Lee Balkwell - Was it Murder?

 

Experts say Lee Balkwell's murder appears to have been staged

33-year-old Lee Balkwell was found trapped between the drum and the chassis of a concrete mixer on a farm at South Ockendon, Essex, England on July 18th 2002, the time was 0100 hours.

The first and most obvious question is; what was a man doing on a farm, with a huge cement truck at that time? Okay so I understand work goes on late into the night sometimes but, logic says if a cement truck is mixing and tipping at that time of night then a worker or two would surely be around to spread the poured mixture. Maybe it was the depot and he was unloading, loading or cleaning but he would have other men there too.

Very oddly, there were apparently no lights on, in or around the truck, so how was Lee Balkwell seeing to do his work, if it were just a simple work accident?

Essex police have always treated the incident as a "tragic accident", but it doesn't seem quite that clear cut to me and I am aware that lee's 73-year-old dad, Les Balkwell believes that in fact his son was murdered.

Reports from a team of Metropolitan Police detectives, hired by Lee's father to review the case and a pathologist, Professor Dick Shepherd say that the accident couldn't have happened in the way that it described and it looked "too neat" to have been an industrial accident.

Essex police have already admitted to failing to investigate the death of Lee Balkwell properly and failing to preserve evidence correctly. 

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said in their report in 2012 that Essex Police's initial investigation had been "seriously flawed" and undermined by the assumption that death had been as a result of an accident. They recommended an independent homicide investigation in 2008 and again in 2012. 

Les Balkwell said "I believe that all the evidence points to murder. I have fought all these years to get to the truth and to bring justice to those responsible for Lee's death. This has taken a terrible toll on the physical and mental health of me and my family. I feel that time is running out".

A team of retired career homicide detectives presented Essex police with new evidence yet the investigation was formerly closed down in 2018 and despite pressure from Lee Balkwell's family and the detectives, police refuse to re-open the case. 

On March 25th 2013 Lee's body was exhumed from his grave at Upminster Cemetery and re-examined by Home Office pathologist in a two-hour review, curiously the examiners declared that there was "no evidence of torture". 

Whilst Les Balkwell had somehow expected there to possibly be evidence of stab injuries or ligature markings still visible, violent and obvious physical marks are not necessarily the only signs of a murder.

I would very much like to scrutinise any toxicology reports and maybe any close examination evidence of skin that was made at either autopsy examination, particularly the one made soon after the death. Let's consider such methods of murder as injecting poisons, insulin or even air if the "bubble" is big enough. 

It interests me that the pathologist was clear that there was no evidence of torture, yet the body had been compressed between the drum and the chassis of a massive concrete mixing truck suffering considerable crushing injuries, I believe. I will picture a concrete truck similar below just so that you can imagine the damage that would be done should you become trapped between the mixing drum and the base of the lorry.

A concrete mixer, similar to the one in this report

Now whilst I accept that pathologists are extremely good at their job, I fail to see how any medical examiner could be so absolutely sure that none of the injuries sustained by a man whose body had been stuck in the way that Lee Balkwell's were caused by any sort of physical torture.

Interestingly, the pathologist that carried out the autopsy on Lee Balkwell (Dr Michael Heath) has since been discredited and disciplined for bungling the post-mortem examinations of two women which led to their respective partners being tried for murders that they simply did not commit.

Another point in relation to examinations of Lee Balkwell's body, a separate pathologist, Dr David Rouse, who originally said that there was no evidence of assault, restraints or grip marks on the body, later said in a report that "It was not possible to rule out the idea of the victim suffering an assault and being dragged across the yard". Why wait some five years to say that? Had he been "silenced" perhaps? After all, as I will demonstrate a little later, one of the possible "culprits" was by late 2006 locked up in prison.

To be fair and honest a report published by The Guardian newspaper stated that "The emergency crews called to the concrete firm lorry on a farm in Essex in the early hours of a summer morning met a scene that will stay with them forever. Mangled between the drum and chassis of a concrete-mixer lorry was a torso of a man, his legs twisted and lying on a pile of dried cement".

I would be happy for a pathologist or coroner to contact me and convince me otherwise, feel free if you are qualified in such a profession.

My opinion on the way that the second autopsy was carried out is much the same as Les Balkwell in that he held "serious concerns", particularly when an inquest in 2008 had already ruled that the verdict was "unlawful killing" possibly manslaughter! As far as I am aware the results of the second autopsy have never been made public by the police, why if the death was caused by "a tragic accident"?

One very curious point here is that Lee's mobile phone was buried with him and the police did not do an examination/assessment on the sim card. They still didn't carry out an examination of the phone or sim card despite exhumating the body, they then returned the phone to the grave when the re-burial was carried out. 

A very relevant point of this story is that when ambulance paramedics assessed the scene, one wrote in his pocketbook the words "Foul play", another stated that she believed that she was looking at "a suspicious death" and the third noted that he was "not keen to touch the body because he did not want to damage or destroy evidence", yet the police just took the death as an accident, really? Why not make a thorough investigation and ask questions of people connected? 

