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episode contains distressing themes

1:52

and descriptions of sexual

1:54

violence. This

1:56

podcast is intended for a

1:59

mature audience. This

2:01

an caution is advised. The

2:08

autumn air was chilly even though it

2:10

was warm for an afternoon in October.

2:14

Brown leaves rustled under the feet

2:16

of children and their dog Pip

2:18

as they walked towards the river.

2:22

Thomas Brown held Pip's lead tightly

2:24

while his five-year-old son and three-year-old

2:26

daughter happily led the way on

2:28

the familiar route. Something

2:32

caught Thomas's attention at the bottom

2:34

of a set of stone stairs

2:36

known to locals as the ABC

2:38

steps. Twenty-six

2:40

stone platforms jutted out from

2:43

the steeply sloping hill towards

2:45

the canal towpup. The

2:47

stone freaked letter off the alphabet.

2:51

The young girl was curled up at the

2:53

bottom off the stairs. Her

2:56

legs folded beneath her as if

2:58

she were crying. Thomas

3:00

wondered if she was upset or had

3:03

fallen but the reality

3:05

was far worse. He

3:08

wrote many documents, he wrote

3:10

poems, he wrote songs, he

3:14

drew pictures. In many ways

3:16

he was his own worst enemy because that

3:18

layer upon layer upon layer of

3:20

what I would describe as circumstantial

3:23

evidence really hit home to

3:25

me that this individual, this dangerous

3:27

sexual homicidal predator was

3:30

responsible for Elsie's death.

3:33

Welcome to season nine episode

3:35

seven of Baywalk Among Us,

3:38

a podcast dedicated to

3:41

UK true crime. In

3:48

1965 Wakefield had a

3:50

population of around 60,000 people. The

3:55

majority of residents in the fast-growing city

3:57

on the banks of the river Coler,

3:59

Wauw were the young families of

4:02

miners or railway workers. It

4:05

was roughly 4.15pm on

4:08

Saturday, October 9th when Thomas Brown

4:10

walked down the ABC steps to

4:12

check on the young girl. He

4:16

asked her if she was okay, but

4:18

her face was covered by brown hair

4:20

and the red anorak she was wearing.

4:24

Feeling panicked, Thomas

4:26

shouted up to his children to

4:28

stay put. He put

4:30

his hands beneath the girl's armpits to try

4:33

and lift her off the cold floor. It

4:36

was then that he saw blood on her head

4:38

and face and a tear in

4:40

the back of her coat. Thomas

4:44

called out for help and

4:46

it did not take long for others who

4:48

were walking along the towpath to come to

4:50

his aid. Harold

4:52

Doran lived nearby and went to

4:55

Thornsmore Road to wait for an

4:57

ambulance. John

5:00

Blackburn, a master at Snape Thorpe

5:02

School, had been at a sailing

5:05

club organised by city schools

5:07

to teach local Girl Guide Rangers

5:09

boating skills. He

5:12

recognised the young girl as one

5:14

of the students who had been

5:16

assisting at the club that afternoon,

5:18

14-year-old Elsie Frost. Elsie

5:27

lived on Manor Hague Road with

5:29

her parents Arthur and Edith and

5:32

her six-year-old brother Colin. She

5:35

attended Wakefield City Girls High School

5:37

and was known to be bubbly,

5:39

friendly and helpful with a keen

5:42

interest in religion and a laugh

5:44

of the sound of music. Her

5:47

older sister Anne had moved out of

5:49

the family home and was living with

5:51

her young son Martin. On

5:55

the morning of Saturday, October 9th, Elsie

5:57

had gone to the city centre at

5:59

her mother's mother's request to do

6:01

some errands. Wakefield

6:04

was steadily expanding and

6:06

a new indoor market had been open

6:08

just a year prior. Elsie

6:12

stopped off at her sister's that

6:14

afternoon wearing a yellow cardigan, a

6:16

patterned skirt, a red anorak

6:19

and a new pair of leather

6:21

shoes she had promised to keep

6:23

clean when her mother saw her

6:25

slip over earlier that morning. Elsie

6:28

had lunch with Anne and her nephew before

6:31

heading off to help out at the

6:33

sailing club. The

6:35

club meeting was held at Hawberry Lagoon, a

6:38

water filled quarry excavated between

6:40

World War One and World

6:42

War Two. The

6:45

scenic route around the five acre lagoon

6:47

was bisected by the newly built M1

6:50

motorway. On one

6:52

side there were the railway tracks and

6:54

on the other there was the river culver. Elsie

6:58

arrived at the lagoon at around 2pm

7:01

and for two hours she taught other

7:03

young girls how to build and sail

7:05

dinghies. After

7:08

mooring the boats and dismantling the

7:10

makeshift dinghies, Elsie said

7:12

goodbye to the school masters and

7:14

walked towards the path leading to

7:17

the railway embankment. She

7:19

had asked her father Norman to collect her

7:22

but he was exhausted after a night's

7:24

work on the railways so

7:27

she began walking the two mile

7:29

journey back home to Manor Hague

7:31

Road in Lupsid Wakefield alone. It's

7:35

believed that Elsie turned back onto

7:37

the towpath along the river's edge

7:39

where it forked off into the

7:41

colder and hevel navigation. The

7:43

ground along the railway embankment was muddy

7:46

so she would have been concerned that

7:48

the route would ruin her new shoes.

7:52

A group of boys cycled past her

7:54

around a quarter of a mile from

7:56

the lagoon. Less

7:58

than ten minutes later and

8:01

see Frost was found dead just

8:03

outside of a darkened railway tunnel.

8:10

After Elsie's heartbroken parents were

8:13

notified, her remains were

8:15

examined by Dr. Donald Hainsworth,

8:17

a professor of forensic medicine

8:19

at Leeds University. Dr.

8:23

Hainsworth found that the teenager had

8:25

been a victim of a brutal

8:27

attack. She had

8:29

sustained five stab wounds to her

8:32

back, head and hand. She

8:34

had been stabbed twice in the back. One

8:38

wound was curved indicating that the knife

8:40

had been twisted and the

8:42

second injury was to the upper left of

8:44

her back. It was four

8:46

and a half centimetres deep and

8:49

perforated her left lung and her

8:51

heart. Two

8:53

stab wounds had been inflicted to

8:55

Elsie's head. One

8:57

was located behind her right ear

9:00

and penetrated her skull. The

9:03

second head wound was more shallow than the

9:05

other and Dr. Hainsworth concluded

9:07

that Elsie had held up her

9:09

hand to protect herself but

9:11

the knife went through her hand and

9:13

into her head. The

9:16

doctor believed that Elsie had been attacked

9:19

from behind and it would have taken

9:21

a substantial amount of force to inflict

9:23

the injuries. Blood

9:26

evidence inside the 30-foot tunnel

9:28

leading to the ABC steps where

9:30

Elsie was found was consistent

9:33

with a theory that she had been

9:35

attacked as soon as she walked into

9:37

the brick archway and her attacker pursued

9:39

her as she tried to get away.

9:43

According to the forensic expert

9:46

Elsie had been stabbed in the back

9:48

first and then in the head several

9:50

seconds before she succumbed to her injuries.

9:54

Bruising on her body likely resulted

9:56

from her falling onto the steps.

