Margaret Davies, the proprietor of Howelston Caravan Park site at Little Haven, was surprised to get a concerned telephone call from Tim Dixon enquiring about his parents. They were popular visitors to the area and well known to the locals. Over the years they had spent hours walking and exploring the miles of breath-taking clifftops and hidden coves that make up the coastal path of Pembrokeshire. Now Margaret Davies made her way across her campsite in search of their pitch. Their tent was still there, as was Peter Dixon’s red Ford Sierra car. This was very unusual as she was aware they were due to leave on 29 June, and they had not indicated an intention to stay or paid the additional site fees.
It was quickly established that Peter and Gwenda Dixon had last been seen on the site on the morning of 29 June. They had spoken to fellow camper, Richard Lines, who had pitched his tent immediately next to theirs. Peter had indicated his intention to return home at midday and that he and his wife were taking a final walk along the coastal path towards St Brides to allow their tent to dry out. Indeed a number of people saw them leave the site in the direction of the coastal path. The reports suggested that the Dixons seemed happy and were enjoying the last few hours of their holiday.
Immediately Tim Dixon knew something was wrong. His parents were considerate people and would never have overstayed without telling someone or without paying their fees. On 3 July 1989, Tim reported to police that his parents were missing. Very quickly officers were mobilised in a search of the area near to Howelston Caravan Park, helped by the National Park wardens and the Coastguard. As the long summer evening faded the sound of a helicopter rang out along the coastline. The search continued at first light and was now bolstered by police dog handlers and a helicopter from RAF Brawdy supported by the inshore lifeboat. The search for the Dixons was declared a major incident and there were now very real fears for their safety. Many believed the couple might have fallen and injured themselves along the cliff path but with every passing hour hope of finding them alive faded.
The terrain was difficult and dangerous and on the afternoon of 4 July, dog handlers were tasked with searching an area known as Borough Head. This was a wooded area near to the edge of sheer 200 feet high cliffs; one careless step would mean disaster. It meant that progress was slow and again the fading light made it impossible to finish searching this area of pathway. The search teams would return the next morning to continue the task.
This was hot and dangerous work with only a sea breeze bringing occasional relief from the heat. It was shortly after 3.30 p.m. when PC Mike Callas, a dog handler, noticed something was not right as he searched near to the cliff edge. There were swarms of flies in an area below him and a pungent smell which experience told him was the stench of death. He followed what appeared to be an animal run made by either foxes or badgers, fully expecting to find the carcass of an animal. Instead, he was confronted by the decomposing bodies of Peter and Gwenda Dixon.
The bodies lay in a heavily wooded and overgrown area of the coastal path approximately 800 yards from the Howelston Farm Caravan Park where they had been camping. They were concealed behind a screen of broken branches, which were pushed into the ground and interwoven with ferns and vegetation. Crucially, the bodies were completely hidden from the view of anyone walking along the coastal footpath. For Superintendent Don Evans this was his worst nightmare. He had been one of the first at the scene of the Scoveston Park double murders and now he was faced with a second double killing. For Don it was impossible to comprehend. This idyllic corner of Pembrokeshire was yet again about to become the centre of national attention.
The scene could only be accessed by an ill-defined, overgrown path which led to a small plateau and clearing. Beyond this plateau the cliff fell away to the shore below. Gwenda Dixon was found lying face down near the edge of a precipitous drop of some 200 feet, with her head pointing towards the sea. She was naked from the waist down apart from her socks. Her trousers and underwear were a short distance away. The trousers had been turned inside out and her pants were entangled in the trouser legs indicating they had been removed together, either hurriedly or forcibly and discarded. Her walking boots were nearby. Her bra had been pulled down towards her waist. Her jumper and blouse had been rucked up exposing her breasts. In addition to being partially hidden by the screen of branches other efforts had been made to conceal her body by covering it with brambles, uprooted plants and other vegetation. The position and condition of Mrs Dixons body was clearly indicative of a sexual assault. Peter Dixon’s body was found a few feet away from his wife’s at the extreme edge of the cliff. He was also lying face down with his feet facing towards the sea. His body had started to slide over the edge of the cliff top. Mr Dixon was fully clothed with his hands tied behind his back with a single length of grey three-ply polyethylene rope.
