WEBVTT 1 00:00:10.439 --> 00:00:13.960 Hi, and welcome back to The Unseen Podcast, a podcast 2 00:00:14.000 --> 00:00:18.320 dedicated to missing people, unresolved cases, and UK true crime. 3 00:00:19.760 --> 00:00:22.519 Today we're going to be exploring the case of Jacqueline 4 00:00:22.519 --> 00:00:27.440 Thomas in nineteen sixty one. This case has taken me 5 00:00:27.559 --> 00:00:30.760 longer to research and write as it has many interesting 6 00:00:30.879 --> 00:00:34.159 nuances and connections to other cases which I believe are 7 00:00:34.240 --> 00:00:37.920 important to highlight. This will also be one of the 8 00:00:37.920 --> 00:00:41.320 few times that I cover a case that, while technically unsolved, 9 00:00:41.640 --> 00:00:47.000 is also closed. This murder of a fifteen year old 10 00:00:47.039 --> 00:00:49.799 girl caused a large police response at the time and 11 00:00:49.880 --> 00:00:56.439 uncovered some important evidence. This episode contains descriptions that, while nevergraphic, 12 00:00:56.640 --> 00:01:01.039 may contain details that some listeners find distressing. This episode 13 00:01:01.079 --> 00:01:04.400 discusses the murder of two children, and so listener discretion 14 00:01:04.719 --> 00:01:11.640 is always advised. On Friday, August twenty fifth, nineteen sixty one, 15 00:01:12.079 --> 00:01:15.640 eighteen year old James Ponting was out walking his dog 16 00:01:15.760 --> 00:01:19.120 called Mick, in the inner city suburb of Bardsley Green, 17 00:01:19.760 --> 00:01:24.000 around two miles from the city of Birmingham. It was 18 00:01:24.040 --> 00:01:28.519 around five thirty p m. Ponting later explained that he'd 19 00:01:28.560 --> 00:01:31.040 been walking along the path and had decided to take 20 00:01:31.079 --> 00:01:33.200 a side path as he saw a man with a 21 00:01:33.200 --> 00:01:37.560 dog up ahead and wanted to avoid any confrontation. He said, 22 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:40.280 as I walked down the main path, I saw a 23 00:01:40.319 --> 00:01:44.040 man with a dog further up the path. To avoid 24 00:01:44.040 --> 00:01:47.959 any dog fight, I took a small side path. Mick 25 00:01:48.040 --> 00:01:50.840 ran into the long grass, and although I called him twice, 26 00:01:51.040 --> 00:01:54.599 he would not return. I thought that he was after 27 00:01:54.640 --> 00:01:56.959 a rat, so I went into the long grass to 28 00:01:57.000 --> 00:02:01.000 fetch him. Then I saw a head. I thought at 29 00:02:01.040 --> 00:02:04.319 first it was a young man. I looked closer and 30 00:02:04.439 --> 00:02:09.240 saw that there was a body sprawled there in the 31 00:02:09.240 --> 00:02:11.919 waist high grass in an area known as the Allotments, 32 00:02:12.479 --> 00:02:14.960 James Ponting had found the body of a young woman. 33 00:02:16.479 --> 00:02:19.360 He quickly informed the Badsley Green Police station of his 34 00:02:19.439 --> 00:02:25.680 discovery and Superintendent Nick Brennan responded to the scene. This 35 00:02:25.840 --> 00:02:29.080 scene was clearly distressing for those that witnessed it. However, 36 00:02:29.159 --> 00:02:32.879 fact finding was the most important part of this initial investigation. 37 00:02:34.759 --> 00:02:37.800 Upon close inspection, police were able to establish that this 38 00:02:37.960 --> 00:02:40.159 was the body of a young woman dressed in a 39 00:02:40.159 --> 00:02:45.360 black sweater, white jeans and a suede at jacket. She 40 00:02:45.479 --> 00:02:48.599 was found with a floral piece of multicolored material wrapped 41 00:02:48.599 --> 00:02:52.800 around her neck. It was initially thought that this was 42 00:02:52.800 --> 00:02:56.360 a multicolored scarf. However, it was later found that it 43 00:02:56.400 --> 00:02:59.319 was the young woman's floral slip which had been worn 44 00:02:59.439 --> 00:03:05.120 underneath her clothes. This detail raised some flags about whether 45 00:03:05.159 --> 00:03:08.599 a sexual assault had taken place, and it would later 46 00:03:08.639 --> 00:03:11.639 be confirmed that the young woman had indeed been assaulted 47 00:03:11.719 --> 00:03:16.759 at some point during her attack and murder. There was 48 00:03:16.800 --> 00:03:19.319 no handbag found with the young woman, and all they 49 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:22.759 recovered from her body was some matches in her jean's pocket. 