Behind Enemy Lines
Striker
Been reading about this crime, still unsolved 16 years on. Dando was a well-known and popular BBC presenter (of Crimewatch and other programmes). On 26th April 1999, she was fatally shot in the head on the doorstep of her home in Fulham, London. Two of her neighbours saw a 6 foot tall, 40-odd year old, white male with dark hair walking briskly or running away from the scene of the crime - that man is believed to be her killer.
Barry George was initially convicted of her murder in 2001. George lived 1/2 mile away from Dando at the time of the murder, he has been diagnosed with a number of personality disorders (including asperger syndrome) and has learning difficulties (IQ of 75). He had a string of previous convictions for crimes such as impersonating a police officer, indecent assault and attempted rape and also seemed to have a fascination with celebrities, claiming to be related to Freddie Mercury, changing his name to "Paul Gadd" and attempting to break into Kensington Palace in order to meet Prince Charles.
In a nutshell; he lived near Jill Dando, was a celebrity-obsessed nutter and had a string of previous offences. This was what brought him to the attention of the police. A full search of George's home turned up nothing to link him to the crime. The only actual evidence the police had to link him to the murder was a single particle of gunshot residue that was found on his clothing. Nevertheless, he was initially found guily of murder by a majority of 10-1. This verdict was considered unsafe by some observers at the time.
In 2007 a retrial was ordered and in 2008 George was acquitted. Crucially, the discovery of the gunshot residue on George's coat was this time deemed inadmissable evidence - the defence successfully argued that this particle could have come from another source, including the armed police officers who arrested George or even just from a firework display. The defence also argued that due to George's mental state he would have been unable to carry out such a precise, "professional" killing. Three women from the Hammersmith and Fulham Action on Disability group placed George at their offices at around 11.50 that day, the defence argued that it was impossible for him to have killed Dando at 11.30, gone home to change and then made his way to this office by 11.50. Also two of Dando's neighbours who saw a man (who was almost certainly the killer) fleeing the scene of the crime, both failed to pick out George at an identity parade.
So who killed Jill Dando? Her wikipedia page lists the following lines of inquiry explored by the police:
Some of the key points:
- The murder had a "professional" feel to it. The killer pressed the gun to Dando's head and fired one shot - this meant that there was no noise (nobody heard a gunshot) and no blood would have splattered onto the killer. The killing was carried out in a quick and precise fashion - Dando had just got out of her car and was about to unlock her front door when she was shot - a 20 second window of opportunity for the killer. At this point, she spent most of her time at her fiancee's house and only returned to her house sporadically - the killer must have been watching the house and waiting for her to return. Ballistics evidence also suggested that the weapon used may have been modified, reactivated or custom-made, suggesting that the owner of the weapon had a good understanding of handguns. The man seen fleeing the scene was described as being well-dressed (possibly in a suit).
- At the time of the murder, NATO was bombing Serbia following alleged Serb atrocities. On 6th April 1999, a 'Kosovo Crisis Appeal' programme aired on BBC and raised over £1m. The programme was hosted by Jill Dando. On April 23rd 1999 (3 days before Dando was killed), UK planes bombed the Radio-Television Serbia (considered an outlet for Serb propaganda) building, killing 16 employees - an act which angered Serbian Predisent Milosevic. Milosevic also hated the BBC for exposing Serbian war crimes. Jill Dando was considered the face of the BBC at the time and had been on the front cover of the Radio Times the week before she was killed.
- The Serbs had form for "revenge killings" on so-called "soft targets" (high profile people who did not have security). A couple of weeks before Dando was killed, the owner of an opposition Serb newspaper was shot dead outside his home in exactly the same way Dando was. A couple of weeks after Dando was killed, a NATO spokesman was targetted in Brussels, although this attack was thwarted. The day after Dando was killed, calls were made to the BBC and the Daily Mirror from a man with an Eastern-European accent who claimed that Dando was killed in revenge for the "butchering" of 16 young people (employees of the bombed TV station in Belgrade). The man also threatened that Tony Hall (chief exec of the BBC and the man ultimately responsible for the coverage of the conflict) would be next. Hall was given a security team and the calls were never traced or proven to be a hoax or not.
- It was reported that the usually reliable Israeli intelligence services had warned Nato that two-man Serbian "hit" teams had been sent to attack "targets of opportunity". The Dando inquiry team also received a report from the National Criminal Intelligence Service who quoted an informant who stated that Arkan (Serbian warlord operating under Milosevic) had organised Dando's killing. By this point, the police had already discounted this theory and were focused on Barry George so did not follow up this lead.
In conclusion, I think Jill Dando was murdered by a Serbian hit-man as part of a revenge-attack against the BBC and the UK government (in particular our involvement in bombing a Serbian TV station). Dando was seen as a high-profile figure, was one of the faces of the BBC at the time and did not have security. To pin such a "professional" crime like this on a man like Barry George was a joke and I suspect that the intelligence services were well aware of this at the time. The case remains open 16 years later...
Barry George was initially convicted of her murder in 2001. George lived 1/2 mile away from Dando at the time of the murder, he has been diagnosed with a number of personality disorders (including asperger syndrome) and has learning difficulties (IQ of 75). He had a string of previous convictions for crimes such as impersonating a police officer, indecent assault and attempted rape and also seemed to have a fascination with celebrities, claiming to be related to Freddie Mercury, changing his name to "Paul Gadd" and attempting to break into Kensington Palace in order to meet Prince Charles.
