The Photo Request has been fulfilled. Taking into consideration all of the above information and the decades that have passed since Muriel was killed, I think that the only way this case will be closed is through a familial DNA match. The 12 year old loved to sing and there was a skip in her step as she started on the winding path through the forest. She had been raped, bludgeoned about the head and shot twice in the chest. In 2008, a DNA profile of the suspect was extracted from her clothes, possibly the oldest one in the world to . Neil. Muriel Drinkwater Muriel Drinkwater (born 1906) Jump to: Bio graphy Family Photos Comments Obit uary. Hi Nicola. Perhaps one day then there'll still be justice for Muriel Drinkwater - even if it might have to stretch beyond the grave. In the days and weeks that followed, police officers visited every farmhouse and cottage within 150 square miles, along with interviewing 20,000 men in Swansea, Aberdare and Carmarthenshire. Video, 00:01:00, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Dog found alive after 23 days under rubble. "That sounds pompous, but I knew that really he was a simpleton, but I didn't detect any menace in him.". 4th daughter born to Lilian and Charles Herbert Irvine in Liverpool. Her murder became known as the Little Red Riding Hood murder. And please do not forget tosubscribe to the podcast and leave us a review. Was a local stalking Muriel? Who killed 'Little Red Riding Hood'? Twelve-year-old Muriel Drinkwater was a choirgirl who dreamed of being a schoolteacher. There were whispers that it was her stepfather that did it, although I believe John Drinkwater was her blood father. But they said the results now ruled out Jones as a suspect in her murder. Muriel Drinkwater was raped and shot dead as she walked home from a school bus in Penllergaer, Swansea, Serial killer Harold Jones (pictured as a 15-year-old) killed two young girls when he was just 15 and was jailed for 20 years. It is currently one of the oldest active cold cases in the UK. Despite their inve. Thanks again and take care. It is one of the oldest active cold cases in the United Kingdom. The Little Red Riding Hood murder of Muriel Drinkwater. Colin Dark suggested the possibillity of using D.N.A to identify who took the books into the shop with the hope of identifying the killer. Brutally beaten, raped and shot twice, the discovery of Swansea schoolgirl Muriel Drinkwater 's body in 1946 horrified an entire community. Fingers crossed that one day a DNA match can give us the breakthrough needed to solve this case. 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"It does make you think that Muriel Drinkwater (who passed her 11-Plus to get into grammar school) is the sort of girl he would have been interested in. The police have a Y-STR profile from Muriels coat. I am leaning towards it being a targeted attack, in part because of the positioning of the perpetrator as you mentioned. The murder of Muriel Drinkwater is an unsolved 1946 child murder case from Wales. Mudgee General Cemetery. Edith Patten had been buried in the old town cemetery and was left behind when officials relocated the graves in the 1930s. Victor told me that he had seen a T.V. I have spoken to former D.C.I Paul Bethel and given him this information. Nevertheless, the FBI was called in to assist with determining the ownership of the murder weapon, but nothing seems to have ever transpired from this lead. Hi Neil. Muriels niece is in a dreadful state. ", Muriel Drinkwater who was killed in June 1946. Filmed as part of documentary Dark Land: Hunting the Killers, that is being shown on BBC Wales, the name of murderer Ronnie Harries, the last man to have been hanged in Carmarthen, has been put forward by the team that is headed by the former chief constable of Dyfed Powys Police Jackie Roberts. Her route to her family's home Tyle-Du Farm entailed a mile-long journey that wove in and out of the woods. [7], The next day, Drinkwater's body was found in the woods by a police inspector. More here: https://bit.ly/WoodlawnJaneDoe. Hi Christine. Hi Neil. I contacted D.S. Learn more about managing a memorial . The reason given for sealing the files was that it could help the police catch the perpetrator. She goes to grammar school. Evernote. [11] Hoyles, who saw Drinkwater after buying eggs at her parents' farm, was cleared by the DNA evidence. 0, Hi Tracey Thanks for reading and for sharing your thoughts on Muriels case. Those who have not failed may not have succeeded. Up Next. taken from one of Jones many nieces or nephews in Wales would prove conclusively if Jones was or was not Muriels killer. Despite a number of leads and suspects, police have not been able to identify her killer. It was tracked down to a store room, in a current police station, in a very dark corner. This post deals with sexual assault and might be triggering for some readers. D.C, Paul Rogers, independent of Victor Penalunas theory, contacted me by phone and told me that his research had led him to believe that Harold Jones may have been Muriel Drinkwaters killer. I could never hurt anyone or anything, but in a small, close-knit community, people talk and I knew that in the eyes of some people I was the murderer. The 73-year-old stain was discovered during a cold case review in 2003 and is thought to be one of the oldest pieces of evidence in the world. In 2008,Detective Chief Inspector Paul Bethell located Muriels blue coat, underwear, and school uniform in police storage. The last person who reported seeing her was Hubert Hoyles, then 13, who passed her on the path returning from her family farm, where he had gone to buy eggs. Margaret went out into the yard and her and Muriel exchanged waves. [citation needed], In 2009, Welsh police began reinvestigating any link with the murder of 11-year-old Sheila Martin, who was raped and strangled 250 miles away in Sun Hill Wood, Fawkham Green, Kent, on 7 July 1946, ten days after Drinkwater's murder. [8][4] Policemen from Glamorgan, assisted by the 169th Bomb Disposal Unit, used a metal detector to search for a second weapon suspected to have been used, but never located it. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED. Arrested once again, Jones this time pleaded guilty to the charge of murder at aMonmouthcourt in November 1921. 'I have spoken to Muriel's family and bring them up to date with the latest details of this investigation. Hoyles lamented, For years, Ive lived with the knowledge that some people in the community suspected me. She was still wearing her school uniform. The Photo Request has been fulfilled. Read about our approach to external linking. Holly Ann Campiglia was a Jane Doe until she was identified in 1992. The police found the murder weapon in the undergrowth near where Muriels body had been discovered. Her route to her familys home Tyle-Du Farmentailed a mile-long journey that wove in and out of the woods. Her mother later went to the village to look for her when she did not return home; more than a dozen men from the area began a search. Her mother seen her approaching 400 yards away, so perhaps she was a selected victim. Their bodies were found buried in a Carmarthenshire kale field in 1953 you can read the full story here. I contacted Detective Superintendent Martyn Lloyd-Evans (now retired) of South Wales Police by phone and had a friendly conversation with him about Victor Penalunas suspicions. Thank you for listening to this episode of The True Crime Files. Lloyd-Evans told me that he was convinced that a suspect regarding Muriels murder would soon be identified through D.N.A. On July 7, 1946, eleven-year-old Sheila Martin was raped and strangled in woods near her home in Dartford. This seems like a dubious connection because there is roughly 230 miles (370 kilometres) between Dartford and Penllergaer,but on the day of Sheilas murder a large race meeting was held at Brands Hatch with over 9,000 attendees, one of whom could have been both Muriel and Shielas killer. Advertisement. Accountant Graham Wildin built an incredible 10,000sq/ft leisure complex - which has a bowling alley, casino, a cinema and more - at the back of his home. Muriel was seen at 2:30PM, singing as she exited the school bus. Birth: 16 Jan 1878: It is now more than 70 years since the 12-year-old schoolgirl was brutally raped, battered around the head and shot twice while walking home. South Wales Police said: "All historic murder cases, often referred to in the media as cold cases, are allocated to the Specialist Crime Review Unit and remain under active consideration and will be subject of re-investigation as and when new information is received or when there are advances in forensic science. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. Hi Neil. There was a camp a mile away in Grovesend. Request number 772/21. An autopsy later determined that Muriel had been bludgeoned, raped, and shot twice in the chest. In a Welsh village during the summer of 1946, a 12-year-old girl is brutally murdered. Although an extensive investigation was conducted that involved the police visiting every farmhouse and cottage within 150 square miles and interviewing 20,000 men in Swansea, Aberdare and Carmarthenshire, the case that has become known as theLittle Red Riding Hood Murder remains unsolved. Some people turn to the murder weapon for answers and suggest that the killer was either an American serviceman who had previously been stationed at Penllergaer or that an American soldier may have sold the gun to the perpetrator in the village. 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She was pulled from that path into the woodland beside it, attacked and murdered amongst the undergrowth of Penllergaer Woods, near Swansea, just yards from safety. From the statements of the day it appeared her mum was making a pot of tea and looked out the window and actually saw Muriel about 500 yards away coming up the track towards the farmhouse. Update: I have left it two weeks for the . taken from Jones exhumed body can the police honestly say catergorically that Jones was or was not Muriels killer. Jones was released from prison in December of 1941, so he was a free man when Muriel was killed. On 27th June 1946 a school girl was walking through countryside on her way home. A moment later, Muriels path wound into a thickly wooded area, and her mother returned to her chores in the kitchen. She was last seen at 2:30 p.m., singing as she headed for the one-mile walk to her family's home, Tyle-Du Farm. [8][4], In 2003, detectives re-opened the case in the hope of finding DNA evidence on the gun, but were not successful as too many people had handled the weapon. There is no doubt about that.". Welsh author Neil Milkinsargues that Harold Jones,a convicted murderer who killed two girls in Abertillery in 1921 when he was just 15 years old, was Muriels killer. (My belief now is that the suspect he referred to was Hubert Hoyles who as a 13 year-old boy had come into contact with Muriels family shortly before her murder. Video, 00:00:41Watch Kate beat William in spin class endurance race, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. It became known as the Little Red Riding Hood murder - but who killed Muriel Drinkwater? On June 27, 1946, 12-year-old Muriel Drinkwater made her way home from school in Penllergaer, Swansea (UK). Harries was hanged in 1954 for the double murder of John and Phoebe Harries. [3] In 2008, a DNA profile of the suspect was extracted from her clothes, possibly the oldest sample in the world to be successfully extracted in a murder investigation. She was seen by her mother from a distance of 400 yards away, but before Muriel could arrive. Thanks again ~ Christine, Your email address will not be published. Although the profile was loaded into the UK National DNA Database, it failed to match any of the approximately five million DNA records held there. All Rights Reserved. Hi Neil Video, 00:01:18Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story, One-minute World News. Ms Darby says: "He denied killing his relatives at all. I was able to edit the comment for you before it went live. We got a partial profile, given that it was the oldest cold case with a semen stain on it that we had been working on.". Her stepfather that did it, although I believe John Drinkwater was a victim! 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