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Hi, and welcome back to The
Unseen Podcast, a podcast dedicated to missing

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people, unresolved cases, and UK
true crime. Today we're going to be

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exploring the unsolved murder of Harry Howell
in Blackpool in nineteen eighty eight. Harry's

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murder was both unexpected and also mysterious, given that his neighbors hadn't noticed that

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he'd been murdered for a while,
and he seemed like an unlikely victim.

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Harry's murder is still unsolved and the
reasons behind it still a mystery. This

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episode contains descriptions that some listeners may
find distressing. Soul listener discretion is advised.

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Blackpool is a seaside resort located in
Lancashire and lies around twenty seven miles

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away from Liverpool and around forty miles
away from Manchester. It's a popular holiday

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and day trip destination for many people
who live in Lancashire, and as one

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of these Lancashire residents, I can
attest that many a weekend was spent there.

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It's probably most famous for the Blackpool
Tower, which when it was built

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in eighteen ninety four, was the
tallest building in the British Empire. As

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it was then. The tower was
inspired by the Eiffel Tower in Paris,

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and while they look very similar,
Blackpool Tower isn't free standing and its base

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is hidden by a building at the
bottom of it. The tower Ballroom at

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the top of the structure has long
been famous for the dances that took place

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there, as well as in the
present day, where concerts, dance competitions

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and the grand final of Strictly Come
Dancing has taken place. Blackpool is also

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famous for its Pleasure Beach, which
is a large theme park on the seafront,

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and also for the Blackpool Illumination.
The Illuminations as a show that has

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been running since eighteen seventy nine and
occurs annually between September and January. In

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the past, the Illuminations had only
ran for around sixty six days. However,

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since then the time has been extended. They run the whole distance of

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six point two miles along the promenade
and people come from all over to see

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them. Throughout this period. Blackpool
is a buzz with activity during this time,

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as well as during the summer,
when tourists flocked to the beach for

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sunbathing and days out. Blackpool was
the home of Harry Howell in nineteen eighty

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eight. Harry was seventy four years
old and he had just suffered a bereavement.

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His long term partner, Elsie Flegg, had just passed away, and

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he was facing living by himself for
the first time in a long time,

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and this was a worrying concept for
his family. Harry and Elsie had been

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living in shelter amidation called Imberson Court, located just a stone's throw away from

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the Promenade in the center of Blackpool. Living in sheltered accommodation meant that Harry

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and Elsie lived in their own flat. However, they were also looked in

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on by a warden who helped the
elderly residents who lived there. Harry's family

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were worried about how Harry would cope
since Elsie had passed away, and were

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concerned about his day to day living
arrangements. Harry had worked for the company

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British Leyland for many years. British
Leyland was a car manufacturer which made cars

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such as the Mini Land Rover,
Jaguar and Austin. In his later years,

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however, Harry's health began to deteriorate
and by nineteen eighty eight, he

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had suffered a stroke which led to
partial paralysis and meant he was blind in

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one eye. Harry still got out
and about though, and he enjoyed having

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a bet and going to the pub
for a pine. In early winter nineteen

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eighty eight, after Elsie had died, Harry's family tried to make sure he

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was looked after and helped him to
establish a routine. Harry's nephew spoke to

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the staff at the nearby lee Gate
Cafe on Central Drive, close to Harry's

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home at Ibuson Court, and told
them that Harry would be coming in every

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day and could they make sure that
he had a substantial meal at least once

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a day. This fact showed that
while Harry was independent, he may well

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forget to look after himself, and
it also showed that his family wanted to

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look out for him. He would
regularly visit the cafe and other pubs around

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the town, particularly the Gearge Pub
where he would go in for a pine.

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Harry was friendly and loved speaking to
people and would often stop strangers to

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talk. The other neighbors at Ibuson
Court, however, knew him as a

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relatively reserved person who kept to himself. When he was at home, it

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appeared that Harry had his routine and
enjoyed the social aspect of getting out of

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the house. However, when he
was at home, he enjoyed his home

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comforts and his own company. By
early November, Harry had established a routine

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and was slowly moving on from Elsie's
death. Conversations with the warden who oversaw

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the sheltered accommodation showed that Harry was
doing well in his home and was beginning

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to feel more himself after Elsie had
passed away. Saturday, the fifth of

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November Bonfire night in the UK,
and this was the last weekend that the

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illuminations were going to be on.
People were coming into the area to catch

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them before they went for the year, and people would also believing the area

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having come for holidays off for day
trips to see them. The warden at

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Ibuson Court was the first person to
see Harry that day. She visited the

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residence of Iberson Court every morning except
Sundays, and this day was no exception.

