I'm a fan of whodunits, particularly real-life ones and have written several extended articles about unsolved murders. In homage to my crime fiction hero, the great Evan 'Ed McBain' Hunter I write these real life mysteries under the byline 'Edward Hunter.' One of my true crime articles can be found at the end of this section where I tell the story of the Grimsby vigilantes in Death By Firebomb.
***
The Mystery of The Murder in Room 101, (4,300 words) is a piece I wrote about the unsolved murder of businessman John Welch in a Newcastle hotel in 1980 that was cover-featured in True Crime magazine.
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| The unsmiling photo of John Welch that became very familiar to members of Northumbria Police and readers of the Tyne and Wear press in 1980-81. |
Based in Leicester Welch worked for the Ladbrokes gaming group but as the organisation had interests in several Tyneside night clubs and casinos he regularly visited Newcastle, always staying at the Swallow hotel in the city centre.
On 26 November 1980 John Welch had an 8.30 pm meeting arranged with colleagues who were booked into another hotel. When he didn't turn up his concerned workmates contacted the Swallow. At 11.20 pm a porter let himself into Room 101 and found Welch's battered body on the bathroom floor, his thick black hair matted with blood.
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| The front page of the Newcastle Journal 27 November 1980. |
This sparked off an extensive police investigation into a case that the lead officer called 'the most puzzling I've ever been involved with'.
Drawing on press reports from the time and contemporary interviews I conducted with people involved with the investigation my article reports on an intriguing case that now will almost certainly never be solved. However, several of the people I talked to were able to voice their own theories as to who was responsible for the brutal killing of John Welch and why.
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| This is the actual room where the murder took place. I can't guarantee that this is the door that was there in 1980 of course... Photo by Ian Ravendale. |
Another real life Tyneside murder who-dunnit written by me, this time from the 1990's is The Gateshead Furniture Factory Murder Mystery (3,500 words) published in Master Detective magazine.
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| The site of what was Stephen Sweeney's offices in Gateshead as it is today. Photo by Ian Ravendale. |
The death of Tyneside businessman Stephen Sweeney had all the
hallmarks of a professional hit. Slumped at his desk at the Cascade furniture
factory on the Stonegate House industrial estate in Felling, Gateshead, Sweeney had been executed. Several shots, including at least one to the heart, had been
pumped into him, probably from a handgun fired at point blank range. There
was no sign of a struggle or a break-in and nothing had been taken.
hallmarks of a professional hit. Slumped at his desk at the Cascade furniture
factory on the Stonegate House industrial estate in Felling, Gateshead, Sweeney had been executed. Several shots, including at least one to the heart, had been
pumped into him, probably from a handgun fired at point blank range. There
was no sign of a struggle or a break-in and nothing had been taken.
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| The Cascade furniture factory cordoned off by police the day after the murder |
Cascade Manufacturing boasted that the company produced 'Quality Three
Piece Suites'. The factory that made the settees and chairs was deserted and
many of its' 25 strong workforce had gone home to watch the World Cup
semi-final between France and Croatia.
Northumbria Police mounted an extensive investigation into the professional and personal life of Stephen Sweeney. They questioned over 9,000 people but as yet the case remains unsolved. My article discusses the events that lead up to Mr Sweeney's death and some of the lines of enquiry taken by Northumbria Police.
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| Stephen Sweeney |
True Crime and Master Detective are available from WH Smiths or from enquiries@truecrimelibrary.com
***
The following is a previously un-published real-life crime story written by me, that, in my opinion, shows some branches of the print media and several official bodies in a less than favourable light. A witch hunt by one newspaper and irresponsible reporting by another lead to the murder of one person, totally ruined the lives of several others and turned many of the inhabitants of a council estate against each other.
Ian Ravendale North East freelance journalist ian ravendale Newcastle freelance journalist Ian Ravendale Sunderland freelance journalist Ian Ravendale Tyne and Wear journalist northern freelance journalist Ian Ravendale long established freelance journalist Ian Ravendale Well known journalist Ian Ravendale veteran freelancejournalist Ian Ravendale Quick witted journalist Ian Ravendale Knowledgeable journalist Ian Ravendale freelance journalist Ian Ravendale long-established north east journalist Ian Ravendale respected freelance journalist Ian Ravendale busy Wearside journalist Ian Ravendale recognised freelance journalist Ian Ravendale respected journalist Ian Ravendale versatile freelance journalist Ian Ravendale
Death By Firebomb--The Story Of The Grimsby Vigilantes
Death By Firebomb--The Story Of The Grimsby Vigilantes
Alfred Wilkins was at his wits end. He'd made eighty calls to Humberside Police
complaining of harassment from his neighbours on Grimsby's notorious
Yarborough Estate. But the attacks and the jibes and the intimidation of the 67
year old pensioner still continued. He'd lived in terror for months. The police
and local social services were, it seemed, powerless to give him the help he so
desperately needed. Little did anyone know that this lack of action would bring
a devastating and ghastly conclusion and the pensioner would suffer a torturous
and agonising death in the burned out shell of his flat.
An entire community would be torn apart and four of Alf's neighbours would be
jailed. Two for life, convicted of murder.
Retired father-of-three Wilkins had been a trawlerman and a tugboat captain.
His liking for sherry caused his dismissal from his job as a miner and had also
ended his marriage. By the time he had moved to his £28-a-month downstairs
council flat on the Yarborough estate Wilkins had graduated to spirits which he
generally drank from half-pint glasses.
