Murder of Linda Cook
Encyclopedia
The murder of Linda Cook was committed in Portsmouth
on 9 December 1986. The subsequent trial led to a miscarriage of justice
when Michael Shirley, an 18 year-old Royal Navy
sailor, was wrongly convicted of the crime and sentenced to life imprisonment
. In 1992 his case had been highlighted as one of 110 possible miscarriages of justice in a report presented to the Home Office
by the National Association of Probation Officers
and justice groups Liberty
and Conviction. His conviction was eventually quashed in 2003 by the Court of Appeal after the DNA profile extracted from semen
samples recovered from the victim's body was proven not to be his. Cook's murder took place shortly after six sexual assaults had been committed in the Buckland area of the city, and the killer was initially dubbed the Beast of Buckland by the news media
. When police revealed that footprint evidence had been recovered and launched a search for matching shoes, the case became known as the "Cinderella
murder". Because of the brutal nature of the murder and the preceding sex attacks, Hampshire police were under public pressure to quickly make an arrest.
Shirley's later exoneration of the murder after serving 16 years of his sentence is significant as the first time that a UK
court quashed a previous conviction on the basis of presentation of new DNA evidence. It was also the first occasion in which the Criminal Cases Review Commission
supported an appeal on the basis of newly available DNA evidence. After serving the minimum tariff of 15 years, Shirley would have been released from prison had he confessed the killing to the parole board
, but he refused to do so and said: "I would have died in prison rather than admit something I didn't do. I was prepared to stay in forever if necessary to prove my innocence."
, living at the home of Linda Gray on Victoria Road North, Portsmouth.Paragraph 14 Cook had been in a relationship with Gray's son since August 1986 and had moved in to the Gray family home at the beginning of November 1986.Paragraph 14 Gray's son had been remanded to a detention centre
on 14 November 1986, but Cook had stayed on in the premises.Paragraph 14 Gray was able to account for Cook's whereabouts for most of 8 December 1986, and stated that at approximately 23:30 Cook went to visit a friend in Sultan Road, Portsmouth.Paragraph 14 Shortly after midnight on 9 December 1986 she left the friend's house to walk home. Some time between 00:30 and 01:00 she was attacked on an area of wasteland known as "Merry Row", adjacent to Lake Road.Paragraph 2 Her assailant raped and strangled her, stamping upon her several times and with such force that her jaw and spine
were fractured, her larynx
crushed, and imprints of his right athletic shoe
were retained on her abdomen
.Paragraph 2Paragraph 23 The attack took at least 15 minutes.Paragraph 4Paragraph 27 Her naked body was discovered later that day.Paragraph 2
A number of vaginal, anal, and vulval swabs were taken by the pathologist, and subsequent forensic examination confirmed the presence of semen, from which the blood type
of the killer was determined.Paragraph 4 Trace evidence
was also gathered, including fibres
from beneath Cook’s fingernails.Paragraph 21 It was noted that her fingernails "were long and unbroken, suggesting that she did not scratch her attacker, or at least did not do so with any ferocity."Paragraph 21 Her underwear
was found nearby, and subsequently tested negative for traces of semen.Paragraph 11Paragraph 12 This, combined with the knowledge of her whereabouts since 10:00 the previous morning, meant that "the semen found inside [her] vagina had been deposited there after her underwear had been removed and consequently was deposited by her attacker."Paragraph 13
in the Royal Navy
, serving aboard HMS Apollo
, which was docked in Portsmouth at the time of the murder.Paragraph 2 On the night of the murder he had been to "Joanna's" nightclub
in Southsea
, Portsmouth where he had met Deena Fogg, a local woman. When the club closed Fogg agreed to go to her home with him in a taxi. After a short journey of around 5 minutes, the taxi arrived at a residential tower block
where Fogg said she needed to go to her mother's to collect her child, after which she would come back to the taxi.Paragraph 3 However, she had no intention of spending the night with Shirley and instead left the building by another exit and returned to her nearby home alone. After around 15 minutes Shirley realised he had been tricked, paid the taxi fare and set off on foot to see if he could find Fogg. At trial, the prosecution
submitted that it was at this time that "he saw Miss Cook who was walking along Merry Row... and in his frustrated and angry state he attacked her, raped her and murdered her before going back to HMS Apollo."Paragraph 3