As with any major crime, the scene and any associated locations are potentially rich with evidence and must be properly preserved. Following the discovery of the bodies, scenes of crime officers taped off a common path to the bodies, established inner and outer cordons and started a log, providing a continuous record of those officers and other persons who entered or left the scene. Little Haven and the surrounding area was a very popular tourist destination and this was high season. The investigation team had to move quickly and obtain details of the local holiday parks and visitors to the area before they returned home.
Preserving the bodies and their clothing was now the key objective but a proper examination would be extremely dangerous because of their proximity to the cliff edge. The conditions were unique and initially the pathologist and forensic scientists were reluctant to carry out any examinations of the bodies where they lay because of the very real risk of falling. Professor Bernard Knight, the Home Office Pathologist, arrived at the scene at 8 p.m. on Wednesday 5 July and carried out a brief initial examination of the body of Gwenda Dixon, but he was unable to examine the body of Peter Dixon due to its precarious location. Doctor John Whiteside a scientist from the Home Office Forensic Science Laboratory in Chepstow also attended the scene the same day and found it an equally difficult and dangerous examination to undertake. The assistance of HM Coastguard was required to secure the body of Peter Dixon by tying it to a tree to stop it sliding over the cliff edge. All those working at the scene had to be secured with ropes and safety harnesses. Despite being hampered in his work, Professor Knight suspected even at this early stage Gwenda Dixon had been shot. At 9.30 that evening her body was removed from the scene and due to the obvious dangers, DCS Clive Jones also gave instructions for the body of Peter Dixon to be removed the same night. Ideally, he would have wanted more time with them at the scene, but its unique and dangerous location made this impossible.
The Coastal Path between Little Haven and Borough Head was thoroughly searched with all undergrowth being removed fifty yards each side of the crime scene and down to the rocky shore below. The plateau was fingertip searched and divers were brought in to comb the bay below. The searches were thorough and methodical although nothing of any obvious evidential value was found other than the personal belongings and clothing of the couple and the contents of their rucksack. These had been strewn around the scene and included a waterproof jacket and trousers that were heavily blood-stained. There was also a camera case, walking stick, binoculars and a key ring. The blood on the clothing suggested that the rucksack was searched before the Dixons were shot. It was soon established through Tim Dixon that his father carried a wallet in which he kept cash and his bankcards, including a NatWest cash card. The wallet and its contents were missing.
Both bodies were taken to Withybush Hospital at Haverfordwest where the post-mortem examinations were carried out by Professor Knight. The examination of Gwenda Dixon revealed two shotgun wounds, one in the centre of the back and one in the right breast. There were other marks and injuries to her body consistent with rough handling; she had also received a substantial blow to the left side of her head with a blunt instrument, enough to cause unconscious
ness. The shotgun wound to the chest had passed through the blouse and jumper and not the bra, which was undamaged by the blast.
Peter Dixon suffered three gunshot wounds. One in the back, a second to the right side of the chest and a third to the head, which Professor Knight believed was delivered when he was still alive, blowing away the central part of his face and brain. Both the victims had died as a result of these gunshot wounds. From examination of the wounds it was established that the fatal shots had been delivered from a double-barrelled sawn-off shotgun. It was also concluded that the wound on Gwenda’s back and the head and back wounds to Peter were fired from the same barrel and the chest wounds sustained by both were fired from the other. In essence the killer must have reloaded the gun twice. Two plastic cartridge cups and cork wadding were recovered from the body of Gwenda. Three plastic cartridge cups, two cork waddings and a quantity of shotgun pellets were recovered from the body of Peter Dixon. The type of wadding recovered suggested the cartridges were manufactured by one of three Italian firms: SMI, Maionchi or Martigoni. Doctor Renshaw, a ballistics expert, observed that the weight of the pellets corresponded with No.5 shot, but he could not exclude No.4 or No.6. Similar shot had been used at Scoveston and at both scenes no spent cartridges were recovered.
