UK UK - Ann Heron, 44, found at home with throat cut, Darlington, 3 August 1990

[CSIAngus]

Hoping to find it on youtube!
Widower once accused of murdering Ann Heron speaks out in new documentary into tragic unsolved case - Teesside Live (gazettelive.co.uk)
''Now a new two-hour documentary, which is set to air on Channel 5 at 10pm on Tuesday, May 3, poses the question: did he kill his wife and get away with it or has he been the victim of a tragic miscarriage of justice for over 30 years?

Producers say: "For the first time in a documentary, Peter Heron himself gives his version of the events surrounding his wife’s death and how the crime has torn his family apart – his own children standing by him in a battle to prove his innocence – but his wife Ann’s family, are less certain and doubts remain about Peter’s account. ''

Escaped convict 'confessed' to murder of Ann Heron says crime expert ahead of new documentary - Teesside Live (gazettelive.co.uk)
''Jen says a man who was in Holme House prison with Benson years after the murder came forward after seeing convict's face associated with the crime during the 30-year anniversary appeal. He claims that Benson had told him he had killed a woman in Darlington who lived in an isolated home.

Speaking to DarlingtonLive, Jen said: "He described the house, said he had gone up the drive. He said he had gone to burgle the place and had come across 'this lady' and had murdered her. When you're in prison there is always this hierarchy of 'what are you in for' and the chaps thought at the time it was just a bit of bravado.''

"It was only when he saw on TV Michael Benson's face when they were talking about the murder of a lady in Darlington did he put two and two together. It's not a case many people know about."

The man, who did not want a reward or acknowledgement, has since wrote and signed a statement of truth about the confession, says Jen. It adds to her theory that Benson is an alternate suspect in the case and should be looked at by detectives at Durham Constabulary.''

Really enjoyed the documentary. Can't believe the Durham Constabulary have not followed other lines of enquiry with any vim. They appear stuck in a rut over Peter Heron, who most definitely is not the killer, IMO. Another force should be brought in to review the entire case.

 

[Jen Jarvie]

Hoping to find it on youtube!
Widower once accused of murdering Ann Heron speaks out in new documentary into tragic unsolved case - Teesside Live (gazettelive.co.uk)
''Now a new two-hour documentary, which is set to air on Channel 5 at 10pm on Tuesday, May 3, poses the question: did he kill his wife and get away with it or has he been the victim of a tragic miscarriage of justice for over 30 years?

Producers say: "For the first time in a documentary, Peter Heron himself gives his version of the events surrounding his wife’s death and how the crime has torn his family apart – his own children standing by him in a battle to prove his innocence – but his wife Ann’s family, are less certain and doubts remain about Peter’s account. ''

Escaped convict 'confessed' to murder of Ann Heron says crime expert ahead of new documentary - Teesside Live (gazettelive.co.uk)
''Jen says a man who was in Holme House prison with Benson years after the murder came forward after seeing convict's face associated with the crime during the 30-year anniversary appeal. He claims that Benson had told him he had killed a woman in Darlington who lived in an isolated home.

Speaking to DarlingtonLive, Jen said: "He described the house, said he had gone up the drive. He said he had gone to burgle the place and had come across 'this lady' and had murdered her. When you're in prison there is always this hierarchy of 'what are you in for' and the chaps thought at the time it was just a bit of bravado.''

"It was only when he saw on TV Michael Benson's face when they were talking about the murder of a lady in Darlington did he put two and two together. It's not a case many people know about."

The man, who did not want a reward or acknowledgement, has since wrote and signed a statement of truth about the confession, says Jen. It adds to her theory that Benson is an alternate suspect in the case and should be looked at by detectives at Durham Constabulary.''[/QUOTE


Thank you for posting this and for your support too

 

[Jen Jarvie]

Hoping to find it on youtube!
Widower once accused of murdering Ann Heron speaks out in new documentary into tragic unsolved case - Teesside Live (gazettelive.co.uk)
''Now a new two-hour documentary, which is set to air on Channel 5 at 10pm on Tuesday, May 3, poses the question: did he kill his wife and get away with it or has he been the victim of a tragic miscarriage of justice for over 30 years?

Producers say: "For the first time in a documentary, Peter Heron himself gives his version of the events surrounding his wife’s death and how the crime has torn his family apart – his own children standing by him in a battle to prove his innocence – but his wife Ann’s family, are less certain and doubts remain about Peter’s account. ''

Escaped convict 'confessed' to murder of Ann Heron says crime expert ahead of new documentary - Teesside Live (gazettelive.co.uk)
''Jen says a man who was in Holme House prison with Benson years after the murder came forward after seeing convict's face associated with the crime during the 30-year anniversary appeal. He claims that Benson had told him he had killed a woman in Darlington who lived in an isolated home.