He was known and liked by many of his older neighbours, some of whom would
gladly join him round his flat for a drink or two. His mother had lived only a
mile away and before she died in the mid 1990's, Alf had become a familiar
sight on his black bicycle, riding off everyday to see her, his formal black suit
and tie making him a distinctive figure on the Yarborough estate.
Wilkins had befriended some of the estate's children who would drop by to pet
and feed Lucky, the former seaman's 12 year old black Alsatian
This simple act of friendliness would ultimately lead to Alf Wilkins' horrific
murder by a gang of vigilantes.
A 9 year old girl who had been a regular visitor to Wilkins' flat accused him of
molesting her. Not knowing what to do, the child's father called the police and
Wilkins was arrested.
He appeared at Grimsby Crown Court in late October 2000. After a short trial
the pensioner was cleared on 2nd November of all three counts of assault. The
girl's father has since agreed that the evidence against Alf Wilkins was thin. The
9 year-old accuser's testimony had been brought into question by some of her
claims, including that she was 'placed in a piranha tank' by another alleged
assailant. The fact that she had bragged to her friends about the allegations also made her less than a credible witness.
This should have been the end of the matter. The local Grimsby Telegraph had
not reported on the case while it was ongoing. On Wilkins' acquittal, however,
in a move that would have catastrophic repercussions the paper printed an article about the case that included the pensioner's name and address.
The News of the World had recently started a 'name and shame' campaign
against child abusers. This had resulted in several suicides by suspected
paedophiles and the harassment of other alleged offenders by vigilante gangs
determined to take the law into their own hands. Encouraged by the Sunday
newspaper's rabble-rousing public outrage and mob-rule against alleged or suspected child abusers and paedophiles was at an all-time high.
Alf Wilkins, a man without a criminal record of any sort, had been acquitted and
just wanted to live a peaceful life in his one bedroom flat at 6 Arundel Walk on
the Yarborough estate. A vigilante gang saw things differently. The protests of
residents on a Southampton estate against alleged paedophiles living within the
community had achieved national publicity. In the eyes of some Yarborough
residents, the Grimsby estate now had its' own paedophile and they knew just
where to find him. It didn't matter that Alf Wilkins had been cleared of all
charges. The Yarborough gang would go one further than protests and
demonstrations. They meant business and were going to make certain Alf
Wilkins knew it.
At first, the vigilantes contented themselves with following Wilkins in the street,
shouting abuse. This soon escalated to breaking the windows of his flat and
throwing paint. Graffiti including nonce and pervert was daubed on the
metal or chipboard sheets that had been used to board up the dwelling's
shattered windows. Two crudely scrawled additional number 6's had been added
to the 'official' 6 over the front door.
Grimsby Council agreed to rehouse the pensioner. But, in a spectacular example of bureaucracy triumphing over common sense, decided they were unable to do so until later in the spring. The police had responded to Wilkins' appeals for help but were unable to prevent the abuse from continuing. As Humberside Police's Gavin Baggs, the Detective Superintendent in charge at the time, subsequently admitted to reporters;
"Mr Wilkins was an elderly man with mobility problems. He did face a long
period of harassment following his acquittal in November and this harassment
escalated to the point where he was attacked and murdered in his own home.
Many of these were quite trivial in themselves, such as people banging on his
door and windows, but I do recognise the seriousness of these incidents as they did, of course, culminate in his murder."
By January 2001, failed by both police and council, Alf Wilkins was living in
fear, locked in his flat with nowhere else to go. He dared not directly name his
tormentors in case of more attacks, making it even harder for the police to help
him. At this point officers didn't fully appreciate how desperate the situation
had become. And how determined some residents were to bring their own brand of justice to Yarborough.
On January 31 2001, Alf Wilkins was alone in his flat with just Lucky for
company. The apartment was a miserable, dark, poorly ventilated place with all but one of the windows boarded up. Access to the flat was controlled by an
electronically operated door.
Outside, two hooded figures prepared to teach Wilkins the lesson they felt he
deserved. Unemployed 19 year old Gary Lawson and his 16 year old
then-girlfriend Chantelle Day were about to dish out vigilante justice,
Yarborough style.
Lawson's grandfather had been a friend of Alf's. After the former seaman's trial Lawson had forbidden his grandfather from visiting him. "I didn't want him
classed as a nonce", Lawson later told the jury at his subsequent trial for
unlawfully killing the pensioner.
Normally the metal and chipboard sheets and the electronic door would have
kept unwanted visitors out of the small council flat. But the catch on the door
was broken and Lawson and Day were easily able to obtain access. Using a
broom as a weapon, the pair beat Wilkins about the head and body. He was left
bleeding from the forehead with a one-inch gash that needed hospital treatment.
Post-Mortem tests later revealed nine ugly bruises to Alf's body, all almost
certainly caused by the savage beating.
The attack on Alf made Lawson and Day heroes amongst some of the other
Yarborough residents. The Wilkins murder trial jury at Hull Crown Court in
early 2002 heard of a drunken party where eight or nine neighbours discussed
what else they could do to punish the retired seaman. More beatings and
'dragging Alf and tying him to a tree' were amongst some of the other proposals made by the Yarborough partygoers that drunken night.
The actual plan to get permanently rid of the infirm 67 year-old was cooked up
over a another drug-fuelled drinking session following the break-in. Two days
before the deadly arson attack Chantelle Day had drawn up a 'blueprint' that
spelled out in gory detail what the murderous gang had in mind for their
neighbour. In addition to crudely listing a variety of ways of killing the
pensioner, potential alibis for the perpetrators were also suggested.