Shirley stated that he had spent approximately 10 minutes looking for Fogg, then headed back to his ship. He said that he caught another taxi on Edinburgh Road at 1:23 which took him to the gates of the dock where he was booked-in back aboard ship at 1:45.Paragraph 27 Two days later he met Fogg again by chance, and during a brief conversation which Fogg later claimed she found "intimidating" the subject of the murder and their close proximity to the murder scene at the time was mentioned.Paragraph 39 He subsequently spent his Christmas
shore leave
at his parents' home in Leamington Spa
, Warwickshire
. In January 1987 he returned to Portsmouth and was due to sail to the Falkland Islands
. On 5 January 1987, before the ship left the UK, he made another visit to "Joanna's" where Fogg - initially discovered as a witness during house-to-house inquiries - identified him to a police detective as the man she had been with on the night of the murder. He was arrested and taken into custody
.Paragraph 4 Charged with Linda Cook's murder, he was remanded in custody at Winchester Prison the same month.
"planks":Paragraph 4
Additionally, the Crown alleged:
before Mr. Justice Hutchison. Shirley maintained his innocence throughout the trial, and as the case was based only on circumstantial evidence
and the testimony of Deena Fogg, he and his legal team doubted that it would result in conviction. The prosecution produced no forensic evidence against Shirley. The jury believed the prosecution case, however, and on 28 January 1988 he was found guilty of the rape and murder of Linda Cook and sentenced to life imprisonment
. The jury had retired at 10:08 "with strong hints that the judge wanted a verdict that day" and returned at 16:42 with an 11-1 verdict of guilty. An application for leave to appeal against the conviction was rejected on 4 May 1989. The judge who turned down the application, Sir David Croom-Johnson, maintained that there were "no lingering doubts" over the question of Shirley's guilt.Paragraph 5
at HM Prison Long Lartin
to draw public attention to his case. In September 1992 his solicitors sent the Home Office fresh evidence which they claimed pointed to his innocence. Frustrated that fresh evidence uncovered by a journalist was being ignored, Shirley also staged a rooftop protest – of which he later said "Those couple of days on the roof were my only nights out in 16 years." He only came down after prison authorities agreed to let in the journalist, Neil Humber to talk to him. Humber was one of the earliest campaigners convinced of Shirley's innocence, and was the first to call attention to the differences between Fogg's two police statements, calling the time discrepancies "horrendous". On 28 January 1993 Shirley began another hunger strike and his mother told the news media that he would remain on hunger strike "until he gets something in black and white to show that there really is something happening. Hampshire are not going to own up to making a mistake. I would have preferred another force." The hunger strike lasted 42 days until the Home Office
"agreed 'possibly' to review the case if they were given new evidence in a coherent form." Humber, who was due to attend a course, was told by his employers that he would be dismissed if he instead took the time off to write the report. He prepared a 49-page report which was passed to the authorities and was fired by his newspaper. With regard to the evidence, Hampshire Constabulary
said "These matters have been passed to the Chief Constable of Hampshire and a further report will be submitted to the Home Office when these aspects have been inquired into." Shirley's solicitor, Pal Sanghera, said he was "disturbed that the same force that had carried out the initial investigation and a further inquiry last summer was being given the task."
Shirley's campaign suffered numerous setbacks persuading the authorities to re-examine fresh evidence. In 1995 he again applied to the Home Office for a review of his conviction but was informed by the Home Secretary
Michael Howard
that he "was not minded to refer his case to the Court of Appeal
." Throughout, Shirley was held in Category A prisons - reserved only for prisoners "whose escape would be highly dangerous to the public, or the police or the security of the State, and for whom the aim must be to make escape impossible" - because the authorities considered him to be "in denial" over his guilt. Shirley's lawyer, Anita Bromley, said "He is not in denial, he denies committing the crime. What Michael's case shows is how easy it is to be convicted of murder, and how very difficult it is to overturn that conviction."
