Was Jill Dando killed by MISTAKE? French sex assault case hears bombshell claim Russian mafia hitman was sent to London to 'deal with' a DIFFERENT blonde BBC reporter whose doctor was Jill's fiance... weeks later the Crimewatch host was shot dead

* Bombshell court documents suggest Jill Dando's killer may have mistaken her for another BBC journalist
* French fashion mogul Gerald Marie, accused of sex assault, 'hired Russian hitman to murder Lisa Brinkworth'
* Assassin may have mistaken Miss Dando for real target given similarities in appearance and occupation
* Miss Dando was gunned down on the doorstep of her home in Fulham, west London, in 1999
* Though stalker Barry George was convicted in 2001, he was later acquitted and investigation remains open
But surely if the hitman went to the wrong address and killed the wrong person, they or someone more efficient would have attempted to kill or have killed the right person by this time.

These make a lot more sense to me:

Who killed Jill Dando? by Nick Ross

Who didn't kill Jill Dando

Barry George is very odd and eccentric. It was reported he was a stalker. I have no idea if he was or not.

It's scary that a man can be arrested and sent to prison for having a spec of gunpowder that could come from anywhere.

www.thefreelibrary.com/DANDO+MURDER%3A+J...+INTO...-a0362432444

Green Man wrote:
Barry George is very odd and eccentric. It was reported he was a stalker. I have no idea if he was or not.

It's scary that a man can be arrested and sent to prison for having a spec of gunpowder that could come from anywhere.

www.thefreelibrary.com/DANDO+MURDER%3A+J...+INTO...-a0362432444

and presumably gun powder residue cannot be linked to a particular gun or bullet.

I had an argument with a pal a while ago who said "pedos should be beaten and raped in jail"

I argued he was complaining about crime yet advocating it at the same time quite apart from there are innocent people in jail so if they get assaulted he's advocating violence against innocent people..etc etc yadda yadda.

hasn't spoken to me since.

Yes Hedda isn't one of the problems affecting humanity and the superficiality of our species that discussion and deep thought have disappeared and people find it impossible to change their minds or - worse - even consider trying to change their minds?

Even if this bonkers theory is correct, it is not very nice to splash some poor cow's photo everywhere and tell us she should have been murdered.

It annoyed me when the media said Barry George was obsessed with the BBC etc. He had a subscription to an exclusive BBC magazine that was normally read by staff.

You can magazine's on literary everything. I have no idea how he knew about in-house mag.

Also having a photo or autograph collection of TV stars is nothing out the ordinary. I use to have a few because I worked not far from NBC studios in New York. I used to be an audience member for David Letterman with a few friends. There was roughly a 5 year waiting list for Saturday Night Live.

www.standard.co.uk/hp/front/dando-killer...v-women-6930217.html

Green Man wrote:
Barry George is very odd and eccentric. It was reported he was a stalker. I have no idea if he was or not.
He apparently used stalking as a defence.

Barry George: I didn't kill Jill Dando because I was stalking ANOTHER woman at the time

Loner Barry George last night claimed he could not have killed Jill Dando because he was stalking another woman at the time of her murder....Mr George also claimed that police had left gunpowder in his flat – a speck found in his coat pocket led to his conviction – and that he had been accused of the murder because he stalked women, something that he promised never to do in future.
Green Man wrote:
It's scary that a man can be arrested and sent to prison for having a spec of gunpowder that could come from anywhere.
He didn't get compensation because the High Court ruled that the jury could have convicted him on the other evidence.

Barry George loses compensation case

Barry George, wrongly convicted of the murder of BBC TV presenter Jill Dando, has lost a bid for compensation.

His case followed a Supreme Court ruling that widened the circumstances under which compensation could be paid.

But the High Court ruled he did not qualify because jurors could still reasonably have convicted him despite new evidence that led to his acquittal. ...
He told MWT that he didn't know who Jill Dando was or that she lived near him (at around 15 mins 00 secs).



Yet "Police found George's flat strewn with gun and celebrity magazines and papers" (BBC).

