UK UK- Eve Stratford, 21, Bunny @ Playboy Club, posed for mag. cover, later her mutilated & grotesquely staged body found @ home, London 18/03/75 *DNA*

[tes1984]

I found it odd when Lynda Farrow's daughters, who believe him to be the Monty that often visited their Dad, one said he gave the impression of class. I get more the impression that the one previous Bunny referred to him as, sleazy.

He was extremely sleazy around the gambling clubs, but probably seemed impressive and classy in other circumstances.

After all he was a successful businessman, family man, highly intelligent, with friends in high places, and properties home and abroad. The man who looked after the Arab princes when they visited London.

In the mid 1970s, Playboy only made a profit due to their UK gambling interests, and Abdul played a massive role in this (although of course he claimed to never receive a salary).

 

[TheRockingRev]

In one of the recent Bunny documentaries the Bunny mother said that one of the security staff at the Playboy Club was ex-SAS. Is it possible that this person knew anything about the murder?

Did it say who the ex-SAS man was? It's just there was a former soldier who was very well known around the casinos of the West End at this time. He described himself as SAS, although this hasn't been proven. He was certainly a shady character who worked as a bodyguard in London, and had charges for violence in West End clubs.
He also looks a lot like one of the photo-fits in a previous post.

 

[jojojaja]

Did it say who the ex-SAS man was? It's just there was a former soldier who was very well known around the casinos of the West End at this time. He described himself as SAS, although this hasn't been proven. He was certainly a shady character who worked as a bodyguard in London, and had charges for violence in West End clubs.
He also looks a lot like one of the photo-fits in a previous post.

They weren't the Bunny Mother although she was part of their office, the lady was a trainee of new Bunnies. It was in the documentary West End Murders. Colin Sutton who made it is on Instagram among other places and I am sure would be interested and hopefully answer if they know more.
They didn't say who they were in the documentary and I hit the impression he was treading lightly around the former Bunnies. Possibly how he got them to talk was by saying they wouldn't be pushed into talking about things they didn't want to, they're very loyal to the place that employed them all those years ago.

If you can share more about them that would be interesting.

 

[TheRockingRev]

They weren't the Bunny Mother although she was part of their office, the lady was a trainee of new Bunnies. It was in the documentary West End Murders. Colin Sutton who made it is on Instagram among other places and I am sure would be interested and hopefully answer if they know more.
They didn't say who they were in the documentary and I hit the impression he was treading lightly around the former Bunnies. Possibly how he got them to talk was by saying they wouldn't be pushed into talking about things they didn't want to, they're very loyal to the place that employed them all those years ago.

If you can share more about them that would be interesting.

I'm not saying that this person is the actual perpetrator - but certainly had a presence in the West End as a bit of a 'face'. He certainly was a regular at the casinos and an acquaintance of mine, who worked as a pit-boss at the Curzon Casino in the late 70's became friendly with him and recalls him being a regular at most of the casinos in the area.

 

[jojojaja]

I'm not saying that this person is the actual perpetrator - but certainly had a presence in the West End as a bit of a 'face'. He certainly was a regular at the casinos and an acquaintance of mine, who worked as a pit-boss at the Curzon Casino in the late 70's became friendly with him and recalls him being a regular at most of the casinos in the area.

Oh no I didn't get the impression that you felt he was involved.
Often police, press, investigators, armchair or otherwise, are interested in witnesses as much as finding the perp. Not even necessarily witnesses of a crime, but people that can fill in blanks, connect people that knew each other, describe how people behaved, if they mentioned anything, id they seemed worried, if people liked them and on and on. Like the people interviewed in these documentaries.

There certainly seemed to be connections across the West End. Life didn't begin and end in the Playboy club.

I get the impression Abdul Khawaja was friendly at other casinos and with management + employees. Networking. Not that I am saying he was involved in Eve's death though some seem to think so. I am partly interested in his contacts. He seems to connect various people.

Security would get to know various local characters too, not just clientele.

