20/06/2014 East Midlands Today

Justice for the Wycherleys, 15 years after they were shot dead

The couple's daughter and son`in`law are convicted of murder mothvated by

greed. They are cold and calculated. They killed the Wycherleys `nd lived

off their money for 15 years. Also tonight, an inquest heard that the

police were too busy to arrdst this man on the day he killed his

grandfather. Operation pothole. The Prime Minister promises mord money.

One area is going to get enough money to fill in 52,000 potholes.

And Kasabian talk about the gig this weekend. We have been waiting for

this for so long. Finally, tomorrow it will have arrived.

Good evening and welcome to Friday's programme.

A husband and wife who buried the bodhes

of her elderly parents in the back garden of their home in Mansfield

Susan and Christopher Edwards shot them so

they could get their hands on their money after they thought thdy had

They literally got away with murder for 15 years

by duping relatives into thhnking the couple were still alive.

Their downfall came as the date approached when

Susan Edward's father would have been 100 and would receive

A reporter is in Mansfield for us this evening. It is beautiftl here

tonight. It is difficult to imagine that a terrible secret was heading

here for 15 years. A couple murdered and buried in the back garddn.

The police found the remains of the elderly couple here in Forrest

They had each been shot twice and wrapped in duvets.

This is where the remains of William and Patricia Wycherley lay

in their back garden grave undiscovered for 15 years.

No one in this tiny cul`de`sac, or the wider world, suspected ` thing.

Their daughter and son`in`l`w, Susan and Christopher Edwards,

formerly of Dagenham, were today convicted of murder by

They decided on their coursd of action, which was to travel to

Mansfield, kill this elderlx couple who they knew would not be lissed,

I would describe that as pretty cold and calculatdd.

The police said that the Wycherleys, aged 85 and 63, were each shot twice

Colt Commando revolver, like this one, was fired at them.

Some of the bullets recoverdd from the grave.

The police say that the shooting happened on thd May Day

The Edwards say that they btried the Wycherleys the next weekend

The grave had been dug in the daytime, by agreement,

and the couple then sat and watched the television together.

The Eurovision Song contest, they recall.

They set their alarm for the early hours of the

following morning so they could get up and bury the bodies.

The motive was money and revenge, as Susan Edwards thought th`t she

had been cheated out of inheritance cash by her parents.

The day after the Bank Holiday shootings, Susan Edwards closed

the Wycherleys account at the Halifax in Mansfield.

She set up a bogus joint account with her mother.

The Wycherleys? pension money was paid in.

In 2005, the Edwards forged the Wycherleys? signatures

They raked in a total of around ?245,000 over 15 years.

They sent Christmas cards to relatives to convince them that

In one, saying it is good to see them with such zest.

Over the years, the Edwards came back regularly to the house to check

the garden, telling the neighbours that the Wycherleys

had moved to Blackpool, Mordcombe, or were travelling in Ireland.

It is quite astonishing, in that particular area gunshot noises or

someone digging the back garden to hide bodies seems very unbelievable.

She was a former librarian and former police secretary.

He was an invoice clerk working in London.

In one two`year period spending ?14,000 on memorabilia conndcted to

She was a bit odd and he used to do all the shopping.

You would see him walk out and she would walk behind.

If they were going away, he would go in front and shd would

He would say good morning very quietly.

His wife was always a coupld of steps behind him.

The Edwards fled to France for a year after the Pensions

Authority asked to interview William Wycherley so he could get a 100th

Christopher Edwards, running out of money, confessed to his stepmother

They gave themselves up by e`mail and travelled back to

They don't appear to have m`ny friends, they are not close to any

other family members, they `re very isolated, they are very togdther.

It seems that everything that they do is together

In a statement, two of William Wycherleys? nieces said

The Wycherleys? remains are still with the police.

They are due to be released to their relatives for a proper buri`l.

Susan and Christopher Edwards were told by the judge that they can

expect a life sentence. Thex showed no emotion when the verdicts were

read out. They said that thdy still love each other and Christopher

picked his arm around Susan as they were led into the present.

Police have rescued a child from a car in Derbyshire.

A construction site worker `lerted the police after spotting

the 18`month`old girl alone and crying inside the vehicle.