At the murder trial chilling extracts from Day's plan were read out in court. The jury sat stunned when it was disclosed that these violent and vitriolic writings were the handy-work of a 16 year-old girl; "Each time I hear Alf's name-that nonce on the Yarborough estate-I just want to break into his flat and Sellotape his hands behind his back......put some socks in his mouth......pour petrol all over his flat and all over him, then set him on fire. Then set fire to his flat making sure it is all blown up with him in it."
But, as the jury subsequently heard, this was more than the twisted fantasy of an adolescent. By putting Alf Wilkins in hospital just a few days earlier the gang had proven that they were willing to go far beyond name-calling and graffiti.
The grisly plan was about to be set in motion. The trial jury heard that Lawson
had openly boasted within the Yarborough community that Alf Wilkins, a man
who had been found innocent of all charges, was going receive what he
deserved. "He is going to get done in. I am going to do it. He is going to get
blown up", Lawson had told a friend.
Chantelle Day's 'battleplan' may have been conceived in a drunken,
cannabis-driven frenzy but the murder plot proved to be no idle boast. In the
early hours of Friday 9 February 2001 turpentine was poured through Alf
Wilkins' letterbox. This was followed by lighted paper. It wasn't the resulting
blaze that killed Alf and Lucky who were both found dead on the kitchen. All
but one of the flat's windows had been boarded up as a result of the previous
vandalism. Without adequate ventilation the fire burnt up the oxygen and the
pensioner and his pet suffocated.
After the arson attack and Wilkins' death, Lawson boasted to a friend, "I told
you I would do him in. I killed Alf."
The bodies of Wilkins and Lucky were found when a friend of the pensioner
called round later that day. Humberside Police immediately launched a murder
enquiry and set up a murder HQ in a caravan close to the burned-out flat.
Officers investigating the fire knew that Alf Wilkins had been the victim of a
hate campaign and soon released statements saying that there was evidence that the blaze had been started deliberately. The case was already beginning to look like a possible 'revenge' killing.
The police were aware that the ex-trawlerman had his enemies in Yarborough.
The father of the 9 year-old girl that Wilkins had been acquitted of assaulting
heard about the fire and knew exactly what he needed to do.
"I didn't do it", he subsequently told reporters, "but (I knew) it wouldn't be long before I got a knock on my door." So he beat the police to it and went to the local station to let them know of his whereabouts the night of the blaze.
The police knew about the break-in and vicious attack on Wilkins a week earlier and thought there was a good chance that the assault and the arson could have been perpetrated by the same people. The blows to Alf's body had left marks that could have been made by jewellery and murder detectives saw this as a very strong clue to the identities of the killers.
They began checking rings worn by Wilkins' neighbours to see if any matched
marks on the 67-year old's body. Soon, six local people had been arrested. Three
were released after questioning, but three others, including Lawson and Day
were held. After his arrest, Lawson admitted under caution that "when it became
known Alf was dead everyone wanted to party".
Known as 'Bob' to his friends and family, Ian Lawless was Gary Lawson's
godfather and a familiar figure amongst the pubs and bars in Grimsby centre. It
was while drinking in the Pestle and Mortar pub that Lawless boasted of his role
the night Alf Wilkins' flat had been set alight. The pub-cellarman told several
people, including his daughter, that he'd been the lookout for the arson attack
in the early hours of 9 February. He also repeated this claim to several local
taxi drivers.
Lawless was subsequently arrested and charged along with Lawson with Wilkins'
murder. In court Lawless withdrew his bar room boast as he had previously also
done when questioned by the police. He denied taking any part in the murder,
saying that he was drunk and just "being an idiot".
The court heard details of Lawless's severe drink problems and drunkenness and
his inclination towards fantasy. Included in these flights of fancy had been an
attempt to convince fellow remand prisoners that he, a Grimsby cellarman, was
a member of the Taliban.
Gary Lawson was convicted of murder at Hull Crown Court on 18 February 2002
When the unanimous guilty verdict was announced after more that 23 hours of
deliberation Lawson yelled, "You can't keep me down forever" at the eight man,
four woman jury.
It took the jury almost 30 hours to reach a 10-2 majority verdict against Ian Lawless two days later. In the minutes before he was sentenced, Lawless sacked his defence team and
told the court, "I will be proved innocent one day. If this is what you get, I will
never tell the truth again".
Following his murder conviction, Lawless consistently maintained his innocence.
He told the Grimsby Telegraph; "I am not guilty of murder. I might have done
some daft things in my life but I was not involved in the killing of Alf Wilkins. I
do not bear grudges, especially when people have not done anything to me. I
will be proved innocent one day. I will be cleared".
Lawson and Chantelle Day were also found guilty of conspiring to cause
grievous bodily harm to the pensioner a week before his death. Lawson received
four years in a young offender's institution to run concurrently with his life
sentence. Day was sentenced to three years.
A third neighbour, Gary Fairbanks (43), was cleared of incitement to murder but
received a two year sentence for intimidating a witness and threatening to
destroy or damage property. He had admitted in court that he'd told witness
Mandy Tasker, his next-door neighbour, that she was a "fucking grass" and that
he was going to "petrol bomb (her) house".
Day returned to Hull Crown Court in 2003, accused of taking part in the killing
of Alf Wilkins. She denied the charge and was cleared.