10:00

Dr. Haynesworth said that the murder

10:02

weapon was likely a knife with

10:04

a blade measuring at least four

10:06

inches long and three-quarter inches wide

10:08

with one sharpened edge that tapered

10:10

to a point. What

10:14

was then the West Riding Constabulary

10:16

was one of the smallest police

10:18

forces in England at the time

10:20

with around 112 officers

10:22

working in the area. Over

10:25

50 of those officers were tasked

10:27

with searching the area near the

10:29

ABC steps, the railway

10:32

tunnel, the grassy embankment and

10:34

the towpath. Tracker

10:37

dogs were led through the overgrown

10:39

patches of land between the waterways

10:42

as specialist divers trudged through drained

10:44

parts of the canal. Two

10:49

days after the discovery of

10:51

Elsie's body, an inquest was

10:53

opened and adjourned by Wakefield

10:56

Deputy coroner Philip Gill. He

10:58

said, I can

11:00

only hope that anyone who is in

11:03

the vicinity when this happened will come

11:05

forward and help if it is at

11:07

all possible whether they think their information

11:09

will be of assistance or not. It

11:12

is most important that anyone who can

11:15

give information will do so. Chief

11:20

Constable Clifford Jarrett of the

11:22

West Riding Constabulary led the

11:24

investigation assisted by Superintendent Herbert

11:26

Guyver who was brought in

11:28

from Scotland Yard. I

11:31

appeal to anyone who is near

11:34

the scene at the Sailing Club

11:36

or on Wakefield Municipal Golf Course

11:38

between 3 to 5 pm on

11:40

October 9th. In

11:43

an effort to recover the murder weapon, specialists

11:46

in finding explosive devices were brought

11:49

to the area with mine detectors.

11:53

The bare winding pathways between the

11:55

tall grass along the canal were

11:57

filled with police constables in their

11:59

blackheads. tapes directed by

12:02

senior investigating officers. Ouster

12:05

House inquiries were conducted in the

12:08

neighbouring estate and anyone who

12:10

was in the vicinity on the day of

12:12

the murder was asked to attend a meeting

12:14

at a nearby school. Their

12:17

approximate locations on the day in

12:19

question were pinpointed on a compositional

12:21

map of the area between the

12:24

ABC steps and Denby Dale Road.

12:28

A reconstruction was then planned in

12:30

the hopes that people would notice

12:32

if someone they had seen was

12:34

missing. The

12:36

murder weapon was not found but

12:39

a 12-inch leather knife sheath was

12:41

recovered close to the scene. On

12:46

October 22nd following the reconstruction,

12:48

the West Riding Constabulary released

12:50

an identical image of a

12:52

man they wished to speak

12:54

with. A witness

12:56

had come forward to say that he

12:58

had seen an individual in his twenties

13:00

on the afternoon Elsie was killed. The

13:04

man was described as being around

13:06

5 feet 7 inches tall with

13:08

dark brown or black hair swept

13:11

back at the sides but bushy

13:13

on top with curls that fell

13:15

over his forehead. He

13:18

had thick eyebrows that almost met in the

13:20

middle and spoke with a

13:22

Yorkshire accent. The

13:24

police believed he was a local wearing

13:27

a black donkey jacket with leather

13:29

shoulders, woolen jumper and

13:31

dark blue jeans. Inquiries

13:36

continued throughout the winter months with over

13:38

10,000 people questioned. It

13:43

was then time for the inquest. Proceedings

13:49

were opened on January 4th 1966 at the Town

13:51

Hall in Wakefield. Coroner

13:57

Philip Gill described Elsie's death

13:59

as a murder weapon. most

14:01

brutal, vicious and wicked attack,

14:03

completely without motive. One

14:07

of the first witnesses was John

14:09

Blackburn, the Snape-Thorpe schoolmaster who had

14:11

organised the sailing club where Elsie

14:13

had spent the afternoon before she

14:16

was found dead. Blackburn

14:18

said that soon after Elsie

14:20

left at 4pm, he saw

14:23

a man aged around 20 with

14:25

black hair and a dark jacket.

14:27

Blackburn added, he passed

14:30

some pleasantries about the weather and

14:32

I replied and he went off. John

14:36

Blackburn did not see the man

14:38

at the reconstruction though he wasn't

14:40

sure he would recognise him if he saw

14:43

him again. David

14:46

Hopwood told the coroner's jury that he

14:48

had parked his car at Black Ash

14:50

near the towpath around 45 minutes

14:53

before the murder was estimated to

14:55

have taken place. Hopwood

14:58

had seen a man stooping forward as

15:00

he walked along the towpath with his

15:03

hands in his pockets but Hopwood

15:05

did not recognise him. Number

15:09

of witnesses also recalled seeing a man

15:12

with a camera on the railway embankment.

15:16

Harry Sidgrove was driving a diesel

15:18

passenger train past the scene just

15:20

before 4pm and saw the man

15:23

with the camera. Sidgrove

15:25

told the inquest, he

15:28

was looking towards me, he

15:30

lifted his camera as though to take a

15:32

photograph but as I got nearer

15:34

he must have changed his mind because he

15:36

let the camera drop onto a strap that

15:38

was around his neck. 19-year-old

15:43

John Wilson had been in the

15:45

area taking photographs of trains, however

15:48

he claimed to have arrived at the same

15:50

time as the ambulance around 4.30pm. In

15:54

his testimony he said that he had

15:56

seen Harold Doran get into the ambulance

15:59

on Thornsmore Road. road and guided to

16:01

the scene. Many

16:04

people had been in the area around the

16:06

time of the murder but no

16:08

one had seen Elsie being attacked

16:10

or someone fleeing the scene. Detective

16:14

Inspector Peter Gilrain from the West

16:16

Riding and Stabulary said that anyone

16:18

in the area would have been

16:21

visible from the towpath unless they

16:23

walked on the railway embankment. Thousands

16:26

of people had been questioned but

16:29

the police had not made any

16:31

progress towards identifying a suspect. Detective

16:35

Inspector Gilrain went on to

16:37

say, there was no

16:39

apparent motive for the attack, no

16:43

one has been traced to have

16:45

the slightest animosity towards the girl.

16:50

A number of men had yet to be

16:52

identified but one name came

16:55

up repeatedly during the evidence at

16:57

the inquest, Ian

16:59

Spencer. Harold

17:02

Doran, the man who had flagged

17:04

down the ambulance on Saturday October

17:06

9th told the inquest that he

17:08

had seen Spencer walking away from

17:10

the area of the ABC steps

17:12

at around 3.30pm.

17:16

This supported Ian Spencer's own

17:18

account. He

17:20

said he had walked down Thornsmore Road to

17:23

the river and was back around 3.30pm.

17:27

He recalled arriving home at that time

17:30

and being greeted by his wife and

17:32

mother-in-law. According to

17:34

Ian Spencer he only heard about

17:36

the murder the following morning when

17:38

his mother-in-law informed him what. Spencer

17:42

stated, she mentioned the

17:45

girl's name but I did not know the

17:47

girl by name. When she

17:49

said she had been stabbed I immediately

17:51

thought of my knife. The

17:53

actual remark I believe was it would be

17:56

just my luck to have lost my knife.

