John Christie murders an acquaintance in 1944, luring her to his West London flat at 10 Rillington Place with a promise to cure her bronchitis using a so‑called “special mixture.” He disables her with town gas, then strangles her with a rope, and it is implied that he sexually assaults her corpse. He buries her in the communal garden of the building, and while digging the grave he unexpectedly uncovers Ruth Fuerst, one of his earlier victims.
In 1949, Tim Evans and his wife Beryl Evans move into 10 Rillington Place with their infant daughter Geraldine. Beryl is pregnant again, and she seeks a medical abortion. When she tells Tim, a fierce argument erupts, and Christie offers to help terminate the pregnancy, presenting himself as a learned medical expert. Tim, who is largely illiterate, cannot discerningly tell that Christie is lying. The Evanses consent to have Christie perform the procedure.
Christie keeps his wife, Ethel Christie, occupied with paperwork at his workplace, while he schemes upstairs. He seizes his chance, makes tea, and heads up to Beryl. A pair of builders arrive to renovate the outbuilding, drawing attention away from the upstairs work. Christie serves another cup of tea and returns to his grim task. Beryl experiences a severe reaction to the gas; he knocks her unconscious with a punch, then strangles her and commits a brutal sexual assault.
When Tim returns, Christie tells him that Beryl died of complications from the abortion. Tim contemplates going to the police, but Christie convinces him that he would be seen as an accessory. He persuades Tim to leave town that night while he disposes of Beryl’s body, promising that the baby will be placed with a childless couple from East Acton. Tim reluctantly obeys and departs, and Christie then strangles Geraldine with a tie.
Tim hides with his aunt and uncle in Merthyr Tydfil, pretending he is away on business. He crafts a story that Beryl and the baby are visiting her family in Brighton. The Lynches write to Beryl’s father, who responds by telegram to say he has not seen Beryl in months. Cornered by relatives, Tim pretends that Beryl ran off with a wealthy man, and later confesses to the police that he disposed of Beryl’s body in the sewer after the botched abortion. Three London police officers lift the manhole but fail to find the body. A later search of 10 Rillington Place uncovers Beryl and Geraldine in the washroom, where Christie had hidden them.
Tim is dragged back to London, charged with the murders of his wife and child. In shock and despondent over the charge, he confesses to both crimes, though he is not guilty of them. During his trial, Christie becomes a central witness. Tim’s defense exposes Christie’s history of theft and violence, but the prosecution still secures a conviction, and Tim is hanged.
Two years after the trial, Ethel begins to fear her husband and moves out to stay with relatives. Christie pleads with her not to leave, and she hints that prison may be in his future. He murders her that night and hides her body under the floorboards in their front room. Later, he encounters a woman with a migraine in a café, posing as an ex‑doctor and promising her a cure. The scene shifts to him wallpapering a kitchen wall, an act that visually implies the victim’s body is hidden behind the wall.
In 1953, Christie is living in a dosshouse. A new tenant, Beresford Brown, moves in next door. A strong odor in the kitchen leads Brown to peel back the wallpaper and discover a space behind the wall containing several victims. Christie is soon arrested. The film closes with an intertitle stating that Christie was hanged, while Tim Evans was posthumously pardoned and reinterred in consecrated ground.