The fact is that the police totally contradicted themselves as they say that they treated the death as suspicious for the first 35 days but then why did they destroy Lee's clothes on the same day that he was found, without even having them examined by a pathologist first?

Now comes somewhat of a twist in this messy story; Lee worked for the Bromley family at their company "Upminster Concrete", The Bromley family were, to say the least, "known by the police" and some four years after Lee's death, Simon Bromley was given an eight-year prison sentence for what the judge described as "operating a cocaine business in a large way" and for attempting to sell a high-powered rifle with Titanium bullets, which he said would "destroy all the main organs".

David Bromley, father to Simon was also convicted of conspiracy to supply cocaine and was sentenced to three years in prison. 

In 2009 Simon Bromley was back before Basildon Crown Court where it was said that he had benefited from £606,178 (Six hundred and six thousand, one hundred and seventy-eight pounds) from the proceeds of crime over the years, he was made subject to a confiscation order and told he must pay £210,158 (Two hundred and ten thousand, one hundred and fifty-eight pounds) or serve a further three years in prison. 

A final point, in this case, is that Lee Balkwell had told his father Les, that he needed some £23,000 in cash in order to settle a debt, shortly before his death and had appeared distressed on several occasions. However, when his father pressed for the reason for him having such a large debt and why he was so distressed, Lee refused to enlighten him further.

It is my opinion that Lee may well have become entwined in the secret and illegal drugs business of the Bromley's and had maybe run up a debt of some kind in connection with that business. It is worth noting that Lee and his wife had a baby on the way and he may well have seen a little "investment" would bring him some well needed extra cash.

I will close by saying that over the years since Lee Balkwell's death his father has received death threats and has been given police protection on more than one occasion and so we are back to a question; Why would you threaten a man who simply wants answers concerning his son's death, if that death was just an unfortunate "accident at work"?

I will leave it there and you can draw your own inference. 

If you do have any information in regards to this case then please either contact Essex Police 01375 391212 or contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 

If you would like to discuss this case or indeed you have a UK cold case that you'd like me to investigate, review or simply blog on then please get in touch. 

To email me: jarad.adams@lollytruecrimeworld.co.uk

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The Unsolved Murder of Alistair Wilson

 

Alistair Wilson was a family man, just 30 years old, born on 4th March 1974 and worked at The Bank of Scotland. He was the second born to his parents Alan and Joan Wilson.

He was shot three times on the doorstep of his home in Nairn, Scotland on November 28th 2004, almost 16 years ago. 

The murder enquiry that ensued is still one of the biggest of it's kind ever to take place anywhere in Scotland and has been described as "Scotland's most mysterious unsolved crime".

There seems to be no motive for the killing but despite attracting massive amounts of media interest this "most baffling case of modern times" remains unsolved, no one has ever been arrested, in fact, there has not even been any suspect suggested.

Alistair didn't owe anyone money and was not exactly a rich man, he lived a normal, everyday family life, going to work by day and enjoying time with his wife and two young sons at home. His father lived in a flat on the top floor of the family house in Crescent Road, Nairn. 

Alistair was a quiet and reserved child and rarely went out after doing his school homework. He went on to study accountancy and business law at Stirling University where he graduated in 1996. He took his first bank job later that year and having completed his training was still with the same employers when tragedy struck.

At approximately 1900 hours on 28th November 2004, a man who was not known to the Wilson's knocked at the door of their home, he was described as being stocky, aged between 30 and 40 years, wearing blue jeans, a blue jacket and a baseball cap. Veronica Wilson, Alistair's wife initially answered the door and the man asked for Alistair Wilson by name. 

Curiously the caller at the door only said "Alistair Wilson" rather than doing as you and I would and saying something on the lines of "Good evening, is Alistair Wilson in please". This apparently did not concern or alarm Mrs Wilson at all, something which I find a little odd. 

I know that if someone knocked at my home and just said "Jarad Adams" to my partner, she would be very cautious.

I am also quite confused as to why Veronica Wilson did not try to establish this "unknown" caller's identity before summoning her husband. In my professional opinion, this is a very questionable action, particularly when you consider that there were two small children in the house and Mr Wilson worked in a bank.

Anyway, Alistair was upstairs reading bedtime stories to their sons at the time and having been called down by his wife he went to speak to the visitor. After just a few minutes he went to his wife, looking very confused and carrying an empty blue envelope with the name 'Paul' written on it. 

He asked his wife was she sure that the unknown visitor had asked for him, and when she assured him that "Yes, he asked for you in person"

Alistair then went back to ask the visitor to ascertain what the meaning of the envelope was, that was when Veronica Wilson heard three gunshots. 

When she rushed to the door she found her husband badly wounded on the doorstep, she called an ambulance and the police but sadly Alistair died soon after in hospital.

Clearly, the name 'Paul' on that envelope was significant and I suspect the fact the envelope being blue to have been of some relevance too, but it is not clear as to what it meant.

