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The double jeopardy rule meant that
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if you were tried and acquitted,
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you couldn't stand trial
for that charge again.
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However,
when the double jeopardy law
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was abolished in respect of murder,
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it became possible to do it.
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The police sometimes
will periodically go back
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and look at cold cases
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and they will review them
to see if there are any grounds
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for evidence
to take them further forward.
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In 2008,
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nine years
after Maureen went missing,
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Colin got hold of the review,
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looked at it
and he was clearly not happy
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at what he saw.
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I mean, this was just
a staggering piece of evidence.
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His wife has gone missing
two days before
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and there he is offering
a large sum of money
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to use a crematorium,
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an incinerator,
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you know, the only use of those
is to dispose of a body.
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She disappeared and no-one knows
what happened to her,
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there was a lot
of circumstantial evidence
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against the husband.
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I'd say he was shocked,
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it was my opinion
that he had no idea
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that he was going to be arrested
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or the police were
even reinvestigating the matter.
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The whole thing cost him
his business,
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it's cost him everything.
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It was a crime
of almost breathtaking...
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The man who tried to kill her
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will never be free to harm
again...
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The life sentence
may provide some closure
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for his victims' families.
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Targeted young women
unable to defend themselves.
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Colin Sutton
was a detective chief inspector
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and senior investigating officer
at the Metropolitan Police.
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He led the investigations
into some of the most complex
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and high-profile cases ever,
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bringing dangerous criminals
to justice.
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He showed his cowardliness...
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Then the screaming...
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..another 146 victims.
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In this series,
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we will take you inside those cases
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and show you
how he caught these criminals
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using nothing
but pure detective work.
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This is The Real Manhunter.
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Now been found guilty
on all 25 of those charges.
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The oldest victim, 89.
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The officer in charge described it
as a senseless tragedy.
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The life sentence
may provide some closure
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for his victims' families.
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Every SIO,
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every murder squad in London
carries a number of investigations
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that are unsolved
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and sometimes
you get the opportunity
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with new evidence
or something turning up
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that means
it's worthwhile re-opening
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one of these
unsolved investigations.
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There are a number of justifications
for re-opening a stalled case,
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an old cold case if you like,
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quite often it's when advancements
in science means
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you can get DNA from the exhibit,
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you couldn't get back at the time
or another witness comes forward.
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In the case of the disappearance
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of Maureen Hale,
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it was slightly more unusual
circumstances.
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It was a change in the law.
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At the time,
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her disappearance was investigated
one would hope thoroughly.
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Martin Hale was arrested
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as prime suspect
in her disappearance,
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but it could never be established
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obviously that she'd been murdered
without a body.
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That appeared to be no hope
of taking the case any further.
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So, her disappearance
was literally chalked up
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as a missing person.
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Martin Hale and family
continued their lives
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without Maureen.
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The double jeopardy rule meant that
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if you were tried and acquitted,
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you couldn't stand trial
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for that charge again.
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The fear
with the Maureen Hale case was
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if her husband Martin
had been charged for murdering her
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and was acquitted,
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when her body hadn't been found,
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at some point in the future,
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the body might be discovered,
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there might be really
good forensic evidence on that body,
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which will point to his guilt,
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and it wouldn't be possible
to take him to court again.
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So, that's why
it had been held back.
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Colin and that team looked
at the circumstances here
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and decided
that they needed to go with it,
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and they needed
to shake the apple tree
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and see what dropped off.
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And when we looked
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at the circumstances
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and when we were able
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to kind of lay it out
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and think about
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what might have happened
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to Maureen Hale,
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it became
an amazingly compelling case
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and really it looked
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even at the first review
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as if we didn't need
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any more evidence
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that was discovered before,
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but we did find some.
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I joined
Colin's major investigations team
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during the case
of the Levi Bellfield,
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so I was part
of the investigating team there
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and I worked alongside Colin
for a number of years after that
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on other investigations.
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I hadn't worked
with Kev McSharry before.
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but he had been around the CID
in South West London for a long time
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and a lot of people on the team
had worked with him,
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and when he became available,
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kind of encouraged me to say,
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you know, we should try
and get him onto the team,
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and not a single second of regret
that I did that
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'cause he was a very capable man,
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he could be trusted
through absolutely everything
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and anything to a good standard.
