A Landmark Case-The Murder Of Gladys Godfrey
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00 87 year old Gladys Godfrey lived alone in a bungalow on Devon Drive in the city of
00:29 Mansfield, England. The estate was mainly populated by elderly people. There was a strong
00:35 sense of community and everyone knew each other. As she was housebound, she used to
00:40 sleep in a chair in her living room, and as she struggled with her mobility, she would
00:44 use a walking frame to get around. She was friendly and kind, well known in her local
00:50 area and a much loved member of her community. She could often be seen standing on her front
00:55 doorstep, saying hello to people who passed by. She had no children but was very close
01:01 to her niece Sandra. Sandra would visit her aunt once a week and the pair enjoyed a fantastic
01:06 relationship. When Sandra was a child, her mother had had to work and Gladys was a huge
01:12 part of her life and had helped to bring her up. Sandra had said she was like a second
01:16 mother to her. On the 28th of April 2001, Gladys was diagnosed with a heart attack.
01:24 In 2001, Gladys' bungalow was broken into. At roughly 3.30 in the morning, Gladys was
01:33 asleep in the living room. She was awoken by a knocking at the front door. After Gladys
01:40 got up from her chair and opened the door, a man stood in front of her. He pushed her
01:45 back in and forced his way into the property. She was sexually assaulted after he had knocked
01:51 her over. She was frail, standing at 4ft 11 and around 6 stone, but she was able to hit
01:58 the attacker with a bottle of lemonade. She scratched him and also pulled an earring from
02:02 his ear before he took her bag and ran away. When the police arrived at the scene to take
02:08 her statement, she was able to give them a description. The person who had attacked her
02:13 was a slim, young, white man with dark hair. As she had scratched the offender during the
02:21 struggle, samples were taken from underneath her fingernails and these, coupled with the
02:25 earring, were sent away to be analysed. A partial DNA profile was found and compared
02:32 against the National DNA Database. The National DNA Database, formed in 1995, holds DNA profiles
02:39 and samples taken from police suspects and samples taken from crime scenes. When this
02:44 partial DNA profile taken from under her nails was put through the database, it came back
02:49 with no matches. Over the days that followed, her handbag and other items that had been
02:56 stolen from her house were found. Her bag was discovered on Arendelle Drive and they
03:01 were able to plot the other items on a map, illustrating the direction the attacker had
03:06 gone in. Paul Bacon was a solicitor and former president of the Nottingham Law Society. He
03:14 said this demonstrated how caring the community was, as they had all worked hard to get Gladys'
03:20 items back to her. He also said that based on the location of the stolen items, it was
03:25 apparent that this was a local person who knew the area, but as time went by, the police
03:31 were unable to identify the offender. On Saturday 7th September 2002, Gladys had spent time
03:40 at home whilst also seeing her best friend during the day. At 5.15am the following morning,
03:47 the panic alarm was triggered. But the warden at her complex did not go to her bungalow.
03:58 A few hours later, a neighbour went round to deliver a paper and found that Gladys'
04:03 home appeared to have been ransacked. Police officers were called to the Ladybrook Estates
04:08 at around 9.30am. When officers entered the property, they found the body of Gladys Godfrey.
04:16 It was apparent that she had been subjected to an appalling attack. A post-mortem revealed
04:22 a catalogue of more than 20 injuries. Clumps of her hair had been viciously pulled out.
04:28 Her neck and skull had both been fractured. She had died from manual strangulation as
04:34 well as head trauma. So severe were her injuries, her family were not allowed to identify her
04:40 body. Her walker that she had used to get around was tipped over on its side, and there
04:46 were bloodstains near the fireplace in the living room, and on the base and pillow of
04:51 her bed. Based on the evidence at the scene, it appeared that the initial attack had taken
04:55 place in the living room of the bungalow. As there was hair and blood by the fireplace,
05:00 it appeared that she had been pushed to the ground. There was one blood mark that immediately
05:05 got the attention of investigators - a footprint. Footprints can often be key pieces of evidence
05:12 at a crime scene. The crime scene manager was able to ascertain that the footprint most
05:17 likely belonged to a Euroland shoe, and this coupled with the fingerprints found in the
05:21 bungalow added to the pile of evidence being gathered. After being beaten viciously, it
05:28 appeared that she had been dragged into her bedroom, whilst in her bedroom, she had been
05:33 raped.
05:39 Those who were known to Gladys had their fingerprints taken to compare with the fingerprints found
05:43 at the crime scene. After doing this, there were still fingerprints inside the bungalow,
05:49 belonging to an unknown person. The community was in shock. How could a frail pensioner,
05:58 who was known and loved by many, have died in such an appalling way?
06:02 Neighbours say Gladys Godfrey liked nothing better than to stand in her doorway and give
06:06 a friendly wave to people as they went by. They just can't believe she's become a murder
06:11 victim.
06:12 She was a lovely little old lady and she loved to talk to people.
06:14 It's unbelievable that somebody killed somebody.
