by Wonny Lea
‘I can also confirm that the alarm system was de-activated and there wasn’t a single fingerprint to be found on the operating system, not even Mark’s prints, indicating that it was switched off by the person or persons involved in this crime and wiped clean of any incriminating evidence.’
Alex pressed the remote control he was holding. Now frozen on the screen was a bird’s eye view of the kitchen, showing the handiwork of the murderer in full colour and in all its gruesome detail.
There was a sharp intake of breath from many of the audience who although having been told the details of the crime, were now seeing for the first time the real horror of what had happened and Alex deliberately waited a few moments for everyone to take it all in.
‘I have spoken to Professor Moore, and we are in agreement about the way in which the murder and mutilation was carried out, but he may have more to tell us following the PM that was completed earlier, so I am going to leave that to him. Unfortunately from our point of view, there is little in the way of evidence for us to examine – nothing in the kitchen was disturbed, there’s hardly anything in the way of fingerprints, and no dirty cups or glasses. Either Mark didn’t offer his visitor a drink, or it became obvious quite soon that this was not a social call.’
Alex was aware that his team was not going to be much help with the analysis of the actual murder scene and to the relief of many present he pressed the button to reveal the next scene. He pointed out that the white flecks all over the image were not faults with the photography but very light pieces of the white fibre that had been firmly packed into the sofa.
‘This is the lounge,’ he explained. ‘Here again there is no sign of a struggle and apart from the obvious damage to the sofa there is nothing out of place and yet again, we are not blessed with much in the way of fingerprints to examine.’
Alex pressed another button on the remote. The system zoomed in on the sofa and he let it settle first of all on the seating area.
‘Although the destruction is absolute, we don’t think that the sofa was destroyed in a wild or random way, but in a methodical, predetermined fashion, with four deep cuts in each seat and four similar cuts across the back. All cuts have been made with a very sharp knife. At first we thought the blade would be long, but on further examination it seems the sofa was so firmly packed that any sharp knife would have done the job, and the super-soft filling would have initially come out with some force. That’s why it covers so many areas of the room, and whoever wielded this knife would inevitably have been covered with the fibres.
‘There is no sign of blood anywhere in the lounge, which leads us to believe that the sofa was the first thing to be attacked, but it begs the question: why there is there no evidence of white filling in the kitchen if the killer moved into the kitchen from the lounge?’
Martin interrupted Alex for the first time and shared what he was increasingly ready to believe. ‘There is every possibility we are looking for more than one criminal, and that the lounge and the kitchen witnessed two very separate crimes – the works of two separate criminals, although why is beyond me at this point in time.’
He indicated to Alex that he could continue, and noted that now on the screen were examples of the sort of knives that could have been used on the sofa. Another button was pressed, and a close up of the fireplace in the lounge came into focus. Here Alex was pleased to say that his team had experienced some real success and were able to identify the documents that were seemingly burned.
‘In essence what we have found are two birth certificates. One is the original birth certificate of Mark Wilson, with the names of his genetic parents, and the other being the adoption certificate of Mark Wilson showing the date of adoption by Norman and Sandy Harding –’
‘Well done,’ interrupted Martin. ‘From the state of those documents I didn’t think you would be able to identify anything, so that’s fantastic news and it may lead us to finding out some possible reasons for this crime. I am more and more convinced that this has something to do with Mark’s biological family, so that’s an urgent line of enquiry.’
Some general discussion erupted in the lull after Alex sat down, but quietened the instant Prof. Moore got to his feet and accepted the remote control from Alex. The professor loved an audience, especially one as captive as this, and he knew they would hang on to his every word. And they knew he would not disappoint.
The professor flashed image after image on to the screen, with the first set of photos being those he had taken at the scene of the crime and the second those he had taken at various stages of the post-mortem examination. As he did so, he meticulously explained how he had reached the conclusion that the limbs had been removed in the order of left arm, right arm, left leg, and finally right leg. Although he did not use all the scientific language of his trade, he was not condescending, and treated his audience to a fascinating lesson in blood analysis and tissue examination.
The individual images of each limb taken in the post-mortem rooms were accompanied by photographs of the type of knives that could have been used for their severance, and after he had shown the fourth of the limb sets he looked towards Martin, giving him the opportunity to comment on how the team could best use this information.
‘Normally we would be looking for one weapon, but here it is obvious that not only were four weapons used, but that each one is of a different type. I don’t believe for one moment we are going to find these knives dumped anywhere – they are significant and in the way that some murderers take trophies from their victims, it occurs to me that these knives may be his trophies. If that is the case, they will still be with him.
‘I say “him” as it is unlikely, given the sheer brute strength required to amputate limbs, that the killer could have been a woman, but whether it was one man or two, or even more, is not clear. There is almost certainly a fifth knife, as the blade used on the sofa does not match any of the weapons used in the kitchen.’
