Dubbed the 'Little Red Riding Hood murder', the. Jones was only 15 when he killed eight-year-old Freda Burnell, who'd been sent by her father to buy bird seed from the store where Jones was working. "The results of the forensic examination categorically confirm that Harold Jones was not responsible for the murder of Muriel Drinkwater," says DCI Mark Lewis, head of the unit. If you have any new information I would be extremely interested to hear it! Her mother seen her approaching 400 yards away, so perhaps she was a selected victim. In 1946, 12-year-old Muriel Drinkwater was murdered in the woods of Swansea, Wales. OnJune 27, 1946, twelve-year-old Muriel Drinkwater made her way home from school inPenllergaer, Swansea. 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?' Muriel Jean Drinkwater Birth unknown Death 1983 Burial. Read about our approach to external linking. Regards. A familial DNA profile was extracted using a technique called Y-STR, but no match was found in the national DNA database. This was a big news story at the time. The killer was dubbed Jack The Stripper because of the way he left his victims. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. On his way home, he passed Muriel as she walked along the path. She was pulled from that path into the woodland beside it, attacked and murdered amongst the undergrowth of Penllergaer Woods, near Swansea, just yards from safety. The last person who reported seeing her was Hubert Hoyles, then 13, who passed her on the path returning from her family farm, where he had gone to buy eggs. Something went wrong, please try again later. "(The murder) turned our family upside down and has been talked about through the generations. All Rights Reserved. There must be other victims of this person as I cant see him stopping. Although an extensive investigation was conducted that involved the police visiting every farmhouse and cottage within 150 square miles and interviewing 20,000 men in Swansea, Aberdare and Carmarthenshire, the case that has become known as theLittle Red Riding Hood Murder remains unsolved. Her eyes were wide open and her skin was deathly white. Hard to work out the logic of your comment Charlotte? Importantly, though, the DNA results cleared Hoyles of any involvement in Muriels murder. "Each case is reviewed periodically. But Muriel, who was known locally as 'The Little Nightingale' because of her beautiful singing voice, never made it home. 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Im not sure how much of a farming business the family had or if they just casually sold eggs like many people in the country do. Mudgee General Cemetery. However, in 2008, a team of retired detectives investigating cold cases found Drinkwater's clothes in storage. The savage nature of the attack stands out from other rapes. She was seen by her mother from a distance of 400 yards away, but before Muriel could arrive home, she was murdered. request regarding the unsolved murder of 12 year-old Muriel Drinkwater near Swansea in June 1946. Yet, despite their exhaustive enquiries - not to mention the discovery of the gun used in Muriel's shooting - the culprit managed to evade justice. [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. Why? To see documentary google Dark Lands Muriel Drinkwater iplayer. He also fixates on the fact that he is married to a younger woman, that she is five years younger than him, that she started going out with him when she was still in school. Murder. [8] Scientists successfully retrieved a DNA profile from this stain. And police now hope a stain on Muriel's coat will. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. taken from one of Jones many nieces or nephews in Wales would prove conclusively if Jones was or was not Muriels killer. The case, which became known as the Little Red Riding Hood murder, is one of the oldest active cold cases in the United Kingdom. Harries was hanged in 1954 for the double murder of John and Phoebe Harries. The murder of Muriel Drinkwater is an unsolved 1946 child murder case from Wales. Why on earth would the police continue to stonewall after all these decades? Video, 00:01:20, WATCH: Key moments from PM's NI Brexit deal speech, EU Chief on NI deal: 'We were honest with each other' Video, 00:00:36, EU Chief on NI deal: 'We were honest with each other', The 'smart suit' that is changing children's lives. The team are still investigating if this has any relevance to the case and are appealing for anyone with information about it to come forward. It was believed a similar weapon had been used in the murder of a cinema manager in Bristol. SOUTH Wales Police's Specialist Crime Review Unit has been investigating the murder of 12 year-old Muriel Drinkwater whose body was found in Penllergaer Woods, Swansea in 1946. However, the BBC documentary Darklands shown in November 2020 identified Ronald Harries who murdered his aunt and uncle as Muriels killer, and a cousin of Harries was shown in the documentary and was expected to give DNA to prove or disprove the theory.. So with that revelation the re-opened inquiry could have cost 15 million or more as did the Gwent Police inquiry into the disgraced former Abertillery care home owner Dr Dana Pras. Video, 00:00:41, Watch Kate beat William in spin class endurance race, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. (My belief now is that the suspect he referred to was Hubert Hoyles who as a 13 year-old boy had come into contact with Muriels family shortly before her murder. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. A different D.C.I. Jones killed two young girls when he was just 15 and was jailed for 20 years. As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. [13] However, in 2019, South Wales Police stated that forensic tests on the DNA "categorically confirm that Jones was not responsible for the murder of Muriel Drinkwater. 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. In the days and weeks that followed Muriel's murder, police officers visited every farmhouse and cottage within 150 square miles, along with interviewing 20,000 men in Swansea, Aberdare and Carmarthenshire. She was sexually assaulted and strangled and last seen with an American soldier. Police are closer than ever to finding her killer, "Secrecy over 1940 murder as DNA offers new leads", "The unsolved murder of a 12-year-old brutally abused and killed", "Serial Slaying of Pretty Women Has New Scotland Yard Confused", "Detectives link Muriel Drinkwater and Sheila Martin murders", "The chilling tale of a man who bludgeoned his relatives to death with a hammer and paid the ultimate price", "The unsolved murder of 12-year-old Muriel Drinkwater and the new suspect identified", "Muriel Drinkwater murder file is declared secret at request of police", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Murder_of_Muriel_Drinkwater&oldid=1138738141, This page was last edited on 11 February 2023, at 09:11. First he lived in Fulham with a former London Metropolitan Police officer John Widdows and his daughter Muriel whom he married in 1948. However, a lack of hard evidence would later see him freed. South Wales Police said: "All historic murder cases, often referred to in the media as cold cases, are allocated to the Specialist Crime Review Unit and remain under active consideration and will be subject of re-investigation as and when new information is received or when there are advances in forensic science. Click hereto hear the Audio File of this case. Her parents Harold and Muriel Jones/Stevens kept a lot of secrets from this daughter one of which may be that she wasnt Harolds daughter. Police believe 12-year-old Muriel Drinkwater might have been a victim of a notorious serial killer when she was raped and murdered in 1946. There is little doubt that Muriels murderer was lying in wait, just counting the minutes until he could commit his heinous crime. In 2008, a DNA profile of the suspect . I was able to edit the comment for you before it went live. Would a nephew definitely suffice to prove a link to Harol Jones and the crime scene stain on Muriels coat. [18] The public can no longer access the Drinkwater files by Freedom of Information Act requests or in person at the archives office in Kew. 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. Thanks again and take care. Police believed 12-year-old Muriel Drinkwater (left) might have been a victim of a notorious serial killer Harold Jones when she was raped and murdered in 1946. On June 27, 1946, 12-year-old Muriel Drinkwater made her way home from school in Penllergaer, Swansea (UK). Video, 00:01:28The 'smart suit' that is changing children's lives, View from the cockpit of a Ukraine combat helicopter. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. Just before she entered the woods she looked up to see the farm in the distance. Swansea 12-year-old Muriel Drinkwater, who was shot after being sexually assaulted in 1946 Now, a team of former detectives and crime experts have re-investigated the case, dubbed the 'Little. "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. I have spoken to former D.C.I Paul Bethel and given him this information. "[14][5], In 2020, the BBC One documentary Dark Land: Hunting the Killers suggested that Ronnie Harries could be the murderer. Only by comparing D.N.A. Oftentimes the public wonders why resources should be allocated to cold cases such as Muriels, cases in which most of victims immediate family, and even the perpetrator, are likely dead. If true, it could have placed him in the area at the time of Muriel's murder. Hi James. The coat had been lying forgotten in police storage for decades but after much searching was found by retired DCI Bethell's cold case team and is thought to be one of the oldest pieces of crime scene evidence in the world. He is very clearly interested in the fact that she is young, that she is a schoolgirl, and also that she is very clever. Neil. Her mother was in the kitchen and . Mark Lewis by email of this fact but my email was ignored. In 1946, 12-year-old Muriel Drinkwater was murdered in the woods of Swansea, Wales. Although the decision was made immediately it took nearly 7 weeks until 16 August 2021 to get a formal decision. Wife of James Anthony Drinkwater and mother to Carole Suzanne, Stephen Mark, Simon Anthony and Russell John Drinkwater. DNA was taken from the relatives of both Muriel and Ronnie Harries but the results have not been made public. Hi Neil. . 