According to Mrs Wilson, neither she nor Alistair sensed any element of concern or danger at the time. Really? I fail to see that. Let's just look at this point: 

An apparently complete stranger had knocked on the door, not even exchanged any pleasantry with Veronica and her husband had been handed an envelope that was unsealed, with nothing in it and clearly addressed to a person that was not him, yet he returned to the front door to speak with the stranger again, completely unperturbed. Well, I know that Scots are friendly people but really no fear was seen in such a strange, if not creepy situation? I don't buy it.

I feel that a big, big question here is "Who was Paul"? I don't feel that there was any mistaken identity as according to Veronica, the visitor definitely asked for her husband by name, so why Paul? Why was the envelope empty?

My feeling is that the killer knew that the envelope would form a key part of the murder enquiry and would be all over the media news thus taking a message to Paul, maybe something like "you're next mate". 

Let's consider for a moment that Alistair lived in the highlands of Scotland and may not have been the easiest person to locate so maybe the message for Paul was something on the lines of: "We found him, we will find you". 

I have a very strong feeling, call it years of experience, but my gut says this was and is a much bigger case than the highland police would have us believe. Almost certainly Mr Alistair Wilson was involved in something on quite a major scale. The police say that their investigations took into account the possibility of some kind of infidelity, but they found nothing, I have to say I am not entirely convinced.

My thoughts are based on evidence that has been gradually released into the public domain including the factor of the very unusual gun used to commit the murder and even the sound that it made when fired.

The weapon was found in a drain in Seabank Road, Nairn, just a few streets away from the murder scene. Apparently, when quizzed on why that particular street had not been searched at the time of the killing, police said that "it was outside the search parameters". I really don't see that nor accept that as a reasonable excuse, in fact, it just arouses my suspicions more.

A council worker, Charles McLachlan, had been called to clean out drains and gullies in Nairn in preparation for winter weather when he found an unusually small pistol, the sort carried by Russian prostitutes. The Haenel Schmeisser hand-gun weighed only 400 grams and was just four-and-a-half-inches long, certainly not a common, everyday murder weapon for sure. 

The pistol is most unusual in that it is 6.35mm in calibre, semi-automatic pistol only 11 have been found in Britain. It is known as "the handbag gun" or "ladies gun". Obviously, the weapon would have been very easy to conceal and Alistair probably barely saw it before it was fired and he was dead.

I am not in the habit of posting a lot of pictures but in this case, the gun is so unusual I will pop it in here:

The unusual gun used to kill Alistair Wilson

The weapon was swiftly sent off for forensic examination but there was no DNA evidence nor fingerprints were found. It has been suggested the Scottish weather had washed the gun clean but, it is actually much more likely that the gun had been thoroughly cleaned by the killer and was disposed of, indicating that the killing was a very carefully planned and professional job, not a random murder nor a case of mistaken identity when it came to the victim.

So why kill a relatively young family man who simply made his living by working in a local bank? Well a former Scotland Yard detective, Peter Bleksley made an in-depth study of the case and indeed published a book called "To catch a killer" looking at the story in detail.

As a result of his writing, Peter Bleksley has received several calls over the years about Alistair Wilson's murder and has been given some curious information. He told The Press & Journal "The information I have been given is that the man went to the front door of that house to negotiate not to assassinate. He was clearly prepared to kill, as he had a gun, but he did not intend to kill, something went wrong".

Now that is a very interesting avenue to explore, what was there to negotiate? I understand that Alistair worked in a bank but, a business banking manager wasn't likely to be negotiating any legitimate form of bank business at his front door in the dark. In fact, he had recently been offered a new job as a regional director of the Building Research Establishment in Inverness and had been due to start there a week after he was murdered.

There has been very little in the way of witnesses in this curious case and the perpetrator seems to have evaded all the local CCTV completely.

One of the few witnesses who did feel he may well have travelled on a bus with the person responsible for murdering Alistair Wilson was a man named Tommy Hogg, he said that he even saw the man heading toward the house.

Tommy said that he will never forget the face of the stranger that sat next to him and his wife on the bus on that November night. "I said to myself as we got on the bus "that guy is weird". 

Mr Hogg told the media; "I kept looking at him, he kept looking away. Every time I caught his eye, he would pull his collar up. I remember saying to my wife that I thought he was up to something, she agreed".

According to Hogg, the stranger left the bus at the stop before Alistair's house and headed in the direction of Crescent Road, but even after the man had turned the corner he continued to play on Tommy's mind.

Tommy said "Later on that evening my wife went to the chippy to get us some dinner and when she came back she told me someone had been shot. She came back in and said to me 'you're not going to believe this but there has been a murder in Nairn, the place is swarming with police".

Mr Hogg reported what he and his wife had seen and the police claimed to have identified the man from the bus, spoken to him and eliminated him from their enquiries. Tommy, however, is not convinced as the police did not even tell him that the had found the man. They also failed to issue an e-fit description of the man, even though Veronica had given a very clear description, I wonder why.