I suspect that if it wasn't him, it was another obsessive/fantasist with a history of violence towards women and interest in guns (see Nick Ross's article above), driven over the edge by news of Jill Dando's impending marriage. She was on the cover of the Radio Times the week of her killing (www.amazon.co.uk/Radio-Times-1999-Dando-Cover/dp/B00BFQT18K/) and on the cover of OK magazine with her fiancé the month before (www.crazyaboutmagazines.com/ourshop/prod...-1999-Issue-151.html).

Judging from comments under articles about the hitman story on Facebook, many people think, correction, "know" Jill Dando was killed because she was about to reveal all about "Saville/Saveel/Savvill" and "peedoos a tthe BBC".

Jo wrote:
Green Man wrote:
Barry George is very odd and eccentric. It was reported he was a stalker. I have no idea if he was or not.
He apparently used stalking as a defence.

Barry George: I didn't kill Jill Dando because I was stalking ANOTHER woman at the time

Loner Barry George last night claimed he could not have killed Jill Dando because he was stalking another woman at the time of her murder....Mr George also claimed that police had left gunpowder in his flat – a speck found in his coat pocket led to his conviction – and that he had been accused of the murder because he stalked women, something that he promised never to do in future.
Green Man wrote:
It's scary that a man can be arrested and sent to prison for having a spec of gunpowder that could come from anywhere.
He didn't get compensation because the High Court ruled that the jury could have convicted him on the other evidence.

Barry George loses compensation case

Barry George, wrongly convicted of the murder of BBC TV presenter Jill Dando, has lost a bid for compensation.

His case followed a Supreme Court ruling that widened the circumstances under which compensation could be paid.

But the High Court ruled he did not qualify because jurors could still reasonably have convicted him despite new evidence that led to his acquittal. ...
He told MWT that he didn't know who Jill Dando was or that she lived near him (at around 15 mins 00 secs).



Yet "Police found George's flat strewn with gun and celebrity magazines and papers" (BBC).

I suspect that if it wasn't him, it was another obsessive/fantasist with a history of violence towards women and interest in guns (see Nick Ross's article above), driven over the edge by news of Jill Dando's impending marriage. She was on the cover of the Radio Times the week of her killing (www.amazon.co.uk/Radio-Times-1999-Dando-Cover/dp/B00BFQT18K/) and on the cover of OK magazine with her fiancé the month before (www.crazyaboutmagazines.com/ourshop/prod...-1999-Issue-151.html).

Judging from comments under articles about the hitman story on Facebook, many people think, correction, "know" Jill Dando was killed because she was about to reveal all about "Saville/Saveel/Savvill" and "peedoos a tthe BBC".

Claiming at the same time that "everybody" already knew.

So Barry George, loved magazines and celebrities. I love to know what evidence was uses in the court room. Everything sounds circumstantial evidence not hard evidence.

Honey wrote:
Even if this bonkers theory is correct, it is not very nice to splash some poor cow's photo everywhere and tell us she should have been murdered.

a bit of a worry if the claims are true !

He didn't get compensation because the High Court ruled that the jury could have convicted him on the other evidence.

Is there a court transcript. You have to remember Jo, the jury don't want to be there.

Was there gun expert in the court room or in the jury ? Yes Barry George is a complete oddball but is he a killer ? I doubt it. However he could of done with good pyschothearpy in his earlier years.