18:00

The coroner asked why he would make

18:02

that remark and Spencer replied,

18:05

I had been having a long run

18:07

of bad luck in my family and

18:09

myself. Ian

18:13

Spencer revealed that he later found the

18:15

knife in a pocket of his overalls

18:18

and admitted that he had a number of

18:20

knives in his home, including some

18:22

throwing knives and a folding knife he

18:24

had brought back from his time serving

18:26

in Egypt. The

18:29

police had searched the property where

18:31

Spencer lived and found a gurken

18:33

knife with a large curved blade,

18:35

but nothing consistent with the

18:37

injuries Elsie Frost received. Two

18:43

teenage boys Gerald Burton and Richard

18:45

Jackson had been riding their bikes

18:47

to the sailing club on the

18:49

opposite side of the river Colter.

18:52

Gerald said he saw a man

18:54

he knew as Ian Spencer cycling

18:56

towards the ABC steps shortly before

18:59

4pm. The

19:01

teenager recognised his dark clothes

19:03

and the old bike with sit-up

19:05

type handlebars Spencer was riding.

19:09

According to Gerald Burton, Ian Spencer met

19:11

him the next day and said he

19:13

was going to the lagoon to see

19:15

if he could help. When

19:18

they crossed paths again on Monday October

19:20

11th, Gerald told

19:22

Spencer that he had seen him on the day

19:24

of the murder, but Spencer argued

19:26

that Gerald must have been mistaken as

19:28

he was home by 3.30pm. Gerald

19:33

testified. We told

19:35

him that we definitely saw him at 5

19:37

to 4. He said he had

19:39

glanced at the clock when he got home

19:42

and it was 3.30pm by that clock. Philip

19:46

Bastow had also gone to be

19:48

seen that day after Elsie was

19:50

killed to offer his assistance. He

19:53

saw Ian Spencer who suggested they look

19:56

along the railway line where a locked

19:58

hut with a deep, well

20:00

was located. Ivy

20:04

Taylor testified that she had just switched

20:06

on her television at 4pm on October

20:09

9th to watch wrestling when she

20:11

saw a man wearing dark overalls

20:14

and Wellington boots pass her house

20:16

in the direction of the ABC

20:18

steps. She

20:21

often saw him on weekends and

20:23

Wednesday afternoons with a boat and

20:25

her son recognised him as Ian

20:28

Spencer. Two

20:30

other women also testified that they saw

20:33

him in the area and described what

20:35

he had been wearing. On

20:40

the fourth day of the inquest, Ian

20:43

Spencer was called back from the witness

20:45

waiting room and informed that his evidence

20:47

did not match that of the other

20:49

witnesses. Coroner Philip

20:52

Gill told him, I

20:54

want you to realise the seriousness and

20:56

importance of the oath you have just

20:58

taken. While you were not

21:00

here this morning evidence was given by a

21:02

number of people which gives rise

21:05

to a number of discrepancies in the

21:07

evidence you have given. Ian Spencer

21:11

stuck to his account and insisted he

21:13

had been home with his wife from

21:16

3.30pm. During

21:20

his summation the coroner reviewed the

21:23

descriptions of men who had not

21:25

been identified during the investigation. This

21:29

included the man who had been described

21:31

in reports as wearing a dark coloured

21:33

donkey jacket, seen leaning on

21:36

the ABC steps a few minutes

21:38

before LC was believed to have

21:40

been attacked. The

21:42

coroner said, this person is

21:44

one of the people who have not

21:46

been specifically identified with any of the

21:49

others in the vicinity at the time.

21:51

You may think the description of

21:54

this person is particularly important.

21:58

Shortly after the man was scene. The

22:01

young boys who had passed Elsie

22:03

on their bike separated at the

22:05

ABC steps, and two of

22:07

them stood on the grassy verge at the

22:09

top of the steps, talking for a few

22:11

minutes. Coroner Philip

22:14

Gill remarked, You

22:16

may come to the conclusion that

22:18

Elsie Frost may have been murdered almost

22:20

while these two boys were talking only

22:22

a short distance from the steps. There

22:27

was then the matter of inconsistencies

22:29

in evidence given by witnesses about

22:31

the timing of their movements. John

22:34

Wilson admitted to being in the area with

22:36

a camera, but said he had arrived

22:39

at the same time as the ambulance, yet

22:42

he had recalled seeing Harold

22:44

Doran getting into the emergency

22:46

vehicle. The coroner said,

22:49

If Mr Wilson had been on the

22:51

bridge before the ambulance came on the

22:53

scene, how on earth would he have

22:55

described the events in Thornsmore Road? You

22:58

may think it is clear from that

23:00

that he must have been somewhere in

23:02

the vicinity of Thornsmore Road to enable him

23:04

to describe what happened. Coroner

23:08

Philip Gill asked the jury to

23:10

consider if there was evidence to

23:13

indicate who was responsible for Elsie

23:15

Frost's death. You

23:17

may think that if this girl was murdered, and

23:20

it is perfectly clear from the evidence that

23:22

she was, it is a

23:24

most dreadful murder, a most

23:27

dastardly crime and something which

23:29

requires the utmost investigation and

23:31

inquiry. If for no

23:34

other reason than because until the person

23:36

responsible is detected, he or

23:38

she is at large and the same

23:40

thing may happen again. Referring

23:43

to the testimony of Ivy Taylor

23:46

who claimed to have seen Ian

23:48

Spencer walking towards the ABC steps

23:50

at 4pm, the coroner

23:52

remarked. Look at

23:54

her evidence very carefully, because

23:57

if she is right then the evidence Mr

23:59

Spencer gave. is wrong? Is

24:01

she referring to this particular day? Is

24:04

she referring to this man or is she

24:07

referring to some other man? Mr.

24:09

Spencer flatly denied he was there at

24:11

the time and it is for

24:14

you to say which of those two people

24:16

you think is telling the truth. Is

24:19

Mrs. Taylor thinking of some other occasion

24:22

or is she remembering what happened on

24:24

this particular day? The

24:27

coroner highlighted the evidence of four

24:29

people who said that he and

24:31

Spencer went down to the ABC

24:33

steps at around 4 p.m. Coroner

24:37

Philip Gail added the next

24:39

person who comes along is the girl

24:41

who is murdered. You

24:43

may think the crucial time was between 405 p.m.

24:46

and 410 p.m. He

24:49

could have gotten to the scene and by

24:51

a men's stroke of good luck avoided seeing

24:53

any of the people who could have seen

24:55

him in the locality. Could

24:58

it be that he was waiting on the other

25:00

side of the arch to see this girl come

25:02

along and in the short time he

25:04

was there come out of the bushes in which

25:06

he was hiding to have made this attack and

25:09

retracted back to the bushes from where he

25:11

had come. Could it be then

25:13

he had to make his escape? He

25:16

was a person who knew the locality well.

25:19

He knew what cover there was. Could

25:22

it be he escaped along the embankment

25:24

leaving his bicycle hidden in the bushes

25:26

making his way from the scene until

25:28

he comes back on the towpath? Certainly

25:31

that seems to be the only escape.

25:35

Certainly whoever took that route must

25:37

have had knowledge of the locality.

25:41

The coroner described Ian Spencer as

25:43

a man who glorified in knives

25:46

but pointed out that he did not have

25:48

a knife that was consistent with the murder

25:50

weapon and Spencer insisted that

25:52

he was home before the killing

25:54

took place. Coroner

25:56

Philip Gill asked the jury

25:59

who was speaking. the truth. Is

26:01

Mr. Spencer right and all of these

26:03

witnesses wrong? It was

26:06

a question that he was right on

26:08

every detail and all the other witnesses

26:10

who gave evidence in contradiction were wrong.

