Red Wharf Bay Murder

The murder of Ivy Nettleton goes back to 1945 on the Isle of Anglesey.  She was found on the beach in the sand, with a pillowcase covering her head.  Underneath the pillowcase was a cotton wool pad, plus a stocking and tea-towel were tightly wound around her neck.  She lived nearby in a rented cottage overlooking Red Wharf Bay with her husband Arthur Albert Nettleton, a former Staff Sergeant in the Army.  The Police investigation commenced with the body being examined by Dr Walter Grace, the Home Office Pathologist for the north west of England.

   Arthur Nettleton denied knowing anything about the death of his wife, saying that she had run away to Manchester and was living in a safe house.  Police persisted in their questioning and finally Nettleton cracked and confessed to killing her.  At his trial at Beaumaris Assizes, the Jury was shown a piece of paper that had written on it seventeen commandments.  These were different declarations as to why Nettleton loved his wife so much, and that Nettleton himself had signed it.  The list was written out by Ivy Nettleton.  The court heard that his wife was borderline mentally unstable, psycho-neurotic & hysterical.

    The court also heard that she was obsessed with the time that her husband had spent in Italy, despite a war being on, and that he enjoyed ENSA concerts and dancing.  The Jury acquitted Nettleton of murder and found him guilty of manslaughter.  The Judge, Mr Justice Stable said that he agreed with the verdict of the Jury and sentenced Nettleton to five years prison.  He was released in October 1950.