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And he did it all with a smile,
a nice fellow too,
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so he was a really valuable addition
to the team at the time.
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In 2008,
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the Metropolitan Police decided
to do a cold case review
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on the disappearance of Maureen Hale
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and that's
when a fresh investigation
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was initiated.
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It was during the trial
of Levi Bellfield
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and obviously he was very,
very stretched,
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but he made sure
he spoke to me every morning
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because I was the case officer,
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and my job was the day
to day running of the investigation,
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so we would discuss
what was happening that day
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and how we were gonna move
the investigation forward.
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We had to do the two simultaneously,
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if we were going
to really make some progress
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with Maureen Hale's disappearance,
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so that was why
that was really given off
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to another part of the team,
and principally,
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DS Kevin McSharry and DI Amy Perrot
had a look at that
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and once we were able then to
finally disentangle ourselves
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from the Bellfield investigation,
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then Maureen Hale's disappearance
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became a kind of priority focus
for the team.
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It was given to our team
to revisit all the witnesses,
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look at all the evidence
and make decisions around
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what direction that investigation
would then take.
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Maureen Hale was born
as Maureen Weatherly,
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and she got married at a young age,
she was about 19,
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she got married to a man called Agg,
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so she became Maureen Agg
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and they, together,
had a son called Nathan.
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And when that marriage split up,
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she took Nathan,
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he was still quite young then,
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she took him with her
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and then when she got together
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with Martin Hale,
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Nathan was adopted into the family.
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And although they went on
to have four more children,
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Nathan was very much
part of the family
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and they always thought
of themselves
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as having five children.
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Maureen Hale really fell nicely
into her role
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as sort of stock broker belt mother.
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She didn't work,
she didn't have to work.
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Martin's business was booming,
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and she spent her time
looking after the children.
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And then while the children
were at school,
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it would be coffee mornings
and gym sessions
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and socialising with the other women
in the area
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that were in a similar position
to her,
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and she had a lot of friends.
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Martin Hale was essentially
a self-made man.
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He started off with the fruit
and vegetables at Kingston Market
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and by the '90s
he had built up a business worth
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over a million pounds
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based at
Western International Market.
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It was wholesaling
fruit and vegetables.
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It was a lucrative
and profitable business for him,
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he employed two or three people.
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And the profits from that meant
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they could afford
to live in Ember Court Road
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in a five-bedroom detached house
in the stock broker belt.
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Maureen Hale didn't have to work,
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she brought up the five children
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and she became part of the local
sort of mum's set
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going to coffee mornings,
making friends,
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to all external appearances
she had an idyllic life.
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Martin Hale was a trader in here
for many, many years.
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He was one
of the biggest wholesalers
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in Western International.
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I used to work opposite Martin,
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did so for a number of years.
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Very quiet man,
just a decent sort of chap.
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He had a very good catering business
which did restaurants
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and food service side
that was very good,
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he had the wholesale unit,
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and then he had his retail unit
as well,
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which seemed to work very well.
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Very hard working,
very conscientious,
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did everything right
as far as the stand goes,
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yeah, well run stand, good business.
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But it did have its pressures
for him though,
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as it was a trade that works
in the early hours of the morning.
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It meant that for years
he was getting up
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at 2:00 in the morning
six days a week,
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and although
he was home by lunchtime,
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that sort of lifestyle puts pressure
on anybody.
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The hours are a bit off,
it's got earlier and earlier.
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It used to be a 5:00 start,
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we're now here by 1:00,
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some of the guys
are even here at midnight.
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There's two different sets
to the business,
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there's the wholesale business,
then there's the food service.
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The food services are 24 hours,
they supply restaurants.
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He would come home,
and he would grab some sleep
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and then he'd be back again
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early hours of the morning
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and it was a tough life in that way.
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To the outside world,
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they appeared to be
a happy married couple,
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living a comfortable lifestyle.
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But in reality,
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Martin and Maureen
had a fractious relationship.
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There had been suggestions
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that he had assaulted her
in the past.
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Martin Hale working all the hours
he can virtually,
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Maureen's got her life
with children,
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taking children to school,
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coffee mornings with the other mums
and that sort of thing.
