Nudds also now added that Alphon had left the hotel 'calm and composed'. After her retirement she remained an active member of her community, giving presentations on family history and helping to establish a minibus service in her hometown of Slough. That's basically taking the rest of his brothers life with him, since he knew he wouldn't be cleared. She was able to see only the body of the man between his waist and shoulders, but his smart appearance seemed at odds with his threatening behaviour. 341,587,075 stock photos, 360 panoramic images, vectors and videos, Share Alamy images with your team and customers. Were going to have traffic chaos. Appeal Court to review Hanratty murder case | UK news | The Guardian Valeries immediate instinct was that it was the farmer coming to find out what they were doing and to tell them to get off his land. Miraculously, Valerie survived, but was left paralysed from the chest down for the rest of her life. At Deadman's Hill the man ordered Gregsten to pull into a lay-by. After nine hours, they returned to the court and entered a unanimous verdict of guilty. Bitterness continued in 1970 when the A6 Committee held a public meeting in Bedford to raise awareness of their concerns. The Beds 'A6 Murderer' who was one of the last people hanged in the UK He was sent to Walton Prison, Liverpool, where he was again identified as a psychopath.[9]. Gregsten's girlfriend, Valerie Storie, was raped, shot five times, and left paralysed. Valerie later wrote of it: "In times of trouble one could always go to one's MP and ask for, and possibly receive help and understanding. It details 22 attempts made by Michael and Valerie to escape or frustrate the gunman, including hatching a plan to drive into a policeman if they came across one on the journey in order to get his attention.
Valerie and 36-year-old Michael Gregsten were held captive in their car for five hours by a gunman who forced them to drive 60 miles from Buckinghamshire to Bedfordshire before shooting them. Please God, the judgement by the Lord Chief Justice sees not merely the end of yet one more chapter but the end of this book that has been part of my life for so many years. James Hanratty - Wikipedia In 2002 Valerie was finally vindicated when DNA evidence proved beyond reasonable doubt that Hanratty was guilty. The case for Hanratty's innocence was pursued by his family as well as by some of the opponents of capital punishment in the United Kingdom, who maintained that Hanratty was innocent and sought to draw attention to evidence that would cast doubt on the validity of his conviction. Mr Gregsten's companion, Valerie Storie, was raped, shot and left for dead. He started to bombard his own solicitor with threatening phone calls and letters. map Storie drank gin and Pepsi, Gregsten had Double Diamond. Gregsten was ordered to stop at a milk vending machine and sent into a shop to buy cigarettes, and then to stop at a petrol station for more fuel. A woman who was raped and shot in a car with her lover - and was then hounded by people who were convinced her attacker was innocent, has told her story in a new book from beyond the grave. He believes that one of the other people was the murdered man's spurned wife, Janet Gregsten, who died recently, and at . Was Michael actually going to leave his wife and two boys? The hotel manager, William Nudds, made a statement to police naming the last occupant of the room as 'James Ryan'. On 3 July 1957, aged 20, five months after his release from Wormwood Scrubs, Hanratty was sentenced at Brighton Magistrates' Court to six months' imprisonment (he served four) for a variety of motoring offences, including theft of a motor vehicle and driving without a licence. ease arkansas phone number Access the best of Getty Images with our simple subscription plan. That night, after stopping for a drink at The Station Inn at Taplow, they stopped on a countryside road to discuss their future. He certainly didn't know what he alleged that Mrs Gregsten was the prime mover in commissioning the murder. Hanratty's initial defence was that he had been in Liverpool on the day of the murder, but then, halfway through the trial, he changed part of his story, claiming that he had in fact been in Rhyl, North Wales. michael gregsten wife / June 11, 2022 June 11, 2022 / were achilles and patroclus cousins /. [8] Gregsten had separated from his wife Janet (d. 1995[13][14]) who lived with their two children at Abbots Langley. Even once she had been shot and was passing in and out of consciousness, she still managed to wave her petticoat to try to attract attention. Valerie and Lennon never met, but in 2001 she said: "I felt it was very ironic that he himself died by the bullet and it flashed through my mind that when the news came through that John Lennon had been shot and killed, I felt, well now John Lennon, you know what it feels like to be shot.". [8], Hanratty claimed that he was staying with friends in Liverpool at the time of the murder, where he had also gone to see one of his criminal friends and former cell mate Terry McNally from Dingle to sell some jewellery. AboutPressCopyrightContact. Gregsten was forced to drive down the A6 until he reached Deadman's Hill near Clophill, Bedfordshire. She retreated into her own world, while at the same time listening, watching and making notes of what was being said.". The man then said he wanted to sleep, and that he would have to tie them up. "James Hanratty killed Michael Gregsten. Im a desperate man. Copyright 04/03/2023 Alamy Ltd. All rights reserved. The suspect falsely identified himself as 'Frederick Durrant'; he was actually Peter Louis Alphon, a drifter surviving on an inheritance and the proceeds of gambling. The story of the A6 Murderer in Bedfordshire is infamous, but the story of one of his victim's has remained untold, To stay up to date with all the latest news from across Bedfordshire sign up to our free newsletter for daily updates and all the latest breaking news. It also tells the true story of Valerie's complicated relationship with 36-year-old Michael. When Alphon found out, he flew into a rage. .. 