Oswald Augustus Grey

Oswald Augustus Grey murdered Thomas Arthur Bates during a robbery at his newsagents shop. Grey made his getaway on a number 8 bus.

Grey was picked up 4 days later in relation to the theft of some guns and was put in an identity parade where Cecilia Gibbs identified him as the man she saw at the shop. Four other women testified that  he was not the man seen at the shop.

He had also apparently made a confession although he later said that it was cohersed.

Grey stated that he had given the gun he stole to a man called Mover (Harris Karnfi) who had returned it at 10pm on the 2nd June, after the murder. However Mover denied this and had two witnesses that said they were with him from 10am to 10pm, Dolores Kennedy and his sister Barbara.

Grey had said he was with his father and a woman called Phyllis Shields at the time of the murder on Church Street however they could not be certain of the times. Also, the owners of the cafe where Grey said he handed over the gun to Mover said they had not seen him in their cafe anytime that day.

He was convicted of murder and hung on 20 November 1962.