Did this woman die because her genitals were cut? The true story of the Clydach murders - Wales' biggest police Clydach murders: Killer David Morris dies in prison - BBC News One, a chronic alcoholic, was angry because Morris had refused to have sex with her, which, given his typical conduct, must have been doubly wounding; and another, a man, was annoyed because Morris had boasted in the pub that he would be able to pullhave sex withthe witnesss girlfriend without difficulty. I have a habitwhether good or bad, I cannot say, though my wife does not fully approveof buying books almost everywhere I go. Morris has always maintained his innocence, but a bid to take his case to the Court of Appeal was rejected as recently as 2018 by the Criminal Cases Review Commission. Due to your consent preferences, youre not able to view this. He said: The evidence identified at the outset to exonerate myself was lost, unobtainable, or destroyed. The prosecution successfully argued Morris 'flew into a fit of rage' after Mandy had rejected his sexual advances, but there was male DNA found at the crime scene, including on the murder weapon that again did not belong to Morris. When it collapsed, the coarsest hedonism replaced it, which the Clydach murder case illustrates graphically. "This case has been looked at and looked at and looked at and explored, and I'm puzzled that people can't see Morris for what he is," he said. Read more:The most gripping true crime documentaries to watch in the UK after Murder By The Coast on Netflix. VideoThe secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure, LGBT troops take love for Eurovision to front line. Mandy Power, aged 34, her invalid mother, Doris Dawson, and her two children, Katie and Emily, aged ten and eight, were killed with a blunt instrument, wielded with such force that it inflicted injuries far greater than those necessary to cause death. Further, an eyewitness had seen him, or someone who looked like him, on the street near the crime scene, around the right time, and gave such a good description that the police artist composite resembled him, or his identical twin brother, strongly. The Clydach Murders: A Miscarriage of Justice - Goodreads A. man convicted of murdering three generations of the same family more than 20 years ago has died in prison, it has been confirmed. Stephen and Alison Lewis separated after Morriss conviction. Dorris was killed in her bed, while Amanda (better known as Mandy) and her daughters were killed on the landing. For some inexplicable reason, and in complete dereliction of duty, he left the site, returned to the police station, and did nothing, except telephone someone on a publicand therefore unrecordedphone. He died in prison in August, aged 59, having always protested his innocence. Man arrested in shootings that killed 4, wounded 3 in rural Maine They were preparing to have a life together. The only DNA evidence found was hers, in Mandy Powers vagina. It was also claimed that he had taken amphetamines during his time at the pub. Fresh doubts have been cast on the conviction of the man jailed for the horrific Clydach murders in 1999. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. South Wales Police commissioned a review in the hope that we could in some way provide closure for those most affected by the murders. The jury in the Clydach murder retrial has been told they will never forget what were described as the worst murders Wales has ever seen. He said: It is too late to fully exonerate my name. "She had the trauma of the murder and then she was a suspect.". The murders took place at 9 Kelvin Road, Clydach, in the early hours of June 27, 1999. The jealous are not ever jealous for the cause, says Emilia in Othello. This in turn threw out the reason why his chain would be at the home. Mandy Power, her daughters Katie and Emily and her mother Doris Dawson, were bludgeoned to death at their home in Clydach, near Swansea in June 1999. Alison and Steve were arrested on suspicion of murder, and Stuart on perverting the course of justice but all three were later cleared. But in what kind of society can personal dignity and self-respect be achieved only through wrongful imprisonment for decades? The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Assistant Chief Constable David Thorne, of South Wales Police, said the reinvestigation did not "demonstrate any lack of confidence in the conviction of Morris". Morris was serving a 32-year sentence for bludgeoning Mandy, her daughters and her mother to death at their home in Kelvin Road, Clydach in June 1999. Murder in the Valleys Clydach - crime series looks at David Morris crime Morriss way of removing the threat, on this view, would be to kill Power, and then the witnesses to the initial murder. Now, as the police review the evidence, this series examines a case that didnt just end with a man going