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Originally posted by OneRound
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Interesting observations here. What should perhaps be remembered is that the gunman himself would have had little cause for concern, while still driving the car and thinking where he should take it, that any of its details might be broadcast as early as the same day, or even the following day. He may not have thought to buy a newspaper, or had access to a radio or tv, until much later in the day, in which case he may well have abandoned the car, whenever that was, while still in blissful ignorance of his failure to kill the woman, and therefore how much the police and the general public could already have known about any vehicle involved. If he had never really intended to murder anyone, but shot Gregsten dead in a panic when he moved too abruptly, he knew he'd have to silence Valerie too, as the sole witness. He may never have intended to rape anyone either, but his darker instincts took over and he did so, in the realisation that he was going to kill this woman afterwards anyway.
When the gunman drove off, he must have believed he had finished the job, or he'd have made bloody sure of it. Anyone used to handling and firing a gun ought to have made a much better fist of it, without the panic and fatal error of leaving one of his victims to tell the tale. But looking at it from his point of view, even if the bodies were found quickly, they would represent a double murder, committed for unknown reasons, by someone who had then left the scene by unknown means. If Valerie had not survived, how long might it have taken the authorities to identify the couple, so far from home, and to establish that their car was missing, and was therefore likely to have been used by their killer to get them to the scene and to make good his own escape? Even when finally armed with the make, model, colour and registration number of the suspected vehicle, and the details broadcast, the police would have had no idea of its current whereabouts, or where it might finally end up, until some observant beat copper or member of the public in Avondale Crescent, who had absorbed the information, spotted the offending vehicle and reported it.
I'm not so sure it would be that remarkable if the car was abandoned for some hours before anyone made that crucial connection. But similarly, I'm not sure the driver himself, assuming this was the gunman, would have been too worried whether he abandoned it in the early morning at the first opportunity, or shortly before it was seen there and officially identified. One possibility is that he didn't drive the car straight back down south, but holed up somewhere secluded for an attempt at cleaning it, followed by some much needed beauty sleep - a nice long "kip" to recharge his batteries - before the final push back to London, to leave it somewhere convenient for his onward journey by public transport, taxi or even on foot.
The green bobble hat is intriguing to say the least. IF Lee, the Matlock witness, did see and describe such a hat before it was found in the boot or any news of it emerged, that would seem beyond coincidence. It was high summer so it would have been a distinctive and memorable hat to see a driver wearing, even that early in the morning. Assuming the one in the boot belonged to Gregsten, it would have made some sense for the gunman to wear it for his getaway, not only to hide his hair, but because it was not his own hat, and could simply be abandoned later with the car, leaving no obvious connection with anyone else - at least not until the double murder (as he thought) finally led the police to this particular car and its contents.
In this context, I wonder if the gunman, in his panic at having just committed such a senseless and shocking crime, wavered at first, thinking it was safer to go further north initially, to put even more distance between himself and where he first saw the car and held up the couple. Later, concerns about fuel and how he was going to get himself back to London could have caused him to turn round and head back south. Is this not the kind of erratic behaviour we might expect from a young petty criminal, totally out of his depth and comfort zone, a newcomer to the power and reality of firearms, unsure of what to do next and badly in need of sleep?
Obviously, if Lee could have learned about the bobble hat or car details before giving his statement, that would change everything.
But neither scenario would let Hanratty off the hook in my view. Any further appeal would require fresh evidence that the original conviction was unsafe, but no fresh evidence is going to prove he could not still have done it, which is the only thing that will apparently satisfy his most loyal supporters.
I wonder how let down and disgusted they would feel if they could entertain the thought of having loyally defended a rapist and murderer?
Love,
Caz
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