Detective Inspector Phil Spicksley of Humberside Police told the BBC that; "It was right and proper that Humberside Police investigated the new information
that came to light in this case and that the new evidence be heard in court.
The jury has now heard the evidence presented to it and concluded that
Chantelle Day was not guilty. We have to respect the findings of the court".
Despite the acquittal, Day was unable to stay out of trouble for long. After
brutally attacking Keery Feerick in May 2007 she appeared at Grimsby Crown
Court on 1 August 2007. The assault, where Day had repeatedly punched and
kicked her victim and then stamped on her head, was condemned by the judge
as "gratuitous" and "persistent" and had caused Ms Feerick actual bodily harm.
Day was found guilty and jailed for two years.
At the Wilkins murder sentencing hearing at the Old Bailey in London on 22nd
May 02, Mr Justice Grigson also took a hard line with the Yarborough gang;
"There are those who may describe your actions as taking the law into your own
hands. But what you did had nothing to do with the law. You took part in the
systematic persecution of a 67 year old man, who, whatever he may have done
in the past, presented no real danger to the community where he lived".
Both Lawson and Lawless were given life sentences.
The Alf Wilkins murder trial pulled the Yarborough community apart and
turned neighbours and families against each other. Residents that favoured the
interest of justice over family and neighbourly ties were castigated and reviled.
Intimidation was widespread, with witnesses frequently offering information and
then either vanishing before they could be seen or withdrawing their statements.
On the day of the murder a woman rang from a call box, saying she had
information. When officers arrived the woman had gone, almost certainly
because she'd thought better of helping the police.
The Yarborough estate community's "code" of not informing to the police, no
matter what the circumstances hadn't helped the investigation. Some residents,
however, had shown themselves willing to do the right thing, as Detective
Superintendent Gavin Baggs told reporters after the five week trial concluded;
"(This case sent) a strong message about what happens to people who choose to
take the law into their own hands. Alfred Wilkins was a well-liked old man who
kept himself to himself, but who was tormented by criminal offences founded by
speculation. We are particularly grateful to witnesses who bravely spoke out,
sometimes against neighbours, friends and relatives".
After serving seven years of his life-sentence Ian Lawless was set free by the
Court of Appeal in London on Tuesday June 16 2009. Lawless and Lawson had
previously launched a joint appeal, which was heard at the Court of Appeal on
5 February 2003 by Lord Justice Kennedy, Mr Justice McCombe and Mr Justice
Treacy. The appeal failed and the pair returned to jail.
When new evidence about the validity of Ian Lawless' various confessions later
came to light his solicitor, Mark Newby of Jordans Solicitors in Doncaster,
referred the case to the Criminal Cases Review Commission. The CCRC
examines possible miscarriages of justice and receives around 1,000
applications for review of sentences or convictions a year. Typically around 40
are referred to the appeal courts.
It commissioned a report from Professor Gisli Gudjonsson, an expert on false
confessions who had worked on many miscarriage of justice cases including
those of the Birmingham Six and Barry George who was wrongly jailed for the
shooting of TV presenter Jill Dando.
Professor Gudjonsson interviewed Lawless and concluded that his conviction was
unsafe. Heavy drinker Lawless was drunk and "psychologically vulnerable" at the
time of his confessions. It was likely that he was seeking attention or notoriety
amongst his peers, rather than telling the truth. Everyone in Grimsby knew of
the arson attack, and fabricating information would have been easy.
Professor Gudjonsson and other experts, including a clinical psychologist
working for the Crown, diagnosed Lawless as having a personality disorder that
gave him a pathological need for attention. The reports described him as a
"known alcoholic" and an "emotionally unstable extrovert" with serious
long-standing psychological problems that made him prone to making
unfounded boasts and claims to gain attention. As his conviction was based on
his own boastings, Lawless' conviction couldn't be safe.
Former cellmates of Lawless told Hull Crown Court during the original trial that he had always denied involvement in the killing. Francis Barber, who was with Lawless while he was on remand in the Wolds Prison, near Hull had said: “As long as I’ve known him he’s told lies and made things up. The whole time we were inside together he maintained his innocence."
In the pubs and bars of Grimsby, Ian Lawless had been a known attention seeker who often lied about his involvement in local crimes, particularly when drunk. Most of his drinking friends had learned to take Lawless' boasts with a pinch of salt. Humberside Police, however, had chosen differently.
In light of this evidence the Crown Prosecution Service had already said that
they would not oppose the appeal. The three appeal court judges, Lord Justice
Richards, Mrs Justice Gloster and Mrs Justice Dobbs, ruled that the conviction
should be quashed. Lord Justice Richards said that the new evidence might have
affected the jury's original assessment of Ian Lawless' various confessions and
their verdict may have been different. He added that the court had also born in
mind that Lawless' guilty verdict came after a very long period of deliberation
by the jury and hadn't been unanimous. No retrial was ordered.
As he shambled down the steps of London's Royal Courts of Justice on a sunny
Tuesday in the middle of June with his daughter Laura Jayne at his side, Ian
Lawless cut a nervy, ungainly figure. Ill at ease but triumphant in a rumpled
dark gray suit with his tie hanging loosely around his neck, the Grimsby man was
met by a barrage of cameras and microphones brandished by dozens of
reporters, all wanting to know how he felt about being released. Lawless was
keen to tell them.
"Great! Ecstatic! I should never have been in jail in the first place!"
Solicitor Mark Newby was by Ian Lawless' side when he walked out of the
appeal court a free man. He told the waiting press; "This again highlights the
danger of our criminal justice system pigeon-holing people with mental and
personal vulnerabilities and pushing them through a court process without
putting in place the necessary safeguards."
Later the same day, when interviewed back in Grimsby by the BBC, Lawless
exclaimed; "The British justice system stinks! It's wrong the way it takes five
minutes to convict you and ten years to clear you!"
Referring to the lack of forensics linking him to the crime, Lawless continued;
"There was no evidence whatsoever. The police picked and choose what they
wanted to hear." Added Lawless poignantly, "I've lost some good friends while
I've been in jail."
Included was Lawless's mother who campaigned relentless for her son's release
but died before she could see it. Lawless told the BBC that the first thing he was
going to do the following day on his first full day of freedom was visit her grave.
When asked by the BBC how Humberside Police felt about Ian Lawless's
conviction being quashed Deputy Chief Superintendent Richard Kerman
replied; "It was really only in the last few months that doubts had been raised
about Mr Lawless' mental state at the time and that's lead to the appearance in
court today. I would say that the court today made no criticisms of Humberside
Police's actions in this case".
Gary Lawson remains in prison and has not announced any plans to appeal his
conviction.
In 2007 a scheme was unveiled to demolish the Yarborough estate and build the
new 440 home 'Freshney Green' multi-million pound development on the old
site. As local resident and Yarborough Tenants and Residents Association
chairman Roberta Lightfoot told the BBC as the bulldozers moved in; "We have
been waiting for this for a long time. Things are starting to happen and we are
seeing some real action."
The development re-houses council tenants and also provides private housing in
mews courtyard style, along with eco gardens, a pre-school open space, play
equipment and a green. The once-Yarborough estate is now ready to put its'
darkest moment behind it.
Edward Hunter
Ian Ravendale North East freelance journalist ian ravendale Newcastle freelance journalist Ian Ravendale Sunderland freelance journalist Ian Ravendale Tyne and Wear journalist northern freelance journalist Ian Ravendale long established freelance journalist Ian Ravendale Well known journalist Ian Ravendale veteran freelancejournalist Ian Ravendale Quick witted journalist Ian Ravendale Knowledgeable journalist Ian Ravendale freelance journalist Ian Ravendale long-established north east journalist Ian Ravendale respected freelance journalist Ian Ravendale busy Wearside journalist Ian Ravendale recognised freelance journalist Ian Ravendale respected journalist Ian Ravendale versatile freelance journalist Ian Ravendale
 |
| Alf Wilkins |
Alfred Wilkins was at his wits end. He'd made eighty calls to Humberside Police
complaining of harassment from his neighbours on Grimsby's notorious
Yarborough Estate. But the attacks and the jibes and the intimidation of the 67
year old pensioner still continued. He'd lived in terror for months. The police
and local social services were, it seemed, powerless to give him the help he so
desperately needed. Little did anyone know that this lack of action would bring
a devastating and ghastly conclusion and the pensioner would suffer a torturous
and agonising death in the burned out shell of his flat.
An entire community would be torn apart and four of Alf's neighbours would be
jailed. Two for life, convicted of murder.
Retired father-of-three Wilkins had been a trawlerman and a tugboat captain.
His liking for sherry caused his dismissal from his job as a miner and had also
ended his marriage. By the time he had moved to his £28-a-month downstairs
council flat on the Yarborough estate Wilkins had graduated to spirits which he
generally drank from half-pint glasses.
He was known and liked by many of his older neighbours, some of whom would
gladly join him round his flat for a drink or two. His mother had lived only a
mile away and before she died in the mid 1990's, Alf had become a familiar
sight on his black bicycle, riding off everyday to see her, his formal black suit
and tie making him a distinctive figure on the Yarborough estate.
Wilkins had befriended some of the estate's children who would drop by to pet
and feed Lucky, the former seaman's 12 year old black Alsatian
This simple act of friendliness would ultimately lead to Alf Wilkins' horrific
murder by a gang of vigilantes.
A 9 year old girl who had been a regular visitor to Wilkins' flat accused him of
molesting her. Not knowing what to do, the child's father called the police and
Wilkins was arrested.
He appeared at Grimsby Crown Court in late October 2000. After a short trial
the pensioner was cleared on 2nd November of all three counts of assault. The
girl's father has since agreed that the evidence against Alf Wilkins was thin. The
9 year-old accuser's testimony had been brought into question by some of her
claims, including that she was 'placed in a piranha tank' by another alleged
assailant. The fact that she had bragged to her friends about the allegations also made her less than a credible witness.
This should have been the end of the matter. The local Grimsby Telegraph had
not reported on the case while it was ongoing. On Wilkins' acquittal, however,
in a move that would have catastrophic repercussions the paper printed an article about the case that included the pensioner's name and address.
The News of the World had recently started a 'name and shame' campaign
against child abusers. This had resulted in several suicides by suspected
paedophiles and the harassment of other alleged offenders by vigilante gangs
determined to take the law into their own hands. Encouraged by the Sunday
newspaper's rabble-rousing public outrage and mob-rule against alleged or suspected child abusers and paedophiles was at an all-time high.
Alf Wilkins, a man without a criminal record of any sort, had been acquitted and
just wanted to live a peaceful life in his one bedroom flat at 6 Arundel Walk on
the Yarborough estate. A vigilante gang saw things differently. The protests of
residents on a Southampton estate against alleged paedophiles living within the
community had achieved national publicity. In the eyes of some Yarborough
residents, the Grimsby estate now had its' own paedophile and they knew just
where to find him. It didn't matter that Alf Wilkins had been cleared of all
charges. The Yarborough gang would go one further than protests and
demonstrations. They meant business and were going to make certain Alf
Wilkins knew it.
