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. Secretly, however, she was drafting the contents of a book and writing hundreds of notes. People need to know what this poor woman went through.'. [35] The Court of Appeal did not have the power to order an exhumation of Hanratty's body, but Lord Chief Justice Harry Woolf decided that this was desirable "in the interests of justice". At that time there was no conclusive forensic evidence to connect Hanratty with the car or the murder scene. Gregsten had been hit twice in the head and died instantly. James HANRATTY - Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers [citation needed] Storie gave another statement to the police later that morning, just before she underwent surgery in Bedford Hospital. The following month Richard Ingrams, a close friend and colleague of Paul Foot, wrote a brief article about Alphon's part in the case in The Independent. Valerie Storie was left paralysed after James Hanratty attacked her and killed her boyfriend in August 1961. They had never been disturbed before and it was easier to talk here rather than anywhere else. Clear my name.". The case involved the death of a man who lived not far from Hanratty and Mr Stickler thinks he could have heard about it while he was in prison for house breaking. Forensic science and the case of James Hanratty, England and Wales Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) Decisions. Source: www.apartments.com. Yet in spite of this, Valerie kept her silence, Paul explained. During the incident, the victim was kicked in the back and suffered minor injuries. 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. [36] His DNA was compared with other DNA extracted from, firstly, mucus preserved in the handkerchief within which the murder weapon had been found wrapped and, secondly, semen preserved in the underwear worn by Storie when she was raped. 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. 1985: West German spy chief defects to East, Man finds A6 murder weapon - broadcast 25 August 1961. This time, she did. The police then took the unusual step of publicly naming Alphon as the murder suspect. The full text of the Court of Appeals Decision: This page was last edited on 26 January 2023, at 14:31. As 22-year-old Valerie Storie stepped out of her home on August 22, 1961, she shouted to her parents "Goodbye, I shan't be late". Long before his trial for the A6 murder, he had already been described as a retard, a psychopath, and a pathological liar. The trial lasted 21 days, the longest in English legal history up to that time.[21]. Hanratty was convicted of the murder in 1962 and sentenced to death. On 19 March 1997, the Home Office referred the case to the new Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) where Baden Skitt chaired the investigation. Hanratty claimed that his suitcase had been handed in to Lime Street Station to a 'man with a withered or turned hand'. Case 173: Rocio Wanninkhof & Sonia Carabantes, Tributes pour in for Sloughs brave Valerie Storie. land for sale in highgate, st mary jamaica . The police issued an appeal to boarding-house keepers to report any unusual or suspicious guests. He took several steps back to the car before turning and firing four bullets at her, then reloaded and fired again. Was a married man, he and his wife Janet had two boys, Simon, eight, and Anthony, nearly two. They were confronted by a man with a gun. Eight weeks later he was found semi-conscious in the street, having apparently collapsed from either hunger or exposure. Twice he told Gregsten to turn off the road and then changed his mind, and the car returned to the A6. This turned out to be untrue, as her and her boyfriend, Michael Gregsten, were held up by a gunman and held captive in Gregsten's car for five hours. For disappearances in France on the A6 between Paris and Lyon, see, GRO Register of Deaths SEP 1978 11 0739 BRENT - James Francis Hanratty, DoB = 3 October 1907, GRO Register of Marriages DEC 1936 2a 1724 BROMLEY - James Hanratty = Mary A. Wilson, GRO Register of Deaths JUL 1999 C81A 2421C 97 LEWISHAM - Mary Ann Hanratty, DoB = 6 April 1917, GRO Register of Births DEC 1936 2a 1038 BROMLEY - James Hanratty, mmn = Wilson, GRO Register of Births: MAR 1925 3a 660 BARNET. Paul Stickler's book is available on Amazon here. Was Michael actually going to leave his wife and two boys? Search above Michael J. Gregston [, GRO Register of Marriages: SEP 1951 5f 1655 WOOD GREEN - Michael J. Gregsten = Janet Phillips or Kinnock, GRO Register of Deaths: JAN 1995 38C 7831 24 HORSHAM - Janet Gregsten, DoB = 9 Jan 1930, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Wrongly hanged: Hanratty is found innocent", "40 years after his execution, appeal judges say DNA is certain proof of Hanratty's guilt", "Hansard (for the 2 August 1963 sitting)", "We will never know the truth about the A6 killer", "After 36 years, Hanratty is set to be cleared", "Appeal Court to review Hanratty murder case", "England and Wales Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) Decisions. The journey continued along the A5 through St Albans, which the gunman mistakenly insisted was Watford, before joining the A6. She told them: "I have never had a problem with the truth. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. Hanratty put a cloth over Michael's bloodied head before raping Valerie on the back seat of the car. James Hanratty news from the St Albans & Harpenden Review [8] Gregsten had separated from his wife Janet (d. 1995[13][14]) who lived with their two children at Abbots Langley. Two civil servants employed at the Road Research Laboratory at Langley, near Slough, Michael Gregsten and Valerie Storie, drew up in a Morris Minor car outside the Old Station Inn, a public house just outside the village of Taplow. He leaves two sons, aged seven and two. I do this act in the knowledge that it will clear my family's character of any act or wrong'. The following extract describes the moments leading up to the events on that fateful nightin August 1961 that turned her life upside down Valeries shopping basket rested on the back seat. What was going to happen to them? He also wrote a letter to the coroner, in which he referred to the great harm done to the family by Hanratty. The gunman replied that Gregsten had frightened him by turning too quickly. Mr Gregsten's body was tonight identified by his wife, Janet. For over thirty five years one person remained silent. In 2002 Valerie was finally vindicated when DNA evidence proved beyond reasonable doubt that Hanratty was guilty. The gunman knew the Bear Hotel, Maidenhead. He was found guilty for the murder of a 36 year old scientist Michael Gregsten in August 22nd 1961. 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. He started to bombard his own solicitor with threatening phone calls and letters. Were going to have traffic chaos. 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. [citation needed] Hanratty's defence claimed that Mrs Dinwoodie was mistaken about the date. The two were facing each other, their arms resting on the backs of the seats as they spoke quietly when there was a tap on the drivers window. Snus is a pasteurized, air-cured, smokeless and spitless tobacco, usually found in pouches. Miraculously, Valerie survived, but was left paralysed from the chest down for the rest of her life. They covered about 30 miles before the gunman ordered Gregsten to pull into a lay-by on the A6 at Clophill at around 01 . Woman left with serious injuries after dog attack on residential road in Luton. Was James Hanratty Guilty or Innocent? This is a hold-up," a mans voice said. 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. Accidentally swallowed a nicotine pouch Jamal Edwards, a music producer and entrepreneur, died suddenly in February 2022. After six hours they returned to ask the judge for the definition of 'reasonable doubt'. 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 case became a cause celebre, with politicians and pop stars, legal experts and writers joining the campaign to prove he was the victim of a miscarriage of justice. 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. [citation needed], On 7 September, Meike Dalal was attacked in her home in Richmond, Surrey, by a man claiming to be the A6 murderer, whom she later identified as Alphon in an identity parade on 23 September. 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. Captions are provided by our contributors. Despite being depicted in the media for decades as a woman who sent an innocent man to his death, Valerie kept quiet. "The book tells the story of what happened that night and how she dealt with it in the years that followed. AboutPressCopyrightContact. [citation needed] She remembered a man resembling Hanratty, and at first said he stayed there during the week of 1926 August but later said she couldnt really remember what week he did stay. Paul's book describes the events in great detail of the night in illuminating detail, based on Valerie's accounts. However, there was another person called William Usher, who did have two fingers missing from one hand, which looked withered. After vainly screaming and waving her petticoat to attract the attention of passing motorists, Storie lost consciousness. With the gun was a handkerchief which provided DNA evidence many years later. This was the beginning of the crime which would see Michael murdered and Valerie raped and shot before being left at Deadman's Hill on the A6. My wife and i were driving a neigborhood looking for houses, and came accross a for sale sign with a phone number. Find Janet Gregsten stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. However, only two days later, Storie gave a different description of her assailant to the police. Michael Gregsten is a 36-year-old research scientist at the Road Research Laboratory at Langley, near Slough. Gregsten was forced to drive down the A6 until he reached Deadman's Hill near Clophill, Bedfordshire. 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. However, she was certain that this occurred on Monday 21 August. Michaels duffel bag containing freshly laundered clothing rested next to it. [34] Modern testing of DNA from Hanratty's exhumed corpse and members of his family convinced Court of Appeal judges in 2002 that Hanratty's guilt was proved "beyond doubt". But then the other suspect, Peter Alphon, publicly confesses to the crime. The gunman then made to leave but suddenly turned back and shot Valerie several times, with five bullets hitting her. Signing up to the newsletter is simple. Awesome. Well push your creativity and go beyond your brief. Crime A6 Murder of Michael Gregsten. ;Picture taken at home of Mrs 'What I do find distasteful is that the family's belief in their son's innocence has been boosted by campaigners who have given them false hope. He said: "Whenever journalists came to her asking to tell her story she said no, as they'd misrepresent her. Gregsten's girlfriend, Valerie Storie, was raped, shot five times, and left paralysed. 