26:13

You may wonder why that was. Out

26:16

of all the mass of information there

26:18

is only one person's evidence that does

26:20

not fit in. That

26:22

is Mr. Spencer's." Elsie

26:27

Frost's parents were present in the

26:29

public gallery as the jury was

26:32

sent out to deliberate. The

26:35

coroner had told them that if they

26:37

were able to say with any degree

26:39

of clarity who had killed Elsie then

26:41

it was their duty to say so. After

26:48

two hours the members of the

26:51

coroner's jury returned. The

26:53

foreman announced at the inquest, it

26:57

is our unanimous verdict that Elsie

26:59

Frost was murdered, that her

27:01

death was due to shock and hemorrhage

27:03

caused by multiple stab wounds and

27:06

it is also our unanimous verdict

27:08

that there is a primer facie

27:10

against Ian Burn at Spencer. The

27:16

coroner Philip Gill recorded a verdict

27:19

of murder committed by Ian Spencer

27:22

and asked for him to

27:24

be brought back in from

27:26

the witness waiting room. The

27:28

33-year-old railway worker was oblivious when

27:30

he walked into the court that

27:32

he was to be immediately arrested

27:34

and committed to Leeds Prison under

27:36

a coroner's warrant. Until

27:42

1977 coroner's had the power

27:44

to imply criminal liability at

27:46

an inquest. Since

27:48

the Criminal Law Act

27:51

1977 was enacted, coroners

27:53

are no longer permitted to consider

27:55

who may be responsible for an

27:57

unlawful killing. On

28:04

January 12th 1966, Ian Spencer

28:06

who lived on Thorns Wayne

28:08

Wakefield with his wife and

28:11

young son Lee was

28:13

brought before Wakefield Magistrate's Court.

28:17

After being charged with Elsie Frost's

28:19

murder, Ian Spencer replied,

28:22

I have nothing to say. Commissioner

28:26

Philip Gill formally closed the inquest

28:29

and Ian Spencer was held on remand

28:31

while he awaited trial. A

28:35

report was sent to the Director of

28:37

Public Prosecutions and a committal hearing was

28:40

held before the Magistrates on February 8th

28:42

1966. Prosecutor

28:47

Kenneth Horn said that Elsie was killed in a

28:49

20 minute period before 4.20pm.

28:54

Ian Spencer had told the police he was home

28:56

by 3.30pm but

28:59

several witnesses claimed to have seen him

29:01

around the time of the murder. A

29:05

flick knife Ian Spencer's wife had

29:07

found in their home was turned

29:09

over to the prosecution for forensic

29:11

testing. Defence

29:14

Barrister Cullen Muscaroff told the court,

29:17

fresh evidence has come to light found

29:19

by the defence and in

29:21

accordance with the instructions of the accused

29:24

who all along has stated his intention

29:26

to help the police as much as

29:28

possible and disclose as much evidence as

29:31

is available to him. That

29:33

evidence is now produced by the

29:35

defence. Stuart

29:38

Kind, a Principal Scientific Officer

29:40

at the North Eastern Forensic

29:42

Science Laboratory in Harrogate had

29:45

taken samples of blood stained

29:47

glass and blood droplets from

29:49

the ABC steps. He

29:52

had also examined Elsie's clothing, Ian

29:55

Spencer's clothing, a bike,

29:58

knives and a knife sheet. found

30:00

near the scene. Furthermore

30:03

a blood stain had been identified

30:05

on the lower right leg of

30:08

Spencer's trousers. Blood

30:10

typing showed that it was Group A.

30:13

Elsie Frost's blood type was Group

30:15

O, but he and

30:18

Spencer's was Group A. The

30:21

defense argued that there was nothing to link

30:23

he and Spencer to the murder and

30:26

asked the magistrates to accept the

30:28

discrepancies between witness statements were not

30:31

the result of lies but simple

30:33

mistakes. Colin

30:35

Muscroft highlighted that there was

30:37

no blood footprints or motive

30:39

to implicate Ian Spencer. Quote,

30:43

No wonder that in January, months

30:45

after the crime was committed and

30:47

after prolonged and detailed inquiries that

30:50

Inspector Gilrain was able to say

30:52

to the coroner's jury that at

30:54

that moment there was no person

30:56

charged or likely to be charged

30:58

with the offense. Ian

31:02

Spencer's counsel argued that the prosecution

31:04

had been stampeded into action by

31:07

the verdict of the coroner's jury

31:10

and said, I cannot resist

31:12

the comment that that is an

31:14

archaic institution whose early demise is

31:16

sought by many. All

31:18

his movements are things he has never

31:20

denied and indeed the only

31:22

thing the prosecution says is that he

31:24

has given wrong times but

31:27

when one investigates the evidence it

31:29

is clear that in that evidence there

31:32

is a great discrepancy on times as

31:34

anyone might imagine there would be. After

31:40

45 minutes of deliberating

31:42

a defense motion to dismiss

31:44

the charges, the magistrates

31:47

returned on February 15th.

31:51

Chair Elizabeth Beaumont announced,

31:54

we have given careful consideration to

31:56

the submission and studied all the

31:58

relevant papers. and we

32:00

uphold the submission that there is no case

32:03

to answer and as far as this court

32:05

is concerned, the accused

32:07

is discharged. When

32:13

she heard Marjorie Spencer burst

32:15

into tears outside the court

32:17

but as her husband had been

32:20

committed for trial on a coroner's

32:22

warrant, his application for bail was

32:24

adjourned and a trial was

32:26

set for the following month. It

32:31

only took five minutes for the

32:33

legal proceedings to end at Leeds's

32:35

Ices on March 10th. The

32:38

prosecution offered no evidence and

32:41

Mr Justice Ashworth directed the jury

32:43

to return a not guilty verdict

32:46

as there was no case to

32:48

answer. Ian

32:51

Spencer was released and

32:53

met his wife outside the court. When

32:56

they got back to their home, they

32:59

were surrounded by relatives and reporters

33:01

who interviewed them while they sat

33:03

hand in hand on the sofa.

33:07

Ian Spencer said he had spent

33:09

his time in prison completing jigsaw

33:11

puzzles and making model boats. He

33:15

had only learned that the prosecution were

33:17

not pursuing the case minutes before he

33:19

entered the dock. He

33:22

said he planned to take a holiday with

33:24

his family and return to work as a

33:26

laborer. Marjorie

33:28

expressed her relief at the verdict

33:30

and said, it

33:33

feels as if a big weight has been

33:35

lifted from us. Once

33:43

the verdict of the coroner's jury

33:45

was returned, it was

33:48

discovered that Ian Spencer had been

33:50

the only suspect the police pursued

33:52

in connection with Elsie Frost's murder.

33:56

After he was acquitted, the

33:58

investigation failed to progress

34:01

and it took five decades for

34:03

the case to be reviewed. Ads

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shipping and three hundred and sixty five

36:19

day returns. In.

