Warning: This episode of A Crime Story contains stories about sexual violence, assault and rape on women and children. Discretion is advised.
This case that I am covering today has always interested me, and I often show people the picture of the preparator at parties (I know its not the most appropriate subject matter) because it is so frightening. As always lets start this episode discussing the legal landscape of Jersey. Jersey belongs the United Kingdom however its legal system is not run by the laws of the Queen but is home to a mixed law system or pluralistic law system. That means that civil law and common law are both present in Jersey which is influenced by French and English law. Jersey is completely it’s own jurisdiction. Jersey is self-governing and autonomous and has it own financial and legal systems and its own courts of law. The States Assembly is made up of 49 elected members. Jersey is a British Crown Dependency and is defended and internationally represented by the UK government.
The island of Jersey, officially called the Bailiwick of Jersey, is located right off of, 14 miles to be exact, the coast of Normandy in France. The official language of Jersey is English, but there is a local language called Jèrriais which a dialect of Norman-French, and French is still used in the courts of law in Jersey. In 2011, the population of Jersey was just under 100,000 and is only 45.5 square miles. St. Helier is the capital of Jersey, and Jersey runs on the UK Pound Sterling. Henry Cavill, the Man of Steel is from Jersey and Victor Hugo the French author of Les Misérables was in exile in Jersey for 3 years. In WWII the Island of Jersey was occupied by German Nazis, the only place in the UK to be. The island is known for Wool trade, the largest tidal ranges in the world and their Jersey Cows. Which by the way if you had not had Jersey cheese you are really missing out. Jersey culture is now known for being “Englishfied” but there is a movement to bring back they Jersey language and traditional culture.
Our crime story takes place on the Island of Jersey between the years 1957-1970. In November 1957, a 29-year-old nurse was waiting for the bus after a long shift at the hospital in the Monte a L’abbe area. There was also a man at the bus stop dressed in a long coat with a dark cap covering his face. The man dragged her into a field and sexually assaulted her. She was so badly assaulted she required stiches as well as other treatments. All that she could say of her attacker “He had an Irish accent”. In March 1958, 20-year-old women walking home from the bus in the Parish of Trinity was dragged into a field and raped. This time, the attacker and a new M.O. he had put a noose around her neck. This again happened in July of that year to 31-year-old women. We are starting to see a pattern in these attacks, young women, near a bus stop, dragged to field, and the noose. This predator is a sadistic, awful human being. His fourth attack was a bit different though, in August 1959 a 15 year old girl walking home in the parish of Grouville was attacked. In October 1959, a 28 year old women in St. Martin’s parish was attacked and assaulted but managed to escape.
After five attacks, this is when the police started to notice huh, I think we may have a problem here. Detectives noticed similar M.O’s and themes between the 5 attacks, and believed it was the same preparator. Every victim stated that the man was aged in his early to mid 40’s, about 5’6 in height, tall and had an Irish accent. Some victims described the attacker was wearing a rope around his waist that he would use in the attacks to bind the victim’s hands together. Then the oddest detail, all 5 victims described the attackers as having a “musty” smell to him. This is when the police named the serial rapist as the “Beast of Jersey.”
According to some reports in the year 1959, or in other reports the year 1960 this is when the Beast of Jersey started to operate differently when he started breaking into victims homes and his victims become younger, and he also started attacking both sexes. On Valentine’s Day in 1960, in the region on Grands Vaux, the Beast of Jersey snuck into a room via the window of a 12 year old boy who was asleep. A rope was placed around the boy’s neck he was drug out into a nearby field and sodomized.
The next month a 25 year old women walking home from the bus stop in St Brelade accepted a lift in a Rover car by a man claiming to be a doctor who was on his way “to pick up his wife”, the man was wearing a cap, a duffle coat and gloves but the women could not make out his facial feature due to the darkness. The man drove the car into a field and punched the women, threatened to kill her, then he tied her hands behind her head. After he dragged out of the car into the field and raped her, then dragged her back into the car. She jumped out of the car and managed to get help for her injuries.
The same month, the beast is getting more comfortable with his crimes, he stroke again in what I think is his most ambitious attack. In an isolated cottage in the parish of St. Martian a mother was awoken by the telephone ringing at 12:30am, she went downstairs to answer it but it was only a dial tone. An hour later there was again a sound downstairs and she awoke again going downstairs, turning on the house lights. But as she reached the bottom of the stairs the lights flickered, she heard someone in the living room. Somehow this woman made it to the telephone to call the police but then a man reached out and grabbed her. The man asked for money, tied up her hands and threatened to kill her. That’s when the 14 year old daughter awoke then came downstairs to see what was going on. The Beast of Jersey turned his attention to the 14 year old. The mother was then able to escape and get help a near by farm house, but remember this is described as an isolated farm house. Her neighbors were not a hop and skip away. When the mother returned back to the house she found her daughter who was alive but barley. She was horrifically raped. The daughter did eventually recover.
