HANNON’S EVIDENCE ABOUT "COP CARS".

Identification of the body as being Carol Wilkinson .

There are three ways by which Carol could have been identified.

a) Someone at the scene could have known her.

b) Someone may have known she came from the Ravenscliffe estate, though without knowing her name.

c) Her name could have been on one of the articles left at the scene, or someone at the scene could identify some of the clothing, such as her coat, as being hers.

 

(a) Did someone at the scene know her?

Carol was discovered in the field at about 9:25 by the hospital by Stephen Smith. He did not know Carol.

He called for help from Robert Curren. Curren could not identify Carol . Neither of the two police officers Greathead and Hardy who were called to the scene could identify her.

The ambulance man, Benjamin Wilson, arrived at the scene at 10:00. He had reason to wish to discover the injured girl’s identity immediately because he would need to tell the hospital so that medical records could be found. But Wilson did not have her identity at the time.

Patricia Randall was the nurse on duty at the hospital who took Carol in at 10 :10. She also had reason to wish to know the girl’s identity. She did not know it.

Police Constable Alan Firth was on duty at the hospital when the body arrived at 10:17. Questions from hospital staff about identity would be put to him. He did not know the identity of the girl.

(b). Did anyone at the scene know that the injured girl was from the Ravenscliffe estate?

There is nothing in the evidence which might have suggested where her home might be. There was no evidence to indicate she had come from the Ravenscliffe Estate. The scene of the crime might just as easily suggest she had come from the Fagley estate to the North - or Thornbury to the West.

(c). Was her name on any item of clothing - or could anyone at the scene identify her from her clothing?

The list of objects taken from the scene, apart from the clothing, was:

"A handbag containing two tissues, 1 blue belt, 1 pocketmate radio, 1 umbrella, 1 hairbrush, 1 can spray deodorant, 1 comb, 1 bottle of perfume and a quantity of cosmetics"

None of these items appears to be capable of providing an identity for the victim.

Morover, when one considers what appears to have been taken from Carol’s body, it seems that the attacker was intent on taking anything that might identify her.

Kevin Best later drew up a list for the police of items Carol should have had in her purse. It contained: " a green appointment card for Mr. Bartell ( Dentist)... and a diary.. inside which would be a note indicating that I was to be notified if any accident should befall her"

Jean Broadbent also drew up a list of Carol’s effects . This included " a dental card with several telephone numbers on it".

Neither the dental card, nor the diary was ever found.

There is no evidence that anyone at the scene in the early stages identified Carol’s clothing or worked out where she had come from.

HOW CAROL WAS ACTUALLY IDENTIFIED

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