libertarian.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/legan046.pdf

TRIAL AND ERROR:
THE CASE OF BARRY GEORGE
Scott Lomax
L
i
b
e
r
t
a
r
i
a
n
A
l
l
i
a
n
c
e
Suite 35
2 Lansdowne Row
Mayfair
London
W1J 6HL
Telephone: 0870 242 1712
Email: admin@libertarian.co.uk
Website: www.libertarian.co.uk
Legal Notes No. 046
ISBN 1 85637 569 2
ISSN 0267-7083
© 2003: Libertarian Alliance & Scott Lomax
The views expressed in this publication are those
of the author and not necessarily those of the
Libertarian Alliance, its Committee, its Advisory
Council, or its subscribers.
For Life, Liberty, and Property
Director: Dr Chris R. Tame
Deputy Director: Brian Micklethwait
Director of Communications: Dr Sean Gabb
Public Affairs Director: Dr Tim Evans
Editorial & Membership Director: Nigel Meek
Scott Lomax is a student at the University of Sheffield, England. He is studying
Archaeology and Prehistory and writes about crime in his spare time.
Barry Michael George
During the afternoon of Monday 26 April 1999 news of
a terrible crime began to be spread around Britain. At
11:30 that morning the television presenter Jill Dando
was shot dead on her doorstep, at 29 Gowan Avenue,
Fulham, London, after a shopping trip. She no longer
lived on Gowan Avenue (she had moved in with her fiancé and had placed the house on the market) but she
needed to make a brief visit on that morning. Before
she was able to unlock her door Jill had been held to the
ground by her assailant, who pressed a gun into her head
and fired a single shot.
The public were shocked to hear that a woman could be
murdered, in broad daylight, in a brutal manner outside
her home. What made it even sadder was that Miss
Dando had recently announced her plans to marry her
gynaecologist partner Alan Farthing. What followed was
one of the largest and most expensive police investigations to ever take place in Britain. The team of up to
fifty officers traced, interviewed, and eliminated thousands of suspects in the months following the incident.
In total approximately £2,000,000 was spent on the police operation, which was named Operation Oxborough
and headed by Detective Chief Inspector Hamish
Campbell.
The gunman had been seen as he left Miss Dando’s garden. Two of her neighbours saw him walk away, one of
these, Richard Hughes, describing his manner as “calm.”
Neither realised the significance of their sightings at the
time and Miss Dando’s body was not discovered until at
least ten minutes later. Other witnesses reported seeing
a man, in and around Gowan Avenue, that morning.
Whether they saw the killer or not remains uncertain,
but the police believed that, due to similarities in the descriptions, they probably each saw the man responsible.
He was described as white in colour, with thickset broad
shoulders and thick collar-length black hair which was
pushed back. The man was clean-shaven and did not
wear glasses. He appeared to be in his mid to late thirties. He was taller than 5’7” (probably a little under
6’0”) and medium build. The gunman was wearing a
dark (probably black) wax jacket or Barbour style jacket
and he looked respectable. Some described him as
Mediterranean, whilst others reported a man who was
not of Mediterranean appearance. Some saw a man with
a blue shirt less than two hours before the crime, whilst
another saw a man wearing a white shirt around the
same time. It is highly likely that several men were seen
but Oxborough placed all of the sightings into their scenario of the crime.
Three men were involved they originally said, but after a
few months they believed a lone gunman must have
been responsible. After all, if three people were involved in a plot to murder the presenter then surely the
police would have heard something from the criminal
world would they not? Campbell believed so but surely
his reasoning is dubious. Multiple individuals certainly
were acting in a suspicious manner in that area at that
time.
A large range of motives were suggested. At one point,
Jill’s killer was a hit man, hired by an ex-boyfriend who
had become jealous when he heard of Miss Dando’s engagement. At other times he was believed to be an exboyfriend himself. As Britain was at war with Serbia at
the time, in the Kosovo conflict, and because Jill had
made an appeal for money to help the Kosovar refugees,
the theory that she was killed by a Serbian hit man had
to be followed up. Other theories included a spurned
Mafia boss who had approached the victim and shown
an interest in her, and a criminal who had a grudge
against the presenter because of her work on Crimewatch
UK. Although none of these theories could be eliminated with certainty, eliminated they all were. Eventually
the police placed an emphasis on the view that Miss
Dando was murdered by an obsessed fan who must
have had a very strong interest in his victim.
On 11 April 2000 Barry George was interviewed by Detective Constable John Gallagher in connection with the
murder of Miss Dando. George had emerged as a suspect because he had been agitated on the day of the
crime when discussing problems with his GP and housing association, and also because he had become worried
two days after the crime and had asked people to verify
his movements on the day of the murder. However, he
