A group known as the A6 Committee was set up, with newspaper articles following and demands for an independent review in the House of Lords. The police issued an appeal to boarding-house keepers to report any unusual or suspicious guests. The man tied Storie's hands behind her back with Gregsten's tie and then saw a duffle bag containing some clean clothing. Alamy and its logo are trademarks of Alamy Ltd. and are registered in certain countries. They compared his DNA to that found on Valerie's underwear and the handkerchief in which the murder weapon had been contained, and found a conclusive match. However, what isn't well known is Valerie's side of the story. After his release, his father resigned his job as dustman with Wembley council to start a window cleaning business with his son in a futile attempt to keep him away from crime. Was Michael actually going to leave his wife and two boys? House-to-house inquiries have also been carried out. Michael was 14 years older than her and married with two children, though he was in the process of separating from his wife. A brutal crime at Deadman's Hill On August 22, 1961, lovers Gregsten and Storie were parked next to a cornfield in a Morris Minor when a revolver was thrust into the car and a cockney voice let them know they were being held up. Neutral Citation Number (2002) Crim 1141, 'Musing about The A6 Bedfordshire murder', https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=James_Hanratty&oldid=1135732016. This should have been the end of the matter, but for the rest of her life Valerie was hounded by the media, campaign groups and celebrities including John Lennon and Yoko Ono, who insisted Hanratty was innocent. In August 1961, 22-year-old Valerie Storie and 36-year-old Michael Gregsten were the victims of James Hanratty in the notorious 'A6 Murder'. [24] The Committee attempted to assist Hanratty in his defence, and later tried to disprove his conviction. ON Tuesday, August 22, 1961, Michael Gregsten, 36, called at the home of his estranged wife at Sabine House, Abbots Langley, and, after taking his nine-year-old son, Simon, to play in Cassiobury Park, Watford, he collected his girlfriend, Valerie Storie, 22, from work. Valeries immediate instinct was that it was the farmer coming to find out what they were doing and to tell them to get off his land. Clear my name.". The gunman then made to leave but suddenly turned back and shot Valerie several times, with five bullets hitting her. He then retrieved a cloth from the duffle bag, covered Gregsten's bloodied head with it, and ordered Storie to clamber into the back of the car, over Gregsten's body. 'What I do find distasteful is that the family's belief in their son's innocence has been boosted by campaigners who have given them false hope. She was of the opinion that it is for all of us to make the most of what we have been dealt.'. Jamal Edwards, a music producer and entrepreneur, died suddenly in February 2022. It was full of her personal effects including her handbag, a wallet and a purse, a few pound notes and coins pushed inside them. 10:56, 04 Apr 2022 Case 173: Rocio Wanninkhof & Sonia Carabantes, Tributes pour in for Sloughs brave Valerie Storie. "[42], Following the DNA evidence in 2002, Storie earned over 40,000 for her participation in various TV and newspaper documentaries. First sergeant epr bullets june 30, 2022 | | 0 comment | 2:40 pm. A woman who was raped and shot in a car with her lover - and was then hounded by people who were convinced her attacker was innocent, has told her story in a new book from beyond the grave. No defence on the basis of mental history was raised at Hanrattys trial. 'There's a very powerful human story in this. After holding them at gunpoint for two hours, Hanratty told Michael to start driving because he wanted food. Hanratty's uneducated London accent and his 'very large icy-blue eyes' enabled Valerie to identify him from a line-up and she later testified at his trial. At about 9pm on August 22, 1961, Michael Gregsten, 36, and his girlfriend Valerie Storie, 22, were sitting in their Morris Minor 1000 car in a lay-by at Dorney Reach, Buckinghamshire, when. , updated He leaves two sons, aged seven and two. That's basically taking the rest of his brothers life with him, since he knew he wouldn't be cleared. Circa 1962. The Criminal Cases Review Commission announced yesterday that the case of. Michael Gregsten with his wife Janet