At first, the vigilantes contented themselves with following Wilkins in the street,
shouting abuse. This soon escalated to breaking the windows of his flat and
throwing paint. Graffiti including nonce and pervert was daubed on the
metal or chipboard sheets that had been used to board up the dwelling's
shattered windows. Two crudely scrawled additional number 6's had been added
to the 'official' 6 over the front door.
Grimsby Council agreed to rehouse the pensioner. But, in a spectacular example of bureaucracy triumphing over common sense, decided they were unable to do so until later in the spring. The police had responded to Wilkins' appeals for help but were unable to prevent the abuse from continuing. As Humberside Police's Gavin Baggs, the Detective Superintendent in charge at the time, subsequently admitted to reporters;
"Mr Wilkins was an elderly man with mobility problems. He did face a long
period of harassment following his acquittal in November and this harassment
escalated to the point where he was attacked and murdered in his own home.
Many of these were quite trivial in themselves, such as people banging on his
door and windows, but I do recognise the seriousness of these incidents as they did, of course, culminate in his murder."
By January 2001, failed by both police and council, Alf Wilkins was living in
fear, locked in his flat with nowhere else to go. He dared not directly name his
tormentors in case of more attacks, making it even harder for the police to help
him. At this point officers didn't fully appreciate how desperate the situation
had become. And how determined some residents were to bring their own brand of justice to Yarborough.
On January 31 2001, Alf Wilkins was alone in his flat with just Lucky for
company. The apartment was a miserable, dark, poorly ventilated place with all but one of the windows boarded up. Access to the flat was controlled by an
electronically operated door.
Outside, two hooded figures prepared to teach Wilkins the lesson they felt he
deserved. Unemployed 19 year old Gary Lawson and his 16 year old
then-girlfriend Chantelle Day were about to dish out vigilante justice,
Yarborough style.
Lawson's grandfather had been a friend of Alf's. After the former seaman's trial Lawson had forbidden his grandfather from visiting him. "I didn't want him
classed as a nonce", Lawson later told the jury at his subsequent trial for
unlawfully killing the pensioner.
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| Gary Lawson |
Normally the metal and chipboard sheets and the electronic door would have
kept unwanted visitors out of the small council flat. But the catch on the door
was broken and Lawson and Day were easily able to obtain access. Using a
broom as a weapon, the pair beat Wilkins about the head and body. He was left
bleeding from the forehead with a one-inch gash that needed hospital treatment.
Post-Mortem tests later revealed nine ugly bruises to Alf's body, all almost
certainly caused by the savage beating.
The attack on Alf made Lawson and Day heroes amongst some of the other
Yarborough residents. The Wilkins murder trial jury at Hull Crown Court in
early 2002 heard of a drunken party where eight or nine neighbours discussed
what else they could do to punish the retired seaman. More beatings and
'dragging Alf and tying him to a tree' were amongst some of the other proposals made by the Yarborough partygoers that drunken night.
The actual plan to get permanently rid of the infirm 67 year-old was cooked up
over a another drug-fuelled drinking session following the break-in. Two days
before the deadly arson attack Chantelle Day had drawn up a 'blueprint' that
spelled out in gory detail what the murderous gang had in mind for their
neighbour. In addition to crudely listing a variety of ways of killing the
pensioner, potential alibis for the perpetrators were also suggested.
At the murder trial chilling extracts from Day's plan were read out in court. The jury sat stunned when it was disclosed that these violent and vitriolic writings were the handy-work of a 16 year-old girl; "Each time I hear Alf's name-that nonce on the Yarborough estate-I just want to break into his flat and Sellotape his hands behind his back......put some socks in his mouth......pour petrol all over his flat and all over him, then set him on fire. Then set fire to his flat making sure it is all blown up with him in it."
But, as the jury subsequently heard, this was more than the twisted fantasy of an adolescent. By putting Alf Wilkins in hospital just a few days earlier the gang had proven that they were willing to go far beyond name-calling and graffiti.
The grisly plan was about to be set in motion. The trial jury heard that Lawson
had openly boasted within the Yarborough community that Alf Wilkins, a man
who had been found innocent of all charges, was going receive what he
deserved. "He is going to get done in. I am going to do it. He is going to get
blown up", Lawson had told a friend.
Chantelle Day's 'battleplan' may have been conceived in a drunken,
cannabis-driven frenzy but the murder plot proved to be no idle boast. In the
early hours of Friday 9 February 2001 turpentine was poured through Alf
Wilkins' letterbox. This was followed by lighted paper. It wasn't the resulting
blaze that killed Alf and Lucky who were both found dead on the kitchen. All
but one of the flat's windows had been boarded up as a result of the previous
vandalism. Without adequate ventilation the fire burnt up the oxygen and the
pensioner and his pet suffocated.
After the arson attack and Wilkins' death, Lawson boasted to a friend, "I told
you I would do him in. I killed Alf."
The bodies of Wilkins and Lucky were found when a friend of the pensioner
called round later that day. Humberside Police immediately launched a murder
enquiry and set up a murder HQ in a caravan close to the burned-out flat.