to jail. Key forensic evidence identified during review of Clydach Murders An ex-policewoman who was linked to the brutal murders of a family of four in Clydach has begun legal action against South Wales Police, her solicitor has confirmed. VideoThe secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure, LGBT troops take love for Eurovision to front line, Why an Indian comedian is challenging fake news rules. Our thoughts as ever remain with the family of Mandy Power, her children Katie, aged 10, and Emily, eight, and her 80-year-old mother Doris, who still experience such painful memories even to this day.. ST. LOUIS COUNTY Two people are dead after an apparent murder-suicide in north St. Louis County. Speaking on the biggest murder inquiry in South Wales history, he said: I was a serving police officer 22 years ago, who was wrongfully arrested for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. Police arrested David Dai Morris for the murder of Mandy Power and her two daughters, Katie and Emily. David Morris killed three generations of the same family, Mandy Power and her daughters, Emily and Katie, were murdered in their home in 1999, Doris Dawson was found murdered in her bed, A number of fires were lit in the home after the murders, Although Emily and Katie Power were murdered, an expert previously said their mother was the main target, The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure. Pic: Sky, Mandy Power and her daughters Katie and Emily were murdered, Mandy Power's mother Doris Dawson was killed, Alison Lewis gave evidence during a trial over the murders, David Morris was sentenced to life imprisonment for the Clydach murders, Morris's sister Debra Thomas has long protested her brother's innocence. "They completely believe he didn't do it and they'll say it's not a question of blind faith," Phillips says of Morris's family. Stuart spoke out on the eve of the launch of Murder in the Valleys, a Sky Crime TV documentary probing the murders and the police investigation. . Clydach murders: Five years working on a 'hopeless case' However, these timings fit in perfectly with the murders taking place, and witnesses at the pub claim they overheard him bad-mouthing Mandy, calling her an "old cow" and an "unfit mother". A bloody print on the carpet, made with a gloved hand, fit Lewiss hand better than Morriss. The vicious death sparked one of the most expensive and extensive investigations in the history of the South Wales police. Read about our approach to external linking. He spent 22 . John Morris's new book is an investigation into the Clydach murders in South Wales in 1999 in which Mandy Power, her mother and two daughters were battered to death. The killer lit fires around the house in an attempt to hide the crimes. His trial heard he had a sexual relationship with Ms Power and was fuelled by drink and drugs when he went on a killing spree in June 1999. Not one of them has got one piece of evidence. Even the bloodied sock has been noted as a 'scientific link', with Steve Carey of Devon and Cornwall police stating in a video posted on Twitter that "the outcome of the forensic assessment has not established any information that undermines the conviction of David Morris". A BBC Wales Investigates programme in 2020 spoke to two potential new witnesses and South Wales Police announced a review of elements of the case in January 2021. Morris, 59, collapsed and died by the medication hatch on Alpha wing in Long Lartin prison, Worcestershire, last August. "I really thought I was going to be killed.". He said the announcement was "hugely significant". First, Morris was never seen in or near the vicinity of Mandy's home by any witnesses that evening. The negative impact on myself and my family over the last 22 years has been severe and long lasting. "I became the devil," she tells a new documentary. Morriss family and supporters dismissed the new evidence as nonsense, and said their fight to clear his name will go on. It is also an account of what seems a miscarriage of justice. However, again all members of the Lewis family similarly maintain their innocence in all aspects of the case, with Stephen claiming he had no idea about his wife's affair or homosexuality until after the murders went public. "I feel for Alison. The force said it had decided a "proportionate course of action", which was to appoint an independent senior investigating officer and an independent forensic scientist to oversee a review of the areas referred to by Morris's legal representatives. 