Interestingly, Peter Bleksley wrote in his book published two t

years ago that he was not a big fan of the theory that the man on the bus was Alistair Wilson's killer and I am inclined to agree with him.

A killer travelling by the local bus? Is a man that has just fired six shots into another man and killed him then going to stand at the bus stop with gun powder residue on his hands? No, I think not. If the theory of a hitman being specifically hired to kill Wilson is to be believed then the bus theory is an absolute non-starter. 

Peter Bleksley said very similar things "Gut instinct was telling me that he could not be the murderer. Too many potential witnesses, too high of a risk of being captured on CCTV and how are you going to escape the scene, hail a bus? I don't think so somehow".

Now I am not 100% sure where Peter Bleksley gained the information that lead to him publishing his theories on the murder of Alistair Wilson, but nonetheless, I will give you the story and see what you make of it.

Apparently, a source of Peter Bleksley told him: "Alistair was killed because of the finances of Livingstone Football Club. That is common knowledge among some members of the legal profession in the Central Belt. The reason nobody has come forward is because they don't want an assassin at their front door".

Apparently, Livingstone Football Club rose rapidly through the ranks of football and finished third in the top flight in 2001-2 but, their finances were in a bad way and they were forced into administration by The Bank of Scotland in February 2004. I think we may see a bit of a pattern forming here as Alistair worked in that very same bank.

To be fair the allegations have never been addressed by the Scottish police and as nobody from 2004 is still at the club, they cannot investigate themselves. 

Now according to Peter Bleksley, he had spent some time in Scotland looking into the case and whilst in a local public bar he popped into the toilet and a voice from behind him said: "Don't turn around, it was an in-house job, we just couldn't prove it". 

There had been some police officers sitting in the bar that night and Peter is of the mind that it had to have been one of them who spoke to him, but he has not been able to confirm that.

The question that springs to mind is, what does "in-house" mean? Was it a reference to Alistair's working life or his home life? Could it have been a hint of a family member being responsible or someone else?

I personally have a feeling that the whole football club story is a bit of a red herring and that there is something connected closer to home, but that is very much just my own opinion. I will just close by saying that since Police Scotland started their cold case review in 2017 they have been trying to trace a man who lived close to the Wilson house at the time of the murder but has since moved to live in North America.

Interestingly the man that the police would like to speak to, Shaun Douglas was not interviewed by police at the time of the murder, but left for America soon after the event. His family say that there is no chance that Shaun could have had any involvement in the killing but, he has not made any attempts to make contact with Scottish police. 

One last point which I feel to be very relevant and that is that the Wilson family did not sell up and leave after the murder and in fact still live there today, crossing the threshold on which Alistair Wilson met his end on a daily basis, I'll leave you to think on that.

If you would like to make contact with me, whether to chat over a case, to collaborate on a matter or to engage me in my professional status I will be pleased to hear from you. 

You can contact me by email: 

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The Strange Disappearance of Martin Allen - 1979

Martin Allen (aged 15) vanished on his way home from school in 1979

 

This case is brought to you with thanks to one of my loyal Twitter followers for alerting me to the story. Before we progress let's make it clear that as far as the law is concerned Martin Duncan Allen is a missing person and hopefully this publication will help to raise awareness not only of this case but of the many youngsters who go missing every year.

Teenager Martin Allen was last seen making his regular underground train journey home from school on the afternoon of November 5th 1979, there have never been any further sightings of him, so what happened to him? 

His description at the time of his disappearance was; 

Under 5 feet tall, exceptionally short for his age and younger in appearance, (although his photographs appear as if he was indeed 15 to 16 years old, in my professional opinion)

Shortish brown hair

Braces on his teeth

His school uniform that he was wearing consisted of a white shirt, grey trousers, blue and yellow striped tie and a distinctive dark blue blazer with a gold and red quartered shield motif, with a gold and blue scrolled motto.

He was also wearing slightly unusual blue 'POD' shoes with a white band and a Casio black watch.

We do know that he actually did reach home very briefly but, left again almost at once and was expectedly making his way to his brother's home but never made it. The teenager was in his school uniform, including a very easily identifiable blazer yet he seemingly vanished into thin air, really??

Let's get a little background; 

Martin was born in Islington, London on October 19th 1964 and was the last child to be born to Eileen and Tom Allen. He began his life in a council flat in a district of North London called Hornsey, where he grew up until he was 12. His mum worked as a secretary at a local primary school, (Tufnell Park Primary) and by all accounts, the family lived a relatively peaceful life.

Hornsey is by most part a residential area of London in the borough of Haringey with its own shopping area and tube station in the London postcode area of N8. The area is not and never has been a particularly bad area but like any other area of local authority housing, the place where Martin grew up was not the best and the crime rate was quite high.

In early 1977 Tom Allen was offered a very good job as a chauffeur to the Australian High Commissioner, the job came with an opportunity for the Allen family to move to a cottage in the somewhat exclusive & high classed area of Kensington directly connected to the High Commission. As we go along I will attempt to show you why I think this part of Martin Allen's life ultimately lead to his disappearance. 

