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.

 

[tes1984]

If Janice is killed in London, then at what point does the killer (or an accomplice) go to the flat to remove and stage items?

As she's abducted from her flat? While she's being held somewhere? After she's been murdered?

None of it really adds up for me, although you could say that about any theory in this case!

 

[tes1984]

Janice was found soon after she was murdered, so the police may have a fairly good idea of what she had eaten and when, and possibly whether she had drunk alcohol.

This might be relevant in relation to the wine, meal, snacks etc found in Janice's flat and car.

 

[rvlvr]

This is the thing, even if we say there’s little evidence that she drove there, and that perhaps her body and the murder weapon were planted there instead, there’s no evidence she was killed elsewhere. The tyre iron, the missing tyre, the grease, would suggest it’s most likely she was killed in the lay-by imo, though obviously without today’s tools - CCTV, ANPR, mobile phone data, etc - to prove this it definitely pays to keep an open mind.

 

[INSP MORSE]

AFAIK the man in the shop kept records of the registration numbers of plates he made for customers, and the request was for KMR769X plates.

Ok someone might be able to clarify. Just because it's KMR769X in the photo doesn't mean that's the actual registration. Maybe that's the made up plates that are now on the car in the photo and the original plates and registration destroyed or thrown away by the perp. I have a feeling the crimewatch show mentioned the actual registration which may well be KMR769X?

 

[tes1984]

Ok someone might be able to clarify. Just because it's KMR769X in the photo doesn't mean that's the actual registration. Maybe that's the made up plates that are now on the car in the photo and the original plates and registration destroyed or thrown away by the perp. I have a feeling the crimewatch show mentioned the actual registration which may well be KMR769X?

KMR769X was the actual registration. The newspaper appeals (when Janice and the car were still missing) highlighted the registration number.

 

[CSIAngus]

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.

I've always discounted the number plate as a distraction. Doesn't make any sense.

Eye witness accounts need to treated with caution unless corroborated. Was it the same car on the right day and at the right time? Was the person appearing to change a tyre even connected to the incident?

 

[CSIAngus]

If Janice is killed in London, then at what point does the killer (or an accomplice) go to the flat to remove and stage items?

As she's abducted from her flat? While she's being held somewhere? After she's been murdered?

None of it really adds up for me, although you could say that about any theory in this case!

I don't believe anything in the flat was staged. She just popped out briefly on a short journey on the offer of getting her tyre changed by a friend of her husband, who may have had access to an auto garage (most close at lunchtime on Saturdays so no-one else would be about) or a secure private parking garage, somewhere near Regents Park. The tyre changer bludgeoned her with the tyre iron. Took her body up the A1 in a van to dump it in the dark by the lay-by. Sunset was just before half seven that day. Then returned to move her car to Redhill Street that night. The missing tyre could quite easily be recycled by a garage owner. MOO

 

[CSIAngus]

This is the thing, even if we say there’s little evidence that she drove there, and that perhaps her body and the murder weapon were planted there instead, there’s no evidence she was killed elsewhere. The tyre iron, the missing tyre, the grease, would suggest it’s most likely she was killed in the lay-by imo, though obviously without today’s tools - CCTV, ANPR, mobile phone data, etc - to prove this it definitely pays to keep an open mind.

The grease, tyre, missing tyre, and tyre iron all point to an auto garage being the murder scene. There is no evidence that she was killed in the lay-by and no evidence for her car traveling outside London.

 

[tes1984]

I've always discounted the number plate as a distraction. Doesn't make any sense.

Eye witness accounts need to treated with caution unless corroborated. Was it the same car on the right day and at the right time? Was the person appearing to change a tyre even connected to the incident?

The man ordering the number plate is a corroborated sighting though.

The number plate stuff doesn't make much sense, but I don't think it should be left out when proposing theories.

 

[tes1984]

The grease, tyre, missing tyre, and tyre iron all point to an auto garage being the murder scene. There is no evidence that she was killed in the lay-by and no evidence for her car traveling outside London.