50 00:03:24.680 --> 00:03:28.159 It was clear that her clothing had been disarranged. However, 51 00:03:28.240 --> 00:03:31.360 officers could find no evidence of a struggle taking place 52 00:03:31.479 --> 00:03:36.039 or any defensive injuries on her body. Her cause of 53 00:03:36.039 --> 00:03:41.360 death would later be established as strangulation. Whatever had happened 54 00:03:41.360 --> 00:03:43.680 to this young woman, there were not many clues as 55 00:03:43.680 --> 00:03:47.960 to her identity at the scene or on her person. However, 56 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:51.159 looking through missing person reports from the local area gave 57 00:03:51.199 --> 00:03:57.919 the police a name, Jacqueline Thomas. Fifteen year old Jacqueline 58 00:03:57.919 --> 00:04:01.360 Thomas lived on Everton Road in their area of Alan Rock, 59 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:06.520 less than a mile away from Bardsley Green. Jacqueline, who 60 00:04:06.520 --> 00:04:10.560 went by Jackie, lived with her very large family. Her 61 00:04:10.599 --> 00:04:13.919 mother and her seven sisters, who were both older and 62 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:18.839 younger than her. Her father also lived with them, However, 63 00:04:18.879 --> 00:04:22.040 it appears that he had had significant health issues and 64 00:04:22.120 --> 00:04:24.759 had been in and out of Winston Green Hospital as 65 00:04:24.759 --> 00:04:30.120 a patient since nineteen forty nine. Growing up, Jackie's mother 66 00:04:30.199 --> 00:04:32.600 explained that she'd been a good girl and was always 67 00:04:32.639 --> 00:04:37.160 helpful with her sisters. As she reached young adulthood, she 68 00:04:37.279 --> 00:04:41.759 got a job at the local Hughes biscuit factory. She 69 00:04:41.959 --> 00:04:45.079 enjoyed doing things that many teenagers liked during the early 70 00:04:45.160 --> 00:04:50.199 nineteen sixties. She enjoyed socializing with her friends, going out 71 00:04:50.199 --> 00:04:55.120 to cafes, and meeting people. Jackie was interested in any 72 00:04:55.199 --> 00:04:57.560 event that was going on in that area and could 73 00:04:57.600 --> 00:05:02.439 be found chatting and having fun. On the evening of 74 00:05:02.480 --> 00:05:05.879 the eighteenth of August nineteen sixty one, Jackie and her 75 00:05:05.879 --> 00:05:09.759 younger sister, Dorothy, who was thirteen, were very excited to 76 00:05:09.759 --> 00:05:12.079 go and have a look at the Bob Wilson's Funfair, 77 00:05:12.319 --> 00:05:17.040 which was taking place at ward End Park. Wardend Park 78 00:05:17.120 --> 00:05:19.360 was less than a mile from Everton Road, where the 79 00:05:19.399 --> 00:05:23.959 sisters lived. The pair left shortly after tea time at 80 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:26.839 around six thirty pm, and headed out to the fair 81 00:05:28.879 --> 00:05:31.120 This seemed to be a routine Friday night, and it 82 00:05:31.160 --> 00:05:34.560 was not unusual for Jackie, her sisters, or her friends 83 00:05:34.639 --> 00:05:39.000 to go out together in the evening. At some point 84 00:05:39.079 --> 00:05:42.279 during the night, however, thirteen year old Dorothy turned to 85 00:05:42.319 --> 00:05:45.600 look for Jackie, but reportedly couldn't find her anywhere in 86 00:05:45.639 --> 00:05:50.319 the crowd or at the park. As she couldn't find her, 87 00:05:50.560 --> 00:05:56.279 Dorothy decided to go home. She arrived home and told 88 00:05:56.319 --> 00:05:59.680 her family that she couldn't find Jackie. However, is the 89 00:05:59.680 --> 00:06:02.439 evening had not yet ended, this was not necessarily a 90 00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:07.519 concern straight away, her sister Carol said about the evening, 91 00:06:08.399 --> 00:06:12.240 they went to the fairground at ward End together. After 92 00:06:12.279 --> 00:06:14.720 they had been there a bit, Dorothy turned around and 93 00:06:14.800 --> 00:06:18.920 Jacqueline had gone. I waited up until eleven thirty, but 94 00:06:19.000 --> 00:06:24.279 she didn't come home. Jackie's disappearance that evening did alarm 95 00:06:24.360 --> 00:06:27.319 her family, and they reported her missing to the police 96 00:06:27.360 --> 00:06:31.560 that night when she still had not come back. When 97 00:06:31.600 --> 00:06:33.720 she had still not come home by the next morning, 98 00:06:34.079 --> 00:06:37.600 they went out to look for