Looks like this one still isn't over. Talk of contaminated forensic evidence and little else to support the conviction of Barry George:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7078221.stm
Looks like this one still isn't over. Talk of contaminated forensic evidence and little else to support the conviction of Barry George:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7078221.stm
I was living in London at the time that she was murdered. It happened not too far away from where I was staying. It was really creepy, the guy just walked up to her as she was going into her house and gunned her down. And she was just a few months away from getting married. Her family ended up using the wedding guest list for her funeral instead. How sad! I really hope that this guy doesn't get out, especially for her families sake.
Originally Posted by ManUnitedRedDevil
You actually think he's guilty?????? =S
Remembering the hype around it when it happened I dont think Barry George did it. The bloke seems like hes not the full biscuit tin and they believed it was like a professional hit when Jill Dando was shot. It seems that Barry George wouldnt have the professional nounce to have carried it out plus with the fact that celebrity killers like to hang around and take credit for the murders they have carried out. All doesnt fit into place if you ask me though lord knows who did do it. I have a feeling that the Police needed to find someone for the crime and sad misfit Barry George fitted the part. Very sad mind for Jill Dando and her family - terrible loss.
Yep I agree with QueenB. The tabloids were insane about it and the BBC kept reporting because she was one of their biggest stars, it went on for months. The pressure was high so the police just grabbed the nearest crazy they'd been wanting to lock up anyway. I bet the real killer isn't even in the country anymore.
Some of the jurors including the foreman from the original trial have come forward to say they felt they were misled with the evidence, they've said there really was no evidence. It does seem likely that the police grabbed the nearest crazy and pinned it on him. It bares similarities to the sad case of Stephen Kiszko who was jailed for the murder and rape of Leslie Molseed, there was no way that he could have raped the girl but because he was of low intelligence he was an easy mark. The new suspect is currently on trial, 32 years after the murder. Kiszko sadly died not long after being set free.
I remember hearing about that. It was awful. Imagine if we had the death penalty over here??I dread to think. I agree with you completely on the Barry George thing, public outcry and police pressure made them grab the first nutjob and send them down. I actually feel sorry for the man, I watched the docu on it a few nights back and it showed you the police interviews, he was so confused and seemed scared and they made it out like it meant he was guilty. He just didn't seem to have the intelligence to have been able to pull something like that off, It's sad he's locked up in prison and not getting the help he obviously needs.
Leslie's family asked for Kizsko to be hanged. They did apologise directly to the family after his release. Although the 3 girls that accused Kizsko of stalking and exposing himself to them never apologised even though it was proved he hadn't done it, even admitting they made it up! A lot of the case hinged on this vital information. Kizsko had hypogonadism and the semen found on Molseeds body was from a man who was fertile, Kiszko couldn't have been the killer. I hope to God they have the right man this time but bloody hell know's what he's done in the last 30 years. I have my concerns about the Dando case and I really wouldn't like to be on the jury for it.I remember hearing about that. It was awful. Imagine if we had the death penalty over here??
Well, at the time they did seem pretty certain that he had done it. That was my impression anyway. I actually left England a week or two after it had happened. I could be (and probably am) totally wrong. There was no coverage at all over here about the case. The only thing I do remember was that they said he had some "mental" issues. Is it a case of "we have a crazy guy that was nearby so we will pin it on him"?
I never heard about this thanks for the info.
Pretty much, the only thing they have to link him to the murders, is the minutest spec of gunpowder residue that was found on his jacket, which they are now saying got there because of evidence contamination. Theres no evidence to say he ever stalked Dando, or even gave a shit about who she was. He's just a mentally ill person, who needs help, they pinned it on him cos it was easy,
Wow, I guess I should have read the background on the case before jumping to conclusions. I actually feel bad for the guy. Seems like he was nailed for the crime because he was convenient. When he was convicted was his mental illness considered at all? (Like guilty by reason of insanity over here?)
Renowned Death Hag
here is Britain's biggest miscarriage of justice:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10_Rillington_Place
Nope his mental illness wasn't considered, infact it was used against him. It showed clips of the police interview on the documentary a week or so back, and has memory problems [he's epileptic also] and he was having trouble remembering where he was at specific times, but not even the times of the murder, just times in general, days after and before, he seemed really scared and confused it was horrible to watch. They used this to make out like he was guilty and hiding something.
