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. 'Morris was arrested after the finger of suspicion wrongly pointed to Ms Power's lover Alison Lewis. This could have conclusively eliminated or incriminated either Morris or any other suspect. The judge recommended Morris serve at least 32 years. Now, a new four-part series takes a forensic look at the biggest murder investigation in Welsh history - with Alison agreeing to a TV interview about the case for the first time in more than a decade. Read about our approach to external linking. Can France prevent tensions igniting again? Mandy Power, a 34-year-old divorcee, her daughters Katie, 10, and Emily, eight, and her mother Doris Dawson, 80, had been clubbed to death with a 4ft metal rod before the fire started. I took that to mean to beat her and her daughters up. Soon after dawn, he was called to the scene, where the fire brigade told him the fire had been started deliberately. After four days of intense questioning on suspicion of the quadruple murder in Clydach, South Wales, Alison was released on bail and hid in the back of a car as she left the station. Inevitably, these tests revealed nothing. The prosecution: Week six. You can imagine the fear and paranoia that was happening where people were worried about who could have committed these murders. ", Fresh doubts over Clydach murders conviction, Convicted Clydach murderer 'an easy target', MP calls for review of Clydach murders conviction, Professor casts doubt on Clydach murders conviction, Police speak to 'new witnesses' after murder doc, Forensic review agreed for 1999 murders evidence, Urgent talks to be held over BBC star allegations, US allies troubled by cluster bombs to Ukraine, Twitter blue tick accounts fuel Ukraine misinformation, The new normal - why this summer has been so very hot, The fate of a protest that toppled a president, Ghana's batmen hunting for pandemic clues, How TikTok fuels human smuggling at the US border, Delhi's earliest crimes revealed by 1800s police records, The surprising benefits of breaking up. "I remember lying on the floor of the car thinking: 'I'm going to die here in the back of this car and I won't be able to prove I'm innocent'. 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. He is pictured here in 2000, David Morris, convicted of the murder of three generations of a family, Mandy Powers and her daughters Katie and Emily, Mandy was found battered to death with her mother and children, Doris Dawson was also murdered in the house, David Morris' daughter, Janiene Morris (left), and his sister Debra, Debra and David Morris were close as children, Alison Lewis, who was arrested in connection with the murders, Forensic officers search the back garden of the house on Sunday, 27 June, 1999 where four members of the same family were murdered. Hospital nurse Mandy Power had been divorced for two years and was on good terms with her former husband Michael Power. Read about our approach to external linking. Morris may have given a muddled account of his movements the night of the murders, but more than one expert thinks the official timeline undermines his conviction. A review of the case of David "Dai" Morris, who was jailed for four murders in the Swansea valley village of Clydach, was launched after his legal team, family members and a television . "But in the process, the killer has smashed a light bulb which has caused at least the top floor of the house to go dark because it's been fused.". Three years later, the Court of Appeal quashed this conviction and ordered a retrial because, astonishingly, Morris and Stephen and Alison Lewis all had the same solicitor, so creating a conflict of interest that meant he could not have received a fair trial. However, he found an unexpected champion Brian Thornton, a senior lecturer on the journalism course at Winchester University. The other key breakthrough comes in documents showing that scientists found DNA from an unknown man on the murder weapon, on two spent matches used to start the fires and on the clothes worn by Mandy when she was killed. Murder in the Valleys premieres on Sky Crime and NOW on Sunday, February 6. She definitely said Do us in. Deborah Thomas (Dai Morris' Sis) tells her side of the storyIn 1999 in the small Welsh Village of Clydach just outside of Swansea three generations of a family were brutally murderedThe community were shocked and demanded answers and not long after the murder there were 3 prime suspects who looke. . It made no mention of who made these alleged threats, or why. Mandy Power and her daughters, Emily and Katie, were murdered in their home in 1999, David Morris faced two trials for the murders and was found guilty at both, A number of fires were lit in Mandy Power's house after the murders, The surprising benefits of breaking up. I felt there was something about the case that wasnt right, he told me. In a storyline worthy of TVs Line of Duty the finger of suspicion fell on Stuart Lewis, his police officer brother Steve and his wife Alison Lewis who was having a secret lesbian affair with Mandy. They were preparing to have a life together. It's not good enough. Ms Power and her daughters were battered with a fibreglass pole, which the children used to play with, and Ms Power's body was sexually assaulted. "I think the motive for murder here is anger. I wont do that. "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. 