However, Barry George has always protested his innocence, and many appeals have been turned down.
Barry George originally came under suspicion as he was acting agitated during appointments with his housing association and GP, the day of the murder. Two days later, he began asking if people could verify what he was doing the day Jill was shot. The police involved in the investigation had been told hat he was odd and owned air rifles. Much of the evidence obtained during investigation was circumstantial, and in this review the evidence will be looked at critically.
- Books and magazines on firearms were found in stacks during searches of Barry Georges flat. The prosecution used this as evidence to base the claim that Barry George was a loner who was obsessed with firearms. This was also supported by the finding of a single particle of gunshot residue in his coat pocket.
However, these magazines dated back to the 1980’s, during the time which he had joined the TA in 1981, but left after he failed his training. After leaving he attempted to join a firearms club but was turned down. On two separate occasions he had shown a friend a gun, and fired a blank from a gun. However, there is no evidence that this interest had continued into the 90’s, especially not over a period of 20 years when Jill Dando was shot. Furthermore, controversy surrounds the sole particle of GSR. The forensic scientist called as an expert witness during the trial said that after using SEM (scanning electron microscope), he was able to compare the particle with particles from a test fire using a similar bullet which was used in the murder, and he concluded that the particle found could have come from the cartridge case which was found at the scene, as they were both made up of barium, aluminium and lead. Particles found in Jill Dando’s hair and on her coat were also made up of the same compounds. However, these particles may have been the same type but there was no way of distinguishing whether the particle had come from the murder weapon, as this was never found for comparison. Furthermore, the police said that when they entered the property, they had not gone in with guns. New witnesses have come forward; - a retired church minister and an airport worker say that the officers were armed when they went in. They would themselves have had gunshot residue on their hands and could have easily contaminated the coat. Furthermore, these searches did not occur until a year after the murder, and therefore, it may not necessarily be gunshot residue from the murder.
The jacket had also been removed from the evidence bag for photographing by the police before being sent for examination. It was placed on a surface where the bullet and cartridge found at the scene were also photographed. This room housed ammunition and therefore, contamination could have occurred in this room.
Professor Marco Morin, a firearm reside expert, suggests that the particle may not even be GSR, possibly incinerator burning paint or particles caused by someone arc welding.
- Barry George had newspaper clippings about Jill Dando, suggesting he was an obsessed fan, and would not have kept quiet about it
In fact, in over 800 newspapers, there were only 8 articles found on Jill Dando, none of which were marked out, some dated after the murder. Obsessed fans usually have hoards of information on their chosen person, where particular clippings, etc are highlighted, marked out or pinned up. This evidence, furthermore, is circumstantial, and definitely does not prove guilt, only suggests an interest. The clippings of Jill Dando may have been coincidental.
A friend of Barry George also testified that they could not recall him mentioning Jill Dando until after the murder.
- A single fibre found on Dando’s jacket matched Barry George’s trousers.
A blue grey polyester fibre that was found on the jacket Jill was wearing the day of the murder was matched a pair of trousers taken from Barry George’s residence by microscopy. However, the forensic scientist admitted that this particular fibre was very common was too small for separating the dyes within the fibre for an analytical match. This fibre, therefore, may not have necessarily come from Barry George.
- Susan Mayes witnessed Barry George near the scene the day of the murder and identified him in an identity parade
Susan Mayes said that she was very sure that she saw Barry George opposite Jill Dando’s house at 7am the morning of the murder. However, when originally describing the man she said he had a short and smart haircut, yet later on it was described as long and untidy.
- Terry Normanton identified Barry George from a video identity parade
Terry testified that the man she identified during the parade was the same man she had seen at 9.50am the day Dando was shot. However, during the trial, a video was shown where you could see Terry hesitating before picking out Barry George.
George had however, facial hair at the time of the parade, whereas he did not at the time of the murder. Terry remembered that the man she saw was clean shaven.
Barry George’s alibis were firstly considered suspicious as he had attempted to establish them. However, due to interviews in the Rachel Nickell case in 1992, which he was found to have no involvement, and a previous jail term in 1983, he suffers with paranoia that he would be blamed for other crimes, therefore, concerned over his alibi when he heard about the murder. This fact was made unaware to the jury. Furthermore, he had admitted he was guilty to the attempted rape charge in 1982, yet has continued to protest his innocence over the murder of Jill Dando.
