10/03/2016 Crimewatch

The real-life Goldfinger gunned down in his back garden. There might be

some people who don't have a tremendous amount of empathy, but

there is someone out there who is prepared to assassinate someone.

The Halloween rioters who attacked police.

And the rise in gun crime in Britain's second city.

There's some mother, some girlfriend, some father, knows where

that gullies and can help me to take that gun off the street. -- knows

Good evening and welcome to Crimewatch.

We're live for the next sixty minutes with crime investigations,

A full reconstruction of the John "Goldfinger" Palmer case in just

a moment but first a brief look at what else we have

We've a fresh collection of wanted faces - one

Get dialling straight away if you know where any of them are.

Plus, some truly shocking crimes caught on camera,

including this horrendous attack on a woman in south London.

The inside story of a dogged investigation into a fatal hit

and run which led detectives on the trail of a mysterious Russian

A notorious figure, linked to a string of huge

He was once described as Britain's richest criminal with a fortune

No doubt, he had plenty of enemies but what we need to know tonight

is who would go so far as to hire a professional hit man

It would be hard not know who John Palmer was.

The man known as Britain's richest prisoner has been ordered to hand

over ?35m to help compensate the victims of his crime.

John Palmer who's also known as Goldfinger is serving an 8 year

sentence for one of the world's biggest time share swindles.

Palmer was originally nicknamed Goldfinger after being acquitted

of handling gold from the Brinks Mat bullion raid in 1983.

At one point he even appeared next to the Queen on the Sunday Times

rich list - with an estimated fortune of three hundred million

Without doubt he has made mistakes in his life.

I believe he's paid for those mistakes.

returned to his family in Essex. of years in and out of prison John

normal life. that he readjusted to a very

My dad was like my best friend and my dad so there was always fun

and games - as you say - as large as life.

He's not this gangster that everyone would paint him to be in the press

He spent all of his time with either my mum or

You know there was never a day that went past that I spent with him

that he wasn't laughing or joking around.

He was never serious about anything, erm...

On 24th of June last year, John, and his family were at their home

I quite often work in the kitchen and I was trying to send some emails

He was very, very playful, pulled the hairband from my hair,

just generally really, really infuriating.

Unable to concentrate on her work Christina went horse riding

I apologised to him because I'd been a little bit tough on him,

I'd told him off for being so infuriating.

Told him I loved him and he gave me a kiss,

and that was the last time I saw him alive.

After Christina left John spent the next few hours outside.

Previously unreleased CCTV captures him as he walks

His son James and his girlfriend were in the house.

I was studying in the kitchen because I had two financial

regulatory exams that I was going to be sitting

My girlfriend was in the lounge, she wasn't at work that day

My dad was pottering around in the garden with the dogs.

At the back of the garden he'd started a bonfire,

At around five o'clock James and his girlfriend decided to work

While they exercised John continued to collect things in his buggy

These are the last CCTV images of him that afternoon.

I really didn't realise anything had happened.

I didn't hear any voices. I didn't hear my dogs bark, I didn't hear

gunshots. It was very, very quiet. Can you tell me exactly

what's happened? My dad has passed out he's covered

in blood, I don't know what's wrong with him.

I could still feel his heart beating, I thought there

could still be a chance that we could keep him alive.

I felt so hopeless because I had to watch him die in front of me.

I can totally understand that there might be some people that

don't have a tremendous amount of empathy towards our situation,

or the loss of John purely because of his reputation,

but I think forgetting John Palmer, forget who this is about,

what you've got to stop and think about, or what we have to stop

and think about is that there is someone out there

that is prepared to do such a barbaric act.

You know just to assassinate someone.

A cold-blooded, brutal murder. DCI Stephen Jennings is the lead

detective on the case. Are you sure this was a professional hit? If, we

strongly leave it was very much professional, contract killing. What

I inquiry had to do is not only identify and locate the gunmen, but

identify and prosecute whoever has commissioned the crime. Why do you

think he was killed? Our enquiry since June of last year has led us

on to two significant lines of enquiry. John was due to stand trial

for real estate fraud in mainland Spain April this year. Coupled with

key crimes committed in the UK during 2015 and law enforcement

intervention with organised crime and organised crime families. Those

key crimes in the UK, Hatton Garden, there are rumours his death could

have been linked to that. There's a lot of speculation around Hatton

Gardens, it's something we are considering along with other crimes

committed at the time. Is it a strong line of enquiry? One of many.