The campaign was hampered by Hampshire Constabulary's poor handling of evidence after the trial: advances in DNA profiling would have demonstrated Shirley's innocence, and he "consistently asked that DNA tests be carried out" but the police claimed that none of the evidence or swabs had been retained, and that much of it had been destroyed 6 months after the trial.Paragraph 7 Eventually, in 2001, the police admitted that they had found a slide taken from one of the swabs "in a drawer", and in 2002 "found" further clothing evidence.
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
on 9 December 1986. The subsequent trial led to a miscarriage of justice
Miscarriage of justice
A miscarriage of justice primarily is the conviction and punishment of a person for a crime they did not commit. The term can also apply to errors in the other direction—"errors of impunity", and to civil cases. Most criminal justice systems have some means to overturn, or "quash", a wrongful...
when Michael Shirley, an 18 year-old Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
sailor, was wrongly convicted of the crime and sentenced to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
. In 1992 his case had been highlighted as one of 110 possible miscarriages of justice in a report presented to the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
by the National Association of Probation Officers
National Association of Probation Officers
The National Association of Probation Officers is the trade union that represents probation officers and Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service reporters in the United Kingdom.NAPO was formed in 1912...
and justice groups Liberty
Liberty (pressure group)
Liberty is a pressure group based in the United Kingdom. Its formal name is the National Council for Civil Liberties . Founded in 1934 by Ronald Kidd and Sylvia Crowther-Smith , the group campaigns to protect civil liberties and promote human rights...
and Conviction. His conviction was eventually quashed in 2003 by the Court of Appeal after the DNA profile extracted from semen
Semen
Semen is an organic fluid, also known as seminal fluid, that may contain spermatozoa. It is secreted by the gonads and other sexual organs of male or hermaphroditic animals and can fertilize female ova...
samples recovered from the victim's body was proven not to be his. Cook's murder took place shortly after six sexual assaults had been committed in the Buckland area of the city, and the killer was initially dubbed the Beast of Buckland by the news media
News media
The news media are those elements of the mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public.These include print media , broadcast news , and more recently the Internet .-Etymology:A medium is a carrier of something...
. When police revealed that footprint evidence had been recovered and launched a search for matching shoes, the case became known as the "Cinderella
Cinderella
"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
murder". Because of the brutal nature of the murder and the preceding sex attacks, Hampshire police were under public pressure to quickly make an arrest.
Shirley's later exoneration of the murder after serving 16 years of his sentence is significant as the first time that a UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
court quashed a previous conviction on the basis of presentation of new DNA evidence. It was also the first occasion in which the Criminal Cases Review Commission
Criminal Cases Review Commission
The Criminal Cases Review Commission is an non-departmental public body set up following the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice itself a continuation of the May Inquiry. It aims to investigate possible miscarriages of justice in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
supported an appeal on the basis of newly available DNA evidence. After serving the minimum tariff of 15 years, Shirley would have been released from prison had he confessed the killing to the parole board
Parole Board for England and Wales
The Parole Board for England and Wales was established in 1968 under the Criminal Justice Act of 1967. It became an independent executive non-departmental public body on 1 July 1996 under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. The Parole Board's role is to make risk assessments about...
, but he refused to do so and said: "I would have died in prison rather than admit something I didn't do. I was prepared to stay in forever if necessary to prove my innocence."
The murder
Linda Cook was a 24 year-old barmaidBartender
A bartender is a person who serves beverages behind a counter in a bar, pub, tavern, or similar establishment. A bartender, in short, "tends the bar". The term barkeeper may carry a connotation of being the bar's owner...
