John Straffen

longest-serving prisoner in British legal history

  Active for 2 years
(1951-1952) in United Kingdom

3

CONFIRMED
VICTIMS

3

POSSIBLE
VICTIMS
Jump to:
  1. Summary
  2. Serial Killer Profile
  3. Serial Killer Type
  4. General Information
  5. Characteristics
  6. Childhood
  7. Cognitive Ability
  8. Incarceration
  9. Death
  10. 12 Timeline Events
  11. Serial Killers Active During Spree
  12. Boolean Statistical Questions
  13. 7 Books About John Straffen
  14. 5 External References
  15. Internal References

John Straffen (John Thomas Straffen) an English serial killer who killed two young girls in the summer of 1951. Straffen killed his third victim after escaping from the mental hospital where he was being held for the first two murders. Straffen's sentence was commuted to life imprisonment at Frankland Prison in County Durham, England. John Straffen died at Frankland Prison in 2007 at the age of seventy-seven. He had been in prison for a British record of fifty-five years and is currently the longest-serving prisoner in British legal history. Straffen taking the record from fellow serial killer Ian Brady.

John Straffen Serial Killer Profile

Serial Killer John Straffen (aka) longest-serving prisoner in British legal history, was active for 2 years between 1951-1952, known to have ( 3 confirmed / 3 possible ) victims. This Serial Killer was active in the following countries: United Kingdom

John Straffen was born on February 27th 1930 in Bordon Camp, Hampshire, England. He was born 3rd of 3 children and raised by both parents. He was raised as a youngest child and had two older brothers or sisters. His father, John Straffen Sr, a soldier in the British Army. His mother, unnamed, homemaker. He had a head injury as well as a physically defect. During his education he had academic, social or discipline problems.

John Straffen a heterosexual male citizen of the United Kingdom. He took an intelligence quotient test before or after his crimes, John Straffen had an IQ of 64. He completed 9 years of school, no degree received. He never married. He had no children.

Prior to his spree he had commited crimes, served time in jail, and served time in prison. He saw a psychologist and spent time in a Forensic Hospital.

In 1951 (Age 20/21) John Straffen started his killing spree, during his crimes as a serial killer he was known to strangle, and murder his victims. He was known to kill at the home of the victim. At the time of his crimes he was living with his parents until (Age 10), residential school until (Age 16), alone until (Age 17) in custody until adulthood.

He was arrested on August 9th 1951 (Age 21), convicted on October 17th 1951 (Age 21), sentenced to death, commuted to life imprisonment at Frankland Prison in County Durham, England. He was convicted on charges of murder and other possible charges during his lifetime.

John Straffen died on November 19th 2007 (Age 77), cause of death: natural causes at Frankland Prison in County Durham, England.

Profile Completeness: 99%
serial killers by profile completeness

John Straffen has been listed on Killer.Cloud since November of 2016 and was last updated 4 years ago.

John Straffen a known:

John Straffen
Serial Killer Profile:

Updated: 2019-06-22 Collected by Killer.Cloud
General Information
Name: John Straffen
Nickname: longest-serving prisoner in British legal history
Victims: 3 - 3
Years Active: 1951 - 1952
Ages Active: 20/21 - 21/22
Active Countries: United Kingdom
Convicted Of: murder
Life Span: 1930 - 2007
Characteristics
Gender: Male
Citizenship: United Kingdom
Sexual Preference: heterosexual
Astrological Sign: Pisces
Feb 18 - Mar 20
Birth Month: February
Marital Status: never married
Children: no children
Living With: his parents until (Age 10), residential school until (Age 16), alone until (Age 17) in custody until adulthood
Childhood Information
D.O.B.: Feb 27, 1930
Given Name: John
Birth Location: Bordon Camp, Hampshire, England
Birth Order: 3rd of 3
Siblings: two older brothers or sisters
Raised By: both parents
Birth Category: youngest child
Mother: unnamed, homemaker
Father: John Straffen Sr, a soldier in the British Army

Cognitive Ability
IQ: 64
Highest School: 9 years of school
Highest Degree: no degree received

Incarceration
Arrested: Aug 9, 1951 (Age 21)
Convicted: Oct 17, 1951 (Age 21)
Sentence: death, commuted to life imprisonment
Prison Location: Frankland Prison in County Durham, England
Executed: N/A
Previous Crimes: TRUE
Previous Jail: TRUE
Previous Prison: TRUE

Death Information
Death Date: Nov 19, 2007 (Age 77)
Cause of Death: natural causes
Death Location: Frankland Prison in County Durham, England
Killed In Prison: FALSE
Suicide: FALSE
12 Timeline Events of Serial Killer
John Straffen

The 12 dates listed below represent a timeline of the life and crimes of serial killer John Straffen. A complete collection of serial killer events can be found on our Serial Killer Timeline.

