UK UK - Jill Dando, 37, Fulham, London, 26 Apr 1999

[ZaZara]

This jumps out at me. If she rarely visited the home, and it was on the market, how did the killer know she would turn up that morning? Did they just wait, 24 hours per day, watching her front door? That would point to an obsessive neighbour, a professional might go off to lurk around her workplace if she was rarely home. Or did the killer follow her from her new home, park their vehicle, and catch up to her on the doorstep?

Or all of the reverse. The killer did not know who she was, but went after an unknown target. Due to a fetish for blonde women or something similar.

BTW it is remarkable that according to Wikipedia Dando was killed by a professional assassin in a "hard contact execution" whereas this DM series cast doubt on that conclusion.

 

[Satchie]

BTW it is remarkable that according to Wikipedia Dando was killed by a professional assassin in a "hard contact execution" whereas this DM series cast doubt on that conclusion.

I don't think any one piece of the puzzle is enough to draw a conclusion, it just suggests a line of enquiry, and to see if the other pieces also fit.

Unfortunately, there just doesn't seem to be enough pieces of evidence to create a clear picture and tie the murder to a specific perpetrator.

 

[jaejae]

Here is a BBC report about an upcoming documentary about the case. Of course as other posters my remember the reconstruction of her murder on Crimewatch presented by her colleague Nick Ross is one of the most surreal things I have seen:

Dando murder case 'will never be solved'

 

[dotr]

Here is a BBC report about an upcoming documentary about the case. Of course as other posters my remember the reconstruction of her murder on Crimewatch presented by her colleague Nick Ross is one of the most surreal things I have seen:

Dando murder case 'will never be solved'

How common is it to have more than 2,000 potential suspects!?
From link..
"More than 2,000 people had been named as potential suspects.

"Some actions to trace and eliminate one person might take a day. One action might take two weeks," Mr Campbell said.

"But there's thousands of them and that's the issue of managing stranger homicides."

The film will also show how BBC director general Tony Hall, then the corporation's head of news, was targeted with three telephone threats in the weeks after Ms Dando's murder.

"I listened to the voice of one of them, which said basically, I was next," he told the programme.

Lord Hall said he had "no idea" if the threat was real."

 

[jaejae]

Not sure is this has been posted before but here is a tribute by Nick Ross to Jill Dando on Crimewatch. I cannot find the actual reconstruction of her murder at the moment on the program. If anyone does read my posts this may not be a surprise but I would favour the Yugoslav hitman theory as she had at the time recently done an appeal on Kosovo and one of Slobodan Milosevic's TV make ups girls had been killed in an airstrike if I remember correctly. Of course this is just one theory: <modsnip: bad video link>

 

[Elsie Lily]

Apologies if suggested before, but apart from checking if any of the suspects familiar to Jill are left-handed - the weapon.
Could it have been a prop? For film or TV. I read it was not rifled, so possibly a starting pistol or replica, but that would also match a prop.
And if it was a prop is it possible the shooter didn't know it was a live bullet, maybe thinking it was a blank.
To me that would explain why he forced her to the ground and fired it next to her head - a warning/scare she would remember.

 

[dotr]

Apologies if suggested before, but apart from checking if any of the suspects familiar to Jill are left-handed - the weapon.
Could it have been a prop? For film or TV. I read it was not rifled, so possibly a starting pistol or replica, but that would also match a prop.
And if it was a prop is it possible the shooter didn't know it was a live bullet, maybe thinking it was a blank.
To me that would explain why he forced her to the ground and fired it next to her head - a warning/scare she would remember.

Welcome to Ws Elsie Lily!
Had not thought of a prop gun before, but there was a case in the US where the perp used a theater prop.
Will locate the link later, but seem to recall that they think the reason he put the gun directly at her head was so that blood would not splatter, or because the perp was not sure of his aim.
The left versus right hand interests me too.
speculation, imo.

 

[Elsie Lily]

Welcome to Ws Elsie Lily!
Had not thought of a prop gun before, but there was a case in the US where the perp used a theater prop.
Will locate the link later, but seem to recall that they think the reason he put the gun directly at her head was so that blood would not splatter, or because the perp was not sure of his aim.
The left versus right hand interests me too.
speculation, imo.

Without casting aspersions Jill Dando was involved in television, as were many of her acquaintances.
In fact a quick web search reveals a show she did required an armourer.
I wonder if the police ever checked the people involved in the reconstructions or the prop weapons available to them.
If it went back into a large pool of prop weapons it could explain why it was never found.
An armourer would also presumably know how to alter a bullet. The cartridge had a lowered charge and was crimped.
From reading around it seems a blank for film/TV has increased powder for more bang and smoke. Conversely a lower charge makes the ejection of the cartridge a problem. So unlikely a hit man who wouldn't want his gun jamming would do that.
Pure speculation but did the shooter think the crimping meant the cartridge was doctored to make it a blank, as that was what he expected to see or what he was used to? Someone like a stuntman.
And of course bizarrely the man wrongly convicted is/was a stuntman.
So did someone in the film/TV world set him up?

