Imagine this – it’s a typical evening, and you’re at work. Your children are home, in the care of a man who has taken care of them numerous times. He loves the children, and has always been a reliable sitter. Your husband picks you up from work, and when you get home, your house is surrounded by police. You’re not allowed to see what’s going on, instead you’re stopped and told that there’s been a murder. You go to the police station, where you learn that it was your children that had been murdered; that the man who was left to care for them killed them in such a brutal manner that you would never be allowed to even see their bodies. This happened in 1973 when Elsie and Clive Ralph left David McGreavy to care for their three young children.
David McGreavy had an unremarkable childhood. He was born in 1951 in Southport,Lancashire, England, the second of six children. His father was a sergeant in the British Army, and as it is with most military families, they moved a lot from one post to another. In 1967, at the age of 15, David left school to join the Royal Navy, something he was really excited about. “It was always McGreavy’s lifelong ambition…his father doubted his dedication. But McGreavy was absolutely determined” – Dr. Elizabeth Yardley, Criminologist.
By the late 60’s David was stationed at Portsmouth Naval base in Portsmouth England, where he joined his first ship, HMS Eagle. Colleagues described him as arrogant or cocky. As many of the men did at that age, he would drink, and drink a lot. That in mind, he was subject to several disciplinary procedures, the final of which happened at RNAS Brawdy, a Royal Air Force station inSouth West Wales.
At the age of 19, David was working as a steward in the mess hall. As had become commonplace, he was drunk. While on watch duty he, for some reason, decided to break into an officer’s wardroom – a mess cabin or compartment for commissioned naval officers above the rank of midshipman. In this room, he came across a Chief Petty Officer’s Book – where he saw his name written down. He was sure this meant a change of job was coming for him.
He got the wild idea that if the book were destroyed, he would be left alone in his current position. David put the book in a bin full of papers and set fire to it. Once the fire grew up and out of control, and he was certain the book had been destroyed, he went and alerted people.
Initially, he claimed that while on watch he saw the fire burning and went for help. When the fire was extinguished, it was evident that the door had been broken open, and the fire was no accident. When confronted with this information, David’s story changed. This time he claimed that he had, in fact, broken into the room. He said he was just walking around, looking at stuff, and dropped his cigarette into the bin, which ultimately started the fire.
David was court-martialed, not for arson, but for negligence, and was sentenced to 90 days detention. He had to undergo psychiatric testing, the results of which have still not been released to the public, or even his own family.
In January 1971, one of David’s shipmates suggested he write a letter to his (the shipmates) sister, Mary. He did, and soon they were exchanging lengthy, intense letters, twice a week. In April, the two finally met in person, and the following weekend, David asked her to marry him. Much to his delight, she accepted.
David’s parents were opposed to the engagement from the start. For one, the couple hardly knew each other. Then there was Mary’s medical issues. She had problems with her spine that caused her great pain. Her condition, if not properly treated, could lead to her being paralyzed. David’s mother didn’t believe it though, she was convinced Mary was a hypochondriac, and exaggerating her illness. Regardless, the engagement was still on.
But things were not looking up for David. In August he was discharged from the navy. Defeated, he moved back in with his parents. He bounced from job to job, working as a chef and as a laborer. Each time, he was fired, thanks to his arrogance and high consumption of alcohol. With nothing else going right in his life, he turned his attention to his fiancée, Mary.
David wanted a big, lavish, traditional wedding, and set December, specifically Christmastime, 1971 as his goal. Mary, on the other hand, wanted simple. She didn’t need the extravagance of a big church wedding. The wedding didn’t happen as David wanted, and on New Years Eve, 1971, Mary broke it off. The disapproval of his parents combined with his hyperfocus on the wedding and not her, made her realize that they didn’t really know one another, and she had made a mistake in accepting the proposal in the first place.
David had nothing left. No job, no fiancée, no friends. Then, tired of supporting a lazy son, a boy who doesn’t work, and doesn’t help around the house, his parents kicked him out.
With no place else to go, David looks up an old friend from school. Clive Ralph lived in the area with his pregnant wife, Elsie, and their two children; 3-year-old Paul and 20-month-old Dawn.
“We lived in a cul-de-sac, there was about ten houses in this cul-de-sac and there was children in every houses and it was one of those places where everybody left their door open for anybody to come in and out. And everybody looked after everybody.” – Elsie.
The house was small, having only 2 bedrooms. Elsie and Clive shared a room with Dawn, and in September 1972, added baby Samantha. David shared a room with their son Paul.