06:17 Detective Chief Superintendent Phil Davies said there was no evidence of items being
06:25 stolen, nor was there sign of a forced entry. He said, "What is clear is that prior to her
06:32 death, she endured quite severe physical and sexual abuse. Any attack on an elderly person
06:38 is obviously abhorrent, but this was a very severe attack."
06:43 During a press conference, Detective Inspector Stuart Bailey said that they now believed
06:49 the person who had committed the first attack in April of 2001 could also be responsible
06:54 for her murder. Bradley said, "Because of the similarity in the two offences, which
07:01 occurred both in the early hours of the morning and at a weekend, we believe there could be
07:06 a connection. We are considering a link. We are not saying there is definitely a link,
07:11 but there is a strong possibility that these offences could be linked."
07:15 Kevin Flint, the Senior Investigating Officer for Nottinghamshire Police said, "It was
07:22 one of, if not the most horrendous case that we have ever investigated."
07:28 The official DNA profile from the attack on Gladys in April 2001 was compared to the full
07:33 profile taken from the scene of the murder. This came back as a match. Whoever had attacked
07:40 Gladys before had come back and murdered her.
07:44 Some of her closest friends on Devon Drive on the Ladybrook Estate in Mansfield say the
07:53 pensioner's home was broken into about a year ago. They say that Mrs Godfrey told them that
07:57 the intruder stole her handbag and threatened to rape her. They say the incident was reported
08:03 to the police.
08:04 The task before the officers was huge. They needed to speak with neighbours and people
08:10 in the area to try and gain any knowledge that could help catch her killer.
08:14 A detective constable who was knocking on doors, Phil Cumberpatch, said, "Every time you thought
08:21 you were having a bad day, you thought of what happened to Gladys and cracked on."
08:27 Although they had a DNA profile, this soon proved fruitless. Whoever had raped and murdered
08:33 her had not been arrested before and their profile was not on the National DNA Database.
08:39 Not only had this offender's crimes dangerously escalated and increased in brutality, but
08:45 people had no way of knowing if he would attack again.
08:49 Two months after the murder of Gladys Godfrey, her niece Sandra spoke at a press conference
08:54 and appealed for anyone with information to come forward and talk to the police.
08:59 "Somebody must know something and we just hope it will shake the memory to come forward
09:04 for the slightest little thing that might be interesting. The whole family is devastated
09:09 by it all," Detective Inspector Stuart Bradley said. "The DNA is absolutely vital in that
09:15 it will be able to take us forward and we will be able to eliminate people who are put
09:20 forward to the incident room very, very quickly."
09:23 Nearly five months after Gladys' murder, Crime Watch ran an appeal on her case to try
09:28 and generate any new leads and as much publicity as possible.
09:32 "Now 87-year-old Gladys Godfrey beat off an intruder. Well, 18 months later he came
09:39 back to rape and kill her."
09:41 Sandra told the show, "She was poorly and she was very frail. We did not expect her
09:50 to carry on many more years, but for her to live the life she has led and then die in
09:55 these circumstances, it was devastating to us all."
09:59 The police kept in contact with Sandra to keep her up to date, but they still seemed
10:04 no closer to closing the case.
10:07 As they were still struggling to catch the killer, the police decided to change their
10:12 strategy. As they had a DNA profile of the killer, they decided they would take DNA samples
10:18 from all over Mansfield. It would be one of the largest elimination screenings in their
10:23 history. It was voluntary and more than 1,000 men gave samples over the following months,
10:29 demonstrating how desperate the local community was to catch the killer.
10:33 Unfortunately, after the mass screening was completed, the officers were back at Square
10:39 One. None were a match to the killer.
10:44 In 2003, the Forensic Intelligence Bureau, known as the FIB, was established. Work was
10:50 being carried out by scientists in Birmingham to conduct further research into familial
10:55 DNA searching. Aiming to find families a DNA sample could be from, Nottingham Police Force
11:00 volunteered to be one of the first to trial this new investigative tool. Francis Bates,
11:05 the senior intelligence officer, led the work on familial DNA testing.
11:10 The FIB worked in collaboration with the police and visited the area. They were able to produce
11:16 a list of people that could have been related to the murderer. Richard Pynchon, the head
11:21 of the FIB, said, "We established the first Forensic Intelligence Bureau in the world,
11:26 which primarily was concerned with looking at DNA from scenes of crime and analysing
11:31 that and trying to forward investigations where no other information was available."
11:37 The FIB would run the sample from the crime scene through the familial DNA search engine.
11:42 Doing this re-orders the DNA found on the DNA database in order of similarity to the
11:47 sample. Richard Pynchon said, "Familial DNA is the same as an eyewitness. It narrows
11:53 down a list of people for the police to talk to."
11:56 Nearly a year had passed since Gladys had been attacked and murdered in her own home,
12:02 and the police were still searching for whoever was responsible. More than 2,500 men had been
12:08 compared to the DNA sample, and they still had not been able to find a match. Those in
12:13 the local community were living in fear, terrified that the killer could strike again.
12:18 The police had followed more than 8,000 lines of inquiry, but had still not caught the murderer.