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And it took a toll on their marriage
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and then they started arguing
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and that was when Maureen,
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despite all the
wonderful surroundings she had,
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the home, the children
and everything, thought,
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you know, there could be more
to life than this
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and she started thinking about
being with somebody else,
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and that was what led her
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into starting affairs
outside the marriage.
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Maureen being unhappy
in her marriage,
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feeling
that she wasn't really getting
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the companionship
she wanted from Martin,
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started to look elsewhere
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and the first person
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she turned to
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was a man called John Potter
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who was a local plumber
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who'd done some work for them,
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was friendly with them.
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And that never came for her,
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I think,
she went out for a drink with him
261
00:10:45,240 --> 00:10:48,440
and they might have had
a quick kiss in his car,
262
00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:50,880
but what happened was that
for some reason Martin
263
00:10:50,960 --> 00:10:53,760
had suspected something
was going on between the two.
264
00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:57,320
And he had put a recording device
in Maureen's car,
265
00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:00,400
and he had a recording of her
with John Potter
266
00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:04,320
and was able to confront her with it
and she had to admit it
267
00:11:04,400 --> 00:11:06,640
and it caused further conflict
between them.
268
00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:07,800
It's perhaps worth thinking,
269
00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:10,680
you know,
that most people don't feel
270
00:11:10,760 --> 00:11:13,960
the need to put listening devices
into their partner's cars,
271
00:11:14,040 --> 00:11:16,440
there was obviously something
going on,
272
00:11:16,520 --> 00:11:21,800
some sort of suspicion
in Martin Hale's mind
273
00:11:21,880 --> 00:11:23,920
that Maureen was up to something
or might be up to something,
274
00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:26,880
otherwise he wouldn't have gone
to those lengths
275
00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:29,720
to record her in the car
when she went out.
276
00:11:29,800 --> 00:11:33,120
Clearly Martin Hale
had a lot to lose,
277
00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:36,320
if Maureen walked out the door
and divorced him,
278
00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:37,920
there were five children,
279
00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:40,040
there was an expensive house,
280
00:11:40,120 --> 00:11:41,960
there was a thriving business.
281
00:11:42,040 --> 00:11:46,800
And she potentially had claims
on all of those things
282
00:11:46,880 --> 00:11:48,440
if they divorced.
283
00:11:48,520 --> 00:11:51,480
So, the next time
284
00:11:51,560 --> 00:11:54,720
she was a little bit more careful
I suppose.
285
00:11:54,800 --> 00:11:58,440
And she struck up a relationship
with a man called Andrew Horton.
286
00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:03,040
Now, Horton was a gardener,
287
00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:06,240
he worked at the military cemetery
at Brookwood.
288
00:12:06,320 --> 00:12:11,080
And Maureen Hale had been there
visiting with her friends
289
00:12:11,160 --> 00:12:13,920
to look at the gardens
and the flowers there,
290
00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:15,840
got into a conversation with him
291
00:12:15,920 --> 00:12:18,280
and they had exchanged
phone numbers.
292
00:12:18,360 --> 00:12:20,840
It's quite fair to say that
293
00:12:20,920 --> 00:12:26,200
Andrew Horton was probably somebody
you'd describe as a ladies' man.
294
00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:30,320
He was not backward
at trying to make new relationships
295
00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:34,280
with women he encountered
during his job.
296
00:12:34,360 --> 00:12:37,760
Maureen, although
she was absolutely devoted
297
00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:39,000
to her children,
298
00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:41,440
became disillusioned
with the marriage.
299
00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:45,040
And there were one or two episodes
of severe arguments
300
00:12:45,120 --> 00:12:48,280
between her and Martin,
some domestic violence,
301
00:12:48,360 --> 00:12:51,000
although not
to cause serious injuries.
302
00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:54,280
Maureen decided in 1999
303
00:12:54,360 --> 00:12:57,240
that the marriage
really wasn't gonna go anywhere,
304
00:12:57,320 --> 00:12:58,880
and she needed to be out of it
305
00:12:58,960 --> 00:13:01,520
and she was going to file
for divorce.
306
00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:04,640
This all came to a head
on the 22 June, 1999.