36:23

October Nineteen Sixty five, the brutal murder

36:26

of a teenage school girl was as

36:28

shocking as it would be today. her

36:30

brother Colin was just six. For years,

36:32

he couldn't bring himself to visit the

36:34

spot where his sister died. To die

36:36

in a place like this alone. Who

36:38

knows what she was thinking. The she

36:41

was of the dying is it was

36:43

crying for mom. Will

36:45

have still seen very violent

36:47

and such circumstances. So you've

36:49

had a complete family become

36:51

an incomplete families. And

36:54

it's that with you. Don't forget. L

36:58

C. siblings I'm calling had

37:00

contacts he the Bbc Radio

37:02

Four show I Pm abounds

37:04

Hell sees Murder. The

37:06

investigative radio show lead to

37:08

new information being passed to

37:10

the West Yorkshire Constabulary. We

37:12

started a review of the

37:14

case in October. Two thousand

37:16

and fifteen called operation playing

37:18

like. The. Reinvestigation was

37:21

led by Detective Chief

37:23

Inspector Elizabeth About. The

37:26

murder set off a flood. the times

37:28

and places still talking about system fifty

37:30

years on, some hopeful that some deal

37:32

come forward with a vital piece of

37:34

information. Several.

37:36

Leads that have not been pursued

37:39

during the original investigation will looked

37:41

sad more siren. A

37:43

man seen in the area wearing white

37:46

lab coat riding a bicycle was asked

37:48

to. See

37:51

I Belson set. The.

37:53

Bicycle had a basket of the

37:55

front. And I'm thinking he could

37:57

have been a delivery boy. That

37:59

he did. The for a butcher's. Did.

38:01

He work in an apple swore and was

38:03

making his way to or from work. At.

38:06

Like to identify that person or

38:08

anyone who can recall seeing that

38:11

pass. There.

38:14

Was also speculation that hell see might

38:16

have had a boyfriend or someone she

38:18

was interested in at the time. And

38:21

the night before she was killed. They'll.

38:24

See had gone said bound line

38:26

use club with her friend Yannis

38:28

highest. Lcs.

38:30

Father had informed investigators the

38:32

she had worn her best

38:34

clothes than ours. Defeated: Stay

38:36

lighter than usual. Or

38:38

friend had also told the police the

38:40

tell see had left the sailing club

38:43

early before to meet someone else. Adding

38:46

the tell see had not taken the

38:48

shortest route time. Dc. I

38:50

Belson said. Again, she

38:52

goes to the boating lake in food,

38:54

clothes and new shoes which he had

38:56

only bought that morning. To

38:59

gets changed at the boating like to go

39:01

boating and then put some the good close

39:03

to make her way home. In. Effect

39:05

back. He. Makes you

39:08

think is she meeting somebody? The

39:10

she met somebody special. Else

39:14

is friend Janice usually walked with her

39:16

to the sailing club on Saturdays. As

39:19

on Saturday Oct. Nine, Nineteen Sixty

39:21

five, she had to stay home

39:23

to help her mother who was

39:25

on well. Around

39:27

the fiftieth anniversary of Else Is

39:30

Murder Janice told a reporter for

39:32

right see the. I've

39:34

always felt guilty I wasn't with her

39:36

that day. I thought for

39:39

years if I had been, she would be

39:41

alive today. I had

39:43

nightmares about her death for years and

39:45

in them I can never get to

39:47

Lc. L C was

39:50

lovely. A quiet party go.

39:52

Shy. But just about said blue.

39:55

She. Didn't deserve to die so

39:57

young or in such violence. Janice

40:03

had been best friends with Elsie since

40:05

junior school and found it hard

40:07

to believe that she had kept her

40:09

relationship a secret. I

40:12

know the police are saying she might have

40:14

had a secret boyfriend, but I

40:16

would be stunned if she had. She

40:19

never showed any interest in lads when I was

40:21

with her. Someone

40:23

is hiding a secret. It

40:26

might be the killer. It might be

40:28

the killer's family. Elsie

40:30

deserves justice, and

40:32

I hope the new investigation brings

40:34

closure for her family and for

40:36

me. Speaking

40:39

at the bottom of the ABC

40:41

steps, Elsie's younger brother Colin Frost

40:43

said coming to the scene of

40:46

his sister's murder was incredibly hard.

40:49

I thought that fifty years would have

40:51

dissolved that type of emotion, but

40:54

when I was stood here with my

40:56

partner and DCI Belton, thank goodness I'd

40:58

got one on each side. We

41:01

have more hope now than we have ever had.

41:04

The answer to Elsie's murder lies

41:07

in Wakefield. Someone

41:09

has lived with guilt inside them all their

41:11

lives. We have accepted the

41:13

killer may not be alive now, but

41:16

they may be. There may

41:18

not be good news at the end of this, but

41:21

we have got hope that there will be

41:23

justice. Justice for

41:25

the family and for the people of Wakefield

41:27

as well. Like us,

41:29

they have never forgotten Elsie. On

41:35

the anniversary of Elsie Frost's murder,

41:38

a memorial service was held at

41:40

St George's Church in Lupset. Colin

41:43

and Anne wore yellow ribbons embossed

41:46

with their sister's photograph. Colin

41:49

read a story he wrote about Elsie's

41:51

death called The Knock on the Door.

41:54

He told mourners that Elsie was like a

41:56

third mother to him after

41:58

his mother Edith and older sister

42:00

Anne, Gullen said. Mum

42:04

3 was taken away from the little

42:06

boy but not so he could see

42:08

her each night, like his mum

42:10

when she returned from work, not

42:12

like he could go over and visit her

42:14

like he could with mum 2. I

42:17

would like to tell you that the family

42:19

lived happily ever after, but

42:21

we didn't. We couldn't because

42:23

we missed our daughter, our

42:26

sister. Anne

42:30

described how she and Elsie loved playing

42:32

together and Elsie enjoyed acting

42:34

as a doctor or a teacher. She

42:37

had ambitions of being a nurse when she

42:39

finished school. Anne added,

42:43

Elsie was a lovely little girl.

42:46

We would chase each other around the house.

42:49

We were full of beans from waking

42:51

up until sleeping and then some more.

42:56

At 4pm on the day of

42:59

the anniversary, doves were released in

43:01

Elsie's memory and her brother

43:03

Colin said, today's

43:05

been purely about remembering Elsie.

43:08

We wanted to celebrate her young life.

43:11

Timing was crucial because we finished the

43:14

service in the window we know Elsie

43:16

died. The doves were

43:18

just another idea to represent part

43:20

of Elsie's life. There

43:23

were 14 doves for the 14 years

43:25

of her life. Detective

43:30

Chief Inspector Elizabeth Belpin

43:32

was interviewed and said

43:35

the investigators were delighted with the response

43:37

to the new appeal and

43:39

dozens of calls had come in with

43:41

information. In

43:44

January 2016 the detective

43:46

revealed that a new suspect

43:48

had emerged. She

43:50

went on to say, a

43:52

common description of a person of interest which

43:55

has come from some of the calls has

43:57

been of a man wearing a brown, potentially

43:59

duffled, full type coat with dark

44:01

hair who was seen on the canal

44:03

towpath. He was described

44:06

as carrying a bag by some

44:08

witnesses and was possibly of what

44:10

was described as a scruffy or

44:12

student type appearance. Witnesses

44:15

described seeing potential suspects in the

44:17

area of the canals around the

44:19

time of the murder and

44:21

then in the Denbydale Road area after

44:24

4.45pm and then into the evening.

