Man breaks into crime museum and accidentally poses for his own mugshot
A real criminal case has been opened at the True Crime Museum in Hastings, East Sussex, after an intruder broke in and went on a three-hour rampage, attacking cardboard cutouts of the Kray twins and accidentally posing for his own mugshot.
In the break-in, which began at around 1am on April 9, the man was seen climbing over locked doors and entering the building, where he caused “significant damage”, before being filmed standing in front of the museum’s height chart exhibition while CCTV cameras recorded the scene.
“He was in the building for about three hours,” said Laura Green, the museum’s assistant curator. Independent. “We don’t really know what he was doing. He was away from the cameras most of the time but we caught him on CCTV.
“He completely trashed our front signs. He was taking our A boards and throwing them over the gate onto the road. They were all smashed and beyond repair.
“We have cutouts of the Krays and he was punching and kicking them. He obviously didn’t like the Krays very much.”
He added: “He was trying to get in by kicking down our office door. Thank goodness he didn’t manage to do that.
“We think he tried his luck to steal something, but he couldn’t do it because we had very tight security measures. Then he got angry and started causing havoc.”
“Nothing was stolen, nor did it enter the main museum behind the steel doors.”
Describing the photos of the man standing in front of the height chart, she said: “He’s literally standing right in front of our opportunity to take a police mug shot. It’s designed for people to stop and write their name and crime and stand in front of it. It’s extremely ironic that he’s right in front of it. And we’re hoping he’ll be standing in front of a real photo very soon.”
He added: “It’s quite possible we could make an exhibition out of this. We already have a small exhibition here that describes a hiatus since we first opened. Maybe this needs to be a revamp.”
In a call for information about the suspect, the museum posted CCTV footage on Facebook and said there had been a wave of thefts recently.
“We know we are not alone; many local businesses have experienced break-ins and thefts in recent weeks. If you have any information or your business has been affected, please get in touch,” they said.
Ms Green added: “This seems to be happening all over Hastings at the moment. “It’s the same situation for many local businesses.
“We have an open case with the police and they are working on it.”
One Hastings resident said: Independent: “If I were him, I’d give up on myself to fix the fact that I’m not 1.2 meters tall.”
Located on the seafront in Hastings, the True Crime Museum contains a treasure trove of gruesome and darkly intriguing artefacts relating to some of the UK’s worst crimes.
These include the bathroom used by East London hitman John Childs to dismember his victims, nooses used to hang murderers, a “real lethal injection death bed”, a range of grips used by prisoners and weapons used in various crimes.
To mark the 10th anniversary of the museum’s opening last year, curator Joel Griggs bought serial killer Rosemary West’s prison underwear for £2,500.
briefs achieved by a former prison officer who worked at HMP Bronzefield, Europe’s largest women’s prison, where West was held for four years until 2008.
Sussex Police told Independent: “On Thursday 9 April police received a report of an attempted burglary at a museum in Palace Court, White Rock, Hastings.
“Between 01:30 and 03:50, a suspect is believed to have damaged display equipment outside the museum and the museum door, and also attempted to enter the building. Officers reviewed local security cameras and conducted an investigation. The investigation is ongoing.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact police online or by calling 101, quoting serial number 377 of 09/04.
