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

[Stitches]

The police have looked at MB and haven't found anything to link him to Ann's murder.

They seem to think he was abroad when Ann was killed.

The police say MB was never a 'suspect', but that doesn't mean he wasn't someone who was traced/eliminated.

Aaahh ok. Well good to know then.

 

[Spoof]

Does anyone know how old Peter Heron is?

 

[tes1984]

Does anyone know how old Peter Heron is?

AFAIK he was 53 when Ann was murdered, so he's 88 years old now.

 

[Spoof]

So what are the odds that when he passes away the police will just close the case?

 

[tes1984]

So what are the odds that when he passes away the police will just close the case?

At the recent appeal the Detective Superintendent said they will never give up trying to find out who killed Ann.

 

[Spoof]

Sounds like a good PR statement but in reality there's only ever been one suspect.

 

[rvlvr]

Unless they uncover some new evidence they’ll not close the case, even if police wanted to I’d be very surprised if Ann’s children were prepared to settle for that.

 

[Jen Jarvie]

AFAIK he was 53 when Ann was murdered, so he's 88 years old now.

Peter is 90 years old, 91 at the beginning of next year

 

[Jen Jarvie]

Aaahh ok. Well good to know then.

Just to be clear, 'likely' to be abroad, but actually, they do not know at all where he was.

 

[Jen Jarvie]

So what are the odds that when he passes away the police will just close the case?

A murder case is never closed. However, even in this event that would not assume his guilt, and there are plenty that would continue to ensure the correct person was brought to justice.

 

[Jen Jarvie]

Yeah that's what I thought. Why people keep putting him forward when he's clearly got nothing to do with it seems a bit odd.

The police did not know Benson existed - hence why he was never a POI in 1990

 

[tes1984]

Sounds like a good PR statement but in reality there's only ever been one suspect.

Peter is 90 years old, 91 at the beginning of next year

Thanks for the correction. Is PH satisfied that MB is the killer?

 

[ctaylor]

The police did not know Benson existed - hence why he was never a POI in 1990

Given that he had a police record and escaped from prison only the year before in 1989, they must have knew he existed? I can see why they never thought of him as a possibility though, as they obviously had no idea where he was. He was eventually found in 1999 in East Lothian in Scotland.

 

[tes1984]

Without 'foreign' forensic evidence, it's difficult to rule any POIs out for certain, other than by cast iron alibi.

PH supposedly has such an alibi, but I still haven't seen a clear timeline of his movements.

 

[Spoof]

The police did not know Benson existed - hence why he was never a POI in 1990

But the police have ruled him out.

 

[tes1984]

I haven't seen anything to link Benson to Darlington, other than an alleged confession he made to a fellow prisoner years later. I'm not generally a fan of jailhouse confession scenarios, so can anyone actually link Benson to the area?

Even if he used to work in Darlington, or used to visit his gran there every summer in childhood, or something like that, then he becomes a bit more interesting.

 

[tes1984]

The police did not know Benson existed - hence why he was never a POI in 1990

Do you know the date when Benson escaped from prison, and the date when he did a runner from his partner with her car?

 

[Jen Jarvie]

Given that he had a police record and escaped from prison only the year before in 1989, they must have knew he existed? I can see why they never thought of him as a possibility though, as they obviously had no idea where he was. He was eventually found in 1999 in East Lothian in Scotland.

No, the police didnt know about him - even though the Crimewatch appeal was the following months to Anns. I have this from a serving CID officer at the time serving on the team.

 

[Jen Jarvie]

Do you know the date when Benson escaped from prison, and the date when he did a runner from his partner with her car?

Benson escaped late 1989 and left his wife in June 1990.

 

[Jen Jarvie]

I haven't seen anything to link Benson to Darlington, other than an alleged confession he made to a fellow prisoner years later. I'm not generally a fan of jailhouse confession scenarios, so can anyone actually link Benson to the area?

Even if he used to work in Darlington, or used to visit his gran there every summer in childhood, or something like that, then he becomes a bit more interesting.

Benson had family ties to the area, 5 miles from the crime scene and visited regularly.