DCS Clive Jones needed to establish a time of death and this was proving difficult. Both bodies were heavily infested with maggots, samples of which were examined by Doctor Zakaria Erzinclioglu of Cambridge University’s Department of Zoology. From examination it was concluded that the time of death was on 28 or 29 June. This was established by the feeding habits of the maggots. As they eat they excrete a fluid, which in turn keeps the body in a condition most suitable to feed on. Another vital piece of evidence came from a witness who, at about 11 a.m. on the 29 June was walking on the beach below the coastal path and heard five shots: two blasts followed by two more and then a final shot. All of this, together with the sighting of Peter and Gwenda Dixon at Howelston Farm Caravan Park on the morning of 29 June led DCS Jones to believe that the shots heard by the witness were those that that had killed the Dixons. The position of Mrs Dixon’s clothing suggested that her body had not been moved after the fatal gunshots had been delivered. The hole in the back of her blouse was circular and the same size as the wound whereas the hole in her jumper was considerably elongated indicating it had been creased or ‘rucked up’ at the time the shot to the back was fired. The shot to the chest had not passed through the bra, indicating it had been moved exposing her breast before the shot was made. The plateau was indeed the murder scene and the time of death was the morning of 29 June.
The brutality of the killings sent shock waves through the beautiful coastal village of Little Haven and spread into the wider community of Pembrokeshire and beyond. This was now the second double shotgun murder within just a few miles and a Major Incident Room was established at Haverfordwest police station. The investigation was already generating a vast amount of information, all of which had to be evaluated and logged.
A few years earlier, following the Yorkshire Ripper enquiry, the standard procedures for recording information in a large investigation had changed. The Ripper investigation had been hampered by the sheer volume of paper, all of which had to be sifted and indexed by hand and recorded on card systems for research and retrieval. When Peter Sutcliffe was eventually arrested it would emerge that his name had featured several times in the inquiry but the significance of his connections to the crimes had never been picked up. Investigators had become bogged down in paperwork.
Now in 1989 the MIRSAP (Major Incident Room Standardised Administration Procedures) had become the bible. The old rota decks and paper-based systems, used at Scoveston Park, had been replaced by the Home Office Large Major Enquiry System or HOLMES computer. Dyfed Powys Police had just taken delivery of such a computer system and the Chief Constable decided to use it on the Dixons inquiry. Unknown to him this decision would seriously hamper the investigation with some simple searches taking almost 45 minutes to return a result.
Dyfed Powys Police was yet again at the centre of a major crime investigation attracting national interest and was facing awkward questions about its ability to investigate another double shotgun killing after the failure of the Scoveston Park inquiry four years earlier. It was clear that DCS Jones needed a strong line of enquiry, and fast. The stolen cash card belonging to Peter Dixon provided it. Inquiries revealed that the card had been used on four occasions following the murders. The first transaction occurred in Pembroke town centre, some 15 miles from Little Haven, at 1.36 p.m. on Thursday 29 June, when £10 in cash was withdrawn from the NatWest Bank service till. Prior to this withdrawal a void transaction took place indicating that the card may have been used by someone who was inexperienced with the procedure of taking out money or the amounts that could be withdrawn. The second transaction occurred at the same cash point at 4.09 p.m. on the same day. The correct PIN was entered, a balance enquiry was made and a printed slip was given, showing a balance of £122.59. The withdrawal option was taken; again a wrong amount was entered before a withdrawal of £100 was made. The third transaction occurred at 2.59 p.m. the following day, 30 June, at the NatWest in Carmarthen town centre, some thirty miles east of Pembroke and Little Haven. On this occasion the correct PIN was used at the first attempt and a balance enquiry made. Again the offender requested £100 that was dispensed. The fourth and final transaction occurred at 07.14 a.m., the following day on Saturday 1 July, at the NatWest in Haverfordwest; in effect whoever was using the card had returned the 25 miles to Pembrokeshire. Again the PIN was entered correctly at the first attempt and a balance enquiry was made before £100 was requested and dispensed.
