Barry George now - wrong Jill Dando conviction to fleeing England living in fear
The murder of well-liked journalist Jill Dando left the country shaken, and also led to a heartbreaking wrong conviction.
Crimewatch presenter Jill was shot outside her home in Fulham, south-west London, on the morning of April, 26, 1999, sparking the biggest murder inquiry in Metropolitan Police history. Ten months into the investigation, officers began to consider Barry George as a serious subject, believing him to fit the psychological profile of an obsessive loner provided by forensic criminal psychologist Dr Adrian West in May 1999.
Barry, who lived just 500 yards away from Jill's flat, had a record of stalking women, and had previously been convicted of attempted rape and indecent assault. After searching Barry's flat, officers discovered images of various local women, as well as four copies of the Jill Dando memorial issue of Ariel, the BBC's in-house magazine.
A forensic scientist also found a very small particle, which he believed could be firearms residue, in Barry's coat, while a photo of the suspect holding a blank-firing pistol only heightened their suspicions. These factors, paired with the 'repeated lies' Barry reportedly told under questioning led them to believe they'd found their killer at last.
Conviction and fears over violent prison death
Jill Dando's murder sent shockwaves across the country (Courtesy of Netflix)Just a few days after his arrest, Barry, now 63, was charged with Jill's murder. After standing trial in July 2001, Barry was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment by a 10-1 jury majority, with the tiny amount of residue viewed as the most damning piece of evidence against him.
Netflix announces Jill Dando documentary 20 years after tragic shooting
There were some who expressed doubts as to whether Barry, who had an IQ of just 75, had the intellectual capability to pull off such a crime, given that Jill was killed with assassin precision with a single bullet to the head. His defence barrister William Clegg KC was convinced his client was innocent, later telling the Metro: "I just felt it was clearly a professional shooting – a professional hit. He was somebody who I don't think had the intelligence to be able to have pulled off such a professional assassination. I mean, it was quite a meticulously planned shooting."
London-born Barry, who has autism, frontal lobe brain damage, and learning difficulties, remained determined to prove his innocence, despite setbacks. Barry attempted to make an appeal at London's Court of Appeal, however three judges rejected his claim, deeming it 'unsafe'. Similarly, the House of Lords refused to allow him to challenge his conviction in December 2002.
All the while, Barry had to endure the 'hell' of life behind bars, dealing with being heckled, spat at, and the constant lingering threat of something worse to come. Barry spent the first 12 months of his sentence at London's notorious Belmarsh prison, where, as reported by The Guardian, he was placed on suicide watch after attempting to take his own life. He was then transferred to the high security HMP Whitemoor that has previously housed killers such as Dennis Nilsen and Jeremy Bamber.
Speaking with the Mirror in 2002, while still incarcerated, Barry admitted he feared he would die a violent death in prison. He shared: "It is just a matter of time before I am killed ... I think I will die in prison. Somebody will have me done away. I never shot Jill, never did it, but I don't think people in authority want to know. They would rather I die and the whole thing go away. I keep telling them that I didn't do it and that somebody in the underworld was responsible, but they just don't want to know or help me."
He added: "I don't like to let the warders out of my sight ... I feel there is a contract out on my head and one of the prisoners is just waiting for the right time to strike. A few come up to me in the dinner queue and say 'watch your back mate, they are after you'. Lots of the prisoners liked Jill and blamed me for murdering her."
In August 2008, after eight gruelling years behind bars, Barry was acquitted unanimously by a jury after finally being granted a retrial after new evidence emerged which undermined the safety of his conviction.The minuscule particle that had left members of the jury convinced of his guilt during his first trial was found this time to be “neutral” and was deemed inconsequential, and therefore inadmissible as evidence.
In a statement read by his lawyer outside the Old Bailey following the retrial, Barry said: "I am overwhelmed. I want to thank my family, legal team, and all the people who have supported me in prison and around the country."
Fleeing to Ireland and living in terror
Barry believes he won't feel free until Jill's real killer is found (Netflix)In 2010, two years after his acquittal, Barry moved to Ireland to be closer to his sister and lead a quieter life. Unfortunately, finding peace has proven difficult, and despite no longer being locked up, Barry has previously admitted that he doesn't feel fully free.
Opening up in a 2018 interview with the Mirror, Barry told how he lives in fear whenever he makes rare visits back to the UK and worries that something bad will happen to him. He explained: "I do not feel free. I think about this case every single day. Every time I come to England, the officers are polite but they'll be noting down my presence, every time I go back, and monitoring what I'm doing. I live looking over my shoulder. Nobody should have to live like that."
Indeed, until Jill's real murderer is found, Barry believes he'll remain under a cloud of suspicion. Speaking during an ITV documentary on the infamous case, Barry reflected: "There are probably a select few people who may think, 'Okay, he's been through the case. He's got off on a technicality, probably, or whatever'. But my conscience was clear – I knew I hadn't done it. I find it sad that they done what they've done to me and that they didn't have no sound evidence. The truth of the real killer is somewhere out there."
Jill Dando's brother hopes Netflix series will find killer after years of pain
You can find out more about Barry George's life behind bars in HMP Belmarsh: Evil Behind Bars, with the second episode airing 9pm, January 10 on Channel 5
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
