Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, runs the old adage. And a man too, from all accounts.
Richard Latham, 34, a labourer, of Silsden in Yorkshire, was furious when his mistress, Doreen Wass, also 34, jilted him, even though she was a married woman.The fancy-free Mrs.Wass dumped Latham for another man, and it wasnt Mr.Wass.
Latham looked up Mr. Wass and told him how unfaithful his wife was. But when Mr. Wass wouldnt tell the enraged lover where his wife was living now, Latham assaulted him.
Latham wouldnt give up. In January, 1964, he decided to kill his former mistress. In May he bought a revolver. In November he finally tracked her down to her new home in Leeds, but as she was pregnant he gallantly decided to wait until she had given birth before shooting her.
On JANUARY 20th, 1965, he went to the house again and shot her three times in the living-room. He was arrested within hours, and told police: I did think I might get away with it at first, but when it came to it I wasnt bothered.
He was sentenced to hang but was reprieved in accordance with the new 1965 policy on capital murders. He served 14 years of his life sentence.