In order to access the cash machines the killer had to be in possession of Peter Dixon’s PIN. This meant he either knew it, had found it written on some piece of paper belonging to him or most likely he had forced him to divulge it prior to his murder. It is difficult to imagine what they must have been subjected to in the moments before their death. Minutes earlier they had been enjoying a summer’s walk and the next they were being confronted by a gunman. It is likely one of them saw the other murdered in cold blood knowing they were to face the same fate. Even for hardened detectives it was very poignant. This was a callous execution for little gain.
The focus of the investigation now switched to the location of the cash points in Pembroke, Carmarthen and Haverfordwest. It was now vital that anyone who might have used the cash points or been near them at the time of the transactions was traced. Detectives had to move quickly because at this time of the year the area was full of tourists who would be returning home. Teams of officers flooded the area. Radio, TV and press appeals were made. The swift action paid off and soon a picture and a suspect began to emerge. A number of witnesses in Main Street, Pembroke, described seeing a man hanging around the town centre at the time of the transactions. He was twenty-five to thirty-five years old, six feet tall with light brown scruffy collar-length hair and wearing knee-length khaki shorts and hiking boots, and had two to three day’s growth of beard. Other witnesses gave a similar description and included the fact that the man had a straight handled bicycle with him. At 07.15 a.m. on 1 July 1989, Nicholas Elliot was driving his car along High Street in Haverfordwest when he looked towards the NatWest. He always did this as he passed because his girlfriend worked in the bank. At this time in the morning it was very quiet, and his attention was drawn to a lone man using the cashpoint. Nicholas Elliot described the man as five feet ten inches tall, late thirties to early forties with dark brown collar length hair that was slightly bushy. He looked unshaven sporting a slight beard and moustache; he looked tanned as if he spent time outdoors. He was wearing ankle length boots with almost knee length khaki to brown shorts and was carrying a rucksack. He also noticed a bicycle with straight handlebars leaning against the wall.
Each confirmed sighting produced an artist’s impression and this left DCS Clive Jones with an important policy deci
sion to make: should he go public, and if so with which one? Experience told him that the release of an artist’s impression could overwhelm the investigation because well-meaning members of the public will in good faith report sightings from one end of the country to the other. This could divert valuable resources away from the case on fruitless enquiries. His decision was helped by one simple fact. In the sighting by Nicholas Elliot in Haverfordwest, the killer had chosen to use the cashpoint very early in the morning no doubt to avoid being seen. He believed this was significant. This single isolated transaction and sighting by Elliot had fixed him as the person using Peter Dixon’s cash card; the time that the bank gave for the withdrawal could be matched to the time of the sighting. With this in mind, DCS Jones went public with the Elliot artist’s impression of the dishevelled man on the bike and it became the main line of enquiry for the investigation. Trace the wild man!
The artist’s impression was released into the public domain on 10 July 1989 and featured on the BBC Crimewatch programme, and as predicted possible sightings came from far and wide. There were in excess of six hundred and thirty calls from the public naming persons as being identical to the artist’s impression. These calls would almost double in two days. A number of possible sightings appeared to be promising and attracted considerable media coverage and police resources, but came to nothing. The release of the artist’s impression together with the poor performance of the HOLMES computer almost ground the investigation to a halt.
Sightings of persons fitting the artist’s impression in the Pembrokeshire area were from as far back as the first week in June, the majority of which were in an eight-mile radius of the scene. In all there were twenty-six sightings at or near the three cash points used by the killer during a three day period from 29 June up to and including 1 July 1989. This was clearly the main line of enquiry for DCS Jones and his team. The team also attempted to establish the origin of the rope used to tie the hands of Peter Dixon. Doctor Whiteside, a Home Office forensic scientist, described the rope as being thirty strand three ply polyethylene cord, greyish in colour and approximately four millimetres in diameter, Z twist with right hand lay. It was also expert opinion that the rope was likely to be connected to the fishing industry and a knot expert observed the knot used as being non-specialised, nondescript and very loose. Again substantial resources, time and effort were put into tracing the possible origin of the rope. National and international suppliers were contacted, and boats and boat yards were checked: the task was daunting.
The Pembrokeshire Murders: Catching the Bullseye Killer Page 3