CHAPTER 16

Sacrifice Olton Goring and Eileen Goring 1971

The neighbours had had enough. For the best part of a week now, there had been chanting and shouting from the house at 19 Waylen Street, Reading and this had culminated on the night of Tuesday 19 January 1971 with stamping, the sound of girls screaming and wailing, and still more chanting. It was time to call in the police.

The police did indeed attend, but they failed to quieten the racket coming from the house. They had determined that the occupants of the house, Olton Goring, his wife Eileen and their children, were all members of a fundamentalist sect, but even when officers called in a pastor from the church, the noise still continued. The neighbours were spoken to and they reported that in addition to the noise, there had also been a naked woman hanging out of an upstairs window and spitting into the street below.

It seemed that the only way out might be some sort of civil action in the courts.

The noise, already intolerable, increased even further over the night of 25 January and it soon became clear that something more than a religious chanting was going on at number 19. So awful did things become that on Wednesday 27 January, neighbours broke into the house and tried to quieten things down for themselves. What they found caused the police to be called for again. This time, officers could take direct action for, on the landing, they found the body of sixteen-year-old Keith Anderson Goring, one of the sons of Olton and Eileen.

Taken into custody, Olton and Eileen made various appearances before the magistrates where Mr Rodney Higgins, for the prosecution, opposed bail for both of the accused. They were, consequently, remanded in custody having been advised to seek legal aid.

The inquest on the dead boy was opened on Tuesday 2 February before the Deputy Coroner of Reading, Mr Arthur Sheppard. Evidence of identity was given by Brenda Rowen Goring, the dead boy’s sister, who said that Keith had been born on 21 March 1952, in Barbados. He was a labourer who had wanted to join the army when he was old enough.

Medical evidence was given by Dr Arthur Keith Mant, a pathologist from Harley Street, who told the court that he had first seen the body at 2.00am on 27 January. At a subsequent post-mortem, Dr Mant had determined that Keith Goring had died from asphyxia as a result of compression to his neck. There were signs of manual compression and there was no possibility of it being self-inflicted. The inquest was then adjourned so that the police might make further inquiries.

The final appearance before the magistrates took place on 3 March when both defendants were committed for trial at the next Oxford Assizes. When that trial finally took place, before Mr Justice Milmo, Mr O B Popplewell and Mr JP Smith appeared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. Mr John Marchie appeared for Olton Goring whilst Mr Nicholas Freeman appeared for Eileen. She pleaded not guilty to murder whilst her husband pleaded guilty but with diminished responsibility.

There could be little doubt that Olton and Eileen were responsible for the death of their son. In addition to their own statements to the police, there had also been statements from some of the Goring’s other children and these allowed the authorities to build up a picture of what had taken place inside 19 Waylen Street.

Apparently, the entire family had engaged in a week of fasting and chanting in the belief that this would render them into a state of religious meditation. During the state of trance thus induced, it was believed that members of the sect would be possessed by the Holy Spirit, and be able to talk in tongues.

On Saturday 23 January, Keith had been seen hanging out of the window, waving his arms about and coughing violently. This was not, however, some attempt at seeking help or assistance for there was also the incident of the naked woman spitting into the street and the fact that one of Keith’s sisters had been made to cough repeatedly for a long period of time. This, it transpired, was a way to get rid of demons.

In due course, some of the children were sent to stay with friends in Reading. Soon after this, Olton Goring told the remainder of his family that one of them would soon be killed by a destroying angel.

At around midnight on the night he died, Keith, along with the other remaining members of his family, went into his mother’s room. They found Eileen Goring in a frenzied state and Olton then announced that Keith would have to be sacrificed in order to save his mother’s life.

The other sons of the family were then ordered to sit on Keith whilst Eileen and Olton beat him. Once this was done, Olton then held Keith down whilst Eileen walked up and down his body. Finally, Olton strangled his son whilst his wife looked on. When the police finally arrived at the premises soon afterwards, Olton had shouted to them: ‘Glory, glory. Give me strength.’

With so much evidence against them, the defence teams did not dispute the basic facts but sought to show that both defendants had been suffering from some mental instability at the time they killed their son.

Doctor Paul Doran was the medical officer at Holloway prison where Eileen Goring had been held. He had interviewed Eileen, who told him that she had been deeply concerned about her son’s attitude to their religion since the beginning of the year. She went on to say that the family were members of the Pentecostal Church and had participated in the chanting, fasting and dancing as part of their religious faith.

On 19 January, Eileen had seen her family doctor, complaining of feeling physically unwell and rather depressed. Since her admission to prison, this had not really improved and she seemed to be exhausted. In Dr Doran’s opinion, Eileen was suffering from a severe mental illness at the time she had taken part in the attack upon her son.

This testimony was confirmed by that of Dr David Duncan, who had also examined Eileen and testified that at the time of the murder she would not have known the nature and quality of her actions.

After listening to all the medical evidence, the trial judge directed the jury to find Eileen Goring guilty by reason of insanity. Olton, of course, had already entered a plea of guilty with diminished responsibility and it remained only to sentence them both.

Orton Goring was sentenced to be confined in Broadmoor, for an unlimited period. His wife, Eileen, was ordered to undergo a regime of treatment in hospital. No other prosecutions followed from the tragic death of Keith Goring.