44:31

Frustratingly two months later,

44:34

the investigation was hindered

44:36

by Detective Chief Inspector

44:38

Elizabeth Belton's conduct. It

44:41

emerged that she was being investigated

44:44

for making racist remarks at the

44:46

homicide and major inquiry team Christmas

44:48

party and had been placed on

44:51

restricted duties. The

44:53

detective had also come under investigation

44:56

four years prior following an incident

44:58

involving two other officers who had

45:00

an argument while off duty at

45:02

a gym. At

45:05

the end of March 2016, she

45:08

was arrested for misconduct in

45:10

public office and suspended from

45:12

duty on suspicion of perverting

45:14

the course of justice and

45:16

computer misuse. Three

45:20

years later Elizabeth Belton was sentenced

45:22

to two years in prison for

45:24

perverting the course of justice by

45:27

showing a colleague photos of suspects

45:29

in a break-in before they could

45:31

be identified in a line-up. Belton

45:35

was caught after texts she sent

45:37

were discovered about quote, fitting

45:40

up the suspects. Detective

45:47

Superintendent Nick Wallen took over

45:50

the inquiry as senior investigating

45:52

officer when DCI Belton was

45:55

suspended. Since

45:57

a re-investigation into LC Frust's man

46:00

was launched in 2015. The

46:03

West Yorkshire Constabulary had received

46:05

a significant number of calls

46:07

and emails from members of

46:09

the public offering new information.

46:12

Those leads were followed up and

46:15

on September 27th

46:17

2016 a new

46:19

development unfolded when it was announced that

46:21

a 78-year old man

46:23

had been arrested in the Berkshire

46:26

area on suspicion of murder. The

46:29

suspect was taken to Thames Valley police

46:32

station before he was bailed the following

46:34

day. A

46:37

year and a half would pass but

46:40

sadly in March 2018 Detective

46:44

Superintendent Wollon revealed that it

46:46

was too late for justice.

46:50

We can now formally confirm that

46:52

Peter Pickering was the man we

46:55

arrested and interviewed over the last

46:57

two years as part of the

46:59

renewed investigation into the murder of

47:02

14-year old school girl Elsie Frost

47:04

in Wakefield in 1965. We

47:08

strongly suspected that Peter Pickering

47:10

was responsible for her murder.

47:13

We had been liaising with the Crown

47:16

Prosecution Service and it was

47:18

our expectation that Pickering would be

47:20

charged in due course. His

47:23

unexpected death clearly means that will

47:25

no longer happen. We

47:27

have informed all those involved in the

47:30

case of this development and

47:32

we will be liaising with the

47:34

West Yorkshire coroner as to what

47:36

proceedings are now necessary in relation

47:38

to Elsie Frost's death. Peter

47:45

Pickering had a lengthy criminal

47:47

history. Five months

47:50

after being released from a prison

47:52

sentence for sexual assault in

47:55

the early 70s Pickering abducted

47:57

and killed a 14-year-old girl

47:59

in one On July

48:02

13th 1972 Shirley Boldy was making her way back to

48:08

One Well High School after spending her

48:10

lunch break at home. Using

48:13

his mother's minivan Pickering

48:15

kidnapped Shirley and drove her to

48:17

Barnbrooke Cliff in Barnsley. Three

48:21

men in the area heard screams coming

48:23

from the van and when they

48:25

looked through the back window they saw the

48:27

lower half of a female. Assuming

48:30

it was a courting couple the

48:33

men did not intervene. Pickering

48:36

had tied Shirley's hands behind her

48:38

back with Twine and violently

48:41

sexually assaulted her before driving

48:43

to Woodland near Clayton Village

48:45

and strangling her. When

48:48

he failed to kill Shirley with Twine

48:51

Pickering used a kitchen knife to stab

48:53

her to death. The

48:56

following day Pickering confessed

48:58

to the police. I

49:01

have committed an irrevocable act he

49:04

said. I have taken the

49:06

life of an innocent child. Oh God

49:09

I have wanted to tell you all

49:11

night. Pickering

49:14

led officers to a wooded area

49:16

in Pilly Hills where they found

49:18

Shirley's body. I'm

49:22

office psychiatrist Dr. William Heston

49:24

had testified about Pickering at

49:26

a pre-trial hearing. He

49:29

is above average IQ, articulate

49:31

and widely read. He

49:34

is unstable and has shown abnormal

49:36

aggression since an early age. He

49:40

does not accept he is responsible

49:42

for these actions. Counsel

49:45

for the defense had claimed that

49:47

Pickering had pleaded for psychiatric help

49:50

before being released from prison five

49:52

months prior to the killing. Pickering

49:55

told the police my

49:58

mother is to blame for all this. She

50:01

has possessed me. My

50:03

mother would never let me have

50:05

another woman and always try to

50:07

destroy any relationship I had with

50:09

other females. It was

50:11

my mother I was killing. They

50:14

knew I would do this when I

50:16

left prison." According

50:19

to Pickering, the feelings he had

50:21

managed to control over the years

50:23

boiled over. He added,

50:26

when I left prison I had

50:28

almost cured myself. I

50:30

have tried to the best of my

50:32

ability to act as a normal human

50:34

being. Pickering

50:37

had been under constant police surveillance

50:39

at the time, but officers

50:41

lost track of him shortly before

50:44

he abducted Shirley Baldy. One

50:46

officer said, those who

50:49

knew Peter Pickering knew he would

50:51

do something awful. Pickering

50:54

had spent almost 18 years

50:56

in prison for a number of

50:58

sexual assaults before he was convicted

51:00

of killing Shirley. The

51:03

34-year-old pleaded guilty to

51:05

manslaughter by reason of

51:07

diminished responsibility. His

51:10

plea was accepted and

51:12

he was sentenced to an indeterminate amount

51:15

of time in a secure facility. Pickering

51:19

spent the first few years of his sentence

51:22

at Broadmoor before being transferred

51:24

to a medium security hospital.

51:28

In 1984, the Mental Health Act

51:30

sparked fears that he would be released

51:32

as the Home Secretary no longer had

51:34

the power to order him to be

51:36

detained for life. As

51:39

this freedom was being considered by

51:41

Mental Health Tribunal at Park Lane

51:44

Hospital the following year, support

51:46

for his release came from MP

51:48

Malcolm Thornton, who believed Pickering should

51:51

be given the chance to prove

51:53

he was rehabilitated. Thornton

51:56

said, we see this picture of a

51:58

wild bearded man who was in prison for a long time. man in

52:00

the papers that is certainly

52:02

not the Peter Pickering one sees today.

52:06

He is respectively dressed, he

52:08

can converse intelligently and well, he

52:11

recognises the fact he is in hospital

52:13

and why. I have

52:15

met him on three occasions and

52:18

he behaved very sensibly. I

52:20

know a great deal of work has been

52:23

undertaken with Peter Pickering and

52:25

he has made considerable progress during

52:27

the course of treatments at hospital.

52:31

Pickering's release was denied but

52:34

he was eligible to reapply every 12

52:37

months.