Speaking to DarlingtonLive, Jen said: "He described the house, said he had gone up the drive. He said he had gone to burgle the place and had come across 'this lady' and had murdered her. When you're in prison there is always this hierarchy of 'what are you in for' and the chaps thought at the time it was just a bit of bravado.''

"It was only when he saw on TV Michael Benson's face when they were talking about the murder of a lady in Darlington did he put two and two together. It's not a case many people know about."

The man, who did not want a reward or acknowledgement, has since wrote and signed a statement of truth about the confession, says Jen. It adds to her theory that Benson is an alternate suspect in the case and should be looked at by detectives at Durham Constabulary.''[/QUOTE


Thank you for posting this and for your support too

New to this thread, though I remember this case vividly at the time, and the various twists. My interest has been drawn to it by the Channel 5 documentary. Peter Heron comes across as a most unlikely frenzied knife killer. The murderer was more likely a sexual sadist with an intention to rob.

Really worth noting that Peter Heron has an alibi and can account for his movements. Peter Heron was not responsible.

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

Really worth noting that Peter Heron has an alibi and can account for his movements. Peter Heron was not responsible.

Are you not the private investigator working with Peter and his sister?

I watched that doc, at first thinking 'the husband did it!' as you do, but then as it unfolded, my mind changed. Certainly there was a good case to implicate Michael Benson.

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

 

[Jen Jarvie]

Are you not the private investigator working with Peter and his sister?

I watched that doc, at first thinking 'the husband did it!' as you do, but then as it unfolded, my mind changed. Certainly there was a good case to implicate Michael Benson.

Hi,

Yes, I'm the Private Death Investigator for the Heron family. Thank you for giving an open minded view of the documentary. The hope was that, with the truth, viewers would see the case in new light. Thank you.

 

[MT90]

Before watching the documentary "the mysterious murder of Ann Heron" I thought it was an opportunistic killer but the husband is so sleazy and if he didn't do it he arranged for it to be done and he ought to be charged with murder.

 

[CSIAngus]

Before watching the documentary "the mysterious murder of Ann Heron" I thought it was an opportunistic killer but the husband is so sleazy and if he didn't do it he arranged for it to be done and he ought to be charged with murder.

There is no evidence that the husband had any involvement. That you think he's sleazy is not sufficient grounds for a charge of murder.

 

[dotr]

August 24, 2022

The true story of unsolved murder of Ann Heron in Durham explored by Channel 5 documentary

The Mysterious Murder of Anne Heron looks at how the Glaswegian was killed, and who could have been connected

inews.co.uk

''The murder of Ann Heron shocked the country, and now a documentary has taken a second look at what happened.

The Mysterious Murder of Anne Heron looks at how the Glaswegian was killed, and who could have been connected to the killing.''

On 3 August 1990 Ann went shopping with her friend in Darlington before returning home in time for lunch with Peter, which they did every day.

Over lunch, she told her husband that she would spend the afternoon in the garden as it was the hottest day of the year so far.

He returned to his job at 2pm, and a friend spoke to her around 30 minutes later. A tractor was also blowing grass towards the back garden, so Ann moved to the front, where she was spotted sunbathing by a friend passing by on a bus at 330pm.

She would never be seen again by her loved ones.

Peter returned from work at around 6pm and fond the door open and the dog outside. He went in and saw that her book was still lying there, as were her cigarettes.

He discovered Ann on the living room floor having been stabbed in the neck. Her bikini bottoms were removed, indicating a potentially sexual motive.

In the description for The Mysterious Murder of Ann Heron, the show is described as: “The shocking story behind one of the UK’s most mysterious unsolved crimes, as Peter Heron himself gives his version of the events surrounding his wife Ann’s death in 1990.


“As the documentary explores the events of August 1990 in detail, new potential evidence comes to light, and questions are asked about whether the police missed a vital clue and chillingly, whether the real killer of Ann Heron escaped justice?”

''Who did it?​

We still do not know who killed Ann Heron.

Her husband Peter was revealed to have been having an affair with a 32-year-old barmaid at a local club, putting him at the front of the public’s suspect list. However, his colleagues confirmed that he was in work all day and could not have committed the murder.

He married three years later.

Peter was arrested in 2005, but all charges were dropped the following year. The documentary talks to him about what he remembers.''

 

[Jen Jarvie]

Before watching the documentary "the mysterious murder of Ann Heron" I thought it was an opportunistic killer but the husband is so sleazy and if he didn't do it he arranged for it to be done and he ought to be charged with murder.

Please be aware that documentary makers do select portions of the footage to shock. Peter Heron or anyone else should only be charged with murder with sufficient evidence - in Peter's case, there is non.

