Vere St. Leger Goold
Encyclopedia
Vere St. Leger Goold was an Irish tennis
player. He quickly faded from the game and ended his life in prison convicted of murder and premature death, by suicide.
In his early life he apparently had boxing skills as well as tennis skills. In 1879 he became the Irish tennis champion after drubbing his opponent, C.D. Barry, 8–6, 8–6 in the final. Vere then tried his luck at Wimbledon
and fell in the finals to Reverend John Hartley, 6–2, 6–4, 6–2. After an illness and two losses to the great William Renshaw
, his tennis career went downhill until he disappeared from the scene by 1883.
, the notorious prison in French Guiana, having survived imprisonment only one year.
This is one of those murders that are referred to but have been little studied. Vere Goold's life after 1883 was wasted on drink and drugs. One day he was asked by a relative to pay a bill at a dressmaker's shop in the Bayswater
section of London
that was owned by a Miss Marie Giraudin. This French lady (from most accounts) was not beautiful but could charm people when she wanted. It was not too difficult for her to charm Goold, who was from a prominent Irish social family and he eventually married her. The accounts of the case are not always in tandem, but she had been married before, and she was a woman of very expensive tastes. Apparently she did not care how she got the money to pay for them. Unfortunately Vere Goold was not from the wealthy portion of his family, and whatever prospects he had were long gone. The dressmaker's shop was not a real success, especially as Mrs. Goold apparently borrowed money from many of her customers.
In 1907 Mrs. Goold convinced Vere Goold to go to Monte Carlo to try their luck at the casino. She thought she had a winning method for the gambling tables. They took with them her niece, Isabelle Giraudin. They also used the titles of "Sir" Vere and "Lady" Goold, which they were entitled to use. According to Charles Kingston the system did not work, but Leonard Gribble's account suggests that it worked for at least a couple of days or a week. However, soon the Goolds were without funds. They met a wealthy Swedish woman, Emma Levin, at the Casino. The widow of a Stockholm broker, Mrs. Levin was one of those figures in murder cases that F. Tennyson Jesse
refers to as "murderees" (that is people who are too foolish for their own good and fall victim to murder plots). Mrs. Levin already had a parasitical "friend" named Madame Castellazi, but soon the widow had Mrs. Goold as well. The two "hangers-on" detested each other, and finally had a public dispute in the Casino. This got into the social columns at Monte Carlo, and Madame Levin decided she had to leave the city due to the publicity.
At this point the sources on the case are at variance again. Either Marie Goold or her husband Vere Goold borrowed 40 pounds from Madame Levin, and she wanted it repaid. Kingston makes it seem that when confronting Marie Goold the widow saw what a dangerous person the latter was. Gribble suggests that the demand to Vere Goold for repayment played into Marie Goold's scheme to murder the widow for the purposes of theft (of her cash and jewelry). On 4 August 1907 Madame Levin went to their hotel to collect the debt before she left Monte Carlo. She was not seen alive again. Madame Castellazi was waiting for her at Madame Levin's hotel, and when she did not come by midnight she went to the police. They went to the hotel of the Goolds. Vere and Marie Goold had left for Marseilles, but they left Isabelle behind (explaining that Mr. Goold had to see a doctor there). Blood stains were found in the suite, as well as some items like a saw and a hammer with blood on them. Also Madame Castellazi recognized Madame Levin's parasol.
The Goolds were in Marseilles in a hotel (they were going to head for London). They had left a large trunk at the railway station at Marseilles, and one of the clerks at the station named Pons noted it smelled due to blood that was leaking out of the bottom. The trunk was traced to the Goolds, and Pons confronted them. Again the details of the sources vary: Kingston says he wanted them to explain why it was leaking blood and come to the station to open the trunk up; Gribble says that Pons sought (and got) a small bribe to shut up about it. But either Pons told his superiors and the police of his suspicions (the Goolds said the trunk was full of freshly slaughtered poultry) or he talked too much and the story of the trunk got out. In any case, before the Goolds could leave Marseilles they had to face the French police. The trunk was opened and the remains of Madame Levin found.
Vere Goold apparently loved Marie Goold deeply--he confessed that he was the murderer. However, in the course of the trial, the relative strengths of character of the two came out. Marie Goold was sentenced to death, and Vere Goold was sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island. But Mrs. Goold's sentence was reduced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island too. It did not do either of them much good. Marie Goold died of typhoid fever within months of their arrival. Vere Goold committed suicide within a year.
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
player. He quickly faded from the game and ended his life in prison convicted of murder and premature death, by suicide.
In his early life he apparently had boxing skills as well as tennis skills. In 1879 he became the Irish tennis champion after drubbing his opponent, C.D. Barry, 8–6, 8–6 in the final. Vere then tried his luck at Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
and fell in the finals to Reverend John Hartley, 6–2, 6–4, 6–2. After an illness and two losses to the great William Renshaw
William Renshaw
William "Willie" Charles Renshaw is one of the greatest British male tennis players of all time, and a candidate for the greatest tennis player of all time...
