Can Football Memories Solve Cold Case Murders?

So the World Cup is over and the painful memories of England's semi-final defeat against Argentina will stay with us for years. Where did you watch the game? I was lucky enough to watch it in a bar in the Caribbean. In today's episode I explain how detectives in two cold case murders are hoping that two England games in the Euro 96 tournament 30 years ago will jog the public's memory and help solve the crimes. 

Transcript

Copy

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello and welcome back to the Total Crime Podcast. I'm Chris Summers and this is episode 23. So the World Cup is finally over and if like me you support England you will have that semi-final defeat last week burnt into your memory for many years. Why is it always bloody Argentina? First there was the hand of God in 1986, then the infamous Beckham Red Card before we bowed out on penalties in 1998, and then last week we went 1-0 up with that beautiful goal by Anthony Gordon before sitting back making making some terrible substitutions and letting Argentina come back and beat us with two late goals. England fans will remember that game for a long time. Where were you watching it? For me, I was in a bar in the Caribbean. Some of you may prefer to remember that famous night, literally, when you stayed up until 4 a.m. to watch England knock out the co-hosts Mexico with a scintillating performance. My own personal favourite World Cup memory is the 15th of June 2002, when England beat Denmark 3-0 in the Japanese city of Nigata. Why? Because I was there in the stadium. I also vividly remember that as we trooped out of the stadium, the England fans around me were singing We're not going home, we're not going home. I actually was flying home the next morning. But then what did I miss? England lost the next match against Brazil thanks to a very rare mistake from the legendary David Seaman. Well, it is the very fact that many people remember football matches for so long that has encouraged detectives in two cold cases to make fresh appeals this year in the hope of finding a clue which might lead them to a killer. The two victims, Melanie Hall and Janet Murgatroyd, died within a week of each other in June 1996 at opposite ends of the country. So let's start with Melanie. On the night Melanie Hall disappeared, England drew 1-1 with Switzerland in their opening match of the European Championships, better known as Euro ninety six. It's not a match which I can say I say I can remember. According to the FIFA record of the game on eighth of june nineteen ninety six, there are only two shots on target. Alan Shearer put England in front in the first half, with Kubalay Turk Yilmaz equalising with less than ten minutes to go, and there wasn't even a single corner. It's not clear whether Melanie herself watched the match, but we do know that the twenty five year old went out that night in the city of Bath in the west of England. She was last seen at one ten AM on the Sunday the ninth of June at Cadillacs Nightclub in Walcott Street, Bath. Her fate was unknown for more than a decade until in october two thousand nine parts of her body were found close to junction five of the M five motorway near Thornbury, north of Bristol. Inside black bin liners tied with blue polypropylene rope were arms and leg bones, a pelvis and a skull, which were all forensically identified as belonging to Melanie. Avon and Somerset police say the clothes, shoes and handbags she was wearing on that night have never been found, nor has her jewellery. Melanie is known to have had a row with her German boyfriend that night. Philip Kirlbaum, then thirty three, left Cadillac looking upset, and Melanie was last seen sitting alone at a table. Detectives interviewed Dr. Kirlbaum extensively and checked out his alibi, ruling him out as a suspect. Over the years have there have been various theories about who might have been responsible. One of the names who was suggested was John Cannon, who I wrote a subsack about after he died in prison in november twenty twenty four, age seventy. Cannon was a suspect in the murder of London estate agent Susie Lamplu, and he had strong connections with Mel with West Country. But nothing ever tied into Melanie's murder. Another suggestion was that Melanie was killed by a serial rapist who was preying on women in Bath around the nineteen nineties. That offender has never been caught. The police followed every lead in the Melanie Hall case. In march two thousand three, police spent two weeks searching a pig farm in Ingallsbatch, a village five miles south of Bath, but nothing was found. Making a fresh appeal earlier this year, Detective Chief Inspector Ben Lavender said The murder of Melanie Hall is one of the longest running and highest profile investigations ever carried out by Avon and Somerset Police, with hundreds of police officers working on the case over the years. As we approach the thirtieth anniversary, the Justice for Melanie campaign is asking