UK UK- Joy Hewer, 50, Teacher/church volunteer, sexually assaulted & fatally stabbed in chest, apartment set on fire, Walthamstow, 17 Oct.1995 *REWARD*

[Konstantin]

When she wasn't volunteering for her church, Joy volunteered for local charities, helping homeless people and drug addicts.

So perhaps the connection to her killer could have been more charity than church related.

Did any of the people she helped ever visit her at home?

It seems very reckless to me for a single woman to give out her address to strangers, particularly those who might be unstable, mental health issues, and so on but who knows.

My guess is she did not do so but the killer might have simply found out her address and turned up - but then would Joy really have let such a person in and late at night as well? What did those who knew her best think about that?

 

[tes1984]

Did any of the people she helped ever visit her at home?

It seems very reckless to me for a single woman to give out her address to strangers, particularly those who might be unstable, mental health issues, and so on but who knows.

Joy was a committed Christian and tireless charity worker for the poor and needy.

I can't see her turning away someone with a sob story, or seemingly valid reason, but who knows?

 

[tes1984]

Did the CCTV only capture the man entering the building? There’s a back entrance/exit (seen in the first Google maps link I posted), perhaps he left that way and that exit wasn’t covered by a camera?

Is the man captured on the CCTV aware that he's on camera?

 

[rvlvr]

Is the man captured on the CCTV aware that he's on camera?

Interesting one isn’t it, I’m guessing that’s the best ‘still’ of the video they have of him, and even in this shot his face isn’t seen, so has he deliberately avoided looking at the camera perhaps, or was he just lucky?

I’m not sure what sort of intercom system the flats had, whether it was audio only or could Joy see the video too? I suspect as it was the 90s it was the former but that’s just a guess, if once at the flat he sees a set up like this one or even just a sign saying CCTV is in use perhaps he decides to leave via the rear door hoping not to be recorded again, and obviously the back way is away from the main road so he’d be less likely to be seen.

I tried to answer my own query about the murder weapon and a few sources say it was never found but I can’t find any quotes from police saying that. I think it definitely matters whether the killer brought his own weapon or used something from Joy’s home, but perhaps this is information police want to hold back.

 

[dotr]

2022 rbbm

The unsolved murder of a Walthamstow teacher found stabbed in her burning flat

Joy Hewer was found with stab wounds by firefighters who only came because of a fire in her Walthamstow flat

www.mylondon.news

''The case left the police baffled. There was no apparent motive, no murder weapon, no obvious suspects.''

 

[rvlvr]

Yeah, that was one I came across, but I can’t find the primary source for that claim, the BBC have run a fair few articles about this case over the years with quotes from the police but I’ve not seen one in which they’ve talked about the weapon, a lot of these local news sites are mostly just churnalism sadly.

 

[Konstantin]

Is the man captured on the CCTV aware that he's on camera?

I'm guessing not given how easy it would be to wear a scarf over his face and a hat.

 

[tes1984]

If the CCTV man wasn't the killer, then he's never come forward to explain what he was doing there, and why he left using the rear exit.

This killer was incredibly lucky. The CCTV at the rear exit wasn't working that day. On any other day, he would have been caught on camera whichever exit he used.

 

[rvlvr]

Thinking about the 999 call, if he exited out the back would he have doubled back on himself to head past the building and across Forest Road to the phone box to make the 999 call, or would it have been more natural for him to keep heading south towards Wood Street tube?

My hunch is this is what he did and the call came in from someone unconnected with the crime.

 

[Deadbeat]

I’ve just rewatched both CW reconstructions. I think it’s at least POSSIBLE that CCTV man and phone call man are the same person and ARE the killer. Neither have ever came forward which is very very odd in such a high profile case. He may have committed the murder in a rage after being rebuffed and set fire to the flat in a panic. AFTER leaving though and calming down slightly, felt SOME guilt and didn’t want to be responsible for multiple deaths due to the fire. The killer is clearly mentally unstable and can seemingly switch from calm to angry easily so it’s a possibility.

 

[tes1984]

I’ve just rewatched both CW reconstructions. I think it’s at least POSSIBLE that CCTV man and phone call man are the same person and ARE the killer. Neither have ever came forward which is very very odd in such a high profile case. He may have committed the murder in a rage after being rebuffed and set fire to the flat in a panic. AFTER leaving though and calming down slightly, felt SOME guilt and didn’t want to be responsible for multiple deaths due to the fire. The killer is clearly mentally unstable and can seemingly switch from calm to angry easily so it’s a possibility.