What do you know about the gun that was used. We think it's similar to

the one shown here, self loading revolver, smooth bore and 0.32

calibre rounds were used. Where he lived is the secluded area. There

are people you would like to talk to. His house is surrounded by

woodland. This mail was seen by members of the public around the

time John was murdered, five foot ten, White, wearing baggy clothing.

We can see a map of the area he was killed, there were people today

before seen digging. Other witnesses we are trying to trace, in

particular two men seen around midday, 24 hours beforehand, 23rd of

June. We'd like to see and identify these people. The house is right in

the middle here, really secluded. There were women fought on camera

that day. Remember of the public has come forward and identified a

photograph. These women were seen in the background. We would like them

to contact us. No suggestion they have anything to do with the case,

they happened to be in the area and you would like to talk to them. They

could have key evidence. There is a substantial reward on offer. The

family has offered ?50,000 leading to the arrest and conviction of

parties involved in this crime. As you've heard, John Palmer may have

had enemies, but nobody deserves what happened to him. The gunmen and

those behind it needs to be caught. You can call now on our usual

number. Detectives are standing by for your calls.

A round up of crime news now starting with the release

of previously unseen CCTV of a shocking attack on a woman

This footage shows the moment the woman was punched several times

in the attack in Hanover Park in Lewisham on Friday

She was left unconscious on the pavement as the attacker ran

Detectives believe it's linked to two other violent attacks on lone

women in the Lewisham area in December and January.

In this CCTV a woman is followed home in Creekside at around 5am

Just out of sight of the cameras she is grabbed and punched

In the third attack on Friday 4th December another woman

was grabbed and punched in the head several times in Commercial Way.

Police would like to speak to this man in connection

If you can help please get in touch using the numbers on screen.

Police are offering a ?20 thousand reward in connection with the case.

Also in London, The Met police want your help in tracking down

a group responsible for a large scale disturbance on the 31st

Police came under attack when they tried to break up

an illegal Halloween rave on Lambeth High Street.

23 officers were injured, as was a police dog

as the disturbance spread over the surrounding streets

Well joining me now is Commander BJ Harrington from the Met.

These are ugly scenes? This is some of the most serious public disorder

we have seen in years. We have had police officers attacked with

bottles, bricks and a petrol bomb and a police dog attacked. And the

community has been terrorised. The people who arrange these music

events are putting people's lives at risk. As you see, they're prepared

to use violence when we try to stop them. A big disturbance, you have

made 73 arrests and you're looking to make more tonight. There are four

faces we would like to identify. We will be relentless in tracking these

people down and the other 45 people on our web-site who we want to

identify. Thank you. If you recognise anyone

in the footage then please call incredible CCTV of a bungling

burglar who knocks himself out after falling through a garage

roof in South Wales. Dyfed-Powys police are investigating

the burglary at Panteg Garage in Llanelli which happened

between 12.30 and 1am last Thursday. The man who was attempting to break

in, was unconscious for around five minutes before his accomplice

climbed down to see if he was ok. If you know who these men

are, give us a call. Finally, we're well used to crimes

being re-enacted on Crimewatch but this rare footage

uncovered and preserved by the British Film Institute shows

what's thought to be the world's In a forerunner to one

of our 'How They Caught' films, the clip recreates the moment

Liverpool fraudster Thomas Goudie Goudie was working at a bank

when he stole ?170,000 Even the crooks dressed

well in those days. Overall, gun crime has fallen

significantly in recent years but worryingly the very latest

figures show a spike in offences. Proportionally, Birmingham now has

more gun violence than anywhere else in the country, so we asked

Marcia Shakespeare, whose 17-year-old daughter Letisha

was killed in a drive-by shooting 2003 Birmingham. The police have got

used to gun crime, but nothing like this. In the early hours of this

morning they were called to a shooting outside a party at a hair

dresser's. The whole area had been sprayed with gun fire and they found

two teenage girls shot dead and two wounded.

