Who was Desmond Cussen and how did he help Ruth Ellis kill David Blakely?
DESMOND Cussen is the former partner of Ruth Ellis – the nightclub manager who became the last woman to be hanged.
Ruth’s tragic story is dramatised in the ITV series A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story, which includes his ill-fated romance with the last woman to be hanged.
Dating Ruth Ellis
Desmond was a former RAF pilot who became an accountant after leaving the armed forces.
He frequented nightclubs in Knightsbridge, London, eventually crossing paths with Ruth at her own establishment.
At the time, Ruth was dating racecar driver David Blakely but the relationship had become extremely abusive.
She began an affair with Desmond, who allegedly handed her the gun which she would later use to kill Blakely.
The murder of David Blakely
Ruth murdered Blakely on Easter Sunday in 1955, after his abuse caused her to have a miscarriage weeks earlier.
According to Ruth’s solicitor Victor Mishcon, Desmond drove Ruth to find David.
At 9.30pm, she shot at David five times.
Ruth asked Blakely’s friend Clive Gunnel to phone the police, whom she told: “I am guilty, I’m a little confused.”
She told the court that it was “obvious when I shot him I intended to kill him”, which led the jury to convict her in twenty minutes.
Ruth’s refusal to say that Desmond gave her the gun also weakened her case.
Judge Cecil Havers wrote to the Conservative Home Secretary in a bid to save Ruth from execution, but his request was denied.
She was eventually hanged on July 13, 1955, sparking a wave of protests.
The death penalty was abolished in 1969 by the Labour government, five years after the last execution had taken place.
By this time, Desmond had moved to Australia where he remained until he died in his 60s.
A Cruel Love
Desmond plays a major role in the ITV show A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story.
He is played by Mark Stanley, an actor known for his roles in Game of Thrones and Dickensian.
The series kicked off on March 5, 2025, but the entire show is available to stream on ITVX.