307
00:13:04,720 --> 00:13:07,040
It was the very day
that Maureen Hale
308
00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:09,880
had divorce papers served
on Martin Hale,
309
00:13:09,960 --> 00:13:12,640
and about 10:00 that night
in their house here,
310
00:13:12,720 --> 00:13:14,000
they had a terrible row.
311
00:13:14,080 --> 00:13:16,680
Blazing noisy row
that all the children heard.
312
00:13:18,320 --> 00:13:21,960
Martin Hale's version of events
was that at the end of that row,
313
00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:23,520
Maureen Hale took up,
314
00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:26,360
left the house
and was never seen again.
315
00:13:29,920 --> 00:13:32,760
The police sometimes
will periodically go back
316
00:13:32,840 --> 00:13:35,520
and look at cold cases
and they will review them
317
00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:39,400
to see if there are any grounds
for evidence
318
00:13:39,480 --> 00:13:40,840
to take them further forward.
319
00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:43,440
In 2008,
320
00:13:43,520 --> 00:13:46,240
nine years
after Maureen went missing,
321
00:13:46,320 --> 00:13:48,440
Colin got hold of the review,
322
00:13:48,520 --> 00:13:51,160
looked at it
and he was clearly not happy
323
00:13:51,240 --> 00:13:52,240
at what he saw.
324
00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:53,600
Maureen was still outstanding,
325
00:13:53,680 --> 00:13:56,840
and the investigation
had never come to a conclusion.
326
00:13:56,920 --> 00:14:01,240
So, the Metropolitan Police decided
there would be a cold case review.
327
00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:07,000
When we started to re-open the case
of Maureen Hale's disappearance,
328
00:14:07,080 --> 00:14:09,640
the first thing we did
was to repeat all those inquiries
329
00:14:09,720 --> 00:14:11,120
that had been made
nearly a decade before
330
00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:12,360
when she went missing first of all.
331
00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:14,400
So, we looked at her bank account,
332
00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:17,360
her doctors, her dentist,
333
00:14:17,440 --> 00:14:20,760
hospital records, all her friends,
334
00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:23,960
all her family that we could trace,
335
00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:25,360
and we got the same answers,
336
00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:28,080
nothing, still no trace of her,
337
00:14:28,160 --> 00:14:32,280
no brush with officialdom
since 1999.
338
00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:34,280
She disappeared
339
00:14:34,360 --> 00:14:37,160
and no-one knows
what happened to her,
340
00:14:37,240 --> 00:14:39,080
there was a lot
of circumstantial evidence
341
00:14:39,160 --> 00:14:40,400
against the husband.
342
00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:43,000
On the evening she was last seen,
343
00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:47,240
she certainly had an argument
with Martin Hale
344
00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:50,800
and the children in the house
gave evidence of this.
345
00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:52,360
They heard a noisy argument
346
00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:54,640
between the parents.
347
00:14:54,720 --> 00:14:56,280
Coincidentally perhaps,
348
00:14:56,360 --> 00:14:59,840
it was the day
that Martin Hale had received
349
00:14:59,920 --> 00:15:02,080
the divorce papers through the post
350
00:15:02,160 --> 00:15:04,840
saying that his wife
wanted a divorce.
351
00:15:07,240 --> 00:15:10,480
It wasn't until 25 June, 1999,
352
00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:13,400
some three days
after Maureen Hale had disappeared
353
00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:15,080
that her husband Martin Hale
came here
354
00:15:15,160 --> 00:15:18,840
to Kingston Police station
to report her missing.
355
00:15:18,920 --> 00:15:20,720
The missing person report
was assessed
356
00:15:20,800 --> 00:15:23,120
as they always are
by a supervising officer
357
00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:25,480
to see if anything else
needed to be done.
358
00:15:26,760 --> 00:15:30,520
No hide or hair was ever heard
from her again,
359
00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:32,920
she didn't attend
dental appointments,
360
00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:35,520
there was no money taken
from her account,
361
00:15:35,600 --> 00:15:38,680
she didn't take her son
to a medical appointment,
362
00:15:38,760 --> 00:15:40,880
which her friends found
very strange,
363
00:15:40,960 --> 00:15:43,840
and she missed out on not going
to a concert
364
00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:45,160
which she had tickets for
365
00:15:45,240 --> 00:15:49,520
and had been eagerly
looking forward to going.