22nd August 1961, Michael Gregsten a 36-year-old research scientist at the Road Research Laboratory at Langley, near Slough. After some investigation, 'Ryan' turned out to be James Hanratty, a 25-year-old petty criminal with four convictions for car theft, larceny and burglary. As she told food network, "i learned more about myself with every battle and i learned more how deeply talented the other warriors in this tournament are. Michael was 14 years older than her and married with two children, though he was in the process of separating from his wife. [citation needed]. Whilst he was a professional thief, he had no convictions for violence, and apparently had never possessed a gun, although he later admitted to the police that he had attempted to obtain one after his last release from prison in March 1961. Hanratty also raped Gregsten's fiance, Valerie Storie, shot her five times and left her for dead. He then ordered Storie to drag Gregsten's body out of the car to the edge of the lay-by 2 or 3 metres away, before ordering her back into the car to start it for him and demonstrate the operation of the gears and switches. All rights reserved. Rachel Muir For Mailonline, Easter getaway havoc as more than 1,100 flights are cancelled with Heathrow airport blaming soaring passenger and staff rotas hit by Covid for long queues as fliers also endure chaos at Manchester and Gatwick, Oligarch who was once Russia's richest man says the nation's billionaire elites need to publicly declare Putin a war criminal to prove they do not work for the Kremlin, Covid lockdowns have left a generation of young children struggling to crawl, talk, share, make friends and use the toilet independently, Ofsted report finds. Michael wound down his window, only halfway, when a gun was thrust through the gap, its muzzle pointing directly at them. On 7 September 1954, aged 17, Hanratty appeared before Harrow Magistrates' where he was placed on probation for taking a motor vehicle without consent, and for driving without a licence or insurance. Initially admitted to the Royal Sussex Hospital, Brighton, he was transferred to St Francis Hospital, Haywards Heath, where he underwent a craniotomy following the erroneous diagnosis of a brain haemorrhage. Since his death Hanratty's family and supporters have fought to prove that, although a petty crook, he was not a killer. Valerie Storie - obituary - The Telegraph After driving them around the English countryside for hours, the intruder shot both Michael and Valerie, leaving them on the side of the road at a location known as Deadman's Hill. Hanratty's family and their supporters have continued to contest this conclusion and to press for a further review of his conviction. Or did Scotland Yard have the right man all along? Alphon claimed he gave Gregsten two chances to get away but "each time the bloody man kept coming back". But for the next 40 years Valerie was slammed by campaign groups and celebrities who were convinced Hanratty was innocent, making her reluctant to speak to the media during her lifetime. Secretly, however, she was drafting the contents of a book and writing hundreds of notes. At about 6:45am on 23 August 1961, the body of Michael John Gregsten (28 December 1924 - 23 August 1961)[10][11] was discovered in a lay-by on the A6 road at Deadman's Hill, near the Bedfordshire village of Clophill, by John Kerr, an Oxford undergraduate conducting a traffic census. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. He wrote a suicide letter to Hanratty; it was full of spite and venom, but at no point actually accused him of committing the murder. At about 1.30am on August 23, Hanratty told Michael to pull into a lay-by at Deadman's Hill and to hand over his duffle bag. Select from premium Janet Gregsten of the highest quality. Find Janet Gregsten stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. On 29 August, Valerie Storie and another witness, Edward Blackhall, who had seen the driver of the Morris Minor, compiled an Identikit picture which was then released. What Valerie then saw surprised her. [32][33], While some of the original items of physical evidence were destroyed, the sample from Miss Storie's underwear had been discovered in 1991 and, in late-1997, the handkerchief was subsequently found in the possession of the Berkshire police. Storie and Gregsten pleaded with him not to shoot them. (Known as the 'A6 Murderer' Known for Killing Scientist 'Michael Gregsten') 3 3 Birthdate: October 4, 1936 Sun Sign: Libra Birthplace: Bromley, Kent, England Died: April 4, 1962 Better known as the A6 Murderer, James Hanratty was one of the last people to be executed before capital punishment was abolished. 'Feral pigeons' are terrorising Biggleswade's businesses, meeting hears, The 'infestation' has grown to around 50 pigeons, according to one town councillor, Closures expected with Lloyds Pharmacy set to sell off stores across UK, This follows the news that the pharmacy brand is also closing all of the 237 Lloyds outlets inside Sainsbury's, More than 40,000 defrauded from Luton Borough Council during cyber-attack, Councillor Rob Roche, portfolio holder for finance, said: "Money stolen from the council is money stolen from the residents of Luton. Michaels duffel bag containing freshly laundered clothing rested next to it. James Hanratty was later tried, convicted and executed for the murder of Michael John Gregsten on the A6 road. 10:56, 04 Apr 2022 They drove around the suburbs of North London, apparently aimlessly. However, only two days later, Storie gave a different description