, living at the home of Linda Gray on Victoria Road North, Portsmouth.Paragraph 14 Cook had been in a relationship with Gray's son since August 1986 and had moved in to the Gray family home at the beginning of November 1986.Paragraph 14 Gray's son had been remanded to a detention centre
Detention (imprisonment)
Detention is the process when a state, government or citizen lawfully holds a person by removing their freedom of liberty at that time. This can be due to criminal charges being raised against the individual as part of a prosecution or to protect a person or property...
on 14 November 1986, but Cook had stayed on in the premises.Paragraph 14 Gray was able to account for Cook's whereabouts for most of 8 December 1986, and stated that at approximately 23:30 Cook went to visit a friend in Sultan Road, Portsmouth.Paragraph 14 Shortly after midnight on 9 December 1986 she left the friend's house to walk home. Some time between 00:30 and 01:00 she was attacked on an area of wasteland known as "Merry Row", adjacent to Lake Road.Paragraph 2 Her assailant raped and strangled her, stamping upon her several times and with such force that her jaw and spine
Vertebral column
In human anatomy, the vertebral column is a column usually consisting of 24 articulating vertebrae, and 9 fused vertebrae in the sacrum and the coccyx. It is situated in the dorsal aspect of the torso, separated by intervertebral discs...
were fractured, her larynx
Larynx
The larynx , commonly called the voice box, is an organ in the neck of amphibians, reptiles and mammals involved in breathing, sound production, and protecting the trachea against food aspiration. It manipulates pitch and volume...
crushed, and imprints of his right athletic shoe
Athletic shoe
Athletic shoe is a generic name for the footwear primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise but in recent years has come to be used for casual everyday activities....
were retained on her abdomen
Abdomen
In vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...
.Paragraph 2Paragraph 23 The attack took at least 15 minutes.Paragraph 4Paragraph 27 Her naked body was discovered later that day.Paragraph 2
A number of vaginal, anal, and vulval swabs were taken by the pathologist, and subsequent forensic examination confirmed the presence of semen, from which the blood type
ABO blood group system
The ABO blood group system is the most important blood type system in human blood transfusion. The associated anti-A antibodies and anti-B antibodies are usually IgM antibodies, which are usually produced in the first years of life by sensitization to environmental substances such as food,...
of the killer was determined.Paragraph 4 Trace evidence
Trace evidence
Trace evidence is evidence that occurs when different objects contact one another. Such materials are often transferred by heat induced by contact friction....
was also gathered, including fibres
Fiber
Fiber is a class of materials that are continuous filaments or are in discrete elongated pieces, similar to lengths of thread.They are very important in the biology of both plants and animals, for holding tissues together....
from beneath Cook’s fingernails.Paragraph 21 It was noted that her fingernails "were long and unbroken, suggesting that she did not scratch her attacker, or at least did not do so with any ferocity."Paragraph 21 Her underwear
Panties
Panties are a form of underwear, usually light and snug-fitting, designed to be worn by women or girls in the area directly below the waist. Typical components include an elastic waistband, a crotch panel to cover the genital area , and a pair of leg openings which, like the waistband, are often...
was found nearby, and subsequently tested negative for traces of semen.Paragraph 11Paragraph 12 This, combined with the knowledge of her whereabouts since 10:00 the previous morning, meant that "the semen found inside [her] vagina had been deposited there after her underwear had been removed and consequently was deposited by her attacker."Paragraph 13
Michael Shirley
Michael Shirley was an 18 year-old Able SeamanAble Seaman (rank)
In the British Royal Navy in the middle of the 18th century, the term able seaman referred to a seaman with at least two years' experience at sea...
in the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, serving aboard HMS Apollo
HMS Apollo (F70)
HMS Apollo was a Batch 3B Broadbeam Leander-class frigate of the Royal Navy . She was, like the rest of the class, named after a figure of mythology. Apollo was built by Yarrow Shipbuilders of Scotstoun...
, which was docked in Portsmouth at the time of the murder.Paragraph 2 On the night of the murder he had been to "Joanna's" nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
in Southsea
Southsea
Southsea is a seaside resort located in Portsmouth at the southern end of Portsea Island in the county of Hampshire in England. Southsea is within a mile of Portsmouth's city centre....