Before I get into this one there are two points that I will make; firstly there has been a great deal of speculation in the media on this case with regard to Elm Guest House and VIP paedophiles, I do not intend to discuss that as the allegations against the house were dismissed and the case of the VIPs hyped up by "Nick" aka Carl Beech during Operation Midland between November 2014 and March 2016. 

I have been studying this case and the many reports surrounding it, before sitting down to write. As a result of that, I feel that a lot of time has been wasted and the "public eye" taken off this investigation by conspiracy theorists. 

The other thing that really does concern me is that there has not been a single arrest, no one has been questioned in relation to this matter. When you consider that it has been forty-one years and this disappearance concerned a 15-year-old boy.

Okay, so let's look at this a little further into things and I will give you my opinions. .

So, a young boy grows up nice and peaceful, doesn't get in with any gangs or unsavoury types, lives on a council estate where the chances are he enjoys quite a decent community spirit. Suddenly when he is twelve his life is turned upside down when his father gets a very high profile job in a very powerful organisation and the whole family move to a somewhat exclusive area of London and live in an "elite" cottage provided as part of Tom Allen's job. 

Now let's be fair here, the sudden change of employment for Tom doesn't seem what you might term "an everyday occurrence". Even more back in the 70s than now, jobs like chauffeuring for the Australian High Commission aren't exactly advertised for 'Joe Bloggs' in the local job Centre. I speak from experience when I say that certain jobs are often in a closed shop and passed along from "a man who knows a man", so that rang alarm bells as soon as I began to research this case.

So, Martin changed schools to become a pupil at Central Foundation Boys Grammar School in Cowper Street London EC2, where he apparently excelled in most of his academic subjects. The nearest underground station for Martin to get to and from school was Old Street, which is both a mainline and underground station. 

Old Street station is fed by the Bank branch of The Northern Line between Moorgate and Angel and The Northern City Line between Moorgate and Essex Road Stations. 

On November 5th Martin Allen had spent the day at school as usual and travelled home on the London Underground just as he always did. He planned to go to see his brother, Bob, who lived close to the Holloway Road. Martin remembered that he had to travel home first as he needed to pick up some money for Bob's wife. 

Martin's usual afternoon routine was to travel with his friend Ian Fletcher from Old Street station to Kings Cross station using the Northern Line, then he would get a Piccadilly Line tube Southbound and get off at Gloucester Road. 

Interestingly he would often meet up with his mum on the train, she would sit on the same seat so as he knew where to locate her. Eileen was attending a class on that day and would be home later than normal.

Of course on the 5th November 1979, his mum was not travelling, whether there is any relevance, I can't be sure; I do feel it certainly seems likely that whoever took the teenager away had a good idea of his travel routine and may well have been aware that his mum would not be on the train on that particular day.

He said cheerio to his school buddies at Kings Cross station at around 1550  hours and the last time they recall seeing him he was heading for the Picadilly Line platform to catch his train home. I can only assume that they travelled from Old Street with Martin, then took their own route home, This was to be the last confirmed sighting of the teenager. 

More than ten people gave statements to say that they saw a boy fitting Martin's description on the underground train with a man around 30 years old, with fair hair and a moustache. The only thing that again really doesn't necessarily make sense is that the "witnesses" claimed to have been travelling on different lines, Northern, District and Picadilly lines so clearly at least some witnesses were either mistaken or intentionally mislead police, something that sadly happens a lot in investigations with lots of media coverage. 

Martin's brother confirmed that Martin did arrive home very briefly at around 1700 hours, collected the money for his sister-in-law and left almost at once. Now there are various unconfirmed sightings but they are timed between 1550 hours and 1645 hours so if he popped into his home at around 1700 where were the men he had been seen with? I can't imagine that they were waiting outside, particularly bearing in mind the location of the Allen family home.

Strangely, it has been said that Martin usually arrived home at around 1620 hours, yet his brother clearly said he popped into the home at around 1700 hours so where did he go during those extra 40 minutes and why did nobody question that time difference at that point? Could those 40 minutes bear relevance? Yes, in all honesty, I believe to be very important. The walk from Gloucester Road tube station to Reston Place where he lived is no more than a five-minute walk.

I somehow doubt that Martin's brother would have been mistaken in seeing his own brother enter the house and leave again, so something doesn't add up here. We could suggest the really dark possibility that his brother was lying but I really do doubt that, so I think we are on a safe bet that Martin Allen popped home at 1700 hours on 5th November 1979, so he vanished on route to his elder brother Bob's home.

There are some quite disturbing statements in this story and if they are deemed to be true then I can only question why the people concerned did not react differently. One lady said that she had seen a man push a boy matching Martin's description up against the wall in Gloucester Road underground station, so why allow that to happen unchallenged? If I was to see a child being assaulted I would instantly either intervene or call for help, such as report the incident to station staff.