6 Feb 2022. But . Either it was true, in which case it suggested something about the morality of the eventual victim, as well as her attitude toward her elderly mother; or, if untrue, it suggested that Morris thought that it would have no effect on peoples view of him because, around here, everyone behaved like this. He later changed his story when his cousin, Eric Williams, said Morris had asked him for money to buy a chain similar to the one he had lost, and he had bragged that he'd slept with Mandy the Friday before the murders, leaving the chain there. Labourer David Morris, also known as Dai, was twice convicted of the multiple killings but his family have maintained his innocence and continue to fight to clear his name after he died in prison aged 59 last August. But for all its unattractive qualitiesI would have chafed under its dominationit provided a moral framework (or perhaps straitjacket would be a better way to put it) in which life was to be lived, and that gave a distinctiveand, in some ways, charmingcharacter to Welsh life. But the judges ignored this evidence in their charges to the jury, giving credence to her alibi: that she was in bed with her husband, Stephen, at the time of the murders. He spent 22 years in jail for killing Mandy Power, 34, her daughters Katie, 10, and Emily, aged eight, and her 80-year-old mother Doris Dawson. "For 12 months, there were no arrests. Stephen Lewis's identical twin brother, Stuart, was also investigated at the time of the murder. Recently, on a short trip to Tenby, the ancient walled town in southwest Wales, I bought a book about four gruesome murders that took place in the village of Clydach, not far away geographically, but very far socially, from Tenby. An examination of a sock identified the presence of a mixed Y-STR profile that links David Morris or a male relative to the crime scene. Now for the first time in 22 years, Stuart Lewis has spoken about the ordeal that has ruined his life. I completely understand it but what I didnt understand is why it was always put onto us.. It appeared that both trial judges offered the jury a false, or at least irrelevant, dichotomy: either Morris was the killer, or one or more of the Lewises was. What the unusual mass murder verdict means for a man who killed three women in Knoxville. Baby taken to hospital after dog attack in Caerphilly, Wales, Princess of Wales has handbag 'stolen' by baby boy on visit to Aberfan, Prince William and Kate abseil off Brecon Beacons cliff during visit to South Wales. He always maintained his innocence. Since most British criminals have committed five to ten times as many crimes as those for which they have been charged, he had doubtless caused others much misery. Another possible motive was that Power threatened to expose him to his girlfriend Jewell, supposedly a close friend of hers. Nothing should have been easier in a small community, where everyone knew everyone else (and not infrequently in the biblical sense). @DavidMercerSky. Is climate change killing Australian wine? Katie Pladl and the Father-Daughter Incest Case That Ended in Murder The police investigation was flawed from the outset, which resulted in [Stuart's] reputation and life being destroyed.. At the time, Alison was involved in a torrid affair with Mandy Power. His family dismissed the findings and vowed to clear his name. The drug dealer was awaiting a trial of his own, however, and it is not impossible that the police offered him a deal in exchange for his testimony. "As well as it being an interesting case with extraordinary details, I think there is a legitimate reason for opening this up and looking at it again. University lecturer and journalist Brian Thornton, one of the founders of the Crime and Justice Research Centre at the University of Winchester, has studied the Clydach murders for a decade. That is never going to happen. A blood-stained gold chain found at the crime scene had led police to Morris, with paint found on the jewellery matching paint used on kitchen cabinets at his flat. Morris contends that, although tried twice, Dai Morris, the man convicted for the murders in 2006, is innocent. Stephen proceeded to sue his employer, the South Wales Police, for wrongful detention, using the services of Morriss lawyer to do so at the same time the lawyer was representing Morris in the first trial. Explore in 3D: The dazzling crown that makes a king. As an angry mob gathered outside a police station, Alison Lewis thought she was going to be killed. He was convicted for the murders a second time in 2006 after an earlier conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal. But the sole question should have been whether Morris had been proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and I do not see how anybody could have reached that emphatic conclusioneven if Morris was guilty. Some locals still buy into the debunked theory that a former police woman, her husband and his twin brother carried out the killings. "I really welcome the news that South Wales Police have agreed to carry out an independent review of the forensic evidence," he told BBC Wales. However, in the knowledge of the conclusions drawn from this review, South Wales Police would like