All language subtitles for s01e02The Pembrokeshire Murders (2021)

...two, one.

Good evening.
We are live in Pembrokeshire,

where there have been
dramatic developments

involving two of Wales'
most baffling crimes.

Decades on, these two double murders
are being reinvestigated.

Detective Superintendent
Steve Wilkins

is the man
leading this reinvestigation.

Developments in DNA analysis
have revolutionised

cold case reviews.

As a team, we have brought
these processes to bear on these

two investigations, and
they have had a significant impact.

And do you think
it's the same local man responsible

for all four murders?
- I do believe that, Jonathan.

Thanks to the advances
in DNA forensic science,

we are now
in a much stronger position

to catch the person responsible.

- Happy?
- That went quick.

- Not so bad, was it?
- No. Thank you.

Prisoner Intelligence say
that Cooper's new favourite place

is the library.

His specialist subject - DNA.

The news item worked.

He's worried we've found something.

Oh, a date for the diary.

Dyffryn Prison's governor has given
us our dates for the interviews.

A month from now.

Monday, June 30th
to Wednesday, July 2nd.

We've got three days
to get inside his head,

find out the exhibits
that give him night sweats.

Rambo, we should find out if there
are any psychologists out there

who have interviewed him.
We want their insights.

Right you are.

Boss, that was
Pembroke Dock Police Station.

Andrew Cooper was found collapsed

by the railway tracks last night
outside Fishguard.

He was taken to Withybush Hospital.

He claimed he overdid it
on his pain medication.

By the railway tracks?

Apparently, he's adamant
he wasn't trying to kill himself.

He checked out of the hospital
this morning.

Tried to kill himself?

Didn't try very hard, did he?
He's still breathing.

John...

Anyway, guess what?

The police want to interview me.

That stuff on the news.
I'm their bloody suspect.

- Why you?
- Well, it's the same as before, hm?

Cos it's easier
to frame an innocent man

than it is for them to do their job.

Now, you'd better be on your toes.
They might wanna talk to you.

Talk to me?

What about?
I don't know anything.

When they come knocking,
that's exactly what you tell them.

And don't go running off to Adrian
cos you feel sorry him. He's a rat.

And anything you say to him
will go directly back to the police.

I'm coming!

Hello, Andrew.

Hello.

Sorry to bother you.
I heard you'd been in hospital.

How are you doing?

I'm fine.

Well, I just wanted you to know

that if you feel like
you need some support,

we can sort something for you.

I don't need anything like that.

You don't have to worry about me.

Dr Harry Stephens...

...is a forensic psychologist
from Liverpool University.

Now, he interviewed Cooper
for a book about violent offenders.

He's the only person
to have gone on record

as saying that Cooper
is a psychopath.

He also told us that,

like most psychopaths,
Cooper is a narcissist

and we should treat him accordingly.

Like royalty.

Er, pamper him
into a false sense of security.

Nige, we need you to find a suitable
station for the interviews.

Sterile, clean, quiet holding cells.

And make sure the custody sergeant
is very charming.

Yes, boss.

Dr Stephens also recommended
that one of the interview team

be a woman.

Yeah, apparently, Cooper has a very
low opinion of female intelligence.

And a woman opposite him
might make him drop his guard.

- Are you up for that, missus?
- Let me at him.

That's settled, then.
You and Rambo in the room.

- What about you, boss?
- I don't think it's clever.

We know he's seen me on TV.
I'm the face of the investigation.

That could rattle him.

No, I shall sit in the cheap seats
with you lot on video link.

Hey, here's to our interview team,
then.

Rambo and Bimbo.

Oh...!

I'll ask you again, John.

Regarding the murders
of Peter and Gwenda Dixon,

were you the person responsible?

He starts off cooperative.

Then, when your man
gets heavy-handed,

down comes the portcullis.

So, we keep it non-confrontational.

Er, maybe even avoid any direct
questions about the murders.

If we can't talk about the murders,

how are we supposed
to get anything useful out of him?

You talk about the exhibits.

That's what this is all about,

trying to draw out
which ones he's worried about,

which ones he thinks might bear
a trace of his or his victims' DNA.

Jack?

Someone's keen.

I've got a trial for the county.

No way!

Ah, that's great.

Well done, Wilkins Junior!

