Blackout Ripper
| Gordon Frederick Cummins | |
|---|---|
| Born |
18 February 1914 York, England, United Kingdom |
| Died | 25 June 1942 (aged 28) London, England, United Kingdom |
| Other names | The Blackout Ripper The Blackout Killer |
| Occupation | Royal Air Force serviceman |
| Criminal charge | Murder |
| Criminal penalty | Death by hanging |
| Criminal status | Executed |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
|
| Conviction(s) | 27 April 1942 |
| Killings | |
| Victims | 4-6 |
|
Span of killings
|
9 Feb 1942–14 Feb 1942 |
Gordon Frederick Cummins (18 February 1914 – 25 June 1942) was a British spree killer, convicted for the murder of one woman in London and charged with the murder of three more. The murders took place over a six-day period in February 1942, during World War II. Cummins, a Royal Air Force serviceman during World War II, was known as the Blackout Killer or Blackout Ripper due to a comparison to Jack the Ripper, as both killers mutilated their victims.
Gordon Frederick Cummins was born in York, England, the son of John Cummins and his wife Amelia. He married a theatre producer's secretary in 1936, and was a Leading aircraftman in the Royal Air Force (RAF), where he was nicknamed The Count because of his claims to have noble heritage. Cummins had volunteered to retrain for aircrew duties and had been posted to the RAF ACRC (Aircrew Reception Centre) in Regents Park, London. There, serving members of the RAF and new recruits were assessed for training, and this intake ran from 2 to 25 February when trainees were posted to ITW (Initial Training Wing) at home for three months ground training before commencing flying training, or to Blackpool prior to going overseas for training. At the time of his arrest, Cummins had neither a previous criminal record nor a known history of violence.
While in London for the Royal Air Force training course, Cummins took advantage of the city's night-time blackout conditions to kill four women and attempt to murder two others over six days in February 1942.
When the attacker of Greta Hayward was scared off by the arrival of a delivery boy, he had left behind his RAF-issued gas mask case. The gas mask container had the service number 525987 on the side, identifying it as belonging to Cummins. He was arrested on 16 February, two days after the last attack, and when his quarters were searched various items belonging to his victims were found. His fingerprints were also found in two of the flats where the killings took place, and his fingerprints also matched those found on the can opener used to mutilate Evelyn Oatley.
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