Mail's feature of 1999 on Hanratty by Roger Matthews

[Graham]

Hi Graham-No I believe they paid a visit to the Vienna on the 27th August but didn't get much from that visit.My understanding is that for some reason the police called Juliana Galves to be interviewed on 6th September

Hi Nats,

Hmmmm....neither Foot's nor Woffinden's "timelines" mention a visit to The Vienna on 27th August, but Foot states that while Alphon was being interviewed regarding The Alexandra Court business, Sgt Kilner telephoned The Vienna to check out Alphon's alibi for night of 22nd August, but doesn't say who he spoke to at The Vienna other than the 'hotel manager'. I don't think Woffinden mentions this phone-call at all. Woffinden's timeline states that Mrs Galves did indeed make a statement on 6th September regarding Alphon's alibi.

I've had an 18-month lay-off from the A6 Case, and I can tell you that now I've come back to it, it's as baffling and confusing as ever - probably even more so. "Dripping with Coincidence", as Sherrard so aptly put it.

BTW, re: libel, we all know that one major player in the A6 tragedy is still alive.

Graham

[Victor]

In fact Victor, there was not any forensic evidence adduced by the prosecution in the original trial; just eye-witness and circumstantial evidence.

Hi Del,

Personally I include the following as Forensic evidence:-
Ballistics data on the cartridge cases from the Vienna, and the gun and bullets from the bus
Blood typing of the semen stains from the underwear

Are you claiming that these don't count as forensic evidence?

KR,
Vic.

[GUT]

Read the judgement of the Court of Appeal last night, Roger Matthews had better have something good if it's ever released the Court was critical of the case even being referred on so little grounds.

[Natalie Severn]

Hi Graham-No I believe they paid a visit to the Vienna on the 27th August but didn't get much from that visit.My understanding is that for some reason the police called Juliana Galves to be interviewed on 6th September but I am in Stratford Upon Avon right now-about to go to theatre on way back from Wales -so have no source materials with me. I do know that police were called by William Ewer as early as 1st September when he rang them about having seen a man with staring eyes in a cafe near his Umbrella shop.The lady in the nearby flower shop was approached by police and told them a J Ryan of similar description had sent flowers to his mum -a Mrs Hanratty- on September 1st and she gave them the address he had given but at that stage they didn't follow up-presumably it was one of very many suspects they had to follow up.

[Graham]

Derrick,

Alphon originally came to the attention of the police after they had issued a public appeal to hotels, b&b's, etc., asking proprietors if any of their guests had been behaving oddly. The manager of The Alexandra Court contacted the police to report s Mr F Durrant who certainly had been acting oddly. The police, when they first met him in his room, noticed that his case was open and that a copy of a newspaper folded to show an article on the A6 Case was visible. Not proof of anything, of course, but bear in mind that the police were at The Alexander Court in the first place as part of the A6 investigation. Therefore Alphon was 'down on the list' almost right from the start, but told the truth when the police asked him where he was on the night of the murder.

So when the cartridge cases were found at The Vienna, the police fell on the place and interviewed all and sundry. As Alphon had already freely admitted he was at The Vienna on the night of the murder, he was instantly a potential suspect and a search for him began. They had no idea who J Ryan was (and incidentally, to this day it is not clear how the connection to James Hanratty was eventually made). It also transpired that Alphon had initially been offered Room 24 but requested a move to another room - so I think it is obvious that he'd been inside Room 24 which would rather naturally give the police cause to believe he had the opportunity to drop the cases in that room.

Nats, I thought that the police's first visit to The Vienna was on September 6th to check out Alphon's alibi given by him reference the Alexandra Court incident.

Graham

[Natalie Severn]

September 6th was the day that Juliana Galves, asst.manager at the Vienna Hotel was interviewed by police about the night of the murder-following the police visit to the hotel on 27th August.She was questioned about what she knew about Alphon's stay there and the interview took place at Highgate [or Highbury] police station .She herself was off when Alphon had booked in but she saw him looking dishevelled and agitated late the next morning just after the murder.He was bending over a case which she told them contained dirty clothing and she also apparently claimed she saw a pair of black ladies gloves lying on top of the clothing.

[Derrick]

...Why did the cases in room 24 lead the police to Alphon and not originally J Ryan...

...Because further to Alphon's questioning after he was interviewed reference his conduct at The Alexandra Court, he freely admitted to the police that he had stayed at The Vienna on the night of the murder. However, it was soon established that he had slept in Room 6 at The Vienna, whilst a "J Ryan" had occupied Room 24...

Hi Graham
I understand what you are saying but that still doesn't answer my question.

My point was that the cases were found in room 24, occupied the night before by J Ryan, and still the police pursued Alphon, occupant of room 6 on the night, for another 10/11 days.

One cannot blame a lowlife like Nudds and say that he muddied the waters with his myriad of statements. It is a fact that Hanratty stayed in room 24 on the night of the 21st and Alphon stayed there on the night of the 22nd in room 6. The police, once they had the register, should have concentrated solely on room 24 and Ryan. So my question, somewhat rephrased and concise, is; why didn't they?

