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Jill Dando

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Jill Dando
Born
Jill Wendy Dando

(1961-11-09)9 November 1961
Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England
Died26 April 1999(1999-04-26) (aged 37)
Fulham, London, England
Cause of deathMurder by gunshot
Resting placeEbdon Road Cemetery
Alma materSouth Glamorgan Institute of Higher Education
Occupation(s)Journalist, television presenter, newsreader
Years active1979–1999
Employer(s)BBC, Weston Mercury
PartnerAlan Farthing (engaged)

Jill Wendy Dando (9 November 1961 – 26 April 1999) was an English journalist, television presenter and newsreader. She spent most of her career at the BBC and was the corporation's Personality of the Year in 1997. At the time of her death, her television work included co-presenting the BBC One programme Crimewatch with Nick Ross.

On the morning of 26 April 1999, Dando was shot dead outside her home in Fulham, south-west London, prompting the biggest murder inquiry conducted by the Metropolitan Police and the country's largest criminal investigation since the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper.[1] A local man, Barry George, was convicted and imprisoned for the murder, but after eight years in prison he was acquitted following an appeal and retrial. No other suspect has been charged with Dando's murder and the case remains unsolved.[2]

Early life

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Jill Wendy Dando[3] was born at Ashcombe House Maternity Home in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset.[4] She was the daughter of Jack Dando (February 1918 – February 2009[5]) and Winifred Mary Jean Hockey (August 1928 – January 1986), who died of leukaemia aged 57.[6] Her only sibling, brother Nigel (born 1952), worked as a journalist for BBC Radio Bristol before retiring in 2017, having previously worked as a journalist in local newspapers since the 1970s.[7] Dando was raised as a Baptist and remained a devout follower.[8][9] When she was three years old, it was discovered that she had a hole in her heart and a blocked pulmonary artery. She had heart surgery on 12 January 1965.[4]

Dando was educated at Worle Infant School, Greenwood Junior School,[4] Worle Community School,[10] and Weston College Sixth Form, where she was head girl,[8] and completed her A-levels.[4] She then went on to study Journalism at the South Glamorgan Institute of Higher Education.

Dando was a member of Weston-super-Mare Amateur Dramatic Society and Exeter Little Theatre Company, with whom she appeared in plays at the Barnfield Theatre. She was a volunteer at Sunshine Hospital Radio in Weston-super-Mare in 1979.

Career

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Dando's first job was as a trainee reporter for the local weekly newspaper, the Weston Mercury, where her father and brother worked. After five years as a print journalist, she started to work for the BBC, becoming a newsreader for BBC Radio Devon in 1985. That year, she transferred to BBC South West, where she presented a regional news magazine programme, Spotlight South West. In 1987, she worked for Television South West, then BBC Spotlight in Plymouth.[4] In early 1988, Dando moved from regional to national television in London to present BBC television news, specifically the short on-the-hour bulletins that aired on both BBC1 and BBC2 from 1986 until the mid-1990s.

Dando presented the BBC television programmes Breakfast Time, Breakfast News, the BBC One O'Clock News, the Six O'Clock News, the travel programme Holiday, the crime appeal series Crimewatch (from 1995 until her death) and occasionally Songs of Praise. In 1994, she moved to Fulham.[6] She was the subject of This Is Your Life on 8 November 1996.[11] On 25 April 1999, Dando presented the first episode of Antiques Inspectors.[12] She was scheduled to present the Six O'Clock News on the evening of the following day.[8] She was featured on the cover of that week's Radio Times magazine (from 24 to 30 April).[13] Dando was also booked to host the British Academy Television Awards 1999, alongside Michael Parkinson, at Grosvenor House Hotel on 9 May.[14] On 5 September, BBC One resumed airing of Antiques Inspectors, the final series to be recorded by Dando. The series had made its debut on 25 April, with filming of the final episode completed two days before that. The programme was cancelled following her death, but it was decided later in the year that it should be aired as a tribute to Dando.[15][16][17][18] The final episode aired on 24 October.[19]

At the time of her death, Dando was among those with the highest profile of the BBC's on-screen staff, and had been the 1997 BBC Personality of the Year.[20] Crimewatch reconstructed her murder in an attempt to aid the police in the search for her killer. After Barry George was charged with the murder but acquitted, Crimewatch made no further appeals for information concerning the case.

