Also that they likely watched Muriel and knew her route. Video, 00:00:41, Watch Kate beat William in spin class endurance race, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. Forensic scientist Dr Colin Dark said that the stain had been found on the lower flap of Muriel's coat. Two days later, police found one of the murder weapons, a World War I-era Colt .45 pistol. She was sexually assaulted and strangled and last seen with an American soldier. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. [5], Muriel Joan Drinkwater was the youngest of four daughters born to John Percival and Margaret (ne Morgans) Drinkwater. I am awaiting D.N.A tests to be carried out on Harold Jones family members. A moment later, Muriels path wound into a thickly wooded area, and her mother returned to her chores in the kitchen. They visited the Carmarthen bookshop to identify if the killers family had taken the books there. Accountant Graham Wildin built an incredible 10,000sq/ft leisure complex - which has a bowling alley, casino, a cinema and more - at the back of his home. "She lost sight of her for a few moments. The gym is tucked away in an unsuspecting industrial estate in the Swansea Valley and is run by a world-champion strongman who wants as many people as possible to feel included in his beloved sport. [16][17], In 2010, the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Council on National Records and Archives closed off public access to the case, acting at the behest of Scotland Yard. But the mystery doesn't end there and the team want to unlock the mystery behind a book belonging to Muriel that turned up in a charity shop decades after her death. Happier times: Alex Murdaugh, Maggie and their sons are the picture-perfect family in never-before-seen photos taken on a hunting trip just a few years before brutal slayings, 'Why isn't he being prosecuted?' If information comes in from the public or other forces we act on it. ", * Dark Land: Hunting the Killers is on BBC iPlayer, School friends at the grave of Muriel Drinkwater, whose murder in 1946 remains one of the most horrifying in Welsh history. It truly is baffling and I cant help but wonder what they are trying to hide (and why!). left on the coat was compared to D.N.A. profiling cleared Hubert who stated he had long been suspected by some locals of being the murderer and was happy to clear his name.). Muriel Joan Drinkwater was the youngest daughter of four born to Margaret and John Percival Drinkwater, a smallholder and forestry worker in Swansea, Wales. Wales documentary screened at 10.30pm on Sunday 8 November 2020 spent a full 5 minutes suggesting that 2 books found in a Carmarthen bookshop recently had been taken from Muriels schoolbag in 1946 as trophies by the killer. "Given the sheer level of violence that he inflicted on his own relatives, I can't quite believe that this would be the first instance of his violence.". The Crime Review Group already have the information that I request. Roll on another 2 months for a denied request. Chief Inspector Bethell aptly explains, Re-opening the case is as much about proving who didnt do it, as who did. Remember that Hoyles was suspected of Muriels murder for decades and lived under a cloud suspicion that followed him everywhere he travelled in his small village. The gun was described as aColt 45 American army issue automatic pistol, first issued for World War I but probably also used in World War II, which significantly had the original wooden stocks next to the grip modernised with perspex.. Muriel Jean Drinkwater Birth unknown Death 1983 Burial. "This was a terrible, terrible crime that someone has got away with for too long. Its amazing the documentary could screw things up so much. "(The murder) turned our family upside down and has been talked about through the generations. Her eyes were wide open and her skin was deathly white. Is it possible that scientists could examine Muriels coat and find another profile that could be compared to Jones daughters D.N.A.? Her murder became known as the Little Red Riding Hood murder. Something went wrong, please try again later. This was no spur of the moment event. On June 27, 1946, 12-year-old Muriel Drinkwater made her way home from school in Penllergaer, Swansea (UK). We know 100% that it is the killer's stain. Just a few weeks short of her 13th birthday, Muriel had been beaten on the crown of her head with an object, raped and then shot twice in the . See link to Jones and other murders. Heres hoping one day soon Muriel gets some semblance of justice. She was singing on the school bus with her friends, on the afternoon of June 27, 1946, when she was dropped on the side of the road near her family's farm on the outskirt of Swansea. There are, of course, other theories regarding who was lying in wait on that fateful day. 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Thank you for all your assistance in this matter, the information you have provided has proved to be very helpful. A team of crime experts have re-investigated the brutal killing 74 years ago and uncovered what they believe to be firm new leads in the search for who killed her, Get the latest court and crime news from WalesOnline. Muriel Drinkwater Muriel Drinkwater (born 1906) Jump to: Bio graphy Family Photos Comments Obit uary. Moments before being brutally attacked, 12-year-old Muriel Drinkwater had waved to her mother, who stood at the kitchen window, as she made her way home from Gowerton High School along the long path that led to the family home. "It does make you think that Muriel Drinkwater (who passed her 11-Plus to get into grammar school) is the sort of girl he would have been interested in. 12 year old Muriel Drinkwater had only a mile to travel from the South Wales