United Kingdom

The Monster of Worcester: The Gruesome Murders of David McGreavy

Jonny

Apr 17, 2024 — 2 min read

Episode 518

Warning: I have been covering true crime stories for over 6 years and I can attest to the depravity of this one. So please be aware that this story is extremely graphic, especially if you are more sensitive to hearing about the brutality of children.

Elsie Ralph and her children. Daily Mirror.

On Friday the 13th of April 1973, an unspeakable horror unfolded on Gillam Street in Worcester, England. Clive and Elsie Ralph returned home from the pub where Elsie worked as a barmaid to find their house in utter chaos. Furniture was overturned, walls were dripping with blood, and their three young children — 4-year-old Paul, 2-year-old Dawn, and 9-month-old Samantha — were nowhere to be found. Neither was the family’s 21-year-old lodger and babysitter, David McGreavy.

A Horrific Discovery

Detective Chief Superintendent Bob Booth was called to the scene and described it as one of “indescribable horror.” An hour later, the grizzly fate of the Ralph children was revealed when a policeman’s lamp shone on the spiked railings of a neighbor’s garden fence. The mutilated bodies of the three children had been impaled there. The sight was so disturbing that one of the investigating officers became physically ill.

David McGreavy was found wandering the streets shortly after and initially denied any involvement. However, it soon came to light that he had been having an affair with Elsie Ralph for the past three months, unbeknownst to her husband.

The Confession

After a full day of questioning, McGreavy finally broke down and confessed to the killings. “It was all too bloody gruesome,” he told detectives. “It was me but it was not me. How could I do it?” In a drunken frenzy, McGreavy had strangled 9-month-old Samantha and used a razor blade on her. He then killed 2-year-old Dawn in a similar manner before using a thin metal curtain wire to strangle 4-year-old Paul. McGreavy admitted to mutilating the bodies with a pickaxe before impaling them on the garden railings.

A Troubled Past

Shockingly, David McGreavy had a reputation for loving children. His father Tom said, “Everyone who knew David knew that he loved children.” Elsie Ralph herself claimed, “He was like a father to my children–always... continue reading...

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