We are in 1947
British actress Gay Gibson, 21, crossed the Atlantic Ocean from Cape Town to the United Kingdom. Gay Gibson, traveling first class, was assigned room number 126. However, on October 18, 1947, a housekeeper who came to clean noticed that he was not in his room. There were stains on the sheet in his room and his belongings were also nowhere to be found. Looking around, it was found that the porthole (ship window) of his room was open. A search was conducted throughout the ship for Gay Gibson, but she was missing.
The night before, she was seen dancing and having fun with her fellow travelers. Late that night he had called the captain for help, but after that no one saw him. The search was never completed, but he was declared dead by the ship’s captain. Neither his body was ever found, nor the mystery of his death solved.
Under English law, this is the first case in the world in which the murderer has been sentenced to death without his body being found. But the murderer’s luck was such that even before he was hanged, the death sentence was changed. The case was so controversial that even the British Prime Minister at the time expressed regret at not having hanged Gay Gibson’s murderer. This murder is famous around the world as the Porthole Murder.
Today, in 3 chapters by Ansuni Dastan, read the story of the murder of Jaipur-born British actress Gay Gibson, which remains unsolved even after 77 years.
I took a boat trip for the show
Gay Gibson was born on June 16, 1926 in the city of Jaipur, British India. It was the time of slave India, when many English people came to settle in India. Gay Gibson’s real name was Eileen Isabel Ronnie Gibson, which was changed after her appearance in films.
Photograph of Gay Gibson’s play Golden Boy, staged in South Africa, in which she was seen with actor Eric Boone.
In October 1947, 21-year-old Gay Gibson left London for South Africa with popular actress Doreen Mantel for a theater tour. His next stage show was to take place at London’s West End theatre. After the success of the show in South Africa, she left for London aboard the Union Castle Line ship MV Durban Castle. The ship, which began its journey on October 10, was scheduled to reach the United Kingdom via Cape Town, South Africa, and Southampton, England.
The ship MV Durban Castle began the voyage on October 10, 1947.
Gay Gibson was a first class passenger on the ship, assigned cabin number 126 on Deck B. The very beautiful Gay Gibson spent most of her time on the ship with the first class passengers. Spending about a week on the ship, Gay Gibson got to know everyone. On the night of October 17, he had dinner with all the passengers and everyone enjoyed dancing. Around 11:30 p.m., some of his friends dropped him off at cabin 126.
A cleaning worker gave information about his disappearance
The next morning, October 18, housekeeper Eileen Fields had reached cabin number 126 to clean. The door was open, so she entered the cabin. He noticed that there was no furniture in the room and that the bed was stained. The porthole (window) of the ship was also open. When the situation seemed suspicious, Eileen immediately contacted the duty officer Commander Patte and informed him. The ship was searched for Gay Gibson, but when no information was found about him, Officer Patte began an investigation to find Gay Gibson.
The investigation into the matter began with the ship’s steward, James Camb. In fact, during the trip, James continually grew closer to Gay Gibson. The ship’s staff were not allowed to interact much with the passengers, which is why James had to be reprimanded by his superiors. However, despite this, he was often seen with Gay Gibson.
James Camb was a steward of the ship Darban Castle, aged 30 in 1947.
When James was questioned about Gay Gibson’s disappearance, he categorically denied any involvement in the incident. However, James came under suspicion due to the statement of watchman Frederick Steer, who was standing guard on the same ship that night.
At 3 a.m., emergency services were called to Gay Gibson’s cottage.
Guard Frederick Steer told police he was on duty the intervening night of October 17-18. It was around 3 p.m. when he noticed two lights (red and green) were on outside Gay Gibson’s cabin number 126. These lights were installed for the comfort of first class passengers. If a passenger pressed the red light button, the steward on duty would come to their aid, while the second green light meant that the steward on duty had also been called.
That night, both lights in Gay Gibson’s room were on, which was quite strange. Usually only one passenger light was on. Frederick, who was on duty, arrived to help Gay Gibson after finding the affair strange. When they knocked, James opened the door. He only opened the door halfway and said everything was fine.
Guard Frederick thought James was on duty and had come to tend to the passenger. After being consoled, Frederick left and the next morning, Gay Gibson disappeared.
James was told that he had last been seen with Gay Gibson, which was confirmed by Warden Frederick’s statement. Hearing this, he narrated a story of electronic crime to Iqbal, which neither the officers nor the doctors believed.
Ship’s Crew Confesses, Claims Gay Gibson Died During Sex
James Camb told police the two men developed a close friendship. That night, they both had consensual sex, but during that sex, Gay Gibson died suddenly. He felt no one would believe him, so to avoid punishment and fear of losing his job, he threw Gibson’s body out the porthole (window).
It was difficult to believe James’ statement, because there was no mention of such an illness anywhere. At that time, the ship was 140 kilometers from Durban Castle, off the west coast of Africa (Guinea Bissau). Officer Patte immediately gave the order to turn the ship around and search for Gay Gibson’s body. He reported the incident to the London Union Castle Line and requested that police officers be sent to Southampton.
Gay Gibson’s room was sealed. As soon as they reached the coast, Southampton Police and British Police began investigating the matter. They arrested James Cabe and began a forensic examination of Gay Gibson’s room.
Replica of cabin number 126 and porthole by Gay Gibson.
During the investigation, traces of urine were found on the sheet.
In the forensic report, pathologist Dennis Hockling revealed that the sheets in cabin number 126 were stained with urine. The investigation revealed that urination at the time of death is only possible in cases of strangulation. However, Dennis, who wrote the report, said that in some cases it could also happen for natural reasons.
During the hearing, James Camb confessed to the murder, but despite four changes of statement, he remained adamant that Gay Gibson had died before being thrown from the ship. Finally, on March 22, 1948, James Camb was sentenced to death for the murder of Gay Gibson.
Durban Castle ship plan.
This is a rare case of its kind, in which a person has been convicted without a body being found. Some historians say it was the first such case in English law.
Despite his conviction, the death penalty was not imposed.
It would not be wrong to call it James Camb’s luck: at the time he was sentenced to death, the death penalty was under consideration in the British Parliament and the Home Secretary had granted amnesty to all death penalty cases pending at the time of the case. was discussed. It was decided to give.
The British Prime Minister at the time declared: “Justice has not been done”
After the death sentence imposed on James Camb was suspended, Winston Churchill, then British Prime Minister, declared in one of his speeches that the House of Commons had, by its votes, saved the life of a cruel murderer and sensualist who had killed a poor girl on one of the ships. Thrown from the porthole (window) to the shark, which she raped.
Gay Gibson was only 21 years old at the time of his death.
James Camb was released in this case in 1959. However, despite this, some young girls filed charges against him for indecent assault. In this case, James was imprisoned again. Also in this case he was released in 1978. James Camb died of a heart attack in July 1979, just a year after his release.
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