UK UK - Harry Tooze, 64, Megan Tooze, 67, South Wales, 26 July 1993

[imstilla.grandma]

Aman who married the daughter of a couple he was accused of murdering at their farmhouse is living as a recluse 30 years later as police announce they have reopened the case, MailOnline can exclusively reveal today.

Jonathan Jones was cleared of blasting his future in-laws Harry and Megan Tooze to death with a shotgun, but the double murder at a farm in South Wales in July 1993 remains unsolved.

Jones, who says he has suffered three decades of 'inner turmoil', hopes a forensic review of the murders will lead police to the real killer of his wife's parents.

Locals say Jones, 63, and Cheryl, his wife of 25 years, are rarely seen together and say he lives alone at the marital home, a modest semi in Caerphilly.

A neighbour said: 'You never see him, not even to put his rubbish out. I haven't seen Cheryl there for quite a while.'

But the couple were filmed together by ITV this week after South Wales Police announced top forensic scientist Dr Angela Gallop has been brought in.

Jones, who wrongly served a year of a life sentence for the murders, claims to have worked with police to find the true killer. The former self-employed recruitment consultant says he is 'hugely excited' that the forensic team will crack the case.

Reclusive life of man wrongly jailed for murder of future in-laws

EXCLUSIVE: Jonathan Jones was cleared of blasting his future in-laws Harry and Megan Tooze to death with a shotgun, but the double murder at a farm in South Wales in 1993 remains unsolved.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Harry and Megan Tooze were killed at their farmhouse home in Llanharry on 26 July 1993
Police hope advances in forensic science will finally lead them to the killer who brutally murdered a married couple at their farmhouse 30 years ago.
Harry and Megan Tooze were shot dead at their home in Llanharry, Rhondda Cynon Taf, on 26 July 1993

The case remains one of Wales' most notorious unsolved murders
"As years have gone on, forensic science has moved on, there are new sensitivities in relation to DNA, in relation to the way we look at other evidence, whether that's fibres, whether that's blood," he said.

When asked how likely it was that they would ever solve the murders, he said: "The honest answer is I don't know if we will find the killer from this forensic review - we know forensic science has moved on, there might be other opportunities now. I am cautiously optimistic but I can't say if we will or not.”

"To kill two people in their own home with a shotgun in broad daylight - I think that would be a difficult secret to keep, so I wouldn't be surprised if somebody knows who the killer is and where information might be to lead us to that killer," he said.

Harry and Megan Tooze: Police review couple's killing 30 years on

Police hope scientific advances will finally lead them to Harry and Megan Tooze's shotgun killer.

www.bbc.com

 

[Westchester76]

Have read a few thoughts that John Cooper may be responsible for this, but don't see it myself.
There was no robbery, which was always Cooper's MO. If he got interrupted or angry he would kill, but The Tooze's murder was a assassination, plain and simple. If it was not the son-in-law it would of been a local person or neighbour, who had a grudge against the couple. The China tea set that was laid out, that suggested that had a special visitor would of been arranged post murder by the culprit to suggest it was an out of town guest, rather than a local popping in. Their daughter had said that they would of not brought out these tea cups for the son-in-law's visit

 

[StillDiggin]

An arrest
#Arrest | South Wales Police has arrested an 86-year-old man in connection with the murders of Harry and Megan Tooze more than 30 years ago.

The couple were found dead with gunshot wounds at their Ty Ar y Waun farmhouse in Llanharry on July 26, 1993.

The force commenced a forensic review of the case in 2023 and detectives have now made an arrest for the undetected murders of Harry, aged 64, and Megan 67.

The man was arrested earlier today and is currently in police custody.

Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Superintendent Mark Lewis, said: “While this arrest is clearly a significant development in the investigation, our enquiries are very much ongoing.

“This case has affected many people over the years and our aim is to find the answers to the unanswered questions which remain about their deaths over 30 years on. Even with this passage of time I appeal to anyone who has any information about the murders to come forward and speak to police.”

Anyone with information about the deaths of Harry and Megan Tooze should contact South Wales Police quoting occurrence number 2300016841.

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid0643EwBhBcPRyM9FQoTC1VHpwZgYsUaYWJuwS6ocZxRPthN9jH2S6XXpcUUxZJYTwl&id=100064632673826

Online: Public Portal
Dial: 101
Always call 999 in an emergency.

You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously via https://crimestoppers-uk.org/ or on 0800 555 111.

Read more in the comments below

 

[tes1984]

Good news that's there's been major progress, but the arrested man doesn't seem to be Cooper (who is 5 years younger than the arrested man) or the local farmer suspect (who is 2 years younger - if still alive).

 

[Dotta]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2001285211636609468

 

[dotr]

Harry and Megan Tooze: Man arrested 30 years after murder of couple

Harry and Megan Tooze were found dead with gunshot wounds at their farm more than 30 years ago.

www.bbc.com

''Both had been shot in the back of the head from a distance of about 3ft (0.9m), then covered in carpet and hidden under hay bales, detectives said.

Investigators believed Harry and Megan had not been killed in the cow shed. Their bodies were thought to have been moved there after the killings, likely carried.''

''Their daughter's boyfriend Jonathan Jones was found guilty of their murders and sentenced to life in prison in 1995, but was later freed on appeal.

Mr Jones, who was a self-employed recruitment consultant, had told police he had taken the day off work on the day the Toozes were killed.''

 

[rvlvr]

The case against Jonathan Jones should never have made it to court, let alone resulted in a conviction. The jury really dropped the ball, imo.

Police did their best keystone cops impression too, failing to secure the scene, then trying to pin the crime on the only suspect they could find using what little ‘evidence’ they had left to work with.

The Wikipedia page for these murders, though, would leave you with an entirely different impression of the case. Interestingly, a lot of the content on that page appears to have been written by a person who’d also contributed extensively to other UK true crime pages (including the Suzy Lamplugh case, the Wikipedia page for which we’ve been discussing recently) before being banned for using multiple sock puppet accounts.

 

[rvlvr]

Have read a few thoughts that John Cooper may be responsible for this, but don't see it myself.
There was no robbery, which was always Cooper's MO. If he got interrupted or angry he would kill, but The Tooze's murder was a assassination, plain and simple. If it was not the son-in-law it would of been a local person or neighbour, who had a grudge against the couple. The China tea set that was laid out, that suggested that had a special visitor would of been arranged post murder by the culprit to suggest it was an out of town guest, rather than a local popping in. Their daughter had said that they would of not brought out these tea cups for the son-in-law's visit

Cooper has never seemed like a good fit to me, either, based on the set up at the dining table and the fact nothing was stolen.

The way they were both shot only once, to the back of their heads, suggests to me the killer was quite proficient.

The issue of the contested will has always seemed like a good lead, to me.