her. Dorothy put on 99 00:06:37.720 --> 00:06:39.800 Jackie's coat and went out to look for her on 100 00:06:39.879 --> 00:06:42.360 the Saturday and then again on the Sunday when she 101 00:06:42.439 --> 00:06:46.360 still hadn't returned. She hoped that she would be able 102 00:06:46.360 --> 00:06:49.600 to find Jackie somewhere. However, she didn't, and she even 103 00:06:49.639 --> 00:06:52.560 came across some of Jackie's friends, who all said that 104 00:06:52.600 --> 00:06:56.360 they didn't know where she was. It was strange to 105 00:06:56.399 --> 00:06:58.959 her family that nobody knew where Jackie was or what 106 00:06:59.079 --> 00:07:03.759 she might have been doing. In articles would appear during 107 00:07:03.839 --> 00:07:07.399 later reporting that Jackie had been frequenting cafes in the 108 00:07:07.439 --> 00:07:11.000 area of Alan Rock More and More in recent months, 109 00:07:11.639 --> 00:07:13.879 and that her family had noticed that this had been 110 00:07:13.920 --> 00:07:18.000 having an impact on her behavior. Her mum told a 111 00:07:18.040 --> 00:07:21.680 newspaper she was going out every day as I thought 112 00:07:21.800 --> 00:07:24.319 to go to work and returning home in the evening. 113 00:07:25.240 --> 00:07:27.519 I've since found out that she had not been going 114 00:07:27.560 --> 00:07:30.560 to work, but she'd been spending her days hanging around 115 00:07:30.600 --> 00:07:36.079 the cafes. Police were also aware that Jackie had been 116 00:07:36.120 --> 00:07:41.000 reported missing once before, a few weeks previously. She had 117 00:07:41.040 --> 00:07:43.759 returned the next day, and police labeled this as a 118 00:07:43.759 --> 00:07:47.240 one off, saying she was missing for one night and 119 00:07:47.279 --> 00:07:52.360 after she returned, the matter was treated as an escapade. 120 00:07:52.519 --> 00:07:55.759 This was clearly not the same situation, however, given that 121 00:07:55.800 --> 00:07:58.480 as the week passed, Jackie had still not been heard 122 00:07:58.519 --> 00:08:03.040 from or seen by anyone that knew her. The discovery 123 00:08:03.120 --> 00:08:05.680 that was then made on Friday the twenty fifth, a 124 00:08:05.720 --> 00:08:08.480 week after she'd last been seen, was an immediate worry 125 00:08:08.560 --> 00:08:13.199 for both the police and her family. Sadly, it wouldn't 126 00:08:13.240 --> 00:08:16.000 be long before she was identified as the young woman 127 00:08:16.040 --> 00:08:19.720 that had been found murdered at the allotments. She was 128 00:08:19.759 --> 00:08:24.399 officially identified by her family and a murder investigation was launched. 129 00:08:34.320 --> 00:08:37.759 There was a huge gap in information about Jackie's whereabouts 130 00:08:37.799 --> 00:08:41.320 after she arrived at the fair that night. There was 131 00:08:41.360 --> 00:08:43.919 also the task of trying to narrow down when Jackie 132 00:08:43.960 --> 00:08:46.279 had been killed and her body left in the site 133 00:08:46.279 --> 00:08:50.279 where it was discovered. A week had gone by since 134 00:08:50.320 --> 00:08:53.480 she disappeared, and it wasn't clear what exactly had happened 135 00:08:53.519 --> 00:08:59.240 during this time. Doctor Benjamin Tillott Davis, lecturer in pathology 136 00:08:59.240 --> 00:09:03.200 at Birmingham Union, later stated at the inquest into Jackie's 137 00:09:03.240 --> 00:09:06.519 death that he believed that she'd died between four days 138 00:09:06.559 --> 00:09:09.720 and a week before the discovery. However, he believed that 139 00:09:09.759 --> 00:09:12.840 it had been around the eighteenth or nineteenth of August, 140 00:09:13.200 --> 00:09:18.600 very soon after her disappearance. Dr Ernest George Gregory The 141 00:09:18.600 --> 00:09:22.279 police divisional surgeon who attended the scene after the discovery 142 00:09:22.279 --> 00:09:25.559 of Jackie's body, agreed that there had been some time 143 00:09:25.639 --> 00:09:29.240 elapsed between the murder and the discovery, saying that she 144 00:09:29.279 --> 00:09:32.840 had been dead for three days, before correcting himself and 145 00:09:32.879 --> 00:09:35.720 saying by that, I mean she's been at dead at 146 00:09:35.799 --> 00:09:41.279 least three days. The common theory was that Jackie had 147 00:09:41.320 --> 00:09:43.840 been murdered either on the evening that she went missing 148 00:09:44.240 --> 00:09:48.120 or very soon afterwards, with doctor Benjamin Tillett saying that 149 00:09:48.159 --> 00:09:51.720 he believed it was an estimate of forty eight hours. 