0:00:00 > 0:00:00- Subtitles
0:00:00 > 0:00:02- Subtitles- - Subtitles
0:00:04 > 0:00:05- In a murder case...
0:00:05 > 0:00:08- ..it's a race against time - to discover what happened.
0:00:09 > 0:00:14- Where, why and who's responsible?
0:00:16 > 0:00:19- I'm Mali Harries - and I want to learn more...
0:00:19 > 0:00:21- ..about a detective's work.
0:00:22 > 0:00:24- The scrutiny and analysis.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29- The interrogation and psychology.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34- Tonight I meet the detectives...
0:00:34 > 0:00:38- ..who spent decades - trying to catch John Cooper...
0:00:38 > 0:00:42- ..a man who committed - two double murders in Pembrokeshire.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44- I am not a murderer!
0:00:45 > 0:00:50- I discover what it was like - coming face to face with the killer.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54- I am not a murderer. I don't care - whether you believe it or not.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57- I am not a murderer.
0:01:24 > 0:01:29- Pembrokeshire is renowned for its - rugged and picturesque coastline.
0:01:31 > 0:01:35- The county came to the world's - attention for two double murders...
0:01:35 > 0:01:38- ..that remained unsolved - for decades.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55- Sunday night, December 1985.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57- Three days before Christmas...
0:01:57 > 0:02:01- ..Scoveston Park mansion - near Milford Haven was ablaze.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05- The fire brigade - raced to control the flames.
0:02:05 > 0:02:10- It became obvious early on - that this blaze wasn't an accident.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13- I received a phone call - on Monday morning...
0:02:13 > 0:02:15- ..to go to Milford Haven.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19- A body had been discovered - in a fire at Scoveston Park.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23- The body of a man...
0:02:24 > 0:02:28- ..by the name of Richard Thomas - was discovered on the landing.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32- Firefighters - dragged him out of the house.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35- He had been shot in the stomach.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41- Richard Thomas - was a 58-year-old local farmer.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45- After being shot in the stomach - near the farm's outhouses...
0:02:45 > 0:02:48- ..he was dragged into the house.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51- There was no sign - of his sister, Helen.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56- The house was burnt to the ground. - Only rubble was left.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59- Firefighters, - police and forensics...
0:02:59 > 0:03:04- ..trawled through the rubble - and found Helen Thomas' body.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08- She had been burnt to a cinder - and was buried beneath the rubble.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10- Helen Thomas was 54 years old.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15- During the blaze, her body had - fallen from her upstairs bedroom...
0:03:15 > 0:03:17- ..to the ground floor.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20- She'd been tied with a rope...
0:03:20 > 0:03:23- ..before being shot in the head.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35- 150 police officers - joined the investigation.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39- They suspected Richard Thomas - had interrupted a burglary...
0:03:39 > 0:03:45- ..at Scoveston Park, but there were - no witnesses and no fingerprints.
0:03:47 > 0:03:52- Nobody knew why anyone would want to - murder Richard and Helen Thomas...
0:03:52 > 0:03:54- ..at Scoveston.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57- The police - had no idea who was responsible.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11- The summer of 1989 in Pembrokeshire - was warm and dry.
0:04:11 > 0:04:15- Among the tourists - camping at Little Haven...
0:04:15 > 0:04:18- ..were Peter and Gwenda Dixon.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21- The pair, from Witney near Oxford...
0:04:21 > 0:04:25- ..came to Pembrokeshire every year - to walk the Coastal Path.
0:04:25 > 0:04:27- In June...
0:04:27 > 0:04:30- ..on the final day - of their holiday...
0:04:30 > 0:04:34- ..the pair had gone for - one last walk before returning home.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38- Three days later, - their car was still on the campsite.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41- The married couple had vanished.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46- Their son was expecting them back on - the Monday but they never returned.
0:04:47 > 0:04:50- He didn't know where they'd gone - or what had happened to them.
0:04:51 > 0:04:53- After combing the area...