to show respect to the family and those affected by these terrible crimes by finalising this case. David killed Mandy as she lay in her bed, and then waited for the others to return home. She said plans to upgrade her garden, part of her retirement after 38 years in the NHS, have now been put on hold, Bullet-riddled car pictured outside A&E after man arrives with gunshot wounds, The victim is suspected to recover from his injuries, 'Royally Big Portrait' of King Charles unveiled ahead of coronation, It is made up of thousands of images drawn by members of the public, Wales Rugby World Cup training squad announcement as Gatland names host of new players, Warren Gatland has named his preliminary World Cup training squad ahead of three summer warm-up Tests and two training camps, Today's rugby news as Gatland announcement to seal duo's fate and former Wales star quits Australia job overnight, The latest rugby headlines from Wales and beyond, MasterChef Australia judge Jock Zonfrillo dies aged 46, Wales star banned from representing country as 54 named, Warren Gatland has named a fascinating initial 54-man training squad for the Rugby World Cup, The traditional looking bungalow that's nothing like you expect it to be on the inside, Prepare for a feast for the eyes hiding behind that normal, white front door, MasterChef judge and renowned chef dies suddenly aged 46, Five men charged with alleged involvement in plot to bring people into the UK illegally, Five men have been charged with facilitating the entry or the attempted entry of people into the UK, Gatland announcement to seal duo's fate and former Wales star quits overnight, I asked Tenby locals if the town was just way too popular now - they all had the same reply. Even more astonishingly, at neither trial was he called as a witness to explain his behavior. Assistant Chief Constable David Thorne, of South Wales Police, said: South Wales Police has shown a commitment to providing evidence-based answers to the issues which have been raised about this case over many years. On Nov. 5, 2018, the 13-year-old disappeared from her mobile home park in Lumberton in a case that gripped her home of Robeson County . But the doubt surrounding the case means Stuart and his wife cant go out to a local restaurant without people pointing and sometimes verbally accusing him of involvement in the murders. Murder in the Valleys is a new true crime series looking at the horrifying Clydach murders. Circumstantial evidence also implicated Alison Lewis, including her jealousy and capacity for violence and her awareness that her lover was still seeing men. Hania Aguilar loved purple and science. She carried on casual affairs with men, including one eventually found guilty of the murders: David Morris (no relation to author Morris). Clydach murders: David Morris died of natural causes, coroner says This included the Newsagent Three of 1987, where three men were wrongfully convicted and spent 11 years in prison for the murder of a newsagent, and five Black men wrongfully convicted for the murder of a woman in 1988. 4.32. In 2020, a BBC Wales Investigates documentary spoke to two potential new witnesses, and a review into elements of the case was announced by South Wales Police in January 2021. It also investigates the enduring repercussions of the crime. It took more than two years for South Wales Police to arrest Morris, with an 11-week court case securing him four life sentences. Why would Morris have done this? However he was convicted again during a retrial in 2006 and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Firefighters found the bodies of Ms Power and the girls laid out on the landing when they came to tackle the blaze. The Kidnap and Murder of Lynda Spence: What happened and was her body ever found? It was later determined the house was set on fire twice in an attempt to conceal the attack the first around 12.30/1am and a second one a few hours later. 666 ratings57 reviews. The case deeply divided the community for more than 20 years despite the conviction of a local builder. And, despite a local labourer being later convicted of the murders, they still have to deal with the fact that some locals in Clydach, near Swansea, still believe they are responsible for wiping out three generations of the same family. "No family should ever go through what we have and still do.". According to Lewis, they had made love three times the day before, though if the victim had showered thoroughly, as she habitually did several times a day because of the psoriasis from which she suffered, the DNA would not have been present. Morris's trial in 2006 heard he had a sexual relationship with Ms Power and was fuelled by drink and drugs when he went on a killing spree in June 1999. But no one has ever said what evidence there is against me, Stephen and Stuart, apart from hearsay, gossip, rumours and lies.