I don't want in the incident. It has got to stop now. If you do not come

forward, after this... Just watching that brings me back to the point of

being in that room. And thinking about what the hell's happening. Why

am I actually saying these things? Now it has been 13 years and I'm

back asking the question about guns on the streets of Birmingham.

In the last decade, gun crime has fallen significantly in the UK.

But worryingly, latest statistics now show a rise.

Here in the West Midlands there are proportionally more

incidents than anywhere else in the country.

Kenny Bell is head of the force's CID.

So what is the situation now? We have seen in the summer time to

autumn of last year a spike, specifically around the people using

guns, but then discharging them as well. Which is really concerning.

In the six months to January this year

47 gun shots have been recorded in the West Midlands - compared

of one of the recent shootings that happened in January.

Just down here, it was half four in the afternoon, a lad was on a bike,

got off his bike, o' took out a gun and fired it four times. It was luck

not judgment that we were not dealing with four fatalities there.

Ran back to his bike. Kept his gun. And he is away. So damaging, because

it seems like a nice, quiet residential area. And yet gun

crime's taking place. And concerning is that was at half 4 in the

afternoon in daylight. That person is still outstanding and I have not

recovered that gun. We are working hard to identify it and the

community can help us. There is some mother, some girlfriend, some

father, some brother, knows where that gun is and can help me to take

that gun off the street. But why are guns

being used more often? I'm meeting Darryl Laycock

from Manchester. He served 12 years in prison

for firearms offences, but says he's turned

his life around. Like me, he now works with young

people, steering them away It was widely known that I was

pretty heavily involved in violence. I was shot on three occasions within

four years. Seen my mate get killed in front of me. I seen it all. Did

you at that point decide to leave that life? No, if anything that made

we want to stay on the road more. I wanted revenge. What caused someone

to shoot you? Just retaliation really, tit-for-tat from the

beginning. My daughter when she was murdered, my response at that points

was, I just want justice. And I didn't want justice in the sense to

say, well time going to go and retaliate, I'm going to go and

think, well, someone's killed my child, so you know, I'm going to

kill someone else's child. When I was on the streets, I wanted the

justice of the streets, but yeah, I put my family through a load of

stress. A bullet went through the window of my mum's house and she was

nearly hit. That was through my selfish behaviour. I have lost over

30 friends and family. It is hard, but I don't think it is as hard for

me as you, because you gave birth to your daughter. Every parent wants

for them to outlive them. The desire to avenge and the tit

for tat that Daryll talked about is something

I know only too well. My daughter and her friends were

caught between two warring gangs. Since her death, police have

developed more tools to help them tackle gun crime, including

the National Ballistics Intelligence Most of the shooting incidents we

see are actually urban street gangs, or organised crime groups.

Experts here are using cutting edge forensic technology to gather

crucial evidence from the scene of a crime.

They're able to identify the type of gun and the ammunition

whether they've been used by criminals before.

Mainly it is hand guns. We have seen an increase in the use of antique

hands guns. If you don't have a criminal record, anyone can buy an

antique firearm. This is a revolver, French, from 1873. And under UK

legislation it is regarded as an antique, because the ammunition is

obsolete. But the criminals can make ammunition to fit this weapon.

With the work of NABIS, the picture of gun crime is clearer.

But does a rise in shootings mean more guns on the streets?

We are seeing firearms that are used on the streets that have never been

seen before and a lot are based on this antique firearm. We have seeing

some guns that are being used more than once in a crime. It shows that

there are few firearms available, so people have to use these different

methods to find guns. What are the police doing to stop gun crime? In

the unfortunate times whaep shooting does occur, our investigations are

relentless, scenes of crime, witnesses, house to house, we are

doing everything we can. We are executing warrants and doing a

firearms operation almost every day. But we are not just going to arrest

our way out of this. It is critical to ensure that the generation of

toddlers now in ten or 15 years are not that generation wanting to get

involved in gangs and commit crime and feel they need to use a gun to

do that. Thankfully, the level of gun crime

is significantly lower now And compared to other countries,

shootings are relatively rare. But I know one is enough to cause

a lifetime of heartache. If you think you can help

with the January shooting featured in Marcia's report full

details are on the website. You can also find a special

interview with the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police explaining