Do you think you can come along?

- No, it's OK.
- No, no, no.

Bollocks. I'll be there.

Well done, son!

- Food?
- Aye.

All right?

Yeah.

I'll see you in sunny Ammanford.

Steve Wilkins.

Hello, boss, this is Control.

Cooper has left Dyffryn Prison.
ETA Ammanford 09:00.

They're all set up for you.

I found the kitchen, boss.

Thanks.

Yep?

He's here.

Good morning, John.

I hope you had
a comfortable journey.

Oh, yes.

Business class.

See, it doesn't cost anything
to be polite.

He takes the bait.

He's old.

He still looks strong, though.

All right, boss.

Morning.

Good morning, John.

Where's the big cheese, then,
the one off the telly?

Detective Superintendent Wilkins
won't be joining us, John.

Oh, he likes to watch, does he?

OK, John...

...1978.

The year you won Spot The Ball.

£94,000

That's about £800,000
in today's money.

Your life was good at the time.

You bought Big House Farm
at Rosemarket.

Your wife told Huntsman

you also took your brothers
and their families to Spain.

- I certainly did.
- You didn't take Adrian.

Why was that, John?

I don't know.

Maybe he was ill with his asthma.

You've been talking to him,
have you?

No, John.

We have his statements
from Huntsman.

So, John...

...things were going well.

You were buying and selling
properties.

But then the money worries started.

Well, an estate agent tricked me
out of a lot of money.

My solicitor lied to me.

When you come into a bit of money,

well, the cockroaches
come out of the woodwork.

It can't have been easy,

moving from Big House Farm,
making the adjustment

from owning your own place
to renting at 28 Rose Meadow Lane.

A man doesn't sit around moping.

He's got to get out there,
got to get grafting.

Between 1978 and 1983,
you spent over £125,000.

That's £35,000 more
than your winnings on Spot The Ball.

Well, you've got to speculate
to accumulate.

Is that when you started gambling?

What, £3 or £4 a week?

A 50p round robin?

I'd hardly call that gambling.

Adrian told Huntsman
you bet £1,000 on one race.

He misremembered.

April 20th, 1983.

Clareston Hall, Freystrop.

Your first conviction for burglary.
Is that your idea of grafting, John?

I don't like your tone.

Oh, don't shut down, John boy.

John...

...if you don't want to talk to us,
we'll respect that.

You can go back to Dyffryn Prison
today.

I'm not a thief.

Well done, Rambo.

OK. You told Huntsman

that you visited Scoveston Park
for the first time in August 1984,

when you went to meet
Richard and Helen Thomas

about working on their land.
Is that correct, John?

I know what Adrian told Huntsman
about Scoveston Park.

About me telling him and his mother
to lie to the police

about us all being in that night,
the night of the fire.

That the truth was,
according to him,

that I came home late
smelling of a bonfire.

Now, you say you haven't spoken to
him. Fair enough.

But there's something
I want to get off my chest.

Everything that comes out

of that boy's mouth is lies.

Has been ever since
we didn't take him to Spain.

When me and Pat got back...

he was a different boy.

He was surly.

He was disobedient.

Bunking off school.

Smoking wacky baccy.

Forging cheques.
Stealing money... off us.

And all because
we didn't take him on holiday.

As a father...

I take no pleasure in saying this.

But the truth is, the real truth,
the night of the fire...

...the murders...

Adrian was the one
who came home late.

He's pointing the finger
at his own son?

Piece of filth.

You know, I've been across the table
from wife-beaters,

rapists, paedophiles.

- And I let him get to me.
- And you made something happen.

When he feels under threat,
he blames Adrian.

That's something to keep an eye on.

So...

- tomorrow...
- Huntsman.

With particular emphasis
on our prime exhibits.

There you go, look at that.

Now, John, I want to ask you
about some exhibits

found by Operation Huntsman.

Some of them pertain
to one particular robbery,

the so-called Sardis robbery,
for which you were convicted.

Wrongly convicted.

For the tape,
I am showing Mr Cooper a photograph

of Huntsman exhibit BB/109,
a black glove.

Do you recognise this glove, John?

I haven't got the foggiest.

I had a bit of an accident
last night.

I can't see a thing without them.
Sorry.

I know you're on a tight schedule.

