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. A brother, nephew, grandson. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. There is little doubt that Muriels murderer was lying in wait, just counting the minutes until he could commit his heinous crime. "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 him out completely as a suspect in this case. Yet, despite their exhaustive enquiries - not to mention the discovery of the gun used in Muriel's shooting - the culprit managed to evade justice. Video, 00:00:41, Watch Kate beat William in spin class endurance race, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. In the days and weeks that followed, police officers visited every farmhouse and cottage within 150 square miles, along with interviewing 20,000 men in Swansea, Aberdare and Carmarthenshire. 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?' On his way home, he passed Muriel as she walked along the path. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. She was last seen at 2:30 p.m., singing as she headed for the one-mile walk to her family's home, Tyle-Du Farm. Another witness came forward to tell the team that Ronnie Harries had worked on a farm in Penllergaer, evidence that was supported from a newspaper cutting at the time. Brutally beaten, raped and shot twice, the discovery of Swansea schoolgirl Muriel Drinkwater 's body in 1946 horrified an entire community. After a previous visit to the Drinkwater family farm, Hoyles was surprised when a man in his thirties withthick fluffy hair and wearing brown corduroy trousers and a light brown sports jacket stepped from the bushes at exactly the same location where Muriel was later ambushed. Positive reviews really help others find our show. I live on the land of penllergaer woods and I have some information that I think u would like to hear.. how can I get in contact with u to chat.? It was tracked down to a store room, in a current police station, in a very dark corner. They have a suspect in the murder case and a cousin of the suspect has given D.N.A to prove whether or not the cousin Ron Harries was the killer. Twelve-year-old Muriel Drinkwater was singing as she walked along the mile-long path to her home after getting off a school bus. On 30 March 2010 the Times Online quoted an unnamed police source with South Wales Police as saying: We have a real problem with amateur sleuths in this area. I am awaiting D.N.A tests to be carried out on Harold Jones family members. It is one of the oldest active cold cases in the United Kingdom. The police think that Hoyles, who as mentioned above passed Muriel on her way home, encountered Muriels killer weeks before her death. Hi Neil. Her eyes were wide open and her skin was deathly white. She had been raped, bludgeoned about the head and shot twice in the chest. Adding: Please may I make a comment that the information that I request would be available via computer in an instant. DNA was found on evidence & matched a man already in prison. What a big moment in this case! Thanks again and take care. Norah Irene Bartlett. 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 have requested information regarding the cost of the re-investigation of Muriels murder since 2008. 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. http://www.tcbmediarights.com/screeners/dark_son.html. The comments below have not been moderated. Hi Neil. The police have a Y-STR profile from Muriels coat. 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. I personally think it was someone still in the area from the Second World war. Yet, despite their exhaustive enquiries - not to mention the discovery of the gun used in Muriel's shooting - the culprit managed to evade justice. It is currently one of the oldest active cold cases in the UK. Investigators now allege theyve identified her murderer. Muriel Drinkwater lived on a farm known at Tyle-Du at Penllergaer and attended Penllergaer Grammar School. Her mother was in the kitchen and . I really appreciate your local insights. Is it possible that scientists could examine Muriels coat and find another profile that could be compared to Jones daughters D.N.A.? 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. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. "Each case is reviewed periodically. First, I was told that South Wales Police werent obliged to say. Required fields are marked *. 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. Her mother Margaret watched from the house as the youngest of. South Wales Police's Specialist Crime Review Unit has today finally ruled out Jones - who died from cancer in 1971 - from their investigation. A familial DNA profile was extracted using a technique called Y-STR, but no match was found in the national DNA database. But they said the results now ruled out Jones as a suspect in her murder. Video, 00:01:00, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Dog found alive after 23 days under rubble. South Wales Police some years ago announced that a potential suspect Hubert Hoyles had been cleared of Muriels death through DNA profiling. 