How A Skeleton Prank Revealed That She Murdered Her Husband 18 Years Earlier And Kept Him In Her Garden Shed
After abandoning her five children in 1969 and traveling the globe in hopes of becoming a famous cabaret singer, a woman named Leigh Sabine settled in Wales.
She became known as “an absolute storyteller,” according to South Wales Detective Chief Inspector Gareth Edwards, who spun life stories that were “totally mythical.” That’s precisely why no one believed her when she claimed to have killed her husband.
Rather, his murder was only uncovered in November 2015, after Leigh had died of cancer one month earlier. His body was discovered by a neighbor following a prank that went wrong.
The Suspicious Life Of Leigh Sabine
After Leigh tied the knot with her husband, John Sabine, in 1960, they welcomed five children into the world. But, by 1969, the couple abandoned all their kids at an Auckland daycare.
Despite saying they’d be back later, the couple never returned, and their children spent the following decade or so in foster care.
Leigh and John bounced around the globe throughout their nearly four decades spent together. They went to Australia to follow Leigh’s dream of becoming a cabaret singer. Leigh also lived in Britain and New Zealand before ultimately settling in Wales.
Neighbors who knew her remember her as a charming yet eccentric woman who always had a drink and cigarette in hand. She would share grandiose stories about her career, leading those around her to believe that she was just spinning tales.
Yet, the strange remarks Leigh made about killing her husband turned out to be true.
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The Murder of John Sabine
John, who worked as an accountant, was last seen alive in 1997 at the home he shared with Leigh in Beddau, located in south Wales. He was 67 years old.
Leigh died nearly two decades later, in October 2015, of cancer. But leading up to her death, she made strange remarks about having a body on her property.
While speaking to her hairdresser, for instance, Leigh said, “People are going to talk about me after I have gone. I could be famous.” Her hairdresser inquired why, to which she responded, “Because of the body in the bag.”
Leigh also told her neighbor, Michelle James, that she owned a medical skeleton. She claimed to have purchased it while training to become a nurse, and they joked about the skeleton together.
At one point, Michelle even quipped that the skeleton could be a real body, and Leigh responded, “You never know.”
The skeleton had been kept inside Leigh’s garden shed, and before she died, she reportedly asked Michelle to help her move it to the attic. But Michelle never approached the package or discovered the truth about its contents until after Leigh passed away.
A Prank Gone Wrong
In November 2015, Michelle and her friend, Rhian Lee, wanted to use the supposed medical skeleton that Leigh had talked about for a practical joke.
“We thought we’d bring it in, put it on the settee, and then knock the ceiling for the neighbor to come down just to play a prank,” Michelle recalled.
However, when she cut open the package, she uncovered the mummified remains of John Sabine. His body had been wrapped in over 40 layers of plastic, roofing felt, and shopping bags. He was still donning his Marks & Spencer pajamas, and body fluids spilled onto Michelle and Rhian’s hands.
They contacted the police, and DNA analysis confirmed the remains belonged to John Sabine. Forensic pathologist Dr. Richard Jones determined he’d died of blunt force trauma to the head. John had likely been hit with a heavy stone frog, which he and Leigh kept by their bed.
The way in which his remains were wrapped allowed his body to remain extremely well preserved through “chemical mummification.”
“Every homicide is unique, but in this case, it was absolutely bizarre,” Edwards noted.
Once word of John’s murder hit the media, the police issued a public appeal for information, and a woman named Valeria Chalkley contacted authorities. She detailed how, in 1997, she spoke on the phone with Leigh.
“[Leigh] said, ‘I’ve killed him. I’ve battered him with a stone frog because he was getting on my nerves.’ I thought she was having me on; she could come out with statements that were totally ridiculous,” Valeria explained.
“The problem with Leigh was you never knew if she was telling the truth or not.”
Glamorgan Valleys coroner Andrew Barkley stated in 2024 that “precisely what happened and the circumstances will sadly never totally be known.” Nonetheless, other investigators believe Leigh was responsible for her husband’s murder.
“It is my view that Leigh Sabine probably killed John Sabine and wrapped up his body. There was no evidence to suggest anyone else knew of his death,” said Edwards in 2016.
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