village of Penllergaer to the farm she lived on with her family. However, if it wasnt for Victor Penaluna and D.C. Paul Rogers of the London Metropolitan Police I would have been none the wiser about the Muriel Drinkwater murder. Advertisement. It was the first time he had spoken publicly about the tragedy that haunts his family to this day. It became known as the Little Red Riding Hood murder - but who killed Muriel Drinkwater? Given that Hoyles was the last person to see Muriel alive, he quickly fell under a thick veil of suspicion. Neil. We are hoping to make a BBC documentary (follow on from Dark Son) to see if we can shed any new light on the case. Dubbed the 'Little Red Riding Hood murder', the 12-year-old had been killed amongst the undergrowth at Penllergaer Woods whilst on her way home from school one June afternoon. The murder of Muriel Drinkwater (Welsh: Llofruddiaeth Muriel Drinkwater),[2] also known as the Little Red Riding Hood murder, is an unsolved 1946 child murder case from Wales. The killer was dubbed Jack The Stripper because of the way he left his victims. I suggest reaching out to a DNA expert and seeing what insight they might be able to provide. Are you able to tell me if her father has been cleared via DNA profiling?. Evernote. Jones killed two young girls when he was just 15 and was jailed for 20 years. And if you want to write a guest post that covers the update for distribution on the website, let us know. Despite a number of leads and suspects, police have not been able to identify her killer. Jones was released from prison in December of 1941, so he was a free man when Muriel was killed. Welsh author Neil Milkinsargues that Harold Jones,a convicted murderer who killed two girls in Abertillery in 1921 when he was just 15 years old, was Muriels killer. Edith Patten had been buried in the old town cemetery and was left behind when officials relocated the graves in the 1930s. I personally think whoever did it was a true psychopath and he would probably of done something like it before and has done other crimes since. Update: I have left it two weeks for the . 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Mark Lewis by email of this fact but my email was ignored. On 27th June 1946 a school girl was walking through countryside on her way home. Her mother later went to the village to look for her when she did not return home; more than a dozen men from the area began a search. Vote. Hey Babes!I'm back with another True Crime Tuesday case and todays case is about the murder of Muriel Drinkwater also known as the little red riding hood mur. Play it now! She was hoping in her lifetime to find out who killed her aunt. "South Wales Police has had considerable success with cold case reviews being one of the first forces in the country to set up a review team in 1999 to conduct cold case reviews. In 1946, 12-year-old Muriel Drinkwater was murdered in the woods of Swansea, Wales. GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS. Her name was written in copper plate, Muriel J Drinkwater, and they were examined by the forensic expert who did some incredible work for us, and was able to find this full crime stain on the back of Muriel's little school mac. <p>The school bus dropped Muriel Drinkwater at her usual stop, leaving her to walk the last part of her journey home to the family farm in Penllergaer, West Wales. It was an article that said that Harries had worked for Muriel's father John at the time of her murder. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Muriel was skipping through the woods on the afternoon of June 27, 1946, as she did every day on her way from school, when the summer's afternoon turned to tragedy. But in 2003, when the case was reopened for review, forensics experts had a major breakthrough when they found a semen stain on Muriel's coat. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED. Dubbed the 'Little Red Riding Hood murder', the. The Welsh policehave also examined connections between Muriels case and a second murder that occurred a mere ten days after she was killed. Great questions! [citation needed], In 2009, Welsh police began reinvestigating any link with the murder of 11-year-old Sheila Martin, who was raped and strangled 250 miles away in Sun Hill Wood, Fawkham Green, Kent, on 7 July 1946, ten days after Drinkwater's murder. Her route to her family's home Tyle-Du Farm entailed a mile-long journey that wove in and out of the woods. "The farm was a painful place for my grandparents to be," said Martin, who still keeps a little battleship toy that Muriel had given him. Nevertheless, local legend tells of how, after leaving prison, he'd return to his parents' house in Abertillery from time to time, where the sound of him playing the organ in their front room would haunt the terraced streets. He is very clearly interested in the fact that she is young, that she is a schoolgirl, and also that she is very clever. Detective Chief Inspector Mark Lewis, head of the South Wales Polices Specialist Crime Review Unit announced to the press in May 2019: The results of the forensic examination categorically confirm that Jones was not responsible for the murder of Muriel Drinkwater. Video, 00:00:36Tears of relief after man found in Amazon jungle, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. I think it was suggested that the police thought that the family knew more than they were letting on. Jones and his wife Muriel hid a lot of secrets from their daughter and one of these secrets may have been Jones wasnt her father. Or was she just in the wrong place at the wrong time? The 12 year old loved to sing and there was a skip in her step as she started on the winding path through the forest. 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