was satisfied when those he asked were able to prove
that he had an alibi for the time of the murder.
In addition to this, one woman had informed Oxborough
that Barry was odd and had owned air rifles. However,
he had not been considered to be someone who needed
to be interviewed quickly and therefore he was placed on
a low priority amongst other people who should be interviewed at some point in the future. Over a month
after being interviewed by Gallagher, on 25 May 2000,
George was arrested on suspicion of murdering the presenter. Three days later he was charged with this offence and on 2 July 2001 he was found guilty by a majority of 10 to 1. However, this case has proven to be one
of the most controversial cases in criminal history. Despite having his appeals dismissed at the Court of Appeal and the House of Lords there is a large amount of
information, much of which the jury never heard and
Page 1 LIBERTARIAN ALLIANCE
TRIAL AND ERROR: THE CASE OF BARRY GEORGE
Scott Lomax
some of which the appeal judges misinterpreted, to
prove that beyond doubt Barry Michael George had no
involvement in causing Miss Dando’s death.
Orlando Pownall informed the jury that George was a
loner who had an obsession with firearms and the victim. To ‘prove’his claims he relied upon evidence obtained during searches and through questioning people
who had, in the past, known the defendant.
It transpired that George was in possession of gun
magazines and some books upon the subject of firearms.
These all dated to the 1980s. Barry had joined the Territorial Army in 1981, but he left the following year after
failing his basic training. He attempted to join a gun
club in 1982, but he was refused membership because he
could not find a suitable referee for his application. In
the mid 1980s he had shown a gun to a friend, and on a
separate occasion he had fired a blank round at another
friend. Just to remind you, Miss Dando was shot in
1999. There is no evidence to suggest that George had
an interest in firearms, which could be classed as anything remotely resembling an obsession, during the
1990s. By this time his interests had moved on to music
and his idol Freddie Mercury, an interest which lasted
beyond 1999. George is only able to focus his mind on
one interest at a time and so his life is filled with different periods where he was interested in one subject.
When this period closes he ceases to be interested with
the subject any longer, or at least his interest diminishes
so that he no longer actively involves himself with the
interest. The magazines were found in his flat because
he is a hoarder; unless he absolutely had to remove
something from his flat, he never removed it. For this
reason it took the police many days to conduct searches
of his flat.
As far as his ‘obsession’with Miss Dando is concerned,
there was very little evidence to suggest that he had any
interest in her. George is the type of man who enjoys
sharing his interests with people. He informed friends
and strangers that he liked Freddie Mercury. George
finds it impossible to keep his interests and hobbies to
himself and he talks with such enthusiasm that it can
escape no one’s attention of what it is that occupies his
mind. Campbell told the public that Miss Dando’s killer
would have had “an unhealthy interest in Jill Dando and
more importantly it is unlikely to have been kept a secret.” However, no one has been able to inform the police that George had ever mentioned the woman he allegedly killed. George had taken thousands of photographs of women and television presenters. However,
none of these were of Miss Dando yet the jury was
never told this. George collected newspapers: the police
found over eight hundred newspapers in his flat. In all
of these only eight articles were found which referred to
Miss Dando. It would have taken George many hours,
if not days, to work his way through all of the rubbish
and all of the many pages in the newspapers, to find
these articles, none of which were highlighted or marked
out in any way. Would an obsessed man want to search
for lengthy periods of time for articles that discussed the
target of his affection? Is it the case that eight articles
from eight hundred newspapers indicates ‘compelling’
evidence of an obsession? Or could it be their presence
be coincidental? It must be remembered that Miss
Dando was in the media frequently, especially when her
engagement was announced. If George had evidence of
an obsession then, with his incredibly untidy flat, he
would have been unable to find and remove it. An obsessed man would have clear signs of an obsession.
Barry George did not.
The particle of alleged Firearms Discharge Residue
(FDR) found in the pocket of one of George’s jackets,
was seen to be compelling proof of his guilt. The particle matched those found on the victim inasmuch as they
were composed of the same elements. This means that
the particle in the jacket came from a source of powder
that was of the same type as that used in the cartridge
used in the murder weapon. It does not at all prove that
the particle came from the murder weapon. The possibility that the particle had come from a blank firing gun,
or even a firework, could not be ruled out.

