UK UK - Janice Weston, 36, Murdered, A1 Layby, Brampton, Cambs. / London, 10 September 1983

[CSIAngus]

I agree. The hitchhiker theory has never made much sense to me on this basis either, given Janice was travelling north yet her car wound up back in London. I suppose it’s possible in this scenario that the hitchhiker was making some sort of round trip, or that they were pretending to be heading north but in reality were just looking for a victim. But that seems unlikely to me. Especially when you factor in the supposedly foul weather that evening, it doesn’t seem likely that Janice’s killer was hanging around in the dark and the rain on the off chance. We might also have had witness sightings of someone thumbing a lift that night, but if there were any they’ve not been made public.

And as you rightly say, we’re still left with the issue of why she was on the road in the first place, given everything pointed to Janice spending a quiet night alone at her home. Something came up, but what?

What is the evidence that she was driving north? Her body was found in a lay-by off the A1 and her car in London. There is no evidence that she drove her car to the lay-by or that she was killed there. There is no evidence placing her car outside London.

More likely IMO, that she was dispatched in a garage or lock-up in the Regents Park area and her body dumped in the lay-by, the A1 being the quickest route out of the city. Her car was then moved from the murder scene to Redhill Street. I would be looking at close associates of the husband living in the Regents Park area or with access to such a facility in that area.

 

[ctaylor]

What is the evidence that she was driving north? Her body was found in a lay-by off the A1 and her car in London. There is no evidence that she drove her car to the lay-by or that she was killed there. There is no evidence placing her car outside London.

I agree. The Crimewatch reconstruction shows her driving and changing the wheel in the lay-by and they say the grease under her fingernails suggest she changed the tyre. At no point in the reconstruction or in the studio chat with the police officer after it did they suggest she didn't drive up there. I could be wrong and may need to re-watch it to be sure but agree with you, how do they know for sure she drove

 

[davidt]

I agree. The Crimewatch reconstruction shows her driving and changing the wheel in the lay-by and they say the grease under her fingernails suggest she changed the tyre. At no point in the reconstruction or in the studio chat with the police officer after it did they suggest she didn't drive up there. I could be wrong and may need to re-watch it to be sure but agree with you, how do they know for sure she drove

There's a couple of things that I wonder about.

Firstly the police gave always been confident Janice was killed in the layby. I don't pretend to know how they reached that conclusion though.

Secondly what do you make of the various items found in Janice's car? Do you think they were planted there and possibly items in the flat arranged to make it look like she rushed out?

Also there were witnesses to a man apparently changing a wheel in that layby on a car matching the description of Janice's.

And then there's the stuff about the number plates.

I do agree though that there appears to be no sightings of Janice leaving the flat or driving that night.