 

[TheRockingRev]

They weren't the Bunny Mother although she was part of their office, the lady was a trainee of new Bunnies. It was in the documentary West End Murders. Colin Sutton who made it is on Instagram among other places and I am sure would be interested and hopefully answer if they know more.
They didn't say who they were in the documentary and I hit the impression he was treading lightly around the former Bunnies. Possibly how he got them to talk was by saying they wouldn't be pushed into talking about things they didn't want to, they're very loyal to the place that employed them all those years ago.

If you can share more about them that would be interesting.

Have a read here, you may find a name: Kidnapping of Ronnie Biggs ends in farce: From Guardian archive, 25 Mar 1981.

 

[jojojaja]

Interesting as Paul Farrow's brother, Raymon (still can't get over that name), was said to have something to do with the great ( or not so great depending on your viewpoint), train robbery.

I've been having another watch of Marcel Theroux's Bunny Girl documentary, to refresh my memory and they were just talking of Gladys, Lynda's Mum, with her saying about the ex policeman, bodyguard of Arabs and wot not...I know who they're referring to, but tbh from what's been said, a lot of ex police became bouncers and also did stuff for Abdul khawaja and probably the Arabs coming over here to take in the wildlife.

If people are connected, it shouldn't be that surprising. The West End isn't that big too.

A lot of ex forces joined the police and some police became security. But SAS jumped the police part it seems.

Have a read here, you may find a name: Kidnapping of Ronnie Biggs ends in farce: From Guardian archive, 25 Mar 1981.

 

[jojojaja]

More background info into the Playboy Club, Bunnies and gambling. I had not realised how profitable the London club was for holding up the rest of the empire.
They should have allowed Eve, Bunny Ava to appear in the magazine. Surely the customers propping up the company would be stoked to have someone they recognised appear in it.

How the London Playboy Club bankrolled Hef’s empire - The Architectural Review

Playboy, that great icon of American pop culture, owed its existence for many years to gambling revenue from Blighty

www.architectural-review.com

 

[Eastend Eagle]

Did it say who the ex-SAS man was? It's just there was a former soldier who was very well known around the casinos of the West End at this time. He described himself as SAS, although this hasn't been proven. He was certainly a shady character who worked as a bodyguard in London, and had charges for violence in West End clubs.
He also looks a lot like one of the photo-fits in a previous post.

No, I don't think a name was mentioned.

 

[t.nichevo]

These posts are very confusing and so is the below article:

I nailed Levi Bellfield, I'll prove serial killer is behind West End Murders

What I am getting from this is that former Detective Sutton believes Farrow's murder is linked to Eve and Lynne, despite the DNA evidence not matching?

Unfortunately, I think that Sutton is suffering from tunnel vision to try and get these 3 cases to fit together. This has resulted in this crazy assassin, hit job theory; Abdul Khawaja worked with different hitmen to kill Lynda and Eve. Ergo different DNA samples. Coincidentally, the hitman from Eve's murder also killed Lynne on his own volition some other time? Occam's Razor is not always correct, but it does seem a little outlandish to me.

In my opinion, the murder of Eve and Lynne scream lone Anger Rapist/killer.

Now, The Sun article does have some interesting points.

Interesting point #1:

There were two sets of DNA on Eve. One was Semen and a different one was on the bindings?

Why would this be the case?

1) There were two killers - One sexually assualted her and the other tied her up;

2) One set of DNA is from someone unrelated to Eve's murder:

The first set of DNA was found on the bindings. The ankle bindings were stockings and the wrist binding was a scarf. Was the DNA found on both bindings or just one? Did the killer bring these with them or were they Eves/already in her house. Could DNA on the scarf be from someone unrelated? What was the source of the DNA on this item? If it is blood (maybe killer cut themselves stabbing Eve?), then this would make it more likely that the DNA sample is the killers. If the sample is sweat or skin cells, then maybe it was left at a previous time by someone unrelated who wore the scarf? The latter being true would imply that the killer's DNA is the semen sample. However, this does not make the scarf sample useless, as it may be possible to link the owner of the scarf to the killer some how.