Clive worked long hours as a truck driver, so in addition to paying £6.00 a week, David became an extra set of hands around the house. He often helped care for the children and even cooked meals for the family. Neighbors became well acquainted with him, and despite his drinking problem (there were two occasions where David was arrested for his drunken behavior), said he was almost like a second father to the children.
David was so good with the children, even his parents noticed, “Everyone who knew David knew that he loved children.
Elsie said he was always doing things for the children, and on one occasion, admonished her for how strict she could be with them.He made sure they were well taken care of, even made sure Samanta always got her bottle. David genuinely enjoyed spending time with them, talking to them, tucking them into bed. When Elsie took a job as a barmaid at the Punch Bowl Tavern, he became their full-time babysitter.
Friday, April 13th,1973, David went to Vauxhall pub where he drank several pints of beer. He got into an altercation with a friend, after he put his cigarette in his beer.
Elsie had to work that night, so David went home where he would take care of the children. As he did often, Clive went to the Punch Bowl Tavern to help Elsie close up. Before they left, the couple had a drink, and left for home just before midnight.
When they neared their home, they were surprised to see police surrounding the area.Going to their door, they were greeted by police who informed them that there had been a murder. Immediately Elsie started to panic, hyperventilating, and a medic on scene gave her an injection to calm her down.
Clive and Elsie were taken to the police station where they were informed that all three of their children had been murdered.
Please note: The following contains details regarding the murder of three small children. Discretion advised.
While the exact details of what happened that evening may never be known, this is what is commonly believed to have taken place.
After his quarrel at the pub, David was still agitated. At some point between 10:15pm and 11:15pm he lost his temper. It all began when 7-month-old Samantha started crying for her bottle of milk. David wanted her to shut up. He shouted at her, but instead of giving her her bottle, he put his hand over her mouth and smothered her until she died from suffocation.
But that wasn’t enough. David was still infuriated, and began to beat her. He picked her up and swung her body against the wall numerous times and with such force that he shattered her skull. Then he went to the bathroom where he found a razor which he used to mutilate her body.
Upstairs, the other two children were asleep.
He went first to 2-year-old Dawn, where he used the razor from the bathroom to slit her throat. Next, he moved on to 4-year-old Paul, whom he strangled with a curtain wire.
Again, killing the children wasn’t enough, and he continued to attack. David made his way down to the basement where he found a pickaxe. Using the pickaxe, he proceeded to mutilate each of their bodies. Then it was time for him to display his handiwork.
David took each of the children outside where the neighbors had a garden fence with iron pointed spikes. He impaled each one, Samanta, Dawn, and Paul, leaving their lifeless bodies on the fence for all to see.
The neighbors heard the yelling, screaming, crying, and loud banging sounds coming from the Ralph home and called police. By the time police arrived, it was too late, and there was no way they could have anticipated the scene they were presented with. Several officers on the scene were left shaken, and at least one had to step away, vomiting.
Immediately, police suspected the parents, and broke into the home. The house was empty. When Clive and Elsie arrived home, they were calmly speaking to one another, and didn’t look like they had just murdered their children. They opted to not give them details, and just inform the parents that there had been a murder.
Clive and Elsie were quickly eliminated as suspects, and that’s when police learned that the only other person with access would have been David McGreavy.
After several hours of searching, David was found around 4am, near the Ralph home. He denied everything, acting completely clueless, but the police didn’t believe him. He was taken into custody and questioned for hours.
He continuously denied, denied, denied, until eventually he broke. “It was me, but it wasn’t me.” he said.
David never gave the police a motive for his actions, only said that it was Samtha’s crying that set him off.
On June 28, 1973, David McGreavy pleaded guilty to all three murders. He still did not give a motive, and didn’t even claim diminished responsibility. His trial lasted a total of 8 minutes.
David McGreavy was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 20 years.
Prison is not a safe place for those who hurt children, and this was no exception. David fell victim to numerous attacks, after which he was ultimately removed from the general population and given a private identity.
He appealed for parole in 2008, and was denied, and when prisoners learned who he was, his bed was urinated on, and excrement was smeared on his cell walls. This led him to be transferred to HMP Warren Hill inSuffolk where he served the remainder of his sentence.
You might think that he “served the remainder of his sentence” meant that he died in prison. Unfortunately, that is not the case. David McGreavy was released from prison, on parole, in December 2018.
As for Clive and Elsie Ralph, the horrors of that night forever damaged their relationship, and they divorced not long after the deaths of their children. Clive has more or less disappeared, not speaking out about the murders, choosing instead to live a private life.
Elsie has been interviewed, and you can find it in the Monster of Worcester documentary.
Crimes against children are the worst. Just like the story of 2 year old James Bulger.
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