Did they ever look for anybody else or have other suspects?
Not that I'm aware of. It really does seem like a case of ''Find Crazy Man = Arrest Crazy Man = Put Crazy Man in Prison = The End.''
Wow, thought they only did that here in the U.S.!
The father of one of my best mates was the barrister who finally acquitted Stefan Kizsko. I knew a bit about the case from him and they actually made a TV drama about it some years back ('An Eye for An Eye'), with Olympia Dukakis as Kizsko's mother. Was really surreal seeing an actor playing my mate's dad on TV - he was his double and even got the Lancashire accent spot on!
For each year he was imprisoned, his mother planted a tree in her garden. When Kizsko was released, his mother showed him the fruits of her campaign. Kizsko died a really short time after his release, which makes the case even more tragic.
My friend (the barrister's son) was in a band that recorded a song called '16 Trees' which is a tribute to this story. Got it on CD somewhere if anybody wants to hear it...
Amazingly, Kizsko case is the top news story now on the BBC website - the real killer has just been found guilty:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bradford/7086361.stm
I was reading about this in the paper today. It was so awful, I know the paper said Kizsko was questioned for 2 days with no legal representation and following this he made a confession which he later retracted. Really sad that he died so soon after release. I hope his family found some kind of peace that at least the conviction was overturned before he passed away.
Barry George has been given a re-trial.
Yeah I saw that too, looks like they'll be starting the retrial soon.
Barry George
Has just been found not guilty......
Barry George - who spent seven years in jail because of an invisible speck of dust he could have picked up anywhere - has been cleared of killing TV presenter Jill Dando.
Barry George
She was shot dead on her doorstep in April 1999.
Scientists matched the particle found in the pocket of his cashmere overcoat to firearms residue combed from Dando's hair.
It put George at the scene - and helped convict him of the horrific murder.
But when his lawyers fought to remove the evidence from the prosecution case there was nothing to link him directly to the shooting - and today he walked free after a second trial.
George, 48, was many things - a loner, a military-obsessed fantasist, a stalker who followed women through West London on roller skates and a sex offender.
But the jury found he was not a killer.
The celebrity's family may now have to accept the real murderer of TV's 'Golden Girl' has escaped justice.
Jill Dando was one of the most popular presenters on television.
Born in Weston-super-Mare on November 9, 1961, to father Jack and mother Jean, she became a presenter for BBC Breakfast News with Nicholas Witchell in 1988 and began reading the Six O'Clock News.
After four years at Breakfast News she went to the Holiday programme where she was working until she died.
In 1997 she started presenting Crimewatch and at the time of her death had completed a series of a new show 'The Antiques Inspectors' which was shown posthumously after consultation with Miss Dando's family.
Police initially believed the murder was an execution by a professional hitman who forced her to her knees before shooting her through the head.
The theory was those responsible had suffered as a result of a Crimewatch appeal.
More than 5,000 people were interviewed and over 2,400 statements were taken in a massive police operation.
They identified 2,000 suspects and 140 had an unhealthy interest in Miss Dando.
George was arrested a year into the investigation as detectives considered all their initial leads again.
Inquiries quickly revealed he was obsessed with guns and on the day after the killing he had asked workers at a local charity for an alibi.
Police found a now-infamous picture of George wearing a gas mask and clutching a pistol, his eyes shining with excitement.
George who was born in Hammersmith, west London, just down the road from Miss Dando's Fulham home on April 15, 1960, regularly posed as an SAS soldier, pretended to be a professional stuntman and insisted he was the cousin of Freddie Mercury.
He was once found hiding in the grounds of Kensington Palace wearing a balaclava and carrying a knife, a poem to Prince Charles stashed in the pocket of his combat fatigues.
Friends and neighbours spoke of him carrying out 'SAS' style raids on their homes bursting in wearing army fatigues, a balaclava and clutching a pistol.
And his fixation with the military and celebrities was a key strand in the circumstantial evidence against George.
During the police investigation 14 women came forward to tell how George had terrorised them over a 15 year period from the mid 1980s to shortly before his arrest.
Susan Coombes, Angela Gordon, Margaret Milorthollard, Sophia Wellington, Amanda Scriven, Claudia Casey, Elke Anderson, Fiona Maffeo, Alena Murcott, Sarah Andrew. Robin Kadrinka, Cherree Yanthnarian, Deborah Crosby, Rachel Youngman were all targeted by George.
He stalked women noting down their addresses and number plates before following them home and photographing them for his own private collection.
Police discovered hundreds of rolls of film when they raided George's home containing more than 2,000 photos of women. Most were unaware they were being photographed.
Neighbour Susan Mayes said she had seen George pretending to clean a car windscreen as he stared at Miss Dando's home hours before the murder.
She picked out George in a video parade 18 months after she saw him but was the only witness to positively identify him at the scene.
During his police interviews George contradicted himself and told a series of lies.
He denied an interest in weapons and insisted he would not even recognise Jill Dando.
But it was the scientific evidence which detectives believe proved they had the right man.
The particle removed from the three quarter length coat contained quantities of barium, aluminium and lead which matched quantities of the elements recovered from the body.
It was described as 'compelling evidence' of George's guilt at the first trial and the chances it could have been transferred accidentally were said to be 'negligible.'
On July 29 2002 the Court of Appeal dismissed George's first appeal, which challenged the identification evidence.
But after a second hearing on November 15, 2007 the Court of Appeal concluded the jury at the first trial should have been given a further direction about the conclusions which could be drawn from the firearms residue and the possibility of accidental contamination.
At the retrial Mr Justice Griffith Williams ruled the firearms evidence was inadmissible. He said the residue could have come from the rise in gun crime and armed police on the streets of London.
The judge agreed with forensic experts who claimed George could have picked up the speck on London Underground or a local bus.
He said: 'There is no statistical evidence to support the conclusion that the particle was more likely to have come from the gun that show Miss Dando than from innocent contamination.'
Before the trial actually started one senior detective privately admitted the residue evidence was crucial and 'a wheel had come off' the case.
Even if Susan Mayes was correct and George was outside the house on the morning of the murder it would have taken a huge leap of faith by a jury to convict him without the evidence of the firearms residue.
Since George's conviction the murder has spawned a series of theories, counter theories and several books.
One possible suspect was a sinister fan who identified himself as 'Julian' who approached Miss Dando days before she died.
He was around 5ft 11 inches tall, wearing a suit, with straight dark hair, collar length - a similar description to that of the killer.
Nigel Dando also told police her sister had been concerned about 'some guy pestering her.'
The presenter had received hate mail just weeks before she died following a BBC Kosovo appeal in 1998.
Michael Mansfield, QC, used the mail for his bizarre 'headline grabbing' defence in the first trial, suggesting the celebrity was murdered by Serbian warlord called Arkan.
Tragically for Jill Dando and her family, the truth will probably never be known.
hmmm dunno wat to think......
I feel really sorry for him, imagine being locked up for 8 years for something you didn't do. He got a hell of alot of stick for it from everyone and why? Because the police didn't take their time with the case and look at all of the evidence. I hope the compensation money helps him set up home in a nice area where he can get on with the rest of his life.
i feel sorry for jills family thinking they had the person that killed their daughter behind bars
cafferine--- i hope he can start fresh aswell but there will always be others that will still think he did it no matter what new evidnece comes to light witch really does suck
Renowned Death Hag
l'd like to hear that!
Craaaaaaaaaaap! I am always a day loate and a dollar short! I literally came running over here, link in hand to slap up here!
Too bad for the Dando family - the killer is still out there. And unlucky for the guy for staying so long behind bars.
Renowned Death Hag
http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/0308...george_1.shtml
9:25am UK, Sunday August 03, 2008 Barry George has insisted he could not have killed Jill Dando because he was stalking another woman at the time.
Kay Burley interviewing Barry George following his acquittal
In an exclusive interview with Sky News and the News Of The World, the 48-year-old explains how he was walking alongside another woman on April 26, 1999, at the time the TV presenter was killed.
He told Sky's Kay Burley how he followed the woman after leaving a disability centre in Fulham, south-west London.
He said: "I walked with her for a bit and from her perspective, maybe it was unwanted attention.
"But she didn't make that clear. It didn't seem like she was telling me to go away. If she'd told me to leave I'd have done so straight away.
"That was at 12.33pm. I know because just a minute before I'd made a call from my mobile to check how much credit I had left."
Miss Dando was shot dead outside her home in Gowan Avenue in Fulham at about 11.30am.
Mr George insists that between 10.30am and 12.33pm, he was either at the disability centre or walking beside the woman who later became a prosecution witness stating that he had been stalking her.
He was asked about his previous stalking of woman - police surveillance teams filmed him pestering 38 women in the three weeks before his arrest. He told Burley: "I know I have done wrong in the past and if I could go back in time and change that I would."
Mr George says he is "bitter" at the eight years he has spent behind bars, adding: "I've missed out on so much.
"I should have been getting on with my life. Who knows what I could have done and achieved?"
Still unsolved!
Renowned Death Hag
"George, 48, was many things - a loner, a military-obsessed fantasist, a stalker who followed women through West London on roller skates and a sex offender."
Look, I'm happy he was exonerated of Ms. Dando's murder if he really, truly did not do it. But on the other hand, when he bitched about all that he could have "done and achieved" during the 8 years he was in prison, one has to ask "WHAT?"
Seems to me, he would have continued being a loner, military fantasist (which included having guns, I presume?) , stalker and sex offender, who might well have ended up killing SOMEONE at some time. Indeed, what's to stop him now that he is being seen as the "bitter" victim of a terrible injustice?
Renowned Death Hag
Barry George continues his fight for compensation
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1306027/Barry-George-wins-round-High-Court-compensation-battle.html
Renowned Death Hag
It was so sad when she died. She was so excited with getting married and her career was getting somewhere. Jill was tv gold. Barry was a easy target for the finger of blame , Yes Barry may not have done it, but he was deluded with all his pics of celebs and didnt he change his name to freddie mercurys real name. Something tells me that he would have gotten into some trouble before he was mentally helped.- i personally think it was a professional hit on her as she had alot of boyfriends.....
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Renowned Death Hag
SCOTTISH gangsters have been linked to the murder of Jill Dando.
Intelligence gathered by police suggests the contract on the TV presenter's life came from north of the Border.
Gangland sources have also claimed the bullet used to kill Jill was sourced in Scotland.
more at: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk...6908-23611248/
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...st_read_module
Now apparently it was the Serbs.
Renowned Death Hag
I have often thought that Jill Dando kind of looks
like Tina Brown.
Carolyn(1958-2009) always in my heart.
Renowned Death Hag
This reminds me of the Irish Reporter who was killed.. Vernoica Mars?
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
"I will be buried in a spring loaded casket filled with confetti, and a future archaeologist will have one awesome day at work."
Renowned Death Hag
Veronica Guerin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veronica_Guerin
I believe Veronica Mars was a tv show about a high school student/private eye
Renowned Death Hag
Sadly, hope people will remember about this murder.
Carolyn(1958-2009) always in my heart.
Renowned Death Hag
looks like Scotland Yard has given up on this case
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...os-killer.html
Renowned Death Hag
the guy who was convicted and then acquitted speaks
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...interview.html
Renowned Death Hag
Wow, that is so weird...I didn't follow this case closely, but seeing his picture, my brain leapt to the association of guilt based upon his previous appearances in the media. Poor bloke.
"We've had threads about guys fucking picnic tables, animals and dead bodies. Third boob ain't going to stop a damn thing." - cleanskull
Renowned Death Hag
I agree. I still wonder about the real killer though. Was it random? Was she a target? It is so bizarre.
Renowned Death Hag
the cops are back to the Serbian assassins.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/new-jil...-probe-3178020
Senior Death Hag
Saw this retweeted and post it because it appears to be an actual crime scene photo. Checks out with other descriptions of what she was wearing and earlier surveillance images just before the murder. It also advances yet another theory why she was murdered. Knowing how much manpower and public funds have been thrown at this case and after all these years still no suspect, it seems very plausible that she uncovered something so big and damaging to people in high places they wanted her shut up for good. The BBC pedophile scandal, we now know, is just the-tip-of-the-iceberg of a worldwide network of rich and powerful sickos.
Death Hag
Interesting theory.
✝ Eternal Death Hag ✝
Could be but from what I read, I still say it leads to the Serbs.
Renowned Death Hag
new investigation called for
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ent-leads.html
Renowned Death Hag
more speculation from ITV
ww.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4199724/Hitman-claims-KNOW-shot-Jill-Dando.html
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