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

[RichardKimble]

No, he said he heard Jill scream but did not hear a gun shot. As no-one else heard a gun shot that morning it would appear a silencer was used on the weapon.

The one thing about Jill's murder that has always bothered me is how the killer went about his business seemingly unseen that morning, both before and after the killing. There are the odd reports about someone possibly being seen 2 or 3 hours before hanging around opposite Jill's house, and someone afterwards in a black coat running off up the road, and some sweaty bloke being seen at a bus stop - not really much to go on, is it?

However, if you lived where RH did right next door to Jill, you would have the perfect opportunity. I believe it's changed now, but back in 1999 there was only a 3 foot wall between the 2 gardens. So if you stood by your front door, as soon as Jill came into her garden and walked towards her door, you could jump over the wall, do the deed, then jump back over the wall and into your house. All that would probably take less than a minute.

However, while it would explain how the killer managed to get away so quickly and unseen, i don't really believe RH had anything to do with it. For example, what would his motive be?

I'm no expert but don't even silence guns make a sound, the gate hatch was heard?

 

[RichardKimble]

I've not got netflix, is there theory explored on there, hitman? someone familiar to Jill?

 

[dotr]

I've not got netflix, is there theory explored on there, hitman? someone familiar to Jill?

Snippets of the various theories explored in the Netflix doc...Noting at the bottom of post that Jill's brother thinks that it was a random killing, ''wrong place at the wrong time''

Sep 26 2023 rbbm.

Jill Dando murder: Four main theories as new Netflix series begins

Mirror columnist Sara Wallis delved deep into the theories behind one of Britain's biggest unsolved murders as Netflix is set to release the three-part series.

www.dailyrecord.co.uk

''Here, Mirror columnist Sara Wallis delves deep into those theories behind one of Britain's biggest unsolved murders.''

''Theory one: Barry George​

Barry George was the first and only man to be put on trial for the presenter's murder. George - who has previously been described as a loner - had a history of stalking women and various sexual offences.​

A search of his flat revealed part of a gun holster, a list of firearms, and news media coverage of Jill. There was also a photo of a man holding a handgun and wearing a gas mask, but George denies it is him.''

''Theory two: Criminal underworld​

''Noel “Razor” Smith is a former criminal with 68 convictions and a journalist with Inside Time newspaper for prisoners - at the time of the murder, he was held at HMP Belmarsh in South East London.
In the documentary, Noel said: “It takes a certain sort of person, a brutal, sophisticated psychopath to walk up behind a woman in broad daylight and point a gun into her head. I mean that is not something you do lightly.''

''Theory three: The Serbian hitman​

Just two days following Jill's murder, a theory appeared that the TV presenter was gunned down by a Serban hitman.
Twenty days prior to her death, she had presented a Kosovo Crisis Appeal that raised more than £1million in 24 hours in support of those refugees fleeing the Balkans.
And just days before her murder, NATO bombed a TV station in Serbia, killing 16 employees.''

''Theory four: The three men​

Police later turned their suspicion to those closest to Jill - specifically her fiance, Alan Farthing, ex-partner and BBC editor Bob Wheaton and agent Jon Roseman.
DCI Hamish Campbell says: “The reality is most people are killed by someone they know. The people in her inner circle were her fiance, her former partner who had been her partner for seven years, and her business agent. They had to be seen and interviewed and eliminated primarily by alibi.”

Jill Dando's brother believes presenter's death was 'random killing'

In a crime that shocked the nation, the TV presenter was killed on her doorstep in Fulham, West London, on April 26, 1999. Above: Ms Dando with her brother Nigel and their father Jack.

www.dailymail.co.uk

''Now, Ms Dando's brother Nigel, who recently relived his sister's final days in an interview with the Mail on Sunday, has said he believes his sister was the victim of a random attacker and was in the 'wrong place at the wrong time'. ''

 

[WiseOwl]

Snippets of the various theories explored in the Netflix doc...Noting at the bottom of post that Jill's brother thinks that it was a random killing, ''wrong place at the wrong time''

Sep 26 2023 rbbm.

Jill Dando murder: Four main theories as new Netflix series begins

Mirror columnist Sara Wallis delved deep into the theories behind one of Britain's biggest unsolved murders as Netflix is set to release the three-part series.

www.dailyrecord.co.uk

''Here, Mirror columnist Sara Wallis delves deep into those theories behind one of Britain's biggest unsolved murders.''