Date Event Description
Feb 27 1930John Straffen was born in Bordon Camp, Hampshire, England.  #19300227
Feb 27 1950
(Age 20)
20th Birthday
1951
(Age 20/21)
John Straffen started his serial killing spree. #1951
Aug 09 1951
(Age 21)
John Straffen arrested. #19510809
Oct 17 1951
(Age 21)
John Straffen was convictedand sentenced to death, commuted to life imprisonment at Frankland Prison in County Durham, England.  #19511017
1952
(Age 21/22)
John Straffen ended his serial killing spree. #1952
Feb 27 1960
(Age 30)
30th Birthday
Feb 27 1970
(Age 40)
40th Birthday
Feb 27 1980
(Age 50)
50th Birthday
Feb 27 1990
(Age 60)
60th Birthday
Feb 27 2000
(Age 70)
70th Birthday
Nov 19 2007
(Age 77)
John Straffendied.cause of death:natural causesat Frankland Prison in County Durham, England. #20071119
Back to top Serial Killers Active During

The following serial killers were active during the same time span as John Straffen (1951-1952).

Serial Killers By Active Year


40 / 40
ANSWERED
Serial Killer
Boolean Questions:
Killer
Question
Killer
Answer
Total
Answered
problems in school TRUE 221
physically defect TRUE 300
head injury TRUE 299
psychologist TRUE 258
forensic hospital TRUE 257
previous crimes TRUE 367
previous jail TRUE 352
previous prision TRUE 336
kill at victims home TRUE 323
strangle TRUE 443
living with children FALSE 268
suicide FALSE 225
killed in prison FALSE 218
father drug abuse FALSE 192
mother drug abuse FALSE 195
xyy FALSE 81
teased in school FALSE 218
speach defect FALSE 300
physically abused FALSE 231
psychologically abused FALSE 224
sexually abused FALSE 226
drug abuse FALSE 226
alcohol abuse FALSE 226
previous killed FALSE 208
kill at killers home FALSE 320
used weapon FALSE 453
used gun FALSE 451
rape FALSE 453
torture FALSE 426
stalk FALSE 418
blindfold FALSE 363
bound FALSE 406
sex with body FALSE 430
mutilated FALSE 447
ate part of body FALSE 451
drank blood FALSE 442
posed body FALSE 365
totem body part FALSE 365
totem personal item FALSE 354
robbed FALSE 418


Books that Mention John Straffen

Book: Serial Killer Stranglers (mentions serial killer John Straffen)
Kevin Smith
Serial Killer Stranglers
Book: Serial Killers Encyclopedia (mentions serial killer John Straffen)
RJ Parker
Serial Killers Encyclopedia
Book: Somerset Murders (mentions serial killer John Straffen)
John Van der Kiste
Somerset Murders
Book: Escape from Broadmoor (mentions serial killer John Straffen)
Gordon Lowe
Escape from Broadmoor
Book: Killers (mentions serial killer John Straffen)
Kate Kray
Killers
Book: Mediating Madness (mentions serial killer John Straffen)
S. Cross
Mediating Madness
Book: British Serial Killers (mentions serial killer John Straffen)
Nigel Wier
British Serial Killers

7 Books that mention Serial Killer
John Straffen

ISBN10 Book Title Killers
1733630600 Serial Killer Stranglers 164
1494772167 Serial Killers Encycloped... 34
0752484311 Somerset Murders 1
0752492926 Escape from Broadmoor 1
1784185264 Killers 1
0230276075 Mediating Madness 1
1467881406 British Serial Killers 8

John Thomas Straffen (27 February 1930 – 19 November 2007) was an English serial killer who was the longest-serving prisoner in British legal history. Straffen killed two young girls in the summer of 1951. He was found to be unfit to plead and committed to Broadmoor Hospital; during a brief escape in 1952, he killed again.

Wikipedia
External References
  1. John Straffen on en.wikipedia.org, Retrieved on Sep 14, 2018.
  2. Juan Ignacio Blanco, John Thomas STRAFFEN on murderpedia.org, Retrieved on Sep 14, 2018.
  3. Eric Morgner, John Straffen on maamodt.asp.radford.edu, Retrieved on Sep 14, 2018.
  4. Q4357603 on www.wikidata.org, Retrieved on Oct 11, 2018.
  5. Bob Woffinden, Obituary: John Straffen on www.theguardian.com, Retrieved on Jan 21, 2019.
Internal References

John Straffen is included in the following pages on Killer.Cloud the Serial Killer Database

  1. #6 of 651[ Page 1 ] of serial killers sorted by Profile Completeness
  2. #34 of 38[ Page 3 ] of Serial Killers with birthdays in February
  3. #37 of 40[ Page 3 ] of Pisces Serial Killers sorted by Confirmed Victims
  4. #46 of 62[ Page 4 ] of Serial Killers active in the United Kingdom
  5. #72 of 72[ Page 5 ] of serial killers sorted by IQ Level
  6. #209 of 250[ Page 14 ] of Serial Killer Stranglers sorted by Confirmed Victims
  7. #437 of 651[ Page 30 ] of serial killers sorted by Years Active
  8. #540 of 651[ Page 36 ] of serial killers sorted by Confirmed Victims
  9. #569 of 651[ Page 38 ] of the A-Z List of Serial Killers
Statistics:
Serial Killers Statistics, charts John Straffen is included in: Active Serial Killers by Country, Serial Killers By Gender, Age of Serial Killer by Date, Killers By Astrological Sign, Killers By Birth Month, Serial Killers IQ Level, Years of School Completed, Highest Degree Achieved, Sexual Preference, Birth Category, Active Serial Killers by Year and Statistical Boolean Questions.
Years Active: