1
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<i>[eerie music]</i>

2
00:00:10,101 --> 00:00:14,261
<i>Rita Ellis, an unsolved murder.</i>

3
00:00:14,341 --> 00:00:19,341
<i>1967, a brutal attack on
a cold November night.</i>

4
00:00:20,781 --> 00:00:23,341
<i>She was an RAF service woman.</i>

5
00:00:23,421 --> 00:00:24,181
<i>[David] Yeah.</i>

6
00:00:24,261 --> 00:00:26,941
<i>And it's remained unsolved for 53 years.</i>

7
00:00:27,021 --> 00:00:29,541
<i>[eerie music]</i>

8
00:00:32,181 --> 00:00:36,501
<i>[woman singing in foreign language]</i>

9
00:01:05,101 --> 00:01:07,621
<i>[eerie music]</i>

10
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<i>[David] I've got Rita Ellis's
inquest here from 1968,</i>

11
00:01:20,181 --> 00:01:21,741
<i>which is very detailed.</i>

12
00:01:21,821 --> 00:01:24,261
<i>It describes a lot of
background on the case</i>

13
00:01:24,341 --> 00:01:25,981
<i>and where her body was found</i>

14
00:01:26,061 --> 00:01:30,061
<i>Rita Ellis was murdered on
the 11th of November, 1967.</i>

15
00:01:30,141 --> 00:01:33,061
<i>So it was the night
before Remembrance Day.</i>

16
00:01:33,141 --> 00:01:34,461
<i>She was a cook, wasn't she?</i>

17
00:01:34,541 --> 00:01:35,821
<i>Yeah, she'd been at the camp</i>

18
00:01:35,901 --> 00:01:38,621
<i>for five months before her death,</i>

19
00:01:38,701 --> 00:01:42,061
<i>and this was her second posting.</i>

20
00:01:42,141 --> 00:01:44,261
<i>Now, this is interesting.</i>

21
00:01:44,341 --> 00:01:48,021
<i>According to the inquest, she
was due to babysit that night</i>

22
00:01:48,101 --> 00:01:50,781
<i>for a Wing Commander Watson.</i>

23
00:01:50,861 --> 00:01:54,701
<i>We've got also a report
that she's seen walking</i>

24
00:01:54,781 --> 00:01:58,301
<i>towards a red car and
she was found dead here</i>

25
00:01:58,381 --> 00:02:02,981
<i>at RAF Halton, one of the
largest RAF training bases</i>

26
00:02:03,061 --> 00:02:04,381
<i>in the UK.</i>

27
00:02:04,461 --> 00:02:06,341
<i>And at the time of Rita's murder,</i>

28
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<i>there were 2000 people
working on the camp.</i>

29
00:02:11,341 --> 00:02:15,061
<i>I think a starting point is
to walk Rita's last moments</i>

30
00:02:15,141 --> 00:02:18,301
<i>and see what that could
tell us about her death.</i>

31
00:02:18,381 --> 00:02:20,261
<i>Let's head to the crime scene.</i>

32
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<i>[eerie music]</i>

33
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<i>[car rumbling]</i>

34
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<i>According to the inquest,</i>

35
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<i>her body was found in a
copse beyond these trees.</i>

36
00:02:32,301 --> 00:02:37,301
<i>-[eerie music]
-[birds chirping]</i>

37
00:02:41,661 --> 00:02:43,301
<i>I think this is it.</i>

38
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<i>Rowborough Copse.</i>

39
00:02:47,941 --> 00:02:52,941
<i>-[birds squawking]
-[eerie music]</i>

40
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<i>So Rita's body would have been found</i>

41
00:02:56,461 --> 00:02:59,221
<i>up against one of these posts.</i>

42
00:03:02,061 --> 00:03:03,821
<i>So eerie, isn't it?</i>

43
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<i>She was partially clothed.</i>

44
00:03:06,701 --> 00:03:07,901
<i>She had been strangled,</i>

45
00:03:07,981 --> 00:03:10,861
<i>it looks like by her own knickers.</i>

46
00:03:10,941 --> 00:03:13,421
<i>And there was a crude
attempt at covering her,</i>

47
00:03:13,501 --> 00:03:15,141
<i>wasn't there, with foliage?</i>

48
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<i>Yeah, rather inexpertly, if you ask me.</i>

49
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<i>It was relatively easily
found the following morning</i>

50
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<i>by a dog walker.</i>

51
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<i>These posts mark the western
perimeter of RAF Halton.</i>

52
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<i>So the very edges of the camp.</i>

53
00:03:35,981 --> 00:03:39,381
<i>-[eerie music]
-[wind whooshing]</i>

54
00:03:39,461 --> 00:03:42,541
<i>How do we think that Rita got here?</i>

55
00:03:45,461 --> 00:03:48,181
<i>Did she come willingly in the car?</i>

56
00:03:48,261 --> 00:03:52,141
<i>Did she realise something was
wrong and try and run away?</i>

57
00:03:52,221 --> 00:03:53,661
<i>Was she dragged here?</i>

58
00:03:53,741 --> 00:03:56,381
<i>I just don't know the answer to that.</i>

59
00:03:56,461 --> 00:03:58,421
<i>Does the inquest tell us anything?</i>

60
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<i>Well, the inquest gives us</i>

61
00:03:59,981 --> 00:04:01,981
<i>a bit more definitive information</i>

62
00:04:02,061 --> 00:04:05,341
<i>and it was Keith Simpson
that was the pathologist.</i>

63
00:04:05,421 --> 00:04:07,941
<i>He put the time of death about 9:00 PM.</i>

64
00:04:08,021 --> 00:04:09,341
<i>This area would have been dark.</i>

65
00:04:09,421 --> 00:04:10,381
<i>We were in November.</i>

66
00:04:10,461 --> 00:04:11,821
<i>This is isolated.</i>

67
00:04:11,901 --> 00:04:13,981
<i>It's a disused area.</i>

68
00:04:14,061 --> 00:04:17,821
<i>So the perpetrator would have
had time to do what it is</i>

69
00:04:17,901 --> 00:04:19,981
<i>that they wanted to do.</i>

70
00:04:20,581 --> 00:04:21,341
<i>And here, again,</i>

71
00:04:21,421 --> 00:04:23,461
<i>there's something that
might be significant.</i>

72
00:04:23,541 --> 00:04:25,821
<i>She was virgo intacto,</i>

73
00:04:25,901 --> 00:04:28,581
<i>so there had been no penetration,</i>

74
00:04:28,661 --> 00:04:32,181
<i>although there was chafing at her vagina.</i>

75
00:04:32,261 --> 00:04:34,861
<i>But crucially, she was still a virgin.</i>

76
00:04:34,941 --> 00:04:37,461
<i>[eerie music]</i>

77
00:04:47,661 --> 00:04:49,261
<i>What do you do with a case like this</i>

78
00:04:49,341 --> 00:04:51,061
<i>which is over 50 years old?</i>

79
00:04:51,141 --> 00:04:53,901
<i>Can it ever be solved when
the possible perpetrator</i>

80
00:04:53,981 --> 00:04:55,501
<i>might even be dead now?</i>

81
00:04:55,581 --> 00:04:56,541
<i>[eerie music]</i>

82
00:04:56,621 --> 00:04:59,101
<i>Well, it's not easy is it?</i>

83
00:04:59,181 --> 00:05:02,861
<i>It's 1967, so we don't have ANPR.</i>

84
00:05:02,941 --> 00:05:05,141
<i>We don't have mobile phone records.</i>

85
00:05:05,221 --> 00:05:06,861
<i>We don't have CCTV.</i>

86
00:05:06,941 --> 00:05:08,141
<i>[Emilia] Forensic evidence?</i>

87
00:05:08,221 --> 00:05:10,221
<i>[David] Rita's case was reopened</i>

88
00:05:10,301 --> 00:05:13,341
<i>by the Thames Valley Police in 2007.</i>

89
00:05:13,421 --> 00:05:16,021
<i>And, surprisingly, they have been able</i>

90
00:05:16,101 --> 00:05:20,421
<i>to generate a full DNA
profile of the perpetrator.</i>

91
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<i>[Emilia] That's gonna be useful.</i>

92
00:05:21,421 --> 00:05:23,301
<i>Yeah, but any testing they've done</i>

93
00:05:23,381 --> 00:05:26,901
<i>in the investigation
hasn't led to a conviction.</i>

94
00:05:26,981 --> 00:05:29,461
<i>[eerie music]</i>

95
00:05:44,541 --> 00:05:47,421
<i>I think we should guard
against simply thinking</i>

96
00:05:47,501 --> 00:05:51,661
<i>of Rita as just another murdered girl.</i>

97
00:05:52,661 --> 00:05:53,861
<i>We've gotta build up a picture</i>

98
00:05:53,941 --> 00:05:56,301
<i>of what she was like when she was alive.</i>

99
00:05:56,381 --> 00:05:57,941
<i>Have a look at this.</i>

100
00:05:58,021 --> 00:06:00,541
<i>[eerie music]</i>

101
00:06:01,981 --> 00:06:04,621
<i>I've managed to uncover some footage</i>

102
00:06:04,701 --> 00:06:08,741
<i>of her passing out
parade at RAF Spitalgate,</i>

103
00:06:08,821 --> 00:06:11,341
<i>where she did her training.</i>

104
00:06:12,781 --> 00:06:15,301
<i>Look, there they are having a laugh.</i>

105
00:06:15,381 --> 00:06:17,901
<i>Still haven't seen Rita though.</i>

106
00:06:17,981 --> 00:06:18,781
<i>-There she is.
-Where?</i>

107
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<i>[David] There she is, just there</i>

108
00:06:20,741 --> 00:06:22,981
<i>with her hand on her mouth.</i>

109
00:06:23,061 --> 00:06:25,301
<i>So on the outskirts of the fun.</i>

110
00:06:25,381 --> 00:06:27,461
<i>[David] Here she comes</i>

111
00:06:27,901 --> 00:06:29,421
<i>She looks shy, doesn't she?</i>

112
00:06:29,501 --> 00:06:33,501
<i>Being in front of the
camera, with her head down.</i>

113
00:06:33,581 --> 00:06:36,061
<i>And that totally fits
with the descriptions</i>

114
00:06:36,141 --> 00:06:37,901
<i>that we have of her.</i>

115
00:06:39,301 --> 00:06:40,501
<i>The inquest describes her</i>

116
00:06:40,581 --> 00:06:44,021
<i>as a lonely girl looking for company.</i>

117
00:06:44,101 --> 00:06:45,821
<i>She didn't have a boyfriend.</i>

118
00:06:45,901 --> 00:06:47,581
<i>She didn't drink or smoke.</i>

119
00:06:47,661 --> 00:06:51,141
<i>And she spent her time off duty reading</i>

120
00:06:51,221 --> 00:06:53,341
<i>or watching television.</i>

121
00:06:53,421 --> 00:06:56,781
<i>And another description is
that she was a shy person</i>

122
00:06:56,861 --> 00:06:58,021
<i>that, if an officer came along,</i>

123
00:06:58,101 --> 00:06:59,741
<i>she wouldn't dare to say to him,</i>

124
00:06:59,821 --> 00:07:01,261
<i>are you the wing commander?</i>

125
00:07:01,341 --> 00:07:04,421
<i>She'd have just got in the
car, assuming it was him.</i>

126
00:07:04,501 --> 00:07:06,021
<i>That might be quite important.</i>

127
00:07:06,101 --> 00:07:10,461
<i>Another contemporary
described her as a gentle soul</i>

128
00:07:10,541 --> 00:07:13,141
<i>who wouldn't have been able
to put up much of a fight.</i>

129
00:07:13,221 --> 00:07:15,741
<i>She had no aggression in her.</i>

130
00:07:15,821 --> 00:07:19,421
<i>All of these descriptions
paint a similar picture</i>

131
00:07:19,501 --> 00:07:22,221
<i>of her, don't they, that she
was a lovely girl, gentle.</i>

132
00:07:22,301 --> 00:07:27,301
<i>quiet, timid, shy, and
vulnerable to other people.</i>

133
00:07:28,381 --> 00:07:29,141
<i>But I suppose</i>

134
00:07:29,221 --> 00:07:32,221
<i>if we're trying to discover
who it was that killed her,</i>

135
00:07:32,301 --> 00:07:34,781
<i>we really need to know much more</i>

136
00:07:34,861 --> 00:07:37,821
<i>about that final hour that she's alive.</i>

137
00:07:37,901 --> 00:07:40,821
<i>[melancholy music]</i>

138
00:07:46,061 --> 00:07:49,821
<i>[traffic whooshing]</i>

139
00:07:49,901 --> 00:07:52,381
<i>[phone rings]</i>

140
00:07:54,581 --> 00:07:57,981
<i>[Emilia] David, I tracked down
this guy called Steve Tank</i>

141
00:07:58,061 --> 00:08:00,781
<i>who was an apprentice at RAF Halton.</i>

142
00:08:00,861 --> 00:08:04,941
<i>Apparently he saw Rita
on the night she died.</i>

143
00:08:06,581 --> 00:08:08,621
<i>Steve, how well did you know Rita?</i>

144
00:08:08,701 --> 00:08:11,341
<i>Well, I didn't know Rita
at all until that night.</i>

145
00:08:11,421 --> 00:08:15,181
<i>And, as it transpires, I
might well have been one</i>

146
00:08:15,261 --> 00:08:18,261
<i>of the last ones to see her alive.</i>

147
00:08:20,541 --> 00:08:22,101
<i>[Emilia] So what happened that night?</i>

148
00:08:22,181 --> 00:08:24,901
<i>I was going out with a trainee nurse</i>

149
00:08:24,981 --> 00:08:26,381
<i>and I'd arranged to meet her</i>

150
00:08:26,461 --> 00:08:28,541
<i>outside the WAF block that night.</i>

151
00:08:28,621 --> 00:08:30,581
<i>Where was that, the WAF block?</i>

152
00:08:30,661 --> 00:08:31,941
<i>It was just at the top of this hill.</i>

153
00:08:32,021 --> 00:08:33,461
<i>[Emilia] Yeah.</i>

154
00:08:33,821 --> 00:08:35,261
<i>And to the left.</i>

155
00:08:37,421 --> 00:08:38,901
<i>It was about quarter past seven,</i>

156
00:08:38,981 --> 00:08:42,061
<i>I turned up to meet Liz, Liz Hearn,</i>

157
00:08:43,181 --> 00:08:47,621
<i>and she came out of the
WAF block with her friend</i>

158
00:08:48,941 --> 00:08:51,901
<i>who I later found out was Rita Ellis.</i>

159
00:08:51,981 --> 00:08:55,621
<i>She said, Rita's gonna be babysitting.</i>

160
00:08:55,901 --> 00:08:59,341
<i>Can we walk her down to the guard room?</i>

161
00:08:59,901 --> 00:09:01,581
<i>November night, it would have been dark</i>

162
00:09:01,661 --> 00:09:02,381
<i>at that time as well.</i>

163
00:09:02,461 --> 00:09:05,421
<i>It was cold and it was foggy, misty.</i>

164
00:09:05,501 --> 00:09:06,261
<i>Right.</i>

165
00:09:06,341 --> 00:09:08,781
<i>So I said, yes, but you
know, I don't really want to</i>

166
00:09:08,861 --> 00:09:11,181
<i>because at that time we
weren't allowed to associate</i>

167
00:09:11,261 --> 00:09:13,981
<i>with any of the other staff.</i>

168
00:09:14,061 --> 00:09:16,021
<i>I could have got thrown
out of the Air Force.</i>

169
00:09:16,101 --> 00:09:17,781
<i>-For being with Liz?
-Yes.</i>

170
00:09:17,861 --> 00:09:18,621
<i>Right.</i>

171
00:09:18,701 --> 00:09:22,821
<i>So we walked down to the guard room here.</i>

172
00:09:22,901 --> 00:09:24,261
<i>So I think we were only there</i>

173
00:09:24,341 --> 00:09:26,461
<i>for about three or four minutes.</i>

174
00:09:26,541 --> 00:09:28,261
<i>She said, well, you might as well go.</i>

175
00:09:28,341 --> 00:09:29,101
<i>I'll be all right.</i>

176
00:09:29,181 --> 00:09:30,141
<i>I'm getting picked up.</i>

177
00:09:30,221 --> 00:09:30,981
<i>[Emilia] Rita said that?</i>

178
00:09:31,061 --> 00:09:32,341
<i>Rita said that, yeah.</i>

179
00:09:32,421 --> 00:09:34,981
<i>So what time do you think you left Rita?</i>

180
00:09:35,061 --> 00:09:37,781
<i>Between 25 past, half past seven.</i>

181
00:09:37,861 --> 00:09:41,261
<i>And that was the last time you saw Rita?</i>

182
00:09:41,341 --> 00:09:42,701
<i>That's the first and last.</i>

183
00:09:42,781 --> 00:09:44,021
<i>-First and last.
-Yeah, yep.</i>

184
00:09:44,101 --> 00:09:47,101
<i>And when did you find out about
what had happened to Rita?</i>

185
00:09:47,181 --> 00:09:50,501
<i>It must've been about two
days later, I suppose,</i>

186
00:09:50,581 --> 00:09:53,141
<i>when we were all being
interviewed by the police</i>

187
00:09:53,221 --> 00:09:55,621
<i>'cause they'd said the name.</i>

188
00:09:55,701 --> 00:09:58,141
<i>It was then I realised it was Rita Ellis</i>

189
00:09:58,221 --> 00:10:00,421
<i>that we'd walked down
to the guard room with.</i>

190
00:10:00,501 --> 00:10:01,261
<i>Yeah.</i>

191
00:10:01,341 --> 00:10:04,501
<i>[melancholy music]</i>

192
00:10:04,581 --> 00:10:08,141
<i>Do you have a theory of who
you think might be responsible?</i>

193
00:10:08,221 --> 00:10:09,941
<i>[Steve] No, I haven't a clue.</i>

194
00:10:10,021 --> 00:10:12,541
<i>Honestly, I wouldn't know.</i>

195
00:10:13,981 --> 00:10:18,981
<i>-[eerie music]
-[birds chirping]</i>

196
00:10:19,741 --> 00:10:21,821
<i>I've dug out some newspaper articles</i>

197
00:10:21,901 --> 00:10:24,621
<i>and taken some facts from the inquest</i>

198
00:10:24,701 --> 00:10:28,221
<i>to try and work out Rita's last movements.</i>

199
00:10:28,301 --> 00:10:30,821
<i>So let's see if we can
actually plot them down.</i>

200
00:10:30,901 --> 00:10:33,181
<i>Steve says he thinks that
he might have been one</i>

201
00:10:33,261 --> 00:10:35,101
<i>of the last people to see Rita that night</i>

202
00:10:35,181 --> 00:10:40,181
<i>and he escorted Rita and Liz
from block seven at 7:15 PM</i>

203
00:10:42,181 --> 00:10:47,181
<i>to the guard room, which was
about five minutes walk away.</i>

204
00:10:47,341 --> 00:10:49,781
<i>Then he and Liz left Rita there</i>

205
00:10:49,861 --> 00:10:53,021
<i>at the guard house at about 7:25 PM.</i>

206
00:10:53,101 --> 00:10:54,941
<i>Okay, the next thing that we know for sure</i>

207
00:10:55,021 --> 00:10:57,741
<i>from the coroner's inquiry
is that the wing commander</i>

208
00:10:57,821 --> 00:11:00,461
<i>is gonna leave his house at 7:31</i>

209
00:11:00,541 --> 00:11:02,061
<i>and therefore it's gonna take some minutes</i>

210
00:11:02,141 --> 00:11:03,381
<i>to get to the camp,</i>

211
00:11:03,461 --> 00:11:06,261
<i>but the key thing is he's
already running late.</i>

212
00:11:06,341 --> 00:11:07,221
<i>And there was confusion</i>

213
00:11:07,301 --> 00:11:09,781
<i>about where he was going to
pick up Rita, wasn't there?</i>

214
00:11:09,861 --> 00:11:12,421
<i>So it was possible that
Rita was at the guard house</i>

215
00:11:12,501 --> 00:11:14,141
<i>whilst the wing commander</i>

216
00:11:14,221 --> 00:11:17,141
<i>was outside the women's
accommodation block.</i>

217
00:11:17,221 --> 00:11:18,461
<i>So they would have missed each other.</i>

218
00:11:18,541 --> 00:11:21,301
<i>Well, and he can't go into
it because he's a man.</i>

219
00:11:21,381 --> 00:11:23,461
<i>Therefore, he had to return home</i>

220
00:11:23,541 --> 00:11:25,621
<i>because he wanted to get his wife</i>

221
00:11:25,701 --> 00:11:29,821
<i>because his wife could go
into the female accommodation.</i>

222
00:11:29,901 --> 00:11:31,981
<i>So then the next known thing is</i>

223
00:11:32,061 --> 00:11:35,501
<i>that Rita was seen by Sylvie
Banks who said in the inquest</i>

224
00:11:35,581 --> 00:11:40,581
<i>and that her friend Rita was
in block seven at 8:00 PM</i>

225
00:11:40,981 --> 00:11:44,301
<i>and Sylvie asked her what
she was doing that night</i>

226
00:11:44,381 --> 00:11:46,701
<i>and Rita said that she
was going to babysit.</i>

227
00:11:46,781 --> 00:11:50,581
<i>Now, meanwhile, the wing
commander has gone home.</i>

228
00:11:50,661 --> 00:11:54,101
<i>He's got his wife with
him now, but crucially,</i>

229
00:11:54,181 --> 00:11:57,981
<i>they searched block six, not block seven.</i>

230
00:11:58,061 --> 00:11:59,261
<i>[Emilia] Oh, so he's made a mistake.</i>

231
00:11:59,341 --> 00:12:00,101
<i>Yeah.</i>

232
00:12:00,181 --> 00:12:03,261
<i>And the next thing that we
know from the police report</i>

233
00:12:03,341 --> 00:12:05,141
<i>is that there was a sighting of Rita</i>

234
00:12:05,221 --> 00:12:09,781
<i>between 8:00 and 8:15 at the gymnasium.</i>

235
00:12:10,941 --> 00:12:14,141
<i>And then there's this
account in the newspaper</i>