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She later explained that she visited him
at his flat that morning and had

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a conversation. She said she left
it around half nine and that Harry seemed

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happy and his usual self. Around
an hour later, Harry was spotted again,

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this time at the league Gate Cafe
where he usually had his breakfast.

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The waitress at the cafe knew Harry
well and so didn't think anything of him

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being there that morning. That day, however, she did notice something a

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little bit different. A man who
was described as well dressed came in and

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bought a cup of tea. He
then went and sat down with Harry and

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started talking to him. It appeared
that the two knew one another, and

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the waitress went over to say that
if she'd have known that he was with

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Harry, he would have put the
tea on the bill. Harry reportedly offered

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to pay for the man's tea,
and she replied that the man had already

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paid for it himself. This was
the only time that the staff at the

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cafe had noticed Harry with this man, and so it stood out to them.

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The staff described the man as being
tall, broadly built, and was

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wearing a farm colored raincoat and a
soft Trilby style hat. Due to Harry's

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regularity and love of routine, many
of the shopkeepers and shop assistants knew him

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and knew what he regularly bought.
One of the shops on Central Drive that

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knew Harry well was Burton's Confectioners.
Harry went to the shop every day at

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lunchtime and always bought a pie.
The staff knew Harry well and always noticed

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when he came in. That day, however, something a little strange happened.

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A younger man aged in his thirties
visited the shop and told the shop

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assistant a story. A man who
was later described as having hair falling over

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his thin, drawn face, said
he was buying a sandwich for the old

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man who usually came into the shop
to buy a pie. The shop assistant

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thought this was odd, but asked
him what sandwich he was looking for.

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He said that the old man had
asked for a meat sandwich, and he

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eventually settled on buying a beef and
horse raddish one. He actually bought two

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of these before leaving. The shop
assistant remembered this as there were only two

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beef and horsewaddish sandwiches that were sold
at the shop that day. This in

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itself was out of the ordinary for
Harriet, and certainly was out of character.

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However, by four pm, Harry
was seen again out and about.

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A family remembered speaking to him that
day for almost twenty minutes. They didn't

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know Harry, but had got speaking
to him in the street. It appeared

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that Harry was being his normal sociable
self and was enjoying having a conversation with

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this family before they set off to
carry on with their day. It appeared

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that by the evening of the fifth
of November, Harry had headed back to

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his flat at Ibison Court and spent
the night there. The next day,

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Sunday, the sixth of November,
the warden always contacted the residence the same

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way. She rang the internal intercom
in the flat to contact the residence,

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asked them if they needed anything and
if they were okay. That day,

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the warden rang through to Harry's flat
and he answered. She reported that he

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said he was fine, and she
left him to his day. The milkman

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also arrived that day and dropped off
Harry's usual bottle of milk that he'd ordered.

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On Monday, the seventh of November, the warden again started her rounds

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to check on the residence, and
when she passed Harry's flat this time,

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she noticed something in the glass of
the window pane. In the door,

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a piece of white card had been
placed there. This was a system that

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the residents had to let the warden
know that they'd gone out for a while

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and that this might be why they
don't answer. This was a system that

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was well known to all of the
residents, and therefore the warden didn't worry

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about this as she passed by Harry's
flat. Despite the fact that Harry had

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a very well known routine, there
didn't appear to be much concern about him

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over these few days. There were
many explanations for why Harry had not been

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seen. The next day, on
Tuesday, the eighth of November, the

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milkman came to Harry's flat again.
He left the milk on the step and

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would later report that he did notice
the white card in the inside of the

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glass, as the warden had done
the day before. About an hour later,

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after the milkman had delivered the milk, the home help assistant, who

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often came to visit the residents and
check up on them, arrived at Harry's

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flat. She would later report seeing
something unusual pinned to the front door.

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It was a note which read something
to the effect of on holiday for two

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weeks, no milk please. Once
again, the home help read the note

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and just thought that Harry must be
away and went on with her day.

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Around half an hour after the home
help assistant had visited Harry's flat, the

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deputy warden from the sheltered accommodation passed
by the flat on her rounds. She

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recalled that there was a note pin
to the door. The odd thing was

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that the milkman did not recall seeing
a note struck on the door and only

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noticed the white card placed inside the
glass pane, and as a result,

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he still dropped off milk that day. That same day, another witness came

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by Harry's home. This time it
was the window cleaner, John Johnston.

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He later explained that he did not
see a note pin to the door,

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and he had a reason to be
close to it as he was cleaning the

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glass pane. He did, however, notice something else while he was cleaning

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other windows in the area. He
watched as a man approached Harry's door and

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knocked on. Harry didn't answer,
and the man eventually walked away. Another

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two days passed and the milkman once
again called at Harry's home, this time

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when he approached the door, he
noticed that Tuesday's milk was still outside and

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that Harry hadn't taken it in.
The milkman assumed that Harry must have gone

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away without telling him and just took
the milk away instead. It had been

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around four days by this point since
anyone had spoken to Harry, and five

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days since anyone had seen him in
person. This, however, was not

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noticed, and due to many different
people seeing different things at Harry's flat,

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a big picture was never created and
this fact didn't seem to have been fully

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understood. It wasn't until twelve days
later that John Johnston, the window cleaner,

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began to become concerned. He had
once again come to clean the windows

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of Harry's flat and the other residences
in Ibuson Court. This time, when

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he approached Harry's door, he noticed
that there was some damage to it.

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It looked as though someone had tried
to pry it open, and some of

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the paint and wood had come away
from the hinge. The door seemed to

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be still locked and secure, though. The window cleaner, however, wasn't

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happy with what he'd seen, and
he became concerned. He decided to go

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around the back of the flat and
look through the back windows. When he

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looked closely, he noticed something that
confirmed his worries. He saw Harry Howell's

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body slumped in a chair in the
living room, and he didn't appear to

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be moving. The window cleaner reported
what he'd seen, and emergency services came

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out to ibuson hought to see what
had happened. Unfortunately, seeing ambulances and

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paramedics that sheltered accommodation was not uncommon, giving the age of the residence.

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However, this time it was different. When they entered the home and assessed

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Harry's body, it was clear that
he had not just simply passed away while

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sat in his living room. Harry
had severe head wounds and it was clear

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that they had been inflicted on him. Harry had been murdered. He was

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covered in blood and police would later
establish that he had been blodgeoned around the

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head with a blunt instrument. A
search of the house and the scene was

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conducted for the murder weapon, but
none could be found. The implication was

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that the killer had taken the weapon
with them. Police had a huge job

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in this case trying to establish the
circumstances surrounding Harry's murder was proving tricky,

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given that his body had clearly been
in the flat for many days before it

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was discovered. Creating a timeline for
Harry's last days and trying to figure out

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when he had last been seen alive
was a difficult thing to do. However,

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it was finally established that he had
last been seen alive on the fifth

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of November, and that the warden
had last spoken to him the next morning

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on the sixth. Whatever had happened, the motive for the murder seemed to

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be more transparent. Harry had been
robbed, and it seemed that burglary had

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been the motive for the murder.
The crime scene indicated that several items had

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been stolen from Harry's flat. Thousands
of pounds had been taken, as well

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as Harry's brown wallet. Other items, such as a gold watch that once

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belonged to Elsie had been taken as
well. The watch was relatively distinctive and

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had an inscription on the back which
read to Harry Flegg presented upon his retirement.

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Harry's set of house keys, which
had around twelve keys on the bunch,

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were also missing. The police were
sure that this had been a robbery.

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However, there were still some odd
things about the scene. They had

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discovered that despite the flat being robbed, there were some valuables that the killer

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or killers had missed. A stash
of two thousand pounds was discovered in the

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home, as well as money that
was still on Harry's body that had either

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been left or missed. Police would
later discover that Harry kept most of his

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money in his flat and that he
didn't believe in putting his money into banks

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or building societies. This meant that
he always had a relatively large amount of

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money in his home or on him
at all times. He was also not

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shy about discussing this with other people, and would often tell others that he

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carried a lot of money with him
or that he kept money at his home.

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This was certainly a risk factor when
discussing Harry as a victim and was

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a potential motive for whoever had killed
him. Had Harry got talking to the

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wrong person about his life savings,
had this person took the opportunity to attack

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and rob him. The police were
quite sure that robbery had been the main

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motive. However, they also had
to consider had this person been involved with

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the strange note that appeared on Harry's
door and the card that had been left

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in the glass. Had this been
a way to buy the killer or killer's

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time to get far enough away from
the scene. If this was the case,

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then they had indeed bought themselves the
time that they needed. The other

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odd part of this puzzle was the
consideration that the man that had been seen

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in the cafe with Harriet on the
morning of the fifth of November and the

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man who had visited Burton's Confectioners were
in any way involved with the murder,

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or were even the same man.
One piece of quite damning evidence that pointed

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to the fact that the man at
the Base Career who had ordered the beef

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and horseradish sandwiches had been with Harry
that day was the recovery of both of

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the uneaten sandwiches in the paper bag
from the bakery in Harry's flat when his

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body was discovered. This was a
clear indication that this man had indeed been

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buying sandwiches for Harry, but the
reason why they were never eaten was unclear.

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It was obvious that Harry had been
murdered shortly after the fifth of November

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and so his movements and who he
spoke to and saw that day were important

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to the investigation. The investigation got
started immediately, but the lack of concrete

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evidence and the time that had elapsed
between the murder and the discovery of the

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body made it tricky to gain any
traction. In January of nineteen eighty nine,

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Harry's case got a boost when it
was featured on BBC's Crimewatch program.

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The program reconstructed Harry's day on the
fifth of November and laid out all of

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the evidence that the police had,
including a description of the man that had

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been seen with Harry at the caffe
and the man that had been in the

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bakery and bought the sandwiches. The
arrival of the note on the door was

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also reconstructed, and what each of
the witnesses had seen that day. It

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was hoped that the reconstruction would bring
forward new witnesses and perhaps new information.

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Superintendent Bill Hacking appeared on the program
and later said about the crime, certainly

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people knew about his nest egg.
The two thousand pounds found confirms our belief

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that robbery was the motive. The
money was not easily noticeable and it may

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well be that the killer or killers
thought they had all his money and didn't

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continue to look further. Mister Howell
also carried a substantial amount of cash on

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him in a brown fold over wallet, which we are trying to find.

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The crimewatch reconstruction elicited a hundred call
from the public, and police were hopeful

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that these calls would result in some
new information that could help boost the investigation.

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The calls were checked on and lines
of inquiry were followed up on.

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However, non led to anyone being
arrested for Harry's murder. This was,

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of course disappointing for the police,
and they had hoped that national coverage would

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lead to at least the two men
being identified by someone in the public.

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Harry's murder was featured on the program
a second time and it was hoped that

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this time would lead to further progress, but sadly, Harry's murder remained unsolved

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despite the coverage. Harry's family had
to come to terms with the fact that

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he had been brutally murdered and the
person or persons responsible were still out there

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and had not been brought to justice. This must have been frustrating and heartbreaking.

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For them. Police were left with
many unanswered questions about Harry's murder.

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Had Harry known his killer, was
it one of the men who he was

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seen with that day? What weapon
had he been killed with? Had the

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killer left the note on the front
door? Was this note anything to do

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with the man that the window cleaner
had seen knocking on that day. None

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of these questions could be answered with
the evidence that they had, and this

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will have been a huge sort of
frustration. Another tragic case is often cited

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in relation to Harry's, and that's
the murder of Jack Shuttleworth. In August

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of nineteen eighty nine. Eighty eight
year old Jack lived alone in his home

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00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:51.240
in Ingleton in North Yorkshire. He
was found inside his shed and he had

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00:21:51.240 --> 00:21:55.319
been battered to death and had suffered
several blows to the head with what was

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later discovered to be a piece of
wood. There was no apparent motives side

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00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:04.279
from the fact that Jack's wallet had
been stolen. Jack was somewhat of a

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00:22:04.359 --> 00:22:08.400
loner who didn't invite people into his
home that often, and so who this

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00:22:08.559 --> 00:22:14.839
killer was or how they got into
his home was unclear. If Jack had

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invited this person in, it was
out of character. Police in this case

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were able to figure out who this
perpetrator could be, and it would turn

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out that Jack had done something out
of character. That day. He had

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met a young man named Brian Newcombe
while working on his car and had struck

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00:22:33.359 --> 00:22:38.839
up a friendly conversation, most probably
about vehicles. Newcomb knew a lot about

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cars, as did Jack, and
he invited him into his home for a

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cup of tea. This would be
a fateful decision and Brian Newcombe later murdered

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him in cold blood and stole his
wallet. Newcombe was a career criminal and

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had convictions for a host of things
like theft of money and jewelry. He

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was not until Jack's murder wanted for
any violent offenses, but he was wanted

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for the theft of thirty five thousand
pounds worth of stolen jewelry. Police were

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able to trace what he did next. He traveled to Preston and bought a

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bus ticket going to Inverness in Scotland. It was in Scotland that he met

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Margaret mcconey, a fifty five year
old widow. He traveled around the Orkney

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Islands with Margaret on a six day
trip and the relationship developed quickly, with

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mcconey telling friends that Newcombe had proposed
to her. It wasn't long after,

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on the sixteenth of August that another
tragic event took place. Brian Newcombe hit

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00:23:47.079 --> 00:23:51.720
Margaret mcconey over the head with a
rock on a hillside, and Newcombe stole

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her check book When her body was
discovered on the twenty fourth of August,

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a man hunt was launched for Brian
Newcombe and he was found in Mansfield on

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the thirtieth of August. He was
arrested and it was reported that he confessed

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to murdering both Jack Shuttleworth and Margaret
mc coney while in custody. Brian Newcombe

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hanged himself ten weeks later in his
cell while awaiting trial. The reason that

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Harry's case is brought up in connection
with Jack's case in particular, are the

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00:24:25.920 --> 00:24:32.039
similarities between the two. Harry and
Jack were both quite private people. While

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00:24:32.079 --> 00:24:36.079
Harry was sociable while out and about, he didn't often invite people round,

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00:24:36.279 --> 00:24:41.000
and neither did Jack. However,
he did make an exception for Brian Newcombe.

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00:24:41.160 --> 00:24:45.000
Newcombe seemed to have got Jack talking
about cars and being a mechanic,

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and Harry also had a background in
this Newcombe was motivated by money and theft,

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and so if he had heard that
Harry kept his savings at his flat,

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then this could have been a motive. Both men had severe head wounds

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and their wallets were stolen. Newcombe
was also known to travel around the country

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and spent a lot of time in
the North, where both of these murders

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took place. While these similarities are
quite compelling, it's hard to know whether

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they do indicate that Newcombe was Harry's
killer, and of course this would be

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00:25:19.960 --> 00:25:26.759
all speculative. The interesting feature for
me is this idea that someone could have

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gained Harry's trust long enough for them
to get inside his flat, and I

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00:25:30.839 --> 00:25:33.960
do believe that this is a plausible
explanation for how someone got close enough to

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Harriet to kill him and steal his
money. Harry's case sadly remains unsolved,

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with all of the same questions left
without solid answers. A Lancashire Police spokesperson

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00:25:48.279 --> 00:25:55.640
in twenty eighteen spoke about Harry's case
and unsolved cases in general, saying this

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00:25:55.839 --> 00:26:00.240
case, as with all undetected murders, remains open. No one solved murder

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00:26:00.319 --> 00:26:06.319
or serious sexual assault is ever closed, and we remain committed to delivering closure

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00:26:06.400 --> 00:26:11.319
and support for the victims and their
families, as well as reassuring our communities.

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00:26:11.400 --> 00:26:15.839
Regardless of the passage of time.
Undetected cases are regularly reviewed by a

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00:26:17.000 --> 00:26:22.839
senior investigating officer who investigates any new
lines of inquiry should new opportunities, such

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00:26:22.839 --> 00:26:30.480
as advances in scientific techniques or new
information become available. It's important that those

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00:26:30.519 --> 00:26:34.680
who have committed appalling crimes, however
long ago, are brought to justice so

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00:26:34.720 --> 00:26:41.000
that we can bring comfort to those
loved ones still waiting for answers. I

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00:26:41.039 --> 00:26:45.839
think it's important to remember that Harry
was someone's loved one and his family deserved

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00:26:45.839 --> 00:26:49.240
to know what happened to him and
why, and there is always hope that

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00:26:49.279 --> 00:26:55.680
we would discover who committed this awful
murder. If you know anything about Harry

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00:26:55.720 --> 00:27:00.160
Howe's murder in Blackpool in nineteen eighty
eight, then please contact at Lancashire Police

315
00:27:00.359 --> 00:27:07.720
on one oh one. Thank you
for listening to today's episode. If you'd

316
00:27:07.720 --> 00:27:11.559
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media. You can also now subscribe
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Minute True Crime, which tells infamous
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that wherever you listen and in the
show notes. As always, I'm Caprice

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and this has been unseen