0:04:53 > 0:04:58- ..police found their bodies in - undergrowth near the Coastal Path.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03- Gwenda Dixon - had been shot in the back.
0:05:03 > 0:05:09- Peter Dixon's hands had been tied - behind his back before being shot.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22- The murderer - had stolen Peter Dixon's bank card.
0:05:22 > 0:05:27- It had been used in Pembroke, - Carmarthen and Haverfordwest.
0:05:30 > 0:05:35- The person using the card became - the focus of the investigation.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42- Several witnesses - in Pembroke and Haverfordwest...
0:05:42 > 0:05:46- ..had seen a man - they described as a wild man...
0:05:46 > 0:05:48- ..with an old bike.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52- They came up with an artist's - impression of the suspect...
0:05:53 > 0:05:57- ..based on a witness's description - of the man in Haverfordwest.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02- This was the person - who used Peter Dixon's bank card...
0:06:03 > 0:06:06- ..and this, in our eyes, - was the murderer.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12- But with more than - 4,000 statements...
0:06:13 > 0:06:15- ..the police - were drowning in paperwork.
0:06:16 > 0:06:21- Detectives pursued various theories - and a possible IRA connection.
0:06:24 > 0:06:28- At the end of November, - next to a public path in Newgale...
0:06:28 > 0:06:32- ..they came across - a cache of weapons and explosives.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40- Two members of the IRA retrieved - them and they were arrested.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42- People thought...
0:06:42 > 0:06:47- ..that Peter and Gwenda Dixon - had been murdered by the IRA.
0:06:52 > 0:06:54- With two double murders unsolved...
0:06:55 > 0:06:57- ..Dyfed-Powys Police - was under pressure.
0:06:58 > 0:07:03- A spate of burglaries in the east - of Milford Haven were also unsolved.
0:07:03 > 0:07:08- Operation Huntsman was launched to - try and get answers to those cases.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17- What we did in the end was look at - where the burglaries were happening.
0:07:18 > 0:07:22- We tried to work out - where each of them had taken place.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26- There were - close to 250 burglaries in all.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30- This map clearly shows the pattern.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34- This is a two-mile radius.
0:07:34 > 0:07:39- This is the area - where houses were being burgled.
0:07:41 > 0:07:45- This is where police dogs...
0:07:45 > 0:07:50- ..were tracking the footprints - of the burglar back over the fields.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54- These are coming from - different directions.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58- The burglar was throwing - police dogs off the scent...
0:07:59 > 0:08:01- ..by scattering curry powder...
0:08:01 > 0:08:05- ..and wearing gloves - to avoid leaving fingerprints.
0:08:06 > 0:08:10- At night, he was also watching - the police's efforts to catch him.
0:08:12 > 0:08:17- He was an accomplished planner - because he did everything on land.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21- All these barbed wire fences - had been cut.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24- These blue dots - are where he'd cut the fences?
0:08:24 > 0:08:29- Yes, he cut the fences for - one purpose - for a quick getaway.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32- If he was rumbled in the house...
0:08:33 > 0:08:37- ..he could scarper, - knowing he had a clear getaway...
0:08:37 > 0:08:39- ..with no fence to stop him.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44- Police questioned locals...
0:08:45 > 0:08:49- ..and collected fingerprints and - blood from men in St Mary's Park.
0:08:51 > 0:08:56- Of all the locals, only two men - refused to give blood samples...
0:08:57 > 0:08:59- ..one of whom was afraid of needles.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02- The other was John Cooper.
0:09:05 > 0:09:09- John Cooper was a farm labourer - who liked playing darts.
0:09:09 > 0:09:14- In the 1970s, he won 90,000 - in a spot-the-ball competition...
0:09:15 > 0:09:18- ..before spending it - and gambling it all away.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21- He had a reputation - for being violent.
0:09:21 > 0:09:26- It's no wonder witnesses didn't come - forward with John Cooper's name.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29- His family - and the locals were afraid of him.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32- He attacked his landlord, - who was so afraid...
0:09:32 > 0:09:36- ..that he didn't ask John Cooper - for rent ever again.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42- Jim Morris - visited Cooper at his home.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47- He noticed videos that'd been stolen - in the burglaries on his shelf.
0:09:50 > 0:09:52- I had a conversation with him.
0:09:52 > 0:09:55- I knew straightaway he was the man.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09- The police - found a glove, a balaclava...
0:10:09 > 0:10:13- ..and a gun in Sardis - following an armed robbery there.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16- After arresting John Cooper...
0:10:16 > 0:10:18- ..and searching his house...
0:10:19 > 0:10:21- ..they found further evidence...
0:10:21 > 0:10:25- ..including keys he'd kept - from the houses he'd burgled.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32- 500 keys were found - in the sceptic tank.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37- They were recovering items - well into September...
0:10:38 > 0:10:41- ..almost nine months - after he was arrested.
0:10:45 > 0:10:50- They're using me to clear old - crimes. They shouldn't be allowed.
0:10:50 > 0:10:52- Shouldn't be allowed.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55- In December 1998...
0:10:56 > 0:11:01- ..after being found guilty of 30 - burglaries and one armed robbery...
0:11:01 > 0:11:03- ..John Cooper - was jailed for 16 years.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08- He was also under suspicion - for the two double murders.
0:11:08 > 0:11:13- There was also a possible connection - to a sexual assault in the area.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16- In March 1996...
0:11:17 > 0:11:21- ..a man in a black balaclava - threatened five teenagers...
0:11:22 > 0:11:24- ..in Steynton near Milford Haven.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27- He was armed with a shotgun.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30- He ordered them to lie on the floor.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33- He raped one girl...
0:11:33 > 0:11:36- ..and sexually assaulted another.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39- As he left, he fired his gun...
0:11:39 > 0:11:41- ..into the air.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44- We used Cooper's voice...
0:11:44 > 0:11:47- ..among other voices - as voice identification.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52- Four of the youths - picked out Cooper's voice.
0:11:52 > 0:11:57- But this evidence alone wasn't - enough to bring a case against him.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01- We kept in mind the possibility...
0:12:01 > 0:12:05- ..that the double murders - of the Dixons and the Thomases...
0:12:05 > 0:12:07- ..were related to this case.
0:12:08 > 0:12:14- But we had to find concrete - evidence, forensic evidence...
0:12:14 > 0:12:16- ..which we didn't have.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22- They needed more evidence, - and urgently too...
0:12:22 > 0:12:26- ..otherwise John Cooper - would once again be free.
0:12:29 > 0:12:29- .
0:12:32 > 0:12:32- Subtitles
0:12:32 > 0:12:34- Subtitles- - Subtitles
0:12:38 > 0:12:41- At the turn of the Millennium...
0:12:41 > 0:12:43- ..thief John Cooper was in prison.
0:12:44 > 0:12:49- With the mystery of Pembrokeshire's - two double murders still unsolved...
0:12:49 > 0:12:52- ..police were keen - to interview Cooper again.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56- It's Bullseye.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59- And here's your host, Jim Bowen.
0:12:59 > 0:13:04- In May 1989, John Cooper appeared - on the Bullseye programme on ITV.
0:13:05 > 0:13:07- You've got an unusual hobby, John.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09- You've got an unusual hobby, John.- - Yes, the scuba diving.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12- It's the place to do it down there.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14- It's the place to do it down there.- - We've got the coastline, yes.
0:13:14 > 0:13:19- It was filmed a month before Peter - and Gwenda Dixon were killed...
0:13:19 > 0:13:21- ..near Pembrokeshire's Coastal Path.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24- What are you going to do?
0:13:24 > 0:13:26- What are you going to do?- - We'd like to gamble.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31- In 2009, - after launching Operation Ottawa...
0:13:31 > 0:13:33- ..to reopen the murders...
0:13:33 > 0:13:36- ..detectives - got hold of this footage.
0:13:36 > 0:13:40- After watching the footage, - there was a similarity...
