensued, as the arrival of the police would ruin the man’s reputation and career. Miss Keyse struck him, leading to a struggle, during which the man grabbed a chopper and killed her. Panic ensued, but Lee remained composed and suggested staging the scene to appear as a burglary. They placed the body in the dining room, the late-night visitors departed, and Lee doused the area with paraffin before setting it alight. The maid later discovered the fire and woke Lee, who injured his arm while breaking the dining room window. Lee alerted the authorities about finding Miss Keyse’s body.
After the murder, the unnamed man fell critically ill and never fully recovered, gradually descending into dementia. Few people knew about his connection to Lee, Miss Keyse, or The Glen, but those who did understood the cause of his insanity. It was rumoured that the unnamed man financed Lee’s defence. Around 1890, this respected and popular figure, whom Lee had supposedly protected, passed away. During his burial, one of the mourners whispered to his two sons, “We have buried this afternoon the secret of the Babbacombe murder.”
Devon historian Mike Holgate believes that the article referred to Reginald Gwynne Templer, a twenty-nine-year-old solicitor who represented John Lee. Templer did suffer from mental illness between the Magistrates Hearing and the Trial, which explained his inability to continue defending Lee. He eventually died of dementia on 18th December 1886.
It remains unclear who paid for Lee’s defence, but it amounted to £60. Did the Templer practice offer their services pro bono? This theory also explains the inadequacy of Lee’s defence, as Templer did not cross-examine Elizabeth during the inquest or the Magistrates Hearing, despite her being a crucial witness. Furthermore, it sheds light on Miss Keyse’s sudden descent downstairs while halfway through preparing for bed. It provides a plausible reason for Lee to have gone to bed dressed in formal attire, with a collar, necktie, and pin.
The theory suggests that Templer’s lover at The Glen was likely Elizabeth Harris, which would account for her involvement in the crime. It is possible that Elizabeth Harris met Templer while working for Edward Chant in Teignmouth, and there is evidence suggesting that Templer had provided legal advice to Miss Keyse, potentially leading to his acquaintance with Elizabeth at The Glen. This theory could explain why Elizabeth never revealed her secret lover or the father of her child. If this theory holds true, did Elizabeth raise the alarm before John intended, as part of her plan to implicate him and protect her lover? The fires had not gained much momentum, with the one in Miss Keyse’s bedroom burning for only thirty to forty minutes when Elizabeth cried out.
Miss Keyse’s candlestick was found on the dining room floor. Could she have dropped it there? Did she interrupt the supper party in the dining room and subsequently move into the hall during the argument, only to be attacked at the bottom of the stairs?
However, several issues arise with this theory:
- It fails to explain who slit Miss Keyse’s throat. The particularly vicious nature of the cut suggests personal animosity, which seems inconsistent with the new theory. However, considering that the blows to the head likely occurred first, it is possible that someone grabbed a garden knife and slit her throat to stop the convulsions caused by the final blow.
- Why would Lee willingly subject himself to suspicion, face the gallows, and endure twenty-two years of hard labour just to help a friend? Lee had the perfect opportunity to disclose the entire truth in his autobiography. Why would he continue protecting the reputation of a friend who never rushed to his aid and had already passed away long before Lee’s release from prison? How could a mere servant have developed such a close friendship with a solicitor? Lee was undoubtedly involved in covering up the crime, and it is conceivable that he was also partially involved in Miss Keyse’s murder. Did he slit her throat himself, thereby avoiding the guilt of initiating the murder and justifying his “innocence” in his own mind? He would also be aware that revealing everything would not lead to him being perceived as innocent by the world.
It is challenging to envision Templer and Kate Farmer waiting outside The Glen on a dark and stormy November night until at least 12:30 am, which is the earliest time Miss Keyse could have retired. Jane Neck’s testimony stated that she heard Lee cough in the pantry while bidding Miss Keyse goodnight, around 12:10 am. This effectively rules out the possibility of the secret supper party occurring in another part of the estate, such as the Garden Room, at a more civilised hour. Perhaps the term “supper party” was merely a euphemism for Templer sleeping with Elizabeth and John being with his girlfriend Katie?
However, it is difficult to imagine that Katie Farmer witnessed the murder and then chose to remain silent. Her letters indicate that she was deeply in love with Lee and would do anything for him, so it seems unlikely that she would allow him to face the gallows as an innocent man. Could it be that Katie had already left or was in a different room when the murder took place, rendering her unaware of whether Lee was the murderer or not? Perhaps Katie had no involvement at all, and John was well rewarded for “facilitating” Templer by granting him access to the premises. On the night in question, Miss Keyse may have followed Templer downstairs, where Lee was waiting to let him out, thus involving Lee in the events.
The forensic evidence indicates that Lee was wearing only his stocking feet when he cleaned up the crime scene, suggesting that he likely was in his stocking feet when the murder occurred. So why would he attend a supper party without shoes?
We have been unable to identify the “known and respected member of Torquay society” who provided the information at the funeral. The journalist who wrote the 1936 article was Reg Colwell, and both he and his wife are deceased without any children. However, Colwell had an excellent reputation as an author and journalist. The newspapers did not publish a list of mourners who attended the funeral. Local historian John Pike speculates that Isadore Carter may have been the informant, as he died in February 1936, just weeks before the article’s publication. Carter had been Miss Keyse’s solicitor and was certainly a respected man in Torquay and a father of two sons. However, Carter divorced his wife in 1885, three months after Lee’s trial, and afterward, he had no contact with his sons. He did not mention them in his will of 1888. Could the informant have been Carter’s father, with Carter and his brother being the two sons? Carter’s brother did begin practicing law, but not until 1909. We are still pursuing the Carter papers.
Coinciding with this theory is the suggestion that James Berry was bribed to botch the execution. Local historian John Pike was informed by an elderly Torquay solicitor, who had worked in the 1890s, that “Berry was definitely influenced.” Berry was known to be corrupt and openly admitted that he performed his job solely for financial gain, making him susceptible to bribes. However, as previously mentioned, the official engineer’s report concluded that the scaffold failed due to poor alignment, and Berry did not have the time or expertise to execute such a sophisticated sabotage. Furthermore, if Templer was using Lee as a scapegoat, it would have been in his best interest to silence him through death.