people to think back. Just a minute of your time to take you back to Saturday the eighth of june nineteen ninety six. It was just a normal night out in Bath. Enjoying a few drinks with your friends. Not another night for Melanie Hall. It was the last confirmed sighting of her alive. Just one small detail or memory could provide a huge breakthrough and solve Melanie's murder. Crime stoppers have put up a twenty thousand pound reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the murder of Melanie. Now a week after Melanie went missing, Janet Murgatroyd, who was twenty, vanished in Preston, Lancashire. It was the same night that England played Scotland at Wembley in another Euro nineteen six match. This game was more memorable, largely because of Paul Gascoigne's superb goal in England's 2-0 win and his infamous dentist chair celebration, which echoed a boozy team bonding night out in Hong Kong just before the tournament. After the match, Janet, who was ironically a clerk working at Lancashire Police Headquarters, visited the Adelphi pub in Preston with a friend. She left the pub with a young man who chatted her up, and she was seen walking with him in the town centre. But they split up near Tokyo Joe's nightclub, and Janet was later seen walking alone towards Penworthom on Fishersgate and Fishersgate Hill. In the early hours of sixteenth of June, Janet was seen on Penwortham Bridge, which crosses the Ribble Ribble and links Preston with Penwortham. Two witnesses reported hearing a female voice scream or wail and saw a man crouch down by the riverbank near the Holm Road car park. Janet's body was later found in the river Ribble. She had been stripped and beaten. On the second of August 1999, Andrew Greenwood, who was then twenty five, confessed to the police that he had murdered Janet following a chance encounter. The charges were dropped but brought up again, and in October 2002, Greenwood went on trial, but the jury was unable to reach a verdict. At a retrial in June 2003, he was convicted of manslaughter and jailed for eight years by Mr. Justice Holland. But eleven months later his conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeal. It emerged that Greenwood, who had confessed to the police, was suffering from mental illness at the time, hence his false confession. After his name was cleared in 2004, his solicitor Peter Roberts said Andrew Philip Greenwood is now a free man and looking forward to rebuilding the rest of his life. Detective Inspector Chris Wilde from Lancashire Police told BBC News Online at the time we are aware of the court's ruling. At this time we are not looking for anyone else in connection with the murder of Janet Murgatroyd. That is a phrase the police often use when they are basically saying we still think he did it. But twenty two years on, Lancashire Police have finally changed their tune. Making a renewed appeal to solve the case last month, Lancashire Police made it clear that Greenwood, who they did not name, does not form part of our inquiries. Janet's mother Mary said Janet was on her way home after a day celebrating with her pal, having bought tickets for a holiday abroad. She couldn't get a taxi, so she was started to walk home to Penwortham, she added. I need closure. This continues to affect me and my siblings. The killer needs putting away, she said. Lancashire Police in their appeal said You might remember that hot summer's day because of two very significant events. The IRA detonated a bomb at the Arndale Shopping Centre in Manchester that morning, causing devastating damage in the area. In the afternoon, England played Scotland of Wembley in Euro ninety six. Paul Gaza Gascoigne scored a memorable goal on the way to a 2-0 victory. Detective Chief Inspector Brianie Midgley said Janet was a young woman who loved life and was loved by so many people. She had so much going for her, and that was taken away when she was attacked and killed as she walked home, she said. Someone saw her on that journey home and for whatever reason attacked Janet and murdered her. It is horrifying to think of what she experienced. It is thirty years since Janet was killed, but we remain determined to get justice for Janet and her family. DNA technology and scientific approaches have significantly approved over the last thirty years. So I hope we will be able to take advantage of this as part of our operation. Again, Crime Stoppers has offered a twenty thousand pounds reward for information leading to the killer. Obviously I wish police in Bath and Preston the best of luck finding the killers of Melanie and Janet. And let's hope there have not been any murders in the last month which will go ins unsold for thirty years and will require the police to make an appeal in which they ask us to rack our brains about the 2026 World Cup and where we watched various England games. And on that bizarre thought, goodbye for now, and I will hope you come back soon for the next episode of Total Crime, which will be something quite special.