If there was only one assailant and the binding DNA sample is the killers, then perhaps Eve had sex at some other time during that day. According to Wikipedia, she met her agent and then a promotional company (?) before going home. Unfortunately, this was an era where the casting couch was prominent. I would like to get the DNA from the agent and whoever she saw at the promotional company to rule them out.

I would also like to know the source of the DNA from Lynne's case. Was it semen?

Interesting point #2:

In a lot of the articles and interviews about the Playboy club, we get fed the whole idea that "girls were not allowed to date or give numbers to customers." However, I think we see more of the truth in The Sun article. In some ways (or for some people at least) it was more like a hostess bar. In the club everything was above board, but I guess the right clients with the right amount of power could negotiate dates and maybe more outside of the club. It seems that this may have been Khawaja's unofficial role.

My friend worked at a Japanese style hostess club years ago. In the club, it was just conversation and flirting, but ownership would encourage outside dates with rich clients because this would keep them coming back to the club.

If all of this is true, then I say the following with no judgement. Eve may have been entertaining people outside of the club. The article says she dined with Khawaja the night before her murder. Also, she was serving a 3 month suspension from her job at the Playboy club because of her Mayfair Cover. Even if she was not doing this type of thing during her time at the club, maybe she felt financial pressure to do it because she did not have a steady income anymore.

 

[tes1984]

Great post and very interesting questions about the DNA. The DNA from the binding could potentially be from an unconnected third party. There's clearly never been a match to the 'second' profile. I wonder if it's a full profile.

Khawaja was definitely a pimp type character. I could see Abdul introducing Eve to a client, but I can't see her flat being the venue. Her boyfriend was due home soonish and she lived with other people, who could have returned home at any time too.

However, there were rumours of fingerprint matches from Eve's flat to men from the Playboy Club. One match may have been to her agent, but not sure about the other possible matches. Maybe high rollers, who were alibied and cleared (and able to keep things out of the press etc).

 

[t.nichevo]

Great post and very interesting questions about the DNA. The DNA from the binding could potentially be from an unconnected third party. There's clearly never been a match to the 'second' profile. I wonder if it's a full profile.

Khawaja was definitely a pimp type character. I could see Abdul introducing Eve to a client, but I can't see her flat being the venue. Her boyfriend was due home soonish and she lived with other people, who could have returned home at any time too.

However, there were rumours of fingerprint matches from Eve's flat to men from the Playboy Club. One match may have been to her agent, but not sure about the other possible matches. Maybe high rollers, who were alibied and cleared (and able to keep things out of the press etc).

Yes, I cannot see her flat being the venue either. If she was seeing clients extracurricularly though, this may make the suspect pool a lot wider.

Personally, I think the key to solving the case may lie with Lynne. From what I have read, she did not usually walk down that alleyway due to "lurkers." I wonder if they ever checked local police reports for men with misdemeanors or who had been reported for things like peeping, flashing etc.

 

[jojojaja]

These posts are very confusing and so is the below article:

I nailed Levi Bellfield, I'll prove serial killer is behind West End Murders

What I am getting from this is that former Detective Sutton believes Farrow's murder is linked to Eve and Lynne, despite the DNA evidence not matching?

Unfortunately, I think that Sutton is suffering from tunnel vision to try and get these 3 cases to fit together. This has resulted in this crazy assassin, hit job theory; Abdul Khawaja worked with different hitmen to kill Lynda and Eve. Ergo different DNA samples. Coincidentally, the hitman from Eve's murder also killed Lynne on his own volition some other time? Occam's Razor is not always correct, but it does seem a little outlandish to me.

In my opinion, the murder of Eve and Lynne scream lone Anger Rapist/killer.

Now, The Sun article does have some interesting points.

Interesting point #1:

There were two sets of DNA on Eve. One was Semen and a different one was on the bindings?

Why would this be the case?