, Portsmouth where he had met Deena Fogg, a local woman. When the club closed Fogg agreed to go to her home with him in a taxi. After a short journey of around 5 minutes, the taxi arrived at a residential tower block
Tower block
A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, office tower, apartment block, or block of flats, is a tall building or structure used as a residential and/or office building...
where Fogg said she needed to go to her mother's to collect her child, after which she would come back to the taxi.Paragraph 3 However, she had no intention of spending the night with Shirley and instead left the building by another exit and returned to her nearby home alone. After around 15 minutes Shirley realised he had been tricked, paid the taxi fare and set off on foot to see if he could find Fogg. At trial, the prosecution
Prosecutor
The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...
submitted that it was at this time that "he saw Miss Cook who was walking along Merry Row... and in his frustrated and angry state he attacked her, raped her and murdered her before going back to HMS Apollo."Paragraph 3
Shirley stated that he had spent approximately 10 minutes looking for Fogg, then headed back to his ship. He said that he caught another taxi on Edinburgh Road at 1:23 which took him to the gates of the dock where he was booked-in back aboard ship at 1:45.Paragraph 27 Two days later he met Fogg again by chance, and during a brief conversation which Fogg later claimed she found "intimidating" the subject of the murder and their close proximity to the murder scene at the time was mentioned.Paragraph 39 He subsequently spent his Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
shore leave
Shore leave
Shore leave is the leave that professional sailors get to spend on dry land. It is culturally infamous for its excess. Sailors without family obligations and with basic lodging needs provided aboard ship may spend their wages for the journey in a brief period of extravagance ashore and return to...
at his parents' home in Leamington Spa
Leamington Spa
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or Leamington or Leam to locals, is a spa town in central Warwickshire, England. Formerly known as Leamington Priors, its expansion began following the popularisation of the medicinal qualities of its water by Dr Kerr in 1784, and by Dr Lambe...
, Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
. In January 1987 he returned to Portsmouth and was due to sail to the Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
. On 5 January 1987, before the ship left the UK, he made another visit to "Joanna's" where Fogg - initially discovered as a witness during house-to-house inquiries - identified him to a police detective as the man she had been with on the night of the murder. He was arrested and taken into custody
Detention (imprisonment)
Detention is the process when a state, government or citizen lawfully holds a person by removing their freedom of liberty at that time. This can be due to criminal charges being raised against the individual as part of a prosecution or to protect a person or property...
.Paragraph 4 Charged with Linda Cook's murder, he was remanded in custody at Winchester Prison the same month.
Prosecution case
The prosecution case against Shirley consisted of four circumstantialCircumstantial evidence
Circumstantial evidence is evidence in which an inference is required to connect it to a conclusion of fact, like a fingerprint at the scene of a crime...
"planks":Paragraph 4
- Athletic shoe – The imprint of the athletic shoe found on Cook's body had been made by a size 43-45 right shoe, and had a distinctive tread pattern including the word "Flash" in the heel area. Shirley possessed a pair of size 44 athletic shoes with the same tread, and stated that he "may" have been wearing them on the night of the murder. At the time of his arrest they were at his parents' home, and were probably there when Linda was murdered. Between 1983 and 1986, 185,000 pairs were imported into the UK. In 1986 alone, up to 9,000 pairs of shoes with this tread were sold in the UK, of which 250 pairs had been sold in Portsmouth. Shirley stated that he had purchased them in Portsmouth around October 1986.Paragraph 23 No blood was found on Shirley's shoes when they were examined by forensic scientists.Paragraph 43
- Blood type – The semen samples taken from Linda's body provided a match with Shirley's blood group, O positiveABO blood group systemThe ABO blood group system is the most important blood type system in human blood transfusion. The associated anti-A antibodies and anti-B antibodies are usually IgM antibodies, which are usually produced in the first years of life by sensitization to environmental substances such as food,...