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. This true crime happened in Penllegaer Woods on the outskirts of Swansea in 1946. He died at that address in 1971. Your email address will not be published. [9] Detectives from Scotland Yard came to Swansea to assist in the investigation. It is now more than 70 years since the 12-year-old schoolgirl was brutally raped, battered around the head and shot twice while walking home. I agree with the killer being male and the suggested age range. The detectives in the programme got a breakthrough when they were able to track down Muriel's relative Martin Phillips, who had been six at the time of the murder. Her killer has never been caught and it remains among the most notorious unsolved murders in Welsh history you can read more of them here. I am making a F.O.I. Talk about a case hitting close to home for you! The case became known as the Little Red Riding Hood murder. He described the search for the clothes that had been taken from the crime scene. Sometime later that afternoon, Muriels mother Margaret glanced out of her kitchen window and noticed Muriel approaching their property from approximately 400 yards away. There is no doubt about that.". This was a very small, close knit community and everybody knew everybody and everybodies business. This will enable the police to identify Muriels murderer by taking and testing swabs from the perpetrators sons, grandsons, or even great-grandsons. Muriel Drinkwater was born on January 12, 1906 in New York . Are you able to help please? It is one of the oldest active cold cases in the United Kingdom. Some people turn to the murder weapon for answers and suggest that the killer was either an American serviceman who had previously been stationed at Penllergaer or that an American soldier may have sold the gun to the perpetrator in the village. 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. Only the exhumation of Jones body or D.N.A. [11] Hoyles, who saw Drinkwater after buying eggs at her parents' farm, was cleared by the DNA evidence. Perhaps one day then there'll still be justice for Muriel Drinkwater - even if it might have to stretch beyond the grave. Posted by 8 minutes ago. 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. It was the 75th anniversary this year, and still we are no nearer to finding her killer. I wonder if there was a sketch done when Hoyles confronted a man weeks earlier. Its amazing the documentary could screw things up so much. Jones was released from prison in December of 1941, so he was a free man when Muriel was killed. Advertisement. He said, ``She was regularly seen walking, skipping and singing in the woods as she made her way each day from her home to the . D.C, Paul Rogers, independent of Victor Penalunas theory, contacted me by phone and told me that his research had led him to believe that Harold Jones may have been Muriel Drinkwaters killer. Due to advances in forensic technology, we have been able to look again at evidence from the murder in 1946 and I am now able to rule out Harold Jones completely as a suspect in this case.. Close. In 2007 whilst researching for my 2008 True Crime book Every Mothers Nightmare Abertillery in Mourning, which dealt with the murders of two Abertillery school-girls in 1921, I received a surprise visit from Victor Penaluna, a cousin of the second Abertillery victim Florence Little aged 11. Brutally beaten, raped and shot twice, the discovery of Swansea schoolgirlMuriel Drinkwater's body in 1946 horrified an entire community. Hi Sherlock. 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Police and soldiers search the area for clues of Muriel's murder, A picture of Muriel's schoolmates with flowers for her grave, Freda Burnell (left) and Florence Little (right) - Jones' first victims, At 35-years-old Jones is released from prison, only to vanish. It was supposed to have been abandoned in 1944 but I know there were GIs who married Swansea girls still around in 1946. D.S. The police have a Y-STR profile from Muriels coat. Would you be able to tell me please if Harries has been cleared of Muriels murder as well. Roll on another 2 months for a denied request. Thanks for reading and for taking the time to share your thoughts. Hoyles told police that the man looked terribly stern and had a local accent. Although this person of interest could have just been out for hike or involved in some other unrelated nefarious activity, the authorities believe that he may have been in involved in Muriels murder. 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If Harries has been Hubert Hoyles area at the time of Muriel Drinkwater near Swansea in June 1946 roll another!, and still we are no nearer to finding her killer a big news at! Married in 1948 suit ' that is changing children 's lives, View from cockpit. Hear it from one of Jones many nieces or nephews in Wales would prove conclusively if Jones was from! Have to stretch beyond the grave crime scene stain on Muriels coat Jones and the suggested age range numbers guide...
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