1) There were two killers - One sexually assualted her and the other tied her up;

2) One set of DNA is from someone unrelated to Eve's murder:

The first set of DNA was found on the bindings. The ankle bindings were stockings and the wrist binding was a scarf. Was the DNA found on both bindings or just one? Did the killer bring these with them or were they Eves/already in her house. Could DNA on the scarf be from someone unrelated? What was the source of the DNA on this item? If it is blood (maybe killer cut themselves stabbing Eve?), then this would make it more likely that the DNA sample is the killers. If the sample is sweat or skin cells, then maybe it was left at a previous time by someone unrelated who wore the scarf? The latter being true would imply that the killer's DNA is the semen sample. However, this does not make the scarf sample useless, as it may be possible to link the owner of the scarf to the killer some how.

If there was only one assailant and the binding DNA sample is the killers, then perhaps Eve had sex at some other time during that day. According to Wikipedia, she met her agent and then a promotional company (?) before going home. Unfortunately, this was an era where the casting couch was prominent. I would like to get the DNA from the agent and whoever she saw at the promotional company to rule them out.

I would also like to know the source of the DNA from Lynne's case. Was it semen?

Interesting point #2:

In a lot of the articles and interviews about the Playboy club, we get fed the whole idea that "girls were not allowed to date or give numbers to customers." However, I think we see more of the truth in The Sun article. In some ways (or for some people at least) it was more like a hostess bar. In the club everything was above board, but I guess the right clients with the right amount of power could negotiate dates and maybe more outside of the club. It seems that this may have been Khawaja's unofficial role.

My friend worked at a Japanese style hostess club years ago. In the club, it was just conversation and flirting, but ownership would encourage outside dates with rich clients because this would keep them coming back to the club.

If all of this is true, then I say the following with no judgement. Eve may have been entertaining people outside of the club. The article says she dined with Khawaja the night before her murder. Also, she was serving a 3 month suspension from her job at the Playboy club because of her Mayfair Cover. Even if she was not doing this type of thing during her time at the club, maybe she felt financial pressure to do it because she did not have a steady income anymore.

Not addressing all your points yet, but there might not be any DNA in the Lynda Farrow case. Sutton worked on her case in Woodford and stated all the physical evidence had gone. So unless someone by miracle found them again, it's odd for anyone to suddenly say there is DNA. That needs explaining from someone or an update from the police as to whether or not it's true. To me right now this seems a grey area. I forget the lady's name who was handling the case when the 2015(?) Crimewatch came out, but I don't recall them stating they had DNA on the show. Someone please show me some evidence?!

Regarding Eve seeing clients, I am afraid you can't state that as a fact, this is a fact based site so things have to be in your own opinion without proofs. Be careful how you word things, even the police have to be careful with this.

The bindings were pieces of Eve's own clothing and therefore the second set of dna may have been her bf or the other people who lived there. Iow there is a reasonable explanation for their dna to be there. Maybe that's why only the one set of dna is mentioned. They didn't annoyingly state if the second set of dna was of a known source or not. If unknown surely they would be saying more assertively they think one person was involved?

I do remember them finding 3 something, dna or fingerprints from 3, pretty sure it was Arab clientele of the Playboy club in the flat, but I can't recall the source. Anyone remember? That needs to be something reliable rather than press making things up. Even then it's circumstantial to state why they were there

 

[jojojaja]

Yes, I cannot see her flat being the venue either. If she was seeing clients extracurricularly though, this may make the suspect pool a lot wider.

Personally, I think the key to solving the case may lie with Lynne. From what I have read, she did not usually walk down that alleyway due to "lurkers." I wonder if they ever checked local police reports for men with misdemeanors or who had been reported for things like peeping, flashing etc.

This occured to me with the scenario if Eve was entertaining, surely she wouldn't do so so close to her bf returning home. It would be cutting things fine.

In his interview with Theroux, Eve's bf in regard to Abdul, was that he didn't think anything was going on between them. Basically he makes it seem like he didn't think she was doing anything with anyone and regards to who he thinks may have done it, he was trying to come to terms with it and wondering who it might have been that because Eve had talked about him, that he wondered if it may have been Abdul. The way he said it sounded like he didn't seriously believe that, he was just grasping at straws. So if anything was happening he seems to have been unaware.

