The Criminal Cases Review Commission announced yesterday that the case of. Valeries immediate instinct was that it was the farmer coming to find out what they were doing and to tell them to get off his land. Organize, control, distribute and measure all of your digital content. After nine hours, they returned to the court and entered a unanimous verdict of guilty. Michael Gregsten is a 36-year-old research scientist at the Road Research Laboratory at Langley, near Slough. 2022 Casefile True Crime Podcast. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. [citation needed] Storie gave another statement to the police later that morning, just before she underwent surgery in Bedford Hospital. She retreated into her own world, while at the same time listening, watching and making notes of what was being said.". Alphon was recorded by PC Ian Thomson as saying "there can't have been any fingerprints in the car otherwise mine would have given me away". When Alphon found out, he flew into a rage. In 2002 Valerie was finally vindicated when DNA evidence proved beyond reasonable doubt that Hanratty was guilty. The Hanrattys were warm, gentle, determined people, unlikely parents of a man who had been convicted of shooting Michael Gregsten dead in a lay-by off the A6, raping his girlfriend Valerie Storie and then shooting her, leaving her for dead before driving off in the couple's car. He stayed in a room the night before the crime from which bullets that had been fired from the murder weapon were recovered. Despite this, she was hounded by the media and celebrities, including John Lennon and Yoko Ono, who criticised her for allegedly sending an innocent man to his grave. Believing that he had killed her, Hanratty drove south in the direction of Luton. The journey continued along the A5 through St Albans, which the gunman mistakenly insisted was Watford, before joining the A6. The case became a cause celebre, with politicians and pop stars, legal experts and writers joining the campaign to prove he was the victim of a miscarriage of justice. circa 1962. She was able to see only the body of the man between his waist and shoulders, but his smart appearance seemed at odds with his threatening behaviour. Ingrams said that Alphon, in conversations with Foot and others, had spoken "obsessively about the case, frequently incriminating himself". michael gregsten wife. Paul Stickler's book is available on Amazon here. In some accounts of the case Janet Gregsten instigated the investigation into James Hanratty by a psychic experience. Find the right content for your market. The full text of the Court of Appeals Decision: This page was last edited on 26 January 2023, at 14:31. She wanted to write a book to finally give her version of events but did not get round to this before her death in 2016. In August 1961, Michael Gregsten and Valerie Storie were sitting in their car in Dorney Reach, UK when an intruder forced his way into the backseat brandishing a gun. After holding them at gunpoint for two hours, Hanratty told Michael to start driving because he wanted food. [8], Hanratty's capital murder trial started at Bedfordshire Assizes on 22 January 1962 before Mr Justice Gorman and a jury; it was originally to have been heard at the Old Bailey, as requested by Hanratty's defence counsel, Michael Sherrard QC, later CBE. He then retrieved a cloth from the duffle bag, covered Gregsten's bloodied head with it, and ordered Storie to clamber into the back of the car, over Gregsten's body. Valerie criticised the journalists who campaigned to prove Hanratty's innocence in an interview with the Mail on Sunday in 2002. Michael Gregsten with his wife Janet before he was murdered in his car on the A6 by James Hanratty. If you do as I tell you, you will be alright., Extracted from The Long Silence: The True Story of James Hanratty and the A6 Murder by Valerie Storie, the Woman Who Lived to Tell the Tale by Paul Stickler. The story of the A6 Murderer in Bedfordshire is infamous, but the story of one of his victim's has remained untold, To stay up to date with all the latest news from across Bedfordshire sign up to our free newsletter for daily updates and all the latest breaking news. Tap into Getty Images' global scale, data-driven insights, and network of more than 340,000 creators to create content exclusively for your brand. On 11 September, two cartridge cases were found in the guest basement bedroom of the Vienna Hotel, which were matched with the bullets that killed Gregsten and to the ones in the gun found on the bus. The police raided the hotel, and questioned Nudds again, who then changed his story, claiming that Alphon had in fact been in the basement and 'Ryan' in Room 6 but, for reasons unknown, had swapped rooms during the night. During the incident, the victim was kicked in the back and suffered minor injuries. He was sent to the gallows at Bedford Prison on 4 April 1962, becoming one of the last people to be hanged in Britain before capital punishment was abolished. RM ID: B5E30P Preview Image details Contributor: Trinity Mirror / Mirrorpix / Alamy Stock Photo File size: 30 MB (1.3 MB Compressed download) Releases: It's best to encompass . At that time there was no conclusive forensic evidence to connect Hanratty with the car or the murder scene. Where was the money going to come from? Were they to marry? [45][46], This article is about the 1961 murder on the A6 road in England. The day before he died he wrote a letter to his brother Michael in which he said: "I'm dying tomorrow but I'm innocent. Hanratty was sent to recuperate at an aunt's home in Bedford, a place he and his brother Michael had visited as children on holiday. Gregsten at first refused, but the man became aggressive and threatened them with the gun. [24] The Committee attempted to assist Hanratty in his defence, and later tried to disprove his conviction. [12] Gregsten had been shot twice in the head with a .38 revolver at point blank range; Storie had been raped, and then shot with the same weapon, four times in the left shoulder and once in the neck, leaving her paralysed below the shoulders. The dead man, who has been identified as physicist Michael John Gregsten, 34, from Abbots Langley in Hertfordshire, had been shot twice in the head with a 38-calibre revolver. What Valerie then saw surprised her. Not so much lying to avoid the death sentence, but putting the burden of clearing his name on his brother, even AFTER his death, makes him the worst type of criminal. Was Michael actually going to leave his wife and two boys? View 1 apartments for rent in corsicana, tx. 1945: Ex-soldier buried his wife on Anglesey beach after . [citation needed] Hanratty's defence claimed that Mrs Dinwoodie was mistaken about the date. On 3 July 1957, aged 20, five months after his release from Wormwood Scrubs, Hanratty was sentenced at Brighton Magistrates' Court to six months' imprisonment (he served four) for a variety of motoring offences, including theft of a motor vehicle and driving without a licence. He said: "Whenever journalists came to her asking to tell her story she said no, as they'd misrepresent her. The A6 Committee made a list of claims which, they contended, indicated that Alphon was the murderer: Paul Foot warned "against jumping to hasty conclusions, in particular about Peter Alphon he really didn't know as much as he pretended. Despatched to the youth wing of Wormwood Scrubs, he slashed his wrists; placed in the prison hospital, he was declared a 'potential psychopath'. A man tapped on the driver's door window; when Gregsten wound it down, a large black revolver was thrust into his face, and a cockney voice said, "This is a hold-up, I am a desperate man, I have been on the run for four months. However, only two days later, Storie gave a different description of her assailant to the police. By the time of his arrest for the murder of Michael Gregsten, Hanratty had already accumulated four convictions for motoring offences and housebreaking. Michael Gregsten's widow later went on to have an affair with her brother in law William Ewer, who left his wife. Forensic science and the case of James Hanratty, England and Wales Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) Decisions. Twice he told Gregsten to turn off the road and then changed his mind, and the car returned to the A6. Ingrams said that Foot continued until his own death in 2004 to believe in Hanratty's alibi, despite the DNA tests of 2002. cid exam previous question papers. Sign up here. Were going to have traffic chaos. Since his death Hanratty's family and supporters have fought to prove that, although a petty crook, he was not a killer. Alphon resembled the Identikit pictures more than Hanratty did; Alphon never produced a convincing alibi; He provided a more credible motive than Hanratty could; He was a poor driver, as witnesses had seen the Morris Minor being driven erratically towards Redbridge Station; On 22 March 1967, Detective Superintendent Douglas Nimmo reported to, On 29 May 1996, Detective Chief Superintendent Roger Matthews reported to Home Secretary. His wife, Maureen Hanratty, said the family had been 'put through hell' because of the behaviour of the authorities. .. The car Gregsten and Storie had been using at the time of the attack, a grey four-door 1956 Morris Minor registration 847BHN, was found abandoned behind Redbridge tube station in Essex later that evening. Police believe the couple, both employees of the Road Research Laboratory near Slough, were confronted by a man with a gun as they were parked on Dorney Common in Berkshire yesterday evening. During the 60 mile journey, Michael and Valerie made 22 separate attempts to escape or frustrate the driver. 