52:40

In 1988 his bid for

52:42

freedom was backed by Dr Malcolm

52:44

McCulloch, the psychiatrist who had testified

52:46

that Peter Sutcliffe was not fit

52:48

to plead at his trial and

52:51

who had supported the release of

52:53

child killer James Kaye just weeks

52:55

before he attacked women. Voicing

52:58

their frustration Shirley Boldy's devastated

53:01

parents Norman and Edna told

53:03

the Liverpool Echo, it's

53:06

like salt in our wounds, that

53:08

man should have hung for doing such an

53:10

evil thing. An indefinite sentence

53:13

seems a long time but at the end

53:15

of the day he will be

53:17

let out and he could

53:19

come knocking on our door. How

53:21

can we easily live with that? It

53:24

is easy for others to condemn hanging but

53:27

this has not happened to them. How

53:30

can we forgive? Shirley

53:32

was a gem of a girl who

53:34

had everything going for her. When

53:39

the home office back Pickering's moved

53:41

to a medium security hospital in

53:43

Ashworth with supervised day release in

53:45

1996 Norman

53:48

Boldy said, the memories

53:50

of the tragedy that befell our little girl

53:52

on July 13th 1972 have not diminished. It

53:54

is as painful now as it

54:00

was at the time. If

54:02

Mr. Pickering is to be released, we

54:05

can only hope and pray that he

54:07

will justify the confidence that the authorities

54:09

evidently have in him. Pickering

54:13

remained in psychiatric hospitals until his

54:15

death in 2018, but as a

54:18

result of the

54:20

re-investigation into Elsie Frost's murder,

54:23

he was linked to the rape of an 18-year-old four

54:26

weeks before he killed Shirley Baldy.

54:31

He was convicted of rape and false imprisonment

54:33

a week before he had a heart attack

54:35

on March 25th, 2018. Two

54:42

storage units belonging to Pickering had

54:45

been found but contained letters he

54:47

had written implying his involvement in

54:49

not only the rape of the

54:51

woman in 1972, but Elsie Frost's

54:53

murder seven

54:56

years earlier. When

54:58

Pickering was officially named as a

55:00

suspect after his death, Elsie's

55:03

brother Colin said, It's

55:06

difficult to find the words to express

55:08

how I feel. It's

55:10

good that the police have put out his name

55:12

and linked it to Elsie. The

55:14

hard thing that's going to take some

55:16

accepting is that he wasn't charged. He's

55:19

been on the cards for quite a while. It's

55:23

painful, really, but the charge didn't come

55:25

through. It would appear

55:27

that we're still not going to get the

55:29

justice we've been looking for for Elsie. It

55:32

feels like something has been taken away.

55:37

Pickering was 80 years old, and

55:39

believe me, we had questioned what would

55:41

happen if he just died. When

55:43

the police rang me this morning, I just

55:46

kind of lost it. I

55:48

think there will be some angry, upset

55:50

and annoyed people in Wakefield who have

55:53

completely supported us. It

55:55

will be difficult for them too. Peter

56:03

Pickering's death meant that he would

56:05

never be convicted of Elsie Frost's

56:07

murder, so Elsie's siblings

56:09

resign themselves to a different type

56:11

of justice. Ann

56:14

and Colin lobbied the Attorney General

56:16

for a new inquest into their

56:18

sister's death to allow the police

56:21

to publicly share the evidence linking

56:23

Pickering to her murder. They

56:26

crowdfunded the request and

56:29

stated that it was important to

56:31

them to posthumously exonerate Ian Spencer

56:33

who lived the rest of his

56:35

life with the shadow of persecution

56:37

hanging over him. Colin

56:40

said he was an

56:42

innocent man and always was

56:44

innocent and he had

56:46

an awful legacy to live through his life.

56:49

We can't do anything for Mr Spencer

56:52

but we can do something for his

56:54

remaining family. We're just looking

56:56

for the truth, we can get the truth,

56:59

we'll get the justice and if we

57:01

get the justice we'll get some element of closure.

57:03

There's a certain bitterness between in our

57:06

feelings that is the

57:08

case of going properly in the 1960s. Maybe

57:11

Shirley Ann Bouldy would still be alive and

57:14

a kidnapping rape that he committed a few

57:16

weeks before Shirley Ann was murdered would not

57:18

have happened either. So there's

57:20

a lot of wrongs to be righted

57:22

and we're doing what we can to

57:25

to assuage all these errors that

57:27

have happened over the years. Elsie's

57:30

older sister Ann expressed her dismay

57:33

over the decision to try Pickering

57:35

for the 1972 rape

57:37

before charging him with Elsie's murder.

57:41

She said what that did in

57:43

effect was it meant that it sidelined

57:45

ours completely. It isn't

57:47

just. The

57:50

Crowned Prosecution Service spokeswoman

57:52

provided a response. Our

57:55

deepest sympathies go to the Frost

57:57

family. Although we understand

58:00

and the sense of frustration. It

58:02

is not correct to say that

58:04

other charges were prioritized above Else's

58:07

murder. Investigations into

58:09

all potential offences were carried

58:11

out simultaneously and the CPS

58:14

provided ongoing advice from the

58:16

earlier stages. The

58:18

CPS did not receive a full file

58:20

of evidence for Else's murder suitable for

58:23

review until 30th January 2018, around six

58:28

weeks before the suspect's death.

58:34

In December 2018 Attorney

58:37

General Jeffrey Cox QCMP

58:40

consented to Else's family applying

58:42

for a new inquest. Cox

58:45

stated, I am

58:47

satisfied that there is new evidence available

58:50

that was not put before the previous

58:52

inquest and I believe that it is

58:54

in the interests of justice for the

58:56

application for a new inquest to be

58:59

heard by the High Court. Colin

59:03

and Anne were apprehensive about the High

59:05

Court's decision as it was their last

59:07

chance to get any semblance of closure.

59:11

Colin remarked, if

59:13

the judge's rule know then there is

59:15

no way forward and the decision is

59:17

out of our hands. If

59:20

that is the decision there will be no

59:22

justice for Else and her

59:24

killer will have got away with the

59:26

perfect murder. This could

59:28

technically be the last chance for us

59:30

to find out what happened to Else.

59:33

All along we have been fighting for

59:36

justice for Else who was

59:38

brutally and needlessly murdered. Her

59:41

life was taken away from her family

59:43

and friends. In

59:48

April 2019 the

59:51

High Court approved the request

59:54

nor Justice Irwin and Mr. Justice

59:56

J ruled the existence

59:58

of fresh evidence of Pained by

1:00:00

West Yorkshire police into the

1:00:02

circumstances of Elsa's death means

1:00:04

that it is necessary or

1:00:07

desirable in the interests of

1:00:09

justice, that the public record

1:00:11

should accurately reflect what is known

1:00:13

about the facts of her death.

1:00:18

The new inquest was scheduled for

1:00:20

November of that year. So

1:00:30

where are we now? The

1:00:34

inquest began at Wakefield Coroner's

1:00:36

Court on November 18th

1:00:39

2019 before

1:00:41

senior coroner Kevin McLaughlin.