''Theory one: Barry George​

Barry George was the first and only man to be put on trial for the presenter's murder. George - who has previously been described as a loner - had a history of stalking women and various sexual offences.​

A search of his flat revealed part of a gun holster, a list of firearms, and news media coverage of Jill. There was also a photo of a man holding a handgun and wearing a gas mask, but George denies it is him.''

''Theory two: Criminal underworld​

''Noel “Razor” Smith is a former criminal with 68 convictions and a journalist with Inside Time newspaper for prisoners - at the time of the murder, he was held at HMP Belmarsh in South East London.
In the documentary, Noel said: “It takes a certain sort of person, a brutal, sophisticated psychopath to walk up behind a woman in broad daylight and point a gun into her head. I mean that is not something you do lightly.''

''Theory three: The Serbian hitman​

Just two days following Jill's murder, a theory appeared that the TV presenter was gunned down by a Serban hitman.
Twenty days prior to her death, she had presented a Kosovo Crisis Appeal that raised more than £1million in 24 hours in support of those refugees fleeing the Balkans.
And just days before her murder, NATO bombed a TV station in Serbia, killing 16 employees.''

''Theory four: The three men​

Police later turned their suspicion to those closest to Jill - specifically her fiance, Alan Farthing, ex-partner and BBC editor Bob Wheaton and agent Jon Roseman.
DCI Hamish Campbell says: “The reality is most people are killed by someone they know. The people in her inner circle were her fiance, her former partner who had been her partner for seven years, and her business agent. They had to be seen and interviewed and eliminated primarily by alibi.”

Jill Dando's brother believes presenter's death was 'random killing'

In a crime that shocked the nation, the TV presenter was killed on her doorstep in Fulham, West London, on April 26, 1999. Above: Ms Dando with her brother Nigel and their father Jack.

www.dailymail.co.uk

''Now, Ms Dando's brother Nigel, who recently relived his sister's final days in an interview with the Mail on Sunday, has said he believes his sister was the victim of a random attacker and was in the 'wrong place at the wrong time'. ''

I think it's quite telling what 'Razor' Smith had to say in the documentary, about how it would take a certain type of person to do what they did to Jill that morning. As he quotes, "It's not something you do lightly."

To me, it points to two possibilities:

1. A PROFESSIONAL HITMAN. Someone who had been hired to kill Jill, and had killed in cold blood before.

This of course would fall under the Serbian theory. Alternatively, it could be personal and someone wanted Jill out of the way. But what would the motive be here?

2. THE CRIMEWATCH LINK. Smith had hinted in the documentary that there might be criminals in the underworld who could have done this in return for either them or their mates being caught and sent to prison because of Crimewatch. However, why target Jill? Why not Nick Ross, who had been on the show since it started in 1984? Or wouldn't it have been more logical for them to have targeted the members of the police who appeared on the show like David Hatcher or Jacqui Hames?

I think the Crimewatch link is a tenuous one but i guess it can't be ruled out completely.

 

[RichardKimble]

I think it's quite telling what 'Razor' Smith had to say in the documentary, about how it would take a certain type of person to do what they did to Jill that morning. As he quotes, "It's not something you do lightly."

To me, it points to two possibilities:

1. A PROFESSIONAL HITMAN. Someone who had been hired to kill Jill, and had killed in cold blood before.

This of course would fall under the Serbian theory. Alternatively, it could be personal and someone wanted Jill out of the way. But what would the motive be here?

2. THE CRIMEWATCH LINK. Smith had hinted in the documentary that there might be criminals in the underworld who could have done this in return for either them or their mates being caught and sent to prison because of Crimewatch. However, why target Jill? Why not Nick Ross, who had been on the show since it started in 1984? Or wouldn't it have been more logical for them to have targeted the members of the police who appeared on the show like David Hatcher or Jacqui Hames?

I think the Crimewatch link is a tenuous one but i guess it can't be ruled out completely.

BBM, I don't think it's a stretch to say most murders fall within the parameters of sex,drugs, money, mighty rare to have a random hit man for what was raised on national tv.

 

[WestLondoner]

I find it a bit odd that the speeding Range Rover driver was actually eliminated years ago and Netflix never mentioned this, implying he was never found. It was also said in the 2019 doc that a bloke in a suit was seen in the fishmonger shop JD was in, hanging around and not buying anything; the Netflix doc in contrast interviewed detectives who say she wasn't followed.