Personal life

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From 1989 to 1996, Dando engaged in a relationship with BBC executive Bob Wheaton.[4][6] She then had a brief relationship with national park warden Simon Basil. In December 1997, Dando met gynaecologist Alan Farthing, later Queen Elizabeth II's personal physician, on a blind date set up by a mutual friend. Farthing was separated from his wife at the time.[21] A couple of months after Farthing's divorce was finalised,[22] the couple announced that they were engaged on 31 January 1999.[21][22] Their wedding was set to take place on 25 September.[23]

Murder

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On the morning of 26 April 1999, 37-year-old Dando left Farthing's home in Chiswick. She returned alone, by car, to the house she owned at 29 Gowan Avenue, Fulham. She had lived in the house, but by April 1999 was in the process of selling it and did not visit it frequently. The purpose of her visit was to collect contract documents which had been faxed to her there by her agent Jon Roseman. As Dando reached her front door at about 11:32 BST, she was shot once in the head.[24] Her body was discovered about fourteen minutes later by neighbour Helen Doble.[25] Police were called at 11:47.[12] Dando was taken to the nearby Charing Cross Hospital where she was declared dead on arrival at 13:03.

As Dando was about to put her keys in the lock to open the front door of her home in Fulham, she was grabbed from behind. With his right arm, the assailant held her and forced her to the ground, so that her face was almost touching the tiled step of the porch. Then, with his left hand, he fired a single shot at her left temple, killing her instantly. The bullet entered her head just above her ear, parallel to the ground, and came out the right side of her head.

— Bob Woffinden, The Guardian (July 2002)[26]

Forensic study indicated that Dando had been shot by a bullet from a 9mm Short calibre semi-automatic pistol, with the gun pressed against her head at the moment of the shot. The cartridge appeared to have been subject to workshop modification, possibly to reduce its charge. Richard Hughes, her next-door neighbour, heard a scream from Dando ("I thought it was someone surprising somebody") but heard no gunshot. Hughes looked out of his front window and, while not realising what had happened, made the only certain sighting of the killer — a six-foot-tall (183 cm) white man aged around 40, walking away from Dando's house.[12][27]

Investigation

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After the murder, there was intense media coverage. An investigation by the Metropolitan Police, named Operation Oxborough, proved fruitless for over a year. Dando's status as a well-known public figure had brought her into contact with thousands of people, and she was known to millions. There was huge speculation regarding the motive for her murder.

Within six months, the Murder Investigation Team had spoken to more than 2,500 people and taken more than 1,000 statements. With little progress after a year, the police concentrated their attention on Barry George, who lived about half a mile from Dando's house. He had a history of stalking women, sexual offences and other antisocial and attention seeking behaviour.[28] George was put under surveillance, arrested on 25 May 2000 and charged with Dando's murder on 28 May.[29]

George was tried at the Old Bailey, convicted, and on 2 July 2001 was sentenced to life imprisonment. Concern about this conviction was widespread on the basis that the case against George appeared thin. Two appeals were unsuccessful, but after discredited forensic evidence was excluded from the prosecution's case, George's third appeal succeeded in November 2007. The original conviction was quashed and a second trial lasting eight weeks ended in George's acquittal on 1 August 2008.[30]

After George's acquittal, some newspapers published articles which appeared to suggest that he was guilty of the Dando murder and other offences against women. In December 2009, George accepted substantial damages from News Group Newspapers over articles in The Sun and the News of the World, following a libel action in the High Court.[31]

Lines of inquiry

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Lines of inquiry explored in the police investigation included:

  • Theories that a jealous ex-boyfriend or an unknown lover had killed Dando. This was quickly ruled out by the detectives who interviewed all Dando's friends and acquaintances and checked her phone calls.[32]
  • A belief that somebody had hired an assassin to murder Dando as revenge for their being convicted as a result of evidence garnered by Crimewatch viewers. After exhaustive inquiries this was also ruled out by detectives.[32]
  • Various theories relating to Bosnian-Serb or Yugoslav groups in retaliation for NATO actions against media outlets and her appeals for aid during the Yugoslav Wars.
  • The possibility that a deranged fan may have killed Dando after she had rejected his approaches. Dando's brother, Nigel, informed detectives that she had become concerned by “some guy pestering her” in the few days before her death, but this was ruled out by detectives.
  • A case of mistaken identity. This was judged unlikely, given that the killing took place on the doorstep of Dando's own home.
  • Following the Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal a claim was made that Dando had investigated a paedophile ring at the BBC during the mid-1990s and had handed a dossier containing her findings to BBC management, purportedly prompting a revenge attack. The BBC said it had seen no evidence to support the claim.[33][34]
  • Actions taken by a professional rival or business partner also had to be considered. Her agent Jon Roseman stated that he had been interviewed as a suspect by police.