why he wants more armed officers and his concerns over

antique weapons laws. The urgent hunt for this man wanted

for raping a teenager at a nature It has made a huge impact on my life

and I would feel so happy to know he could never do anything like this to

anyone again. But we've got wanted faces first

starting with James, or Jamie Acourt who you might

recognise as one of the original suspects in the Stephen

Lawrence murder inquiry. old is wanted for questioning

by detectives in connection with the supply of cannabis worth

in excess of 4 million pounds. Police say this photo

gives a better idea He has always denied involvement

in the 1993 killing Acourt has links to South East

London, Kent and also to Spain. Next is Tariq Javed

although he is also known as Dariq. He was on trial for multiple counts

of sexually abusing a child under the age of 13, but didn't hang

around to be found guilty and went He's 37 and originally

from Pakistan, but has close links He's a dangerous sex offender

and police say anyone found Third is Daniel Dean Rutter

although he also calls He escaped from prison last month,

where he was serving a life sentence Rutter is 43 and has scars

across his chest and right arm. He has connections across Surrey

and also to Dover. Finally, for now, is this man

who goes by the name Q Johnson, although you may know him

as Ricky or Jamie Sampson. He's 21 and wanted for questioning

by detectives after a man was stabbed in Reading,

suffering a punctured lung. As well as Reading, Johnson has

links to Bedford and the Wandsworth If you know where any of tonight's

other faces might be please do get in touch

using the numbers on screen. We'll go through the rest

of the line up a little later. Early on a Monday evening

in September a teenager in Derby She thought a walk in the fresh air

around the local nature Tonight, for the first time,

she explains what happened next. The past few months have been hard -

it's been a challenge to go out It has made a huge

impact on my life. on my own, now I find it very hard

to go out on my own at all. I would feel so happy to know

that he could never do anything That day I had not been well,

I had been sick earlier Instead I decided I would go

for a walk to get some fresh air. I didn't take my dog

as I would have normally, because he too wasn't well

and couldn't walk very far. When I headed out for my walk

at about 5.00pm it was nice weather, As I walked on the nature reserve

from the entrance near the river. He made me feel

a little uncomfortable. I just thought to myself,

"why should I be afraid?" "He's just

going for a walk by To avoid walking straight past him,

I walked through a gate on my right and walked round the nature

reserve that way. I saw no one else until I was almost

the whole way round and nearly at the gate on the opposite side

of the nature reserve. And realised it was the same

guy I saw earlier. Then before I could run

and jump over the gate. after I've gone don't

call the police. After he left I got up and found

all my clothes that he'd thrown I got dressed quickly; I didn't

worry that he would come back I ran the way I had walked so not

to risk bumping into him again. Shortly after I wasn't too bad,

I was very jumpy but I think My boyfriend said that I would shake

a lot during the night. Something that really shocked me

is that during the incident and in my fear I told

the man I was 10 years old, would feel wrong about

what he was about to do. This shows that these kinds

of people do not care? These people need to

be found and stopped. Such a shocking story. We are joined

by DCI David Cox. This is a terrifying case, it could have

happened to anyone. How is this young woman now? She's been

incredibly brave. What do you know about the man who did it? The person

they are looking for is a white male about six foot tall, stocky build,

25-30 years old. We know he was wearing a black hooded top with

white detail on it. He wore aviator glasses. At one point, the witness

saw him carrying a can of energy drink, Monster. We even have his DNA

but no match. The description is really, really good. And the

situation with the forensic evidence is also excellent. The information

is the suspect could well have been in the nature reserve anything up to

an hour before. First, if there was anyone in the nature reserve on the

7th of September and witnessed anybody who matched this

description, please get in touch. Have a good look at the image that

has been produced and if it looks like somebody you know, again,

please call in. The forensic evidence except really easy to

eliminate somebody who isn't involved. Please don't be scared

about phoning him. It was a very secluded area, she saw very few

people. How much do you know about the route, how he arrived and left.

He was possibly in the nature reserve anything up to an hour

before the offense took place. We know very little of his activities

before. Certainly afterwards, as you can see, he exited the nature

reserve towards the northern most end. As the victim said, he didn't

care, didn't seem to care. You must be really concerned he could attack

again. Absolutely, it's worth remembering this took place in

September, it was daylight. There could have been any number of people

in the nature reserve who interrupted him while he was

committing this fence. A very brazen attack. Please do take another look

at this image. Officers are standing by ready

to take your call. Or, if you prefer you can call

Crimestoppers anonymously. OK, time for our CCTV roundup now

and we've got some particularly If you've been a victim of any

crime, you may want to speak to victim support.