0:13:40 > 0:13:45- ..between Cooper's appearance - and the artist's impression.
0:13:48 > 0:13:53- The similarity was astounding. John - Cooper was now their main focus.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59- Evidence found at Cooper's house...
0:13:59 > 0:14:04- ..was sent for forensic tests - to see if developments in DNA...
0:14:04 > 0:14:07- ..could provide detectives - with answers.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11- In 2008, Cooper was - about to be released from prison.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17- The team decided - to question him about the murders.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23- This is the detective who came - face to face with John Cooper.
0:14:29 > 0:14:34- I was just going through things - and keeping him talking...
0:14:34 > 0:14:37- ..because we were told - not to make him angry.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41- Didn't part of you want him to - lose his temper in the interviews?
0:14:42 > 0:14:45- Yes, but the advice - we were given was...
0:14:45 > 0:14:48- .."It's a long journey, - there are many subjects...
0:14:49 > 0:14:53- "..and we have to go through things - thoroughly, so don't rile him."
0:14:53 > 0:14:58- It's hard because when you're aware - of the details of the murders...
0:14:58 > 0:15:01- ..it does affect you, - but you have to hold back...
0:15:02 > 0:15:06- ..desensitise yourself and - process things professionally.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09- They had a detailed strategy...
0:15:10 > 0:15:12- ..and many pieces of evidence - to flag up.
0:15:13 > 0:15:18- I remember the first time I saw him, - he looked straight at me...
0:15:18 > 0:15:21- ..and he said, - "Have I met you before?"
0:15:21 > 0:15:25- I said, "I don't think so." - He said, "I'm glad about that."
0:15:25 > 0:15:27- He was a cold, clinical man.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31- He was devoid of emotion.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35- One item of interest - was Peter Dixon's wedding ring...
0:15:35 > 0:15:37- ..that had been stolen.
0:15:38 > 0:15:43- Can you confirm whether or not - that's your signature on the bottom?
0:15:44 > 0:15:47- Yes, that looks like my signature.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52- They found - a receipt signed by JW Cooper...
0:15:52 > 0:15:56- ..for the sale - of a 22-carat wedding band...
0:15:57 > 0:15:59- ..in the week - the Dixons were killed.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04- But according to Cooper, - he'd sold his own wedding ring...
0:16:05 > 0:16:08- ..though he didn't recall - what it looked like.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11- He was trying - to dupe the police yet again.
0:16:12 > 0:16:18- I said I found it hard to believe - he couldn't recall his own ring.
0:16:18 > 0:16:22- Only one person - recorded in Pembrokeshire...
0:16:22 > 0:16:27- ..as selling - a wedding ring during that period.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30- Was that Peter Dixon's ring - you sold on that day?
0:16:31 > 0:16:33- Definitely not, no.
0:16:37 > 0:16:42- Another item was the gun used - in the armed robbery in Sardis.
0:16:43 > 0:16:48- John Cooper was making notes - during the interviews.
0:16:48 > 0:16:52- I could read the odd word - as the interview was progressing.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56- I remember - looking at what he'd written...
0:16:56 > 0:17:00- ..in relation to the gun - he'd used in Sardis...
0:17:01 > 0:17:04- ..he scribbled a lot - about the Sardis gun...
0:17:04 > 0:17:06- ..and destruction order.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09- Why was he bothered about this gun?
0:17:09 > 0:17:12- Why did he - give this gun so much thought?
0:17:12 > 0:17:16- They sent off the gun for tests - and removed the paintwork.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19- Beneath the paint - they found the blood DNA...
0:17:20 > 0:17:22- ..of Peter Dixon.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26- In December 2008...
0:17:26 > 0:17:30- ..while police were waiting - for further forensic tests...
0:17:30 > 0:17:33- ..Cooper - was released early on licence.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37- Soon, there would be - damning evidence against him.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43- A fibre from Richard Thomas' sock...
0:17:44 > 0:17:48- ..matched the fibres found in the - pocket of a pair of Cooper's shorts.
0:17:48 > 0:17:53- Fibres from his glove were found - on Peter and Gwenda Dixon's bodies.
0:17:54 > 0:17:56- And fibres from Cooper's glove...
0:17:57 > 0:18:00- ..also matched those from - the sexual assault in Milford Haven.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03- In May 2009...
0:18:04 > 0:18:07- ..detectives decided - to arrest him again.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14- In his car was a rope and gloves.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24- But Cooper - continued to deny everything.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27- Gareth Rees interviewed him again.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30- This time, - armed with forensic evidence...
0:18:31 > 0:18:36- ..such as his shorts that had traces - of Peter Dixon's blood on them.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38- During the interview...
0:18:39 > 0:18:43- ..I was trying to get Cooper - to confess they were his shorts.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47- Have you ever seen the shorts - in this photograph before?
0:18:47 > 0:18:50- I believe those are my bathers.
0:18:53 > 0:18:58- We believe Cooper took the shorts - from the murders at Little Haven...
0:18:58 > 0:19:02- ..and had them shortened - in the years afterwards...
0:19:02 > 0:19:07- ..sealing the DNA - under the hem of the shorts.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09- Those have come back...
0:19:09 > 0:19:11- ..with DNA profiles...
0:19:12 > 0:19:15- ..which match - to within one in a billion...
0:19:15 > 0:19:20- ..the profile of the DNA - of Peter Dixon, the murder victim.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22- Will you tell me...
0:19:23 > 0:19:27- ..what happened on 29 June 1989...
0:19:27 > 0:19:31- ..at that location in Little Haven?
0:19:32 > 0:19:34- I am not a murderer.
0:19:34 > 0:19:39- I don't care whether you believe it - or not. I am not a murderer.
0:19:42 > 0:19:47- You're making things fit to John - Cooper and it's bloody annoying.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49- The facts are, - throughout this enquiry...
0:19:50 > 0:19:53- ..the only person - we haven't been able to eliminate...
0:19:54 > 0:19:57- ..and whose name - constantly crops up is you.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01- I've no further questions. - I'm turning the tape recorder off.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11- In March 2011...
0:20:11 > 0:20:15- ..Cooper stood trial - at Swansea Crown Court.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18- After two months in the dock...
0:20:18 > 0:20:23- ..the jury found John Cooper - guilty of both double murders...
0:20:24 > 0:20:26- ..and the sexual assault.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31- At Swansea Crown Court...
0:20:31 > 0:20:34- ..John Cooper - was given four life sentences.
0:20:34 > 0:20:39- The judge, John Griffith Williams, - said he was a dangerous man...
0:20:39 > 0:20:42- ..and if it hadn't been - for advances in DNA techniques...
0:20:43 > 0:20:46- ..he may well - have continued to evade capture.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57- I felt a sense of pride.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00- He was a very devious man.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02- He was clued up - on forensic matters...
0:21:03 > 0:21:07- ..but he hadn't foreseen - future methods.
0:21:07 > 0:21:09- In the end...
0:21:09 > 0:21:13- ..it was advances in forensics - that led to his downfall.
0:21:26 > 0:21:31- When he was sentenced in court, - I thought, thank God for that.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34- I have to admit, - I left the court quietly.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37- I didn't go and have a pint.
0:21:38 > 0:21:40- I shed a few tears.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43- Thank God he'll never be freed.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05- Peter and Gwenda Dixon's family...
0:22:06 > 0:22:10- ..return to Pembrokeshire every year - to lay flowers in memory.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13- I can't help but think - that they themselves...
0:22:13 > 0:22:17- ..have had to serve a 20-year - sentence to find the truth.
0:22:17 > 0:22:22- It's thanks to the perseverance - of detectives and scientists...
0:22:22 > 0:22:27- ..that they eventually managed to - put John Cooper back behind bars...
0:22:27 > 0:22:30- ..where he'll spend - the rest of his days.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56- S4C Subtitles by Adnod Cyf.
0:22:56 > 0:22:56- .