 

[ZaZara]

Jill Dando's brother believes a 'misguided person' was to blame for her murder TWENTY years ago | Daily Mail Online

Jill Dando's brother reveals his theory that his sister's murder was opportunistic - and he DOESN'T believe it was a 'professional hit' or a stalker

Nigel Dando:

'I tend to think it wasn't a professional hit. I think you can rule out the Serbian hitman, which was a popular theory that was doing the rounds at the time,' said Nigel, whose sister was murdered aged 37. 'For what it's worth, my belief is that it was just a misguided individual on the street on the day, with a firearm, who knew where Jill lived, and who just 'struck lucky'.

'For whatever reason, that person was in that street and did what that person did. I doubt we will ever know now because of the passage of time.'

Proceeding to explain his theory, Nigel revealed that Jill's lifestyle at the time meant she wasn't guaranteed to be in a certain place at any given time.

'I think it was a relatively random act [given] Jill's lifestyle at the time, as she wasn't regularly at home. You couldn't say that every 'Monday morning at 11 'o' clock she would be there.'

He added: 'On the day in question, she had left her fiancé Alan's home in Chiswick and had briefly gone to her home in Fulham to pick something up. Then I think she was off somewhere else in London for a fitting for her wedding dress, of course they were going to get married shortly. So it was that random.'

Nigel went on to say that the police carried out an exhaustive check of CCTV and plotted Jill's journey.

'There were photographs and thousands of phone calls being made in that area at the relevant time and there was nothing that jumped out for example that suggested she was being followed at her home that day,' he explained.

'It is important to know who did it but for me, to an extent, it's more important to know why,' he explained. 'What was the motive? I'm not aware Jill had any enemies at all that she had upset anybody. What you saw was what you got with Jill. That's what for 20 years has baffled her nearest and dearest.'


BBM

 

[jaejae]

Jill Dando's brother believes a 'misguided person' was to blame for her murder TWENTY years ago | Daily Mail Online

Jill Dando's brother reveals his theory that his sister's murder was opportunistic - and he DOESN'T believe it was a 'professional hit' or a stalker

Nigel Dando:

'I tend to think it wasn't a professional hit. I think you can rule out the Serbian hitman, which was a popular theory that was doing the rounds at the time,' said Nigel, whose sister was murdered aged 37. 'For what it's worth, my belief is that it was just a misguided individual on the street on the day, with a firearm, who knew where Jill lived, and who just 'struck lucky'.

'For whatever reason, that person was in that street and did what that person did. I doubt we will ever know now because of the passage of time.'

Proceeding to explain his theory, Nigel revealed that Jill's lifestyle at the time meant she wasn't guaranteed to be in a certain place at any given time.

'I think it was a relatively random act [given] Jill's lifestyle at the time, as she wasn't regularly at home. You couldn't say that every 'Monday morning at 11 'o' clock she would be there.'

He added: 'On the day in question, she had left her fiancé Alan's home in Chiswick and had briefly gone to her home in Fulham to pick something up. Then I think she was off somewhere else in London for a fitting for her wedding dress, of course they were going to get married shortly. So it was that random.'

Nigel went on to say that the police carried out an exhaustive check of CCTV and plotted Jill's journey.

'There were photographs and thousands of phone calls being made in that area at the relevant time and there was nothing that jumped out for example that suggested she was being followed at her home that day,' he explained.

'It is important to know who did it but for me, to an extent, it's more important to know why,' he explained. 'What was the motive? I'm not aware Jill had any enemies at all that she had upset anybody. What you saw was what you got with Jill. That's what for 20 years has baffled her nearest and dearest.'


BBM

Very interesting post. It sometimes takes a lot for me to change my mind about cases and I know he is her brother but it feels like a hit to me although of course I do not know. Very sad of course though.

 

[dotr]

Without casting aspersions Jill Dando was involved in television, as were many of her acquaintances.
In fact a quick web search reveals a show she did required an armourer.
I wonder if the police ever checked the people involved in the reconstructions or the prop weapons available to them.
If it went back into a large pool of prop weapons it could explain why it was never found.
An armourer would also presumably know how to alter a bullet. The cartridge had a lowered charge and was crimped.
From reading around it seems a blank for film/TV has increased powder for more bang and smoke. Conversely a lower charge makes the ejection of the cartridge a problem. So unlikely a hit man who wouldn't want his gun jamming would do that.
Pure speculation but did the shooter think the crimping meant the cartridge was doctored to make it a blank, as that was what he expected to see or what he was used to? Someone like a stuntman.
And of course bizarrely the man wrongly convicted is/was a stuntman.
So did someone in the film/TV world set him up?