366
00:15:49,600 --> 00:15:50,920
For all intents and purposes,
367
00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:53,280
she just disappeared into thin air.
368
00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:55,200
And then finally
in the middle of July,
369
00:15:55,280 --> 00:15:58,520
so about two or three weeks
after the missing report was made,
370
00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:00,720
the police here in Kingston decided
371
00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:04,000
to arrest Martin Hale
on suspicion of murder.
372
00:16:04,080 --> 00:16:05,040
They never had the evidence,
373
00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:06,360
they knew
they didn't have the evidence
374
00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:07,440
to charge him with
375
00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:10,000
unless he admitted it
once he was arrested.
376
00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:12,240
But it did give them the opportunity
to interview him,
377
00:16:12,320 --> 00:16:13,480
get his side of the story,
378
00:16:13,560 --> 00:16:14,640
his account
379
00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:19,960
and also to search both his home
and his workplace.
380
00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:22,760
The gist of the allegation
was that Maureen
381
00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:25,640
had wanted a divorce
from her husband
382
00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:30,200
and he didn't want to settle
an expensive divorce claim
383
00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:34,080
and lose his house
and lose his children potentially,
384
00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:36,680
and the argument was that
he decided to kill her
385
00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:40,480
rather than go through the divorce.
386
00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:43,240
So, if Martin Hale
were to be believed
387
00:16:43,320 --> 00:16:47,920
and she just literally upped
and left after the argument,
388
00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:50,200
she'd done that without any
389
00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:52,120
of the basic sort of necessities,
390
00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:55,360
clothing, means of support, money,
391
00:16:55,440 --> 00:16:56,880
means of communication,
392
00:16:56,960 --> 00:16:58,760
means of transport.
393
00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:03,040
No trace of Maureen Hale
394
00:17:03,120 --> 00:17:06,440
existed officially
after that moment,
395
00:17:06,520 --> 00:17:10,280
she hadn't spoken to her doctor,
her dentist,
396
00:17:10,360 --> 00:17:13,840
hadn't used her bank account,
hadn't used her mobile phone.
397
00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:16,920
Everything was just dead.
398
00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:19,800
There was no trace of her
in any way.
399
00:17:19,880 --> 00:17:21,680
She hadn't contacted
any of her friends,
400
00:17:21,760 --> 00:17:24,240
her other family and crucially
401
00:17:24,320 --> 00:17:27,320
she hadn't contacted
any one of her five children.
402
00:17:28,800 --> 00:17:32,000
Everybody said that this was just
completely out of character,
403
00:17:32,080 --> 00:17:35,600
even if it had all got too much
for her
404
00:17:35,680 --> 00:17:37,440
and she disappeared,
405
00:17:37,520 --> 00:17:39,200
she would still have
maintained contact
406
00:17:39,280 --> 00:17:40,400
with those children.
407
00:17:43,360 --> 00:17:47,000
There were a number of things
that were out of the ordinary
408
00:17:47,080 --> 00:17:49,760
in relation
to Martin Hale's business here
409
00:17:49,840 --> 00:17:52,600
on the night
that Maureen Hale went missing.
410
00:17:52,680 --> 00:17:56,400
First, he called his manager
and told him that he was unwell
411
00:17:56,480 --> 00:17:58,800
and he wouldn't be in to work
that night,
412
00:17:58,880 --> 00:18:01,800
but the manager drove past
Martin Hale's house
413
00:18:01,880 --> 00:18:04,600
at 2:00am as he did every day,
414
00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:05,840
and they used to sort of check
415
00:18:05,920 --> 00:18:08,480
to make sure
each other had woken up,
416
00:18:08,560 --> 00:18:11,360
and he noticed
that Martin Hale's BMW car
417
00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:12,400
was missing.
418
00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:13,440
So, he found this a bit odd,
419
00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:16,160
and his boss had phoned him to say,
"I'm not well.
420
00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:17,560
"I'm not coming to work"
421
00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:20,560
but when he went past his house
in the early hours of the morning,
422
00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:23,560
his car wasn't there
implying that he was out somewhere.