OK, time for our CCTV roundup now and we've got some particularly

cunning crooks this month so keep your eyes peeled.

Inside a bar in Shoreditch in London. This snappily dressed man in

a flat cap isn't here for a drink. It's the laptop on

the floor he's after. A few nimble moves and hey presto

he picks up the unsuspecting drinker's computer

and just walks away. A different bar, almost seven months

earlier and he's at it again. He spots what he wants and moves

in swiping another laptop. He casually uses his foot and steals

another computer from right under The brazen thief even

hangs around at the bar , before leaving with

the stolen goods. Put a stop to this laptop lifter.

Now listen carefully to this one, private CCTV picks up the sound

as these men break in to an 88-year-old man's home in Widnes

They search through the pensioner's possessions.

They take war medals, and thousands of pounds worth

of other valuables leaving the victim extremely distressed.

Do you recognise these lowlife thieves?

November again and still in Cheshire, but this time

inside a building society in Runcorn.

Demanding money, he then moves to the next cashier and then

the next stashing more cash than he can carry.

He then walks out, calm as you like, with ?6,000 of loot.

It's hard to see his face, but someone knows who this gun-wielding

bank robber is. Name, please. Lunchtime outside a shop

in Toxteth in Liverpool. A security guard arrives to fill

the cash machine inside. Closely followed by this man,

in a green hoodie and shorts. In the store, the man

in shorts grabs the box, before legging it down the street

with thousands of pounds in cash. It's hardly subtle. Who is this

Another shop - this time a jewellers in St Ives in Cornwall.

This man isn't hanging around for opening though,

after smashing his way in, he picks up a rubbish bin and heads

He forces open a cabinet and fills the bin with expensive jewellery.

He then leaves the shop with his haul worth ?30,000.

Recognise him? Swap his bracelets for handcuffs and shop him.

Swap his bracelets for handcuffs and shop him.

Finally, we have this fella - out shopping on a Wednesday

The only problem is he doesn't want to pay for it!

He asks the assistant if he can look at two expensive watches

Before sitting down to try the first one on.

No prizes for guessing what happens next.

A quick glance at the exit and he sprints out of the shop,

still wearing the two watches, worth over ?2,000 each.

Cold time on this crime watch thief and name him to night. -- call time

on this Crimewatch thief. You can take another look at all of

tonight's faces and CCTV on the website.

Let's catch up on new developments. DCI Stephen Jennings good evening.

Any significant leads on John Palmer? Yes, really important

information about John and his activity in Spain, Tenerife and

links to organised crime in the UK. There will no doubt be some people

watching this programme who don't have sympathy for what's happened to

him and his family, what would you say to them? There is a really

important message. Despite John's mistakes in life, it's important the

public help us to tackle organised crime, crimes involving firearms.

You specifically want more information about this gun. We do,

the specifics, potentially a revolver, pistol. Certainly had some

significant designs around that gun, so we'd like to know where it is

now, we may be able to source that and identify its location. Please

keep those calls coming. Still to come to night: how police

caught a hit and run killer. Why ten years on she is yet to face justice.

This was the most difficult case I've ever been involved with. The

investigation was long, conjugated and had many twists and turns. --

long, complicated. More wanted faces first starting

with 54 year old Bruce Brewer, or Bill as he sometimes

calls himself. He was arrested in connection

with the sexual assault of 2 young But he has failed to return

for further questioning. Brewer has links to Surrey,

Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Birmingham,Cumbria, Nottingham