It feels more like it was the police at the time felt Eve may have been doing things with people. Bearing in mind in the 70s the police and press were very misogynist and judgemental about females who didn't fit into the run of the mill roles.
The ex Bunnies said repeatedly how they were sick of being judged and that while yes some did those things, not all did. Of Eve it seems it was believed she was naive.
Maybe she was being promised work. It felt her primary focus was on moving her career forward and being a model rather than money it's self.

 

[dotr]

It is the Mirror, but.. fwiw, rbbm

Playboy Bunny murderer's other victims and DNA clue that could catch killer

ITV's new documentary series The Playboy Bunny Murder, presented by Marcel Theroux, reinvestigates the connections between three cold cases from nearly 50 years ago

www.mirror.co.uk

Nia Dalton 14 Nov 2023

''To this day, Eve's murder remains unsolved, though DNA evidence and inquiries over the years have linked her death to two other victims - schoolgirl Lynne Weedon and mum Lynda Farrow''

''Mum-of-two Lynda Farrow is believed to have been murdered by the same unknown killer. The 29-year-old croupier was four months pregnant when she was stabbed to death in her home in East London on January 19, 1979. ''

''Former detective chief inspector Colin Sutton carried out a review of the evidence in Lynda's case in 2002 and linked her murderer with Eve's. "I have no doubt the same man committed all three," he said. "I was quickly struck by the similarities with that of Eve Stratford. A woman killed in her own home by having her throat slit? That is rare enough today, in the 1970s it was almost unheard of. For this to have happened twice, with identical wounds, within a few miles of each other was just too much of a coincidence."

 

[t.nichevo]

Not addressing all your points yet, but there might not be any DNA in the Lynda Farrow case. Sutton worked on her case in Woodford and stated all the physical evidence had gone. So unless someone by miracle found them again, it's odd for anyone to suddenly say there is DNA. That needs explaining from someone or an update from the police as to whether or not it's true. To me right now this seems a grey area. I forget the lady's name who was handling the case when the 2015(?) Crimewatch came out, but I don't recall them stating they had DNA on the show. Someone please show me some evidence?!

Regarding Eve seeing clients, I am afraid you can't state that as a fact, this is a fact based site so things have to be in your own opinion without proofs. Be careful how you word things, even the police have to be careful with this.

The bindings were pieces of Eve's own clothing and therefore the second set of dna may have been her bf or the other people who lived there. Iow there is a reasonable explanation for their dna to be there. Maybe that's why only the one set of dna is mentioned. They didn't annoyingly state if the second set of dna was of a known source or not. If unknown surely they would be saying more assertively they think one person was involved?

I do remember them finding 3 something, dna or fingerprints from 3, pretty sure it was Arab clientele of the Playboy club in the flat, but I can't recall the source. Anyone remember? That needs to be something reliable rather than press making things up. Even then it's circumstantial to state why they were there

Of course, I did not say that Eve was seeing clients for a fact. I said it should be/should have been explored and ruled in/out. Especially if there was DNA/fingerprints of 3 arab clientele at the flat and if she had dinner with Abdul Khawaja the night before.

I am not mentioning this in an attempt to victim blame or anything. I just believe it is worth looking in to.

 

[t.nichevo]

It is the Mirror, but.. fwiw, rbbm

Playboy Bunny murderer's other victims and DNA clue that could catch killer

ITV's new documentary series The Playboy Bunny Murder, presented by Marcel Theroux, reinvestigates the connections between three cold cases from nearly 50 years ago

www.mirror.co.uk

Nia Dalton 14 Nov 2023

''To this day, Eve's murder remains unsolved, though DNA evidence and inquiries over the years have linked her death to two other victims - schoolgirl Lynne Weedon and mum Lynda Farrow''

''Mum-of-two Lynda Farrow is believed to have been murdered by the same unknown killer. The 29-year-old croupier was four months pregnant when she was stabbed to death in her home in East London on January 19, 1979. ''

''Former detective chief inspector Colin Sutton carried out a review of the evidence in Lynda's case in 2002 and linked her murderer with Eve's. "I have no doubt the same man committed all three," he said. "I was quickly struck by the similarities with that of Eve Stratford. A woman killed in her own home by having her throat slit? That is rare enough today, in the 1970s it was almost unheard of. For this to have happened twice, with identical wounds, within a few miles of each other was just too much of a coincidence."