BG appears to have been a weirdo, but there appears to have been no evidence at all linking him to JD. The powder stain in his coat pocket does not do so - it was always supposition that this was the killer's coat and even if it were powder residue it would not tie him to any particular gun.

I wonder if someone killed the wrong woman. If it was the guy making a phone call in the park the call would be to accomplices saying he's shot the wrong woman and what to do now?

 

[Salah11]

I find it a bit odd that the speeding Range Rover driver was actually eliminated years ago and Netflix never mentioned this, implying he was never found. It was also said in the 2019 doc that a bloke in a suit was seen in the fishmonger shop JD was in, hanging around and not buying anything; the Netflix doc in contrast interviewed detectives who say she wasn't followed.

BG appears to have been a weirdo, but there appears to have been no evidence at all linking him to JD. The powder stain in his coat pocket does not do so - it was always supposition that this was the killer's coat and even if it were powder residue it would not tie him to any particular gun.

I wonder if someone killed the wrong woman. If it was the guy making a phone call in the park the call would be to accomplices saying he's shot the wrong woman and what to do now?

How do you kill the wrong woman when she was only home once a week?

It just doesn’t add up imo

 

[dotr]

Wondering how many houses/buildings in the area would have a view of Jill's house and street?
Thinking of how pleasant, quiet and perhaps dull the street might be and how from a vantage point, a disturbed individual might enjoy the excitement in the aftermath of the crime ..

Someone close enough to see, but not enough to be disrupted themselves by the inevitable associated traffic jams, blocked streets etc.

Sirens, police, ambulances, horrified neighbours and onlookers, reporters, lights, cameras and action, a front porch steeped in red, a brutal bloody murder for all to see, front page news, televisions on and everyone tuned in.
imo, speculation. fwiw

Jill Dando - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

As Dando was about to put her keys in the lock to open the front door of her home in Fulham, she was grabbed from behind. With his right arm, the assailant held her and forced her to the ground, so that her face was almost touching the tiled step of the porch. Then, with his left hand, he fired a single shot at her left temple, killing her instantly. The bullet entered her head just above her ear, parallel to the ground, and came out the right side of her head.
— Bob Woffinden, The Guardian (July 2002)[26]

 

[Springrain]

If someone comes at you from behind when you're not expecting it, you won't put up much of a struggle.

Yes I definitely don't think the killer would have necessarily had to have had any advanced training and could've easily just been "lucky". Jill had no reason to think she was in danger and was just entering her home as normal, like any of us would, so she didn't have any reason to be on guard and expecting an attack IMO. Jill was not a large person, but even large people can be attacked from behind by people who are a lot smaller and not put up a struggle. JMO

 

[Springrain]

JMO I really don't have any strong leaning in this case at all at this point (haven't watched last netflix episode yet), but I do think the Serbian hitman is a red herring - however, I do think the murderer or an associate of the murderer sent that note as a distraction, so I do think it is probably genuinely connected to the case. But I don't think she was killed by an actual Serbian hitman.

 

[Batearedfreak]

I agree, there are one or two odd statements that came from RH:

Richard Hughes said he had heard a scream just after the TV presenter's car had drawn up outside her home at 29 Gowan Avenue, Fulham, south-west London. "It was a female scream. I did not consider it to be significant at the time. I thought it was someone surprising somebody," said Mr Hughes, who lived at No 31. "The next thing I heard was the clicking of the gate." Shortly afterwards, he heard women talking outside and went out. "I first saw her after three ladies asked me if it was Ms Dando. I looked over the wall and said 'yes'," Mr Hughes explained.

Ok, so RH hears the clicking of the gate as the male was leaving the scene, but why did he not hear the clicking of the gate when Jill entered a few seconds earlier? Also, his statement about the 3 ladies is odd because they all knew it was Jill as one of the 3 was Helen Doble, who was a neighbour of Jill and also the person who first saw Jill's body. Why would they need RH to confirm who it was?

Mr Hughes was in his upstairs bedroom when he heard the sound of a familiar car alarm.
"It was similar to my wife's car alarm. I heard footsteps walking towards the doorstep about five seconds after hearing the alarm. "The next thing I heard was a scream. It was about 30 seconds after the alarm. I did not form any impression of where it was coming from," he said. Mr Hughes looked through the shutters of the bedroom window and had a clear view of a male figure walking left towards Fulham Palace Road.

So RH hears Jill's car alarm, and then hears footsteps walking towards the doorstep. Again, no mention of a clicking of the gate from someone entering the scene or hearing another set of footsteps but he hears the clicking of the gate and catches a glimpse of the man as he leaves the scene.