He nodded towards Prof. Moore, who completed his part of the meeting by confirming that the usual array of tests had been done to determine Mark’s blood group and rhesus type, his DNA, analysis of his stomach contents, and blood tests to cover all eventualities, including whether or not the victim had been drugged, the results of which would be available shortly.
Martin looked at his watch, remembering that the time for the press conference was getting close. He wanted to consider which facts to give out at this stage, and in particular the best way to get an early appeal to the public for help. He shouted over the increasingly animated discussion. ‘OK, let’s see what we can make of what we have, and what the next steps should be.’
Martin turned to his whiteboard and looked at the copious notes he had made while his colleagues were talking. He used some of the words he had underlined to focus his mind.
‘Sergeant Evans, you and your team will link up with the SOC officers to complete a search of the house and gardens, and with CID officers to make house-to-house enquiries in the area. As the garden of the Nicanor family is adjacent to the victim’s property I suggest we also make that part of the search, but I emphasise that this is merely routine, as we have no evidence that links Mr Nicanor to the crime, as yet. I suggest you get started right away and let me know immediately if anything turns up.’
A group of uniformed officers and some plain-clothes staff were already on their way to the door when Martin remembered something, and hastily called to let everyone know that PC Cook-Watts had been appointed as the family liaison officer for Mark’s adoptive parents, and so any contact with them should be through her.
Helen had been leaving with the others but then came back into the room, a little unsure of what she should be doing. Martin indicated that she should join the four men who were left, and who had now settled around the front table.
‘It will probably be useful for you to hear this discussion so that you are up to speed with what we are doing, and unless I say anything to the contrary, Helen, you are free to ke
ep Mr and Mrs Harding fully informed of the efforts that are being made to find Mark’s killer.’
‘Just to let you know, a request has come through to my office – the Hardings want to see Mark’s body, and the professor has confirmed that he will ensure the body is ready for them to view at 4 p.m. I suggest you get out to them beforehand and bring them in via the Visitors’ Room. I thank God that at least their son’s face isn’t disfigured; from what I saw in the PM rooms earlier he looks amazingly peaceful, so hopefully they will take some comfort from that.’
‘You will remember from the meeting earlier that we will not be releasing the actual details of the killing to the press and so, like the rest of the public, the only thing Mr and Mrs Harding can know at this time is that the murder weapon was a knife, and that there are no suggestions of sexual interference. If they ask questions that you find too difficult, please speak to me, but I’m sure you will be fine, so go and pick them up as soon as we are finished here.’
Prof. Moore said he had nothing further to add, and that he would like to get back to the lab if that was OK? Martin nodded and thanked him before getting up and walking to the whiteboard to get his and his colleagues’ minds focused on the next few hours.
‘Look at what we have,’ said Martin. ‘We can only assume that there was no evidence of forced entry before the door was broken down – the women had been in the porch for some time and would have gone in if the door had been tampered with. So either Mark knew the person at the door, or it was the sort of person one would let in for whatever reason – like whom?’
Between them they reeled off possibilities including meter readers, charity collectors, Jehovah’s Witnesses, salesmen for Sky packages, and double glazing firms’ representatives.
Matt added one of his own. ‘Then of course there’s our lot, unless you’re a criminal you would probably let in anyone in a police uniform.’
Alex continued. ‘My money is on the victim knowing whoever it was that rang his doorbell, but even if gloves were not worn we can forget finding any relevant finger prints there as every one of Mark’s friends rang that bell over and over.’
‘So Mark let in someone he knew, possibly more than one person, and it would have been at the time he was preparing food for the evening he was planning to have with his friends.’ Martin paused. ‘He would probably have been in the kitchen when the doorbell rang.’
‘The main groups of people we all know are family, friends, neighbours, and work colleagues,’ suggested Matt. ‘Although Mark wasn’t a loner, there don’t appear to be too many names on his list, so we should get round to seeing most of them by the end of tomorrow. We checked out his father, Bob Wilson, and he’s detained at Her Majesty’s pleasure in Bristol’s Cambridge Road prison. Mark has never visited, and in fact the only family member to ever request a visitor’s permit is Mark’s one surviving sister, Amy.’
‘Have we got an address for her?’ asked Martin.
Alex responded. ‘There was a fancy visitors’ book on the hall table at the victim’s house, but her name isn’t in it. In fact, it looks as if the book may have been a Christmas present, as the names and dates only go back to January of this year. It may give us some help regarding recent visitors, but it is more likely that names and addresses of any significance will be on Mark’s laptop and our computer experts are going through that at the moment. Surprise, surprise, all his passwords are neatly written out on a piece of card in his wallet together with what is probably a list of PINs and internet banking details – when will people learn?’
‘Yes, but it’s not easy. We’re told to use different numbers for everything, but most of us have trouble remembering our phone numbers, so it’s almost inevitable we need to write these things down somewhere – but in this case the ease at which theft would have been possible makes it simple for us to rule it out.’ Matt thought and then went on. ‘Absolutely nothing appears to have been taken, and there was plenty to tempt your regular burglar, from the latest wall-mounted big screen television to a wallet, a watch, and even a jar full of pound coins all ready for the taking.’