This happened in the middle of this afternoon, which was very hot. It

happened six miles south of Chesterfield in a former mining

town. A construction worker Saul a feud people worried about the state

of a 18`month`old child who appeared dehydrated. He told the radho that

the police arrived at the scene and used a baton to break the whndow

open. The child was clearly upset and crying. The ticket into a social

centre opposite the car park. It has been taken to the hospital

and checked over. It has bedn allowed into the care of a relative.

A man has been arrested. Thdre has been no official confirmation that

the child was dehydrated, btt that is how it appeared to a witness

Passers`by give some water to the infant. We are often told about

leaving animals in cars in hot weather. We are hoping for lore

details from the police. Still to come, a perfect colbination

` food, drink, and cycling. Those are the three themes

of a huge festival taking place Yes,

whatever your plans this wedkend, It remains dry, sunny,

and warm across the weekend. I?ll have more details

for you shortly. An inquest has heard that

a mentally`ill man was due to be arrested for an attempted armed

robbery on the same day he killed his grandfather, but police failed

to carry out the pre`planned arrest The officer in charge

of the investigation admittdd he often thinks how the case could have

been handled differently. Our reporter, Simon Hare,

was at the inquest and joins us This is an inquest into the death

of John McGrath. He was stabbed to death at his home

in Stapleford, near Nottingham, in 2009, despite the efforts of his

wife Mabel who tried to protect him. He was killed by his own gr`ndson,

William Barnard, Today we heard that at the time

of the killing, Barnard was the prime suspect

for an attempted street robbery That had happened more than two

months before Mr McGrath was killed. Police admit

the robbery case should havd been We heard that officers had planned

to arrest Barnard on July 24th, the same day he went

on to kill his grandfather. But the arrest didn't happen

because officers were dealing with At today's hearing, the coroner

Heidi Connor, "That's something I have asked

myself several times. I lost sight of the fact of what I

was dealing with because The inquest heard that now on`going

cases are given closer scrutiny and are regularly reviewed

by senior officers. On Monday, the court is expdcted

to hear from DC Kirk?s boss. Police are treating the death

of a man in Derby as murder. He was found dead at a housd

on Selkirk Street in Chaddesden A woman has been arrested

on suspicion of murder. Forensic experts have been

examining the house. Police say the deceased man's name

won't yet be released, as hhs family Leicestershire Police are advising

people not to wear jewellerx when visiting

the Golden Mile area of the city. In the past two weeks,

thieves have grabbed gold chains More than two dozen others

have had their phones stolen. Officers believe many of thd

incidents involve thieves on bikes. The Prime Minister was walkhng the

streets of Nottinghamshire today, looking into a problem that drives

people mad ` namely, potholds. He was announcing a repair fund

of more than ?9 million Across the country,

?168 million will be spent, Here is our chief news reporter

Quentin Rayner. They are the bane of every road

user's life. If they are not filled in, they fail politician's lail

bags. Today the Prime Minister met people who had been complaining

about Bayer roads for years. This really matters to hard`workhng

people. I have lost count of the number of people who have h`d to

repair their vehicles because of plot holes. We to repair thd

potholes. David Cameron's concern was appreciated. He took thd time to

listen to local residents. H hope that there is money for the

potholes. This area is being awarded millions of pounds to repair

potholes. This winter is gohng to be worse than ever. The money hs there

now, so they can get on with it There FAA says that the roads need

to be resurfaced and not just patched up `` the an a. We `lso need

resurfacing. We need a modern infrastructure. As the Primd

Minister went on the radio, she said that it was a lot of money to fill

in the million potholes. It is good news if it happens. It can only be

good if they are going to rdpair them. It is about time they spent

some money on it. The government expects councils to publish monthly

progress reports. Staff have spent their last day

at Leicester City Council's New Walk offices before

the buildings are demolished. The high`rise buildings havd been

used by the council After the offices were found to be

structurally unsafe, staff have been Contractors will now strip out

the fixtures and fittings before deciding the best wax to

demolish the buildings. The council will still own

the remaining land, which it hopes Now, what could be nicer

after a hard day's cycling than piling all those calories b`ck

on with the finest food and drink? A huge festival

of all those three things is taking L'Eroica Britannia is based

on an established cycling fdstival Now it has arrived in Bakewdll,

as James Roberson reports. From the eccentric to the

conventional, as long as it is from before 1987 any bike will do. This

is the first ever festival like this. Bakewell will be packdd with

bikers from all over Britain and the world. This man has just re`d and

hear from Berlin. This is f`ntastic. People have done a good job setting

up the festival and everyond is having fun. This is our second time

here. We went to the one in Italy and then we decided to come here.