236
00:12:14,221 --> 00:12:18,261
<i>that she's seen walking
towards a man driving</i>

237
00:12:18,341 --> 00:12:21,101
<i>a red Cortina around about 8:10</i>

238
00:12:21,181 --> 00:12:23,461
<i>and then the next definitive
piece of information</i>

239
00:12:23,541 --> 00:12:26,501
<i>that we have, according
to the coroner's inquiry,</i>

240
00:12:26,581 --> 00:12:29,421
<i>is that she was murdered at 9:00 PM.</i>

241
00:12:29,501 --> 00:12:31,621
<i>[eerie music]</i>

242
00:12:31,701 --> 00:12:35,021
<i>But just to make things
even more complicated,</i>

243
00:12:35,101 --> 00:12:37,621
<i>on the 50th anniversary appeal,</i>

244
00:12:37,701 --> 00:12:40,301
<i>the Thames Valley Police say that night,</i>

245
00:12:40,381 --> 00:12:44,221
<i>two events, that civilians
could come to, were being held.</i>

246
00:12:44,301 --> 00:12:47,661
<i>There was bingo and a disco on camp.</i>

247
00:12:47,741 --> 00:12:51,261
<i>And therefore who actually
is responsible here?</i>

248
00:12:51,341 --> 00:12:55,821
<i>Is it someone on the camp or
someone from the community?</i>

249
00:12:55,901 --> 00:12:56,701
<i>Well, whoever they are</i>

250
00:12:56,781 --> 00:13:00,861
<i>they committed a terrible
crime and we need their name</i>

251
00:13:00,941 --> 00:13:03,141
<i>and we need to find them.</i>

252
00:13:05,221 --> 00:13:05,981
<i>[wind whooshing]</i>

253
00:13:06,061 --> 00:13:09,061
<i>[suspenseful music]</i>

254
00:13:16,661 --> 00:13:19,501
<i>I've traced a policeman who
worked in the incident room</i>

255
00:13:19,581 --> 00:13:22,381
<i>on the first investigation
into Rita's murder.</i>

256
00:13:22,461 --> 00:13:25,141
<i>His name is Michael Clanfield.</i>

257
00:13:25,221 --> 00:13:27,821
<i>I'm hoping he can give
us some information.</i>

258
00:13:27,901 --> 00:13:29,901
<i>Have you had any luck
with former officers?</i>

259
00:13:29,981 --> 00:13:30,741
<i>[David] Yes, I have.</i>

260
00:13:30,821 --> 00:13:32,861
<i>I've tracked down an ex policemen</i>

261
00:13:32,941 --> 00:13:34,221
<i>who was actually there</i>

262
00:13:34,301 --> 00:13:37,741
<i>on the day that Rita's body was found.</i>

263
00:13:42,301 --> 00:13:44,541
<i>This is the actual incident room.</i>

264
00:13:44,621 --> 00:13:47,541
<i>That handsome chap there
is me with dark hair.</i>

265
00:13:47,621 --> 00:13:49,061
<i>Oh my goodness.</i>

266
00:13:50,021 --> 00:13:51,701
<i>What were the early theories</i>

267
00:13:51,781 --> 00:13:53,541
<i>about what had happened to Rita?</i>

268
00:13:53,621 --> 00:13:58,621
<i>I think the feeling was
that maybe she mistook</i>

269
00:13:58,741 --> 00:14:00,981
<i>the car that pulled up.</i>

270
00:14:02,821 --> 00:14:06,101
<i>At that time, when we used
to go out to any nightclubs,</i>

271
00:14:06,181 --> 00:14:08,181
<i>the girls would stand on
the road for a lift home</i>

272
00:14:08,261 --> 00:14:09,181
<i>and thumb a lift home.</i>

273
00:14:09,261 --> 00:14:11,261
<i>It was like normal practise.</i>

274
00:14:11,341 --> 00:14:13,581
<i>Chaps, you always used to
go there and pick girls up</i>

275
00:14:13,661 --> 00:14:15,221
<i>they didn't know just
to give them a lift home</i>

276
00:14:15,301 --> 00:14:16,541
<i>to start a relationship.</i>

277
00:14:16,621 --> 00:14:18,301
<i>How does that fit though, with Rita,</i>

278
00:14:18,381 --> 00:14:20,701
<i>still thinking that she
was going babysitting?</i>

279
00:14:20,781 --> 00:14:25,581
<i>Now, if the offender pulled
up and she was anxious to go,</i>

280
00:14:25,661 --> 00:14:29,381
<i>she could have volunteered
that information quite easily.</i>

281
00:14:29,461 --> 00:14:33,301
<i>Have you come to pick
me up for babysitting?</i>

282
00:14:33,381 --> 00:14:37,381
<i>And all he's got to say
is yes and she gets in.</i>

283
00:14:37,701 --> 00:14:40,581
<i>That's what sits with me more logically.</i>

284
00:14:40,661 --> 00:14:42,821
<i>So random opportunity was taken.</i>

285
00:14:42,901 --> 00:14:45,021
<i>And was the wing commander,</i>

286
00:14:45,101 --> 00:14:47,381
<i>by virtue of having been the man</i>

287
00:14:47,461 --> 00:14:49,581
<i>who was meant to be picking up Rita</i>

288
00:14:49,661 --> 00:14:50,941
<i>for babysitting that night,</i>

289
00:14:51,021 --> 00:14:53,021
<i>was he an early person of
interest in the investigation?</i>

290
00:14:53,101 --> 00:14:57,181
<i>At the beginning, he was
obviously a first one,</i>

291
00:14:57,261 --> 00:14:58,941
<i>needs to be seen.</i>

292
00:14:59,021 --> 00:15:01,861
<i>From what I've heard, he was quite angry.</i>

293
00:15:01,941 --> 00:15:03,141
<i>He was not happy.</i>

294
00:15:03,221 --> 00:15:05,021
<i>I mean, he was a high ranking officer</i>

295
00:15:05,101 --> 00:15:08,261
<i>and this was a young apprentice
and she'd let him down.</i>

296
00:15:08,341 --> 00:15:10,061
<i>So she was going on my report,</i>

297
00:15:10,141 --> 00:15:11,341
<i>which is not the reaction</i>

298
00:15:11,421 --> 00:15:13,381
<i>of someone who's took her up
in the woods and murdered her.</i>

299
00:15:13,461 --> 00:15:14,221
<i>Right.</i>

300
00:15:14,301 --> 00:15:15,621
<i>And were there people</i>

301
00:15:15,701 --> 00:15:18,061
<i>of interest early in the investigation?</i>

302
00:15:18,141 --> 00:15:20,261
<i>Because this was a sexual offence.</i>

303
00:15:20,341 --> 00:15:21,101
<i>[Emilia] Yes.</i>

304
00:15:21,181 --> 00:15:24,141
<i>A lot of the inquiry was based on people</i>

305
00:15:24,221 --> 00:15:26,341
<i>who might have a sexual tendency.</i>

306
00:15:26,421 --> 00:15:27,501
<i>Right.</i>

307
00:15:27,581 --> 00:15:30,781
<i>Most of the information seemed
to come from the females</i>

308
00:15:30,861 --> 00:15:33,901
<i>of having bad experience with males.</i>

309
00:15:33,981 --> 00:15:35,621
<i>We call them stalkers now, don't we?</i>

310
00:15:35,701 --> 00:15:36,461
<i>Right?.</i>

311
00:15:36,541 --> 00:15:39,181
<i>But in them days, they were
just creeps, weren't they?</i>

312
00:15:39,261 --> 00:15:40,781
<i>But they were the same type of person</i>

313
00:15:40,861 --> 00:15:44,781
<i>that gave a female an
uncomfortable feeling.</i>

314
00:15:44,861 --> 00:15:48,021
<i>So in the statement taken, if
it was a person of interest,</i>

315
00:15:48,101 --> 00:15:49,261
<i>they would take swabs</i>

316
00:15:49,341 --> 00:15:52,821
<i>and do the basics and the
fingerprints and things like that.</i>

317
00:15:52,901 --> 00:15:56,501
<i>And why did the police take DNA swabs</i>

318
00:15:56,581 --> 00:16:01,221
<i>at the time when DNA testing
wasn't common practise?</i>

319
00:16:01,301 --> 00:16:05,141
<i>My opinion is it was an avenue</i>

320
00:16:05,221 --> 00:16:07,221
<i>that hadn't been used</i>

321
00:16:07,301 --> 00:16:11,741
<i>that would have possibly
ruffled the suspect's feathers</i>

322
00:16:11,821 --> 00:16:14,421
<i>and cause some sort of
irrational behaviour.</i>

323
00:16:14,501 --> 00:16:15,821
<i>And because it was a murder,</i>

324
00:16:15,901 --> 00:16:20,461
<i>you'd get a Home Office
pathologist and forensics.</i>

325
00:16:20,541 --> 00:16:21,821
<i>They would retain everything</i>

326
00:16:21,901 --> 00:16:25,381
<i>in any shape or form
for future examination.</i>

327
00:16:25,461 --> 00:16:28,421
<i>[eerie music]</i>

328
00:16:28,501 --> 00:16:31,181
<i>[bell clanging]</i>

329
00:16:32,981 --> 00:16:35,981
<i>[traffic whooshing]</i>

330
00:16:40,341 --> 00:16:43,581
<i>[David] You're the last person alive</i>

331
00:16:43,661 --> 00:16:46,341
<i>who attended the crime scene
on that Sunday morning.</i>

332
00:16:46,421 --> 00:16:47,661
<i>That's right, yeah.</i>

333
00:16:47,741 --> 00:16:51,741
<i>[David] When you walked
into the murder site itself,</i>

334
00:16:51,821 --> 00:16:55,021
<i>what were your first impressions?</i>

335
00:16:55,101 --> 00:16:56,901
<i>Yeah. Shock.</i>

336
00:16:56,981 --> 00:16:58,421
<i>Shock, really.</i>

337
00:17:01,981 --> 00:17:04,861
<i>You couldn't take a lot of it in.</i>

338
00:17:06,701 --> 00:17:09,781
<i>All around was items of her clothing</i>

339
00:17:09,861 --> 00:17:12,061
<i>on the trees and things.</i>

340
00:17:15,341 --> 00:17:17,901
<i>It implied to me that
she'd been terrified.</i>

341
00:17:17,981 --> 00:17:23,061
<i>and running around, fighting
for her life, so to speak.</i>

342
00:17:26,181 --> 00:17:29,181
<i>The body was not a pretty sight.</i>

343
00:17:29,261 --> 00:17:32,581
<i>Poor girl was lying there, on her back,</i>

344
00:17:34,701 --> 00:17:36,021
<i>almost naked.</i>

345
00:17:36,101 --> 00:17:39,861
<i>-[eerie music]
-[officers shouting]</i>

346
00:17:39,941 --> 00:17:42,021
<i>Been to many, many death scenes before,</i>

347
00:17:42,101 --> 00:17:47,181
<i>but this was one which you
can't forget it, to be honest.</i>

348
00:17:47,381 --> 00:17:48,901
<i>Was there evidence</i>

349
00:17:48,981 --> 00:17:51,901
<i>that she had been sexually
assaulted at the time?</i>

350
00:17:51,981 --> 00:17:54,701
<i>It appeared to me she had, yeah.</i>

351
00:17:54,781 --> 00:17:55,981
<i>Just the way she was lying,</i>

352
00:17:56,061 --> 00:17:58,381
<i>her clothing removed and</i>

353
00:18:00,581 --> 00:18:01,901
<i>and just, why was she lying</i>

354
00:18:01,981 --> 00:18:06,061
<i>there like that in the
first place, you know?</i>

355
00:18:06,541 --> 00:18:10,141
<i>[David] Doug, if she had
screamed at this spot.</i>

356
00:18:10,221 --> 00:18:12,861
<i>Nobody would have heard, no.</i>

357
00:18:13,581 --> 00:18:15,101
<i>The garage would've been closed.</i>

358
00:18:15,181 --> 00:18:17,181
<i>Tea rooms was closed.</i>

359
00:18:18,221 --> 00:18:23,221
<i>It's a good 50 yards
in from the main road.</i>

360
00:18:23,821 --> 00:18:26,901
<i>Why would they go to such a remote spot</i>

361
00:18:27,821 --> 00:18:29,581
<i>in the first place?</i>

362
00:18:30,061 --> 00:18:32,861
<i>Was she going there willingly</i>

363
00:18:34,301 --> 00:18:36,181
<i>or was she forced there?</i>

364
00:18:36,261 --> 00:18:38,221
<i>The only sense I can make is</i>

365
00:18:38,301 --> 00:18:42,501
<i>that she was taken there
by the perpetrator.</i>

366
00:18:43,621 --> 00:18:46,221
<i>Whether it was someone she knew</i>

367
00:18:46,301 --> 00:18:49,501
<i>or a complete stranger, I can't say,</i>

368
00:18:49,581 --> 00:18:52,741
<i>but I mean, I can't see
him dragging her there,</i>

369
00:18:52,821 --> 00:18:54,381
<i>to be honest.</i>

370
00:18:54,461 --> 00:18:59,141
<i>I mean, there would've been
plenty of time to escape.</i>

371
00:18:59,221 --> 00:19:01,141
<i>[eerie music]</i>

372
00:19:01,221 --> 00:19:05,301
<i>Did you or your colleagues
form any impression</i>

373
00:19:05,381 --> 00:19:10,181
<i>as to who this might have
been that killed Rita?</i>

374
00:19:10,261 --> 00:19:12,781
<i>Initially? No, no.</i>

375
00:19:12,861 --> 00:19:15,901
<i>But afterwards, you just sort
of start thinking, you know,</i>

376
00:19:15,981 --> 00:19:17,141
<i>is it somebody local?</i>

377
00:19:17,221 --> 00:19:20,221
<i>Is it somebody from the camp?</i>

378
00:19:20,301 --> 00:19:21,941
<i>Someone she knew?</i>

379
00:19:22,141 --> 00:19:23,741
<i>One fellow was sort of suspected.</i>

380
00:19:23,821 --> 00:19:28,821
<i>He used to live in the scrapyard</i>

381
00:19:29,021 --> 00:19:30,621
<i>down at Rosie Bridge.</i>

382
00:19:30,701 --> 00:19:31,461
<i>[David] Who was that?</i>

383
00:19:31,541 --> 00:19:33,741
<i>That was a fellow named Fletcher.</i>

384
00:19:33,821 --> 00:19:36,821
<i>[suspenseful music]</i>

385
00:19:40,461 --> 00:19:42,941
<i>[phone rings]</i>

386
00:19:43,981 --> 00:19:45,341
<i>I've got a suspect.</i>

387
00:19:45,421 --> 00:19:47,781
<i>It's a guy called Fletcher.</i>

388
00:19:47,861 --> 00:19:49,461
<i>[Emilia] Right, tell me
what you know about him.</i>

389
00:19:49,541 --> 00:19:51,901
<i>Well, at the minute, not very much,</i>

390
00:19:51,981 --> 00:19:55,581
<i>but apparently he lived
in a scrapyard near</i>

391
00:19:55,661 --> 00:19:57,501
<i>to where Rita was murdered.</i>

392
00:19:57,581 --> 00:20:01,621
<i>And here's the thing, he'd
previously been investigated</i>

393
00:20:01,701 --> 00:20:03,181
<i>for sexual assaults.</i>

394
00:20:03,261 --> 00:20:04,021
<i>Well, I'll look into that</i>

395
00:20:04,101 --> 00:20:06,261
<i>and try and find out
some more information.</i>

396
00:20:06,341 --> 00:20:11,341
<i>-[suspenseful music]
-[traffic whooshing]</i>

397
00:20:15,381 --> 00:20:16,701
<i>This is our man.</i>

398
00:20:16,781 --> 00:20:20,221
<i>His name was Joseph Hulson Fletcher.</i>

399
00:20:20,541 --> 00:20:22,181
<i>He was a scrap metal dealer</i>

400
00:20:22,261 --> 00:20:26,821
<i>and he lived in a caravan in
the woods around the RAF camp.</i>

401
00:20:26,901 --> 00:20:29,301
<i>And a short time after Rita's murder,</i>

402
00:20:29,381 --> 00:20:31,581
<i>he was arrested for the sexual assault</i>

403
00:20:31,661 --> 00:20:33,741
<i>of a 17-year-old girl.</i>

404
00:20:34,581 --> 00:20:35,341
<i>[David] How old was he?</i>

405
00:20:35,421 --> 00:20:37,021
<i>He was 49.</i>

406
00:20:37,981 --> 00:20:40,701
<i>But there's just one problem.</i>

407
00:20:40,781 --> 00:20:43,541
<i>I contacted Thames Valley
Police because, as you know,</i>

408
00:20:43,621 --> 00:20:45,821
<i>they've got a DNA profile of the killer.</i>

409
00:20:45,901 --> 00:20:47,701
<i>They won't give specific details</i>

410
00:20:47,781 --> 00:20:49,701
<i>about the DNA profile they have,</i>

411
00:20:49,781 --> 00:20:53,621
<i>but they have told us that
we can rule out Fletcher</i>

412
00:20:53,701 --> 00:20:56,461
<i>because his DNA doesn't
match the DNA they have</i>

413
00:20:56,541 --> 00:20:58,021
<i>of Rita's killer.</i>

414
00:20:58,101 --> 00:21:01,661
<i>And neither does Wing Commander Watson's.</i>

415
00:21:01,741 --> 00:21:04,381
<i>[David] Well, it's back
to square one then.</i>

416
00:21:04,461 --> 00:21:05,781
<i>[suspenseful music]</i>

417
00:21:05,861 --> 00:21:07,221
<i>[Emilia] Well, I've
arranged for us to speak</i>

418
00:21:07,301 --> 00:21:12,741
<i>to some apprentices from RAF
Halton who were there in 1967.</i>

419
00:21:13,261 --> 00:21:15,461
<i>Will you tell me how you
learned about Rita's murder?</i>

420
00:21:15,541 --> 00:21:18,741
<i>I don't think it was straight away.</i>

421
00:21:19,821 --> 00:21:22,661
<i>It was about the time
that we were asked to go</i>

422
00:21:22,741 --> 00:21:26,741
<i>and give witness statements to the police.</i>

423
00:21:26,941 --> 00:21:29,141
<i>[David] Were you shocked that this murder</i>

424
00:21:29,221 --> 00:21:31,541
<i>could have taken place on the camp?</i>

425
00:21:31,621 --> 00:21:33,341
<i>Yes, definitely.</i>

426
00:21:33,421 --> 00:21:35,421
<i>It's just not something we'd
never thought would happen.</i>

427
00:21:35,501 --> 00:21:38,021
<i>In 50 years, has there been
another murder at Halton?</i>

428
00:21:38,101 --> 00:21:40,101
<i>No, so it was pretty unique.</i>

429
00:21:40,181 --> 00:21:43,061
<i>Pretty shocking, to be honest.</i>

430
00:21:44,021 --> 00:21:46,701
<i>Do you remember rumours about any suspect</i>

431
00:21:46,781 --> 00:21:49,981
<i>who people thought might
have been responsible?</i>

432
00:21:50,061 --> 00:21:52,661
<i>There were a couple people in the frame.</i>

433
00:21:52,741 --> 00:21:55,661
<i>One was an apprentice who was a bit</i>

434
00:21:55,741 --> 00:21:57,941
<i>of a loner, an oddball.</i>

435
00:21:58,021 --> 00:22:01,741
<i>He was also a boxer who was notorious</i>

436
00:22:01,821 --> 00:22:06,221
<i>for his ability to be physical.</i>

437
00:22:07,341 --> 00:22:08,621
<i>[Emilia] Get into fights?</i>

438
00:22:08,701 --> 00:22:10,461
<i>Yeah, he'd get into fights.</i>

439
00:22:10,541 --> 00:22:15,541
<i>My abiding memory is of
him holding a guy's belt</i>

440
00:22:17,181 --> 00:22:22,181
<i>and his neck and ramming
his head into a stone wall,</i>

441
00:22:23,781 --> 00:22:27,221
<i>which resulted, as it turned
out, with a fractured skull.</i>

442
00:22:27,301 --> 00:22:28,821
<i>[Emilia] Oh my goodness.</i>

443
00:22:28,901 --> 00:22:30,541
<i>So if you were going to look at someone</i>

444
00:22:30,621 --> 00:22:32,381
<i>to put in the frame,</i>

445
00:22:34,061 --> 00:22:37,741
<i>probably he would be an ideal candidate.</i>

446
00:22:37,821 --> 00:22:40,221
<i>But there was also a corporal</i>

447
00:22:40,301 --> 00:22:43,301
<i>that lived with us in the block.</i>

448
00:22:44,981 --> 00:22:46,701
<i>The corporal was a very strange bloke.</i>

449
00:22:46,781 --> 00:22:47,901
<i>You could never get to know him.</i>

450
00:22:47,981 --> 00:22:49,141
<i>He was slightly remote,</i>

451
00:22:49,221 --> 00:22:50,501
<i>and he was quite a tough guy, you know?</i>

452
00:22:50,581 --> 00:22:52,301
<i>Why did he become a suspect?</i>

453
00:22:52,381 --> 00:22:54,461
<i>The first time I heard it mentioned</i>

454
00:22:54,541 --> 00:22:56,301
<i>was at this reunion in 1989.</i>

455
00:22:56,381 --> 00:22:58,941
<i>You know, we had discussed,
who do you think did it?</i>

456
00:22:59,021 --> 00:23:01,941
<i>One person said to me, I'd heard</i>

457
00:23:02,021 --> 00:23:05,501
<i>that this guy had blood
on his hands or his shirt.</i>

458
00:23:05,581 --> 00:23:08,301
<i>That's, again, hearsay and second thing,</i>

459
00:23:08,381 --> 00:23:09,581
<i>but that's the first
time I heard about that</i>

460
00:23:09,661 --> 00:23:11,901
<i>and that was quite a shock.</i>

461
00:23:11,981 --> 00:23:14,981
<i>[suspenseful music]</i>

462
00:23:16,301 --> 00:23:18,421
<i>So that's two more suspects,</i>

463
00:23:18,501 --> 00:23:21,581
<i>the apprentice and the corporal.</i>

464
00:23:30,781 --> 00:23:34,461
<i>What do you remember about
the investigation at the time?</i>

465
00:23:34,541 --> 00:23:36,541
<i>That's interesting.</i>

466
00:23:39,661 --> 00:23:41,181
<i>The apprentice.</i>

467
00:23:41,901 --> 00:23:44,181
<i>[David] He was known to be a boxer.</i>

468
00:23:44,261 --> 00:23:46,261
<i>Now he was described to me</i>

469
00:23:46,341 --> 00:23:49,661
<i>as someone who was pretty violent</i>

470
00:23:49,741 --> 00:23:54,061
<i>and got into horrible
fights, but it's not him.</i>

471
00:23:54,141 --> 00:23:57,301
<i>I've spoken to the police and
he was a person of interest,</i>

472
00:23:57,381 --> 00:23:59,421
<i>but they did a DNA test on him</i>

473
00:23:59,501 --> 00:24:01,901
<i>and he's been forensically eliminated.</i>

474
00:24:01,981 --> 00:24:04,421
<i>That's a bit of a surprise.</i>

475
00:24:04,501 --> 00:24:07,701
<i>The second suspect was a corporal.</i>

476
00:24:07,901 --> 00:24:10,141
<i>It was a story that seemingly emerges,</i>

477
00:24:10,221 --> 00:24:13,021
<i>not during the investigation,</i>

478
00:24:13,101 --> 00:24:15,581
<i>but several years later.</i>

479
00:24:15,661 --> 00:24:19,061
<i>It was never reported to
the police at the time,</i>

480
00:24:19,141 --> 00:24:21,781
<i>but I still think about him being seen</i>

481
00:24:21,861 --> 00:24:23,901
<i>with blood on his hands.</i>

482
00:24:23,981 --> 00:24:25,421
<i>On the night of Rita's murder?</i>

483
00:24:25,501 --> 00:24:26,261
<i>Yeah.</i>

484
00:24:26,341 --> 00:24:31,181
<i>I don't know how much to
give credence to that story.</i>

485
00:24:32,781 --> 00:24:35,421
<i>Rita's murder was a strangulation.</i>

486
00:24:35,501 --> 00:24:37,941
<i>It doesn't say anywhere in the inquest</i>

487
00:24:38,021 --> 00:24:40,301
<i>there was blood from her injuries</i>

488
00:24:40,381 --> 00:24:43,381
<i>and indeed, it wasn't
mentioned by Doug Manderfield,</i>

489
00:24:43,461 --> 00:24:45,061
<i>who saw her body.</i>

490
00:24:45,141 --> 00:24:48,261
<i>So it could just be hearsay years later.</i>

491
00:24:48,341 --> 00:24:50,061
<i>[Emilia] Well, I checked with the police.</i>

492
00:24:50,141 --> 00:24:55,141
<i>They confirmed that they
have this person's details,</i>

493
00:24:55,381 --> 00:24:56,741
<i>but we can't take it forward anymore</i>

494
00:24:56,821 --> 00:25:00,021
<i>because the files are closed to us.</i>

495
00:25:00,181 --> 00:25:05,181
<i>So with all these names out
of the frame as suspects,</i>

496
00:25:05,341 --> 00:25:08,181
<i>we're still no farther forward.</i>

497
00:25:08,261 --> 00:25:09,421
<i>Where next?</i>

498
00:25:11,181 --> 00:25:13,941
<i>[dramatic music]</i>

499
00:25:16,221 --> 00:25:18,541
<i>Well, we might not have any suspects,</i>

500
00:25:18,621 --> 00:25:21,101
<i>but I don't feel we're at a dead end.</i>

501
00:25:21,181 --> 00:25:23,861
<i>I just think we need to broaden the search</i>

502
00:25:23,941 --> 00:25:27,341
<i>to find out what was happening
at the area at the time.</i>

503
00:25:27,421 --> 00:25:30,861
<i>I'm gonna reach out to
some local newspapers</i>

504
00:25:30,941 --> 00:25:32,821
<i>to see if we can get more information.</i>

505
00:25:32,901 --> 00:25:33,821
<i>[Emilia] Good idea.</i>

506
00:25:33,901 --> 00:25:35,181
<i>I'm gonna head to the archives</i>

507
00:25:35,261 --> 00:25:37,861
<i>to see if any historical
newspaper reports throw up</i>

508
00:25:37,941 --> 00:25:39,261
<i>any new leads.</i>

509
00:25:39,701 --> 00:25:41,901
<i>Because this case is so old,</i>

510
00:25:41,981 --> 00:25:46,101
<i>I think it's key to try to
understand that late 60s period.</i>

511
00:25:46,181 --> 00:25:48,141
<i>Politics and attitudes towards women were</i>

512
00:25:48,221 --> 00:25:51,701
<i>so different back then, things
could be pretty repressive.</i>

513
00:25:51,781 --> 00:25:53,781
<i>And Rita worked on an RAF base,</i>

514
00:25:53,861 --> 00:25:56,341
<i>a highly masculine military world.</i>

515
00:25:56,421 --> 00:25:57,181
<i>[David] I agree.</i>

516
00:25:57,261 --> 00:25:58,581
<i>And you've got to ask,</i>

517
00:25:58,661 --> 00:26:02,541
<i>did all of that have a
bearing on Rita's murder?</i>

518
00:26:02,621 --> 00:26:05,541
<i>[melancholy music]</i>

519
00:26:11,061 --> 00:26:15,101
<i>Three girls have been savagely
attacked in seven weeks.</i>

520
00:26:15,181 --> 00:26:18,741
<i>One of them, Rita Ellis
of RAF Halton, died.</i>

521
00:26:18,821 --> 00:26:21,341
<i>Ann Simmons was attacked on her way home</i>

522
00:26:21,421 --> 00:26:23,821
<i>on November the 25th.</i>

523
00:26:23,901 --> 00:26:27,021
<i>Janet X was the victim of a brutal attack</i>

524
00:26:27,101 --> 00:26:28,621
<i>at Little Tring.</i>

525
00:26:31,661 --> 00:26:35,181
<i>Another girl has been
accosted by an assailant,</i>

526
00:26:35,261 --> 00:26:37,221
<i>and this time in Wingrave.</i>

527
00:26:37,301 --> 00:26:39,941
<i>[phone rings]</i>

528
00:26:40,021 --> 00:26:42,261
<i>I've just discovered there
were a number of attacks</i>

529
00:26:42,341 --> 00:26:43,701
<i>on women in the same area</i>

530
00:26:43,781 --> 00:26:46,181
<i>in the three months after Rita was killed</i>

531
00:26:46,261 --> 00:26:48,861
<i>and police at the time
clearly linked the offender</i>

532
00:26:48,941 --> 00:26:50,581
<i>to Rita's murder.</i>

533
00:26:51,301 --> 00:26:52,861
<i>Well, sadly, you may be able</i>

534
00:26:52,941 --> 00:26:54,941
<i>to add another attack to the list.</i>

535
00:26:55,021 --> 00:26:57,741
<i>Through speaking to the local newspaper,</i>

536
00:26:57,821 --> 00:27:00,901
<i>I found a woman who was
attacked four months</i>

537
00:27:00,981 --> 00:27:04,141
<i>after Rita was murdered in the local area.</i>

538
00:27:04,221 --> 00:27:07,981
<i>She was only 15 when it happened
and she never reported it</i>

539
00:27:08,061 --> 00:27:10,381
<i>to the police at the time.</i>

540
00:27:11,021 --> 00:27:12,981
<i>She says she's happy to talk to me,</i>

541
00:27:13,061 --> 00:27:15,821
<i>but she doesn't want to be identified.</i>

542
00:27:15,901 --> 00:27:17,461
<i>Linda, can you tell me what happened</i>

543
00:27:17,541 --> 00:27:21,581
<i>to you in the spring of 1968?</i>

544
00:27:23,501 --> 00:27:26,221
<i>[Linda] Well, I'd been to a discotheque</i>

545
00:27:26,301 --> 00:27:28,461
<i>and gets very hot in there,</i>

546
00:27:28,541 --> 00:27:31,141
<i>so I decided to go for a walk</i>

547
00:27:31,221 --> 00:27:34,101
<i>and post a letter at the same time.</i>

548
00:27:34,181 --> 00:27:35,341
<i>This is in Aylesbury?</i>

549
00:27:35,421 --> 00:27:37,021
<i>[Linda] In Aylesbury.</i>

550
00:27:37,101 --> 00:27:41,101
<i>And a car stopped and he called me over.</i>

551
00:27:42,541 --> 00:27:45,061
<i>The man, I think he was in his 20s,</i>

552
00:27:45,141 --> 00:27:48,941
<i>was fair haired, and he
had a distinctive chin</i>

553
00:27:49,021 --> 00:27:50,861
<i>and he was well spoken.</i>

554
00:27:50,941 --> 00:27:51,741
<i>Well spoken?</i>

555
00:27:51,821 --> 00:27:52,581
<i>[Linda] Yeah.</i>

556
00:27:52,661 --> 00:27:56,261
<i>He said he had medical supplies
and if he didn't get them</i>

557
00:27:56,341 --> 00:28:00,541
<i>to Halton Hospital,
somebody was going to die,</i>

558
00:28:01,821 --> 00:28:03,861
<i>and could I show him the way?</i>

559
00:28:03,941 --> 00:28:04,901
<i>[eerie music]</i>

560
00:28:04,981 --> 00:28:08,661
<i>He opened the door and
I did get in the car.</i>

561
00:28:14,221 --> 00:28:18,301
<i>He drove down a little lane and he said,</i>

562
00:28:18,381 --> 00:28:19,861
<i>I've got to stop the car.</i>

563
00:28:19,941 --> 00:28:22,621
<i>And I tried to get out the car</i>

564
00:28:22,701 --> 00:28:23,821
<i>and I couldn't get out.</i>

565
00:28:23,901 --> 00:28:24,621
<i>I just couldn't.</i>

566
00:28:24,701 --> 00:28:27,261
<i>I don't know why I couldn't get out.</i>

567
00:28:27,341 --> 00:28:30,741
<i>And he got really, really angry.</i>

568
00:28:30,821 --> 00:28:32,581
<i>I start panicking.</i>

569
00:28:33,341 --> 00:28:35,421
<i>I knew I was in trouble.</i>

570
00:28:35,741 --> 00:28:38,341
<i>I'm trying to fumble around and get out,</i>

571
00:28:38,421 --> 00:28:41,101
<i>and he just puts his
hands around my throat,</i>

572
00:28:41,181 --> 00:28:43,261
<i>starts strangling me.</i>

573
00:28:44,021 --> 00:28:47,021
<i>And said, you're not going
to give me trouble as well.</i>

574
00:28:47,101 --> 00:28:52,101
<i>You're not going to
give me trouble as well?</i>

575
00:28:52,381 --> 00:28:54,261
<i>What did that make you think?</i>

576
00:28:54,341 --> 00:28:55,541
<i>[Linda] He's done it before.</i>

577
00:28:55,621 --> 00:28:57,861
<i>And then I immediately thought,</i>

578
00:28:57,941 --> 00:29:00,941
<i>you're the one that killed Rita.</i>

579
00:29:03,941 --> 00:29:06,781
<i>Linda, did you feel fear for your life?</i>

580
00:29:06,861 --> 00:29:08,861
<i>[Linda] I think he would have killed me</i>

581
00:29:08,941 --> 00:29:14,021
<i>if I hadn't quietened down and
done what he told me to do.</i>

582
00:29:14,661 --> 00:29:17,301
<i>He pulled me over onto his lap</i>

583
00:29:18,701 --> 00:29:21,021
<i>and then he assaulted me.</i>

584
00:29:22,061 --> 00:29:24,461
<i>Are you able to describe
the things he does to you?</i>

585
00:29:24,541 --> 00:29:25,381
<i>[Linda] I'd rather not.</i>

586
00:29:25,461 --> 00:29:27,981
<i>-Too painful?
-[Linda] Mm.</i>

587
00:29:28,701 --> 00:29:33,421
<i>And in the end he drove me home.</i>

588
00:29:33,501 --> 00:29:35,581
<i>And when you got home,</i>

589
00:29:35,661 --> 00:29:37,181
<i>did you tell anybody that night?</i>

590
00:29:37,261 --> 00:29:38,141
<i>[Linda] No.</i>

591
00:29:38,221 --> 00:29:40,221
<i>You just didn't feel able?</i>

592
00:29:40,301 --> 00:29:41,581
<i>[Linda] No, I couldn't, no.</i>

593
00:29:41,661 --> 00:29:44,701
<i>[David] Linda, when did you
report this to the police?</i>

594
00:29:44,781 --> 00:29:47,341
<i>[Linda] About 12 or 13 years later.</i>

595
00:29:47,421 --> 00:29:49,581
<i>[David] So we're in the 1980s?</i>

596
00:29:49,661 --> 00:29:51,261
<i>[Linda] Yeah, early 80s.</i>

597
00:29:51,341 --> 00:29:54,581
<i>Years ago, you didn't
talk about those things.</i>

598
00:29:54,661 --> 00:29:56,861
<i>You know, I'd have been
probably frowned on.</i>

599
00:29:56,941 --> 00:30:00,181
<i>But it was different times.</i>

600
00:30:00,261 --> 00:30:03,421
<i>-It really was.
-[melancholy music]</i>

601
00:30:03,501 --> 00:30:05,741
<i>I'm glad times have changed</i>

602
00:30:05,821 --> 00:30:08,621
<i>and women can talk about them now,</i>

603
00:30:08,701 --> 00:30:12,421
<i>and you're not looked
down on or frowned on,</i>

604
00:30:12,501 --> 00:30:14,061
<i>but years ago, you couldn't.</i>

605
00:30:14,141 --> 00:30:17,341
<i>And I'm sure there's
other people out there</i>

606
00:30:17,421 --> 00:30:19,781
<i>and the same thing's happened to them.</i>

607
00:30:19,861 --> 00:30:21,701
<i>[melancholy music]</i>

608
00:30:21,781 --> 00:30:24,781
<i>[traffic whooshing]</i>

609
00:30:28,341 --> 00:30:30,301
<i>[Emilia] What did you find out?</i>

610
00:30:30,381 --> 00:30:33,141
<i>[David] You know those sex
assaults that you uncovered</i>

611
00:30:33,221 --> 00:30:35,101
<i>-in the newspapers?
-[Emilia] Yeah.</i>

612
00:30:35,181 --> 00:30:38,421
<i>At the time after Rita's murder.</i>

613
00:30:38,501 --> 00:30:40,501
<i>I've interviewed one woman,</i>

614
00:30:40,581 --> 00:30:43,621
<i>who didn't want to be identified,</i>

615
00:30:44,621 --> 00:30:48,181
<i>who said that she was
attacked by this man.</i>

616
00:30:48,261 --> 00:30:52,981
<i>Now, this poor woman was so ashamed.</i>

617
00:30:53,061 --> 00:30:56,861
<i>She just didn't feel
able to go to the police.</i>

618
00:30:56,941 --> 00:30:58,341
<i>And indeed it took several years</i>

619
00:30:58,421 --> 00:31:02,781
<i>before she was prepared to
report what happened to her.</i>

620
00:31:02,861 --> 00:31:05,261
<i>Well, there are still echoes
of that today, aren't there,</i>

621
00:31:05,341 --> 00:31:07,101
<i>where victims of sexual assault</i>

622
00:31:07,181 --> 00:31:09,941
<i>are afraid to come forward and, you know,</i>

623
00:31:10,021 --> 00:31:15,021
<i>from feeling ashamed or for
fear of not being believed.</i>

624
00:31:15,341 --> 00:31:17,541
<i>And these are issues
that the Me Too movement</i>

625
00:31:17,621 --> 00:31:19,501
<i>is trying to address.</i>

626
00:31:19,581 --> 00:31:22,541
<i>Listen to this article that I found</i>

627
00:31:22,621 --> 00:31:27,181
<i>which highlights the attitude
to sexual crimes in the 1960s.</i>

628
00:31:27,261 --> 00:31:32,181
<i>This is about Rita, but
the article goes on to say,</i>

629
00:31:32,261 --> 00:31:36,021
<i>"Some reported incidents are
really only trumped-up excuses</i>

630
00:31:36,101 --> 00:31:37,381
<i>"by girls wishing</i>

631
00:31:37,461 --> 00:31:40,141
<i>"to explain away
embarrassing circumstances."</i>

632
00:31:40,221 --> 00:31:41,621
<i>That's truly, truly shocking.</i>

633
00:31:41,701 --> 00:31:44,341
<i>And, get this, women are foolhardy</i>

634
00:31:44,421 --> 00:31:47,501
<i>if they walk along dark lanes
at night, unaccompanied.</i>

635
00:31:47,581 --> 00:31:50,661
<i>So, all blaming women and the victims.</i>

636
00:31:50,741 --> 00:31:54,061
<i>I cannot stand that kind
of victim blaming approach</i>

637
00:31:54,141 --> 00:31:55,021
<i>to criminology.</i>

638
00:31:55,101 --> 00:31:58,781
<i>-It's awful.
-And trivialising the crimes.</i>

639
00:31:58,861 --> 00:32:01,341
<i>If we think about all of that, though,</i>

640
00:32:01,421 --> 00:32:05,741
<i>in relation to Rita's
case, you can, in a way,</i>

641
00:32:05,821 --> 00:32:09,181
<i>see these sorts of attitudes playing out.</i>

642
00:32:09,261 --> 00:32:13,661
<i>Rita's life was coldly
disposed of by her killer,</i>

643
00:32:13,741 --> 00:32:17,581
<i>all because he wanted
sexual gratification.</i>

644
00:32:18,661 --> 00:32:21,181
<i>-[eerie music]
-[birds chirping]</i>

645
00:32:21,261 --> 00:32:25,221
<i>But the question is, can
we unmask Rita's killer</i>

646
00:32:25,301 --> 00:32:28,421
<i>as being the same person
who committed the string</i>

647
00:32:28,501 --> 00:32:31,821
<i>of sexual attacks in the local area?</i>

648
00:32:32,261 --> 00:32:34,381
<i>I want to profile these attacks</i>

649
00:32:34,461 --> 00:32:36,861
<i>to see if they are connected to Rita.</i>

650
00:32:36,941 --> 00:32:39,061
<i>So I'm gonna meet a local journalist</i>

651
00:32:39,141 --> 00:32:42,341
<i>to see if he might be able to help me.</i>

652
00:32:43,541 --> 00:32:44,381
<i>Hi.</i>

653
00:32:46,821 --> 00:32:50,061
<i>[car rumbling]</i>

654
00:32:50,141 --> 00:32:54,381
<i>Sam, there were a number of
attacks in the weeks and months</i>

655
00:32:54,461 --> 00:32:56,461
<i>after Rita was murdered</i>

656
00:32:56,541 --> 00:32:58,981
<i>around RAF Halton that have</i>

657
00:32:59,061 --> 00:33:01,501
<i>similar characteristics to each other.</i>

658
00:33:01,581 --> 00:33:04,501
<i>Yes, there's multiple press reports.</i>

659
00:33:04,581 --> 00:33:06,821
<i>And Little Tring, where we're
driving to at the moment,</i>

660
00:33:06,901 --> 00:33:08,781
<i>was the second in the sequence of attacks</i>

661
00:33:08,861 --> 00:33:10,221
<i>after Rita's murder, was it?</i>

662
00:33:10,301 --> 00:33:12,821
<i>Janet X, as she was known.</i>

663
00:33:12,901 --> 00:33:17,301
<i>She was a student nurse at
West Hertfordshire Hospital</i>

664
00:33:17,381 --> 00:33:21,461
<i>and she was visiting a friend
who lived in Little Tring.</i>

665
00:33:21,541 --> 00:33:24,261
<i>[David] How far away is
Little Tring from Halton?</i>

666
00:33:24,341 --> 00:33:25,741
<i>It's about four miles.</i>

667
00:33:25,821 --> 00:33:28,021
<i>[David] So this is very close to the camp?</i>

668
00:33:28,101 --> 00:33:29,341
<i>Correct.</i>

669
00:33:29,421 --> 00:33:33,701
<i>And we're just approaching
the location now.</i>

670
00:33:33,781 --> 00:33:36,701
<i>[gravel crunching]</i>

671
00:33:43,381 --> 00:33:46,381
<i>[traffic whooshing]</i>

672
00:33:48,781 --> 00:33:50,941
<i>So Janet X was walking down this road</i>

673
00:33:51,021 --> 00:33:52,621
<i>when she suddenly become aware</i>

674
00:33:52,701 --> 00:33:54,221
<i>of a man walking in front of her</i>

675
00:33:54,301 --> 00:33:58,541
<i>and he's turned around and
asked her for the time.</i>

676
00:33:58,621 --> 00:34:00,541
<i>She immediately recognised
that she was in danger</i>

677
00:34:00,621 --> 00:34:04,621
<i>and she started to run,
but he's grabbed her.</i>

678
00:34:04,701 --> 00:34:06,461
<i>He's hit her with a cosh</i>

679
00:34:06,541 --> 00:34:08,221
<i>and ultimately dragged her into the field.</i>

680
00:34:08,301 --> 00:34:11,221
<i>Is she unconscious and he's
pulling her into the field?</i>

681
00:34:11,301 --> 00:34:13,541
<i>Yeah, she said that she lost consciousness</i>

682
00:34:13,621 --> 00:34:16,541
<i>and he dragged her about
300 yards into the field.</i>

683
00:34:16,621 --> 00:34:19,141
<i>[eerie music]</i>

684
00:34:22,101 --> 00:34:23,181
<i>[David] Do we have any indication</i>

685
00:34:23,261 --> 00:34:26,141
<i>about how bad her injuries were?</i>

686
00:34:26,221 --> 00:34:28,101
<i>No, but, I mean, the police described it</i>

687
00:34:28,181 --> 00:34:30,181
<i>as a very brutal attack</i>

688
00:34:30,261 --> 00:34:33,461
<i>and they said that he
must've thought she was dead.</i>

689
00:34:33,541 --> 00:34:35,581
<i>[eerie music]</i>

690
00:34:35,661 --> 00:34:37,341
<i>Well, there are
similarities, aren't there,</i>

691
00:34:37,421 --> 00:34:38,861
<i>to the murder of Rita?</i>

692
00:34:38,941 --> 00:34:41,101
<i>The age of the victims.</i>

693
00:34:41,181 --> 00:34:43,021
<i>What happens to the victims.</i>

694
00:34:43,101 --> 00:34:47,101
<i>This perpetrator clearly
left Janet X for dead,</i>

695
00:34:47,181 --> 00:34:50,261
<i>according to what you've told me.</i>

696
00:34:50,661 --> 00:34:52,501
<i>And, of course, the timeline
is very interesting.</i>

697
00:34:52,581 --> 00:34:57,221
<i>It's within a matter of a few
weeks after the murder of Rita</i>

698
00:34:57,301 --> 00:35:01,541
<i>and it's only four miles
away from RAF Halton.</i>

699
00:35:01,621 --> 00:35:04,421
<i>I've also heard from another woman</i>

700
00:35:04,501 --> 00:35:08,261
<i>who was attacked around this time,</i>

701
00:35:09,581 --> 00:35:11,461
<i>and she was pretty convinced</i>

702
00:35:11,541 --> 00:35:16,541
<i>that the person who attacked
her had also killed Rita.</i>

703
00:35:20,181 --> 00:35:23,421
<i>Do you know, you're giving
me a lot to think about.</i>

704
00:35:23,501 --> 00:35:27,381
<i>Do we know if the victim
from here, Janet X,</i>

705
00:35:27,461 --> 00:35:30,261
<i>gave a physical description to the police?</i>

706
00:35:30,341 --> 00:35:31,821
<i>[Sam] She actually gave a description.</i>

707
00:35:31,901 --> 00:35:34,381
<i>[eerie music]</i>

708
00:35:40,501 --> 00:35:44,381
<i>So this is the photo fit
from Janet X's description?</i>

709
00:35:44,461 --> 00:35:45,741
<i>Correct.</i>

710
00:35:45,821 --> 00:35:48,021
<i>And this also matches the description</i>

711
00:35:48,101 --> 00:35:52,181
<i>of the man who attacked
the girl in Wingrave.</i>

712
00:35:53,101 --> 00:35:57,541
<i>[David] So this might be
the face of Rita's killer.</i>

713
00:35:57,621 --> 00:36:00,621
<i>[suspenseful music]</i>

714
00:36:14,061 --> 00:36:16,061
<i>[Emilia] Trilby man.</i>

715
00:36:17,581 --> 00:36:22,141
<i>[David] Let's run through
what we know about his MO.</i>

716
00:36:22,221 --> 00:36:24,701
<i>We know he has access to a car.</i>

717
00:36:24,781 --> 00:36:26,941
<i>We know that he knows the local area,</i>

718
00:36:27,021 --> 00:36:30,541
<i>and that he uses a ruse
to get girls into the car.</i>

719
00:36:30,621 --> 00:36:32,741
<i>He asks them for the time</i>

720
00:36:32,821 --> 00:36:34,781
<i>or he says that he's got medical supplies.</i>

721
00:36:34,861 --> 00:36:38,541
<i>That, to me, suggests that
he has a level of confidence</i>

722
00:36:38,621 --> 00:36:43,061
<i>and he even looks confident,
the way he dresses.</i>

723
00:36:43,301 --> 00:36:45,661
<i>And, of course, no one
has ever been caught</i>

724
00:36:45,741 --> 00:36:49,181
<i>for these attacks or for Rita's murder.</i>

725
00:36:49,261 --> 00:36:51,741
<i>And, of course, we know that
he uses a level of violence</i>

726
00:36:51,821 --> 00:36:55,821
<i>because he used a cosh
in the Little Tring rape</i>

727
00:36:55,901 --> 00:36:58,941
<i>and he attempted to throttle Linda.</i>

728
00:37:01,341 --> 00:37:04,221
<i>But I still have a problem here.</i>

729
00:37:04,781 --> 00:37:07,981
<i>If this is a sequence of attacks,</i>

730
00:37:08,061 --> 00:37:10,181
<i>then after Rita's murder,</i>

731
00:37:10,261 --> 00:37:13,421
<i>they've deescalated in their severity,</i>

732
00:37:13,501 --> 00:37:17,381
<i>and, in my experience,
that rarely happens.</i>

733
00:37:17,461 --> 00:37:19,661
<i>If you think about what happens to Rita</i>

734
00:37:19,741 --> 00:37:22,581
<i>and then what happens to Linda.</i>

735
00:37:22,661 --> 00:37:26,581
<i>In Linda's assault, after
the assault finishes,</i>

736
00:37:26,661 --> 00:37:28,381
<i>he takes her to her home.</i>

737
00:37:28,461 --> 00:37:31,661
<i>Now that's a very different MO</i>

738
00:37:31,741 --> 00:37:34,381
<i>from the one that we've been discussing.</i>

739
00:37:34,461 --> 00:37:38,181
<i>And even in the Little Tring
rape, he achieves coitus,</i>

740
00:37:38,261 --> 00:37:40,101
<i>but he doesn't kill that victim.</i>

741
00:37:40,181 --> 00:37:42,181
<i>But he left her for dead, didn't he?</i>

742
00:37:42,261 --> 00:37:44,381
<i>So he thought that he'd killed her.</i>

743
00:37:44,461 --> 00:37:46,101
<i>Yeah, but he's been with a victim</i>

744
00:37:46,181 --> 00:37:48,061
<i>who's actually died, Rita,</i>

745
00:37:48,141 --> 00:37:49,461
<i>and therefore he knows the difference</i>

746
00:37:49,541 --> 00:37:52,861
<i>between killing someone
and leaving them for dead.</i>

747
00:37:52,941 --> 00:37:55,581
<i>So I have real problems here.</i>

748
00:37:56,461 --> 00:38:00,261
<i>I'm convinced Trilby man did not kill Rita</i>

749
00:38:00,341 --> 00:38:04,101
<i>because the MOs are just too different.</i>

750
00:38:04,181 --> 00:38:07,181
<i>[suspenseful music]</i>

751
00:38:16,901 --> 00:38:18,461
<i>So frustrating, isn't it,</i>

752
00:38:18,541 --> 00:38:20,381
<i>not being able to pinpoint the name</i>

753
00:38:20,461 --> 00:38:21,261
<i>of viable suspects.</i>

754
00:38:21,341 --> 00:38:23,661
<i>Well, with the passage of time</i>

755
00:38:23,741 --> 00:38:28,181
<i>and such limited avenues
of research, we can't.</i>

756
00:38:28,381 --> 00:38:33,101
<i>But what we can do is, using
21st-century technology,</i>

757
00:38:33,181 --> 00:38:37,301
<i>begin to understand how
and why she was killed.</i>

758
00:38:37,381 --> 00:38:40,301
<i>[melancholy music]</i>

759
00:38:42,061 --> 00:38:44,021
<i>[traffic whooshing]</i>

760
00:38:44,101 --> 00:38:47,101
<i>[suspenseful music]</i>

761
00:38:50,221 --> 00:38:52,021
<i>We need to look at the murder using</i>

762
00:38:52,101 --> 00:38:54,661
<i>the latest medical technology</i>

763
00:38:54,741 --> 00:38:59,421
<i>to see if that offers any new
information on Rita's death.</i>

764
00:38:59,501 --> 00:39:01,621
<i>So I've asked a leading pathologist</i>

765
00:39:01,701 --> 00:39:04,901
<i>and an anatomy lecturer to help us.</i>

766
00:39:05,741 --> 00:39:09,421
<i>Siobhan has set up the
digital anatomy table</i>

767
00:39:09,501 --> 00:39:13,501
<i>with all the marks that Simpson describes.</i>

768
00:39:13,581 --> 00:39:16,341
<i>It's absolutely incredible.</i>

769
00:39:18,701 --> 00:39:21,701
<i>This is a real way of
piercing through some</i>

770
00:39:21,781 --> 00:39:25,341
<i>of the myth that we've
inherited in relation</i>

771
00:39:25,421 --> 00:39:28,781
<i>to what happened to poor Rita.</i>

772
00:39:28,861 --> 00:39:30,341
<i>David, you've had the opportunity,</i>

773
00:39:30,421 --> 00:39:34,981
<i>for the first time in 50 years,
to really look at this case</i>

774
00:39:35,061 --> 00:39:37,821
<i>from a pathologist's point of view.</i>

775
00:39:37,901 --> 00:39:39,581
<i>What have you discovered?</i>

776
00:39:39,661 --> 00:39:42,381
<i>[melancholy music]</i>

777
00:39:42,461 --> 00:39:45,501
<i>The description given
by the autopsy report</i>

778
00:39:45,581 --> 00:39:47,261
<i>by Keith Simpson is quite limited,</i>

779
00:39:47,341 --> 00:39:51,261
<i>so I suspect he sanitised
it for the jury inquest,</i>

780
00:39:51,341 --> 00:39:53,541
<i>so not all the details are there.</i>

781
00:39:53,621 --> 00:39:56,181
<i>But, I mean, he gave the cause of death</i>

782
00:39:56,261 --> 00:40:00,341
<i>and he specifically talked
about the mark around the neck</i>

783
00:40:00,421 --> 00:40:02,381
<i>and he described a ligature mark.</i>

784
00:40:02,461 --> 00:40:04,061
<i>He describes it being at
the front of the neck,</i>

785
00:40:04,141 --> 00:40:05,621
<i>so what he's basically saying is</i>

786
00:40:05,701 --> 00:40:10,221
<i>that the strangulation
was probably from behind</i>

787
00:40:11,861 --> 00:40:14,261
<i>Your revelation that she's strangled</i>

788
00:40:14,341 --> 00:40:18,861
<i>from behind didn't really
emerge at the inquest.</i>

789
00:40:18,941 --> 00:40:21,661
<i>She was strangled from behind.</i>

790
00:40:21,741 --> 00:40:22,541
<i>Yeah.</i>

791
00:40:22,621 --> 00:40:25,381
<i>That's with her own knickers.</i>

792
00:40:26,021 --> 00:40:27,021
<i>The thing that struck me is,</i>

793
00:40:27,101 --> 00:40:29,821
<i>if he had intended to do it,</i>

794
00:40:29,901 --> 00:40:32,461
<i>he might've brought something
to use for strangulation</i>

795
00:40:32,541 --> 00:40:35,261
<i>like a rope or use his own belt or a tie,</i>

796
00:40:35,341 --> 00:40:39,141
<i>but it's quite specific,
isn't it, to use her knickers?</i>

797
00:40:39,221 --> 00:40:40,541
<i>It's odd.</i>

798
00:40:40,621 --> 00:40:41,741
<i>I mean, it is odd.</i>

799
00:40:41,821 --> 00:40:44,861
<i>It does imply that that her
knickers were already off,</i>

800
00:40:44,941 --> 00:40:48,941
<i>unfortunately, before she was strangled.</i>

801
00:40:49,021 --> 00:40:51,021
<i>The pathologist also talks
about bruising on the knees,</i>

802
00:40:51,101 --> 00:40:54,021
<i>will, knee bruising is sort
of collapsing forwards,</i>

803
00:40:54,101 --> 00:40:56,861
<i>and then bruising on the toes.</i>

804
00:40:56,941 --> 00:40:59,381
<i>Now, toe bruising tends to suggest</i>

805
00:40:59,461 --> 00:41:01,781
<i>that she's probably dug
her feet into the ground</i>

806
00:41:01,861 --> 00:41:03,461
<i>while she's being strangled</i>

807
00:41:03,541 --> 00:41:06,741
<i>which would support
strangulation from behind.</i>

808
00:41:06,821 --> 00:41:08,701
<i>Because if you're being
strangled from the front,</i>

809
00:41:08,781 --> 00:41:10,541
<i>you then get injuries
on the back of the heels</i>

810
00:41:10,621 --> 00:41:13,861
<i>'cause they sort of kick on the ground.</i>

811
00:41:13,941 --> 00:41:14,861
<i>And the weird thing is,</i>

812
00:41:14,941 --> 00:41:18,661
<i>there isn't much talk
about other injuries.</i>

813
00:41:18,741 --> 00:41:23,381
<i>You've got just one area of
bruising on the left arm.</i>

814
00:41:23,461 --> 00:41:26,221
<i>There's no evidence from
the pathology, is there,</i>

815
00:41:26,301 --> 00:41:29,501
<i>of a tremendous fight being put up by her?</i>

816
00:41:29,581 --> 00:41:32,621
<i>Not in the pathology
given at the inquest, no.</i>

817
00:41:32,701 --> 00:41:35,261
<i>There's no vegetation marks.</i>

818
00:41:35,341 --> 00:41:38,981
<i>Would the vegetation marks
be from running away?</i>

819
00:41:39,061 --> 00:41:39,821
<i>Yes.</i>

820
00:41:39,901 --> 00:41:40,621
<i>Yeah, running away through-</i>

821
00:41:40,701 --> 00:41:41,941
<i>And you'd see scratches on her legs or...</i>

822
00:41:42,021 --> 00:41:43,101
<i>Yup. Yup.</i>

823
00:41:43,181 --> 00:41:44,821
<i>I think one of the police
officers talks about,</i>

824
00:41:44,901 --> 00:41:47,781
<i>in the inquest, dense undergrowth.</i>

825
00:41:47,861 --> 00:41:49,981
<i>So we assume there's lots of bracken,</i>

826
00:41:50,061 --> 00:41:51,901
<i>lots of sharp bits of vegetation</i>

827
00:41:51,981 --> 00:41:53,421
<i>which would scratch the leg.</i>

828
00:41:53,501 --> 00:41:54,541
<i>So you'd expect to see that.</i>

829
00:41:54,621 --> 00:41:57,821
<i>So it implies that there
isn't much of a struggle.</i>

830
00:41:57,901 --> 00:41:59,581
<i>[David] And does it
also imply she's likely</i>

831
00:41:59,661 --> 00:42:02,061
<i>to have known her murderer?</i>

832
00:42:02,141 --> 00:42:04,901
<i>That is the implication, yes.</i>

833
00:42:07,141 --> 00:42:11,101
<i>This fact that's revealed
that she's virgo intacta,</i>

834
00:42:11,181 --> 00:42:14,341
<i>can we take that as read</i>

835
00:42:14,421 --> 00:42:17,181
<i>that she was still a virgin when she died?</i>

836
00:42:17,261 --> 00:42:18,061
<i>I don't think we can.</i>

837
00:42:18,141 --> 00:42:21,181
<i>I think there might be a degree
of massaging the evidence</i>

838
00:42:21,261 --> 00:42:24,021
<i>for the family at the inquest.</i>

839
00:42:25,541 --> 00:42:28,741
<i>One of the problems is you can
actually have penetrative sex</i>

840
00:42:28,821 --> 00:42:31,261
<i>and not actually tear the hymen.</i>

841
00:42:31,341 --> 00:42:32,421
<i>It said in the inquest</i>

842
00:42:32,501 --> 00:42:35,861
<i>that she was a very quiet,
unassuming individual.</i>

843
00:42:35,941 --> 00:42:37,941
<i>Maybe she went along with it</i>

844
00:42:38,021 --> 00:42:41,341
<i>because she was a timid individual.</i>

845
00:42:42,181 --> 00:42:44,701
<i>The knickers being off
and her being strangled</i>

846
00:42:44,781 --> 00:42:49,781
<i>with her own knickers implies
that it was going too far,</i>

847
00:42:50,261 --> 00:42:52,101
<i>is how I've seen things.</i>

848
00:42:52,181 --> 00:42:53,901
<i>This isn't what I was expecting.</i>

849
00:42:53,981 --> 00:42:55,701
<i>It's now going too far.</i>

850
00:42:55,781 --> 00:42:56,621
<i>I'm leaving.</i>

851
00:42:56,701 --> 00:42:58,061
<i>It implies a degree of consent</i>

852
00:42:58,141 --> 00:43:00,661
<i>at the start of the process.</i>

853
00:43:01,661 --> 00:43:05,861
<i>I get the impression of
this being a young man,</i>

854
00:43:06,061 --> 00:43:09,661
<i>inexperienced, didn't set out</i>

855
00:43:09,741 --> 00:43:11,621
<i>to do what he eventually did,</i>

856
00:43:11,701 --> 00:43:15,821
<i>which is why he's having
to use Rita's own underwear</i>

857
00:43:15,901 --> 00:43:17,261
<i>to strangle her.</i>

858
00:43:17,341 --> 00:43:18,821
<i>And I certainly didn't get the impression</i>

859
00:43:18,901 --> 00:43:21,021
<i>that we're dealing with
a putative serial killer.</i>

860
00:43:21,101 --> 00:43:23,381
<i>I didn't get the impression
that this is the, you know,</i>

861
00:43:23,461 --> 00:43:26,101
<i>this is somebody who is a psychopath,</i>

862
00:43:26,181 --> 00:43:27,341
<i>which is, I believe the word-</i>

863
00:43:27,421 --> 00:43:28,461
<i>[Emilia] What that the coroner said, yeah.</i>

864
00:43:28,541 --> 00:43:30,341
<i>That the coroner used.</i>

865
00:43:30,421 --> 00:43:31,701
<i>I just get the impression</i>

866
00:43:31,781 --> 00:43:36,781
<i>of a dreadful five minutes of madness.</i>

867
00:43:37,421 --> 00:43:40,421
<i>[suspenseful music]</i>

868
00:43:48,061 --> 00:43:52,061
<i>What emerges is a very different
profile of the perpetrator</i>

869
00:43:52,141 --> 00:43:56,581
<i>from some of the things that
have previously been suggested.</i>

870
00:43:56,661 --> 00:43:58,661
<i>It becomes obvious now, doesn't it,</i>

871
00:43:58,741 --> 00:44:02,221
<i>that Rita knew the person who killed her?</i>

872
00:44:02,301 --> 00:44:05,221
<i>[melancholy music]</i>

873
00:44:10,381 --> 00:44:12,181
<i>In my life as a criminologist,</i>

874
00:44:12,261 --> 00:44:13,421
<i>because there's a body</i>

875
00:44:13,501 --> 00:44:15,541
<i>because there's a DNA profile,</i>

876
00:44:15,621 --> 00:44:17,101
<i>that would normally be game over.</i>

877
00:44:17,181 --> 00:44:19,261
<i>We'd catch the person.</i>

878
00:44:19,701 --> 00:44:21,981
<i>This is much more complex.</i>

879
00:44:22,061 --> 00:44:24,981
<i>[melancholy music]</i>

880
00:44:37,861 --> 00:44:39,541
<i>We're back at Rowborough Copse</i>

881
00:44:39,621 --> 00:44:41,021
<i>where Rita's body was found</i>

882
00:44:41,101 --> 00:44:44,181
<i>and where we began this investigation.</i>

883
00:44:44,261 --> 00:44:48,301
<i>53 years ago, the inquest
said that Rita was murdered</i>

884
00:44:48,381 --> 00:44:50,061
<i>by persons unknown.</i>

885
00:44:50,141 --> 00:44:51,821
<i>Are we any further forwards?</i>

886
00:44:51,901 --> 00:44:54,301
<i>Have we taken our civilian investigation</i>

887
00:44:54,381 --> 00:44:56,661
<i>as far as we can, do you think?</i>

888
00:44:56,741 --> 00:45:00,541
<i>Yeah, and I think we've
made a little progress.</i>

889
00:45:00,621 --> 00:45:03,421
<i>We can now establish a motive</i>

890
00:45:03,501 --> 00:45:06,941
<i>that Rita was killed
after a sexual encounter</i>

891
00:45:07,021 --> 00:45:09,141
<i>that went horribly wrong.</i>

892
00:45:09,221 --> 00:45:11,661
<i>And we can say that, in all probability,</i>

893
00:45:11,741 --> 00:45:14,541
<i>she knew the person who killed her.</i>

894
00:45:14,621 --> 00:45:18,101
<i>Seven out of 10 women who are murdered</i>

895
00:45:18,181 --> 00:45:21,021
<i>are murdered by someone that they know.</i>

896
00:45:21,101 --> 00:45:24,381
<i>And when it comes to
narrowing down suspects,</i>

897
00:45:24,461 --> 00:45:28,461
<i>I think we're back to looking
at someone who did this coming</i>

898
00:45:28,541 --> 00:45:33,501
<i>from the camp and that Rita
knew who it was that killed her</i>

899
00:45:34,421 --> 00:45:37,781
<i>and that culprit has never been caught.</i>

900
00:45:37,861 --> 00:45:39,501
<i>But everyone that knew Rita says</i>

901
00:45:39,581 --> 00:45:42,261
<i>that she was an unassuming
and trusting person.</i>

902
00:45:42,341 --> 00:45:46,341
<i>So we just don't know what
she submitted herself to.</i>

903
00:45:46,421 --> 00:45:48,821
<i>She may have been scared or coerced,</i>

904
00:45:48,901 --> 00:45:51,581
<i>and this was the 60s
and women were expected</i>

905
00:45:51,661 --> 00:45:52,781
<i>to be more compliant.</i>

906
00:45:52,861 --> 00:45:55,421
<i>They didn't have the
voice that they do now.</i>

907
00:45:55,501 --> 00:45:58,301
<i>And for that, it seems that, sadly,</i>

908
00:45:58,381 --> 00:46:01,021
<i>Rita paid the ultimate price</i>

909
00:46:01,781 --> 00:46:05,981
<i>In relation to solving
who killed Rita Ellis,</i>

910
00:46:06,621 --> 00:46:10,141
<i>that's a mystery that still eludes us.</i>

911
00:46:11,541 --> 00:46:16,541
<i>-[melancholy music]
-[birds chirping]</i>

912
00:46:22,021 --> 00:46:22,781
<i>[suspenseful music]</i>

913
00:46:22,861 --> 00:46:27,221
<i>[woman singing in foreign language]</i>