1:00:44

Detective Chief Superintendent Nick Wollan,

1:00:47

who took over the re-investigation

1:00:49

and had since been promoted,

1:00:52

said that Peter Pickering's name had

1:00:54

come up in the original inquiry

1:00:56

within days of Elsa's murder. Scotland

1:00:59

Yard had sent a file on

1:01:01

Pickering to the Wakefield investigators, but

1:01:04

they were unable to locate him

1:01:06

and requested the Metropolitan Police inform

1:01:08

them if he was found. The

1:01:11

court heard that Pickering's home in Womwell

1:01:14

had been under surveillance, and

1:01:16

a person seen entering the property

1:01:18

was mistaken for a woman, when

1:01:20

in fact it was Pickering wearing

1:01:22

women's clothing. Pickering

1:01:25

was being investigated at the time

1:01:28

for violent sexual assaults on two

1:01:30

teenage girls, but his then

1:01:32

girlfriend had provided him with an alibi

1:01:34

at the time of the crime. She

1:01:38

later recanted the alibi, and

1:01:40

Pickering was apprehended, but by that

1:01:43

point, Ian Spencer was named

1:01:45

as a suspect. During

1:01:48

the case review in 2015, staff

1:01:51

at the hospital where Pickering was held

1:01:54

since he was convicted of killing Shirley

1:01:56

Boldy in 1972, contacted

1:01:59

the police. to tell them that

1:02:01

he had implicated himself in Elsie

1:02:03

Frost's murder. When

1:02:06

Pickering was informed that West Yorkshire police

1:02:08

wanted to speak with him, he

1:02:10

called them from the hospital and said that

1:02:12

he had been in France at the time

1:02:14

of the killing. Following

1:02:17

the death of Pickering's mother in

1:02:19

the mid-80s, he used his inheritance

1:02:21

to buy a number of storage

1:02:23

units in Sheffield and Liverpool. After

1:02:27

obtaining search warrants to examine

1:02:29

the units three decades later,

1:02:31

investigators found documents and letters

1:02:34

Pickering had authored, including

1:02:36

one written days before Elsie was

1:02:38

killed in which he told his

1:02:40

girlfriend, you have caused me

1:02:42

to do what I'm about to do. You

1:02:45

watch what happens next. I

1:02:48

will surely go down in flames this time.

1:02:51

I shall have to take someone with me when

1:02:53

I go. So now what?

1:02:56

To join the devil. Now

1:02:58

I'm really going to get good and

1:03:00

bloody nasty thanks to you. Pickering

1:03:05

had also written to his mother instructing

1:03:07

her to get their doctor to sign

1:03:10

a false affidavit that he was in

1:03:12

bed with the flu at the time

1:03:14

of Elsie's murder. Pickering

1:03:17

was interviewed by the police after his

1:03:19

arrest in 2016, but denied any involvement

1:03:22

in the crime.

1:03:27

DCS Wallens said that even after

1:03:29

Ian Spencer was acquitted, the police

1:03:31

did not pursue Pickering as

1:03:33

a suspect. The

1:03:36

detective told the inquest, Peter

1:03:39

Pickering in my view is

1:03:41

a homicidal maniac. I'm

1:03:43

absolutely convinced that he killed her.

1:04:00

was suffering from dementia at the

1:04:02

time of the conversation, he might

1:04:04

not have understood its importance in

1:04:06

exonerating him. DCS

1:04:09

Warland later spoke about a conversation

1:04:11

he had with the Spencer family

1:04:14

including Ian's son Lee. The

1:04:17

way it appears to me is that in 1965 the

1:04:21

police investigation team became

1:04:23

almost transfixed upon Ian

1:04:25

Bernard Spencer Lee's father.

1:04:28

They built a case around him and

1:04:31

when that case fell apart they took

1:04:33

the view that they had got their

1:04:35

man and that they had produced sufficient

1:04:37

evidence to convict him. They

1:04:40

simply drew up their stumps and retreated

1:04:42

and no further investigation took

1:04:44

place. I have

1:04:47

to say that things are so different in 2019

1:04:50

it simply would

1:04:52

not happen today but I

1:04:54

think it is an interesting but tragic

1:04:56

visit back to

1:04:59

1965. Ian

1:05:03

Spencer had died in 2018.

1:05:06

His son

1:05:08

Lee testified at the inquest that his

1:05:10

father made a point of creating a

1:05:13

log of his movements to be able

1:05:15

to prove his whereabouts in the future.

1:05:18

The coroner added, we

1:05:20

have heard evidence from his son

1:05:23

that on occasions police came to

1:05:25

Mr. Spencer's home to check on

1:05:27

his whereabouts when crimes were committed.

1:05:30

He was 32 and lived

1:05:32

the remainder of his life in the

1:05:34

shadow of suspicion. Elsie

1:05:39

Frost's older sister Anne spoke about

1:05:41

the effect Elsie's murder had on

1:05:43

her family. My

1:05:46

father completely went into a shell.

1:05:49

He wouldn't talk about Elsie at all. My

1:05:52

mother wanted to talk about her and the

1:05:54

only time she could talk about Elsie was

1:05:56

with me. Dad was

1:05:59

pretty much destroyed. destroyed by what

1:06:01

happened. There are no words

1:06:03

to describe the effect it had on me. We

1:06:06

were very close as sisters. We

1:06:10

were both great readers because Dad

1:06:12

encouraged that. He would

1:06:14

take us both to the library together.

1:06:17

We had similar interests in

1:06:19

books, film and music. When

1:06:25

a Kevin McLaughlin recorded a verdict

1:06:27

of unlawful killing and although he

1:06:30

was not allowed to apportion criminal

1:06:32

liability on anyone, he said,

1:06:36

Mr. Pickering, it seems, was

1:06:38

absorbed by Elsie Frost's murder.

1:06:41

He has been exposed as a devious

1:06:43

man. The picture that

1:06:45

emerges is that Mr. Pickering was

1:06:47

a dangerous man as far as

1:06:49

young women were concerned. In

1:06:53

an effort to console Elsie's family, the

1:06:56

coroner went on to say, Mr.

1:06:59

Pickering has spent over 40

1:07:01

years in custody. He

1:07:03

served a life sentence literally. Mr.

1:07:06

Colin Frost said he had got away

1:07:08

with murder but considering he spent

1:07:10

the best part of his adult life in

1:07:13

custody, it seems to

1:07:15

me that Pickering did not get away

1:07:17

with much. Colin

1:07:22

and Colin were interviewed outside

1:07:24

Wakefield Coroner's Court. They

1:07:27

voiced their frustrations with the outcome

1:07:29

but acknowledged at least that they

1:07:31

had cleared Ian Spencer's name. We

1:07:35

set out to do two things. We've

1:07:37

always set out to get Justice for Elsie. We've

1:07:40

set out to get Mr. Spencer's name cleared. We've achieved

1:07:42

one out of the two and as

1:07:44

Anne says, we just can't get the ultimate

1:07:46

Justice for Elsie. We've got as good as

1:07:48

we can get today. We're grateful to the

1:07:50

coroner for actually naming me to Pickering and

1:07:52

his summing up. It's been

1:07:54

a rollercoaster certainly for both of us. A

1:07:58

lot of ups and some

1:08:00

pretty serious downs at times as

1:08:02

well. Referring

1:08:04

to the crimes pickering went on

1:08:07

to commit after Elsie's murder, including

1:08:09

the rape of an 18-year-old and

1:08:11

the killing of 14-year-old Shirley

1:08:14

Baldy, Elsie's sister Anne

1:08:16

concluded. If things had

1:08:18

gone as they should have done in 1965, those

1:08:22

events may not have happened and

1:08:25

maybe then my sister's case could

1:08:27

have come to full fruition. Thank

1:08:39

you for listening. A

1:08:41

special thanks to our new

1:08:43

Patreon producer Natalie and all

1:08:45

our patrons for their support.

1:08:48

For more information on this episode,

1:08:51

please see the show notes or visit

1:08:53

our website, they'vewalkamonguspodcast.com.

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