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At age 28, Ruth Ellis became the last woman to be hanged for murder in the U.K. after she fatally shot her playboy lover, and her controversial conviction is raising questions 70 years later.
Ellis’ brief life and high-profile case are being revisited in a new four-part drama series, “A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story.”
The show, which premiered in the U.S., is on streaming service BritBox and stars Lucy Boynton of “Bohemian Rhapsody.” It’s based on Carol Ann Lee’s true-crime book, “A Fine Day for a Hanging: The Real Ruth Ellis Story.”
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Ruth Ellis, who was executed in 1955, is the subject of a new scripted series, “A Cruel Love.” (Getty Images)
“The biggest misconception, by far, is that Ruth has been depicted as a hysterical woman in the public mind, and she committed this crime out of jealousy,” Lee told Fox News Digital. “Neither of those things are true. … She was devastated at having committed this crime, but she went to her death firmly believing … an eye for an eye.”
Ellis’ troubles started early in life. Her upbringing was blighted by sexual abuse at the hands of her father, the London Evening Standard reported. The patriarch, a cellist, frequently moved his family, prompting biographers to suspect later that it was to prevent neighbors or schools from becoming aware of the abuse, the outlet shared.
Ruth Ellis modeled before she made her mark in London’s seedy nightclub world. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
“She grew up in a troubled household. There’s no doubt about that,” Lee explained. “The one thing she wanted more than anything was to escape poverty. She became a teenage mum. Her partner turned out to be a married soldier from Canada, and she didn’t know this until she was pregnant by him. And he abandoned her. She was left to bring up her son by herself.”
Ruth Ellis had an uncredited role in a Diana Dors (pictured here) film. (RKO Radio Pictures/De Carvalho Collection/Getty Images)
One thing Ellis yearned for was glamour. She frequently went to the movies and was inspired to bleach her blonde like the screen sirens of the day. By age 17, Ellis was a part of London’s seedy social scene and became a nude model, Metro UK reported.
It was at the Court Club that a regular client caught her eye, the outlet reported. In 1950, she married George Johnston Ellis, and they welcomed a daughter. However, the marriage became violent, and he questioned whether their child was his. After the union broke down, Ellis turned to sex work to make ends meet.
Nightclub hostess Ruth Ellis with a friend, circa 1950. (Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
“Her husband was a violent alcoholic, so she had an awful relationship with him,” said Lee. “For most people, that could have been the point where it all went horribly wrong. But Ruth was so determined that she went on to run the top nightclub in London, where all the Hollywood stars went, along with royalty and politicians. And she knew them all. She could have done anything at that time.”
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Race car driver and motor engineer David Blakely (Alamy)
It was in 1953 at Carroll’s Club where Ellis met race car driver David Blakely. Just a few weeks later, Blakely moved in with Ellis.
“When David met Ruth, it was one of those instant attractions,” Lee explained. “They became obsessive about each other. For Ruth, there was just something very different about David. She saw something vulnerable in him. … But unfortunately, the other side of that relationship was dark. He was very abusive, like her ex-husband, if not more.”
Ruth Ellis, inspired by the screen sirens of her day, dyed her hair platinum blonde. (Alamy)
An alcohol-fueled Blakely would regularly punch and kick Ellis, Metro UK reported. After one night of drinking, Blakely punched a pregnant Ellis so hard in the stomach that she miscarried, the London Evening Standard reported. Blakely also had multiple affairs with other women.
Ruth Ellis with Desmond Cussen (Mirrorpix via Getty Images)
During the nightmare union, Ellis had a secret affair with Desmond Cussen. According to reports, the former RAF pilot turned accountant provided refuge for Ellis as her relationship with Blakely deteriorated.
Ellis claimed she often gave Blakely money for alcohol, which would result in him attacking her after he had been drinking. Lee said Ellis “lost everything because of him.”
Ruth Ellis (Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix via Getty Images)
“She was letting him have drinks for free,” Lee explained. “He kept pleading poverty despite having a monthly allowance from his wealthy mother and stepfather. She felt sorry for him and indulged him. She was also drinking quite a lot then too.
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Ruth Ellis claimed David Blakely hit her so hard she had a miscarriage. (Getty Images)
“He was living with her for free. Her boss didn’t like this at all. He said, ‘That’s it — out you go, the pair of you.’ Ruth was terrified. As far as she was concerned, this was the worst thing that could have happened to her. She did not want to be looking at another poverty-stricken life. And that’s exactly where she was.”’