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| The burned out shell of 6 Arundel Walk boarded up by police |
Officers investigating the fire knew that Alf Wilkins had been the victim of a
hate campaign and soon released statements saying that there was evidence that the blaze had been started deliberately. The case was already beginning to look like a possible 'revenge' killing.
The police were aware that the ex-trawlerman had his enemies in Yarborough.
The father of the 9 year-old girl that Wilkins had been acquitted of assaulting
heard about the fire and knew exactly what he needed to do.
"I didn't do it", he subsequently told reporters, "but (I knew) it wouldn't be long before I got a knock on my door." So he beat the police to it and went to the local station to let them know of his whereabouts the night of the blaze.
The police knew about the break-in and vicious attack on Wilkins a week earlier and thought there was a good chance that the assault and the arson could have been perpetrated by the same people. The blows to Alf's body had left marks that could have been made by jewellery and murder detectives saw this as a very strong clue to the identities of the killers.
They began checking rings worn by Wilkins' neighbours to see if any matched
marks on the 67-year old's body. Soon, six local people had been arrested. Three
were released after questioning, but three others, including Lawson and Day
were held. After his arrest, Lawson admitted under caution that "when it became
known Alf was dead everyone wanted to party".
Known as 'Bob' to his friends and family, Ian Lawless was Gary Lawson's
godfather and a familiar figure amongst the pubs and bars in Grimsby centre. It
was while drinking in the Pestle and Mortar pub that Lawless boasted of his role
the night Alf Wilkins' flat had been set alight. The pub-cellarman told several
people, including his daughter, that he'd been the lookout for the arson attack
in the early hours of 9 February. He also repeated this claim to several local
taxi drivers.
Lawless was subsequently arrested and charged along with Lawson with Wilkins'
murder. In court Lawless withdrew his bar room boast as he had previously also
done when questioned by the police. He denied taking any part in the murder,
saying that he was drunk and just "being an idiot".
The court heard details of Lawless's severe drink problems and drunkenness and
his inclination towards fantasy. Included in these flights of fancy had been an
attempt to convince fellow remand prisoners that he, a Grimsby cellarman, was
a member of the Taliban.
Gary Lawson was convicted of murder at Hull Crown Court on 18 February 2002
When the unanimous guilty verdict was announced after more that 23 hours of
deliberation Lawson yelled, "You can't keep me down forever" at the eight man,
four woman jury.
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| Hull Crown Court |
It took the jury almost 30 hours to reach a 10-2 majority verdict against Ian Lawless two days later. In the minutes before he was sentenced, Lawless sacked his defence team and
told the court, "I will be proved innocent one day. If this is what you get, I will
never tell the truth again".
Following his murder conviction, Lawless consistently maintained his innocence.
He told the Grimsby Telegraph; "I am not guilty of murder. I might have done
some daft things in my life but I was not involved in the killing of Alf Wilkins. I
do not bear grudges, especially when people have not done anything to me. I
will be proved innocent one day. I will be cleared".
Lawson and Chantelle Day were also found guilty of conspiring to cause
grievous bodily harm to the pensioner a week before his death. Lawson received
four years in a young offender's institution to run concurrently with his life
sentence. Day was sentenced to three years.
A third neighbour, Gary Fairbanks (43), was cleared of incitement to murder but
received a two year sentence for intimidating a witness and threatening to
destroy or damage property. He had admitted in court that he'd told witness
Mandy Tasker, his next-door neighbour, that she was a "fucking grass" and that
he was going to "petrol bomb (her) house".
Day returned to Hull Crown Court in 2003, accused of taking part in the killing
of Alf Wilkins. She denied the charge and was cleared.
Detective Inspector Phil Spicksley of Humberside Police told the BBC that; "It was right and proper that Humberside Police investigated the new information
that came to light in this case and that the new evidence be heard in court.
The jury has now heard the evidence presented to it and concluded that
Chantelle Day was not guilty. We have to respect the findings of the court".
Despite the acquittal, Day was unable to stay out of trouble for long. After
brutally attacking Keery Feerick in May 2007 she appeared at Grimsby Crown
Court on 1 August 2007. The assault, where Day had repeatedly punched and
kicked her victim and then stamped on her head, was condemned by the judge
as "gratuitous" and "persistent" and had caused Ms Feerick actual bodily harm.
Day was found guilty and jailed for two years.
At the Wilkins murder sentencing hearing at the Old Bailey in London on 22nd
May 02, Mr Justice Grigson also took a hard line with the Yarborough gang;
"There are those who may describe your actions as taking the law into your own
hands. But what you did had nothing to do with the law. You took part in the
systematic persecution of a 67 year old man, who, whatever he may have done
in the past, presented no real danger to the community where he lived".
Both Lawson and Lawless were given life sentences.
The Alf Wilkins murder trial pulled the Yarborough community apart and
turned neighbours and families against each other. Residents that favoured the
interest of justice over family and neighbourly ties were castigated and reviled.
Intimidation was widespread, with witnesses frequently offering information and
then either vanishing before they could be seen or withdrawing their statements.
On the day of the murder a woman rang from a call box, saying she had
information. When officers arrived the woman had gone, almost certainly
because she'd thought better of helping the police.
The Yarborough estate community's "code" of not informing to the police, no
matter what the circumstances hadn't helped the investigation. Some residents,
however, had shown themselves willing to do the right thing, as Detective
Superintendent Gavin Baggs told reporters after the five week trial concluded;
"(This case sent) a strong message about what happens to people who choose to
take the law into their own hands. Alfred Wilkins was a well-liked old man who
kept himself to himself, but who was tormented by criminal offences founded by
speculation. We are particularly grateful to witnesses who bravely spoke out,
sometimes against neighbours, friends and relatives".
