Englishman John George Haigh began his murders in 1944 when he lured William McSwan to a basement he rented in Crawley, Sussex. Once there, Haigh bludgeoned the man and drank some of his blood before dissolving the remains in a vat of acid, thus launching the killing career of the "Acid Bath Murderer". The next year a similar fate fell on McSwan's parents, who Haigh had known for some time, after the twisted killer also duped them to his basement lair.

The next unfortunates to become victims were Dr. Archibald Henderson and his wife Rosalie in 1948. The doctor was already disposed of when Haigh called Rosalie claiming her husband was ill. After rushing to Haigh's she was shot, drained, and dissolved in acid just as her husband was the day before. Next, while living at the Onslow Court Hotel, Haigh murdered Olive Durand-Beacon after luring her to his basement death-trap. Authorities had finally closed in, however, and a search of the basement was sufficient to charge Haigh with Durand-Beacon's slaying, despite the absence of a body. The poor woman'sdentures survived her "acid bath" and were identified by her dentis twhich resulted in Haigh's conviction andhanging on September 10, 1949.

Haigh was a peculiar killer in many ways. For one, he did not attempt to remain obscure after the killings. He stole valuables from his victims and sold them. He also faked correspondence from the victims to their relatives and friends after their deaths, and even bothered to pay the Henderson's hotel bill posthumously.