and Jersey and speaks He's described as having

a crooked front tooth. This is Ian Robert Tyler,

although this photo is over 15 years old, so his appearance

will have changed. He was jailed for 10 years

for importing class A drugs back in 1994, but absconded from prison

and is still on the run. Tyler is 50 years old and has

friends and family in Essex and Greater London, but police

believe he could now be abroad. Face number 7 is Genci Koburi,

although you may know him He was arrested after a major

disturbance at a pub in Greater Manchester in which 3

people were left He was due to return to police

on bail, but has disappeared. He's 42 and originally from Albania

but has links across Wiltshire And finally tonight we have

Alexandre Raphael Varelo. Detectives in Sussex

want to question him in connection The 19 year old is originally

from Portugal and has friends If you know where any of the other

faces are then get in touch And of course they're

all on the Crimewatch website. now to update you on some previous

cases and there are some really fantastic results, many

thanks to your calls. In 2008 we featured )the horrific

murder of Georgina Edmonds She'd been stabbed several times

and battered to death Well after a long investigation 36

year old Matthew Hamlen was last month found guilty of her murder

and sentenced to 30 years in prison. He'd faced trial for the killing

in 2012 but was acquitted. Detectives then found new DNA

evidence which finally The court heard Mrs Edmonds had been

tortured for her debit Your calls have helped put this man

behind bars after we showed this footage in March last year.

Hannifin was wanted for a large number of distraction burglaries

at the homes of elderly victims across the South East.

His victims were mostly in their 80's and 90's.

You called in naming Hannifin and last month he was jailed for 15

years having been charged with 31 burglaries and 1 robbery.

following a spate of thefts of artefacts from museums

and auction houses across the country.

The gang smashed a hole in the wall of the Oriental Museum in Durham

to steal over 2 million pounds worth of antiques.

CCTV caught the thieves arriving at the Fitzwilliam Museum

in Cambridge where over 15 million pounds of Chinese

Well last week 14 members of an organised crime gang

were convicted for their roles in stealing artefacts from museums

This man appeared on the programme last July wanted for human

trafficking offenses. You cold in with information which led to his

arrest within a few hours of the show. The court heard the man, his

brother and his mother kept a man enslaved for five years, taking his

passport from him and keeping his wages. He was jailed for three years

and three months. drug dealer Bernard Wanjiru,

who was wanted back in prison after failing to stick

to the conditions Well your calls led police

to East London, where Wanjiru was arrested and he has now

been returned to jail And we asked for help to find this

man, Carl Atkins last year. He was wanted for stabbing a man in an

attempted robbery in Norfolk. Well after seeing himself on Crimewatch,

Atkins handed himself in and yesterday was jailed for ten years.

Another great result. We couldn't do it without you.

This is Thomas Sippel-Dau, he was a Computer Technician

Tomorrow will mark exactly eleven years since he was mowed down

And, despite the obvious severity of his injuries, the

Detectives were unable to trace the person responsible,

that is until they asked for your help.

But a decade later, despite being convicted,

the woman who killed Thomas is yet to face justice.

Thomas Sippel-Dau was a German national living in London. He was an

extraordinary person. He would help anyone. Some people thought he was

strange when they met him. . But when you got to know him, you

realised he had a heart of gold and a real softy. Tom as work as a

computer technician and he finished his shift and cycled home.

Thomas's head injuries were catastrophic, despite paramedics

trying to revive him, he never regained consciousness. The He would

have been doing everything properly along that road. I couldn't believe

it. I felt devastated. And very angry actually. Because Thomas you

know would not have done anything wrong. This was the most difficult

case I have been involved with, the investigation was long, complicated

and had many twists and turns. CCTV showed a dark car speeding from the

scene seconds after Thomas was hit. It jumped a red light before making

a quick get away done the Earl's Court road. Witnesses described it

as a range Rover, but didn't catch the registration. Police

investigating the case had their work cut out for them. Forensically

we didn't recover anything from the scene. However we did find a lot of

debris that we thought probably was from the vehicle that failed to

stop. We realised we had got some coloured bodywork and it looked to

be an unusual colour. The debris was taken to a Land Rover for

inspection. That is our 50th anniversary colour. Scomblit was

called Atlantic blue and only 85 cars was made in that shade and one

was almost Southern think vehicle that mowed Tom is a down. This was a

stroke of good fortunre. It narrowed our search down. With a price tag of

?70,000 it was clear the police were hunting for a criminal with

considerable means. Land Rover gave them the vehicle identity numbers of

all 85 cars. I now had 85 names and addresses. Working through them was

a long, slow process. Three months later only a handful had been traced

and eliminated. It was hoped Crimewatch could speed up the

search. One caller thought they had seen a damaged Atlantic blue range

Rover a hundred miles away in the Midlands. Hey had seen v -- he had

seen ra car that day. A colleague and I went United.

