News about Jill Dando

Barry George didn't murder Jill Dando and Nick Ross is 'wrong' to say the original prime suspect in the case would struggle to prove his innocence, claims cop turned TV investigator Mark Williams-Thomas

www.dailymail.co.uk, April 29, 2024
Detective turned TV sleuth Mark Williams-Thomas has also said the former Crimewatch presenter influenced the Met's investigation because he was so sure George killed Jill. In contrast Mr Williams-Thomas said today: 'If this was investigated today Barry would not even get charged'. Mr Ross said last night that he knows who killed his friend and colleague Jill 25 years ago today - and insists that despite being acquitted of her murder, Barry George would have an 'uphill task' to prove his innocence. But hitting back today,  Mr Williams-Thomas, a former Surrey detective who has investigated many of Britain's most high-profile crimes, said: 'No wrong Nick - Barry has answered every question every put to him'. He also claimed that DCI Hamish Campbell, the lead detective on the case, is also 'fixated' on George being the killer. In a a series of social media posts Mark said Mr Ross is 'absolutely wrong and refuses to accept anyone else was responsible even if someone else, the real killer, was caught .

Crimewatch co-host Nick Ross has said he knows who killed Jill Dando

www.dailymail.co.uk, April 29, 2024
The former BBC host has dismissed suggestions Jill was shot by a Serbian hitman and said Barry George would have an 'uphill task' to prove his innocence in any new hearing.

I know who killed Jill Dando, says her Crimewatch co-host Nick Ross - and this is why I think Barry George should NEVER have been released

www.dailymail.co.uk, April 29, 2024
Nick Ross has said he knows who killed Jill Dando on the 25th anniversary of his Crimewatch co-presenter's shocking murder. The former BBC host has dismissed suggestions that Jill was shot by a Serbian hitman and said Barry George would have an 'uphill task' to prove his innocence if he was granted the new hearing he is demanding. George is the only person to have been convicted over Jill's murder, although he was later acquitted after experts raised concerns about potential cross-contamination of evidence. But Mr Ross, whose close friend Jill was just 37 when she was shot in the back of the head arriving at her home in Fulham, West London , in April 1999, says he thinks the prime suspect in her death should never have been released.

Jill Dando's neighbour relives horrifying moment she discovered newsreader shot dead outside her home - and how she's still traumatised by memory 25 years on

www.dailymail.co.uk, April 26, 2024
When Jill Dando's friend and neighbour found her dead outside her home, she was left with traumatic memories that still haunt her. Twenty-five years ago today, on April 26, 1999, the much loved presenter of Crimewatch was shot dead by an unknown gunman. TV producer Helen Doble (right), now 64, who lived just two streets away from her friend in Fulham, West London , had spotted Ms Dando's car outside her home and so made a point of looking at her door to see if she was there to chat. Ms Dando, who mainly lived with her fiance Alan Farthing at his home, had called in to her own house in what is believed to have been a spur of the moment decision - and was shot dead by an unknown gunman. 'Taking in the horror, it took me a few seconds to realise that the person slumped on the doorstep and sprawled on the tiny path was actually Jill herself because she looked like… that,' Ms Doble told MailOnline. 'Many details are too graphic, but instinctively I knew she was dead.' She added that Jill's 'beautiful engagement ring' - which she said represented the 'hope, dreams and optimism for her future - was still on her finger. Ms Dando's mobile phone - which was lying on the ground - kept ringing and Ms Doble wanted to answer it in the belief that it might be her fiance, but knew that to do so would be to disturb the blood-covered crime scene.

'Jill would kick off her high heels at the end of Crimewatch so I would be taller on TV': Jill Dando's former colleague Nick Ross pays a loving tribute to his beloved co-star 25 years on from her death

www.dailymail.co.uk, April 26, 2024
With more than a passing resemblance to Princess Diana and the status of a national treasure firmly cemented, Jill Dando (pictured left with Crimewatch colleague Nick Ross and right in the Seychelles presenting the Holiday programme) was, to millions, the girl next door. So her murder at the hands of a lone gunman on April 26, 1999, was a searing shock to the nation rivalled only by the Princess of Wales ' death less than two years earlier. Now, 25 years on from her killing, her former colleague Nick Ross has paid a loving tribute to the star as he continues his drive to further her legacy. Mr Ross, now 76, told MailOnline that his friend was 'uniquely generous', revealing how she would 'kick off her high heels' to ensure he was taller when the pair signed off on Crimewatch - the show they presented together for four years from 1995. She was, he added, 'one of the greatest broadcasters of the time', despite having to battle against 'misogynistic' newsroom colleagues. He led efforts to fund a pioneering crime science centre named in honour of Ms Dando which opened at University College London in 2001. Inset: Police examine the street outside Ms Dando's home in the days after her murder.