She had an overnight bag, a selection of snacks, an already opened bottle of wine, and the keys to her country house in her car. That seems a bit excessive for a twenty minute drive to Regents Park IMO.

 

[CSIAngus]

The man ordering the number plate is a corroborated sighting though.

The number plate stuff doesn't make much sense, but I don't think it should be left out when proposing theories.

I fail to see where it fits in. Sometimes the noise needs to be screened out. IMO

 

[tes1984]

Fair enough, but someone ordered replacement registration plates when Janice and the car were still missing.

If it's a genuine incident, then it's probably not a coincidence.

A crook goes to order some random false plates for a robbery, and they just happen to match the plates of a woman who has been killed the night before?

I can't really see that happening, and I have seen a lot of bizarre coincidences in UK cases to say the least.

 

[CSIAngus]

She had an overnight bag, a selection of snacks, an already opened bottle of wine, and the keys to her country house in her car. That seems a bit excessive for a twenty minute drive to Regents Park IMO.

There seems to be confusion in the reports as to whether she left a half eaten meal in the flat or took it with her. As to the keys to the property development, they might just live in the bag in her car. The cash in her bag was to pay for the tyre change perhaps. Most women back then, if not now, would not have left for any appreciable amount of time without their handbag, which was left in the flat with her cheque book and credit cards inside. She would take that with her if she was off up country surely.

I've changed a few tyres and not ended up with grease under my nails. Oil/grime maybe. Being beaten about the floor of an auto garage could certainly account for the grease under her nails.

 

[CSIAngus]

Fair enough, but someone ordered replacement registration plates when Janice and the car were still missing.

If it's a genuine incident, then it's probably not a coincidence.

A crook goes to order some random false plates for a robbery, and they just happen to match the plates of a woman who has been killed the night before?

I can't really see that happening, and I have seen a lot of bizarre coincidences in UK cases to say the least.

Apart from the recollection of the man who took the order for the plate, what is the evidence of the transaction? The incident was supposed to have occurred only hours after her body was discovered, in a nearby village, and before her car was found in Regents Park. Doesn't make sense.

The man didn't ask verbally for a registration plate but handed over a piece of paper. Does that piece of paper survive as evidence? Was a receipt issued with a counter foil recording the plate number? Presumably, he paid cash. Bit risky asking for a replacement plate of a murdered woman's car so close to where the body had recently been found, with her car found 60 miles away without new plates. Either it's just noise in the investigation, or on the outside an accomplice or the Perp sowing confusion. I fail to see how ordering replica plates at that point would do anything other than draw attention to someone, or perhaps draw attention away from the person ordering or committing the hit. And I do think she was executed to order. Who benefited? He was interviewed but had an alibi. MOO

 

[CSIAngus]

Apart from the recollection of the man who took the order for the plate, what is the evidence of the transaction? The incident was supposed to have occurred only hours after her body was discovered, in a nearby village, and before her car was found in Regents Park. Doesn't make sense.

The man didn't ask verbally for a registration plate but handed over a piece of paper. Does that piece of paper survive as evidence? Was a receipt issued with a counter foil recording the plate number? Presumably, he paid cash. Bit risky asking for a replacement plate of a murdered woman's car so close to where the body had recently been found, with her car found 60 miles away without new plates. Either it's just noise in the investigation, or on the outside an accomplice or the Perp sowing confusion. I fail to see how ordering replica plates at that point would do anything other than draw attention to someone, or perhaps draw attention away from the person ordering or committing the hit. And I do think she was executed to order. Who benefited? He was interviewed but had an alibi. MOO

If the plate order is a genuine part of the puzzle then perhaps it might be significant that the number was written down rather than spoken. That could suggest that the person was sent by someone else to order it. I know my plate off by heart and have done for every car I've had. Part of the ruse to make it look like a crime local to the body deposition site rather than local to where the car was found, and near the murder scene in a local garage?