The Guardsman - The Railway Murders 5/6 - True Crime

Jimmy Alcott was a troubled young man. He had joined the army after leaving school, but his time in Germany ended in disgrace when he was court-martialled for the violent murder of a civilian. Spared execution by the mercy of the King, he returned to England and built a new life for himself. He had not left his violent ways behind however. In 1952, he travelled from his home in London to the village of Ash Vale in Surrey. There he staked out the railway station and plotted a theft that would end in murder. But would Alcott escape the noose a second time?

[@daishi4531]

Excellent production values & top-notch criminal analyst interviews make this all very enjoyable. All your hard work is greatly appreciated!👍

[@sallyconklin950]

I love this channel! Vintage crime fascinates me and I am grateful for all of your videos. Thank you!

[@DaniBauerTHEGoddess]

Same!!

[@sadaf6998]

Yes, me too! TH-cam is all I watch now.

[@creolelady182]

Once criminality has been established at a very young age-I can assure you it will get much worst

[@voraciousreader3341]

Criminality may be suspected for the future, but what crimes will be committed cannot be predicted.

[@AidaShawJ.D.]

This opinion is based on education in the field and substantial professional experience, I’m certain! Yes?

[@tinjavier4876]

I got teary eyed in this episode. Rest in Peace G. Dean. I love this series. Please make more

[@AidaShawJ.D.]

They just got find more murders…😮

[@dejablue5746]

I do wonder what his IQ was. It seems like he was of diminished capacity.

[@voraciousreader3341]

Where do you see the demonstration of diminished responsibility? That he didn’t run away? He didn’t, but he knew enough to clean up afterward to avoid detection, he got rid of his bloody pants, and he hid the knife in his room. And he also cased the depot for a few days to observe the clerk’s routine, made sure he kept the safe open, and established himself as an employee to gain trust. He also bought the knife to use, so diminished responsibility doesn’t at all explain the planning he did beforehand, and his behavior immediately afterward. Also, just bc he reported having blackouts doesn’t mean he had a medical condition….again, there was a whole lot of evidence showing premeditation. The premeditation and demonstration of guilt definitively cancels out diminished responsibility. As for his IQ, ome kind of evaluation would certainly have been undertaken when he reported for national service, because no branch of the armed services would have wanted a man demonstrating very low intellectual ability. They weren’t doing full blown IQ tests at that time, but some kind of evaluation would have taken place. I very much doubt testing would have been done to see if he demonstrated understanding of cause-effect relationships; besides, as a psychologist, I can safely say that people can put them together in rote verbal Q&A fashion, but not be able to demonstrate understanding in specific role play situations….they’re different skills. It’s strange that he never tried to hide his identity or to escape, but without more facts there’s no way to establish why he behaved that way.

[@sihammer7942]

The guy was a 'wrongen', that much seems fairly apparent + I think it safe to say he was a f thicko, too!!!!

[@voraciousreader3341]

The fact that James Alcott brutally murdered two men demonstrates that he had some kind of psychological pathology, and that he was intelligent enough to carefully plan his second murder. He demonstrated consciousness of guilt by secretly washing the blood off of his hands, buying new pants and ditching his old ones, and hiding his knife in his room at the bed and breakfast. So, does it really matter that he didn’t try to get away? Maybe his conscience kicked in after the fact, but he didn’t demonstrate diminished responsibility in any way, and any blackouts he may have experienced doesn’t adequately explain his careful premeditation of the murder, nor his actions showing consciousness of guilt. It’s just one of those weird cases of extreme antisocial behavior.

[@dylanthepickle6428]

Yes!

[@kellybohart7169]

🖤🖤🖤

[@heliotrope6217]

Thanks, I lived in that area for over 40years and never knew this. Ash Vale is an eerie station at best.