Mr Hughes said Ms Dando came to her home once a week, usually on a Monday between 10am and 12pm.

So RH would be one of the few people who knew Jill would be home that morning sometime.

The gate may previously have been open? Many people don't regularly shut their front gates. If so there would be no sound of it opening. A startled scream in London would not necessarily have attracted attention. Other people are noisy and, trust me, when you live in a city you have to filter out background noise or you would lose the plot.

 

[IamRaven9]

The answer to this case might be more apparent if we consider who ordered the police to pin it on Barry George with zero credible evidence. 1 particle of gunshot residue too small to be properly analysed is a ludicrous reason to convict someone of murder. The DA should have thrown it out before it even went to court and how could a jury send someone to prison for life on that alone?
How was he supposed to have been able to ambush her at her home when she rarely even went there? How could any investigative team have believed they had the right man? They all had to know it was bs as well as the re-trial court did 8yrs later.
The point being there is only one reason to deiberately fit someone up like that - to end the investigation before it uncovers who and what was really behind what happened to her.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Ex-fashion boss accused of sex crimes now in Jill Dando murder mystery

With his blonde highlights catching the sunshine, and a beautiful wife young enough to be his daughter on his arm, there is no doubt that Gérald Marie (pictured) is still living his best life.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[dotr]

Coincidence? Big spread in magazine and murdered the following month? speculation, imo, fwiw.​

OK! Magazine Issue 151 Jill Dando, Burt Reynolds, Johnny Herbert, Pat Treacy (Mar 5, 1999) - magazinemix.co.uk

OK! Magazine Issue 151 – March 5, 1999 Rare, early, fabulous edition of UK’s most popular celeb magazine (Excellent Condition) The ill-fated JILL DANDO celebrates her engagement to ALAN FARTHING Exclusive – hoping for an …

www.magazinemix.co.uk

Mar 5, 1999​

''The ill-fated JILL DANDO celebrates her engagement to ALAN FARTHING Exclusive – hoping for an autumn wedding (6 pages)''


rbbm.

Netflix airs new documentary 23 years on from murder of Jill Dando

Much-loved BBC Personality of the Year, Jill Dando, 37, was killed outside her own front door in Fulham, London by a single gun shot to the head in April 1999.

www.dailymail.co.uk

''That night, the couple wrote a number of letters. One of them was to Claridge's hotel in Mayfair, where their reception was due to be held. They discussed the guest list, which was written in Jill's Filofax. The same list would be used by Mr Farthing to organise her funeral.

The following day was to be the start of a fortnight at home for Jill, after months away filming Holiday and the Antiques Inspectors. She had an appointment for the first fitting of her wedding dress and planned to visit a stationer about the invitations.''

 

[JennieM]

From the BBC’s The Murder of Jill Dando

Hamish Campbell
Detective Chief Inspector
28th Feb 2000

‘I return to the loner, the infatuated, the psychopath, the disturbed or the obsessed. They are all equally capable of planning, good luck, and an ability to hurt and harm. My own notes show that this is the most likely explanation. The witness evidence of 26th and earlier days, show a man loitering in the street. Can it really be possible that this is ten or fifteen different men, or one man seen through different witness eyes, and thus explains the various discrepancies. Not only have we not seen one piece of evidence or information to show Dando was subject of a contract killing, the location of her death points away from contract. Miss Dando did not live at 29, Gowan Ave, she lived in Chiswick. Her attendance at Gowan Ave was sporadic, it is not the location anyone would choose, because there is simply no guarantee or knowledge that she would appear. This is highly pertinent (NB, cars, timing, alarm code)

However, the loner etc, would be taking the random chance. The man was on foot before the attack, he left on foot. As Adrian West says, it tends to point towards someone who is on foot anyway and close enough to reach the Gowan Ave address, otherwise why not Chiswick?

Who is this man that we seem to have missed?, because I believe we have. What of the ‘odd’ person with the hat and dots on it. (If this is actually accurate and true?) A man in the street or junction on three occasions before 26.4.99. In the street at two locations on 26.4.99. His clothing ‘matches’ the man leaving the scene. He had a phone on two separate occasions. Is he the mad man or the contract killer or neither? His behaviour matches more that of the loner than a contract killer.’

BBC One - The Murder of Jill Dando

The full story of one of Britain’s most high-profile killings.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[JennieM]

[…]

Police, who have launched a murder inquiry, later cordoned off the footpath next to the River Thames from Putney Bridge.

