Newcastle Crown Court heard the 28-year-old conman had been given control over the couple’s finances when Mrs Griffiths, who has Alzheimer’s, was admitted to hospital in 2017, while he was living with them. But I imagine it would help a little bit, just to get that bit of closure., just to know why it happened. Three local miners were arrested- Joseph Lowson and Joseph Hodgson were sentenced to death, while William Siddle was pardoned. Turner: “I had to change my top because it had blood on it, even then I don’t remember how much blood was on it.” Her house was then set ablaze and firefighters found Julie's body when they were called out by a neighbour in the early hours.

But a jury found Turner guilty of murder on Wednesday, February 22 and he will now serve a minimum 17 years in prison. The final huge twist ultimately won Peterson freedom. Duane Deaver, the prosecution’s chief witness, was a blood spatter expert employed in North Carolina’s state crime lab by the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI). According to The Staircase, jurors in Peterson’s trial were initially split over his guilt or innocence, but relied on Deaver’s blood spatter testimony to come to their guilty verdict.He was later identified as 46-year-old Ross Connelly, a much-loved father and grandfather from Shotton Colliery. And he narrowly avoided colliding with an elderly woman who was pushing a shopping basket overt the road. Mohammed Rahman stabbed his on-off partner's former lover to death during a knife fight outside her home. When an attempt to stop him by boxing him in with police cars failed, a police driver decided the only way to apprehend him was to crash into him, as a last resort. A Northumbria Police spokesman said: “This incident took place almost 28 years ago and our thoughts remain with Paul’s family and friends.

Officers were called on the morning of May 1 following the discovery of a man’s body at a property in Alexandra Terrace, Wheatley Hill.

Key Events

Law enforcement informed the remaining living members of the Durham family in November of the discovery. Ginny Sue Hall – the wife of Mr Hall, the pair who discovered the bodies – was among the remaining family. Newcastle Crown Court heard Mr Giblin and his passenger were catapulted from his vehicle and both suffered catastrophic injuries. It is those people who I would like to help me convert this into proper evidence and we will be able to go on and make further arrests. The court heard that when officers found him, in trees nearby, he had a bag with him containing the white suit, a balaclava and a cap. Repeated road menace David Morrison has been jailed after ramming police cars in a desperate bid to evade justice.

Mr Davis, the only living member of the group as of 2022, corroborated the story with the sheriff's office. He said they were paid to kill the family on a night when a blizzard was raging. He also agreed that they had almost been caught. He claimed he was the getaway driver while the elder Mr Birt, and two others carried out the murders. The Staircase’s central question — who or what killed Kathleen Peterson? — has technically been answered. Michael Peterson was first convicted of her murder in 2003 and sentenced to life in prison. Fifteen years later, after a massive forensics scandal led to his original conviction getting overturned, he would enter an Alford plea, a plea of technical guilt while maintaining his innocence, in exchange for his freedom. But that summation fails to capture the enduring appeal of a case that yielded one gothic, head-turning twist after another. Julie's mother Joy Gilmour, 56, travelled from her new home in County Donegal to make a further plea for anyone with information about her daughter's death to come forward.Walton was arrested after a witness spotted someone wearing white forensic overalls near the property. He did not enter a plea and was remanded in custody to appear at Teesside Crown Court on Wednesday, June 21. Speirs, formerly of North Shields but now living in St Ronans View, in Harlow Green, Gateshead, then left the scene on his bike.

In the aftermath, as Mr Stokoe, 26, lay bleeding to death in the street, Rahman and McGee plotted to lie about what had happened to the police. The battered body of young mum Emma, 28, of Consett, was found at the foot of the 180ft Hownsgill Viaduct on New Year's Eve,1999. Obviously we were devastated when we lost them, but we were devastated that they died before getting any answers." I have discussed the latest devlopments with the CPS who believe he would have stood trial and perhaps been convicted of murder. Mike Peterson gets new attorney for second murder trial". Archived from the original on October 25, 2014.Peterson and his first wife Patricia lived in Germany for some time. There they befriended Elizabeth and George Ratliff and their two children, Margaret and Martha. After George's death, the Peterson and Ratliff families became very close. When Elizabeth Ratliff died in 1985, Michael became the guardian of her two children. After Michael and Patricia divorced in 1987, Clayton and Todd lived with Patricia, and Margaret and Martha stayed with Michael, who then moved to Durham, North Carolina. Clayton and Todd later also joined their father. In 1989, Michael moved in with Kathleen Atwater, a successful Nortel business executive. They married in 1997, and Kathleen's daughter Caitlin became the fifth sibling in the blended family. [6] I'm working hard to move on': Victim of Ashington teen rapist tells how she's rebuilding life after horror ordeal