DOWN MEMORY LANE Shocking murder committed by pillar of the community

IN THE early 1950s, Chichester was rocked by a shocking murder, committed by a man who had been highly regarded as a pillar of the community.

By The Newsroom

Published 13th Oct 2011, 14:38 GMT

Updated 7th Jun 2018, 19:25 GMT

The villain of the piece was Walter Ansell, the eminently respectable Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages for West Sussex.

But there was a dark side to Ansell, revealed when his tangled love life eventually caught up with him and leading to tragedy when he murdered his mistress, a young woman from Selsey.

The intriguing tale of Chichester’s Murderous Romeo appears in this month’s issue of True Detective magazine, which publishes true crime stories.

The September issue is on sale from some newsagents or you can send a cheque/postal order for £2.80 made out to Forum Press, PO Box 735, London SE26 5NQ and it will be sent post free. You can also order by credit/debit card on 020 8778 0514 or online at www.truecrimelibrary.com