a6 murder

[Steve]

Evening Graham

I remember the discussion we had on the old thread about the gated area into the cornfield, now used by the water people, and I don’t believe this was the cornfield entry point because of the privacy reasons mentioned earlier in my reply to PLA’s post – this part of the cornfield is close to private dwellings on either side and lacks the privacy a courting couple would have sought in those days.

Kind regards,
Steve

[Graham]

Evening Graham

I remember the discussion we had on the old thread about the gated area into the cornfield, now used by the water people, and I don’t believe this was the cornfield entry point because of the privacy reasons mentioned earlier in my reply to PLA’s post – this part of the cornfield is close to private dwellings on either side and lacks the privacy a courting couple would have sought in those days.

Kind regards,
Steve

Hiya Steve.

Thanks for this. All I can say is that according to Valerie, the car was well inside the cornfield - would this have made it less visible to the people in the local houses after nightfall?

I really do need another visit.

Cheers,

Graham

[Steve]

Gated entry

point into the cornfield today ...

[Graham]

point into the cornfield today ...

Don't know, Steve.

Like I say, maybe another visit.

Cheers,

Graham

[Steve]

Hiya Steve.

Thanks for this. All I can say is that according to Valerie, the car was well inside the cornfield - would this have made it less visible to the people in the local houses after nightfall?

I really do need another visit.

Cheers,

Graham

Yes, you need another visit - I know a guide with a reasonable scale of charges for the conducted tour (err, me!)

The spot at the bottom of the lane would have provided enough discretion at that time of the evening, even in August.

[Steve]

The Cornfield Today

This recent photograph is taken from about the point where the Morris Minor would have been parked when the gunman told Gregsten to drive further into the field. The view is looking east, towards the bottom of Marsh Lane.

[Steve]

Michael Gregsten

Sad to say that no memorial has ever been placed here for Michael Gregsten.

[jimarilyn]

Hi Graham

Yes, I would too, and I feel sure that jimarilyn will respond fully at his earliest opportunity!!!

Kind regards,
Steve

Hi Steve & Graham,

It all very much depends on what you constitute as concrete proof. Written confessions, verbal confessions, one person's word against another, identifications, hearsay and suchlike however persuasive they might be certainly don't constitute proof of anyone's guilt of any crime. So what's left ?
Unless someone is caught in the act or caught on CCTV carrying out a crime then it's extremely difficult to actually PROVE someone's guilt.

Lots of things (including a strong gut feeling) convince me of Alphon being the A6 murderer but they would not be regarded as concrete proof in a court of law.

[Steve]

Alphon Guilty?

Hi jimarilyn

The Foot and Woffinden books make persuasive arguments for Hanratty being innocent, and Foot ends his book by saying that he is as certain as it is possible to be, without having concrete proof, that PLA was guilty.

The big problem with that of course is that the DNA evidence really proves beyond doubt that Hanratty was the A6 killer. But also throughout his period of 'confessing' to the crime Alphon was careful to make obvious mistakes, such as saying he shot Gregsten once, that were indicators to him being innocent.

I agree with Graham on this point, there is nothing to prove that Alphon was the real killer, and that he was nothing more than a side show to the main event.

Kind regards,
Steve

[jimarilyn]

Gratings Juan and Hall,


One very interesting aspect of the 5 or 6 hours spent by the 3 (?) occupants of the Morris Minor that fateful evening concerns the handkerchief mask worn by the murderer. Did Miss Gregsten ever reveal how long he had this mask on? How much of his face did the mask cover, just his mouth and chin or did it cover his nose, mouth and chin ? If the latter then surely his voice would come have across in a muffled and disguised sort of way and not have been a true and accurate reflection of his normal intonation.

[theodore]

[Limehouse]

Gratings Juan and Hall,


One very interesting aspect of the 5 or 6 hours spent by the 3 (?) occupants of the Morris Minor that fateful evening concerns the handkerchief mask worn by the murderer. Did Miss Gregsten ever reveal how long he had this mask on? How much of his face did the mask cover, just his mouth and chin or did it cover his nose, mouth and chin ? If the latter then surely his voice would come have across in a muffled and disguised sort of way and not have been a true and accurate reflection of his normal intonation.

I have been thinking hard about this handkerchief and its possible significance to the case.

Hanratty is reported to have said he 'never wore gloves on a job, he always carried a handkerchief and wiped his prints off everything with this.

Now, Valerie reported that the killer 'wore gloves' but did he really? Is this a kind of 'false memory' borne out of the assumption that this is what most criminals would have done? Did in fact, the killer cover his face with a handkerchief and use it to wipe the steering wheel and other parts of the car when he abandoned it? And, based on the evidence given by Valerie the 'the killer wore gloves' could this account for the apparent 'cursory' examination of the car for clues?

And, pulling all this together, does the modus operandi best fit what we know about Hanratty?

[Steve]

Did Miss Gregsten ever reveal how long he had this mask on? How much of his face did the mask cover, just his mouth and chin or did it cover his nose, mouth and chin ?

Miss Gregsten?

[revpetero]

Maybe a reference to Valerie Storie

[Steve]

Hanratty is reported to have said he 'never wore gloves on a job, he always carried a handkerchief and wiped his prints off everything with this.

Now, Valerie reported that the killer 'wore gloves' but did he really? Is this a kind of 'false memory' borne out of the assumption that this is what most criminals would have done? Did in fact, the killer cover his face with a handkerchief and use it to wipe the steering wheel and other parts of the car when he abandoned it? And, based on the evidence given by Valerie the 'the killer wore gloves' could this account for the apparent 'cursory' examination of the car for clues?

And, pulling all this together, does the modus operandi best fit what we know about Hanratty?

Hi Limehouse

Another good question would be: was the handkerchief found with the gun the same one used by the gunman to cover his face, and to wipe away his fingerprints?

The handkerchief found with the gun was much later shown to have contained Hanratty's DNA and therefore provided further proof that Hanratty was the true A6 killer.

Also, Louise Anderson gave evidence that she had mislaid a pair of gloves at about the time that Hanratty was staying overnight in her flat, evidence which counted against Hanratty, especially since the killer was though to have worn gloves.

Kind regards,
Steve