John Thomas Straffen (27 February 1930 – 19 November 2007) was a British serial killer who committed the murder of three prepubescent girls between the ages of five and nine in the counties of Somerset and Berkshire, England, between 1951 and 1952.

Tried before Mr. Justice Oliver at Taunton Assizes in October 1951, Straffen was found unfit to plead on the grounds of diminished responsibility and committed to indefinite detention within Broadmoor Hospital.

He briefly escaped from this facility in April 1952 and murdered a third child in the village of Farley Hill, Berkshire, in the four hours he remained at liberty prior to his recapture.

His mother would later recollect her son displayed no signs of mental limitation or behavioural problems until after he was stricken with encephalitis at age six during his father's tour of military duty in British India.

The same year, an examination by the Medical Officer of Health concluded that although potentially capable of basic manual labour, he still warranted certification under the Mental Deficiency Act.

[15] On 27 July 1947, a 13-year-old girl reported to police that a blond-haired teenager named John had sexually assaulted her after putting his hand over her mouth and saying: "What would you do if I killed you?

He was remanded in custody and, on 10 October, was committed to HM Prison Horfield in Bristol under the Mental Deficiency Act 1913, with his committal paperwork stating Straffen was "not of violent or dangerous propensities.

[22] In early 1951, Straffen was examined at a Bristol hospital, where an electroencephalograph reading revealed he had suffered "wide and severe damage to the cerebral cortex"—possibly originating from his being stricken with encephalitis at the age of six.

[30][n 3] Although the child was not allowed to venture out of her garden when playing while unsupervised, on this day, she evidently crossed the road to a meadow close to her home to gather buttercups and daisies.

Almost immediately thereafter, Straffen manually strangled the child although as he was both confused and frustrated that Brenda did not attempt to scream prior to lapsing into unconsciousness, he then repeatedly struck her head against a large stone.

[48] He offered the child a sweet and the two engaged in conversation, with Cicely informing Straffen her mother had allowed her to travel to the cinema alone as it was "children's day"—although she was unsure of the exact meaning of this term.

[36][49] Upon the film's conclusion, Straffen offered to accompany Cicely to another local cinema to watch the Western She Wore a Yellow Ribbon with the added promise of paying her admission fee.

[61] Straffen readily admitted to investigators he had been in Cicely's company on the afternoon of her murder; however, he initially denied any culpability in her death—insisting the child had been asleep in The Tumps when he last saw her.

"[63] When questioned as to why he had killed the children, Straffen stated he had committed both murders to give the police "something to really do" as opposed to continually pursuing him for relatively trivial offences.

[67][68] On 31 August, after a two-day hearing at Bath Magistrates' Court, a formal date was set for Straffen to stand trial for the murder of Cicely Batstone.

[83] Upon escaping from Broadmoor,[84] Straffen is known to have discarded his work uniform before travelling approximately 7 miles (11 km) over the course of two hours on foot before arriving in the village of Farley Hill where, according to eyewitnesses, he began loitering without apparent purpose.

[46] At approximately 5:30 p.m., a resident glanced from a cottage window to observe Straffen sitting on a bench watching five-year-old Linda Bowyer randomly riding her new bicycle around the village.

"[87] He then alighted the vehicle and walked briskly in the direction of a nearby pub as the motorist spoke to the men, whom she learned were Broadmoor staff members and policemen.

Straffen was observed talking to several young children in a lane some 150 yards behind the pub minutes later; he was arrested in a field at 6:40 p.m. following a brief chase and struggle.

[88][89] Linda's mother first noticed her daughter's disappearance at 7:30 p.m. when the child failed to return home or respond to her subsequent calling her name aloud from her garden gate.

[86] With the assistance of soldiers stationed at Arborfield military camp, police immediately implemented a manhunt to locate the child, and Linda's fully clothed, strangled body was found beneath an oak tree within a bluebell copse by Sergeant Percy Axford at 5:25 the following morning.

When awoken and politely asked by Chief Inspector Frederick Francis whether he had committed "any mischief" the previous day,[86] Straffen simply replied, "I did not kill her"[93] before elaborating: "I know you coppers!

"[94][n 7] News of Straffen's escape and the fact he had committed a third child murder prior to his recapture sparked intense public outrage,[96] with security within the facility subject to particular scrutiny.

Manningham-Buller further informed the jury a reconstruction of the movements from where Straffen had been observed sitting and watching Linda ride her bicycle to the copse where her body was discovered revealed the route would have taken him approximately six minutes and thirty seconds to walk.

[112] In rebuttal to the defence's arguments regarding Straffen's limited intellect and inability to differentiate right from wrong, Manningham-Buller called several Broadmoor prison medical officers and psychiatrists to testify as to their treatment methods prior to Straffen's escape from the facility improving his knowledge and IQ to the extent he knew the difference between right and wrong, and was able to understand the basic principles pertaining to the consequential legal process as a result of his actions.

Upon completion of both counsels' closing arguments, Mr. Justice Cassels delivered his final instructions to the jury, in which he emphasised: "If you are satisfied that the prisoner killed Linda Bowyer, then the [insanity] issue raised by the defence calls for your consideration.

[120] His execution date was fixed for 4 September;[121] however, this sentence was commuted to one of life imprisonment by Home Secretary David Maxwell Fyfe on 29 August, following his personal recommendation to the Queen that Straffen be reprieved.

[125] Following the completion of the construction of a 28-cell high-security wing at HM Prison Parkhurst on the Isle of Wight in early 1966, Straffen was secretly transferred to this facility on 31 January of that year.

[136] In May 2002, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) began ruling upon decisions made in cases brought by prisoners serving a term of life imprisonment who challenged the authority of the Home Secretary to refuse to release them after the parole board had recommended they be freed.

[138] John Straffen died of natural causes within the health care centre of HM Prison Frankland following a brief illness on the morning of 19 November 2007.