George Green (murderer)

George Green (1900 - 17/4/1939), was convicted of a double murder in Glenroy, Australia. He was convicted of murdering two women before being executed at Pentridge Prison, Victoria in 1939. Green was the fifth of eleven people to be hanged at Pentridge Prison after the closure of Melbourne Gaol in 1929.

For other people with the same name, see George Green (disambiguation).
George Green
Born1900
Australia
Died17 April 1939(1939-04-17) (aged 38)
HM Prison Pentridge, Coburg, Australia
Cause of deathExecution by hanging
OccupationChimney sweep
Criminal statusExecuted
Conviction(s)Murder
Criminal penaltyDeath

Green was found guilty of the murder of Miss Annie Wiseman, 63, and her niece Phyllis Vivienne Wiseman, 17, in their home at Glenroy on November 12, 1938.[1]

The murders

On the 12 November 1938 an intruder broke into the Glenroy home of Annie Wiseman and strangled both her and her young niece Phyllis. It appeared that the women disturbed the intruder and the intruder attacked and killed them. The women's bodies were found in their respective bedrooms the following morning by a relative. There was evidence that the killer had arrived and departed on bicycle.[2]

Amongst the evidence found was part of a note that was found under Annie Wiseman's body. The note also had traces of chimney dust.

Police went to the address on the docket which was in Coburg and the homeowner told detectives she'd written on the ticket the name and address of another woman who needed the services of a chimneysweep. She told police she'd given the docket to George Green. Police immediately tracked down Green, who denied any knowledge of the murders.

Green's alibi was that he had spent the night drinking in a hotel in Heidelberg and then sleeping rough on a vacant block nearby. He claimed to have given the docket to two other sweeps even though he was low on funds himself.

Trial and sentencing

The trial was held in the Melbourne Supreme Court. The jury took less than six hours to deliver a guilty verdict. The judge sentenced him to death for the murders.[3]

Execution

George Green was hanged and buried at Pentridge Prison, Coburg, on 17 April 1939. Green maintained his innocence until the end.[4]

References
  1. Green found Guilty The Argus February 25, 1939
  2. How a forensics breakthrough nailed George Green, the chimney sweep killer
  3. Green found Guilty The Argus February 25, 1939
  4. How a forensics breakthrough nailed George Green, the chimney sweep killer
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