UK UK - John Longstaff, adult, murdered, Pudsey, West Yorkshire, 1970s

[Zola the Gorgon]

At least I think it's a cold case. It's certainly a very old case, (1970s) and I know nothing had been resolved by the 80's when I left Yorkshire.

John Longstaff was a man who owned a gun shop in Pudsey, West Yorkshire.
My husband and I were keen target shooters and knew John well. We drove across to look at a new intake of firearms one day and were told by someone in the shop (Manager?) that John was dead.
'He committed suicide' they said.
No one wants to believe a friend has killed themselves but it became even more unbelievable when we were told John had been found in the locked toilet of an aircraft with his throat cut.
There was very little in the newspaper, 'Local Man Commits Suicide' and of course we had no idea what his personal troubles may have been.
No one in the gun club, including people who knew John far better than us, believed the 'suicide' theory and there was much speculation. According to our local beat bobby, the police were taking it no further but his wife never believed it wa suicide either.
I'm not capable of researching this as I have very poor eyesight and screen time is limited but if anyone has any information, I'd be grateful. Thanks

 

[ctaylor]

His nephew has written a blog entry about his death here - Stories of my life: Guest post: Novel Research by John Barlow

Rumours of him being an arms dealer to Northern Ireland and Libya. There are links to newspaper articles in among the blog post too.

 

[Zola the Gorgon]

His nephew has written a blog entry about his death here - Stories of my life: Guest post: Novel Research by John Barlow

Rumours of him being an arms dealer to Northern Ireland and Libya. There are links to newspaper articles in among the blog post too.

Very much obliged for that. As I've been in New Zealand now since the mid 70's, I lost touch with all the local news. Thank you so much

 

[dotr]

Very much obliged for that. As I've been in New Zealand now since the mid 70's, I lost touch with all the local news. Thank you so much

Welcome to Ws Zola the Gorgon!
Ws threads for NZ.
New Zealand Crime Cases - Links to cases on Websleuths *No Discussion*

 

[Zola the Gorgon]

Welcome to Ws Zola the Gorgon!

Thanks for the welcome. I don't get back to the UK very often these days. It's strange that the Longstaff case is still only rumour.
Reading what John wrote on his blog, I don't think the family kept quiet from shame, John was a good bloke, but more from fear.
When a relative could possibly be mixed up with Mossad, Gadaffi, MI5 and the like, you keep your heads well down.

 

[Legally Bland]

There's a snippet in this NYT archive article from 1984:

On Wednesday, a British arms dealer was discovered with his throat cut inside a locked lavatory aboard a British Airways jet about to land at London on a flight from Frankfurt. Wife Suspects Murder

Investigators called it an apparent suicide, but the dead man's wife said she was convinced he had been murdered and the crime made to look like a suicide. Scotland Yard sources said the victim, John Longstaff, was believed to have information on gunrunning to terrorist groups.

BRITISH-AIRLINE LINKS POISONING CASES TO POWDER IN HORS D'OEUVRES

 

[ctaylor]

I managed to find another small article on John going back to 25th August 1972, 12 years before he died. It's from the Birmingham Daily Post. It relates to two men in court on trial of trying to obtain ammunition and weapons to send to Northern Ireland. John Longstaff was the man who was contacted by the suspects to get the weapons. I've attached it below, hope it is readable.

 

[dotr]

In this book it says that JL wore a beard and therefore unlikely to have a razor in his possession.
UVF
UVF
: Behind the Mask

Aaron Edwards
''Merrion Press, Dec. 1, 2017 - History - 400 pages

UVF: Behind the Mask is the gripping new history of the Ulster Volunteer Force from its post-1965 incarnation to the present day. Aaron Edwards blends rigorous research with unprecedented access to leading members of the UVF to unearth the startling inner-workings of one of the world’s oldest and most ruthless paramilitary groups.