150 00:09:53.320 --> 00:09:55.559 Another clue as to what Jackie may have been doing 151 00:09:55.679 --> 00:09:59.240 during her time at the fair was the toxicology analysis 152 00:09:59.279 --> 00:10:03.759 that was conducted. They found that Jackie had consumed the 153 00:10:03.759 --> 00:10:06.440 equivalent of a pint of beer or two measures of 154 00:10:06.440 --> 00:10:11.919 whiskey or three measures of port before her death. Police 155 00:10:11.960 --> 00:10:15.200 began to conduct interviews with people who knew Jackie had 156 00:10:15.200 --> 00:10:17.240 been at the fair that night or that lived in 157 00:10:17.279 --> 00:10:21.159 the general vicinity of Wardend Park or of Badsley Green, 158 00:10:21.279 --> 00:10:27.480 where the allotments were located. Chief Detective Superintendent Gerald Bomber 159 00:10:27.960 --> 00:10:31.240 Head of Birmingham CID was in charge of the investigation 160 00:10:31.720 --> 00:10:34.919 and began to trace Jackie's friends and peers in the area. 161 00:10:36.440 --> 00:10:38.720 He was very open about who he believed would have 162 00:10:38.759 --> 00:10:42.559 the key to their case, telling the press, I feel 163 00:10:42.559 --> 00:10:45.159 that the answer to this murder can be supplied by 164 00:10:45.279 --> 00:10:50.759 teenagers in the city. The issue was speaking to teenagers 165 00:10:50.799 --> 00:10:53.840 who were out most weekends and socialized with many people 166 00:10:53.919 --> 00:10:57.679 each evening, was that information was not always consistent, and 167 00:10:57.720 --> 00:11:01.919 there was also another problem. As Jackie had been missing 168 00:11:01.960 --> 00:11:05.360 for a week before her discovery, many people didn't realize 169 00:11:05.399 --> 00:11:08.679 that that Friday was so significant and so did not 170 00:11:08.720 --> 00:11:13.960 remember exact times. There were several people who came forward 171 00:11:13.960 --> 00:11:18.000 with information about Jackie on Friday the eighteenth. However, these 172 00:11:18.039 --> 00:11:21.399 are contradictory at times and clearly cannot have taken place 173 00:11:21.440 --> 00:11:25.120 at some of the times that were stated. They do 174 00:11:25.200 --> 00:11:27.840 give some idea of a timeline of where Jackie may 175 00:11:27.840 --> 00:11:32.360 have been or what her evening had been like. The 176 00:11:32.399 --> 00:11:34.600 earliest witness in the evening that I have been able 177 00:11:34.639 --> 00:11:38.159 to find is Nellie Beale. She said at around eight 178 00:11:38.240 --> 00:11:41.039 forty pm, she saw Jackie sitting on the floor in 179 00:11:41.080 --> 00:11:44.039 the doorway of the Pelham Arms with another girl and 180 00:11:44.080 --> 00:11:49.440 two boys. Jackie left at nine pm. She then added 181 00:11:49.480 --> 00:11:52.960 that She saw her again at eleven twenty pm, hurrying home, 182 00:11:53.159 --> 00:11:59.519 and she came from the direction of the allotments. Another teenager, 183 00:11:59.720 --> 00:12:04.360 mag Maureen Stewart, aged fourteen, then explained that she was 184 00:12:04.360 --> 00:12:06.799 with Jackie at the fair and they left together at 185 00:12:06.840 --> 00:12:11.120 around nine to fifteen pm. She stated, as they went 186 00:12:11.159 --> 00:12:14.159 down slade Field Road with her younger brother, they met 187 00:12:14.200 --> 00:12:17.840 a big gang of teddy boys. The boys chased them 188 00:12:17.840 --> 00:12:21.320 and her and her brother ran across the road. Maureen 189 00:12:21.440 --> 00:12:24.919 said that they quote got Jacqueline by the railings, but 190 00:12:25.039 --> 00:12:28.240 she caught up with them in a few minutes. She 191 00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:30.320 asked her and her friend Yvonne if they would go 192 00:12:30.360 --> 00:12:32.360 back to the fair with her, and they said no. 193 00:12:33.840 --> 00:12:36.279 She was last seen at around nine thirty five pm, 194 00:12:36.440 --> 00:12:39.320 heading down Pelham Road as though back to her home. 195 00:12:41.879 --> 00:12:44.879 Her friend Olive Rhodes then added on some more detail 196 00:12:44.919 --> 00:12:49.519 about the evening. She said that she'd been with Jackie 197 00:12:49.600 --> 00:12:52.000 that Friday night and they were with three boys and 198 00:12:52.080 --> 00:12:56.080 three girls. She said, we had a drink at a 199 00:12:56.120 --> 00:12:59.799 public house and then they dropped me at home. Jackie 200 00:12:59.799 --> 00:13:02.159 pans a boy called Tony, but I don't know his 201 00:13:02.240 --> 00:13:06.200 other name. We went to a public house on Hodgehill Common, 202 00:13:06.279 --> 00:13:10.360 halfway between Wardend and Castle Bromwich, where we had a drink. 