After serving seven years of his life-sentence Ian Lawless was set free by the
Court of Appeal in London on Tuesday June 16 2009. Lawless and Lawson had
previously launched a joint appeal, which was heard at the Court of Appeal on
5 February 2003 by Lord Justice Kennedy, Mr Justice McCombe and Mr Justice
Treacy. The appeal failed and the pair returned to jail.
When new evidence about the validity of Ian Lawless' various confessions later
came to light his solicitor, Mark Newby of Jordans Solicitors in Doncaster,
referred the case to the Criminal Cases Review Commission. The CCRC
examines possible miscarriages of justice and receives around 1,000
applications for review of sentences or convictions a year. Typically around 40
are referred to the appeal courts.
It commissioned a report from Professor Gisli Gudjonsson, an expert on false
confessions who had worked on many miscarriage of justice cases including
those of the Birmingham Six and Barry George who was wrongly jailed for the
shooting of TV presenter Jill Dando.
Professor Gudjonsson interviewed Lawless and concluded that his conviction was
unsafe. Heavy drinker Lawless was drunk and "psychologically vulnerable" at the
time of his confessions. It was likely that he was seeking attention or notoriety
amongst his peers, rather than telling the truth. Everyone in Grimsby knew of
the arson attack, and fabricating information would have been easy.
Professor Gudjonsson and other experts, including a clinical psychologist
working for the Crown, diagnosed Lawless as having a personality disorder that
gave him a pathological need for attention. The reports described him as a
"known alcoholic" and an "emotionally unstable extrovert" with serious
long-standing psychological problems that made him prone to making
unfounded boasts and claims to gain attention. As his conviction was based on
his own boastings, Lawless' conviction couldn't be safe.
Former cellmates of Lawless told Hull Crown Court during the original trial that he had always denied involvement in the killing. Francis Barber, who was with Lawless while he was on remand in the Wolds Prison, near Hull had said: “As long as I’ve known him he’s told lies and made things up. The whole time we were inside together he maintained his innocence."
In the pubs and bars of Grimsby, Ian Lawless had been a known attention seeker who often lied about his involvement in local crimes, particularly when drunk. Most of his drinking friends had learned to take Lawless' boasts with a pinch of salt. Humberside Police, however, had chosen differently.
In light of this evidence the Crown Prosecution Service had already said that
they would not oppose the appeal. The three appeal court judges, Lord Justice
Richards, Mrs Justice Gloster and Mrs Justice Dobbs, ruled that the conviction
should be quashed. Lord Justice Richards said that the new evidence might have
affected the jury's original assessment of Ian Lawless' various confessions and
their verdict may have been different. He added that the court had also born in
mind that Lawless' guilty verdict came after a very long period of deliberation
by the jury and hadn't been unanimous. No retrial was ordered.
As he shambled down the steps of London's Royal Courts of Justice on a sunny
Tuesday in the middle of June with his daughter Laura Jayne at his side, Ian
Lawless cut a nervy, ungainly figure. Ill at ease but triumphant in a rumpled
dark gray suit with his tie hanging loosely around his neck, the Grimsby man was
met by a barrage of cameras and microphones brandished by dozens of
reporters, all wanting to know how he felt about being released. Lawless was
keen to tell them.
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| A freed Ian Lawless (with daughter Laura Jayne, above) outside of the Courts of Justice |
"Great! Ecstatic! I should never have been in jail in the first place!"
Solicitor Mark Newby was by Ian Lawless' side when he walked out of the
appeal court a free man. He told the waiting press; "This again highlights the
danger of our criminal justice system pigeon-holing people with mental and
personal vulnerabilities and pushing them through a court process without
putting in place the necessary safeguards."
Later the same day, when interviewed back in Grimsby by the BBC, Lawless
exclaimed; "The British justice system stinks! It's wrong the way it takes five
minutes to convict you and ten years to clear you!"
Referring to the lack of forensics linking him to the crime, Lawless continued;
"There was no evidence whatsoever. The police picked and choose what they
wanted to hear." Added Lawless poignantly, "I've lost some good friends while
I've been in jail."
Included was Lawless's mother who campaigned relentless for her son's release
but died before she could see it. Lawless told the BBC that the first thing he was
going to do the following day on his first full day of freedom was visit her grave.
When asked by the BBC how Humberside Police felt about Ian Lawless's
conviction being quashed Deputy Chief Superintendent Richard Kerman
replied; "It was really only in the last few months that doubts had been raised
about Mr Lawless' mental state at the time and that's lead to the appearance in
court today. I would say that the court today made no criticisms of Humberside
Police's actions in this case".
Gary Lawson remains in prison and has not announced any plans to appeal his
conviction.
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| The demolition of the Yarborough Estate |
In 2007 a scheme was unveiled to demolish the Yarborough estate and build the
new 440 home 'Freshney Green' multi-million pound development on the old
site. As local resident and Yarborough Tenants and Residents Association
chairman Roberta Lightfoot told the BBC as the bulldozers moved in; "We have
been waiting for this for a long time. Things are starting to happen and we are
seeing some real action."
 |
| Freshney Green |
The development re-houses council tenants and also provides private housing in
mews courtyard style, along with eco gardens, a pre-school open space, play
equipment and a green. The once-Yarborough estate is now ready to put its'
darkest moment behind it.
Edward Hunter
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