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. "He left the pub at half past 11, Mandy and the girls came back just before 12," he said. David Morris was found guilty of murdering an entire family of four including two young girls. "It's not what we have asked for. Stuart stayed at 9 Kelvin Road for less than 10 minutes, failed to preserve the scene and his log book for that night went missing. She had so much to give and so much to live for. When he heard about the murders the next day, he says he called the police to tell them. Moreover, the killers vigil between the first murder and last three pointed to him acting in cold blood, rather than in a drug-fuelled rage. "These failures have resulted in constant speculation of the safety of the conviction.. 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.. "The second is the sequence. Neighbours called the fire service and the scene was initially dealt with as a fatal blaze before the full horror of the murders emerged. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. His legal representatives made a request to South Wales Police in November, following the airing of a BBC Wales Investigates programme on the conviction of Mr Morris, asking for various items of evidence to be released for further investigation by their forensic scientists. 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. Ms Williams says the man she saw was wearing a bomber jacket and carrying a rolled-up bundle under his arm - the same description another new potential witness has given the BBC. For the past five years, Ive been working on it with my students. Thornton found thousands of pages of records taken from the police HOLMES computer system which had never emerged in court. South Wales Police said in a statement: "The decision to carry out a forensic review does not constitute a reopening or reinvestigation of the murders, nor does it demonstrate any lack of confidence in the conviction of Morris and the subsequent case reviews. The obvious thing to have done would have been simply to print out the various documents direct from HOLMES. Morris says he hid his fling with Mandy from police because his then girlfriend Mandy Jewell was her best friend and it would have ended their relationship. Three years after the crimes committed on the night of 26-27 June 1999 builder David Morris, now 52, was handed four life sentences for killing Mandy, 34, and her family. Alison has always maintained that she was at home with Stephen and he was beside her in bed all night. He told the TV documentary: I have no doubt at all that David Morris is the killer. Morris admits he drank eight pints at the New Inn, which witnesses say he left about 23:30. However, as with any word processing programme, Notepad files can be altered. Possibly the most bizarre aspect of the case involves Stephen Lewiss identical twin brother another police officer, Inspector Stuart Lewis, also a member of the South Wales police. "When their pictures appeared in the press I realised that it was them that I'd seen that morning," said the man, who maintains he is "100% convinced" it was the Lewis brothers he saw. He says those timings, and understanding who was killed first, are critical. 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. Video, was convicted for the second time in 2006, there have been doubts cast over his conviction, Elton John ends farewell tour after 52 years of 'pure joy', BBC star faces new allegations over explicit photos, Syrian government cancels BBC press accreditation, Clashes at Eritrea festival injure 26 German police, US-China talks a 'step forward' in relations - Yellen, Mexican journalist's body found in Nayarit. But inexplicably, a new version of it was manufactured by the police. Privacy Policy. The killings made national headlines and convulsed the village of Clydach, near Swansea and not just for their macabre brutality. "The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has been informed.". DISCLAIMER: I do have a slight personal tie to this case. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Filmmaker Owen Phillips, who went to school near Clydach at the time of the murders, said the early media focus on Alison was partly because of her "unorthodox" relationship with Mandy and her martial arts training, which included a black belt in karate. 