There are crucial reports of Martin with a man on the platform of the underground station at Gloucester Road tube station they travelled to Earls court and alighted there. According to witnesses that rode in the same carriage the boy, thought to be Martin Allen appeared 'distressed and apprehensive', the man held the boy at the back of the neck. 

The disturbing part that really doesn't seem quite true is that the witness claimed that the man was heard to tell the boy "don't try to run". Now let's be fair we are talking about a weekday at peak rush hour time on a very noisy train that would have been pretty packed, yet the witness heard that, really? 

I'm not sure if all my readers will have ridden on the London Underground but trust me even in modern times with much quieter, smoother running trains we quite often have to raise our voices in order to hear one another at peak times when travelling on the tube in that area of the city. I really find a lot of witness statements, in this case, to be either far-fetched or created as part of some sort of a pretty elaborate cover-up.

What really concerns me in this particular case is the fact that despite an intense search by The Metropolitan Police there have never been any further sightings of 15-year-old Martin Allen or his "abductor". This man that everyone is so sure they saw has never been identified or indeed come forward. 

So getting to the point, what do I think happened to Martin? Do I think he was abducted and murdered by a paedophile? In all honesty, it is likely but not from any VIP ring. If he was taken by force at all I believe it was by a gay man or group of the same that frequented the gents' toilets either at Gloucester Road or Old Street, or both. I reiterate that Martin would almost definitely be on his own by the time he reached Gloucester Road on his return and outgoing journey as reports say he parted from and met his school buddies at Kings Cross.  

I feel from reading between the lines Martin was struggling with or had realised his sexuality and was visiting the little dens of iniquity known by the gay fraternity as "cottages" before or after school and maybe teasing other guys, but something went wrong, He was then put in a difficult position where he had to actually go through with sexual activity and when he said no was taken away by force. 

In support of this, if the witnesses are to be believed then the man that Martin Allen was seen with on that afternoon is described as:

Aged between 30 and 40 years

Around 6 feet tall

Blonde haired with a moustache

Reasonably well-spoken

English speaking

and the important bit. . .

"looked like a raving poofta" 

I believe that there is a possibility that there is also a connection to this "job" that his father had with the Australian High Commission. A lot really doesn't make sense there and it is known that certain people such as Sidney Cooke drove as chauffers for them from time-to-time. How did a council flat dweller from a working-class background get such a job? 

I feel that the boy may have been targeted through the High Commission and that is why when his brother said that he believed the disappearance was connected with someone 'High up', he was advised to be quiet or risk getting hurt. In my experience with another case, people such as those working in The Australian High Commission do not like their activities discussed. 

One point that I know has been suggested by a fellow researcher is that maybe any abductor may well have not been from the UK, hence he was able to vanish without being identified or apprehended. Was he Australian perhaps? Many pieces of the jigsaw puzzle drop into place if my suspicions are correct.

One thing that does raise concern in my mind is that Martin Allen had contact with many celebrities, government officials and even royals. He had photographed Margaret Thatcher, the then Prime Minister and Prince Charles with Diana. Maybe, just maybe if he was a bit of a keen photographer he "saw too much" one day? I'm not sure what he could have seen or even photographed, but it does make me wonder.

There has been another similar case mentioned in connection with this one and that is the disappearance of Vishal Mehrotra, the difference is that Vishal's body was found, I am really not convinced that Martin was murdered immediately, possibly at a later date and the body disposed of far away from London.

Vishal Mehrotra vanished on 29th July 1981 almost two years after Martin Allen, he also went from London, the area of Putney. I am not sure that the two disappearances are linked but, it is, of course, possible and I may blog on that case on another occasion. 

Unfortunately, The Metropolitan Police initially treated Martin Allen as "just another teenage runaway" for the first few days, simply because there are just so many that do run off every day.  Quite a few days had passed before they decided that in fact, things were somewhat more serious. 

I will be following this up in due course with a further blog on some points of this case when I have had time to really digest the evidence but for now, my submissions are that I believe Martin Allen was not so much 'abducted' but went off with a man not quite wilfully, shall we say "by being persuaded".

I believe there is a very strong chance that there was an Australian involvement and I am not quite satisfied that he was murdered at the time, but may well be dead now. I do not believe that his disappearance was linked with a VIP paedophile ring and I do not feel that there was any connection to any guest house, least of all "The Elm Guest House".

Although this is the end of this blog, I will not be resting from this case so I hope that you will get in touch if you would like to discuss things further. 

Of course, if you have any information, even after all these years that may bring Martin Allen's family closure then contact Crimestoppers 0800 555 111 or via their online web page https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information

If you want to get in touch then my emails are:

jaradcoldcases@protonnail.com

jarad.adams20@gmail.com

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/adams_jarad

Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jarad-adams-8360751b4/

 

Unsolved Murders in Devon & Cornwall

 

Reading clockwise from top left the victims of these unsolved murders are: Lyn Bryant, Peter Solheim, Esther Soper, Kate Bushell, Les Bate, Genette Tate, Monica Hughes and Peter Hughes

Because of the in-depth research going on into a specific case that we are working on at present, I have not been able to dedicate quite as much time as I would like to this site, I thought I would just pop this one up to keep our true crime fans grey matter busy.