We know you had a problem
with your glasses during Huntsman.

We got your prescription
from Dyffryn Prison.

Just in case.

I don't actually wear gloves.

Adrian's the glove-wearer
in the family.

For the tape, evidence photo
of Huntsman exhibit MTJ/14.

Black balaclava.

Do you recognise this balaclava,
John?

Do you remember that
Huntsman found head hairs inside it

that were forensically tested

and confirmed to be yours?

Yes.

And yet you said it wasn't yours.

That... was a mistake.

I was wrong.
I think that was mine.

Ten years in prison,
a man gets into a lot of thinking.

He remembers things that he hasn't
thought about for ages.

And one of the things I do remember,

and it was about 20 years ago,

was I did used to have
a black balaclava

just like that one
that I used to wear

when I went fishing
with a boat that I had.

Well, remembering that,
everything slotted into place.

There's only one explanation
that makes any sense.

I didn't lose the balaclava.

It was stolen.

By the same individual
who did the robbery

that I was wrongly convicted of.

OK, John.

On we go.

Huntsman exhibits...

PAS/1, a sawn-off shotgun,

and PH/2,

a sawn-off shotgun
with customised shoulder strap.

Do you recognise these shotguns,
John?

You're trying to trick me.

This gun is mine.

This one is not.

Huntsman found this gun,
wrapped in oilcloth,

buried underneath the duck run
at your home.

Why did you bury it, John?

I didn't want Adrian to find it.
Didn't want him hurting himself.

And this gun, PH/2,

was found with the glove
and balaclava under the hedge

close to the scene
of the Sardis robbery.

I'm aware. Huntsman must have
told me about a hundred times.

If you look closely, John,

you will see that both guns
have the same modifications.

Sawn-off barrels
and sawn-down stocks.

Screws in both barrels and stocks

for a shoulder strap.

John, how do you account
for the fact that

the very same
distinctive DIY modifications

- were made to both shotguns?
- Coincidence.

Stranger things have happened,
right?

And while we're on the subject...

...I want to talk about the gun that
Huntsman found under the hedge.

For the tape.

Here we go again.

During the Huntsman trial,
and I remember this very clearly

because I thought
it was very strange at the time,

the prosecution barrister handed me
the gun on more than one occasion.

Well, what I'm saying is,
if my DNA is on that,

that's the reason why.

His time in the library
was well-spent.

He's digging his own grave.

Today was a result for us.

The lengths he went to

to distance himself from the Sardis
exhibits means we are bang-on.

His story about the gun
being handled in the trial.

The balaclava being stolen
20 years before, in 1988,

the year before Coastal Path.

He wasn't just telling us
the man who stole the balaclava

did the Sardis robbery,

he was saying the man
murdered the Dixons.

Today, he confirmed
what we'd always suspected.

And he gave us something new
into the bargain.

When he killed
Peter and Gwenda Dixon...

he wore that balaclava.

And PH/2 is, without a doubt,
the murder weapon.

What exhibits shall we send back
for re-testing, then, boss?

The Sardis robbery gun
and the balaclava.

Don't bother with the duck run gun.

- Save that money for something else.
- What about the glove?

He said Adrian was the glove-wearer.
That's got to mean something.

Put it in.

Don't all call me a twat at once...

Twat!

...but what's the point in re-testing

when we already know
they'll come back negative?

Testing for trace DNA is like
battleships. It's a guessing game.

The boffins can't see
what they're looking for.

They test small areas
they think are most likely

and hope for the best.

But there's always bits
that haven't been tested.

So...

...tomorrow is our last day with him.

I'm happy to risk
a bit of confrontation.

Rambo, I want Ella to lead.

Right.

Hey, don't leave me hanging!

John, do you think
the man in the drawing

bears any resemblance to yourself
as you were in July 1989?

No, not at all.

Even the detective who came round
the house said as much at the time.

Detective Rees.
The one who used to drink with you?

Yeah.

So, John, how did you look
in July 1989?

- Haven't you got any photographs?
- No, John.

Which is why we'd appreciate
your help.

- I don't remember. It was 20 years ago.
- 19, actually.

Let me get this straight.

You can't remember
how you looked back then,

but you're confident that
this sketch, made at that time,

doesn't resemble you at all.

I'm sure.