The Magdala Tavern in London where Ruth Ellis shot lover David Blakely. (Michael Crabtree/PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images)
It’s unclear what ultimately became the tipping point for Ellis. But on Easter Sunday 1955, Ellis headed to The Magdala, a pub that Blakely was frequenting. When she arrived, she took out a gun from her handbag and shot Blakely six times. He was two months short of his 26th birthday.
“Ruth waited for David to come out of the pub,” said Lee. “As soon as she saw him, she shouted his name. … Four shots went into David’s body. One was at point-blank range.”
Bullet holes can still be seen in the wall of the Magdala Tavern, Hampstead, London, where Ruth Ellis shot her lover David Blakely at point-blank range on Easter Sunday 1955. (Michael Crabtree /PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images)
Lee said that a stunned Ellis stood near her dead lover. She then said, “Will somebody call the police?” An off-duty police officer emerged from the pub and took the gun away from Ellis. At the police station, a calm Ellis confessed.
Lee said that when it came to getting a fair trial, the odds were against Ellis.
“As far as Ruth was concerned, she was from the wrong side of the tracks,” said Lee. “She was perceived by the world’s press as a tart, a single mother who slept with men for money. … And this was a period where women were still very much kept in the home. … Ruth didn’t believe in that. She wanted a career for herself. She finally wanted to escape poverty and have a better life for herself and her children.”
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When prosecutor Christmas Humphreys asked what Ruth Ellis had intended to do when she shot David Blakely, she replied, “It’s obvious that when I shot him I intended to kill him.” That statement left the jury with little option as the laws then stood, said Carol Ann Lee. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
“The press and the system wanted to make an example out of her,” Lee continued. “Everything was against her. She said very clearly that the reason she killed David was because she couldn’t see an end to their existence together. It was going in circles.
Ruth Ellis and David Blakely’s relationship was described by author Carol Ann Lee as obsessive and plagued with abuse. (Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix via Getty Images)
“They would fight, they would break up, they would make up. It would just go round and round. But every time, it just got worse and worse. There were plenty of people at the time who heard how David attacked her and who saw David attack her. There are records of her going to the hospital after he’d beaten her badly. He’d driven her to extremes. She just could not see a way out.”
Lee claimed Ellis intended to kill herself. But she “lost her nerve” as she fired the gun, causing one bullet to hit a bystander’s thumb.
Ruth Ellis was executed at Holloway Prison. Thousands gathered. (NCJ/Kemsley/NCJ Archive/Mirrorpix via Getty Images)
“I think that’s also another reason why she didn’t defend herself,” said Lee. “She felt that she’d done wrong, and she deserved to die for her crime. And she didn’t want to live in a world where David wasn’t there too.”
It only took 14 minutes for the jury to find Ellis guilty. She was sentenced to death by hanging.
Two days before Ellis’ execution, her lawyers submitted evidence, including the testimony of witnesses, that showed Blakely had repeatedly abused her, The Guardian reported. It noted that Ellis had her miscarriage 10 days before the shooting.
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“A Cruel Love: The shocking true story of Ruth Ellis behind the ITV drama,” is available on Kindle. (Amazon)
The outlet also pointed out that a week before Ellis was hanged, a reprieve was granted to a 40-year-old woman who had beaten her 86-year-old neighbor to death with a shovel after a long-running feud. Still, none of these factors were enough to save her.
“I believe the other woman was seen as more respectable,” Lee explained. “She was a married mother. Her husband spoke up strongly on her behalf. Ruth didn’t have that. She didn’t have that kind of … respectability.”
When Ellis was sentenced, there was an immediate public outcry. A petition was created seeking her freedom. It reached 50,000 signatures, according to reports.
Muriel Jakubait, sister of Ruth Ellis, arrives at the High Court Sept. 16, 2003, in London. At the time, lawyers for the family asked judges to change Ellis’ murder conviction to manslaughter, which the jury in the original trial was banned from returning. (Scott Barbour/Getty Images)
On the day before her death, Ellis claimed it was Cussen who gave her the gun, taught her how to fire it and even drove her to the pub. Cussen vehemently denied the accusation. He later moved to Australia.
On July 13, 1955, Ellis was hanged in Holloway Prison. Before her death, she wrote a letter to Blakely’s parents, telling them, “I have always loved your son, and I shall die still loving him.” The death penalty was halted in 1965.
Lee calls the case “a miscarriage of justice.”
It took a jury 14 minutes to find Ruth Ellis guilty. (Getty Images)
“Everyone, no matter what, deserves a fair trial,” she said. “Only then can you say someone was found correctly guilty or not guilty. But Ruth did not have a fair trial at all. … It’s appalling. It still is.”
Stephanie Nolasco covers entertainment at Foxnews.com.