1945: Ex-soldier buried his wife on Anglesey beach after . By Bedfordshire Live spoke to Paul about the newly-released book, which is titled The Long Silence - just as Valerie had intended. What Valerie then saw surprised her. Alphon claimed he gave Gregsten two chances to get away but "each time the bloody man kept coming back". Valerie's story: The woman who survived the A6 Murder Use in a presentation/talk (eg,Powerpoint and Keynote) or in an editorial newsletter. She was always absolutely certain that she was right, there was no question about that.'. Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images After his release, his father resigned his job as dustman with Wembley council to start a window cleaning business with his son in a futile attempt to keep him away from crime. [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. (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. [43][44][citation needed], Valerie Storie died on 26 March 2016 aged 77 in the Cippenham house where she had been born. Organize, control, distribute and measure all of your digital content. This should have been the end of the matter, but for the rest of her life Valerie was hounded by the media, campaign groups and celebrities including John Lennon and Yoko Ono, who insisted Hanratty was innocent. Bedfordshire Police is appealing for witnesses and dashcam footage. He was hanged at Bedford Jail on 4 April 1962, after being convicted of the murder of scientist Michael Gregsten, aged 36, who was shot dead in a car on the A6 at Deadman's Hill, near Clophill, Bedfordshire in August 1961. James Hanratty was later tried, convicted and executed for the murder of Michael John Gregsten on the A6 road. When this evidence went to court in 2002, proving Hanratty's guilt beyond any doubt, reporters once again hounded Valerie to speak. At the trial Nudds also stated that the man, upon leaving, had asked the way to a bus stop for a 36A bus, though his statement to police had merely mentioned the 36 bus. His last words to his family were "Mick, I am completely innocent. The other piece of evidence tested, a sample from Valerie Storie's underwear, provided two different sets of male DNA - one that corresponded to Hanratty; and one which the Court of Appeal interpreted as coming from Gregsten.[34]. Crime A6 Murder of Michael Gregsten. Storie was an assistant at the same laboratory and had been having an affair with Gregsten, although this did not become public knowledge until Storie wrote a series of articles for the popular Today magazine in June 1962, five months after the trial. They had been here on a few occasions before, to make love or simply to spend time alone together. Historical-Meal-5525 2 yr. ago. The argument for contamination was dismissed as "fanciful" by the judges, who concluded that the "DNA evidence, standing alone, is certain proof of guilt". 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. I had found the guilty person. We'll also send you alerts about important breaking news. 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. But tonight, they were talking. Surely we could do much better?, Man in his 70s attacked in his home by burglars in Luton. On Tuesday, 22nd August, 1961, Michael Gregsten, 36, a research physicist, called at the address of his estranged wife at Sabine House, Abbots Langley, and after taking his 9-year old son, Simon, to play in Cassiobury Park, Watford, he collected his girlfriend, Valerie Storie, 22, from work, and he and Storie went in Gregsten's Morris Minor to We are no longer accepting comments on this article. FBiH - Konkursi za turistike vodie i voditelje putnike agencije. 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. Grow your brand authentically by sharing brand content with the internets creators. They had finished the planning for the weekends rally, Valeries maps folded away in her shopping basket. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. 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. According to Alphon, a man had paid him a sum of 5,000 to end the affair between Gregsten and Storie. October 11th, 1961, James Hanratty was arrested for murder and rape. Despite being the victim of an unspeakable crime, Valerie found herself at the centre of a witch hunt committed to proving the innocence of the man she knew to be her attacker. michael gregsten wife - Agencijastratega.com [15][16] Storie, an only child, lived with her parents in Cippenham, a suburb of Slough. You shot him. michael gregsten wife / June 11, 2022 June 11, 2022 / were achilles and patroclus cousins /. Through the window of the car and despite the fading light, she could clearly see that he was wearing a suit and tie with a white shirt. On April 4, 1962, Hanratty was hanged by executioner Harry Allen at Bedford Prison. It is not known why the trial was moved to Bedford, just nine miles from the murder scene, although this afforded easier access for the now-paraplegic Valerie Storie, who had received treatment at nearby Stoke Mandeville Hospital. The man accused of the "A6 murder" has entered a plea of "not guilty" at the start of his trial at Bedfordshire Assizes in Bedford. Shortly after his discharge, Hanratty left home for Brighton, where he obtained casual work with a road haulier.
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