The scientist who studied the particles, Dr Keeley, told
the court that it was possible that contamination was
responsible for the presence of the particle. He claimed
that the possibility was small but the possibility could
never be ignored. The defence scientist, Dr Lloyd, a forensic scientist with over thirty years of experience, told
the court that “It is my view that this evidence is not reliable as
evidence of the defendant’s involvement in the shooting… There is
no particular reason why this particle can be so related to the shooting of Miss Dando.”
The jacket had been removed from its protective bag
and had been placed upon a work surface in a photographic studio that housed ammunition. Items found at
the crime scene, such as the bullet and cartridge as well
as Miss Dando’s front door (which is where the bullet
hit after passing through the victim’s head) were photographed in the studio. Contamination could have occurred here. The search team, who recovered the jacket,
had not worn forensic clothing whilst searching
George’s flat. One of the officers who was present, and
who had handled the jacket, had handled ammunition
whilst wearing the same clothing.

The vehicle in which the jacket was taken away had not
been sampled, contrary to procedure, and therefore it
may have contained forensic evidence which found its
way on to the packaging and eventually on to the jacket
itself.

Recent evidence has come to light that could explain
how the particle could have found its way in to the
jacket pocket. George has always maintained that the
LIBERTARIAN ALLIANCE Page 2
none had a reason to remember the time (other than the
£250,000 reward for information leading to a conviction) whilst Bicknell (who had dealt with George, who
incidentally was her first client because it was her first
day of working at Hafad, and therefore she had a reason
to remember the time) had maintained that the visit was
made at 11:50. A second woman was equally certain
that the time was “around midday.”
George did have a criminal record before he was found
guilty of murder. In 1983 he had been found guilty of
attempting to rape a woman. This crime, for which he
pleaded guilty, is completely inexcusable. However, after his release from prison (he was sentenced to thirtythree months) he became a reformed character. All of
the evidence suggests that he did not commit any illegal
activity from 1985 onwards. George had been interviewed in connection with the murder of Rachel Nickell
in 1992. This was because of his criminal record. It was
determined that he had no involvement in this crime.
However, George suffers from paranoia and therefore
such an experience with the police deeply worried him.
From this point on he feared that he would be blamed
for crimes committed near where he lived.
When Miss Dando was shot less than half a mile from
where he lived, and when the police provided a description of the man they were hunting that matched the appearance of George, then he expected the police to turn
up at his home at any time. He told people that he
feared ‘they’ would blame him for Miss Dando’s murder.
After all, this would explain why George felt he had to
verify his movements on the day of the murder. He told
the police “I went back there basically to account for my
movements so if a situation did come up, I could address it to my solicitor.” The jury no doubt wondered
why a man could be worried that the police would approach him. However, they were not at all aware of his
paranoia and the fact that he had been interviewed in
connection with a murder he had no involvement in.
Neither the police nor the prosecution have ever discovered a reason why George would wish to shoot Jill
Dando. A murder weapon has never been found and at
no point has George made a mistake by providing incriminating information. After his first appeal hearing
was dismissed Barry George issued the following statement. Please remember these words:
“I did not murder Jill Dando and I believe that one day the truth
will come out. I only hope and pray that this happens in my lifetime. I have spent over two years in prison for a crime I simply did
not commit. I have struggled hard during this prosecution against
me to keep my faith in the British criminal justice system. Today,
that faith and belief has been destroyed.”
police took firearms in to his flat when they first
searched it. This is common police procedure when it is
believed that a suspect may own weapons. It was during
this first search that the jacket was found and taken away
for examination. The jacket’s pockets were opened inside the flat whilst particles of FDR could have been in
the air as a result of the presence of armed officers. Numerous witnesses, including a church minister, have spoken about how they each saw armed police enter on that
day. It would seem that the slight possibility is now appreciably larger.
Only one witness was able to say that she was “very
sure”that she saw George on the day of Jill Dando’s
murder. Susan Mayes saw a man across the road from
29 Gowan Avenue at 07:00, four and a half hours before
the shooting. This man may not have been responsible
for the crime. Mayes told the court that she looked at
the man for five to six seconds. During some of this
time his face was turned away. However, eighteen
months later she identified George as the man she had
seen.
The integrity of this witness’s evidence is questionable,
partly because she had originally described the man she
had seen as having a “short and smart haircut”yet later
she described it as long and untidy. There is significant
evidence to suggest that the police influenced Mayes’
identification. This is not an unknown occurrence. A
trial recently collapsed in Sheffield when it emerged that
the police had told a witness to pick out a particular man
from a parade. Importantly neither of the witnesses
who saw the killer, immediately following the crime,
identified George as the man they had seen.
Can the evidence against George be described as
‘compelling’? It would seem not. It would also appear
that his actions on the day of the murder can be accounted for.
Susan Bicknell claimed that George was with her at
11:50am, on 26 April 1999, at a disability centre known
as Hammersmith and Fulham Action for Disability
(Hafad). Hafad is located approximately half a mile
away from 29 Gowan Avenue (around one mile away
from George’s flat). It must be remembered that the
shooting occurred at 11:30. The court heard that, because of the distances involved, if George’s actions
could be accounted for any time between 11:00 and
12:00 then there was no chance whatsoever that he
could be responsible. George does not drive and the
gunman would have certainly been covered in blood.
When he entered Hafad, George was wearing a yellow
shirt and an anorak type jacket; the killer was wearing
very different clothing. The prosecution claimed that
Bicknell was wrong about her timing of the visit. They
stated that other women had told the police that the visit
could have been as late as 14:00. These women had only
introduced the late times after a year had elapsed, and
Page 3 LIBERTARIAN ALLIANCE