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. Casey DeSantis says Ron looked like Tom Cruise in his white Navy uniform when then got married at Disney: Florida's First Family says venue was an 'ironic' choice, Ron DeSantis claims former Disney CEO Bob Chapek privately complained to him about the 'pressure' he was under from woke Left to wade in on Florida's 'Don't say gay' bill. "All historic murder cases, or '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. He stated he had long been suspected by some locals of being the murderer and was happy to clear his name. He could possibly be a rival farmer and or business owner, we can tell the Drinkwaters run a business due to the fact that Hoyles bought eggs from Margaret Drinkwater, near to the death of Muriel Drinkwater. "[4] Police also circulated photos of the United States Army-issued gun; notably, perspex had been used to modernise the original wooden stocks next to the grip. Video, 00:01:28, The 'smart suit' that is changing children's lives, View from the cockpit of a Ukraine combat helicopter. He is very clearly interested in the fact that she is young, that she is a schoolgirl, and also that she is very clever. And no idea and Japanese workers. "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. 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. DNA was taken from the relatives of both Muriel and Ronnie Harries but the results have not been made public. Drinkwater, a 12-year-old schoolgirl, was raped and shot in the woods in Penllergaer, Swansea. I was able to edit the comment for you before it went live. [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. 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. This post deals with sexual assault and might be triggering for some readers. However, what happened to Jones once he left Wandsworth jail in December 1941, aged 35, remains a mystery. Muriel Drinkwater - Swansea, 1946 On 27th June 1946, Margaret Drinkwater was making tea in the family farm house in Penllegaer near Swansea when she looked out of the window to see her daughter . Elizabeth Muriel Greenshields Drinkwater . 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.. A village-wide search was swiftly underway, and at 4:30PM the following day Muriels body was located in a Japanese larch plantation near her home. 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. "We realise whoever did this might be dead, but if he is alive and in his 80s or even 90s we would like to see him behind bars," said Muriel's great-niece Claire Phillips, speaking about developments last October. Perhaps one day then there'll still be justice for Muriel Drinkwater - even if it might have to stretch beyond the grave. Her route to her family's home Tyle-Du Farm entailed a mile-long journey that wove in and out of the woods. Thomas was born on July 22 1880, in South Thomaston Knox Maine. I suggest reaching out to a DNA expert and seeing what insight they might be able to provide. In 2008,Detective Chief Inspector Paul Bethell located Muriels blue coat, underwear, and school uniform in police storage. Trump rages at Mark Zuckerberg amid claims group linked to Facebook boss gave $2 million to Georgia elections board - and says Dems are 'trying to steal a SECOND election'. I hope Margaret gets the answers she deserves sooner rather than later. Great questions! For decades, a key person of interest in Muriels murder has been Hubert Hoyles. ADVERTISEMENT BY ANCESTRY.COM. Bethell was thrilled to discover that on the back of the coat, a no-longer visible dried semen stain was circled with yellow crayon. Bethell sent the coat toDr. Colin Dark, and over the course of three years (MUCH longer than depicted on television and in the movies) Bethell analyzed the material and was able to extract enough fragments of DNA tosuccessfully create a Y-STR profile from the semen stain. Arrested once again, Jones this time pleaded guilty to the charge of murder at aMonmouthcourt in November 1921. The killer was dubbed Jack The Stripper because of the way he left his victims. ~ Christine. "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. will do what you suggest. I really appreciate how youre helping keep the true crime community informed on whats going on behind the scenes in this frustrating and heartbreaking case. I have spoken to former D.C.I Paul Bethel and given him this information. Thanks again and take care. I had informed him that Harold Jones had been living incognito in various West London locations after his release from prison in 1941. Twelve-year-old Muriel Drinkwater was a choirgirl who dreamed of being a schoolteacher. Officers are now examining a semen stain on Muriel's coat to see if it can be linked to Jones. [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. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED. "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.". "We had access to the files and identified that a semen stain had been found on the coat. The new B.B.C. 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. "My grandparents changed completely. It is frustrating that the Wales Online story of Saturday 7 November states the police have D.N.A. Joseph James DeAngelo, the suspected Golden State Killer, The real waking the dead: This schoolgirls savage murder has mystified police for 62 years. Two months too young to face the gallows, he was sent to Usk Prison where he sensationally confessed to the first killing, blaming the voice of a 'demon' in his head. D.S. Despite a number of leads and suspects, police have not been able to identify her killer. 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