before he was murdered in his car on the A6 by James Hanratty. They are by no means risk free but if smoking a pack of cigs is like downing a bottle of wodka on one night, a nicotine pouch is like drinking a half pint in comparison in terms of health risk. Bedfordshire Live spoke to Paul about the newly-released book, which is titled The Long Silence - just as Valerie had intended. ", "Hanratty's body is reburied after DNA testing", "DNA proves Hanratty guilt 'beyond doubt', "The A6 Murder (BBC2 programme transcript)", "Hanratty family in new appeal against murder conviction", "Rape victim speaks out at last about Hanratty", "Community transport service launches new bus", "Tributes pour in for Slough's brave Valerie Storie", Criminal Cases Review Commission Referral, "Hanratty's defence lawyer: "The wrong man was not hanged", Innocent.org.uk Criminal Cases Review Commission, A miscarriage of justice? Storie recalled what the man had said about being on the run for four months, yet he was immaculately dressed in a dark three-piece suit and with well-shined shoes. Surely we could do much better?, Man in his 70s attacked in his home by burglars in Luton. The full text of the Court of Appeals Decision: This page was last edited on 26 January 2023, at 14:31. As they sat there was a tap on the driver's window. Valerie Storie survived the shooting but was left paralysed and wheelchair-bound. The manager of the Alexandra Court Hotel reported a man who had locked himself in his room for five days after the murder, and the police picked him up. Hanratty's early years were troubled. [34] Modern testing of DNA from Hanratty's exhumed corpse and members of his family convinced Court of Appeal judges in 2002 that Hanratty's guilt was proved "beyond doubt". Awesome. But in May 2002 the Court of Appeal ruled that the DNA evidence had established his guilt "beyond doubt". Want the latest Bedfordshire news direct to your inbox? His wife, Maureen Hanratty, said the family had been 'put through hell' because of the behaviour of the authorities. Usher admitted remembering Hanratty and the suitcase, and partly remembered the name of the man as 'Ratty'; he was located by private detectives working for the defence, but was never called as a witness. It was about 1954 that Hanratty became attracted to Soho, where he frequented various clubs and other haunts of the criminal underworld. No precise diagnoses were offered, and it has since been suggested that he suffered from either epilepsy or post-concussional syndrome, which would have had a marked effect on his personality.[8]. Another man obtained a gun for Alphon, whereupon he set off and hijacked the pair. This is a hold-up," a mans voice said. Despite being depicted in the media for decades as a woman who sent an innocent man to his death, Valerie kept quiet. He also wrote a letter to the coroner, in which he referred to the great harm done to the family by Hanratty. It is not known why the trial was moved to Bedford, just nine miles from the murder scene, although this afforded easier access for the now-paraplegic Valerie Storie, who had received treatment at nearby Stoke Mandeville Hospital. Michael Gregston was murdered by James Hanratty 1962. Valerie hid pound notes in her bra to stop Hanratty from taking them. While she died in 2016 before she wrote her book and told her story in her words, The Long Silence is a compelling read with never before heard details of what happened on that fateful night and the impact it had on Valerie's life. He was then buried in the grounds of Bedford Gaol. It details 22 attempts made by Michael and Valerie to escape or frustrate the gunman, including hatching a plan to drive into a policeman if they came across one on the journey in order to get his attention. With the gun was a handkerchief which provided DNA evidence many years later. The Getty Images design is a trademark of Getty Images. Mr Stickler remains interested in pursuing the story further and is looking into another case which he believes might have inspired Hanratty. Paul Stickler's book is available on Amazon here. His DNA was found on a piece of material from Valerie Stories knickers where it would be expected to be if he was guilty; it was also found on the handkerchief found with the gun. The prosecution was led by Graham Swanwick QC, later a High Court judge. Gregsten had been hit twice in the head and died instantly. The journey continued along the