When I was a kid growing up during the fifties one of the Sporting Heros to make the transition of sports star to celebrity was that of Boxer Freddie Mills. In fact, I even remember him making a cameo appearance in a Carry on film. I was even jealous of a cousin of mine who actually had a Freddie Mills Punch bag and Boxing gloves!
So I was going to post a piece here about good old Freddie and his early and mysterious demise, when I came across this piece. Dont know how many of you remember Freddie Mills or are familiar with the following story.
For 20 years Freddie Mills was one of the best-loved figures in British sport. Crowned light-heavyweight champion of the world in 1948, he was a colourful fighter who seemed impervious to pain. What Mills lacked in skill, he more than made up for with aggression and courage. Even after hanging up his gloves to become a club owner and promoter, he remained a darling of the media and a hero to millions.
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But, according to a new book to be published next year, Mills took terrible secrets to his grave. It claims he was a vicious serial killer, responsible for the brutal deaths of at least eight young women whose naked bodies were found in or around the River Thames between 1959 and 1965.
All of the victims were working as prostitutes and died when their killer, dubbed Jack the Stripper, strangled or choked them during sex. The killer has never been identified and the case remains unsolved.
In July 1965, a few months after the last body was discovered, Mills was found slumped in the back of his car in a Soho alleyway. He had been shot in the head and a small calibre rifle was resting between his knees. His family and many of his closest friends - who included numerous celebrities and major criminals, including the Kray twins - were convinced he had been murdered, but police ruled his death a suicide.
Dozens of theories sprang up to explain what had happened. One was that Mills, married with children, was secretly bisexual, had been arrested in a public lavatory frequented by homosexuals and was facing court on an indecency charge.
Another version claims that he had been unable to cope following the suicide of his close friend Michael Holliday, a popular cabaret singer. In this version of events Mills was rumoured to have had an affair with Holliday, who was also connected to Ronnie Kray. Yet another version has his suicide staged by Chinese gangsters who wanted to take over his Soho nightclub.
The Observer 2001
So I was going to post a piece here about good old Freddie and his early and mysterious demise, when I came across this piece. Dont know how many of you remember Freddie Mills or are familiar with the following story.
For 20 years Freddie Mills was one of the best-loved figures in British sport. Crowned light-heavyweight champion of the world in 1948, he was a colourful fighter who seemed impervious to pain. What Mills lacked in skill, he more than made up for with aggression and courage. Even after hanging up his gloves to become a club owner and promoter, he remained a darling of the media and a hero to millions.
________________________________________
But, according to a new book to be published next year, Mills took terrible secrets to his grave. It claims he was a vicious serial killer, responsible for the brutal deaths of at least eight young women whose naked bodies were found in or around the River Thames between 1959 and 1965.
All of the victims were working as prostitutes and died when their killer, dubbed Jack the Stripper, strangled or choked them during sex. The killer has never been identified and the case remains unsolved.
In July 1965, a few months after the last body was discovered, Mills was found slumped in the back of his car in a Soho alleyway. He had been shot in the head and a small calibre rifle was resting between his knees. His family and many of his closest friends - who included numerous celebrities and major criminals, including the Kray twins - were convinced he had been murdered, but police ruled his death a suicide.
Dozens of theories sprang up to explain what had happened. One was that Mills, married with children, was secretly bisexual, had been arrested in a public lavatory frequented by homosexuals and was facing court on an indecency charge.
Another version claims that he had been unable to cope following the suicide of his close friend Michael Holliday, a popular cabaret singer. In this version of events Mills was rumoured to have had an affair with Holliday, who was also connected to Ronnie Kray. Yet another version has his suicide staged by Chinese gangsters who wanted to take over his Soho nightclub.
The Observer 2001