Through interviews with high-profile UVF leaders, such as Billy Mitchell, David Ervine, Billy Wright, Billy Hutchinson and Gary Haggarty, as well as their loyalist rivals including Johnny Adair, Edwards reveals the grisly details behind their sadistic torture and murder techniques and their litany of high-profile atrocities: McGurk’s Bar, the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, the Miami Showband massacre and the Shankill Butchers’ serial-killing spree, amongst others. Edwards’ life and career has led him to the centre of the UVF’s long, dark underbelly; in this defining work he offers a comprehensive and authoritative study of an armed group that continues to play a pivotal role in Northern Irish society.''

 

[Zola the Gorgon]

Thanks for that, LB. We were in UK late '84 and no one thought it suicide. I'm amazed it made it as far as the NY Times.
I must admit when I posted this thread, I was hoping for some resolution : police investigation and full disclosure of what really happened.
The suicide verdict was brought in very quickly I believe and the police made no real efforts to look for anything else. Of course the question everyone asked was, 'If John really was so depressed/scared, why not shoot himself?' Nga mihi

 

[Legally Bland]

Thanks for that, LB. We were in UK late '84 and no one thought it suicide. I'm amazed it made it as far as the NY Times.
I must admit when I posted this thread, I was hoping for some resolution : police investigation and full disclosure of what really happened.
The suicide verdict was brought in very quickly I believe and the police made no real efforts to look for anything else. Of course the question everyone asked was, 'If John really was so depressed/scared, why not shoot himself?' Nga mihi

Sorry you haven't found the resolution you were looking for. I've found 3 very small articles in The (London) Times archive (paywall*). I'll paraphrase as best I can.
___

23 Mar. 1984

Scotland Yard said they didn't suspect a crime and denied JL was being investigated by Special Branch. Linda Longstaff (wife) said she didn't know a reason why JL would commit suicide and speculated he must have felt pressurised.

"Gun dealer's death on airliner 'no crime'." Times, 23 Mar. 1984, p. 2. The Times Digital Archive, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CS35229303/TTDA?u=leedscl&sid=TTDA&xid=419a3e2f. Accessed 29 May 2020.
___

28 Mar. 1984

Coroner's inquest was opened. It was confirmed that JL was being investigated by both civilian and Ministry of Defence police and was due to meet them on arrival at Leeds airport. Inquest adjourned for 3 weeks.

"News in Brief." Times, 28 Mar. 1984, p. 3. The Times Digital Archive, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CS51220092/TTDA?u=leedscl&sid=TTDA&xid=de4cb121. Accessed 29 May 2020.
___

18 July 1984

The coroner, Dr. John Burton, initially recorder an open verdict until changing it to suicide, with reservations. The note to JL's wife apologised for the distress he was bringing, but said it would be a quicker duration than the alternative. The note also said "I understand members of intelligence organisations are interested in making a deal with me and creating a problem and I could be used as a lever."

Dowden, Richard. "Suicide note spoke of spy trap." Times, 18 July 1984, p. 2. The Times Digital Archive, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CS35098354/TTDA?u=leedscl&sid=TTDA&xid=b6d8402f. Accessed 29 May 2020.


* ETA I think the links should work without an account.

 

[Zola the Gorgon]

""I understand members of intelligence organisations are interested in making a deal with me and creating a problem and I could be used as a lever."

Gosh. That was brave of the Coroner. It all sounds reminsicent of the David Kelly case, doesn't it?

Thank you so very much. I had a suspicion the 'authorities' lied, as they so frequently do and the answers today would be no different from way back then.
In an odd way though, their deceptions have proved it wasn't suicide!

I am truly grateful to you all for this. My late husband was a good friend of John's (both had wives named Linda/Lynda ) and it always troubled him that no honest resolution came of the enquiries.
Thanks again

 

[Marantz4250b]

This is such a weird coincidence; I'm a firearms dealer and just last week we had a firearm arrive which we'd bought at auction with a John Longstaff sticker on the box. Discussing it with a guy who's worked for us forever and he mentioned about his apparent suicide on the aircraft and a quick Google of the circumstances brought this thread up. I'd very vaguely heard the story before but hadn't attached his name to it.

His previous business is now a very well known name in the industry, Henry Krank, who we deal with a lot;

About Us

I'll have a read through the various articles when I get the chance. All sounds very interesting.