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<v Speaker 1>Hi, and welcome back to The Unseen Podcast, a podcast

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<v Speaker 1>dedicated to missing people, unresolved cases, and UK true crime.

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<v Speaker 1>Today we're going to be exploring the murder of Herbert

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<v Speaker 1>Wilkinson in nineteen sixty seven in Middlewich, in Cheshire. His

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<v Speaker 1>murder has many unexplained questions and this is the reason

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<v Speaker 1>why it has lay unsolved for decades. This episode contains

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<v Speaker 1>descriptions that some listeners may find distressing, so listener discretion

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<v Speaker 1>is advised. On October ninth, nineteen sixty seven, two men

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<v Speaker 1>were walking in the area of Wcraft in Northwich, in Cheshire.

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<v Speaker 1>After walking close to Whatcroft Hall, the men headed down

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<v Speaker 1>towards the banks of the Mersey and Trent Canal. They

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<v Speaker 1>were looking to prepare the ground for hunting season and

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<v Speaker 1>were looking carefully at different areas along the waterway in

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<v Speaker 1>order to find fox holes. While examining a copse, the

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<v Speaker 1>two men discovered something lying on the ground. It was

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<v Speaker 1>the badly decomposed body of a man, which looked to

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<v Speaker 1>have been there for a while. This was an alarming

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<v Speaker 1>sight and immediately it was reported to the police. Police

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<v Speaker 1>arrived at the scene to find that the body had

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<v Speaker 1>been partially buried in a shallow grave along the canal bank.

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<v Speaker 1>This was something that the officers quickly noted and immediately

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<v Speaker 1>implied that this was most probably a murder that they

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<v Speaker 1>were looking at. There was a problem from the outset

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<v Speaker 1>of the investigation. The body was very decomposed, and trying

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<v Speaker 1>to identify the man was going to be an issue

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<v Speaker 1>given that there wasn't much that they could use to

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<v Speaker 1>do that. There didn't seem to be any identify find

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<v Speaker 1>belongings with him, and his clothing was ragged and tattered.

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<v Speaker 1>They could see that this was a middle aged man

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<v Speaker 1>of a small stature, and that there were clear injuries

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<v Speaker 1>to the body, but they could not make out what

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<v Speaker 1>these injuries were. Divers began searching the canal close to

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<v Speaker 1>where the body was found, and officers with police dogs

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<v Speaker 1>were sent to search the area. The man's teeth were analyzed,

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<v Speaker 1>as well as pieces of the tattered clothing and his

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<v Speaker 1>shoes in the hope that something could be found out

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<v Speaker 1>about them. Police also began looking into local missing person reports.

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<v Speaker 1>Given that they did have a loose time frame for

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<v Speaker 1>when this person could have gone missing, they knew that

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<v Speaker 1>the body must have been lying there for several months

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<v Speaker 1>before being recovered. One of the missing person reports which

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<v Speaker 1>quickly drew the attention of detectives was that of fifty

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<v Speaker 1>two year old Herbert Wilkinson. Herbert lived at seventy nine

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<v Speaker 1>Nantwich Road in Middlewich, around seven miles from where the

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<v Speaker 1>body had been recovered. Herbert has been described as a

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<v Speaker 1>bachelor who lived alone in his home. He worked as

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<v Speaker 1>a solicitor up until March nineteen sixty seven, when he

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<v Speaker 1>was struck off the role of solicitors. It's reported that

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<v Speaker 1>Herbert had been struck off as working as a solicitor

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<v Speaker 1>due to irregularities in procedure. Nothing more has been reported

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<v Speaker 1>about what exactly that meant. On June the second, nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>sixty seven, Herbert's housekeeper had attended the home to clean

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<v Speaker 1>when she found a note that he had written to her.

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<v Speaker 1>The note stated that Herbert had gone to Manchester for

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<v Speaker 1>the weekend. He never returned. His home was left with

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<v Speaker 1>all of his belongings in it, and there was no

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<v Speaker 1>indication as to why he hadn't returned. This led to

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<v Speaker 1>a missing person report being filed. By October, when the

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<v Speaker 1>body was recovered, Herbert had still not been located and

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<v Speaker 1>he was still a missing Person head of cheshasea ID

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<v Speaker 1>Detective Chief Superintendent Arthur Benfield, would initially not say if

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<v Speaker 1>they believed the remains to be that of Herbert Wilkinson,

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<v Speaker 1>saying at this stage we cannot assume that this is

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<v Speaker 1>the body of Herbert Wilkinson. The body is so badly