In April in 1960, remember he has attacked 3 times in the past two months, a 14 year old girl in La Roque is awoke to find a man in her bedroom wearing a terrifying mask. He took the mask off then she screamed. I couldn’t find more info about his attack but I like to think the man left after she screamed. In July, 1960, a 8 year old boy was abducted from his home with a man wearing a raincoat who took him to a field and assaulted him. The boy was then left back on the doorstep of his home. Thankfully there were no more attacks in 1960 but in 1961 there was attack on a 12 year old boy, an 11 year old boy and 11 year old girl.
This is when the police really started to kick their investigation into high gear. They asked all men on the island to give fingerprints, all but 13 did. A press release was issued about the beast which read…
“The Beast” always struck at night, and up to that point had only struck on moonlit week-ends between the hours of 10pm to 3am. He appeared to have an intimate knowledge of the Island, particularly the eastern areas. He was described as being about 40 to 45 years old, about 5″6 tall, with a moustache and of medium build. He was usually described as wearing a low, thigh length jacket or raincoat which gave off a distinct “musty” smell, a peaked cap and gloves. His face was always covered, either with a facemask or a scarf covering the lower part of it. He carried a torch with him during the attacks, and his methods followed a distinct pattern: his victims were selected carefully, and the usual method of entry was a bedroom window. Once inside, the man was fast and silent, and usually blindfolded and tied up the victim’s hands. In each case a rope was placed around the victims necks, and they were then taken to a nearby field and suffered a sexual assault, then returned home. The assailant spoke lots during the attacks, with a voice that was described as “soft”, in an “Irish” accent. He had mentioned at various times a wife, a dead mother who had died of drink, that he had killed before, and often made a point of saying that he had dropped either his cigarettes or his lighter. Jersey is not a large island, indeed is only less than 46 square miles in total, and it stands to reason that someone would have known or at least suspected someone who matched at least part this description. Every possible man was looked at, all men with a criminal record were questioned and interviewed. But “The Beast” was still not found.”
The Scotland Yard was also brought in to help investigate and this turned out to be effective because there were no more attacks for years. Jersians were terrified and were suspecting their neighbors. One name kept popping up a fisherman Alphonse de Gastelois. Alphonse was known to live a quiet life in Jersey, he was eccentric and a free spirit. In 1961, Alphonse was arrested and questioned but then released after his interrogation. When Alphonse returned home his windows were broken. His name had been released to the public and they had their pitch forks out, they burned down his cottage and his life was threatened. In May 1961, Alphonse left Jersey on his boat for a reef between Jersey and France. He described his life on the reef as “paradise compared to what I've been through” Alphonse lived in exile on the reef for the next 14 years even after the attacks continued post his departure.
In 1966, the police received a letter allegedly from the Beast himself. Stating “My Dear Sir, I think that it is just the time to tell you that you are just wasting your time, as every time I have done wat I always intended to do and remember it will not stop at this, but I will be fair to you and give you a chance. I have never had much out of this life but I intend to get everything I can now…..I have always wanted to do the perfect crime. I have done this, but this time let the moon shine very britte in September because this time it must be perfect, not one but two. I am not a maniac by a long shot but I like to play with you people. You will hear from me before September and I will give you all the clues. Just to see if you can catch me. Yours very sincerely, Wait and See” That same year in August, the Beast started committing these heinous acts again by attacking at 14-year-old girl in Trinity Parish. This time the Beast left long scratches on the girl’ torso that were perfectly spaced and parallel. Thankfully, there were no more attacks for the rest of the decade, nearly four years. In 1970 the Beast struck again this time on a 13-year-old boy who was awoken in his house to a torch shining on his face. The Beast with a mask on with black spiky hair then took him to a field and you can guess what happened. The Beast threated to harm his family if told anyone but it was apparent something had happened to the boy because he had scratches all over him and on his torso like the pervious attack.
The police had gotten away with what I would consider one of the worst types of crimes for 13 years, on a small island, with not a lot of people. It was frustrating to police and citizens alike. The Beast was most likely someone who they knew, worked with, ran into on a daily basis and yet this man was able to stay hidden in plain sight for the past 13 years. But then on July 10th or 17th, 1971 at 11:45pm two police officers were on patrol in the St. Helier area when they pulled up to a red traffic light. Then a small car drove past them and the red light at a fast speed. The officer pursued the car at high speeds, the car went down footpaths and sideswiped other cars, drove on the wrong side of the road (breaking all kids of laws) before the small car crashed into a hedge in a tomato field. They arrested 46-year-old Edward John Louis Paisnel.
When they returned to the police station, they noticed that Edward was wearing long trench coat, he had 1-inch nails coming out of the shoulders of the coat and were also around his wrists. He had on old pants tucked into his socks and gloves on. When the pockets of the coat were emptied, there was a torch, a sash cord, a wool cap, empty cigarette packs, tape, a wig and a horrific face mask. Also, Edward smelled “musty”.