, although this group was shared by 23.3% of the BritishGreat BritainGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
adult male population.Paragraph 4 No blood matching Cook's was found on Shirley's clothing, and no matching fibres were found on Cook's or Shirley's clothing.Paragraph 43Paragraph 21 - Scratch marks – At the time of his arrest, Shirley was examined and found to have healed scratches on his right cheek, right eyebrow, collar bone, left shoulder, right elbow, right forearm, right index finger, left upper arm, and left elbow, which the prosecution's expert claimed were about four weeks old, within the time frame of the murder. For the defence, a consultant forensic physician testified that it was not possible to date the injuries with such accuracy, and Shirley stated that some of them had been received while he was serving in BarbadosBarbadosBarbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
in October 1986. However, examination of Cook's body had also shown that her long fingernails were unbroken, suggesting that she did not scratch her attacker, and no trace evidence was found beneath the nails to link her with Shirley.Paragraph 19-22 The jury were not told this. - "Missing half-hour" – The prosecution case also relied on a "missing" 30 minutes, the discrepancy between Fogg's testimony that she believed they had caught the taxi from "Joanna's" at just after midnight, and she had arrived home at about 00:15, and Shirley's account of the timings. Taking into account Shirley's description of his journey back to HMS Apollo, they maintained that he should have arrived at 01:15, not 01:45. If he had arrived back on board at 01:45 this, they submitted, would leave 30 minutes unaccounted for, sufficient time to have carried out the murder.Paragraph 28-38 However, Fogg had given two statements to the police and in the first had said she left the nightclub with Shirley at around 00:30, placing Shirley well away from the scene when Cook was killed and corroborating his account of the evening. The jury were not told about the first statement, and it emerged later that the second statement had been "made under some duress; she had been in the police station for 10 hours, was concerned for her baby and her mother was standing outside calling for her." The log book of the taxi driver who took them from the nightclub recorded that he had made a pre-booked pick up at 00:15 and did not arrive at the taxi rank where he collected Shirley and Fogg until 00.25. The log book was not produced at the trial.
Additionally, the Crown alleged:
- Alibi concoction – During the brief discussion at their second meeting, Fogg claimed that she got the impression that Shirley was attempting to reinforce his later evidence that they had left the nightclub very late, which the prosecution described as "the beginning of an attempt to concoct an alibi."Paragraph 39 When giving his statements to the police, he referred to Deena Fogg as "Sue", which she had, it later emerged, told him was her name. The prosecution claimed "that he was deliberately concealing his knowledge of the girl's identity in the hope that he would prevent the police from tracing her". This ignored the fact that he had nonetheless given "a full account to the police about his activities" with the girl.Paragraph 40Paragraph 42
Trial
The trial began on 18 January 1988 at Winchester Crown CourtWinchester Crown Court
Winchester Crown Court is a law court in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It is owned and operated by HMCS. The most high profile case to be heard there was the Rose West murder trial in 1995....
before Mr. Justice Hutchison. Shirley maintained his innocence throughout the trial, and as the case was based only on circumstantial evidence
Circumstantial evidence
Circumstantial evidence is evidence in which an inference is required to connect it to a conclusion of fact, like a fingerprint at the scene of a crime...
and the testimony of Deena Fogg, he and his legal team doubted that it would result in conviction. The prosecution produced no forensic evidence against Shirley. The jury believed the prosecution case, however, and on 28 January 1988 he was found guilty of the rape and murder of Linda Cook and sentenced to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
. The jury had retired at 10:08 "with strong hints that the judge wanted a verdict that day" and returned at 16:42 with an 11-1 verdict of guilty. An application for leave to appeal against the conviction was rejected on 4 May 1989. The judge who turned down the application, Sir David Croom-Johnson, maintained that there were "no lingering doubts" over the question of Shirley's guilt.Paragraph 5
Incarceration
Shirley was incarcerated at several prisons during his sentence:- 1988–1990: HM Prison AylesburyAylesbury (HM Prison)HM Prison Aylesbury is a Young Offender Institution situated in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England. The prison is located on the north side of the town centre, on Bierton Road...
- 1990–1996: HM Prison Long LartinLong Lartin (HM Prison)HM Prison Long Lartin is a Category A men's prison, located in the village of South Littleton in Worcestershire, England. Long Lartin Prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.-History:...
- 1996–1997: HM Prison WhitemoorWhitemoor (HM Prison)HM Prison Whitemoor is a Category A men's prison, located near the town of March in Cambridgeshire, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.-History:...