The original police investigation had explored the possibility of a contract killing, but since Dando was living with her fiancé and was only rarely visiting her Fulham residence, it was considered unlikely that a professional assassin would have been sufficiently well informed about Dando's movements to have known at what time she was going to be there. CCTV evidence of Dando's last journey (mainly security video recordings from a shopping centre in Hammersmith, which she visited on her way to Fulham) did not show any sign of her being followed.[35]

Initial investigations focused on Dando's personal circle since only a few people knew of her intention to visit her Gowan Avenue house on the day. Her agent Jon Roseman was an initial suspect since he knew Dando was going there to collect faxes he had sent her. But Roseman convinced detectives of his innocence. Bob Wheaton also attracted attention since he was a jilted lover and Dando had transferred £35,000 to him towards the end of their relationship. Wheaton stated that this transfer was a gift and not a loan. He also convinced detectives of his innocence.

On the night of her death, Dando's BBC colleague Nick Ross said on Newsnight that retaliatory attacks by criminals against police, lawyers and judges were almost unknown in the UK. Forensic examination of the cartridge case and bullet recovered from the scene of the attack suggested that the weapon used had been the result of a workshop conversion of a replica or decommissioned gun.[26] It was argued that a professional assassin would not use such a poor quality weapon. The police therefore soon began to favour the idea that the killing had been opportunistically carried out by a crazed individual. This assumed profile of the perpetrator led to the focus on George.

Cold case reviews by the police after 2008 concluded that Dando was killed by a professional assassin in a "hard contact execution".[36][37] Pressing the gun against her head would have acted as a suppressor — muffling the sound of the shot and preventing the killer from being splattered with blood.[26]

Yugoslav connection

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In early 1999, the UK and NATO were involved in the Kosovo War, opposing Serbia. Immediately after the Dando killing, a number of telephone calls were made to the BBC and other media outlets claiming responsibility for the killing on behalf of Serb groups. These calls stated that the murder was revenge for the NATO bombing campaign in Serbia,[38] and threatened further killings. These calls were not judged wholly credible and may have been hoaxes. Nevertheless, at George's first trial, his defence barrister, Michael Mansfield, proposed that the Serbian warlord Arkan had ordered Dando's assassination in retaliation for the NATO bombing of the RTS headquarters. Mansfield suggested that Dando's earlier presentation of an appeal for aid for Kosovar Albanian refugees may have attracted the attention of Bosnian-Serb hardliners.[26] Dando's appeal for aid for the Kosovar Albanian refugees had been shown on television three weeks before her murder.[38]

In 2019, it was reported that the British National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) had given an intelligence report to the Dando murder enquiry claiming that the murder was in retaliation for the RTS bombing and Arkan had ordered the killing. The report highlighted a possible connection between the bullet used to kill Dando and bullets used in assassinations in Germany, namely handmade markings found on them.[38] An opposition journalist, Slavko Ćuruvija, was assassinated outside his home in Belgrade just a few days before Dando's murder and the method used in both cases was identical.[39] In 2019, four men of the Serbian Secret Service were convicted of this murder.[38] However, the verdicts were reversed on appeal in 2024, which led to a widely criticized acquittal of the four.[40] In 2002, journalist Bob Woffinden had advanced the view that a Yugoslav group was behind the Dando killing and, in various newspaper articles, contested all the grounds on which the police had dismissed this possibility.[26][41]

Legacy

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Dando's garden in Weston-super-Mare

Dando's funeral took place on 21 May 1999 at Clarence Park Baptist Church in Weston-super-Mare.[42] She was buried next to her mother in the town's Ebdon Road Cemetery.[43] Her father inherited all of her estate, valued at £607,000 after debts and taxes, because she died intestate.[44]