A5 through St Albans, which the gunman mistakenly insisted was Watford, before joining the A6. ;Picture taken at home of Mrs. Janet Gregston with her two sons Anthony 3 and Simon (9) 1961. land for sale in highgate, st mary jamaica . Alphon was recorded by PC Ian Thomson as saying "there can't have been any fingerprints in the car otherwise mine would have given me away". RM ID: B5E30P Preview Image details Contributor: Trinity Mirror / Mirrorpix / Alamy Stock Photo File size: 30 MB (1.3 MB Compressed download) Releases: Rachel Muir For Mailonline, Easter getaway havoc as more than 1,100 flights are cancelled with Heathrow airport blaming soaring passenger and staff rotas hit by Covid for long queues as fliers also endure chaos at Manchester and Gatwick, Oligarch who was once Russia's richest man says the nation's billionaire elites need to publicly declare Putin a war criminal to prove they do not work for the Kremlin, Covid lockdowns have left a generation of young children struggling to crawl, talk, share, make friends and use the toilet independently, Ofsted report finds. Her wish was honoured when The Long Silence was released with the title that Valerie had planned to give to her book. Alphon subsequently surrendered himself, and was subjected to an intense interrogation. Bitterness continued in 1970 when the A6 Committee held a public meeting in Bedford to raise awareness of their concerns. The suspect falsely identified himself as 'Frederick Durrant'; he was actually Peter Louis Alphon, a drifter surviving on an inheritance and the proceeds of gambling. Forensic science and the case of James Hanratty, England and Wales Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) Decisions. E-mail this story to a friend Watch/Listen Detectives search the murder scene Man finds A6. After driving them around the English countryside for hours, the intruder shot both Michael and Valerie, leaving them on the side of the road at a location known as Deadman's Hill. [37][38] However, they further went on to note, in the summary of their judgement: The DNA evidence does not stand alone and the Court refers to some of the more striking coincidences in the light of the DNA evidence if James Hanratty was not guilty. If you're looking for a way to stay up to date with the latest breaking news from around Bedfordshire, the BedfordshireLive newsletter is a good place to start. He wrote a suicide letter to Hanratty; it was full of spite and venom, but at no point actually accused him of committing the murder. They covered about 30 miles before the gunman ordered Gregsten to pull into a lay-by on the A6 at Clophill at around 01 . Professor Hobbs said: 'It is important that people understand that it is very easy to jump on a bandwagon and come up with a conclusion that is wrong.'. The A6 Committee made a list of claims which, they contended, indicated that Alphon was the murderer: Paul Foot warned "against jumping to hasty conclusions, in particular about Peter Alphon he really didn't know as much as he pretended. Gregsten was forced to drive down the A6 until he reached Deadman's Hill near Clophill, Bedfordshire. They had been here on a few occasions before, to make love or simply to spend time alone together. Not so much lying to avoid the death sentence, but putting the burden of clearing his name on his brother, even AFTER his death, makes him the worst type of criminal. My evidence has never changed, neither have I ever had any doubts. James Hanratty (4 October 1936 4 April 1962), also known as the A6 Murderer, was a British criminal who was one of the final eight people in the UK to be executed before capital punishment was effectively abolished. [8], Hanratty's capital murder trial started at Bedfordshire Assizes on 22 January 1962 before Mr Justice Gorman and a jury; it was originally to have been heard at the Old Bailey, as requested by Hanratty's defence counsel, Michael Sherrard QC, later CBE. [31] Woffinden wrote that there is no evidence that the witnesses even saw the same Morris Minor. This time, she did. "James Hanratty killed Michael Gregsten. However, there was another person called William Usher, who did have two fingers missing from one hand, which looked withered. He was a scientist at the laboratory and being a talented mathematician occasionally taught evening classes at St Albans Technical College, so extra money was coming in, but it nevertheless worried him. And when she was