Thought of your post concerning theatrics and prop guns, when this thread popped up today.
Maybe it was indeed someone"acting" out? imo, speculation.
CT - Drama student, 21, stabs 2 during reenactment of a movie scene, Hartford, 31 Mar 2019

 

[jaejae]

Stating the obvious Jill Dando although a TV Presenter was a human being who deserved to live. Speculating in these cases can sometimes cause problems look at the JonBenet Ramsey case. The fact remains her case is unsolved though and I never thought Barry George was the right offender. I still think the Yugoslav hitman theory is perfectly logical in this far fetched world. She had just done the Kosovo appeal in the middle of the missile strikes. To me this is more logical than someone walking about in London with a gun who found an opportune moment to commit the crime. Here is a recent report about the various theories in the case:

Who killed Jill Dando? The theories behind her murder

 

[jaejae]

Stating the obvious Jill Dando although a TV Presenter was a human being who deserved to live. Speculating in these cases can sometimes cause problems look at the JonBenet Ramsey case. The fact remains her case is unsolved though and I never thought Barry George was the right offender. I still think the Yugoslav hitman theory is perfectly logical in this far fetched world. She had just done the Kosovo appeal in the middle of the missile strikes. To me this is more logical than someone walking about in London with a gun who found an opportune moment to commit the crime. Here is a recent report about the various theories in the case:

Who killed Jill Dando? The theories behind her murder

I do not mean this in anyway to disrespect her brother and he is the one suffering but from my experience victims relatives are not always the best judges of what happened in their loved ones cases. But why should they be because the last thing they wanted was their loved ones to become a Websleuths thread as good a site with compassion as it is.

 

[ZaZara]

Jill Dando's murder: 20 years on, fresh witness accounts raise disturbing questions | Daily Mail Online

Shocking photo reveals the blood-splattered doorway where Crimewatch presenter Jill Dando was gunned down 20 years ago

Apart from the first paragraph and a picture of the crime scene, the Daily Mail is repeating a lengthy article from last week. Literally. Groundhog Day, anyone?

IMHO the picture is obviously from a much later moment. The path leading up to the house looks a mess, more like a place where people leave trash in the front garden. Or perhaps there was a fight, and we know that there was no fight.
Why the handbag is still there, is a mystery. The crime scene has been destroyed already.

 

[gregjrichards]

Do any of you think the intelligence service possibly knows who killed Jill but won’t publicly reveal it?

 

[jaejae]

Do any of you think the intelligence service possibly knows who killed Jill but won’t publicly reveal it?

I think that is possible but I sometimes like a good conspiracy theory. I watched the documentary last night and her cousin thought the hitman theory may be a possibility still. It just might be know one knows that much. I read at the time that Slobodan Milosevic was furious that one of his TV make up girls had been killed in a missile strike and he would not talk because he was used to that kind of thing and he cannot talk now of course.

 

[jaejae]

Here is the recent BBC documentary on iPlayer:

BBC iPlayer - The Murder of Jill Dando

 

[ZaZara]

I have always been surprised about the 'Serbian hitman' scenario.
IMHO this was based on the idea that everyone in the world knew who Jill Dando was and what she was doing and had an opinion about it. And had a hitman ready the moment JD did something that was not of their liking. Well, eeeh.....

This may have been true in the UK, but in the rest of the world JD was totally unknown. I get the impression that somehow the British cannot imagine this.

 

[jaejae]

I have always been surprised about the 'Serbian hitman' scenario.
IMHO this was based on the idea that everyone in the world knew who Jill Dando was and what she was doing and had an opinion about it. And had a hitman ready the moment JD did something that was not of their liking. Well, eeeh.....

This may have been true in the UK, but in the rest of the world JD was totally unknown. I get the impression that somehow the British cannot imagine this.

I do not know who killed Jill but I am from the UK and it is true that Jill Dando was a British TV personality and to put it in crude terms I would not expect the average American for instance to have any clue about who she was particularly in the days before the world wide web. I think Slobodan Milosevic a European knew who Jill Dando was when she had just done an appeal on Kosovo and missiles struck his country and a television studio there. It is just one theory and may not be right but in my opinion it fits in as a possibility in the otherwise shocking murder of Jill Dando that almost defies logic. As I say it is just and theories and others may be right and hopefully we might find out the truth one day although it seems unlikely now. I have to say though in my opinion it is not good enough for the UK police to still imply it might be Barry George on such poor evidence when he has been cleared.

 

[jaejae]

I do not know who killed Jill but I am from the UK and it is true that Jill Dando was a British TV personality and to put it in crude terms I would not expect the average American for instance to have any clue about who she was particularly in the days before the world wide web. I think Slobodan Milosevic a European knew who Jill Dando was when she had just done an appeal on Kosovo and missiles struck his country and a television studio there. It is just one theory and may not be right but in my opinion it fits in as a possibility in the otherwise shocking murder of Jill Dando that almost defies logic. As I say it is just and theories and others may be right and hopefully we might find out the truth one day although it seems unlikely now. I have to say though in my opinion it is not good enough for the UK police to still imply it might be Barry George on such poor evidence when he has been cleared.

As I say it is just one theory and I am open to others and do not know the answer but here is the Kosovo appeal featuring Jill Dando. Of course London is a cosmopolitan metropolis with people with connections to all different parts of the world: