Unsolved 1961 Liverpool 'Tiki Cult' murder - General Tiki

I ikitnrev Tiki Socialite D.C. / Virginia Joined: Jul 27, 2002 Posts: 1325	I ikitnrev Posted posted on Sat, Mar 29, 2008 6:18 PM Yes, the following is a true story, and perhaps a sample of how truly exotic and frightening the tiki scene was to those who lived far from Southern California. In December 1961, a woman living in Liverpool, England, was murdered. Police investigators initially blamed the murders on a new tiki cult - people who worshipped wooden idols and made sacrifices during the Winter Solstice. I was able to find the following article on the website for a Wales/Lancaster newspaper. Either go to the following address and search for 'tiki' ..... http://icseftonandwestlancs.icnetwork.co.uk ....or just continue reading below. I've bolded the content that has specific mention of tiki. The 'full moon' slayings Local Mysteries with Tom Slemen, Maghull & Aintree Star ON THE morning of December 20, 1961, at 8am, 33-year-old Brian Dutton took a cup of tea upstairs to his wife, 27-year-old Maureen Ann Dutton, who was in bed, then left his semi-detached home at 14, Thingwall Lane, Knotty Ash. Brian embarked on a long and hazardous journey through thick fog to Widnes, where he worked as a research chemist for ICI. At home with his wife were his two sons, David, aged two, and a 22-day-old baby who had not yet been christened. At 11am, Maureen's mother-in-law called at the house, and left at noon, saying she'd be back in the afternoon to babysit, as Maureen wanted to show her two-year-old son the Christmas Crib at Childwall Parish Church. However, at 1.30pm, Maureen's mother-in-law phoned from Broad Green Road to say she wouldn't be able to babysit as it was too foggy to get to the house. At around 6pm, Brian Dutton returned home and found his wife dead in a chair. She had been stabbed 14 times in a frenzied attack. Nothing had been stolen and there were no signs of a forced entry. Maureen's two-year-old son had witnessed the brutal murder but was too incoherent to give police any clues, although he and his baby brother were unharmed. Chief Superintendent James Morris, head of Liverpool CID, led the investigation into the "Knotty Ash Murder" and Old Swan Police Station became the murder squad HQ. A gaggle of news reporters were allowed in the murder house days later to interview Deputy Chief Constable Bert Balmer. The senior policeman showed the pressmen a wooden figure of the Polynesian idol Tiki and stated that the murder of Maureen Ann Dutton had been a ritual sacrifice, carried out by Tiki worshippers, and that such sacrifices were carried out at the time of a full moon on the winter solstice. Balmer's bizarre theory was met with disbelief by junior members of the Lancashire police, but the Deputy Chief Constable began to visit Polynesian clubs and restaurants, and even listened to "Tiki music" on vinyl records. At that time in Liverpool, a number of Polynesian restaurants had opened, and "Tiki" food became a fad. Balmer somehow regarded the fad as a "cult" and actually believed Maureen Ann Dutton's murder was a sinister offering to the Polynesian Idol. Several residents on Thingwall Lane said they had seen a youth in a leather jacket, wearing a green jumper, on the afternoon of the murder, and Balmer sought the help of Interpol to find this character, without success. This man telephoned me 40 years later at Radio Merseyside. He had been working for a delivery firm when his van had broken down on Thingwall Lane. He walked to a phone to get help from a friend, but when he came back he found the engine had merely been affected by the freezing fog, and it started first time. When the man saw his photo fit in the newspapers, he got rid of his jacket. "Knowing the reputation of Balmer," he told me, "I thought I'd end up hanged. I was too scared to come forward, and I certainly wasn't some Tiki-worshipper." Just under a year later, a 12-year-old schoolgirl on Childwall Valley Road was brutally murdered, and Balmer believed Maureen Dutton's killer - inspired by the full moon - had struck again. On this occasion, many witnesses saw two men running from the scene of the crime towards Gateacre. Two murder weapons had been used to kill the girl; an ashtray stand and a knife, which suggesting two people were responsible. Balmer's squad ended up arresting a 15-year-old boy with mental problems. He was found guilty of manslaughter and detained for life. The boy had no connections with any Polynesian cult and had never heard of Tiki. The Knotty Ash Murder is still considered unsolved. I've also located the following website, which provides some more detail and bizarre twists on the case- the tiki cult members had small swastika tattoos on their upper arms! http://members.fortunecity.com/slemen/knotty.html Vern [ Edited by: ikitnrev 2008-03-29 18:18 ]

Yes, the following is a true story, and perhaps a sample of how truly exotic and frightening the tiki scene was to those who lived far from Southern California.