'The brutal killing that today stunned everyone here at the BBC Television Centre': How 'devastated' colleagues told the world of Jill Dando's 'senseless murder' - 25 years ago today

www.dailymail.co.uk, April 26, 2024
The beloved 37-year-old journalist was shot in the head on her front doorstep in Fulham on April 26, 1999 - with her killer still unfound and the case untouched for 10 years. Ms Dando's injuries were so severe that police could not initially tell whether she had been shot or stabbed. Grieving colleagues had to deliver the 'dreadful' news to the rest of the world, despite many being close friends with Ms Dando. Reporting from the scene, former BBC presenter Clarence Mitchell said on live TV: 'This has been one of the saddest reporting jobs that I've had to fulfill in many a long time. I knew Jill well and it really is heartbreaking to report on the murder of a colleague like this.'

Five-bed Victorian house in west London where TV presenter Jill Dando was shot dead on her doorstep goes on the market for the first time in 15 years for £2.75m

www.dailymail.co.uk, April 25, 2024
The West London home where Jill Dando became the victim of a doorstep assassin has gone back on the market for the first time in 15 years, MailOnline can reveal. As the 25th anniversary of the presenter's death arrives tomorrow the five bedroom Victorian home where she was killed by a single bullet to the head has come up for sale for £2.75million. The tragic events at the house in the exclusive Munster Village, Fulham, west London, in 1999 have come under fresh scrutiny with the emergence of a new theory into the identity of Ms Dando's killer.

Barry George, the man who was acquitted of Jill Dando's murder, calls on police to investigate Serbian hitman that witness claims looks like man caught on CCTV after the killing

www.dailymail.co.uk, April 25, 2024
The man acquitted of Jill Dando's (left) murder has called for the police to investigate a Serbian hitman that a witness has claimed looks like a mystery man caught on CCTV. Barry George (right), now 64, was convicted of the Crimewatch presenter's brutal killing but was released eight years later following a retrial.  Jill, 37, was shot in the head on her front doorstep 25 years ago and her murder has been the subject of constant speculation - but has remained untouched for 10 years. A facial comparison expert gave 'limited support' to the theory that twice-convicted killer Milorad Ulemek (top inset) looks like an unidentified person spotted along the gunman's likely escape route that night (bottom inset). This is the second lowest on a subjective scale range from 'no support' to 'powerful support'. Mr George wants this line of inquiry investigated, and if the assassin is found to be the person responsible, wants him 'brought from Serbia to the UK' so he can be held accountable.

I know what kind of killer murdered Jill Dando: As wild theories about the TV presenter's death persist, the Met's lead detective tells STEPHEN WRIGHT why he's sure his instincts are right in an exclusive interview

www.dailymail.co.uk, April 24, 2024
April 26, 1999, had started as a quiet day in Scotland Yard's murder unit in Kensington, West London. Detective Chief Inspector Hamish Campbell (above left) had been on call for a week but, with no homicides to investigate, he and his team had become restless. But that day news reached Campbell that a woman appeared to have been stabbed outside her home a few miles away. He and a colleague went to the scene immediately.

Witness who saw man running from Jill Dando murder scene claims person he saw DOES looks like jailed Serbian assassin who Barry George's lawyer believes police should probe over unsolved 1999 shooting

www.dailymail.co.uk, April 24, 2024
A witness who saw a man (inset) running from the scene of Jill Dando's (left) murder has claimed that he looks like a Serbian assassin (right). The beloved 37-year-old journalist's death after she was shot in the head on her front doorstep in April 1999 has been the subject of countless speculation, but the case hasn't been touched in 10 years.  Barry George's defence lawyer has also claimed police should reopen the case to look at twice-convicted killer Milorad Ulemek, who looks like the mystery man. Mr George, now 64, was tried and convicted of the TV presenter's murder but after spending eight years in jail, he was cleared. A facial comparison expert gave 'limited support' to the theory that Ulemek, who is serving 40 years in a Serbian prison, looks like the unidentified person along the gunman's likely escape route. This is the second lowest on a subjective scale range from 'no support' to 'powerful support'. And now a witness who reported seeing a man 'running for his life' from the scene has claimed he looks like the notorious assassin.