Dando's co-presenter Nick Ross proposed the formation of an academic institute in her name and, together with her fiancé Alan Farthing, raised almost £1.5 million. The Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science was founded at University College London on 26 April 2001, the second anniversary of her murder.[45]

A memorial garden designed and realised by the BBC Television Ground Force team in Dando's memory, using plants and colours that were special to her, is located within Grove Park, Weston-super-Mare, and was opened on 2 August 2001.[46] The BBC set up a bursary award in Dando's memory, which enables one student each year to study broadcast journalism at University College Falmouth. Sophie Long, who was then a postgraduate who had grown up in Weston-super-Mare and is now a presenter on BBC News, gained the first bursary award in 2000.[47]

In 2007, Weston College opened a new university campus on the site of the former Broadoak Sixth Form Centre where Dando studied. The sixth-form building has been dedicated to her and named the Jill Dando Centre.[48][49]

The life, death and subsequent police investigation of Jill Dando was the subject of a true crime Netflix miniseries titled Who Killed Jill Dando?, released in 2023 and running for a total of three 44-minute-long episodes.[50] The miniseries received mixed reviews from critics, citing pacing issues, although the documentary's usage of vintage archive footage from Dando's career and early childhood were also noted as a point of interest. Critic Lucy Mangan drew attention to the details shared by Dando's brother, Nigel, of the two siblings "eating sand-blown lettuce sandwiches" on the beach together and how this added to the thoroughness of the story presented.[51][52][53] The miniseries also interviewed Barry George, who was 63 and living with his sister in Ireland at the time of filming. George stated, "I live in Ireland now. It's quiet here. You're treated like a scab in London, but you're not here."[54]