Edward Paisnel was 46 years old in 1971. The only crime he had ever committed was stealing food during WWII when the Nazi’s had control of the island of Jersey and he gave the food to starving people. He was born in 1925 to an affluent family on Jersey, and was known to be a good guy, kind and considerate, good with kids and liked to roam the island night often going on a midnight fish. In 1959, after the first attacks of the Beast of Jersey Edward married a lady named Joan who ran a foster home. Joan and Edward met after Edward did repairs on Joan’s foster home. The children at the home referred to him as Uncle Ted, he dressed up a Santa for them, gave them gifts and was overly sweet and kind to the foster children. But, Joan and Edward did not have a conventional marriage by any means, though they did have a daughter and Edward helped raise Joan’s two daughters from a previous relationship. Edward built himself an annex to live in at the back of the house, with an office, living room and bedroom. Joan and Edward were keeping up appearances but they were essentially separated and his wife considered him to have a low sex drive. Edward also had a mistress named speculated to be a nurse named Florence. According to a report Edward very intense almost to a point of OCD about his personal hygiene, taking many showers and using special soaps. Edward even once mentioned that if the Beast of Jersey was ever caught that he would castrate him.
When the police question Edward they asked about his choice in clothing, he said he was on his way to attend an orgy and his outfit was going to protect him along with his martial art skills. He also said that the car was borrowed so that no one would recognize him. But he didn’t say anything about the mask and wig, the police noticed that the tap marks on his face matched the ones in the mask, obviously this was his mask and he was wearing it at some point in the night. The police locked him up and knew that they had caught the Beast of Jersey. They proceeded to search Edwards house and found a secret room that smelled (you guessed it) musty. In the room there was clothing including a tracksuit, a raincoat, wigs, hats and even false eyebrows. There was also a camera that had photos on different houses on the film. BUT THEN, they noticed an alter, with black magic rituals, a wooden sword. Straight up Satanic. Edward admitted a to being fascinated by the dark arts and that Gilles de Rais was his ancestor and he wanted to be like him. Gilles de Rais is a French soldier who kidnapped and tortured 200 children in the 15th century.
Edward Paisnel was charged on 13 counts the charges included rape, indecent assault and sodomy against 6 victims. His trail began in November 1971 (quite fast), Edward never explained what made him do what he did. He was questioned in courts and his answers were “evasive, babbling and talked out curses, covens and black magic” he also kept saying to the police and prosecutors “prove it”. Edward’s defense was pleading insanity, which I don’t see of another defense they could have used, there was so much evidence stacked against him. The trail revealed how cunning and pre-planned the attacks were. He scouted out the homes and took photos of them and he knew exactly how to go into the houses undetected. He would fake and Irish accent while committing the attacks to mislead the victims and left cigarettes at scenes, he was a nonsmoker. He was proud of his crimes, remember that letter written to police? The mask was made to terrify his victims. And Edward was one of the 13 men to not give his fingerprints to police.
In just 38 minutes on November 29th, 1971 a guilty verdict was reached and Edward John Louis Paisnel was found guilty of all the charges. His sentence was 30 years which he served in Winchester prison in England. In 1972 he tried to appeal his conviction but thankfully it was unsuccessful. In prison he married his alleged mistress the nurse Florence in 1989. In 1991, JUST 20 YEARS OF PRISION, he was released to Jersey where the citizens made life difficult for him. He moved to the Isle of Wight and died in 1994 of a heart attack. There have also been more allegations of more attacks that Edward may of committed especially in his wife’s foster home that he may have sexually assaulted some of the children in the foster home and would also crawl into the children’s beds at night in a mask and watch them sleep. His wife Joan in 1972 released a book titled “The Beast of Jersey” there was also another book written about him after his trail titled “The Beauty & the Beast”. Edward left a tainted history on the once sleepy, safe island of Jersey.
That completes the 7th episode of A Crime Story Podcast, I know this was a heavy one and if your yourself are experiencing sexual violence you can go to victimconnect.org to find resources. I would love to hear your thoughts on this case, why do you the Edward was able to go undetected for 13 years? How do you feel about the falsely accused fisherman? Do you think the island of Jersey was forever changed?
A Crime Story is hosted and written by me, Kailin Lois. Sources for today’s episode can be found in the show’s notes. Additional voices in this episode are brought to you by Francois. Theme Music is by Ross Bugden. Additional story editing is brought to you by my father, Mike. Thank you for listening to A Crime Story! Stay safe and be kind.
Sources: gov.je , jersey.com, thetruecrimeenthusiast.co.uk, Mrs. True Crime, historydaily.org, jerseyeveningpost.com, the13thfloor.tv, mirror.co.uk
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