Incredibly one caller thought they'd seen a damaged

Atlantis Blue Range Rover 100 miles away in the Midlands.

He'd actually seen a car like this that day in a small garage

in a village outside Leicester so the day after the programme

a colleague and I went up to look at the vehicle.

I didn't want to get my hopes up but I was very excited.

In amongst the debris recovered from the incident was

Forensic examinations of the Range Rover in Leicester

This proved beyond all doubt that this vehicle had been

at the scene and was almost certainly the vehicle

Someone had tried to have its identity destroyed.

They failed and police were able to track the car back

A woman by the name of Natela Galogre.

She was a multi- millionairess with connections within the Georgian

She certainly knew a number of very wealthy Russian oligarchs and moved

But when police went to question her, she'd vanished.

However, they soon discovered where she'd been the night

We were able to prove that she'd attended a function at the House

of Lords on the night of the collision and in fact

we were able to obtain pictures that showed her drinking at that event.

Natela left the House of Lords early at 9 o'clock.

Minutes after that, she was spotted by a neighbour parking up

Significantly, he noticed damage to the Range Rover.

The evidence was stacking up against her, and she aroused even

further suspicion when detectives discovered that she'd fled

to her mother's home in Moscow, where as a Russian citizen

To know that we had the owner of the vehicle that had killed

Thomas identified and that we weren't in a position to arrest

and question them about what had happened that night...

But 5 months later, police were tipped off that she'd

When they found her, she'd dramatically changed her appearance.

It was a big sigh of relief that someone had been arrested and I kind

of thought, OK, that's the beginning of the end.

We now had the opportunity to try and question her about what happened

Natela's story was elaborate, she laid the blame for Thomas' death

on a labourer called Georgi Jigeishvili.

She said he'd dropped her off that night and then borrowed her car.

We managed to trace the identity of Jigeishvili and what we found

It turned out that he was found dead three months after Thomas was hit.

It seemed that he'd jumped off Westminster Bridge at the end

of June 2005 and had been found washed up further on down

Detectives began to unpick Natela's story.

Prior to his death Georgi had worked as a labourer on building

He'd been working there on the day of Thomas' death.

Amazingly even after all this time the firm still had

They showed that he'd been working until 5pm on the day

It was impossible for Giorgi to finish work at 5pm

and drop her off at the House of Lords in London an hour

She'd spun a web of lies since the beginning of this

investigation and it's clear she sought to pin the

In January 2006, 10 months after Thomas was killed,

She was released on bail and forbidden from leaving the UK.

Over the next 2 years she changed her legal team several

times, ensuring the trial was dragged out for as long as possible.

In October 2007 she made an application to the Crown Court

for her Russian passport to be returned to her.

This apparently was so she could go to a memorial service

Astonishingly the judge agreed to her request.

Natela flew to Russia on the promise she'd return and stand

It was a promise she had no intention of keeping.

She didn't turn up for the trial and her representatives said

that she had pneumonia and was too ill to travel.

There then followed a litany of medical conditions that Natela

seemed to be suffering from in Russia.

These included epilepsy, heart disease, other neurological

The judge ruled that the trial would go ahead without her.

Four years after the collision that killed Thomas, Natela was convicted

of causing death by dangerous driving and perverting the course

In her absence, Natela was ordered to serve 10 years in prison

She showed her cowardice by choosing to hide out in Russia.

Never returning to the UK to serve her sentence.

Inspector John Payton who you saw in that film has since retired,

though he's never given up hope that Natela

But the plot thickens, as according to the Russian

authorities, Natela has now passed away.

Given her habit of disappearing when things get sticky -

it could just be the latest in a long line of cons

Daniel Rutter was serving a life sentence and now someone calling

himself Daniel Rutter has handed himself in. We will give you an

update later. Tariq Javed, some possible sightings of him. And good

news on the the linked attacks in the Lewisham areas, a possible name

for this attacker. Keep the calls coming in. That is is everything for

now. Please remember to take a look at the Crimewatch web-site, where

you can find all of our appeals. The phonelines stay open to midnight

tomorrow and we are back for an update at 10.45. We will also keep

you up-to-date with the latest developments via Twitter. Thank you

for your calls. From everyone here, goodbye.