, his tennis career went downhill until he disappeared from the scene by 1883.
Personal life and murder conviction
Wimbledon All Comers' Finalist of 1879, Vere (St. Leger) Goold was convicted (along with his French wife) of the murder of a wealthy Swedish woman, Emma Levin. He died in 1909 at the age of 55 on Devil's IslandDevil's Island
Devil's Island is the smallest and northernmost island of the three Îles du Salut located about 6 nautical miles off the coast of French Guiana . It has an area of 14 ha . It was a small part of the notorious French penal colony in French Guiana until 1952...
, the notorious prison in French Guiana, having survived imprisonment only one year.
This is one of those murders that are referred to but have been little studied. Vere Goold's life after 1883 was wasted on drink and drugs. One day he was asked by a relative to pay a bill at a dressmaker's shop in the Bayswater
Bayswater
Bayswater is an area of west London in the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to the west . It is a built-up district located 3 miles west-north-west of Charing Cross, bordering the north of Hyde Park over Kensington Gardens and having a population density of...
section of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
that was owned by a Miss Marie Giraudin. This French lady (from most accounts) was not beautiful but could charm people when she wanted. It was not too difficult for her to charm Goold, who was from a prominent Irish social family and he eventually married her. The accounts of the case are not always in tandem, but she had been married before, and she was a woman of very expensive tastes. Apparently she did not care how she got the money to pay for them. Unfortunately Vere Goold was not from the wealthy portion of his family, and whatever prospects he had were long gone. The dressmaker's shop was not a real success, especially as Mrs. Goold apparently borrowed money from many of her customers.
In 1907 Mrs. Goold convinced Vere Goold to go to Monte Carlo to try their luck at the casino. She thought she had a winning method for the gambling tables. They took with them her niece, Isabelle Giraudin. They also used the titles of "Sir" Vere and "Lady" Goold, which they were entitled to use. According to Charles Kingston the system did not work, but Leonard Gribble's account suggests that it worked for at least a couple of days or a week. However, soon the Goolds were without funds. They met a wealthy Swedish woman, Emma Levin, at the Casino. The widow of a Stockholm broker, Mrs. Levin was one of those figures in murder cases that F. Tennyson Jesse
refers to as "murderees" (that is people who are too foolish for their own good and fall victim to murder plots). Mrs. Levin already had a parasitical "friend" named Madame Castellazi, but soon the widow had Mrs. Goold as well. The two "hangers-on" detested each other, and finally had a public dispute in the Casino. This got into the social columns at Monte Carlo, and Madame Levin decided she had to leave the city due to the publicity.
At this point the sources on the case are at variance again. Either Marie Goold or her husband Vere Goold borrowed 40 pounds from Madame Levin, and she wanted it repaid. Kingston makes it seem that when confronting Marie Goold the widow saw what a dangerous person the latter was. Gribble suggests that the demand to Vere Goold for repayment played into Marie Goold's scheme to murder the widow for the purposes of theft (of her cash and jewelry). On 4 August 1907 Madame Levin went to their hotel to collect the debt before she left Monte Carlo. She was not seen alive again. Madame Castellazi was waiting for her at Madame Levin's hotel, and when she did not come by midnight she went to the police. They went to the hotel of the Goolds. Vere and Marie Goold had left for Marseilles, but they left Isabelle behind (explaining that Mr. Goold had to see a doctor there). Blood stains were found in the suite, as well as some items like a saw and a hammer with blood on them. Also Madame Castellazi recognized Madame Levin's parasol.
The Goolds were in Marseilles in a hotel (they were going to head for London). They had left a large trunk at the railway station at Marseilles, and one of the clerks at the station named Pons noted it smelled due to blood that was leaking out of the bottom. The trunk was traced to the Goolds, and Pons confronted them. Again the details of the sources vary: Kingston says he wanted them to explain why it was leaking blood and come to the station to open the trunk up; Gribble says that Pons sought (and got) a small bribe to shut up about it. But either Pons told his superiors and the police of his suspicions (the Goolds said the trunk was full of freshly slaughtered poultry) or he talked too much and the story of the trunk got out. In any case, before the Goolds could leave Marseilles they had to face the French police. The trunk was opened and the remains of Madame Levin found.
Vere Goold apparently loved Marie Goold deeply--he confessed that he was the murderer. However, in the course of the trial, the relative strengths of character of the two came out. Marie Goold was sentenced to death, and Vere Goold was sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island. But Mrs. Goold's sentence was reduced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island too. It did not do either of them much good. Marie Goold died of typhoid fever within months of their arrival. Vere Goold committed suicide within a year.