Penmaenmawr Killings

The Penmaenmawr Killings.
Location	Penmaenmawr, Conwy County Borough, Wales.
Date	24 September 1976.
Attack type	Mass murder, mass shooting, murder-suicide.
Deaths	5 (including the perpatrator).
Perpetrator	Neil Rutherford.

The Penmaenmawr Killings was a mass murder at the Red Gables Hotel in Penmaenmawr, Conwy County Borough, Wales, on 24 September 1976. The perpatrator, Neil Rutherford, killed 4 people as well as burned the hotel down before he commited suicide. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]} It is Wales' deadliest mass murder.

Background

The Red Gables Hotel was built as a private summer residence in 1885. Eventually, it became popular with visitors. At the time of the murders, Linda Simcox was the owner of the hotel and had been for the past 5 years. Simcox used to live in Lanchashire before moving in 1965. She had four sons and two daughters between the two marriages she had been in. ^[3]

The shooting

Armed with a automatic pistol, ^{[4] [5]} Rutherford, 54, shot and killed 4 people on the night of November 24 1976; the names of the victims were:

• Linda Simcox, 59, owner of the hotel. She was murdered in the lounge of the hotel.
• Lorna McIntyre, 24, one of Linda Simcox's daughters. Lorna was in the early stages of pregancy. She was murdered in an upstairs bedroom.
• Alistair McIntyre, 33, Scottish husband of Lorna McIntyre. He was shot somewhere inside the house but managed to crawl his way out to the street before he died.
• John Gore Green, 55, a family friend and only visitor in the hotel at the time from Bay City, Texas, United States. ^A He was murdered in the kitchen. ^{[3] [4]}

Rutherford then lit the hotel on fire and killed himself in the the lounge by Simcox's body. ^{[3] [4]}

Perpetrator

Main article: Neil Rutherford

Lt Cmdr Neil Rutherford, DSC, was the perpetrator. He was a Lieutenant Commander in the British Royal Navy, he retired on the 5th of January 1959 after 19 years of service. In April of 1975, he became the gardener for the hotel. He was known locally as the "commander". He was known in most public spaces in Penmaenmawr. Locals who knew him described him as a "quiet man who always drank alone", others said that he was a fidgety man who "would never sit down". ^{[3] [4]} On the afternoon of the shooting, Rutherford was drinking at the Moutain View Hotel, according to one man, he was his normal self, "he was on his own and was pacing up and down like he usually did".

An inquest a month later concluded that Rutherford carried out the attack out of jealousy because Simcox did not reciprocate his feelings.

Notes

A. ^ Some sources claim he was from Baton Rouge, Lousiana. ^[6]

References

1. "Five Die in Hotel Drama". The Guaridan. 25 November 1976. p. 1.
2. Nally, Micheal (26 September 1976). "Four killed by the 'unwanted guest'". The Observer. p. 2.
3. Williams, Hazel (30 September 1976). "Nurse Who Stumbled On Tragedy At Red Gables Hotel". North Wales Weekly. pp. 1, 5.
4. Dewey, Philip (2019-06-23). "The quiet gardener who shot dead four people in cold blood". Wales Online. Retrieved 2025-12-02.
5. "FIVE HOTEL DEAD WERE SHOT". The Sunday Post. 26 September 1976. p. 2.
6. "Louisiana Man Found Slain in North Wales". Shreveport (LA) Journal. 30 September 1976. p. 2.