Pathologists continue to disagree as to whether his injuries were more likely the result of an assault or a series of accidental falls. However, the jail cell tapes heard Ligus confessing to a murder he committed in Whitchurch, believed to be Mr Coles. He said: “... climbed through the kitchen window, which was open. Had a root around the house. Went upstairs. Out of the bedroom comes a bloke (laughter). Because you’ve got to remember he was me brother-in-law. He comes around and lives through this, you know, he, he’s goin’ to go straight to the Old Bill and they would have got me bang to rights. Another resident claimed an armed gang had been lying in wait for two hours before ambushing and killing the DPD worker.

This domain of this cookie is owned by agkn. The cookie is used for targeting and advertising purposes. His friend dropped him off outside his home at 1.30am. Half an hour later, Mrs Smith's next door neighbour heard a piercing scream, but it was not until 10am that her battered body was found on the floor of her bedroom. The arguments have continued to rage ever since. Opinion polls show popular support for the death penalty.In later life she became more and more concerned about the environment and in particular the dangers of nuclear energy and weapons. He said he had mixed views about capital punishment: "I suppose I've got almost a biblical attitude, although I'm not religious. I'm a semi detached Christian in many ways. I feel that probably the old world had the right idea and if you did something wrong you had to pay for it." There was a lot of furore about it. Myself, Gordon (Gordon Riley, a fellow journalist), and various others were there just for the occasion and we went away and wrote our stories about what a poignant sort of situation it was. It was very moving, particularly with these ladies, from away I think, who were on their knees as the bell tolled. We have so far arrested five people in connection with the murder and are progressing all other lines of enquiry to locate and arrest outstanding suspects.” West Mercia Police always believed that her death was the result of a bungled burglary and the conspiracy theories were a red herring.

The man, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “I go over to see my elderly neighbour each day just to give him a hand and a bit of company. The MP for Nelson and Colne, Samuel Silverman who was opposed to the death penalty submitted a question in the House of Commons asking for an inquiry to see whether a miscarriage of justice had occurred but it was ruled inadmissible on 7 February 1961. The last people to be hanged in Britain were killers Gwynne Evans and Peter Allen, on August 13, 1964. It was Ligus’s own confessions which proved the most compelling evidence in the trial and eventually led to a jury delivering a verdict of “case proved” at Birmingham Crown Court.This cookie is used to a profile based on user's interest and display personalized ads to the users.

This cookie is set by the provider mookie1.com. This cookie is used for serving the user with relevant content and advertisement. Four men aged 24, 22, 26 and 24, have been arrested on suspicion of murder and remain in police custody. Her friend, Charles Sinker, shared her passion for all things botanical and after Miss Murrell's death he edited the nature diaries she kept between 1961 and 1983. They were published in 1987 illustrated with her photographs and beautiful botanical drawings.There was a deathly silence as, I think, St Mary's Church bells tolled, and that was the hanging moment. The jury declined to view the body of the deceased and the prison medical officer told the coroner, Major R W E Crawford Clarke, that death had been instantaneous. Ligus also admitted having committed a fifth murder in which he drowned a man in the River Severn but police had “insufficient grounds” to press charges. The court heard that he was a drug addict in the early 1990s and carried out burglaries across the county to fund his heroin and cocaine habit. Following a stroke in 2003 his health rapidly deteriorated and he was unable to give evidence or even plead in the recent trial.

However, he was convicted and sentenced to hang. Changes to the different categories of murder enshrined in the 1957 Homicide Act meant that because of the element of "murder committed in the course or furtherance of theft" capital punishment was inevitable. Two men aged 22 and 26, and two aged 24, have been arrested on suspicion of murder and remain in police custody, West Mercia Police said. We know Aurman was a delivery person however at this stage we do not believe this was the motive for his death and we are not investigating this as a robbery. Det Ch Insp Mark Bellamy, the senior investigating officer, said: “Residents will see an increase [in] police presence in the area for the coming days as officers carry out enquiries and offer reassurance to anyone who may be concerned. One man who wrote at length about it in his book Reprieve (The study of a system) was the respected barrister, author and newspaper columnist, the late Fenton Bresler.Liberal Democrat councillor for Quarry and Coton Hill Nat Green said he hoped the "deeply upsetting" event was an "isolated" incident" and that "nothing like this ever happens again". Ligus, a former painter and decorator, was detained in a secure hospital indefinitely following the jurors’ ruling. Died at home – Brian Coles I am satisfied that there has been no miscarriage of justice and that there is no ground for an inquiry." Senior investigating officer, Detective Chief Inspector Mark Bellamy said: “Our thoughts are very much with the family and friends of Aurman at this difficult time. Before she could do so she was murdered and for nearly 20 years her death remained a mystery until a builder's labourer called Andrew George was arrested and convicted of kidnapping and killing her. He is serving a life sentence.