Because I know
I didn't have hair that long.

- You never had collar-length hair?
- I don't like it on my neck.

What about the clothes the man
in the drawing's wearing, John?

I don't go in for shorts.

Shorts were more Adrian's thing.

Stick with the shorts, Ella.

The witness who saw this man
using Peter Dixon's stolen cash card

said that the shorts he was wearing
were khaki coloured.

Did you ever own
a pair of khaki shorts, John?

Yes.

But they were more bathers

than shorts.

They were shorter.
Those are long shorts.

Mine were short shorts,
more like bathers.

Adrian used to wear them
more than I did.

He was always borrowing my clothes.

These are the only shorts
that Huntsman found

at 28 Rose Meadow Lane.

No khaki,
and they're all a lot shorter

than the ones in the wanted photo.

What about bathers?

- He said that more than once.
- Bathers.

Shorts. Swimming trucks. Trousers.
We did the lot.

He said Andrew wore them.

That's his tell.

Something about those shorts
worries him.

Why?

And where the hell are they?

Mrs Patricia Cooper?

Detective Superintendent
Steve Wilkins.

This is DI Ella Richards.

Can we come in for a minute, please?

Come in.

You won't find anything.

Well, you lot took everything
of John's nine years ago.

Not us, Mrs Cooper.

You used to work at Ocky White's,
didn't you, Mrs Cooper?

I was the best seamstress they had.

These were taken the year
your husband won on Spot The Ball?

1978?

- Yes?
- Yes.

A professional photographer
came to the house.

Do you have any later photographs
of the two of you, Mrs Cooper?

No.

We weren't big on family photos.

1978, that was the year
you went on holiday to Spain, right?

Yes.

Do you mind me asking,
why didn't you take Adrian with you?

I don't remember.

Are you finished?

Thank you.

What's wrong with you?

I had the police round.

Asking about an old khaki pair
of bathers of yours.

What's that about?

- Did they find them?
- No.

They took all your clothes when
you were arrested. You know that.

I want you to get hold of Adrian.
Find out if he's got them.

I don't have a number for him.

Well, Shirley's daughter, she's
a receptionist in the hospital.

She'll give it to you.
You're his mother.

You're telling me...

to get in touch with Adrian?

Yes!

Forensics said they took it apart,
tested every nook and cranny,

every millimetre
of the shoulder strap.

Yeah, they also said re-testing
it for DNA

would be a complete waste
of Ottawa's money and their time.

That's not their call to make.

Where are we
with the forensics budget?

17,000 left.

Out of 350,000.

Jesus...

Boss, I'm not convinced
we're getting

the best possible bang for our buck
here.

I think we should have a sit-down
with Dr Gallop.

Make sure we're not getting
sidelined by some big London job.

Is that metal I can see
through the paint?

It's where the finish has worn off.
That thing was made in the 1940s.

- And that's the manufacturer's finish?
- Yeah, we assumed.

Obviously, we've not seen the thing
in the flesh. Assumed?

Really, Lynne?
Glyn?

Did Huntsman recover any paint
from Cooper's home?

Yeah, six pots in the shed.

Nige, get the Huntsman shed file.

Any of them black?

Yeah.

JAW/100.

JAW/100...

I want that taken out of storage.

Your team have been
on this case for 18 months now

and all we've got to show for it is

a partial for Peter Dixon's DNA
on a piece of rope.

With respect,
we're seeing this a lot.

This obsession with DNA
at the expense of...

...well, other, less fashionable
avenues of analysis.

Ottawa's insistence
that we focus solely on DNA

has put my team in a straitjacket.

No. No, no, no.
We asked you to prioritise DNA,

but not to the exclusion
of everything else.

But that's the impression
you gave my colleague.

Dr Gallop...

...let's say we remove
the straitjacket.

How would that change things?

Well, it would allow us
to widen our search,

look for other types of evidence.

Now, we're agreed that
the killer wore gloves, yes?

We look for textile fibres.

Fibres are circumstantial.

- We need hard proof.
- Yes, but...

if we can find enough fibres
linking culprit to victim,

it could tell
an equally compelling story

about the circumstances
of the crimes.

Maybe even get you over
the charge threshold with the CPS.

OK.

Let's go for it.

All right.

We have one other request.