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. They said: "The loss and grief our family went through and continue to go through is heart-breaking and affects so many aspects of lives. If Morris had drunk a considerable amount of alcohol and taken drugs, Professor Berry doubts he would have behaved as the killer did after the murders. The finger of suspicion fell on Stuart Lewis, his police officer brother Steve and Steves wife Alison Lewis, who was having an affair with Mandy. "I feel for Alison. His then wife, Alison, was having the affair with Mandy, and later other witnesses told police that Lewis had discovered it a claim he has always denied. Some 4,500 statements were taken and there were 4,000 exhibits. "On the lives of my children," were his exact words. Former Inspector Stuart Lewis was held in a cell for four days, interviewed 26 times and suspended for four years after being arrested for one of the worst crimes in British legal history. Forensic review agreed for 1999 murders evidence, Fresh doubts over Clydach murders conviction, Police speak to 'new witnesses' after murder doc, Urgent talks to be held over BBC star allegations, US allies troubled by cluster bombs to Ukraine, Twitter blue tick accounts fuel Ukraine misinformation, The new normal - why this summer has been so very hot, The fate of a protest that toppled a president, Ghana's batmen hunting for pandemic clues, How TikTok fuels human smuggling at the US border, Delhi's earliest crimes revealed by 1800s police records, The surprising benefits of breaking up. The true crime documentary series returns for a second series, beginning with the case of a multi-generational murder in Wales. Prof Mike Berry casts doubt on the conviction of David Morris for Clydach murders. He spent 22 . Both Lewis brothers have always denied knowing anything about the murders or being involved in them. "Those sort of things don't really happen in those sort of communities - close-knit, industrial communities," he says. Just before midnight, Doriss daughter Mandy Power arrived at the house with her children, Katie, ten, and Emily, eight. In a statement given exclusively to the Mirror, Lewis believes cops made a catalogue of blunders - fuelling speculation his family was responsible for the tragedy. He was not demoted as a result and both brothers continued in their roles until retiring in recent years. It was around midnight on Saturday, June 26, 1999, that Mandy Power, her 80-year-old mother Doris, and Mandy's children - Katie, aged 10, and Emily, aged . By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Credit: Media Wales The tribute came hours after a former student taught by Ms Buckney at Pen-y-Fedw Riding Centre in Morriston reflected on the . There was nothing in his past to suggest he was capable of slaughtering a family, and from the day of his arrest in 2001 he has protested his innocence. Pic: Sky Why you can trust Sky News As an angry mob gathered outside a police station, Alison Lewis thought she was going to be killed. In the years between the killings and his jailing, other suspects - including serving South Wales Police officers - had been investigated and Morris was convicted and jailed only to have that sentence quashed and a fresh trial ordered. Following a forensic review of the case material, the force revealed in October that a blood-stained sock found at a crime scene linked Morris to the murders. "I really thought I was going to be killed.". 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. The investigation into the Clydach murders was vast. This operation must have taken hundreds of hours. Alison Lewis, who along with her husband Steve was arrested on suspicion of the murders, said she understands his family fighting for justice for him. She told the four-part TV documentary: Who would want to believe that somebody in their family is capable of that? "One of the difficult things is separating the fact and fiction, the gossip from the truth.". 20 August 2021 South Wales Police David Morris killed three generations of the same family The man convicted of the Clydach murders has died in prison, it has been confirmed. Convicted Clydach murderer 'an easy target'. She was one of only a handful of experts to express an opinion on who was killed first - she believes it was Doris. John Morris Seren, Mar 4, 2018 - True Crime - 294 pages 0 Reviews Reviews aren't verified, but Google checks for and removes fake content when it's identified Is Dai Morris a brutal murderer or the. Morris was convicted of the murders in 2002 - but the verdict was quashed on appeal due to a conflict of interest by a defence solicitor. He was the first senior officer to reach the scene of the murders and, like his brother, bore a striking resemblance to a photofit of a suspect seen in the area around the time of the killings. Mrs Dawson, who was 80, was killed as she lay helpless in her bed, and the killer laid in wait for the others to return home. South Wales Police commissioned a review in the hope that we could in some way provide closure for those most affected by the murders. Morris always protested his innocence and his family have vowed to clear his name. The Clydach murders saw multiple suspects investigated, two murder trials, an appeal, several reexaminations of the evidence, as well as documentaries and books written about the case. He has always maintained his innocence and a campaign to free him is gathering pace. There may be disagreement over the details, but nobody disputes that an almost unspeakable crime was committed at 9 Kelvin Road in Clydach on the night of Saturday 26 into the morning of Sunday 27 June 1999. "Both had dark hair, cropped.". Lewis has bravely spoken out on the eve of the launch of Murder in the Valleys, a Sky Crime TV documentary probing the murders and the bungled police investigation. 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.
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