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<v Speaker 1>decomposed that physical identification is impossible. Just a few days later,

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<v Speaker 1>it was reported that police now did believe that the

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<v Speaker 1>body that was found was Herbert Wilkinson. It was later

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<v Speaker 1>corroborated by identification of clothing by his sister in law,

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<v Speaker 1>along with evidence of her sewing on the tattered pieces

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<v Speaker 1>that had been found. The question now was what had

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<v Speaker 1>Herbert been doing around the time that he had gone missing,

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<v Speaker 1>and how had his body ended up on the canal

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<v Speaker 1>banks in a shallow grave. It was known that Herbert

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<v Speaker 1>lived alone, and he was described as a lone wolf

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<v Speaker 1>by those that knew him or saw him around Middlewich.

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<v Speaker 1>The note to his housekeeper was certainly strange, as from

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<v Speaker 1>the recovery of his body there was a strong possibility

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<v Speaker 1>that Herbert had not gone to Manchester as he had said.

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<v Speaker 1>Protects were able to narrow down a time frame for

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<v Speaker 1>when Herbert had last been seen. Given that the housekeeper

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<v Speaker 1>had found the note on the second of June, police

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<v Speaker 1>began to make inquiries by distributing Herbert's image and a

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<v Speaker 1>description of him in the hope that someone could fill

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<v Speaker 1>in any of the gaps that they had in his

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<v Speaker 1>movements around this time. On June the sixth, just four

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<v Speaker 1>days after Herbert had left the note for the housekeeper,

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<v Speaker 1>a report was filed to the police. A housewife reported

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<v Speaker 1>that she had seen Herbert in odd Fellow's passage in

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<v Speaker 1>Middlewich on June the fifth. This witness said that she

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<v Speaker 1>recognized him as she knew him, but she said that

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<v Speaker 1>he didn't look his usual self. He looked ill, vacant

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<v Speaker 1>and harassed. This was quite a credible sighting, given that

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<v Speaker 1>the witness knew him and she reported it immediately after

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<v Speaker 1>she saw him. This meant that Herbert may have been

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<v Speaker 1>in the Middlewich area after Dune. The second one aspect

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<v Speaker 1>of the case that perplexed investigators was how Herbert's body

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<v Speaker 1>got to the location at the banks of the canal.

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<v Speaker 1>To get to the location, a person would have had

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<v Speaker 1>to walk through a mile of fields past the dairy

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<v Speaker 1>house farm, and this didn't seem like a plausible way

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<v Speaker 1>that his body could have got there. Police quickly came

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<v Speaker 1>up with the hypothesis that Herbert may have been transported

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<v Speaker 1>via the canal, perhaps on a boat. Detectives put a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of their efforts into investigating the Mersey and Trent

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<v Speaker 1>Canal and its waterways. In fact, they conducted one of

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<v Speaker 1>the biggest investigations in history of the waterways that had

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<v Speaker 1>been done to that point. They began looking into anyone

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<v Speaker 1>that had been on the water around that time. In June,

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<v Speaker 1>as well as interviewing every man and boy over the

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<v Speaker 1>age of fifteen in Middlewich. They began appealing for information

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<v Speaker 1>about people that had been on the canal during that time,

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<v Speaker 1>including a couple in an orange canoe that had been

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<v Speaker 1>seen on June the second, and an appeal for anyone

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<v Speaker 1>that saw a boat near Bridge one seven seven. In

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<v Speaker 1>early June. They even went to Grenada Studios to watch

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<v Speaker 1>a program called The Flower of Gloucester, which had filmed

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<v Speaker 1>some scenes on the exact bank of the canal where

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<v Speaker 1>the body had been found. No stone seemed to have

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<v Speaker 1>been left unturned by the police force, and it reported

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<v Speaker 1>that they sent seven thousand questionnaires out to boat owners

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<v Speaker 1>in the hope that they would know something. They were

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<v Speaker 1>also interested in finding Herbert's belongings, which were not found

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<v Speaker 1>with his body. They didn't recover his wallet, his watch,

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<v Speaker 1>or any of his personal items. They had also not

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<v Speaker 1>recovered his glasses, which was odd, and so they had

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<v Speaker 1>a mock up of his glasses made so they could

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<v Speaker 1>show the public what they looked like in case they

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<v Speaker 1>had come across them. The fact that none of these

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<v Speaker 1>things were found also indicated to police that Herbert had

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<v Speaker 1>come across someone who wanted to harm him and possibly