of her assailant to the police. [27] Justice encouraged the initially reluctant Fox to help him expose what he believed to be the fabrication of the case against Hanratty. They compared his DNA to that found on Valerie's underwear and the handkerchief in which the murder weapon had been contained, and found a conclusive match. However, she was certain that this occurred on Monday 21 August. I repeat that James Hanratty was guilty of the crime for which he was hanged. Valerie hid pound notes in her bra to stop Hanratty from taking them. Hanratty's early years were troubled. Where was the money going to come from? Results from testing in June 1999 were said to be strong evidence of a familial match - the evidential DNA was "two and a half million times more likely" to belong to James Hanratty than to anyone else. For over thirty five years one person remained silent. ON Tuesday, August 22, 1961, Michael Gregsten, 36, called at the home of his estranged wife at Sabine House, Abbots Langley, and, after taking his nine-year-old son, Simon, to play in Cassiobury Park, Watford, he collected his girlfriend, Valerie Storie, 22, from work. 1945: Ex-soldier buried his wife on Anglesey beach after . Ask the author: Jeremy Craddock on The Jigsaw Murders, Ask the author: Monica Weller on investigating a 50-year-old cold case. [37][38] However, they further went on to note, in the summary of their judgement: The DNA evidence does not stand alone and the Court refers to some of the more striking coincidences in the light of the DNA evidence if James Hanratty was not guilty. A man threatened the couple with a gun. He was sent to the gallows at Bedford Prison on 4 April 1962, becoming one of the last people to be hanged in Britain before capital punishment was abolished. Police handout, showing James Hanratty in police custody, Lennon and Ono protest Hanratty's execution. But tonight, they were talking. I therefore have no fear of him. In some accounts of the case Janet Gregsten instigated the investigation into James Hanratty by a psychic experience. The car Gregsten and Storie had been using at the time of the attack, a grey four-door 1956 Morris Minor registration 847BHN, was found abandoned behind Redbridge tube station in Essex later that evening. Was a married man, he and his wife Janet had two boys, Simon, eight, and Anthony, nearly two. James Hanratty - A6 Murder Hanratty - did he rape and murder? | Watford Observer In August 1961, Michael Gregsten and Valerie Storie were sitting in their car in Dorney Reach, UK when an intruder forced his way into the backseat brandishing a gun. If you're looking for a way to stay up to date with the latest breaking news from around Bedfordshire, the BedfordshireLive newsletter is a good place to start. Clear my name.". The murderer left the scene in Mr Gregsten's grey Morris Minor, registration number 847 BHN, which was found abandoned in Ilford, Essex, this evening. He then stated that he had in fact been in the Welsh coastal town of Rhyl. I could not ever relax.". 2023 Getty Images. Forensic science and the case of James Hanratty, England and Wales Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) Decisions. 22:52, 05 Apr 2022. It was about 1954 that Hanratty became attracted to Soho, where he frequented various clubs and other haunts of the criminal underworld. Hanratty found a job there driving a mechanical shovel for the company of Green Brothers, which made breeze blocks, and remained with the firm for three years. The pair had been intimate for two years after meeting through work, and seemingly had spoken about marriage. If you do as I tell you, you will be all right.'. He always protested his innocence claiming he was 250-miles from the scene in a bed-and-breakfast in North Wales at the time of the attack. The gunman replied that Gregsten had frightened him by turning too quickly. She wanted to write a book to finally give her version of events but did not get round to this before her death in 2016. Hanratty put a cloth over Michael's bloodied head before raping Valerie on the back seat of the car. However, in a new edition of his book, 36 Murders and Two Immoral Earnings, printed immediately after the publication of the Hanratty DNA evidence, he retracted his assertions of Hanratty's innocence.[26]. Twice he told Gregsten to turn off the road and then changed his mind, and the car returned to the A6. Still can't find what you're looking for? [citation needed] Hanratty's defence claimed that Mrs Dinwoodie was mistaken about the date. Storie recalled what the man had said about being on the run for four months, yet he was immaculately dressed in a dark three-piece suit and with well-shined shoes. michael gregsten wife - Blueflamegasinstallation.com Usher admitted remembering Hanratty and the suitcase, and partly remembered the name of the man as 'Ratty'; he was located by private detectives working for the defence, but was never called as a witness. Valerie Storie after receiving treatment for stab wounds on the A6 where Michael Gregsten was murdered is taken to court during trial against James. "[42], Following the DNA evidence in 2002, Storie earned over 40,000 for her participation in various TV and newspaper documentaries. Despite being left paralysed and having to spend several months undergoing therapy at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, she returned to her job as a member of the on-the-spot accident team at the Road Research Laboratory just ten months after the ordeal. He explained: "I felt the story had been misrepresented and needed a retelling from a fresh perspective. They had finished the planning for the weekends rally, Valeries maps folded away in her shopping basket. Search for stock images, vectors and videos, Available for editorial use only. 96 Michael Gregsten Premium High Res Photos - Getty Images