1985: West German spy chief defects to East, Man finds A6 murder weapon - broadcast 25 August 1961. Signing up to the newsletter is simple. E-mail this story to a friend Watch/Listen Detectives search the murder scene Man finds A6. On 7 September 1954, aged 17, Hanratty appeared before Harrow Magistrates' where he was placed on probation for taking a motor vehicle without consent, and for driving without a licence or insurance. Transferred briefly to Durham Prison, he was returned to Strangeways where, having served his full term, he was released in March 1961, aged 24. [27] Justice encouraged the initially reluctant Fox to help him expose what he believed to be the fabrication of the case against Hanratty. Valerie later wrote of it: "In times of trouble one could always go to one's MP and ask for, and possibly receive help and understanding. Whilst he was a professional thief, he had no convictions for violence, and apparently had never possessed a gun, although he later admitted to the police that he had attempted to obtain one after his last release from prison in March 1961. Gregsten's girlfriend, Valerie Storie, was raped, shot five times, and left paralysed. After leaving the school in 1951 at the age of 15, Hanratty, still illiterate, joined the Public Cleansing Department of Wembley Borough Council as a refuse sorter. Nudds' statement also said that Alphon had stayed in the hotel as he claimed, and had remained in his room, Room 6, all night. Paul's book describes the events in great detail of the night in illuminating detail, based on Valerie's accounts. Alphon was the son of a senior figure at Scotland Yard. If you do as I tell you, you will be all right." Valerie and Lennon never met, but in 2001 she said: "I felt it was very ironic that he himself died by the bullet and it flashed through my mind that when the news came through that John Lennon had been shot and killed, I felt, well now John Lennon, you know what it feels like to be shot.". Pre-pay for multiple images and download on demand. The comments below have not been moderated, By Her wish was honoured when The Long Silence was released with the title that Valerie had planned to give to her book. (Known as the 'A6 Murderer' Known for Killing Scientist 'Michael Gregsten') 3 3 Birthdate: October 4, 1936 Sun Sign: Libra Birthplace: Bromley, Kent, England Died: April 4, 1962 Better known as the A6 Murderer, James Hanratty was one of the last people to be executed before capital punishment was abolished. Two civil servants employed at the Road Research Laboratory at Langley, near Slough, Michael Gregsten and Valerie Storie, drew up in a Morris Minor car outside the Old Station Inn, a public house just outside the village of Taplow. Case 173: Rocio Wanninkhof & Sonia Carabantes, Tributes pour in for Sloughs brave Valerie Storie. (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images) Victim's Wife 23rd November 1961: Mrs Janet Gregsten arrives at Ampthill Court in Bedfordshire, to attend the trial of James Hanratty for the murder of her husband, Michael Gregsten. He then stated that he had in fact been in the Welsh coastal town of Rhyl. The Getty Images design is a trademark of Getty Images. My wife and i were driving a neigborhood looking for houses, and came accross a for sale sign with a phone number. They dispatched a telegram to Valerie's place of work, inviting her to the Corn Exchange to "refute any allegations that may be made against you". Professor Hobbs described Valerie as a 'bloody minded and determined' woman with a charming character. After a five-hour ordeal, ending in a layby on the A6 in Bedfordshire, Michael was shot dead and Valerie was raped, shot and left for dead. ON Tuesday, August 22, 1961, Michael Gregsten, 36, called at the home of his estranged wife at Sabine House, Abbots Langley, and, after taking his nine-year-old son, Simon, to play in Cassiobury Park, Watford, he collected his girlfriend, Valerie Storie, 22, from work. Streamline your workflow with our best-in-class digital asset management system. Having recently re-read the late Paul Foot's excellent book "Who killed Hanratty", which he painstakingly researched for over 5 years I remain convinced (rightly or wrongly) that the original suspect, Peter Louis Alphon, is the real murderer of Michael Gregsten. On April 4, 1962, Hanratty was hanged by executioner Harry Allen at Bedford Prison. Enter your email address below to get the latest news and exclusive content from The History Press delivered straight to your inbox. Eight weeks later he was found semi-conscious in the street, having apparently collapsed from either hunger or exposure. "Im a desperate man. As they sat there was a tap on the driver's window. On 11 October, Hanratty was arrested by police in Blackpool, at the Stevonia cafe. [8], Gregsten was a scientist at the Road Research Laboratory in Slough. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. Drain the heater and clean it. [34][37][39], At the appeal hearing in 2002, Michael Mansfield QC, the barrister acting for the Hanratty family, said that a vial, among surviving evidential items, had been broken which could account for contamination. michael gregsten wife / June 11, 2022 June 11, 2022 / were achilles and patroclus cousins /. "Valerie has worked at the laboratory since she left school five years ago and she has known Michael for a long time.". Look after mum and dad. Although Hanratty's blood group (O) was the same as the murderer's, it was a fairly common blood type shared by 36% of the British population, including Peter Alphon and, apart from Storie's identification, there was no other evidence that Hanratty had ever been in the Maidenhead area.
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