found the following morning she was able to give a hugely detailed description of what happened. Nudds also now added that Alphon had left the hotel 'calm and composed'. By the age of 11 he had been declared ineducable at St James Catholic High School, Burnt Oak, Barnet, although his parents steadfastly refused to accept he was in any way mentally deficient and successfully resisted attempts to have him placed in a special school. Despite being left paralysed and having to spend several months undergoing therapy at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, she returned to her job as a member of the on-the-spot accident team at the Road Research Laboratory just ten months after the ordeal. [12] Kerr alerted Sydney Burton, a farm labourer, who flagged down two cars and asked the drivers to call an ambulance. Despite this, she was hounded by the media and celebrities, including John Lennon and Yoko Ono, who criticised her for allegedly sending an innocent man to his grave. Valentine's Day collision leaves moped rider with 'life-changing' injuries. At the trial Nudds also stated that the man, upon leaving, had asked the way to a bus stop for a 36A bus, though his statement to police had merely mentioned the 36 bus. At about 9pm on August 22, 1961, Michael Gregsten, 36, and his girlfriend Valerie Storie, 22, were sitting in their Morris Minor 1000 car in a lay-by at Dorney Reach, Buckinghamshire, when there was a tap on the driver's window. It was a conclusive match. .. [citation needed]. [41], Valerie Storie was quoted as saying "I identified the guilty man. This standard of travel plan isnt good enough in the modern age. On 3 July 1957, aged 20, five months after his release from Wormwood Scrubs, Hanratty was sentenced at Brighton Magistrates' Court to six months' imprisonment (he served four) for a variety of motoring offences, including theft of a motor vehicle and driving without a licence. Even Valerie's own Member of Parliament, Joan Lestor, insisted Hanratty was innocent. Streamline your workflow with our best-in-class digital asset management system. During 1962, the case caught the interest of London businessman Jean Justice, the son of a Belgian diplomat and partner of barrister Jeremy Fox. Two civil servants employed at the Road Research Laboratory at Langley, near Slough, Michael Gregsten and Valerie Storie, drew up in a Morris Minor car outside the Old Station Inn, a public house just outside the village of Taplow. [citation needed] Police went back to Nudds, the hotel manager (who himself had a lengthy criminal record for fraud and other offences), who now said that his second statement was a lie, and his first statement, implicating 'Ryan', was in fact true. But tonight, they were talking. Why did you shoot him?" He then ordered her to drag Michael's body out of the car to the edge of the lay-by before ordering her to show him how to operate the vehicle. Snus is a pasteurized, air-cured, smokeless and spitless tobacco, usually found in pouches. By the time of his arrest for the murder of Michael Gregsten, Hanratty had already accumulated four convictions for motoring offences and housebreaking. Having recently re-read the late Paul Foot's excellent book "Who killed Hanratty", which he painstakingly researched for over 5 years I remain convinced (rightly or wrongly) that the original suspect, Peter Louis Alphon, is the real murderer of Michael Gregsten. Hanratty telephoned Scotland Yard several times, saying he had fled because he had no credible alibi for the date in question, but repeated each time that he had nothing to do with the A6 murder. The report made there acknowledged his unhappy home background (he claimed he was frightened of his mother and had no filial feelings towards his father) and his mental handicaps. [citation needed], On 7 September, Meike Dalal was attacked in her home in Richmond, Surrey, by a man claiming to be the A6 murderer, whom she later identified as Alphon in an identity parade on 23 September. Mr Gregsten's body was tonight identified by his wife, Janet. They drove around the suburbs of North London, apparently aimlessly. [35], James Hanratty's body was exhumed in 2001 to extract his DNA. Journalists such as Paul Foot and Bob Woffinden campaigned for years to prove Hanratty's innocence, casting doubt on Valerie's evidence. This turned out to be untrue, as her and her boyfriend, Michael Gregsten, were held up by a gunman and held