Appeal For Information
Saturday
2 July 2005 will mark the fourth anniversary of a terrible blow for British
justice. On this day in 2001 a man was sent to prison, for life, on the basis
of evidence of perhaps the weakest nature presented in a British courtroom in
many years. Today we are no closer to knowing who murdered the popular
television presenter Jill Dando. The fact the legal system has become so
convinced the poor evidence used to gain a conviction was “compelling proof”
of guilt has ensured an innocent man (Barry George) suffers in silence in one
of Britain’s maximum-security prisons.
In July 2002 three judges at the Court of Appeal in London acknowledged that
without the evidence of a so-called eyewitness it is unlikely there would
have been a prosecution against George. Susan Mayes saw a man for five to six
seconds, four and a half hours before Jill Dando was gunned down outside her
unlived in Fulham house on 26 April 1999. The man was originally described as
having a “short, smart haircut”, which was in conflict with the description
of the man seen fleeing the crime scene immediately after the shooting. The
gunman had long and untidy hair.
Susan Mayes saw the man for only five to six seconds, according to her trial
testimony. She positively identified Barry George as the man she saw, but
only in October 2000 when looking at a video image of his face. She said the
man she had seen was stood next to a car, a taxi she believed the vehicle
was. She was of the opinion the man was responsible for the car, which
disappeared shortly after the sighting, as did the man witnesses, who was
wiping the car’s windscreen. Barry George has never owned nor driven a
vehicle. Did Susan Mayes see Barry George? Did Susan Mayes even see the
gunman, or just an innocent man who happened to be near the scene of the
crime four and a half hours before the murder?
Other witnesses who certainly saw the killer failed to identity George,
including Geoffrey Upfill-Brown, who made a mental note of the man’s
appearance in anticipation of having to identify him at a later stage. He did
not believe Barry George was the gunman.
A witness placed George at an advice centre half a mile away, only twenty
minutes after the murder. George was wearing very different clothing. It was
common ground at trial that if the woman (Susan Bicknell) was correct then
George was certainly innocent. She was sure George was with her at 11:50. A
second member of staff believed he was there “around midday.”
The only forensic evidence in the case (a textile fibre and a single particle
of alleged firearms discharge residue) does not prove guilt. The particle
could have got into George’s pocket through contamination. The prosecution’s
expert witness, Robin Keeley, said at trial that at best the particle “could”
have come from the ammunition used to murder Jill Dando. He could not even
rule out the possibility it came from a blank firing gun (which George has
never disputed owning) or even a firework, which George’s best friend has
confirmed George used to collect.
George continues to protest his innocence. Having spoken to him on many
occasions it is clear to me he is not Jill Dando’s killer. I have studied
large amounts of evidence and am certain the man in Whitemoor Prison is
totally innocent and that there is a dangerous gunman still on the loose.
George is always agitated and it is difficult to comprehend how this man, who
ranks among the bottom one percent of the population with regards to his
ability to plan and organise his activities, could carry out this immensely
well-planned murder (Jill Dando rarely visited her unlived in house and so it
would have to be great luck or excellent planning that allowed the killer to
strike at that location within seconds of Dando’s arrival) and leave the
scene “very calmly” according to one of the eyewitnesses (Richard Hughes) who
failed to recognise Barry George whilst attending as conventional identity
parade.
So who did murder Jill Dando? Someone, somewhere holds the key to this
unsolved murder. It is not right for an innocent man to remain incarcerated
for a crime he did not commit, especially if there is a murderer still out
there. I am appealing for anyone who has information to come forward. I can
be contacted at sclomax@sclomax.co.uk or anonymously via my contact form on
this website. At present Jill’s murderer has not been brought to justice.
That needs to be changed.
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