203 00:13:11.600 --> 00:13:15.840 We left about closing time and came back home. Jackie 204 00:13:15.879 --> 00:13:18.159 was her usual self, but did tell me that she 205 00:13:18.279 --> 00:13:21.679 was not going to go home that night. She was 206 00:13:21.720 --> 00:13:23.799 friendly with a number of boys, but there was nothing 207 00:13:23.919 --> 00:13:27.840 serious about any of the affairs. They dropped me near 208 00:13:27.879 --> 00:13:30.639 my home at around half ten and I never saw 209 00:13:30.720 --> 00:13:35.759 Jackie again. This information was interesting given that they knew 210 00:13:35.799 --> 00:13:38.840 from the toxicology report that Jackie had been drinking on 211 00:13:38.919 --> 00:13:41.600 the evening that she went missing, and this may well 212 00:13:41.639 --> 00:13:45.639 have been the time that this happened. It's also interesting 213 00:13:45.759 --> 00:13:47.759 as she'd made the comment that she didn't plan on 214 00:13:47.840 --> 00:13:52.039 returning to her home that night. Two further witnesses who 215 00:13:52.080 --> 00:13:54.559 claim to have seen are spoken to Jackie that night 216 00:13:54.759 --> 00:13:58.399 both confirmed that she was not alone. In fact, they 217 00:13:58.399 --> 00:14:02.000 both said that she was with a man. Jackie's friend 218 00:14:02.080 --> 00:14:04.559 June Frank, said that she'd last seen Jackie at ten 219 00:14:04.600 --> 00:14:06.879 pm that night and had seen her walking with a 220 00:14:06.919 --> 00:14:10.200 man from the park. The man had either blonde or 221 00:14:10.240 --> 00:14:14.440 ginger hair, however, she didn't know him directly. She said 222 00:14:14.480 --> 00:14:17.039 she did later see the same man about a week later, 223 00:14:17.240 --> 00:14:20.960 going through the gate at Wardend Park. She said that 224 00:14:21.000 --> 00:14:23.679 when she told police about this sighting, she attended an 225 00:14:23.720 --> 00:14:26.720 identity parade but did not recognize the boy from the 226 00:14:26.759 --> 00:14:32.360 line up. Twenty three year old Malcolm Perry also said 227 00:14:32.360 --> 00:14:35.600 that he saw Jackie twice that evening. He stated that 228 00:14:35.639 --> 00:14:37.200 he had met her at the fair on the day 229 00:14:37.279 --> 00:14:40.600 she disappeared. He said that he'd taken his dog to 230 00:14:40.639 --> 00:14:43.039 the fair and he remembered that Jackie had started to 231 00:14:43.080 --> 00:14:45.720 make a fuss of it. He said he was sure 232 00:14:45.759 --> 00:14:49.600 that it was her. At about ten twenty five to 233 00:14:49.639 --> 00:14:52.399 ten forty five pm that night, he saw her again 234 00:14:52.440 --> 00:14:54.720 with a man on the corner of Belcher's Lane and 235 00:14:54.759 --> 00:14:59.720 Cotterill's Lane. He said she was coming from Pelhams accompanied 236 00:14:59.720 --> 00:15:02.960 by a chap. It appeared to me that the chap 237 00:15:03.039 --> 00:15:05.759 was a yard or two in front of her. They 238 00:15:05.759 --> 00:15:08.159 appeared to be shouting at each other. It was a 239 00:15:08.159 --> 00:15:12.360 loud conversation. They were bawling at each other. The man 240 00:15:12.399 --> 00:15:14.320 looked as if he had a scar on his cheek. 241 00:15:16.159 --> 00:15:18.879 He described the man as five feet ten, maybe touching 242 00:15:18.960 --> 00:15:22.159 six feet. He looked a adverage build and had on 243 00:15:22.200 --> 00:15:25.120 a suit or sports jacket and was carrying a coat 244 00:15:25.320 --> 00:15:29.320 or something over his arm. He said that the name 245 00:15:29.320 --> 00:15:34.600 that he heard Jackie shout sounded something like Johnny. This man 246 00:15:34.679 --> 00:15:37.240 called Johnny was a line of inquiry for the police, 247 00:15:37.399 --> 00:15:39.639 and they issued a description of him to the public 248 00:15:39.840 --> 00:15:42.240 in the hope that someone would recognize him and they 249 00:15:42.240 --> 00:15:47.039 could eliminate him. He was described as about seventeen years old, 250 00:15:47.120 --> 00:15:50.840 with crew cup blonde