Susan Bicknell stated that she was with George at 11.50am the day of the murder at the HAFAD centre (Hammersmith and Fulham Action for Disability) which is half a mile away from Dando’s house. Given the fact the Barry George does not drive, it may not have been possible for him to get from the murder scene to the HAFAD centre within 20 minutes. She stated he arrived in a yellow shirt, which would have been covered in blood if he had committed the murder and went straight to the centre without changing. This shirt she said was clean. Bicknell also went on to state that the day of the murder was her first day working at HAFAD, and that Barry George was her first client, and therefore she was sure of the time. The prosecution for the case had two witnesses which clamed that the time of the appointment was wrong, yet they did not speak up until a year later when a £250,000 reward was offered for information. Perhaps if they had been interviewed much close to the time of the murder, their recollection may have been much clearer, they may have even remembered Barry George being there around midday.
The sweating man was the first suspect. He had came from Bishops Park, waited at the bus stop on Fulham Palace road, boarded a bus, yet got off before the destination he told the driver. Witnesses say that this man was sweating and looked agitated. Police learned that Jill Dando had been shot around 15 minutes previously, and therefore the ‘sweating man’ became their first suspect. The man was described as 5’9” to 5’10”, medium build in his late 30’s, having a round face, dark complexion and being clean shaven.
A woman who testified at the trial, Jane Bolton, said she saw the ‘sweating man’ between 11.35 and 11.40am, walking in Gowan Avenue where Dando lived. Another witness saw a man running from Fulham Palace road into Bishops Park minutes later. The ‘sweating man’ then emerged from Bishops Park, sweating consistently after running.
A man was also seen in Bishops Park running, and throwing a knife into bushes. S. C. Lomax (2003) suggests that perhaps the sweating man may have witnessed the murderer escape. Like Helen Doble, he may have thought that Jill had been stabbed. Perhaps the sweating man is the same man who discarded the knife. Realising he was in possession of the knife, and in the vicinity of the crime, he ran and discarded the knife for fear he may have been blamed. This man may have been the same man whom Jane Bolton had seen in Gowan Avenue and whom was running into Bishops Park.
Unfortunately there is very little evidence in this case, and what has been uncovered is largely circumstantial evidence and speculation. However, after his first appeal was denied, as of November 2007, the conviction has been quashed and a retrial has been ordered.
During the original trial, the doubts surrounding the single particle of GSR were not uncovered, or went unmentioned, despite the trial weighing heavily on this one piece of evidence. However, it has been brought as fresh doubts regarding the evidence to the appeal judges whom had no choice but to grant an appeal. Robin Keeley, the forensic scientist who gave evidence regarding the particle, gave testimony in the Court of Appeal in November 2007, and has now said that he was not aware of the consequences surrounding his testimony, and that the residue on its own does not link Barry George to the murder.
Where a single particle of GSR can be used as the only piece of direct evidence, and bring a conviction, we can see the importance of forensic evidence in a trial. The fact that Barry George has now been granted a retrial highlights the importance of how forensic evidence is presented in court. Forensic evidence is usually seen as fact by laypersons, unless it is explained how this piece of evidence may or may not prove the defendants guilt. A trial may hinge on this only piece of evidence and must, therefore, be presented in context, and should only be presented as proof of guilt or innocence where forensic expertise can rule out any other explanations for the presence of this evidence.
Without a murder weapon to compare the particle found in Barry Georges pocket and the GSR found on Jill Dando, it cannot be confirmed whether the particle was definitely GSR from that gun, and that gun is the gun which fired the casings found at the scene, and therefore, the murder weapon. If Barry George’s fingerprints were to be found on that gun, it would provide much more solid evidence that he had committed the murder, or at least fired that gun. If the ‘sweaty man were to be found, he may be able to provide more information to the case. It is possible he may have even been a witness to the crime itself.
References
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Jackson, A. R.W., Jackson, J. M. (2004) Forensic Science, Prentice Hall
Lomax, S. (2003) Libertarian Alliance, ‘Trial and Error: The Case of Barry George’, (online) “”. Accessed 29th Nov 2006
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http://www.innocent.org.uk/cases/barrygeorge/index.html#newevidence