a6 murder

[larue]

if anyone is interested in rebuilding the a6 murder thread, i have a lot of the old posts saved as text files. we might be able to resurrect something...


atb

larue

[Rigby]

if anyone is interested in rebuilding the a6 murder thread, i have a lot of the old posts saved as text files. we might be able to resurrect something...


atb

larue

Go for it. Compare what you have with google's cache and boardreader.com.

[Savile Close]

I remember that the James Hanratty thread on the old board was one of the most interesting non-Ripper topics on this website. It would be great to try and rebuild it.

There were some great photos too. Does anyone have them saved?

[Savile Close]

Go for it. Compare what you have with google's cache and boardreader.com.

I've had a look at the boardreader and the links are to the old site, which of course are now completely lost.

Big shame!

[Graham]

It would be a real shame if all of Steve's photos were lost - I doubt if they could ever be replaced except with a huge effort.

This was my favourite thread, especially when the JtR boards got a bit boring or just plain nasty. And I'm convinced that to this day there is a lot more to learn about the Hanratty Case and its background.

Cheers,

Graham

[Savile Close]

Photos

Hi Graham

I would have thought that he would have kept his own back-up copies, so maybe in time they will be posted again.

I have to agree with you, the Hanratty thread on the old boards was my favourite too.

[larue]

I would have thought that he would have kept his own back-up copies.

'evening all

i'm sure Steve has all his pix backed up too, but just in case he don't... i sort of might know a man who has...


all the best

larue

[Savile Close]

Photos

Hi Larue

Great news!

Who has those pix? Let's send a message and get them posted again, don't you think?

[jimarilyn]

Hi,

It's truly a crying shame that all the postings on this fascinating forum have been lost, seemingly for ever.

Having recently re-read the late Paul Foot's excellent book "Who killed Hanratty", which he painstakingly researched for over 5 years I remain convinced (rightly or wrongly) that the original suspect, Peter Louis Alphon, is the real murderer of Michael Gregsten. It almost cries out to you from the pages of this book that an innocent man was executed. Somehow or other, I believe, Alphon, William Ewer, Charles France and William Nudds conspired to implicate James Hanratty as a rapist and murderer. Paul Foot, Jean Justice and Jeremy Fox all at one time or another spent many a long hour in the company of Peter Alphon. His persona, demeanour and character led all three of these intelligent people to believe that here was a cunning, very clever individual who'd actually gotten away with murder.

I read somewhere that Michael Gregsten's widow, Janet, in her later years became convinced that James Hanratty did not kill her husband. She must have had very just cause to believe this. Charles France took his own life just two and a half weeks before his friend, Hanratty, was hanged. People just don't commit sucide without good reason. I believe he couldn't live with the guilt of knowing that he contributed in some way or another to events that would lead to the arrest and subsequent execution of his good friend.


Best wishes

[Krys Titania]

Resurrection

If you talk to Ally about the lost thread and Jane Corem about the photo's you may be able to get the old thread and photo's back. They've worked wonders with other threads

[Savile Close]

Hello Jimarilyn

I agree that it is a shame about all the lost posts.

I don’t agree with you about Hanratty’s guilt. How can he be innocent when the DNA evidence proves conclusively that he was the murderer?

I can, however, understand how it is possible to believe in Hanratty’s innocence after reading the late Paul Foot’s book. It was very much written from the viewpoint of ‘Hanratty didn’t do it, Alphon very probably did.’

As for Janet Gregsten becoming convinced that Hanratty was innocent, this could only have been through reading the books published on the subject. What other evidence did she have?

Best wishes
Savile

[Graham]

The one person who was there, Valerie Storey, has to this day never wavered from her absolute conviction that the man in the Morris Minor was James Hanratty. We should also bear in mind that towards the end of his life even Paul Foot began to think that Hanratty was guilty.

I would very much like to see some proof of Jimarilyn's suggestion that Janet Gregsten changed her mind about the identity of her husband's murderer.

Cheers,

Graham

[Savile Close]

Graham

Paul Foot went to his grave convinced of Hanratty's innocence. He never changed his mind on the subject.

Cheers,
Savile

[Graham]

Graham

Paul Foot went to his grave convinced of Hanratty's innocence. He never changed his mind on the subject.

Cheers,
Savile

Savile,

Not true. When the DNA tests were published Paul's initial reaction was that there must have been cross-contamination, but as time went on he realised that this was very unlikely. In his column in 'Private Eye' he said that there must now be 'some doubts' about Hanratty's innocence.

But whatever his stance in later life, he is the person who kept the Hanratty Case in the public eye, and carried out a great deal of research at his own expense.

Cheers,

Graham

[Savile Close]

Hi Graham

I didn't read his Private Eye column, but I did hear him interviewed on the radio shortly before he died in 2004. As part of the interview he re-stated his belief in Hanratty's innocence. He also said that he was convinced that the DNA evidence was somehow flawed.

Cheers,
Savile