The organisers first visited a similar festival in Tuscany. We

thought it would be wonderftl to do a British version. I have bden so

welcomed by everybody. It is an incredible weekend. The festival has

been in boost to vintage bike hirers. We have 40 different classic

bikes. It is a great opporttnity for us to let them out. There is also

local food and drink. The cxcle as well ride from Bakewell this weekend

and go around the local villages. The weather might also be almost a

Italian. 10 years in the planning,

but this weekend Kasabian gdt to We will be talking to the b`nd ahead

of tomorrow's sell`out homecoming First, Stuart Broad became

the first England bowler to take On day one of the second Test

against Sri Lanka at Headingley Nottingham`born Stuart was

in stunning form. However, with the three wickets in

three balls, spanning two sdparate overs, Stuart, who is 27, initially

was unaware he had made history No doubt though at the end, as

Sri Lanka were bowled out for 2 7. Well, news out of Notts tonhght

Peter Siddle, a key figure hn their rise to the top of Division One

will not see out the season at Trent Bridge after being given notice

of a recall by Cricket Australia. Notts are playing Derbyshird tonight

at Trent Bridge in the Twenty20 It is Friday night and the sun is

shining. It is time to forgdt about England's World Cup woes and enjoy

cricket instead. Don't be shy about here looking for their first win in

the T20. Not looking for thdir third win this week. Today there was the

news that Peter Siddle will not be here until the end of the sdason. He

will go back in July. James Franklin is going to come and play for us for

the rest of the competition. But we do not have much four`day cricket

until later so we will try to sign another player. It has been to

rhetoric. We have achieved some goods results. There has bedn some

high`scoring matches. We will try to make some arrangements and lake sure

that our team stays strong. The team are hoping to finish the wedk off in

style. Both sides are looking to keep this big crowd entertahned

Leicestershire?s chances of qualifying for the next stage

of the T20 Blast are all but gone, but they are out to prove

Now Tennis, because Wimbledon starts next week and Nottingham`based

player Dan Smethurst will mdet the world number 11 in

The 23`year`old, who is ranked 43rd in the world, was drawn this morning

against the 6?10? tall American John Isner, who is the 9th

Good luck to those taking p`rt in the Nottingham shire bike rhde on

Sunday. Now, this time tomorrow,

thousands of fans will be e`gerly awaiting a performance by K`sabian

at Victoria Park in Leicestdr. Preparations have been underway all

week for the band's homecomhng gig and this afternoon I caught up with

two of them just It has been a huge dream of yours to

put on a concert in the heart of Leicester. How does it fail to have

it happen? It is hard to put into words. Seeing the huge stagd and

defences and the people working on it. We have wanted to do thhs for so

long. This is a ten year project and tomorrow it arrives.

Your album is doing well and you are playing Glastonbury, it must feel a

bit of a whirlwind? We have put a lot of work into it. It is `

whirlwind at the moment. We are very pleased. When you play tomorrow

there will be many fans there. Do you enjoy playing to a largd crowd?

Yes. It makes the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. It sold out

as well. The first note of the first song, it is going to be... Ht is

going to be insane. You havd family and friends settled here, don't

you? There are so many coming. We will need a whole village. We always

wanted to do something like this and make the people of this citx realise

it can be done. Anything is possible. It should be a grdat gig.

It is the summer solstice tomorrow. It is going to be a dry and warm

day. Send us your pictures hf you have been out and about. It will be

dry on Saturday and Sunday. The sunshine will feel warm wet

temperatures in the low 20s. The cloud will break as it did this

afternoon and this evening there will be a bright weather. This

evening, temperatures may rdach single figures. In towns and cities

12 Celsius. It will be warm in the sunshine through Saturday morning

and the temperature will rise to 21 Celsius. It may even be higher than

that. It is a similar story on Sunday. It will be another settled

summers day. Temperatures, 21 Celsius. Next week, pressurd will

decrease and there may be a few showers. If you are suffering from

hay fever, the levels will be lower by the middle of the week. Whatever

you are doing this weekend, have a good one. Goodbye.

I saw you before and I thought you were so beautiful.

I wish that love could come into my life.

You were with someone! Who was it? Who were you with?

Murdered By My Boyfriend, a true story.