12:25 In response to the feelings of fear, more than 2,000 free security alarms were given
12:29 to older people living on the estate, and more than 1,000 personal alarms were given
12:34 out too. Alongside this, Nottinghamshire County Council also issued leaflets to vulnerable
12:39 people in the area, according to a BBC report urging people to "check the identity of
12:44 everyone who calls at their door before they let them in. Don't let anyone in unless
12:49 you know who they are, and if you are in any doubt, call the police."
12:54 The police appealed once again to the public for help, with Gladys' niece saying, "I
12:59 just hope somebody out there, if they know the slightest little thing, even if they think
13:03 it is not important or irrelevant, then please come forward."
13:07 Fifteen months had now passed since the brutal sexual assault and murder of 87-year-old Gladys Godfrey.
13:15 When it came to the familial DNA testing, the first thing the intelligence team did
13:20 was look at anyone on the familial DNA lists who was local to the area and draw up family
13:26 trees to eliminate as many people as possible. Two families became the immediate priority.
13:32 It was voluntary for the men in these families to offer their fingerprints and DNA to rule
13:37 them out of the inquiry. These samples were compared with the killer. Just 24 hours later,
13:44 the news would come in that would blow the case wide open.
13:49 They had finally had a match for the DNA taken from the intimate swabs, the partial profile
13:55 taken from underneath her fingernails from the first attack, and the fingerprints matched
14:00 12 of the fingerprints found in the bungalow.
14:03 This was a bittersweet moment for those involved. Gladys Godfrey had been subjected to a sustained
14:09 and brutal attack and had died under unimaginable circumstances.
14:14 But the person responsible had now been identified.
14:18 An arrest plan was drawn up and their prime suspect was soon in custody, 22-year-old Jason Ward.
14:26 He was arrested at work on 5th December and was swiftly taken to the police station to
14:32 be processed and interviewed. In spite of the plethora of forensic evidence, he denied
14:38 that he had anything to do with the sexual assault and murder of Gladys Godfrey.
14:42 A search of his home was conducted to help build the case against him.
14:47 In the search, they found a Euroland shoe. Analysis showed that it matched the footprint
14:53 found at the scene. Traces of blood were found on the shoe also. This came back as a match
14:59 for Gladys Godfrey.
15:01 As the evidence continued to be processed, the case was brought to the Supreme Court
15:06 As the evidence continued to mount, he admitted to being the person who had gone into her
15:11 bungalow and carried out the sexual assault.
15:14 Jason Ward was charged with sexual assault and murder. After he was charged, he finally
15:21 confessed to everything. Jason Ward was remanded in custody. He was also charged with the attempted
15:27 rape of Gladys in April 2001. He was given the date of 28th May when he would have to
15:32 go to Nottingham Crown Court.
15:35 Ward had worked as a machine operator and had lived on Benton Street, less than two
15:39 miles away from Gladys Godfrey's home. His previous address had been a quarter of a mile
15:45 away. Just before the mass DNA screening had started, Ward had moved to just outside of
15:50 the priority screening perimeter. According to a BBC article, he lived with his mother
15:56 and father and had few friends, choosing to spend much of his time alone. He had had substance
16:01 and alcohol abuse issues and had received a fine for being drunk and disorderly. Someone
16:07 who knew him in school told the BBC Ward was "strange, weird and easily led".
16:13 Paul Bacon, who had worked on more than 50 murder cases, was appointed as Ward's defence.
16:20 He would later say in a documentary that it was really difficult to understand his motivation
16:24 for the offence, adding "I think he found it difficult to understand his motivation too".
16:30 It was arranged for psychiatric evaluations to be carried out on Jason Ward. At his first
16:36 court appearance, he entered a plea of guilty to the burglary, indecent assault, rape and
16:43 murder of Gladys Godfrey.
16:54 Jason Ward was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 22 years for the rape
17:00 and murder of Gladys Godfrey. The judge took the psychiatric evaluations into account when
17:06 deciding the punishment. Frances Bates from the Forensic Intelligence Bureau, who led
17:11 the pioneering familial DNA testing that helped catch Ward, was there for the sentencing.
17:17 She said "I was sat in the public gallery near the family, and to see the family's reaction
17:23 and to see that they had got closure in this case meant a great deal to me. I was only
17:28 a small part of the case, but to know that I had helped provide that closure was really
17:32 important to me, and something I still think about to this day".
17:36 When talking about the vital work of familial DNA testing that had helped catch Ward, Richard
17:48 Pynchon said "without that case and without those people working together, we would not
17:53 have been able to prove how effective this was".
17:55 This was a landmark case. It was the first time anywhere in the world that familial DNA
18:03 searching had solved a murder. The murder of Gladys Godfrey shocked the close-knit community
18:10 and devastated her family. Through the pioneering work of the FIB, familial DNA testing, and
18:17 the commitment of investigators, her killer was finally brought to justice.
18:24 [Music]
18:27 [Music]
18:30 [Music]
18:32 [Music]
18:50 [Music]
18:52 [Music]
18:58 (gentle music)