 

[AtticusPip]

House in the countryside, no near neighbours would be ideal for a burglary, I wonder if she disturbed an intruder

 

[Bandycoot]

House in the countryside, no near neighbours would be ideal for a burglary, I wonder if she disturbed an intruder

although nothing was taken at all and also why stage the scene to appear like a sexual assault, surely a burglar would just want to get the goods and get out. The random man thing seems absurd to me as there could have been others in that house at the time, how would the stranger know that it was a lone sunbather. Her family could be home at any moment.

 

[Skigh]

Before watching the documentary "the mysterious murder of Ann Heron" I thought it was an opportunistic killer but the husband is so sleazy and if he didn't do it he arranged for it to be done and he ought to be charged with murder.

I had similar thoughts.

 

[Pinkizzy]

Last night, I watched the documentary about Ann Heron. They said that the dog didn't bark at the intruder, this suggests the intruder was familiar to it.

 

[dotr]

Aug 2020

The Leeds man who is a 'viable suspect' in a sickening unsolved murder

An investigator believes Michael Benson may have murdered mother-of-three Ann Heron

www.leeds-live.co.uk

Michael Benson stole his wife's dark blue Ford Orion in May 1990

''On an episode of the TV show Crimewatch, which aired in November 1990, police said the "potentially dangerous" fugitive moved to Southampton after he escaped from prison and used the alias Michael Johnstone, but he travelled all over the country in a blue Ford Orion for work.

The investigator has also discovered that two week's before the murder, two women were robbed at knifepoint in Durham City, near Ann's house, and Mr Benson "fits the description" of that attacker. ''

 

[AtticusPip]

although nothing was taken at all and also why stage the scene to appear like a sexual assault, surely a burglar would just want to get the goods and get out. The random man thing seems absurd to me as there could have been others in that house at the time, how would the stranger know that it was a lone sunbather. Her family could be home at any moment.

It's where I am - its either a planned burglary or a pre arranged meeting - he was having an affair and they both left partners with families to be together. So they both have history of affairs - I just don't think it was a random attack

 

[chimpface]

I watched the documentary last night. Peter Heron is far too smug for my liking, the part he was laughing at the police saying "shouldn't you be taking the computer?" was disturbing. He's definitely reveling in the lime light whether he killed her or not.

 

[dotr]

Ann' s last known sighting while alive, was 3:30 pm at the back of the house, apparently she moved to the front of the house because of a tractor blowing grass.

The radio was still on outside the front of the house and the dog too, he was not ''heard to bark''.

On a hot 'dog day of summer', between the tractor blowing grass and a radio turned on, it is hard to imagine anyone noticing whether or not a dog barked, imo, speculation.


A police reconstruction of a man seen jogging near Ann's home around the time of her murder (Image: Mirrorpix)

Aug 25 2022 rbbm.

Who was Ann Heron, the Glasgow woman whose brutal murder has never been solved?

The 44-year-old Scot was murdered in her own home in 1990 with the case perplexing cops ever since

www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk

''She was also known to feel frightened by her home, Aeolian House, which was a conspicuous building on the main road to the airport. She was known to not want to be alone in the building.''

''She was spotted sunbathing at 3.30pm at the front of the house where she had moved to avoid grass being blown into the back from a nearby tractor. It was the last known sighting of Ann alive.

Heron arrived back from work at 6pm and her radio was still on while the family dog, her book and cigarettes were all outside. The front door was open.''

''Ann was found in the living room lying in a pool of blood with a stab wound to her neck. Her bikini bottoms had been removed which led police to believe the killing may have been sexually motivated. The murder weapon has never been found but is believed to have been a Stanley knife or razor blade.

There was no sign of a struggle or forced entry, indicating she may have known her killer. The family dog had not been heard to bark to signal an intruder. There was no sign of robbery or sexual assault.''

 

[Pinkizzy]

What if Michael Benson didn't kill her and he turned up at the house after she had died? Obviously, he left the crimescene in a hurry because he was on the run and didn't want to be caught by the police.

 

[suspiciousmatt]

I watched the documentary and believed Peter Heron, however the documentary made out that he had a rock solid alibi, but never went into details about how that was corroborated. So I'm thinking how can the police still believe be is a suspect?

Then I read online that the police were never satisfied with his alibi, and that there is a disputed period of time that he cannot account for (at the time of the murder) and apparently he took an unusual route back from the meeting he had and changed his story twice?

I don't believe he did it and I have no idea If the above is true but I don't think the documentary explained all it should have done. If the above is the case then you can understand why the police haven't ruled him out?

Also the police said that they were satisfied that Benson was out of the country at the time of the murder, however no evidence was shown or details given, and the family were never asked for there opinion on that.