Former police detective Dr. Paul Stickler, gave a talk, "The Porthole Murder", on 8th June, 2026.

In October, 1947. 21-year old actress Gay Gibson, disappeared form her 1st Class cabin on the Union Castle liner Durban Castle. en route from Cape Town to Southampton.

A witness noticed James Camb, a 1st Class steward, inside Gibson's cabin at the time both cabin security lights had been activated one night. Camb was also seen to have injuries to his body, for which he provided a plausible explanation. He admitted visiting the cabin, as he had become friendly with Gibson, serving her drinks on several occasions, but (initially) claimed he knew nothing further.

On arrival in Southampton, the police noticed a palm print on the inside cabin door (corresponding to Camb's) as well as fibre traces around the porthole, implying that a body had been ejected via that route. Camb now changed his story, saying that Gibson had invited him back to her cabin, where, after consuming drinks, they had consensual intercourse, during which she had a seizure, foaming at the mouth, and died. He tried resuscitation to no avail, so, in a panic, knowing that he was not supposed to enter a 1st Class cabin, he bundled the body out of the porthole

Camb's defence counsel pointed out that Gibson had a history of alcoholism and promiscuity. In fact, she was reputedly pregnant at the time of her disappearance. She was also prone to foaming at the mouth when agitated.

Camb was tried at Winchester Assizes and found guity of murder, after only 20 minutes of jury deliberation. The death penalty was automtic at the time, but he appealed and was fortunate to be retried (yet still guilty) during a temporary suspension of the death penalty. He was released after 11 years on licence, but offended sexually twice, leading to a further prison sentence. After final relase, he died in his 60's.

In retrospect, it seems a pity that he did not plead guilty to inadvertent manslaughter during sexual intercourse, rather than contesting the murder charge. He would have still received a lengthy prison sentence, but would have avoided the threat of the death penalty.

Overall, a very interesting and stimulating talk, one of a whole series of talks by Dr. Stickler on murder mysteries from the Victorian era right up to 1961.