There were unconfirmed reports that a man jumped off the bridge, or was stopped as he tried to jump.

Detectives want to speak to a man seen running from the murder scene.

He was described as white, tall, in his late 30s or early 40s, with dark hair, clean-shaven and wearing a green Barbour jacket.

[…]

Richard Hughes, 32, who lives next door to Miss Dando, said: "I heard her scream, it was a distinctive scream, she sounded quite surprised.

"I opened the shutters and saw a man, he was well dressed, he was wearing a Barbour-style jacket and at first I thought it must have been a friend of Jill's as he looked very respectable.

"I went to the door and saw her lying on the doorstep, she was unconscious and covered in blood. I was obviously shocked. I took a look at her and she wasn't breathing."


Richard Hughes: She was covered in blood.
BBC

[…]

BBC News | UK | BBC presenter shot dead

 

[Interested_But_Confused]

If the gate to Jill's house was a typical English gate with a lifting lever-type latch, they usually don't make much noise when you lift the latch to open the gate; but they can make an audible "clang" when you close it again. That might explain not hearing the gate open but hearing it close.

As I understand it, the hand-crimping on the bullet casing led investigators to believe there may have been less gunpowder in the cartridge. The powder burns on Jill's skin also meant the gun was pressed tightly to her head. I believe both of those things would reduce and muffle the sound of the shot. It's possible the amount of powder in the cartridge was deliberately chosen to be *just* powerful enough at close range, but without making any more noise than absolutely necessary.

It does seem strange that a professional hitman would push Jill to the ground instead of simply shooting her where she was standing. But by quickly pushing her to the ground, everything that happened was hidden from immediate view by the surrounding low walls and hedges. And by using a gun with custom cartridges which didn't make much noise, nobody heard the shot.

All of this allowed the shooter to sneak up on Jill, do the deed, and make their escape without *anyone* noticing what had happened until she was discovered more than 10 minutes later.

If this wasn't done by a professional or someone with experience, it was done by the luckiest SOB on the planet. Because absolutely everything worked in their favour that morning. To me, it feels planned.

 

[WestLondoner]

If one believes the ex-offender in the new Netflix documentary does know something about this, then his comment that for him to say why she was killed would tell you who had her killed is pretty clear.

The only source of information he'd have would be prison gossip. The only reason I can think of whereby saying why she was killed reveals who did it would be if she was killed because of Crimewatch. This I conjecture would lead to a search for anyone featured in CW and jailed who would have the pull and malice to order a hit. The implication is that this is only one person. Ex-con declines to provide the reason she was killed. If you believe he does indeed know this.

Circumstantially what we know of the shooting fits. Some crime lord with a grudge engages someone to kill her, but that someone is a small time crook with no access to firearms. Crime lord isn't providing any in case this goes back to himself. So small time south London criminal alters a disarmed weapon, starting pistol etc and uses that - having perhaps learned how through his own stint in chokey.

The reward didn't work because the only people who have evidence that would secure it are the guy who ordered the killing and the guy who did it. Anyone else knows what happens to you if you cross the former, and stays stumm.

JMO

 

[CSIAngus]

The recent BBC documentary showed the first tv report said JD had been stabbed to death. I can't believe scenes of crime officers or regular Police could mistake gunshots for stabbings, and then report that to the media. That lack of clarity from the Police has been a feature of this case throughout.

The killer knew she would be there. It wasn't a random killing. He/they stepped up before she had her keys in the door, and shot her close to her head with a single low velocity bullet. The killer didn't want to be known, nor the reasons known, which suggests a revenge, obsession or contract killing. JMO. If it were political, then that would have leaked by now.

 

[CSIAngus]

The recent BBC documentary showed the first tv report said JD had been stabbed to death. I can't believe scenes of crime officers or regular Police could mistake gunshots for stabbings, and then report that to the media. That lack of clarity from the Police has been a feature of this case throughout.

The killer knew she would be there. It wasn't a random killing. He/they stepped up before she had her keys in the door, and shot her close to her head with a single low velocity bullet. The killer didn't want to be known, nor the reasons known, which suggests a revenge, obsession or contract killing. JMO. If it were political, then that would have leaked by now.

When I say it wasn't random, I mean that potential murderers don't just loiter about with a hand gun waiting to shoot a celebrity who no longer lives there and hardly ever visits. It's a spite or contract killing for me.