hair, a leather jacket, tight blue jeans, 251 00:15:51.000 --> 00:15:55.159 black pointed shoes, and a light colored shirt. The jacket 252 00:15:55.200 --> 00:15:58.080 may have had an animal's head or flashes on the back. 253 00:15:59.279 --> 00:16:02.480 He was sometimes referred to as Johnny and frequented the funfair, 254 00:16:03.600 --> 00:16:07.600 who was thought that he might have been irish. It 255 00:16:07.679 --> 00:16:10.320 appears that they did eventually find Johnny, and there does 256 00:16:10.360 --> 00:16:12.600 not seem to be much in more information about him, 257 00:16:12.840 --> 00:16:14.799 aside from the fact that there were two young men 258 00:16:14.840 --> 00:16:20.159 called Johnny who frequented the funfair regularly. It appears at 259 00:16:20.200 --> 00:16:23.759 by eleven pm Jackie had been spotted in several different locations, 260 00:16:23.840 --> 00:16:26.600 and some people even believed that they spotted her after 261 00:16:26.720 --> 00:16:31.440 Friday night. Jannis Gloria Robinson said she saw her on 262 00:16:31.480 --> 00:16:34.840 a bus on the Tuesday after she disappeared. She was 263 00:16:34.879 --> 00:16:38.960 sat with a man. Police believed that this couldn't be true, 264 00:16:39.240 --> 00:16:42.440 but the public were being cooperative and people were coming 265 00:16:42.480 --> 00:16:48.639 forward with information. One person was certainly on their radar 266 00:16:48.720 --> 00:16:51.039 as being an important part of the puzzle, and that 267 00:16:51.159 --> 00:16:53.519 was a young girl between the ages of fourteen and 268 00:16:53.639 --> 00:16:56.559 sixteen who had been seen speaking to Jackie at the 269 00:16:56.600 --> 00:17:00.919 fair on that Friday night. The girl described as being 270 00:17:00.960 --> 00:17:05.119 freckled and wearing heavy makeup. She was also thought to 271 00:17:05.200 --> 00:17:09.319 have had an issue with one eye. This girl would 272 00:17:09.319 --> 00:17:11.400 come to be known as bubble cut Girl in the 273 00:17:11.440 --> 00:17:16.359 papers due to her haircut. This girl was of interest 274 00:17:16.400 --> 00:17:19.079 to the police because she'd been seen speaking to Jacqueline 275 00:17:19.079 --> 00:17:23.480 at the fair not long before she disappeared. She seemed 276 00:17:23.480 --> 00:17:25.000 to be one of the last people who had been 277 00:17:25.039 --> 00:17:30.720 seen speaking to her that night. Police made significant inroads 278 00:17:30.759 --> 00:17:33.119 in trying to locate her, and they created an e 279 00:17:33.279 --> 00:17:37.200 fit of the girl they wanted to speak to. They 280 00:17:37.240 --> 00:17:39.799 also went to all the schools in the city in 281 00:17:39.880 --> 00:17:41.720 order to try and find out where she might have 282 00:17:41.759 --> 00:17:46.480 attended school or anyone who knew her. There were many 283 00:17:46.519 --> 00:17:49.119 appeals in the newspapers to try and find her, with 284 00:17:49.200 --> 00:17:54.119 detectives reaching out to ask her to come forward. Several 285 00:17:54.160 --> 00:17:58.920 months passed in the case, with investigations ongoing. Police stated 286 00:17:58.920 --> 00:18:00.960 that the public had been a great help and there 287 00:18:01.000 --> 00:18:03.519 had been several people who had come forward to speak 288 00:18:03.559 --> 00:18:08.839 with them. On September thirteenth, Jackie's funeral took place at 289 00:18:08.839 --> 00:18:12.160 Saint Matthew's Church, where Jackie and her family had attended 290 00:18:12.440 --> 00:18:16.319 and Jackie attended the Sunday School before they moved due 291 00:18:16.319 --> 00:18:20.440 to redevelopment plans in the city. It was reported that 292 00:18:20.559 --> 00:18:24.400 hundreds of people attended to mourn Jackie's death and celebrating 293 00:18:24.480 --> 00:18:28.559 her life. It was a tragedy for many people who 294 00:18:28.559 --> 00:18:30.839 lived in the city, and the community as a whole 295 00:18:30.960 --> 00:18:35.559 was mourning the loss of such a young life. Despite 296 00:18:35.599 --> 00:18:37.960 the huge loss at the community felt there was a 297 00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:40.519 sense that Jackie had recently begun to be a part 298 00:18:40.599 --> 00:18:44.480 of the lifestyle that had put her at risk. This 299 00:18:44.640 --> 00:18:47.759 idea that Jackie had been engaging with risky lifestyle choices 300 00:18:47.799 --> 00:18:51.440 