We believe...

that this is the Coastal Path
murder weapon.

Yeah, PH/2.

I heard you'd asked the team
to have another look.

Yes, but this is
a different request.

Among the items recovered
by Huntsman

from the shed at Cooper's home

was this 750ml tin
of Anvileen satin black metal paint.

I think Cooper
painted the barrels of the gun

to make it less visible at night.

Hm.

The murders were in 1989.

Anvileen didn't manufacture
this particular paint until 1995.

So, if PH/2 is the murder weapon,

there could still be trace DNA
under the paint.

Well, that's more than six years.

During which the gun
would've been cleaned,

rained on, exposed to the elements.

Are you sure this is the best use
of what's left of your budget?

I'm sure.

All right.

Hello?

Hello, Adrian.

- Hello?- How did you get my number?

Nice to hear from you, too!

What do you want?

Just to find out how you are.

I heard you were in hospital.

Why did you go and do
a silly thing like that?

It was nothing.

A mistake.

I thought I could come and see you.

It's not a good time.

I'm doing the place up.

It's a bombsite.

So, come to mine, then.

Ah, boss. Ollie Wakefield
from the CPS called you.

Great.

Ollie, Steve Wilkins.

Listen...

Ottawa needs a favour.

The governor at Dyffryn Prison

refuses to delay
Cooper's second parole hearing.

And I think a word from the CPS
might persuade the man

to see some sense.

The case, it isn't there, Steve.

You know what the prison services
will say. No hard evidence.

- I'm sorry.
- Ollie, if he is released

back into the community
and he hurts someone,

"institutionally incompetent"
will be a happy memory

when we are up to our necks
in public inquiries.

You're that convinced
he'll kill again?

He's a serial killer.

Serial killers don't...

They can't stop.

Steve, inevitable mutterings
have started.

There's talk of
shutting Ottawa down.

Hi, Ma.

What happened to you?

An accident at work.

I thought you might be peckish.

Are you still visiting him?

Every week.

Is he gonna live here with you
when he gets out?

I'm his wife.

Where else is he gonna live?

He's a bit worked up at the moment.

The police are bothering him again.

Oh, yeah?

Actually...

it's a silly thing.

You don't have an old pair
of khaki bathers of his, do you?

Still running things,
even from in prison.

It wasn't true what I said earlier
about an accident at work.

He did this to me.

The same year
you had those stupid photos done,

he broke my back.

He didn't break your back.

A year ago, I was fit and strong,
working in Ireland, hod-carrying.

One morning, it was like
I was struck by lightning.

Nine hours of surgery.

Rods and screws in my pelvis
and spine.

I thought it was the work that
caused it, but the consultant

told me
it was an injury from childhood.

Straight away, I knew
it was that punch in the back.

You knew something was seriously
wrong when it happened,

but you didn't take
me to the hospital

because he was worried
someone might be suspicious.

I never knew it was serious.

I couldn't move!

You left me to lie in my own urine
for five days.

You didn't even
change my sopping sheets.

You brought me plenty of toast
and strawberry jam, though!

A couple of weeks later,
you left me with nan

and all took off for sunny Spain.

I was 12 years old.

We thought
it was better that you rested.

What's wrong with you?

I didn't know.

Don't go, Adrian.

I didn't just call you
because he told me to.

I've missed you.

Second time lucky.

I got it?

Congratulations, John.

You're gonna be out by Christmas.

Well done.

Yup. Well...

thanks for letting me know.

I can't believe
they're letting him out now.

We're so close.

Are we, though?

I'm gonna put that down
to exhaustion and a shit day.

Do you know what I do
after a shit day?

What?

I go home...

and I eat a large amount
of unhealthy food with my family.

Go home, Steve.

Be with your boy.

Evening!

Jack?

I've got fish and chips!

Hey, it's Jack Wilkins.
I'm not here at the moment.

Just leave a message
and I'll get back to you.

Finally!

You know, I'd appreciate it if,
once in a blue moon,

you'd answer your phone
or responded to a text.

Have you been drinking,
by any chance?

Yeah, I've been celebrating!

Celebrating what?

I made the county team.

Thanks for being there for me today,
Dad!

Shit...!

Jack!

Jack!

Leave me alone.

There's no need for that.

I'm sorry, Jack.