In December 1961, a woman living in Liverpool, England, was murdered. Police investigators initially blamed the murders on a new tiki cult - people who worshipped wooden idols and made sacrifices during the Winter Solstice.

I was able to find the following article on the website for a Wales/Lancaster newspaper. Either go to the following address and search for 'tiki' ..... http://icseftonandwestlancs.icnetwork.co.uk ....or just continue reading below.

I've bolded the content that has specific mention of tiki.

The 'full moon' slayings
Local Mysteries with Tom Slemen, Maghull & Aintree Star

ON THE morning of December 20, 1961, at 8am, 33-year-old Brian Dutton took a cup of tea upstairs to his wife, 27-year-old Maureen Ann Dutton, who was in bed, then left his semi-detached home at 14, Thingwall Lane, Knotty Ash. Brian embarked on a long and hazardous journey through thick fog to Widnes, where he worked as a research chemist for ICI.

At home with his wife were his two sons, David, aged two, and a 22-day-old baby who had not yet been christened. At 11am, Maureen's mother-in-law called at the house, and left at noon, saying she'd be back in the afternoon to babysit, as Maureen wanted to show her two-year-old son the Christmas Crib at Childwall Parish Church.
However, at 1.30pm, Maureen's mother-in-law phoned from Broad Green Road to say she wouldn't be able to babysit as it was too foggy to get to the house.

At around 6pm, Brian Dutton returned home and found his wife dead in a chair. She had been stabbed 14 times in a frenzied attack. Nothing had been stolen and there were no signs of a forced entry. Maureen's two-year-old son had witnessed the brutal murder but was too incoherent to give police any clues, although he and his baby brother were unharmed.

Chief Superintendent James Morris, head of Liverpool CID, led the investigation into the "Knotty Ash Murder" and Old Swan Police Station became the murder squad HQ. A gaggle of news reporters were allowed in the murder house days later to interview Deputy Chief Constable Bert Balmer.

**The senior policeman showed the pressmen a wooden figure of the Polynesian idol Tiki and stated that the murder of Maureen Ann Dutton had been a ritual sacrifice, carried out by Tiki worshippers, and that such sacrifices were carried out at the time of a full moon on the winter solstice.

Balmer's bizarre theory was met with disbelief by junior members of the Lancashire police, but the Deputy Chief Constable began to visit Polynesian clubs and restaurants, and even listened to "Tiki music" on vinyl records. At that time in Liverpool, a number of Polynesian restaurants had opened, and "Tiki" food became a fad. Balmer somehow regarded the fad as a "cult" and actually believed Maureen Ann Dutton's murder was a sinister offering to the Polynesian Idol. **

Several residents on Thingwall Lane said they had seen a youth in a leather jacket, wearing a green jumper, on the afternoon of the murder, and Balmer sought the help of Interpol to find this character, without success.

This man telephoned me 40 years later at Radio Merseyside. He had been working for a delivery firm when his van had broken down on Thingwall Lane. He walked to a phone to get help from a friend, but when he came back he found the engine had merely been affected by the freezing fog, and it started first time.

When the man saw his photo fit in the newspapers, he got rid of his jacket. "Knowing the reputation of Balmer," he told me, "I thought I'd end up hanged. I was too scared to come forward, and I certainly wasn't some Tiki-worshipper."

Just under a year later, a 12-year-old schoolgirl on Childwall Valley Road was brutally murdered, and Balmer believed Maureen Dutton's killer - inspired by the full moon - had struck again. On this occasion, many witnesses saw two men running from the scene of the crime towards Gateacre. Two murder weapons had been used to kill the girl; an ashtray stand and a knife, which suggesting two people were responsible.

Balmer's squad ended up arresting a 15-year-old boy with mental problems. He was found guilty of manslaughter and detained for life. The boy had no connections with any Polynesian cult and had never heard of Tiki.

The Knotty Ash Murder is still considered unsolved.

I've also located the following website, which provides some more detail and bizarre twists on the case- the tiki cult members had small swastika tattoos on their upper arms!

http://members.fortunecity.com/slemen/knotty.html

Vern

[ Edited by: ikitnrev 2008-03-29 18:18 ]

Post #370131 by ikitnrev on Sat, Mar 29, 2008 6:18 PM

The Knotty Ash Murder is still considered unsolved.