Alfred Rouse Alfred Arthur Rouse was convicted for a murder in England in 1931 . The identity of his victim was never determined . On the early morning of November 6 1930 two men in Northamptonshire saw a fire in the distance . A man approaching them from the direction of the fire observed that 'somebody must be lighting a bonfire' . The two men went to investigat e and discovered the fire was coming from a Morris Minor that was ablaze , containing a body charred beyond recognition . The licence number identified the car as belonging to an Alfred Arthur Rouse , a north- Londoner . Rouse had gone to Wales to one of his girlfriends , but returned to London a day later . He was arrested and confessed , saying that he had picked up the victim during a ride to Leicester . While Rouse went to urinate , the man lit a cigarette in the car . According to Rouse , there was a flash of light , and subsequently the car burst in flame . Alfred Rouse stood trial in Northampton in January 1931 , and was found guilty of murder . On March 10 , 1931 , he was hanged in Bedford . In Alan Moore 's novel Voice of the Fire , set in Northampton at various times throughout history , one chapter tells Rouse 's story in first-person narrative , an evasive and self-serving musing to himself as he sits in the dock during his murder trial . The chapter ends with Rouse seemingly convinced of his ability to charm his jury into acquitting him , with his judgment in this matter proving as poor as it had been throughout the entire story . References J.H.H. Gaute and Robin Odell , The New Murderer 's Who 's Who , 1996 , Harrap Books , London Whitaker 's Almanack , 1932 Categories : 1931 deaths | British executions | British murderers | People executed for murder | People executed by hanging 