In these times cases never really, truly go cold because modern policing allows for regular case reviews and of course computerised databases are updated every time a new clue or lead comes to light, combined with that is the amazing forensic science, which just changes every day.  Sadly with the passing of time and as media input lessens even the most serious investigations get left behind and remain unsolved.

The counties of Devon and Cornwall are one of those areas where there have been some pretty notorious murders that despite rigorous investigation appear to have been somewhat forgotten and are now just laying on file waiting for a clue to be "miraculously" uncovered to bring them back to life.

This particular area of the UK is made up of some towns, a couple of cities and an abundance of rural area. The road and rail links to other parts of the UK leave a lot to be desired and many locals seem to be quite a way behind in their approach to life.  I am of the opinion that this could be at least part of the reason for such a number of serious crimes being unsolved for a long time. 

Please don't be concerned I am not suggesting that there is a bunch of lunatic murderers out there waiting to pounce, far from it. To coin a phrase from BBC Crimewatch; "Remember these cases are extremely rare". Nonetheless, there are a significant number of major crimes, particularly murders that remain open and in need of attention.

Here are just a few of the most serious cases that are seemingly cold and unresolved.

Lyn Bryant

This is a case that I have blogged on previously you can read the full story Here

The 41-year-old victim of this seemingly pointless murder was killed on October 20th 1998 whilst out walked her dog in Ruan High Lanes, just outside Truro in Cornwall. 

Her body was found by a tourist in the gateway of a field, her clothing had been disturbed indicating a possible sexual element to the killing and she had been viciously attacked with multiple stab wounds to her neck, throat and back.

There seems to be quite a lot of very useful pieces of information and witness statements suggesting who Lyn Bryant had been in contact with prior to her murder, even some indication as to a vehicle that was thought to have followed her earlier that day, but the case ran cold due to lack of investigation combined with theorists suggesting extremely unlikely links to other murders based purely on a singular point of the victims had also been walking dogs. 

Peter Solheim 

This is what you may deem a partially solved murder as the victim's partner of some 9 years is currently serving a prison sentence for "Conspiring to Commit Murder" by planning and arranging the killing but not actually carrying out the deed. 

Solheim has been revealed to have been a very unsavoury character with an evil and very dark side to him. During a trial at Truro Crown Court in 2012 involving two notorious paedophiles, Jack Kemp and Peter Petrauske it was revealed that Peter Solheim had been involved in a vile ring that had abused children for a considerable number of years in ritualistic pagan and satanic settings.

Peter Solheim's former partner, Margaret James was convicted of conspiracy to arrange his murder, despite none of the motives really adding up and is rightly still appealing her 20-year sentence to this day. You can read more on her story by clicking Here

A very interesting blog looking at the unsolved murder was published by lolly true crime which you can read here why not take a look? 

Peter Hughes

Peter Hughes, Monica Hughes and Joan Harper were found dead in the Penhallow Hotel in Newquay, Cornwall after a fire on 18th August 2007.

Four members of staff from the hotel were arrested; Two hotel managers, the bar manager and the hotel porter but The Crown Prosecution Service said that it was not possible to bring charges due to insufficient evidence and the four were released without charge.

Local council took private prosecutions against the hotel owners for breaches of fire safety alleging a contravention of The Regulatory Reform Order (Fire Safety) Act 2005. The court ordered the owners to pay a total of £142,000 (One hundred & forty-two thousand pounds) in fines and costs. Two company directors denied any personal responsibility for the deaths and the prosecution felt it was not in the public interest to pursue the charges to trial. 

The hotel had been inspected in 2006 and several issues were raised including the lack of the appropriate L2 alarm system, only 26 of the 52 rooms had self-closing doors and some windows around the fire escape area did not have the fire-resistant glass fitted. 

The company admitted that it was fully aware of the faults but did not deem them as urgent but had begun to look into making arrangements for the upgrade works to be carried out. 

Fire investigators said that evidence pointed to the fire being started deliberately on the ground floor in the hotel bar's drink store using a naked flame. There was no evident motive for the arson but as a result of the ferocity of the fire, flames spread fast and at times leapt 30 feet into the air. 100 firefighters tackled the blaze with the first crews arriving within 4 minutes of the 999 call being received at 0017 hours, the first officers to reach the scene reported that "the hotel was already well alight". 

The hotel was demolished after it was deemed too badly damaged to be repaired 

Kate Bushell

The murder of 14-year-old Exwick schoolgirl Kate Bushell has never been solved despite a massive police investigation and a renewed appeal for information on the 20th anniversary of the killing. 

Kate was murdered on November 15th 1997 as she walked a neighbour's dog just a short distance from her home. Her body was found in a field just off Exwick Lane by her father on the same evening after he went out to look for her because she had failed to return home. 

The teenager had been killed by a vicious knife wound to her throat and when found her jogging bottoms and knickers had been pulled down to below her knees, yet there was no evidence of a sexual assault. It is my belief that the lowering of clothing may well have been for some sick glorifying of the murder or even to take photographs. 

I recently published a full article on this case which you can read by clicking this link

Esther Soper

51-year-old Esther Soper was a widow living alone in Plymouth, Devon. She had a slightly unusual lifestyle due to her religious dedication as an Exclusive Brethren a very strict sect of the Christian church.

The widow had been in the process of trying to sell her house in Trematon Terrace, Mutley Plain when she was brutally murdered on New Years Day 1976. Her body was found, wrapped in curtains in the hallway of her home by two fellow members of the Exclusive Brethren when they came to check on her well being after she had failed to attend a church meeting. 

Mrs Soper had been bludgeoned to death with a heavy glass or ceramic cider bottle and strangled with her own tights, the latter being some kind of weird and unnecessary act that is thought to have some kind of sexual overtone. It is possible that there was some sort of link between her religious beliefs.

Esther and her husband had both been regular members of the church for a long time and it is quite obvious that one way or another her murder had a connection to her membership of the Exclusive Brethren (aka The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church). Whether she was killed by someone from the church or someone who took umbrage at her beliefs it is not yet clear, but I am delighted to be working with a team who are passionate to further review this unsolved case, so we hope to have more answers in the fullness of time. 

Two recent blogs published by Lolly true crime make very interesting reading, you may like to read them for yourself. Blog one is Here (blog one) and the second updated blog is Here (blog two). There are ongoing enquiries in connection with those two blog posts, so I recommend you subscribe to the blogs so as to keep up to date.

The Esther Soper murder is not what I deem a "normal case", there are a lot of questions where the answers are so obvious, yet the police did not even seem to ask. One thing that really rattles the team is that not a single person has ever been arrested or even questioned about this murder, the truth is there and must out.

Les Bate

On April 12th 2002 Les Bate had been out for drinks at one of his favourite public houses The Maltsters Arms in Chapel Amble in Cornwall. Witness statements say that he had been waving a wallet around containing an estimated £1,000 in cash and a cheque for £11,000.

The next day Mr Bate's daughter had tried to contact him from her home in Australia and having constantly got no reply had become very concerned so she called her brother Martin who lived close to Les Bate and asked him to check on their father.

When Matin Bate eventually got into his father's home he discovered the body of Les Bate in a pool of blood on the floor of the utility room. There was no sign of a weapon, no evidence of a fight and no indication of forced entry. 

There was no immediate police investigation until some ten days had passed when the second post-mortem examination found that Les Bate could not possibly of died by accident.

His head had been smashed into the washing machine an injury that the Home Office pathologist said could not have been caused by a simple fall. He had deep bruising to his back which was conducive with having been knelt on or stood on and rib fractures indicative of someone kicking him from above. The injuries had caused a major blockage to a coronary artery which ultimately caused death.

The 71-year-old was described as "larger than life" character whose brusque manner could sometimes alienate people, but he was a "true Cornish character" by heart.

He was a farmer and self-made millionaire, owner of four farms and hundreds of acres of land. 

Detectives believe that the target of the murder was most likely the wallet that Les had been waving around in the pub on the night before he was found dead. 

Officers worked extremely hard to try to find Mr Bate's killer and forensic scientists found traces of blue suede in the rear pocket of his trousers where he kept his wallet but despite this, neither the wallet nor indeed the killer has ever been found and the case remains unsolved.

Genette Tate 

This case was one of the most high-profile investigations of the time. 13-year-old Genette Tate was out on her relief paper round job in the village of Aylesbeare, near Exeter, Devon when she simply vanished without a trace. 

It has been suggested that the serial killer Robert Black may have been responsible for the disappearance and presumed murder of the child on 19th august 1978 but I really don't think so. I feel there is a much more local connection and I feel the person responsible has lived with this for the past 42 years if they are even now still alive. 

I published an article on this case not long ago which details the case which you can read by clicking here. It is worth noting that this is one of the longest-running and best known missing person cases and has been described by Devon & Cornwall Police as a murder enquiry. Despite those factors, the case of missing schoolgirl Genette Tate remains unsolved.

In conclusion

These cases are all extremely serious and the fact that so many remain unsolved and somewhat cold is of very real concern. I am of the opinion that one or two unsolved murders on a particular police force books are a little concerning, but when it comes to several then questions do start to need answers. 

As I mentioned previously at least one of these cases is receiving serious attention but aside from writing blogs and chasing down the media to help in keeping the cases in the public eye, there is only so much that we as individuals can do. 

Please if you have any information on any of these cases that you have just read about, even the smallest thing then do contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or contact them online via their web page www.crimestoppers-uk.org 

I will leave it there and remind you as always if you have any UK case unsolved/cold or active but simply not getting anywhere do get in touch. I can offer case studies, reports, case reviews, writing for publications, research and scripts for film, documentary, podcast or even just a simple blog. 

My email address is: jaradcoldcases@protonmail.com

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