footpath murders : Case study about first case to use DNA report.pptx

Case study about first case to use DNA report. Thirty years ago this summer, at 4.30 one Thursday afternoon, a 15-year-old schoolgirl called Dawn Ashworth set off from a friend’s house in the village of Narborough, Leicestershire, and began to walk home. Dawn lived in the nearby village of Enderby, a few minutes’ walk away, and chose to take a short-cut along a footpath known locally as Ten Pound Lane. And then she vanished. It was not until two days later that Dawn’s body was found in the corner of a nearby field, covered in twigs, branches and torn-up nettles. The pathologist established that she had put up a considerable struggle before being raped and strangled.

The hunt for Dawn’s killer was unlike any previous murder investigation, however: it was conducted with the help of a new science. The technique known as DNA fingerprinting was employed in a criminal investigation for the first time. Not only did this revolutionary technique lead, indirectly, to the killer being caught; it also prevented a grave miscarriage of justice. And it was employed in a manner that would, today, be likely to face resistance from some members of the public.

As soon as Dawn’s body was found, the police realised that they were looking for a serial killer: two-and-a-half years earlier, another 15-year-old, Lynda Mann, had been murdered a few hundred yards from the scene of Dawn’s murder. Lynda’s clothes had been removed in the same manner as Dawn’s, and she too had been raped before being strangled with her own scarf. Detectives also believed that the killer was a local man, someone who knew the area, and possibly knew Lynda. Narborough and the surrounding villages were paralysed with fear. In an editorial headlined “Killer in our midst”, the Leicester Mercury warned: “If we don’t catch him it could be your daughter next.” The vicar of Enderby, Canon Alan Green, urged the murderer to give himself up, “because at some time in the future you will have to face your creator and account for the terrible thing you have done”.

While the police had been unable to find Lynda’s killer, they quickly made an arrest after the discovery of Dawn’s body. Richard Buckland, a 17-year-old Narborough boy with learning difficulties, and who knew Dawn, appeared to have knowledge of some details of the crime that had not been made public. Under questioning he would repeatedly admit the crime, and then withdraw the admission. On 10 August he was charged with Dawn’s murder, and appeared in court the following day.

Buckland refused to confess to the murder of Lynda, however. He was adamant that he was not guilty of that crime. The police, in their certainty that both girls’ lives had been taken by the same person, were convinced he was lying.

Meanwhile, five miles north-west of Narborough, at the University of Leicester, geneticist Alec Jeffreys had made a remarkable – and quite accidental – discovery during a failed experiment to study the way in which inherited illnesses pass through

1. Forensic Files Season1 Episode 4 The Footpath Murders Fathima.R (Scientific officer, Physics)

2. Killer breakthrough! First case in world to use a DNA evidence to find the killer.  Geneticist Alec Jeffreys, pictured in 1987. 

3. Case history Narborough, England

4. Case history Early morning of November 22, 1983. On a deserted footpath  “black pad”. Body found by a hospital worker Lynda Mann (15 yr old) November 21, 1983 evening : took a short cut on her way home. She didn’t return home by midnight. Parents called the police.

5. Autopsy report: Strangled and then raped. Mode of death

6. Semen sample taken from Linda’s body It came from an individual with: Type A PGM1+ enzyme profile But this matches with 10% of adult male population in England !! Evidence

7. Fear

8. Police videotaped crowd gathered at funeral for anyone unusual. No eyewitness & strong leads  Murder hunt hit a dead end!.

9. 3 years later (1986 July 31) Walking home from part time job through short-cut foot path  “ten pound lane” Another victim Dawn Ashworth (15 yr old)

10. 2 days later police discovered victim’s dead body Similarities: Less than a mile from Lynda Mann’s body found Strangled and raped The semen found on body: same blood and enzyme type Serial killer? Both teenagers (15 year old) Similar circumstances (secluded footpath) Same school Same Killer !!

11. First break Witnesses saw a young man on the crime scene, He knew Dawn Richard Buckland (17 yr). He had learning disabilities and worked in the mental hospital’s kitchen. He knew details of murder & he couldn’t account for his movement that afternoon

12. Police took him in and interrogated. After many hours, Buckland confessed to Ashworth’s murder But refused to confess to murdering Lynda Mann. Police strongly suspected both girls had been killed by the same person, Is there a way to tie him to both crimes? Arrest

13. University of Leicester was 5 miles away from Norborough. DNA profiling was first developed in 1985 by Alec Jeffreys, along with Peter Gill and Dave Werrett. Answer through science

14. First time in history!

15. Results The semen DNA profile of from both victims  good match ! Both victims  One murderer ! But the DNA profile of Richard Buckland didn’t matched with that of the murder ?

16. Hunt for a double killer They would set up an operation to gather the DNA of every man in the area.  Two testing centers were established, in a local school and a council office. Police sent out letters to every man between the ages of 18 and 36, who had lived or worked in the Norborough area.

17. Unexpected break After 8 months, around 5000 samples were tested. But No match !!! In August of 1987, a group of friends was having drinks and chatting at a Leicester pub.  Ian Kelly, confessed that he had posed as Pitchfork with forged passport .

18. Finally ! Kelly was promptly arrested, and by the end of the day Pitchfork was also in custody. Colin Pitchfork, a 27-year-old baker and father of two young children. DNA testing confirmed him as the double killer. He then gave a detailed confession to both murders and two other sexual assaults. 

19. Take away January 1988 Pitchfork appeared at Leicester crown court. He pleaded guilty to Two counts of murder Two of rape & indecent assault Count of conspiring to pervert the course of justice. He was sentenced to life imprisonment- set his minimum term: 30 years.

20. In 1994 Alec Jefrey was knighted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of England for his services to Science.

21. The Blooding: A True Story of the Narborough Village Murders

22.  Pitchfork was released from prison in September  2021 After 2 months of his release, he was re-called over to prison for a breach of his licence conditions. Latest updates

23. New era of forensic science DNA finger printing