Lawyer who defended Barry George over Jill Dando's murder claims police should reopen case and look at Serbian assassin who looks like unidentified person seen on CCTV after the killing

www.dailymail.co.uk, April 23, 2024
Barry George's defence lawyer in the case of Jill Dando's (left) murder has claimed police should reopen the case to look at a Serbian assassin (right) who looks like a mystery man (inset). Mr George, now 64, was tried and convicted of the TV presenter's murder but after spending eight years in jail, he was cleared.  The beloved 37-year-old journalist's death after she was shot in the head on her front doorstep in April 1999 has been the subject of countless speculation but hasn't been touched in 10 years. A facial comparison expert gave 'limited support' to the theory that twice-convicted killer Milorad Ulemek, who is serving 40 years in a Serbian prison, looks like the unidentified person along the gunman's likely escape route. This is the second lowest on a subjective scale range from 'no support' to 'powerful support'. However he said he couldn't discard the possibility that someone with the 'general appearance' of the assassin could be the blurry mystery man, according to The Mirror. But now Michael Mansfield KC - who defended Mr George in his trial - has called for the investigation to be reopened after the expert found similarities between a man seen on CCTV following the murder and a notorious assassin.

She was once an outsider in the Royal Family. The Duchess of Edinburgh now dresses the trousers, as these photographs suggest

www.dailymail.co.uk, March 25, 2024
Since the monarchy's shaming down, she has been touted as the King's unmistakened weapon. And not only have the Duchess of Edinburgh been admired for her service to her country, but also in her fashion choices. One aesthetic has remained constant in Sophie's wardrobe as she transitioned from a career woman to a leading figure in the Royal Family: the trouser jacket.

Eight leading forensic experts say polo player convicted of murder 35 years ago may be innocent

www.dailymail.co.uk, March 13, 2024
Eight esteemed pathologists and forensic experts have cast serious doubt on the Crown's argument that an ex-poloplaying landowner murdered a vagrant with a suffocation technique that was not common among 19th-century body-snatchers. They have denied allegations that Clive Freeman (left) killed Alexander Hardie (right) in Edinburgh's so-called 'Burking' technique perfected by serial murderers in 1828. In one of Scotland's most notorious crimes, William Burke and William Hare murdered 16 people for medical research. Many of the experts write in written reports seen by the Daily Mail that Mr Hardie's death was most likely caused by a mixture of alcohol and prescription drugs, which would have ruled that the most common cause of death is 'unascertained.'

Has this ex-polo playing soldier from a wealthy family spent 35 years in prison for a murder that never happened?

www.dailymail.co.uk, March 13, 2024
The case of 'The Gentleman and the Tramp' was one of the most unusual Old Bailey trials of its day - the fall from grace of a well-connected former soldier accused of a strange murder. After the notorious 19th-century body snatchers Burke and Hare, jurors were informed that Clive Freeman suffocated Alexander 'Sandy' Hardie, a Scottish plumber turned vagrant, in a London flat in April 1988 using a cruel method known as 'Burking.' Freeman was reported to have discovered Burking while serving in the Grey's Scouts, a crack infantry unit formed in the late 1970s during the Rhodesian Bush War.

The top 20 true crime documentaries to watch on demand right now: Our critics sift through hundreds of options to choose the shows worth watching

www.dailymail.co.uk, February 8, 2024
In our unmissable collection of 20 true crime documentaries available right now, famous murders, miscarriages of justice, cruel conmen, and essive cults are among the many crimes on display.

In the aftermath of allegations of a bungling hitman killing a Jill Dando murder case, the multi-millionaire ex-fashion boss accused of sex crimes was implicated instead of a lesser-known journalist who was threatening to reveal allegations about him

www.dailymail.co.uk, September 30, 2023
There's no doubt that Gérald Marie is still living his best life, with his blonde highlights catching the sun and a beautiful mother young enough to hold his daughter on his arm. The multi-millionaire former fashion boss appears to have it all, whether at his one of his palatial homes in France or his stunning villa on the Spanish island of Ibiza. He travels by private jet and chauffeur-driven limousines, eats at the finest restaurants, and favors made-to-measure clothing by Smalto, the exclusive Paris tailors. The flamboyant 73-year-old also has a rock-solid marriage to Russian supermodel Irina Bondarenko, 46, which is something that has been put into doubt, considering the sulphurous allegations levied against him. Mr Marie is not only accused of sex crimes, including rape by several well-known celebrities from his time with the world-famous Elite corporation, but he also finds himself embroiled in the Jill Dando murder probe.

Jill Dando's investigation into the infamous paedophile, Jimmy Savile, contradicts Jill Dando's assertion that he was shot at for questioning the allegations

www.dailymail.co.uk, September 29, 2023
Jill Dando's murder conviction was denied by a private investigator, who was looking at Jimmy Savile. Private investigator Mark Williams-Thomas, 53, said there is 'no sense' in the theory following the unveiling of a new Netflix series named 'Who Killed Jill Dando' on Tuesday. Dando, a former crimewatch host, was shot and killed outside her house in Fulham, West London, on April 26, 1999. Mr Williams-Thomas wrote: "While some people on here suggested that #JillDando was killed for probing Savile and what she knew," she said.