captive in Gregsten's car for five hours. They drove via London Heathrow Airport, up through the Middlesex suburbs, on to the A5 and then on to the A6 to Clophill, Bedfordshire. I looked in his eyes and he looked in mine. Miss Storie's mother, Mrs John Storie, said: "Michael came here last night and had tea with Valerie. When Paul was handed what he calls the 'Storie papers', made up of her own notes on that fateful night as well as police tapes, he decided her story needed to be told. Storie screamed, "You bastard! Paul Foot and some other campaigners argued elsewhere that the DNA evidence could have been contaminated, in view of the fact that the small DNA samples from items of clothing, kept in a police laboratory for over 40 years in conditions that, as they argue, "do not satisfy modern evidential standards", had to be subjected to amplification techniques to yield any genetic profile. Collect, curate and comment on your files. 'Feral pigeons' are terrorising Biggleswade's businesses, meeting hears, The 'infestation' has grown to around 50 pigeons, according to one town councillor, Closures expected with Lloyds Pharmacy set to sell off stores across UK, This follows the news that the pharmacy brand is also closing all of the 237 Lloyds outlets inside Sainsbury's, More than 40,000 defrauded from Luton Borough Council during cyber-attack, Councillor Rob Roche, portfolio holder for finance, said: "Money stolen from the council is money stolen from the residents of Luton. 2022 Casefile True Crime Podcast. After a failed escape attempt, Hanratty was transferred to Camp Hill Prison, Isle of Wight. You shot him. Hanratty confessed to his defence barrister that he had invented part of the Liverpool story as he was unsure he could prove where he was. It was not yet dark, but twilight had set in and visibility was not perfect. After ignoring her pleas to shoot her as well, or let her get help for Gregsten, the gunman told her to kiss him. Hanratty was convicted of the murder in 1962 and sentenced to death. Author Paul Stickler said: 'This is a story that really does need to be told and it's not been told in the way that it should be before now. But then the other suspect, Peter Alphon, publicly confesses to the crime. However, she was certain that this occurred on Monday 21 August. I could not ever relax.". Storie and Gregsten pleaded with him not to shoot them. Michael gregsten wife / june 11, 2022 june 11, 2022 / were achilles and patroclus cousins. What Is The Case Of Michael Gregsten's Suicide. 83 Michael Gregsten Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images CREATIVE Collections Project #ShowUs Creative Insights EDITORIAL VIDEO BBC Motion Gallery NBC News Archives MUSIC BLOG BROWSE PRICING ENTERPRISE VisualGPS INSIGHTS BOARDS CART SIGN IN Images Images Creative Editorial Video Creative Editorial FILTERS CREATIVE EDITORIAL VIDEO Shortly afterwards, he began psychiatric treatment as an outpatient at the Portman Clinic. His last words to his family were "Mick, I am completely innocent. Whilst he was a professional thief, he had no convictions for violence, and apparently had never possessed a gun, although he later admitted to the police that he had attempted to obtain one after his last release from prison in March 1961. Signing up to the newsletter is simple. Neutral Citation Number: [2002] Crim 1141", "James Hanratty: Close to a final verdict? However, as Paul's book reveals, these words were a mask for her true feelings. In police line-ups, Storie did not recognise Alphon, but eventually identified Hanratty. Next, use the -inch open-end wrench and pull out the thermistor by turning it counter-clockwise. [28] However, Bob Woffinden wrote that there was only one occasion when Justice and Jeremy Fox supported Alphon financially, when Fox paid a hotel bill for him. Hanratty also raped Gregsten's fiance, Valerie Storie, shot her five times and left her for dead. The couple were found by a police patrol in the lay-by on the A6 at Deadman's Hill, near Luton, at 0645 BST today. mobile homes for rent in hammond, la / bourbon red turkey egg production / bourbon red turkey egg production [citation needed]. 1985: West German spy chief defects to East, Man finds A6 murder weapon - broadcast 25 August 1961. The car Gregsten and Storie had been using at the time of the attack, a grey four-door 1956 Morris Minor registration 847BHN, was found abandoned behind Redbridge tube station in Essex later that evening. The campaign got even more attention when Beatle John Lennon, and his partner, Yoko Ono, joined the campaign. Inside a parked Morris Minor was a 36-year-old scientist, Michael Gregsten, and his 22-year-old girlfriend, Valerie Storie. There was plenty of evidence that Hanratty had been in London all day on Monday 21 August: in the morning he had deposited a suit into a dry cleaners' in Swiss Cottage; he had been to his friend Charles France's house on the Monday afternoon, and visited the Vienna Hotel in the evening. He also claimed the gun went off by accident. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. [34] DNA was donated by Hanratty's mother and brother,[22] which they expected to exonerate him when compared with DNA extracted from surviving evidence. France, who had suffered from bouts of severe depression for many years, committed suicide by gassing himself (his third attempt) about two weeks before the execution. [citation needed] She remembered a man resembling Hanratty, and at first said he stayed there during the week of 1926 August but later said she couldnt really remember what week he did stay. A BBC Panorama episode in 1966 included extracts from the Jean Justice tapes. He started to bombard his own solicitor with threatening phone calls and letters. Try to reignite the pilot light. Select from premium Janet Gregsten of the highest quality. For over thirty five years one person remained silent. In July of the following year he fell from his bicycle, injuring his head and remaining unconscious for 10 hours; he was admitted to Wembley Hospital, where he remained for nine days. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. He said: "Whenever journalists came to her asking to tell her story she said no, as they'd misrepresent her. Valerie Storie did not recognise Alphon in an identity parade, and he was released four days later after being detained on a charge of assaulting Meike Dalal. Enter your email address below to get the latest news and exclusive content from The History Press delivered straight to your inbox. Pre-pay for multiple images and download on demand. She told them: "I have never had a problem with the truth. On Tuesday, 22nd August, 1961, Michael Gregsten, 36, a research physicist, called at the address of his estranged wife at Sabine House, Abbots Langley, and. He always protested his innocence claiming he was 250-miles from the scene in a bed-and-breakfast in North Wales at the time of the attack. Michael Gregston was murdered by James Hanratty 1962. After six hours they returned to ask the judge for the definition of 'reasonable doubt'. When this evidence went to court in 2002, proving Hanratty's guilt beyond any doubt, reporters once again hounded Valerie to speak. According to Alphon, a man had paid him a sum of 5,000 to end the affair between Gregsten and Storie. Alphon was the son of a senior figure at Scotland Yard. He was sent to Walton Prison, Liverpool, where he was again identified as a psychopath.[9]. Even when she was vindicated at a trial in 2002, she said little more than a few words publicly. Valerie Storie after receiving treatment for stab wounds on the A6 where Michael Gregsten was murdered is taken to court during trial against James. [citation needed]. The man then kept them there for two hours, chattering to them incessantly. cid exam previous question papers. Free shipping for many products! After forcing them to drive 60 miles, gunman James Hanratty murdered Michael before raping Valerie and emptying a number of rounds into her body. Michael wound down his window, only halfway, when a gun was thrust through the gap, its muzzle pointing directly at them. The hotel manager, William Nudds, made a statement to police naming the last occupant of the room as 'James Ryan'. By August 22nd 1961 the marriage of Michael and Janet Gregsten had been in difficulties for some time.The 3 year love affair between Valerie Storie and Gregsten had intensified and on 1st August 1961 Gregsten had taken what seemed like an irrevocable step to end his marriage.He took a flat in Maidenhead and told his wife he would be moving in on He argued that the evidence may have been contaminated because of lax handling procedures.[34][40]. michael gregsten wife / June 11, 2022 June 11, 2022 / were achilles and patroclus cousins /. I do this act in the knowledge that it will clear my family's character of any act or wrong'.