Martin agreed. ‘Let’s be grateful for the things we can rule out, and I agree theft is one of them. The only things the killer seemed to want from Mark were the two documents that together seem to demonstrate his life – that is to say, they provide evidence that he was born in the first place, and was then given the opportunity of a new life with his adoption. Although the only reason those documents were needed was to facilitate their destruction. So who would want to enter Mark’s home, burn the legal evidence that he lived, make some sort of statement on his sofa, and then cut him to pieces in the kitchen?’
‘It’s definitely someone he knew and someone with an almighty big reason to hate him. Matt, we need to get our lot working on any known contacts and for them to supply us with alibis regarding where they were between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. yesterday afternoon. Anyone who is unable to provide witnesses to their whereabouts you can bring in for questioning – I don’t care who they are.’
Turning to Helen Cook-Watts, Martin added. ‘That includes Norman and Sandy Harding. If they have no one other than one another to verify where they were, we will need to put the same questions to them as we do to any of the others.’
Helen looked visibly shocked. ‘You can’t possibly believe that devastated couple had anything to do with Mark’s murder! They looked like they’d lost the will to live themselves when we gave them the news. I just can’t imagine their involvement, and anyway, surely they wouldn’t have had the physical strength, would they?’
‘You’re probably right, Helen, and on the face of it they completely adored Mark. However, none of us know what goes on behind closed doors, especially with complex family set-ups, and so we mustn’t let our hearts rule our heads. For now, let’s consider that everyone who knew Mark could be the killer or could have arranged the killing. Mistakes have been made in the past, so we will rule everyone in and only when we are completely satisfied with their alibis will we rule them out.’
Matt and Alex nodded. They had both been here before and could easily remember cases when ‘butter-wouldn’t-melt-in-the-mouth’ little old ladies and middle-aged ‘pillars of the community’, had turned out to be ruthless killers, and time had been wasted because they had been considered too unlikely to have been questioned properly.
‘Alex, I would be grateful if you could return to Mark’s house and let me know of any developments there. Matt, when you have got everyone working on the contacts, come and join me for the press conference.’ Martin turned to Helen and said, ‘I will be around when you bring Mr and Mrs Harding in to view the body, so if they need to speak to me, or if you feel it would be better if I was there, then give me a ring.’
They all got up and moved quickly off in three different directions, leaving Martin to have one final look at his whiteboard and draw a thick black line around the section that included the names of the two remaining members of Mark’s genetic family. There was no evidence to support his gut feeling, but all his instincts, and perhaps his past experiences, were leading him in that direction.
Martin hated press conferences in spite of the fact he had probably now been party to hundreds – maybe that was partly why, he thought. He’d attended numerous media awareness courses and recognised that in a case such as this a simple press release would satisfy no one. He also had to admit that, although public appeals via the media inevitably led to false leads and wasted manpower, there was always the chance that just one genuine response could prove really useful.
Matt joined him as he walked down the back stairs, then headed to the front of the building. He went into the room adjacent to the reception that was used for all public meetings and permanently set up to accommodate the press and all its paraphernalia. He used the side door that took him straight to the front of the room so avoiding the leads, microphones, and cameras that were everywhere as the various media types elbowed their way to prime positions.
>
The table at which the detectives sat was on a slightly elevated platform, and microphones were placed in front of the two chairs on which DS Pryor and DCI Phelps now sat facing a sea of impatient men and women with deadlines to meet.
Martin tapped his microphone and the room became relatively quiet as he first of all read out the statement he had carefully prepared.
‘Yesterday, Saturday 29th May, the police were called to the home of Mr Mark Wilson in Penylan after a neighbour had discovered a body in the house. The body has been identified as the homeowner, and we have no doubt that Mr Wilson was brutally murdered at some time between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. last evening. We would like to take this opportunity to ask any members of the public who were in the area during that period of time to come forward, as they may have seen something that will be of assistance to the enquiry.’
The room erupted, and Martin had to stand and practically bellow into his microphone to get some semblance of order.
‘I will take questions but only if I can hear myself speak.’ Martin sat back down and nodded towards a journalist whom he knew worked for one of the evening newspapers, and who quickly took the opportunity to ask not just one but three consecutive questions.
‘Is it true his head was chopped off? Was he one of the big boys in the drugs trafficking around here? Do you have anyone in the frame for the killing?’
Martin stared in disbelief at the grossly overweight reporter who looked as if he had a season ticket to McDonalds and whose only form of exercise was lifting cheeseburgers from his plate to his mouth. Where did these people get their information? At least he had chosen to ask about the only part of Mark’s body that had not been ‘chopped off’, as he had so crudely put it, and so Martin was able to answer truthfully.