References

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  1. ^ Lusher, Adam (26 April 2019). "Who killed Jill Dando? The main theories behind murder of British TV's golden girl". The Independent. Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Jill Dando murder case will never be solved, says detective". BBC News. 29 March 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  3. ^ "Family history of Jill Wendy Dando". Lasbury Family History. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Through the family photo album". Archived from the original on 8 October 2006. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  5. ^ "Jill Dando's dad dies at 91 – Bristol News – This Is Bristol – Bristol Post". Bristol Post. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  6. ^ a b c Bird, Steve (2 August 2008). "Jill Dando bubbly excited and in love then she was shot on doorstep". The Times. London.[dead link‍]
  7. ^ "BBC – Bristol – BBC Radio Bristol – Nigel Dando". Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  8. ^ a b c Barker, Dennis (27 April 1999). "Jill Dando Obituary". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 23 June 2007.
  9. ^ "The Unsolved Murder of Jill Dando, Britain's 90s TV Sweetheart". Vice.com. 26 April 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  10. ^ "Story of the murder of Jill Dando". Sky News. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  11. ^ Davey, Tim (9 November 1996). "Jill Gets The Big Red Book". Bristol Evening Post. p. 20. Retrieved 26 October 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ a b c Duncan Campbell (27 April 1999). "TV star Dando murdered by single shot". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  13. ^ Barker, Dennis (27 April 1999). "Jill Dando: Broadcaster with feel-good factor". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 14 April 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  14. ^ "BBC News – Entertainment – TV stars honour Jill Dando". BBC. 10 May 1999. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
  15. ^ "BBC may pull antiques show". Broadcast. 30 April 1999. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
  16. ^ "Jill Dando: Every picture tells a story". The People. Trinity Mirror. 9 May 1999. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  17. ^ Savage, Richard (4 September 1999). "Jill Dando's last TV show goes on". The Mirror. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  18. ^ "Antiques Inspectors – BBC One London – 5 September 1999 – BBC Genome". Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 5 September 1999. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  19. ^ "Antiques Inspectors". 21 October 1999. p. 100. Retrieved 3 April 2019 – via BBC Genome.
  20. ^ "Ten years on and we still don't know who killed Jill". This is Bristol. 25 April 2009. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013.
  21. ^ a b "Alan Farthing: 'No-one can replace Jill'". bbc.co.uk. 2 July 2001. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  22. ^ a b Cheston, Paul (1 August 2008). "So if George didn't kill Jill Dando, who did?". standard.co.uk. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  23. ^ BBC news item, 25 September 1999 Dando's fiance faces pain of wedding day
  24. ^ "BBC presenter shot dead". BBC News. 26 April 1999. Archived from the original on 23 January 2010.
  25. ^ Midgley, Dominic (9 February 2017). "Will Jill Dando's killer be named at last?". Express. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  26. ^ a b c d e Woffinden, Bob (6 July 2002). "Shadow of doubt?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 19 April 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  27. ^ "The horrific scene when I found Jill". The Northern Echo. 11 May 2001. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  28. ^ "Dando killer's Diana 'obsession'". BBC News. 3 July 2001. Archived from the original on 7 September 2007.
  29. ^ "Jill Dando: The investigation". BBC News. 25 February 2001. Archived from the original on 3 August 2017.
  30. ^ "George not guilty of Dando murder". BBC News. 1 August 2008. Archived from the original on 17 October 2008. Retrieved 1 August 2008.
  31. ^ "Barry George in newspaper payout over Dando claims". BBC News. 16 December 2009. Archived from the original on 3 August 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  32. ^ a b Cathcart, Brian (2 August 2008). "Dando murder: we need to think twice before locking up the local weirdo". The Times. London. Retrieved 4 August 2008.[dead link‍]
  33. ^ "Former Plymouth journalist Jill Dando knew of BBC paedophile ring, claims retired colleague". Plymouth Herald. 21 July 2014. Archived from the original on 22 July 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  34. ^ "Jill Dando tried to expose BBC paedophile ring but 'nobody wanted to know'". Bristol Post. 21 July 2014. Archived from the original on 26 July 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  35. ^ Burn, Gordon (3 July 2001). "Watching Jill". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 14 August 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  36. ^ "Plymouth TV presenter Jill Dando 'was executed on order of Milosovic'". Plymouth Herald. 5 March 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2014.
  37. ^ Rowney, Jo-Anne (29 March 2019). "Five unanswered theories in the Jill Dando murder mystery". Mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  38. ^ a b c d Jill Dando: The 20 Year Mystery. ITV (Television production). 26 April 2019.
  39. ^ Sawer, Patrick (3 March 2012). "Jill Dando 'murdered by Serbian hitman'". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  40. ^ Associated Press release 4 February 2024
  41. ^ Campbell, Duncan (1 August 2008). "With Barry George innocent, who did kill Jill Dando?". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 8 October 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2008.
  42. ^ "BBC News | UK | Emotional farewell to Dando". News.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 18 June 2003. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  43. ^ "The Sunday Times". Retrieved 3 January 2016.[dead link‍]
  44. ^ "BBC News – UK – Dando leaves £1m". Archived from the original on 11 August 2003. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  45. ^ "About the UCL Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science". Jill Dando Institute. Archived from the original on 7 November 2007. Retrieved 30 October 2007.
  46. ^ "A memorial to Jill Dando". The Weston & Somerset Mercury. Archived from the original on 19 August 2007. Retrieved 23 June 2007.
  47. ^ Sonia McDuff (3 May 2001). "FCA Bursary Winners". Falmouth Navigator. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2008.
  48. ^ "University Campus Dedicated to Jill". Weston College. 16 August 2007. Archived from the original on 7 November 2007. Retrieved 25 October 2007.
  49. ^ "College remembers presenter Dando". BBC News. 6 August 2007. Archived from the original on 17 February 2009. Retrieved 30 October 2007.
  50. ^ "Who Killed Jill Dando?". www.netflix.com. Netflix. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  51. ^ Gregory, Elizabeth. "Who Killed Jill Dando? The true and terrifying story behind the British journalist's cold-blooded murder". www.standard.co.uk. The Standard. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  52. ^ Mangan, Lucy. "Who Killed Jill Dando? review – only one person in this show seems to know". www.theguardian.com. The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  53. ^ Farley, Lloyd. "The True Story Behind 'Who Killed Jill Dando?' The famed BBC personality's killer is still out there". collider.com. Collider. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  54. ^ Jacobs, Eammon. "'Who Killed Jill Dando?' features Barry George, the man acquitted of the BBC TV presenter's murder. Here's what he's doing now". www.businessinsider.com. Business Insider. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
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Media offices
Preceded by Co-host of Crimewatch
1995–1999
With: Nick Ross 		Succeeded by
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