before her murder permeates into the narrative in the newspapers, 301 00:18:52.039 --> 00:18:55.759 with Jackie's father telling a newspaper at the time, I 302 00:18:55.839 --> 00:19:00.119 blamed myself. Jackie had become a good time girl. I 303 00:19:00.160 --> 00:19:02.160 gave up my job to try and save her, but 304 00:19:02.279 --> 00:19:06.720 it was too late. The idea that Jackie had somehow 305 00:19:06.759 --> 00:19:09.039 played a part in the murder and became a good 306 00:19:09.079 --> 00:19:12.440 time girl is very much representative of the time that 307 00:19:12.480 --> 00:19:17.119 this took place in the early sixties. The police had 308 00:19:17.119 --> 00:19:20.640 been diligently following up leeds into the murder throughout this time, 309 00:19:21.079 --> 00:19:23.440 and it was only in December of nineteen sixty one 310 00:19:23.880 --> 00:19:28.880 that more information became available about the investigation. This is 311 00:19:28.920 --> 00:19:31.400 when the inquest took place in front of the coroner, 312 00:19:31.480 --> 00:19:35.319 mister George Billingham, and they could piece together all of 313 00:19:35.359 --> 00:19:39.039 the known events of August eighteenth, including many of the 314 00:19:39.079 --> 00:19:42.920 witnesses such as her friends June Franks and Malcolm Perry. 315 00:19:44.759 --> 00:19:48.920 There were two very noticeable and important witnesses. One of 316 00:19:48.960 --> 00:19:52.519 them was fifteen year old Annie Broughton. This was the 317 00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:55.279 girl known as Bubble Cup, who the police had been 318 00:19:55.279 --> 00:19:59.880 trying to locate during the investigation. She had eventually been 319 00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:04.920 found through their inquiries at local schools. Annie testified at 320 00:20:04.920 --> 00:20:07.599 the inquest, stating that she had seen Jackie at the 321 00:20:07.599 --> 00:20:10.000 fair that night and that she did not come forward 322 00:20:10.079 --> 00:20:13.000 sooner as she didn't know that Jackie was actually missing. 323 00:20:15.400 --> 00:20:18.480 She dismissed a question asking whether she'd been too scared 324 00:20:18.519 --> 00:20:21.519 to come forward and said this wasn't the case. She 325 00:20:21.640 --> 00:20:26.240 just didn't know that she knew anything important. She stated 326 00:20:26.240 --> 00:20:28.720 that she thought she had also spotted Jacket on the 327 00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:33.400 Monday evening as well as the Friday evening. This seemed 328 00:20:33.440 --> 00:20:36.119 to be at odds with the medical testimony from the experts, 329 00:20:36.519 --> 00:20:38.759 and there was also something else that the coroner wanted 330 00:20:38.799 --> 00:20:43.680 to take into consideration. If this Monday sighting was incorrect 331 00:20:43.720 --> 00:20:46.759 based on the medical evidence, then there was someone else 332 00:20:47.000 --> 00:20:51.680 who was seen with Jackie after Annie Broughton. A twenty 333 00:20:51.680 --> 00:20:57.079 four year old man named Anthony Ian Hall. Hall testified 334 00:20:57.079 --> 00:20:59.880 that he had been with Jackie that evening. He said 335 00:20:59.880 --> 00:21:01.559 that he'd met her at the fair, but did not 336 00:21:01.720 --> 00:21:04.960 know her name at the time, so he called her Sugar. 337 00:21:06.279 --> 00:21:07.960 He said that he asked her to go for a 338 00:21:08.000 --> 00:21:10.400 walk and they went to some grass next to the 339 00:21:10.440 --> 00:21:14.039 boat in lake. He said he kissed her and admitted 340 00:21:14.079 --> 00:21:17.799 to trying to have sex with her. He said, I'd 341 00:21:17.799 --> 00:21:20.759 been drinking, I saw her there among the bright lights 342 00:21:20.759 --> 00:21:23.079 and bustle of the fair, and on the spur of 343 00:21:23.119 --> 00:21:25.160 the moment, I asked her to go for a walk. 344 00:21:26.440 --> 00:21:28.960 Jackie didn't speak much. We both just sat there in 345 00:21:29.000 --> 00:21:33.599 the warm night. I began thinking about my wife. Then 346 00:21:33.640 --> 00:21:36.200 suddenly Jackie jumped up and she must be off as 347 00:21:36.240 --> 00:21:39.400 she had someone to meet at the fair. The last 348 00:21:39.440 --> 00:21:41.319 I saw of her was the flash of her white 349 00:21:41.400 --> 00:21:44.599 jeans as she hurried back towards the lights and the music. 