IIRC phone call man asked a man at a bus stop for the street name. AFAIK the bus stop man wasn't identified either.

If the killer made the call, then he may well have allowed someone to see his face, which would be a huge risk.

However, if a 'local' good samaritan made the call, then it seems strange that he knew the name of the block, but not the street name.

 

[tes1984]

Unfortunately witnesses often fail to come forward in high profile cases. Some people are anti-police and won't cooperate in even the most brutal crimes. Others are scared of association/being made a suspect.

 

[rvlvr]

I could imagine the killer making a 999 call if they felt regret about starting the fire but I’m not sure they’d have spent quite so long on the phone? The recording of the call on the Mirror’s website is almost 3 minutes in length. Whoever made the call knew the postcode and the name of the block of flats, had they simply stated those details then hung up I imagine the fire brigade could’ve found the location quite easily.

Then there’s the issue of asking a passerby for information, imo that seems an incredibly risky thing to do, if the caller was the killer.

 

[cherryade]

Just seen the original reconstruction from the old Crimewatch series. Sorry if this has already been discussed but at the time their main suspect was a very tall black male described as 6ft 4 running from the block of flats. Given his height he’d be quite easy to trace especially if he was known to Joy? I’m sure the police would’ve looked at people within the church and other places she volunteered at so was he ever identified or someone that used to attend those places joy worked at? Was he caught but the dna ruled him out and that’s why they’re focusing on the guy on cctv?

 

[dotr]

Just seen the original reconstruction from the old Crimewatch series. Sorry if this has already been discussed but at the time their main suspect was a very tall black male described as 6ft 4 running from the block of flats. Given his height he’d be quite easy to trace especially if he was known to Joy? I’m sure the police would’ve looked at people within the church and other places she volunteered at so was he ever identified or someone that used to attend those places joy worked at? Was he caught but the dna ruled him out and that’s why they’re focusing on the guy on cctv?

Welcome to Ws @cherryade!
Not too much discussion thus far about the tall man, trying to find a link for further info.

 

[tes1984]

Just seen the original reconstruction from the old Crimewatch series. Sorry if this has already been discussed but at the time their main suspect was a very tall black male described as 6ft 4 running from the block of flats. Given his height he’d be quite easy to trace especially if he was known to Joy? I’m sure the police would’ve looked at people within the church and other places she volunteered at so was he ever identified or someone that used to attend those places joy worked at? Was he caught but the dna ruled him out and that’s why they’re focusing on the guy on cctv?

Apparently 15 suspects were ruled out by DNA. I'm not sure if that includes the tall black man, or the two white men seen in the block a few hours before the murder.

The police thought the phone caller was of West Indian origin, so I doubt very much if he was the white man from the CCTV footage. I mentioned the man at the bus stop, but the police aren't actually sure if the phone caller spoke to a man or a woman.

 

[rvlvr]

They’ve not mentioned him in years have they, the police? Certainly by 2015 and the 20th anniversary appeals they were only asking about CCTV guy.

Eg:

https://www.itv.com/news/2015-10-16/murdered-primary-school-teachers-family-appeal-to-find-killer-20-years-on

If the caller was indeed black it’s not surprising imo they’ve not come forward, given how soon after the murder of Stephen Lawrence this was.

 

[tes1984]

Doesn’t seem like the coffee cups yielded DNA or fingerprints?

I think the DNA was from one of the coffee cups. I also think unidentified fingerprints were found in the flat.

 

[tes1984]

If you Google ‘joy hewer walthamstow flat’ for images, you’ll see a photo of the living room in the search results - the fire damage doesn’t appear to be particularly extensive, which does seem to cast doubt on the caller’s claim that he could see flames. On the other hand, Joy might not have been the type of person to shut the living room curtains (my wife and I don’t and we only live on the first floor of a three storey building), and depending on where the fire was in relation to the window perhaps it was possible to see it from the road, particularly if it burned brightly in the early stages?

Apparently smoke, rather than flames, could be seen.

 

[rvlvr]

I wonder how much smoke would’ve been visible from street level? In October I doubt Joy would’ve had many if any of her windows open and if the fire wasn’t particularly intense would it have broken glass? I suppose smoke can still find ways to escape though.