Yet, in all honesty, Acott, despite his so-called total belief in Miss Storie's identification and evidence, conducted his investigation in complete contradiction to Miss Storie and any available evidence.

Alphon didn't have icy-blue saucer-like eyes did he?

What do you think?

Del

[Sherlock Houses]

Considering all that has been written in recent posts It rather begs the question "Who or what was the source of the Court of Appeal Judgement's claim that 'he [ie Alphon] had already been interviewed on 27 August and 7 September and he was interviewed again' ?

[Sherlock Houses]

After being interviewed by Acott and Baron he was questioned further by Scotland Yard.

Do you have any further info Nick as to what time he was released on Sept 8th ? It would mean that this unnamed suspect had been questioned/detained at the very least for 26 hours. A long time to be held without being charged.

[NickB]

According to Bob Woffinden's book this particular person was detained from 10.00pm Wednesday (the 6th) until just after 2.00pm the following day Thursday (the 7th).

After being interviewed by Acott and Baron he was questioned further by Scotland Yard.

[Graham]

My Dear Houses (had to say that!),

I think the dates are getting a little confused here. To summarise, Alphon was interviewed at Blackstock Road police station on 27 August following the incident at The Alexandra Court, and then released (after giving the police details of where he was on the night of the A6 murder).

Mrs Dalal was attacked on 7 September. Whoever was being grilled in Cannon Row police station on that date almost certainly wasn't Alphon - he later referred to his interrogation at Scotland Yard (see below) but as far as I'm aware made no reference to any previous long interrogation.

From what I can gather, the police didn't bother with Alphon after 27 August until the cartridge-cases were found at The Vienna on 11 September. Alphon had freely admitted on 27 August that he had stayed at The Vienna on the night of the murder. They then searched for him, and visited his parents.

Following his naming by the police (to 'help them with their inquiries'), Alphon voluntarily walked into Cannon Row police-station at about 11.30pm on 22 September, and taken to Scotland Yard about an hour later. After a long interview he was placed on i.d. parades the next day, reference the attack on Mrs Dalal and also to enable Valerie Storey to see him - when she failed to pick him out. Alphon was ruled out of the A6 investigation but remanded in custody ref: the Dalal attack, but freed when his alibi checked out. It seems that Alphon was held in custody until 29 September when he was released on bail. ll charges against him were dropped on 3 October.

Graham

PS: is anyone else finding this website very slow at the moment?

[Sherlock Houses]

So that would also mean that Woffinden must have been right all along about this unknown man.

Especially when one bears in mind that Alphon doesn't seem to have made any reference to being subjected to a second police interview.

[Sherlock Houses]

The man questioned at Cannon Row police station on Sept 7th must have been someone other than Alphon. He arrived at the police station late on the 6th and was released (without charge) on the 8th

According to Bob Woffinden's book this particular person was detained from 10.00pm Wednesday (the 6th) until just after 2.00pm the following day Thursday (the 7th).
The Court of Appeal judgement, unless it is in error here, has Alphon being interviewed [the second of three separate interviews] on Sept 7th 1961.This would seem to imply [unless other suspects were questioned the same day] that it was Alphon who was detained for 16 hours before being released shortly after 2.00pm.

[Derrick]

This is something I find rather puzzling Graham. If, as Derrick states, Alphon was the unnamed suspect [in Woffinden's book] who was still at Cannon Row police station at 2pm on Thursday, Sept 7th, he could not have been Mrs Dalal's attacker. I say this because Mrs Dalal's assailant arrived at her home at 1.30pm that same day. It is my understanding that Mrs Dalal's home in Upper Richmond Road was over 6 miles away from Cannon Row police station in Whitehall, a journey of about 30 minutes or so. This would also suggest that the two men who said Alphon was in their shop in the City of London at the time of Mrs Dalal's attack were either mistaken or lying.

Something doesn't add up here.

The man questioned at Cannon Row police station on Sept 7th must have been someone other than Alphon. He arrived at the police station late on the 6th and was released (without charge) on the 8th.

Hi Sherlock and Nick
Both of your points place the facts about Alphon's 7th September interview as given in the appeal judgement into some doubt.

As both of you say it is not possible for him to have been in two places at once; ie Cannon Row police station and the almanac wholesalers. I would tend to believe that the almanac sellers were correct and that Mrs Dalal was mistaken.

So it would seem that another error has been found in the judgement. It doesn't fill me with much confidence in the judges having much of a grasp of the facts of the case.

So that would also mean that Woffinden must have been right all along about this unknown man.

[Derrick]

Hi Del,

Which one is it? They are mutually exclusive...

No forensic evidence or cartridge cases at the Vienna?

KR,
Vic.

In fact Victor, there was not any forensic evidence adduced by the prosecution in the original trial; just eye-witness and circumstantial evidence.