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<v Speaker 1>rob him of his possessions. In the months that followed,

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<v Speaker 1>the investigation continued, but it began to slow down and

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<v Speaker 1>grow cold. Police continued to investigate all lines of inquiry,

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<v Speaker 1>including heading up to the Midlands after a tip off

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<v Speaker 1>about a couple that might have information. It didn't appear

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<v Speaker 1>that this tip off panned out. The inquest into Herbert's

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<v Speaker 1>death was concluded in March nineteen sixty eight, when the

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<v Speaker 1>Central Cheshire Coroner, Mister John F. Hibbert, revealed a verdict

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<v Speaker 1>of murder by person or persons unknown. The post mortem

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<v Speaker 1>established that Herbert had a dent in his skull which

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<v Speaker 1>had been caused by a bunt instrument. He also had

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<v Speaker 1>lacerations to his skull and the suggestion of pressure applied

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<v Speaker 1>to his neck. As well as this, there was a

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<v Speaker 1>hole about four x two in diameter above his right ear.

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<v Speaker 1>It was officially confirmed that the remains were that of

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<v Speaker 1>Herbert Wilkinson. It was clear that this was a murder,

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<v Speaker 1>but the reasons why we was still unknown and the

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<v Speaker 1>motive had not been established by the police. This was

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<v Speaker 1>a frustration for the detectives, who believed that someone in

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<v Speaker 1>the local area knew something and that the answer lay

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<v Speaker 1>with those people who had been on canal boats that June.

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<v Speaker 1>They returned to the area a year after the murder

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<v Speaker 1>to interview boat owners again. Once again, however, there was

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<v Speaker 1>no new information provided. Police also investigated a tip off

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<v Speaker 1>which had been provided by officers at Risly Romand Center

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<v Speaker 1>in Warrington. They had discovered a note in a cell

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<v Speaker 1>which related to Herbert Wilkinson's murder. The note had been

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<v Speaker 1>left by nineteen year old William Lawrence Ansell and he

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<v Speaker 1>had committed suicide in his cell before they had found it.

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<v Speaker 1>William Lawrence Ansell had been interviewed by police in the

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<v Speaker 1>initial investigation However, this had not gone much further. He

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<v Speaker 1>told police that he had met Herbert in a Manchester cafe. However,

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<v Speaker 1>this could not be confirmed and there was no confirmation

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<v Speaker 1>that Ansell had ever visited Middlewich. Ansell's diaries were examined,

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<v Speaker 1>as was the note, but it was reported that there

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<v Speaker 1>was nothing material found in it relating to the case.

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<v Speaker 1>Since the initial investigation in the year after the body

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<v Speaker 1>had been recovered, there has not been much movement or

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<v Speaker 1>progress on the case. Herbert's murder is still unsolved many

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<v Speaker 1>decades later, and despite the large investigation that was done

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<v Speaker 1>by police, little of what was uncovered has been published.

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<v Speaker 1>As a result, there are many questions left unanswered, such

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<v Speaker 1>as where are Herbert's belongings, how did he get to

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<v Speaker 1>the location, what was he doing during the days between

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<v Speaker 1>the second of June to the fifth of June. Had

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<v Speaker 1>it really been Herbert that the witness had seen on

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<v Speaker 1>the fifth in Middlewich? Why had he been struck off,

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<v Speaker 1>the role of solicitors and how had it affected him.

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<v Speaker 1>There are so many questions which have not had answers,

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<v Speaker 1>and unfortunately, as the years have passed, is become harder

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<v Speaker 1>and harder to solve. Despite the passage of time, there

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<v Speaker 1>is always hope that someone will know something about the

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<v Speaker 1>crime and may be able to help Herbert's family get

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<v Speaker 1>the answers that they deserve. If you know anything about

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<v Speaker 1>the murder of Herbert Wilkinson in nineteen sixty seven, then

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<v Speaker 1>please contact police on one oh one. Thank you for

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<v Speaker 1>listening to today's episode. If you'd like to support the

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<v Speaker 1>podcast further, then you can on Patreon and contribute to

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<v Speaker 1>can also get access to new episodes early and ad free.

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<v Speaker 1>You can use the link in the show notes to

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<v Speaker 1>visit Patreon and see what we offer. You can also

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<v Speaker 1>support us by reviewing the podcast wherever you listen, including Spotify,

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<v Speaker 1>and also just share the episodes. You can subscribe on

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<v Speaker 1>YouTube and follow us on social media. As always, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>Caprice and this has been unseen the