- 1997–2002: HM Prison GartreeGartree (HM Prison)HM Prison Gartree is a Category B men's prison, located in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, England. Gartree is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.-History:...
- 2002–2003: HM Prison Wormwood ScrubsWormwood Scrubs (HM Prison)HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs is a Category B men's prison, located in the Wormwood Scrubs area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, in inner west London, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service....
Campaign to prove innocence
Shirley protested his innocence, and in 1992 spent five weeks on hunger strikeHunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most hunger strikers will take liquids but not...
at HM Prison Long Lartin
Long Lartin (HM Prison)
HM Prison Long Lartin is a Category A men's prison, located in the village of South Littleton in Worcestershire, England. Long Lartin Prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.-History:...
to draw public attention to his case. In September 1992 his solicitors sent the Home Office fresh evidence which they claimed pointed to his innocence. Frustrated that fresh evidence uncovered by a journalist was being ignored, Shirley also staged a rooftop protest – of which he later said "Those couple of days on the roof were my only nights out in 16 years." He only came down after prison authorities agreed to let in the journalist, Neil Humber to talk to him. Humber was one of the earliest campaigners convinced of Shirley's innocence, and was the first to call attention to the differences between Fogg's two police statements, calling the time discrepancies "horrendous". On 28 January 1993 Shirley began another hunger strike and his mother told the news media that he would remain on hunger strike "until he gets something in black and white to show that there really is something happening. Hampshire are not going to own up to making a mistake. I would have preferred another force." The hunger strike lasted 42 days until the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
"agreed 'possibly' to review the case if they were given new evidence in a coherent form." Humber, who was due to attend a course, was told by his employers that he would be dismissed if he instead took the time off to write the report. He prepared a 49-page report which was passed to the authorities and was fired by his newspaper. With regard to the evidence, Hampshire Constabulary
Hampshire Constabulary
Hampshire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in southern England.The force area includes the cities of Winchester, Southampton and Portsmouth...
said "These matters have been passed to the Chief Constable of Hampshire and a further report will be submitted to the Home Office when these aspects have been inquired into." Shirley's solicitor, Pal Sanghera, said he was "disturbed that the same force that had carried out the initial investigation and a further inquiry last summer was being given the task."
Shirley's campaign suffered numerous setbacks persuading the authorities to re-examine fresh evidence. In 1995 he again applied to the Home Office for a review of his conviction but was informed by the Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
Michael Howard
Michael Howard
Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne, CH, QC, PC is a British politician, who served as the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005...
that he "was not minded to refer his case to the Court of Appeal
Court of Appeal of England and Wales
The Court of Appeal of England and Wales is the second most senior court in the English legal system, with only the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom above it...
." Throughout, Shirley was held in Category A prisons - reserved only for prisoners "whose escape would be highly dangerous to the public, or the police or the security of the State, and for whom the aim must be to make escape impossible" - because the authorities considered him to be "in denial" over his guilt. Shirley's lawyer, Anita Bromley, said "He is not in denial, he denies committing the crime. What Michael's case shows is how easy it is to be convicted of murder, and how very difficult it is to overturn that conviction."
The campaign was hampered by Hampshire Constabulary's poor handling of evidence after the trial: advances in DNA profiling would have demonstrated Shirley's innocence, and he "consistently asked that DNA tests be carried out" but the police claimed that none of the evidence or swabs had been retained, and that much of it had been destroyed 6 months after the trial.Paragraph 7 Eventually, in 2001, the police admitted that they had found a slide taken from one of the swabs "in a drawer", and in 2002 "found" further clothing evidence.
See also
- Murder of Teresa de SimoneMurder of Teresa de SimoneThe murder of Teresa de Simone was committed in Southampton, England, in 1979 and led to one of the longest proven cases of a miscarriage of justice in British legal history. The murder occurred outside the Tom Tackle pub and was the subject of a three-year police investigation which resulted in...
- Murder of Wendy Sewell
- Murder of Lesley Molseed