Interesting source about gun residue. However how informed were the jury about forensics and not forgetting blowback?

Just because an officer or scientist says something it don't they are correct.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunshot_residue

Yet "Police found George's flat strewn with gun and celebrity magazines and papers".

Talk about clutching at straws. I saw a documentary on Colin Stagg. The police immediately looked on his book shelves and found a book on true crime or something similar. They immediately asked him about it and put him in a bracket.


So is reading a magazines on hobbies and reading non fiction books is now a crime ?

Green Man wrote:
Yet "Police found George's flat strewn with gun and celebrity magazines and papers".

Talk about clutching at straws. I saw a documentary on Colin Stagg. The police immediately looked on his book shelves and found a book on true crime or something similar. They immediately asked him about it and put him in a bracket.


So is reading a magazines on hobbies and reading non fiction books is now a crime ?

an old Plod trick.

Consider the sad case of the murder of little Rikki Neave whose mother had a magazine (part of a series available each month in newsagents) on the occult and it was used as "evidence" against her when she was convicted (later found innocent)

Mother of murdered Rikki Neave hopes to challenge her child cruelty conviction

Exclusive: Ruth Neave aims to overturn 1996 verdict as James Watson is sentenced for six-year-old’s killing

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jun/23/...viction-james-watson

Green Man wrote:
Yet "Police found George's flat strewn with gun and celebrity magazines and papers".

Talk about clutching at straws. I saw a documentary on Colin Stagg. The police immediately looked on his book shelves and found a book on true crime or something similar. They immediately asked him about it and put him in a bracket.


So is reading a magazines on hobbies and reading non fiction books is now a crime ?
No. The point I was making was that Barry George told MWT that he didn't know who Jill Dando was or where she lived yet had a house full of celebrity magazines. She was everywhere on TV in the late 1990s (see her filmography www.imdb.com/name/nm0199250/), and on the front covers of magazines shortly before she died. Chances are she'd have been in some of the magazines he had. You'd have had to be living under a rock not to know who Jill Dando was, without even needing to have a house full of magazines on celebrities and guns or have a record for developing obsessions about celebrities. So I think George was being deceptive about not knowing who she was.

The Nick Ross article I posted in the first post and article by someone who appears to be a gun expert, which Nick Ross links to at the end of his article, answer a lot of questions.

My argument is he didn't know her personally. The officer should of said 'have you ever heard of Jill Dando or seen her in the media?'

hedda wrote:
Green Man wrote:
Yet "Police found George's flat strewn with gun and celebrity magazines and papers".

Talk about clutching at straws. I saw a documentary on Colin Stagg. The police immediately looked on his book shelves and found a book on true crime or something similar. They immediately asked him about it and put him in a bracket.


So is reading a magazines on hobbies and reading non fiction books is now a crime ?

an old Plod trick.

Consider the sad case of the murder of little Rikki Neave whose mother had a magazine (part of a series available each month in newsagents) on the occult and it was used as "evidence" against her when she was convicted (later found innocent)

Mother of murdered Rikki Neave hopes to challenge her child cruelty conviction

Exclusive: Ruth Neave aims to overturn 1996 verdict as James Watson is sentenced for six-year-old’s killing

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jun/23/...viction-james-watson


There used to be a ton of Occult book stores in NYC and Long Island. Nearly every big high Street has them.

It's not my thing at all but it's a popular subject.