It is very confusing. Numerous secondary sources say DNA has ruled Farrow out, but none link to any primary source. It would be good to have this clarified.

 

[jojojaja]

It is the Mirror, but.. fwiw, rbbm

Playboy Bunny murderer's other victims and DNA clue that could catch killer

ITV's new documentary series The Playboy Bunny Murder, presented by Marcel Theroux, reinvestigates the connections between three cold cases from nearly 50 years ago

www.mirror.co.uk

Nia Dalton 14 Nov 2023

''To this day, Eve's murder remains unsolved, though DNA evidence and inquiries over the years have linked her death to two other victims - schoolgirl Lynne Weedon and mum Lynda Farrow''

''Mum-of-two Lynda Farrow is believed to have been murdered by the same unknown killer. The 29-year-old croupier was four months pregnant when she was stabbed to death in her home in East London on January 19, 1979. ''

''Former detective chief inspector Colin Sutton carried out a review of the evidence in Lynda's case in 2002 and linked her murderer with Eve's. "I have no doubt the same man committed all three," he said. "I was quickly struck by the similarities with that of Eve Stratford. A woman killed in her own home by having her throat slit? That is rare enough today, in the 1970s it was almost unheard of. For this to have happened twice, with identical wounds, within a few miles of each other was just too much of a coincidence."

I do recall many more than Sutton have felt them to be linked.

Some of the reasons people have stepped back from that,

Eve and Lynne's murders were definately sexual based attacks/murders.

Elizabeth Parravicini who police have also felt was linked (whatever they are saying now, I notice now they dislike to state anything that's not proveable in court). Police and everyone believe it was sexual related however the killer couldn't remove her extremely tight jeans and was disturbed by people passing.

Lynda Farrow's death shows no signs of sexual assault or attempts to remove clothes (but could they have been disturbed by noises outside? It was snowing heavily and so any noises are more distinctive).

Lynda was 4 months pregnant, would a person want to sexually assault her (actually some people are turned on by pregnancy)

There are reasons to believe that her husband or member of his friend or family group may have wanted to harm Lynda. Lynda was trying to hide her wherabouts feom her husband and they were receiving threatening phone calls according to her daughters.

however that just because there was a different reason to kill Lynda, does not mean that the petson who killed her hadn't killed before for pleasure. I think that what Sutton was trying to prove or introduce as a possibility.

Again, police look at likelihood. The fact Eve and Lynda worked in high profile places where there was a casino, were both glamorous, lived close together and died with both of them close to full decapitation, those are very rare circumstances. Nobody would have connected Lynne without dna. But Eve and Lynda have unusual circumstances.

I also read that hammer/blunt force trauma attacks from behind with women were very rare back then. So another thing that links Lynne and Elizabeth.

 

[jojojaja]

Of course, I did not say that Eve was seeing clients for a fact. I said it should be/should have been explored and ruled in/out. Especially if there was DNA/fingerprints of 3 arab clientele at the flat and if she had dinner with Abdul Khawaja the night before.

I am not mentioning this in an attempt to victim blame or anything. I just believe it is worth looking in to.

I am only saying as you are a new member to be careful of wording on here. I'm trying to look out for you. I had stuff removed when I first joined. Not commenting on what you said so much.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

In one of the recent Bunny documentaries the Bunny mother said that one of the security staff at the Playboy Club was ex-SAS.

How would she know this? The SAS were virtually unknown to the general public until the Iranian Embassy siege in 1980 and, with very few exceptions indeed, its members still keep a very low profile after leaving it.