Jill Dando's brother is hoping that a new Netflix documentary about the unsolved murder of a BBC presenter might'prick the conscience of whoever made it' and convince them to come forward

www.dailymail.co.uk, September 26, 2023
On April 26, 1999, the former Crimewatch presenter was shot and killed outside her Fulham, West London, at 37 years old. Her murder spawned one of the Metropolitan Police's oldest man hunts. Barry George, a sex offender, was charged with Ms Dando's murder in 2001 but was cleared at a retrial in 2008. Nigel Dando's book Who Killed Jill Dando, which was announced today, features interviews with Nigel Dando, who is nine years older than his late sister. He told BBC Radio 4's Today program this morning that he thinks his sister's killer is still alive, and that if anyone else who is aware of it will come forward when they see the show.

"I knew I needed to shield my dad when she heard that Jill Dando had died," says the TV presenter's brother, who died on her doorstep in 1999 as the news of her disappearance of her sister Jill Dando was announced.'

www.dailymail.co.uk, September 26, 2023
Jill Dando, a television presenter, was shot and killed on her doorstep in Fulham, west London, causing mass police probes. It remains one of the most high-profile and complicated police investigations in history, with the rising BBC star's gunman still inactive. A new Netflix series named Who Killed Jill Dando is expected to investigate the cold case more than 24 years.

Was model Lisa Brinkworth the real target of a hitman who shot Jill Dando? According to our enlightening dossier, this is the theory behind a major new Netflix probe, which is buried in French legal papers

www.dailymail.co.uk, September 26, 2023
Jill Dando (left), a more than 23 years after the event, made a new but mostly baroque argument for the unsolved murder of Jill Dando (left). It was included in legal filings filed in Paris and sparked by an investigation into suspected sexual misconduct committed by Gerald Marie, the now septuagenarian former head of the huge Elite modelling corporation. Lisa Brinkworth (right), an undercover female journalist, had been arranged by BBC In 1998, MacIntyre Undercover (right), to join the Elite agency. Marie pleaded and the BBC had to pay £1.7 million in damages when the show was broadcast. But Ms Brinkworth came forward years later, as Marie was accused of sexual assaults and rapes involving at least 11 other people, including at least 11 other women, to share her own allegations of the sexual assault she had suffered while undercover. Her lawyers related to a discussion with a former Elite executive in which Marie ordered a Russian mafia member to'deal with a problem' in legal records relating to this case.' Jill Dando, a BBC reporter, was killed in April 1999,' the French law firm Bourdon & Associes stated shortly thereafter.'

Who Killed Jill Dando?The main theories behind Britain's biggest unsolved murder

www.dailymail.co.uk, September 25, 2023
The forthcoming Netflix documentary 'Who Killed Jill Dando' has ignited rumors about one of the country's most unsolved murders. At 11:30 a.m. on April 26, 1999, Tv journalist Jill Dando was shot dead on her doorstep with a single bullet in the head. The case has remained a mystery nearly 25 years after its creation, and a number of theories have emerged over the years. MailOnline explores the main theories behind Jill Dando's death on television's 'golden girl's death.

Jill Dando's murder WAS a "professional killer," but the perpetrator, not who you would believe," says ex-career criminal Jill Dando

www.dailymail.co.uk, September 25, 2023
On April 26, 1999, the TV presenter was shot dead on her doorstep in Fulham, West London, a shooting that stunned the nation. The cold case, which resulted in one of the most high-profile and complicated police investigations in history, is set to be chronicled on Netflix's Who Shot Jill Dando. Noel 'Razor' Smith (inset), who has 58 convictions and spent 32 years in some of Britain's toughest jails, is one of the interviewees in the series, which is released tomorrow. Barry George, the man whose conviction of Ms Dando's murder was reversed in 2008, was not complicit, and that it was instead carried out by a hit man, according to him, but the killer was 'not what you would expect.'

A dramatic recreation of the day Jill Dando was killed: an FBI investigation reveals how police investigated 1,393 suspects from Brink's-Mat villain Kenneth Noye to a Russian Mafia don. As Netflix airs new documentary 23 years on, could her assassin finally be found

www.dailymail.co.uk, September 24, 2023
Jill Dando, a BBC Crimewatch presenter, was killed in the doorway of her house in Fulham, London, in 1999, an assassination-style homicide that stunned the nation. The lawsuit is also unsolved. In 1996, Dando conducted an interview with Stephen Cameron, a 21-year-old whose mother was stabbed to death by career criminal Kenneth Noye in a road rage attack on the M25. It didn't take police long to ask one chilling question: Was Jill Dando's role in the interview of Danielle Cable two years earlier enough to warrant a 'revenge' contract killing, commissioned by Kenneth Noye himself?