The Heatwave Killing: When a Husband Snapped | 1976 / Gary Toms / Harold Evans
They Walk Among Us - UK True Crime
They Walk Among Us
4.5 • 6.8K Ratings
🗓️ 4 March 2026
⏱️ 41 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In the summer of 1976, one of the hottest on record, a young man's body was found in a ditch on a lonely Leicestershire road. At first, it looked like a hit-and-run. It wasn’t. 25-year-old plumber Gary Toms had been in a relationship with a married woman named Marlene Evans. Her estranged husband, Harold Evans, had spent months watching the relationship develop, attending court for breach of the peace, attempting suicide, and quietly acquiring a pistol. Was this a man pushed beyond breaking point, or a calculated, premeditated murder dressed up as provocation?…
*** LISTENER CAUTION IS ADVISED ***
This episode was researched and written by Eileen Macfarlane.
Edited by Joel Porter at Dot Dot Dot Productions.
Script editing, additional writing, illustrations and production direction by Rosanna Fitton.
Narration, additional audio editing and mixing, and script editing by Benjamin Fitton.
To get early ad-free access, including Season 1, sign up for They Walk Among PLUS, available from Patreon or Apple Podcasts.
More information and episode references can be found on our website https://theywalkamonguspodcast.com
SOCIAL MEDIA: https://linktr.ee/TheyWalkAmongUs
Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theywalkamongus.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This episode contains distressing themes and descriptions of violence. |
| 0:10.7 | This podcast is intended for a mature audience. |
| 0:15.3 | Listener caution is advised. |
| 0:19.2 | To hear ad-free versions of our episodes published several days before their general release, |
| 0:25.3 | subscribe to They Walk Among Us Plus. |
| 0:28.6 | Head to patreon.com forward slash they walk among us or search for They Walk Among Us on Apple |
| 0:34.9 | podcasts to learn more. |
| 0:40.5 | A young man's body was found in a ditch at the side of a road early on a hot summer morning. |
| 0:47.0 | At first it seemed as though he had been the victim of a hit and run. |
| 0:51.7 | However, it would be discovered that he had been specifically targeted by a love |
| 0:56.4 | rival. Welcome to Season 11, Episode 8 of They Walk Among Us, a podcast dedicated to UK true |
| 1:06.9 | crime. |
| 1:19.8 | In the summer of 1976, the UK endured its dry season in more than a century. |
| 1:27.4 | From June onwards, temperatures in Leicestershire climbed above 28 degrees Celsius, the hottest temperature recorded there in 15 years. |
| 1:30.7 | Business owners had to hose down the roofs of their factories as workers toiled in the |
| 1:35.6 | sweltering heat. Barristers were permitted to take off their wigs in court, and hay fever |
| 1:41.8 | and asthma sufferers were urged to be cautious as the pollen count jumped |
| 1:46.0 | from 7 to 352 in just 48 hours. As the heat wave continued, there were several walkouts by staff |
| 1:55.5 | working in buildings that reached over 40 degrees. Factory managers were forced to install extra fans |
| 2:02.6 | and provide free ice drinks to keep their employees cool. |
| 2:07.1 | Police officers were allowed to perform their duties in short sleeves without ties, |
| 2:12.0 | while members of the fire service battled hundreds of grass fires caused by the blazing sun. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from They Walk Among Us, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of They Walk Among Us and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.