You made such a big deal about
us spending more time together.

But you just can't do it. You're
so fucking obsessed with your work.

You're a shit dad.

Hey, now, come on. That's not fair.

Look, I'm sorry
I forgot about the trial.

I'm sorry I'm not a perfect dad.

It's no excuse.

I took my eye off the ball, OK?

OK.

Have you eaten?

Yeah.

Right, well...

get some kip.

This is last chance saloon, guys.

Cooper will be home in a week.

We have got to go over everything.

I mean,
not having a photograph of Cooper

that we can compare
to the artist's impression,

it's a hole in our case.

Nige, Glyn,
doorstep his and Pat's relatives.

Tell them that we need family
photographs for our records.

Yes, boss.

I'll drive.

Andrew...

What about Pat?

He'll be housed somewhere else,
right? She can't live with him now.

They've been married a long time,
Andrew.

If he was gonna do something
to her, he'd have done it by now.

You don't know that.

He's been in prison ten years.
Who knows what that's done to him?

She's still scared of him.

I went to see her.

She called me.

I thought...

I thought she wanted
a mother-and-son reunion.

But she was just following orders.

He wanted her to find out if I had
an old pair of bathers of his.

Does that mean anything to you?

Do you have them?

I wouldn't wear anything of his.

Get down there, Jack!

Come on!

Corner.

Right, on it!

Yes!

Go on, son!

Yes!

- So, the scout was there again today.
- He was? Did he speak to you?

He's gonna give me a ring
after the weekend.

- Thanks for being there today, Dad.
- Oh, my pleasure, sunshine.

- I'm sorry I've been a bit of a pain.
- Oh, don't you worry about it.

Hey, I'll see you later.

- You're not coming in?
- I'd better not.

Is it something to do with work?

- It's one of his old haunts.
- You're joking?

I shouldn't go in.
Someone might recognise me.

So?

Well, I don't want
you connected to me.

It's just a precaution.

It's fine.
I'll go in ahead of you.

Aren't you curious to see inside?

Come on, you know you want to.

It's fine.
Go on, I'll pick you up in an hour.

A pint of lager shandy, please.

All right, lads?

Excuse me.

Dyfed Powys Police.

Can you identify
the man in the picture?

With the 'tache?
Aye, that's Johnny Cooper.

When was the photograph taken?

I don't know, the late '80s.

Probably about the time
he was on that...

What do you call it?
That darts quiz show on telly.

- Bullseye?
- Aye. That's the one.

Bullseye, 1989.

You are shitting me!

The year he killed the Dixons,

Cooper was throwing darts
on national television.

On ITV!

We've been looking for a photo
of the bastard from '89.

And we might well have
a whole bloody video.

Jesus Christ...!

Welcome home, love.

What?

Come here.

So, Bullseye was produced
by Central Television in Birmingham.

But recordings of old shows
are held in an archive in Leeds.

Now, the librarian there

has been going through lists
of old contestants

from old shows from the '80s.

And in series nine,

there's two contestants identified
as being from South Pembrokeshire.

Now, the episode they were in
was broadcast in October '89.

But it was recorded on 28th May.

A month and a day
before the Dixons were murdered.

- So, you've got the tapes, then?
- Yeah, they've just arrived.

It's a bull's-eye!

And here's your host...

- Jim Bowen!- Good evening.

Welcome to Bullseye.

Can you just fast-forward it
to the contestants?

Good.

You've got an unusual hobby, John.

Oh, yes, the scuba diving.
The scuba diving.

It's the place to do it down there,
isn't it?

Well, we've got the coastline,
yes.

And there's the
shoulder-length hair he never had.

Well, we've got the deep water...

And you can swim over mountains
and all sorts.

We hope you all have a good night.
Give them a round of applause.

Best of luck, John.

That's five.

'20.

And one.

26.

'36, and takes the first round.

Right, John, it's only £36,
but you really could do with this.

What are you having a bath for?

I won't be long!

- I could get in with you.
- No, John.

- I'm shy.
- Shy?

I've seen it all before, you know?

Come on, missus, let me in.

Can you pause it there, please?

Rewind a bit.

There.

It may not prove
he killed the Dixons.

But it proves what he looked like
four weeks before.

999, which service?

Hello?

MUSIC: Suo Gan