350 00:21:46.599 --> 00:21:49.799 Hall had representation in the form of a solicitor at 351 00:21:49.799 --> 00:21:53.400 the inquest, who said Hall wanted to give evidence to 352 00:21:53.440 --> 00:21:55.599 prove that he had nothing to do with this murder 353 00:21:55.640 --> 00:21:59.599 and wanted to clear his name. He said, his instructions 354 00:21:59.640 --> 00:22:01.759 to me have been that he wants to give evidence 355 00:22:01.960 --> 00:22:04.880 that though he may not be an angel, the finger 356 00:22:04.920 --> 00:22:09.119 of suspicion over him can be cleared up. The coroner 357 00:22:09.160 --> 00:22:11.720 responded by saying that he didn't need to give evidence, 358 00:22:11.839 --> 00:22:14.319 as this was just to prove how Jackie had died. 359 00:22:16.119 --> 00:22:18.559 Hall stated that he left Jackie at the fair around 360 00:22:18.559 --> 00:22:21.079 ten thirty pm and then went to break into some 361 00:22:21.160 --> 00:22:27.039 shops afterwards, arriving home at around two am. It's evident 362 00:22:27.200 --> 00:22:30.160 during his testimony at the inquest that police had spoken 363 00:22:30.200 --> 00:22:33.240 to Hall quite soon into the investigation, and that he 364 00:22:33.319 --> 00:22:37.559 had been questioned and had three small, superficial abrasions on 365 00:22:37.640 --> 00:22:40.960 his hands, looked at only a day after Jackie's body 366 00:22:40.960 --> 00:22:45.160 had been discovered. At the inquest, he explained that he'd 367 00:22:45.160 --> 00:22:49.200 given a false alibi to police. During this questioning. He 368 00:22:49.279 --> 00:22:51.039 told them that he'd been at his mother's house at 369 00:22:51.079 --> 00:22:54.519 eleven thirty PM speaking to a friend outside of the home. 370 00:22:55.720 --> 00:22:58.079 He later admitted that this had not been true, and 371 00:22:58.079 --> 00:23:00.319 that he'd asked his mother to tell police he'd been 372 00:23:00.359 --> 00:23:04.559 there talking to the friend. He said he lied initially 373 00:23:04.759 --> 00:23:09.119 quote jokingly and out of bravado, and because he didn't 374 00:23:09.119 --> 00:23:11.880 want his wife, who had just had his baby, to 375 00:23:11.960 --> 00:23:14.039 know what he'd been up to. Is Jackie at the fair. 376 00:23:15.319 --> 00:23:17.400 He said he didn't make up the alibi because he'd 377 00:23:17.480 --> 00:23:22.000 murdered Jackie. He stated, when I left that girl that night, 378 00:23:22.119 --> 00:23:25.000 she was alive and well, I never saw her again. 379 00:23:28.160 --> 00:23:30.599 The coroner explained that, as far as he was aware, 380 00:23:30.839 --> 00:23:33.359 Paul had been the last person to see her alive. 381 00:23:34.319 --> 00:23:36.960 He said, it may be a very important matter for 382 00:23:37.039 --> 00:23:39.960 us to ascertain if we can the day she actually 383 00:23:39.960 --> 00:23:42.559 came to her death, whether it was Friday or some 384 00:23:42.680 --> 00:23:46.119 other time. You may hear some teenage girls saying that 385 00:23:46.160 --> 00:23:48.559 they think they saw her on the Saturday, the Sunday, 386 00:23:49.039 --> 00:23:52.039 or even on the Monday or the Tuesday. The last 387 00:23:52.039 --> 00:23:54.759 person who can definitely be identified as being with her 388 00:23:54.880 --> 00:23:58.000 is a young man aged twenty four, Anthony Ian Hall 389 00:24:00.440 --> 00:24:03.119 explain this could not be confirmed as Annie Broughton had 390 00:24:03.160 --> 00:24:05.160 said that she had seen her on the Monday and 391 00:24:05.200 --> 00:24:08.880 this could not be ruled out. The coroner corrected himself 392 00:24:08.880 --> 00:24:12.279 and replied, what I should have said was Anthony Hall 393 00:24:12.359 --> 00:24:14.440 was the last person seen with her on the night 394 00:24:14.480 --> 00:24:20.240 in question, Friday, the eighteenth of August. Paul later gave 395 00:24:20.240 --> 00:24:23.160 an interview at home with his wife and his baby, saying, 396 00:24:23.960 --> 00:24:26.480 the mental torture of the past weeks has made me ill. 397 00:24:27.279 --> 00:24:29.400 Only the knowledge that I was innocent and that my 398 00:24:29.440 --> 00:24:33.799 wife fully believed in my innocence kept me going. Powells 399 00:24:33.839 --> 00:24:36.720 and neighbors have been wonderful. They assured me right from 400 00:24:36.799 --> 00:24:39.519 the start that they were behind me. But there are 401 00:24:39.559 --> 00:24:41.960