Daniel Raven
| AKA | |
| DOB | 1926 |
| Occupation | |
| Kill Total | 2 |
| Kill Place | North London |
| Kill Date | Oct 1949 |
| M.O. | Beating |
| Victim | Leopold Goodman -49 Esther-47 |
| Court | The old Bailey |
| Judge | Mr. Justice Cassells |
| Prosceution | |
| Defence | |
| Case No: |
Daniel Raven was a 23-year-old Jewish advertising agent with a reputation for always being immaculately turned out.
Monday 10th October 1949, Raven along with his in-laws went to visit his wife, and 4 day old son, in a maternity home in Muswell Hill, North London.
After the visit Raven gave his father-in-law and mother-in-law a lift home. Once there he beat them to death with the base of a TV stand.
Leopold Goodman aged-49, and his wife Esther, aged-47, were successful and respected Russian Jews, running several businesses in Edgeware North London.
At about 9:55pm that evening Leopold's business partner Frederick Freeman and his wife visited the house in Ashcombe Gardens, Edgeware, to hear news about the new grandson, getting no response Fred saw an open window and on climbing through found the two mutilated bodies.
The police telephoned Raven and asked him to come to the house, he quickly changed out of his bloodstained clothes, put on a clean suit and headed to the house.
Police were curious that despite the late hour Raven was wearing a crisp clean shirt, they made enquiries and discovered that these were not the same clothes he had been wearing earlier in the evening. They searched his home in Edgewarebury Lane, north London, and found a bloodstained blue suit. they also found recently cleaned shoes with traces of blood hidden in the garage, and his car also had traces of blood that he had tried to clean away.
Tuesday 22nd November 1949, Raven stood trial for double murder at the Old Bailey in London. His defence was that he had called at the house and got no reply and like Fred Freeman had climbed in the window. He knelt to see if they were dead, and then ran away in fright.
He appealed his conviction, he was said to have been discharged from the RAF because of severe anxiety & neurosis following an aeroplane crash in which he was the only survivor.
After the visit Raven gave his father-in-law and mother-in-law a lift home. Once there he beat them to death with the base of a TV stand.
Leopold Goodman aged-49, and his wife Esther, aged-47, were successful and respected Russian Jews, running several businesses in Edgeware North London.
At about 9:55pm that evening Leopold's business partner Frederick Freeman and his wife visited the house in Ashcombe Gardens, Edgeware, to hear news about the new grandson, getting no response Fred saw an open window and on climbing through found the two mutilated bodies.
The police telephoned Raven and asked him to come to the house, he quickly changed out of his bloodstained clothes, put on a clean suit and headed to the house.
Police were curious that despite the late hour Raven was wearing a crisp clean shirt, they made enquiries and discovered that these were not the same clothes he had been wearing earlier in the evening. They searched his home in Edgewarebury Lane, north London, and found a bloodstained blue suit. they also found recently cleaned shoes with traces of blood hidden in the garage, and his car also had traces of blood that he had tried to clean away.
Tuesday 22nd November 1949, Raven stood trial for double murder at the Old Bailey in London. His defence was that he had called at the house and got no reply and like Fred Freeman had climbed in the window. He knelt to see if they were dead, and then ran away in fright.
He appealed his conviction, he was said to have been discharged from the RAF because of severe anxiety & neurosis following an aeroplane crash in which he was the only survivor.
A doctor who treated him told the court that Raven had previously suffered blackouts and brainstorms, and another psychiatrist said he thought Raven was suffering from idiopathic epilepsy, the appeal was rejected.
Friday 6th January 1950, Raven was hanged at Pentonville Prison by Albert Pierrepoint, assisted by Harry Kirk.
His motive for the murders remains a mystery.