In a nutshell; he lived near Jill Dando, was a celebrity-obsessed nutter and had a string of previous offences. This was what brought him to the attention of the police. A full search of George's home turned up nothing to link him to the crime. The only actual evidence the police had to link him to the murder was a single particle of gunshot residue that was found on his clothing. Nevertheless, he was initially found guily of murder by a majority of 10-1. This verdict was considered unsafe by some observers at the time.
In 2007 a retrial was ordered and in 2008 George was acquitted. Crucially, the discovery of the gunshot residue on George's coat was this time deemed inadmissable evidence - the defence successfully argued that this particle could have come from another source, including the armed police officers who arrested George or even just from a firework display. The defence also argued that due to George's mental state he would have been unable to carry out such a precise, "professional" killing. Three women from the Hammersmith and Fulham Action on Disability group placed George at their offices at around 11.50 that day, the defence argued that it was impossible for him to have killed Dando at 11.30, gone home to change and then made his way to this office by 11.50. Also two of Dando's neighbours who saw a man (who was almost certainly the killer) fleeing the scene of the crime, both failed to pick out George at an identity parade.
So who killed Jill Dando? Her wikipedia page lists the following lines of inquiry explored by the police:
- Theories that a jealous ex-boyfriend or an unknown lover had killed her. This was quickly ruled out by the detectives who interviewed all Dando's friends and acquaintances and checked her phone calls.
- A belief that somebody had hired an assassin to murder Dando as revenge for their being convicted as a result of evidence garnered by Crimewatch viewers. After exhaustive inquiries this was also ruled out by detectives.
- Various theories relating to Bosnian-Serb or Yugoslav groups.
- The possibility that a deranged fan may have killed Dando after she had rejected his approaches. Dando’s brother, Nigel, informed detectives that she had become concerned by “some guy pestering her” in the few days before her death, but this was ruled out by detectives.
- A case of mistaken identity. This was judged unlikely, given that the killing took place on the doorstep of Dando's own home.
- In July 2014, a report appeared in the Daily Star Sunday claiming that Dando had investigated a paedophile ring at the BBC during the mid 1990s and had handed a dossier on it to BBC management. It was implied that this may have prompted a revenge attack. The BBC said it had seen no evidence to support the claim.
Some of the key points:
- The murder had a "professional" feel to it. The killer pressed the gun to Dando's head and fired one shot - this meant that there was no noise (nobody heard a gunshot) and no blood would have splattered onto the killer. The killing was carried out in a quick and precise fashion - Dando had just got out of her car and was about to unlock her front door when she was shot - a 20 second window of opportunity for the killer. At this point, she spent most of her time at her fiancee's house and only returned to her house sporadically - the killer must have been watching the house and waiting for her to return. Ballistics evidence also suggested that the weapon used may have been modified, reactivated or custom-made, suggesting that the owner of the weapon had a good understanding of handguns. The man seen fleeing the scene was described as being well-dressed (possibly in a suit).
- At the time of the murder, NATO was bombing Serbia following alleged Serb atrocities. On 6th April 1999, a 'Kosovo Crisis Appeal' programme aired on BBC and raised over £1m. The programme was hosted by Jill Dando. On April 23rd 1999 (3 days before Dando was killed), UK planes bombed the Radio-Television Serbia (considered an outlet for Serb propaganda) building, killing 16 employees - an act which angered Serbian Predisent Milosevic. Milosevic also hated the BBC for exposing Serbian war crimes. Jill Dando was considered the face of the BBC at the time and had been on the front cover of the Radio Times the week before she was killed.
- The Serbs had form for "revenge killings" on so-called "soft targets" (high profile people who did not have security). A couple of weeks before Dando was killed, the owner of an opposition Serb newspaper was shot dead outside his home in exactly the same way Dando was. A couple of weeks after Dando was killed, a NATO spokesman was targetted in Brussels, although this attack was thwarted. The day after Dando was killed, calls were made to the BBC and the Daily Mirror from a man with an Eastern-European accent who claimed that Dando was killed in revenge for the "butchering" of 16 young people (employees of the bombed TV station in Belgrade). The man also threatened that Tony Hall (chief exec of the BBC and the man ultimately responsible for the coverage of the conflict) would be next. Hall was given a security team and the calls were never traced or proven to be a hoax or not.
- It was reported that the usually reliable Israeli intelligence services had warned Nato that two-man Serbian "hit" teams had been sent to attack "targets of opportunity". The Dando inquiry team also received a report from the National Criminal Intelligence Service who quoted an informant who stated that Arkan (Serbian warlord operating under Milosevic) had organised Dando's killing. By this point, the police had already discounted this theory and were focused on Barry George so did not follow up this lead.
In conclusion, I think Jill Dando was murdered by a Serbian hit-man as part of a revenge-attack against the BBC and the UK government (in particular our involvement in bombing a Serbian TV station). Dando was seen as a high-profile figure, was one of the faces of the BBC at the time and did not have security. To pin such a "professional" crime like this on a man like Barry George was a joke and I suspect that the intelligence services were well aware of this at the time. The case remains open 16 years later...