423
00:18:23,640 --> 00:18:26,760
You could say that was suspicious.
424
00:18:26,840 --> 00:18:32,720
There were further circumstances
which would have created suspicion.
425
00:18:32,800 --> 00:18:34,640
When the manager got to work,
426
00:18:34,720 --> 00:18:36,360
they found
that there was a spade missing,
427
00:18:36,440 --> 00:18:39,200
they had a spade that they use
for clearing up the rubbish
428
00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:41,400
and bits of old fruit and veg
429
00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:43,600
and they had to find another way
of doing it for a few days
430
00:18:43,680 --> 00:18:47,400
and then Martin Hale
brought the spade back to work
431
00:18:47,480 --> 00:18:49,600
and he was not asked about it,
and nobody said anything about it.
432
00:18:49,680 --> 00:18:50,640
He was the boss.
433
00:18:50,720 --> 00:18:53,120
He could do what he likes,
but it was an odd thing
434
00:18:53,200 --> 00:18:55,800
that he would want to use the spade
at home for reason
435
00:18:55,880 --> 00:18:58,280
during that period immediately
after Maureen went missing.
436
00:18:58,360 --> 00:19:00,720
Lastly, both Martin Hale
as the owner of the business
437
00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:02,440
and his manager had company cars,
438
00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:05,760
but they were very different,
Martin's was a 7 Series BMW,
439
00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:08,360
whereas the manager had
a little Ford Fiesta.
440
00:19:08,440 --> 00:19:14,120
An employee of Mr Hale
stated that on the night in question
441
00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:16,120
when Maureen vanished, Martin,
442
00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:17,840
Mr Hale had rung him
443
00:19:17,920 --> 00:19:21,960
and said that he wanted
to use his Ford Fiesta car.
444
00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:24,200
He said, "Well,
I just fancied a change,
445
00:19:24,280 --> 00:19:26,120
"I'm allowed to change my mind,
446
00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:28,280
you know, "they are both cars
belonging to my business
447
00:19:28,360 --> 00:19:29,400
"and I'm entitled to drive them,
448
00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:32,480
"and I just fancied driving
something different for a while."
449
00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:37,320
During the course of the search
of Martin Hale's house,
450
00:19:37,400 --> 00:19:38,600
a briefcase was recovered
451
00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:41,680
and within that briefcase
was a list.
452
00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:44,720
In his briefcase
were the divorce papers
453
00:19:44,800 --> 00:19:47,360
that Maureen had had sent to him,
454
00:19:47,440 --> 00:19:49,480
and with them was a pad,
455
00:19:49,560 --> 00:19:50,760
and on that pad,
456
00:19:50,840 --> 00:19:52,040
in Martin Hale's own handwriting,
457
00:19:52,120 --> 00:19:54,920
which he admitted
to writing himself,
458
00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:58,520
there was a numbered list
of four choices,
459
00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:02,120
"At sea, landfill,
460
00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:05,880
"acid, by fire,"
461
00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:08,480
and when he was asked
why he had written that,
462
00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:11,720
he said he'd been
having some dark thoughts
463
00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:15,960
and he thought about
if he were to kill his wife,
464
00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:19,200
how would he be able
to dispose of the body.
465
00:20:19,280 --> 00:20:22,000
And he had written that down
as his brainstorming session
466
00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:25,120
with himself,
but of course he never meant it
467
00:20:25,200 --> 00:20:26,640
and never come through with it
468
00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:28,280
and never did go through with it.
469
00:20:28,360 --> 00:20:30,000
He told the investigating officers,
470
00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:31,280
the interviewing officers
471
00:20:31,360 --> 00:20:34,360
that he was going through
a black time at that stage
472
00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:36,920
and that he used to make notes about
absolutely anything.
473
00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:42,200
He said, "Yes, I did write it,
that's what they are,
474
00:20:42,280 --> 00:20:44,080
"I was in a particularly dark place,
475
00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:45,520
"but it doesn't mean I did it,
476
00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:47,800
"I was just writing down
dark thoughts."
477
00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:50,280
Now, who knows
why someone would have wanted
478
00:20:50,360 --> 00:20:52,320
to write those things down,
479
00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:53,520
but it could be argued
480
00:20:53,600 --> 00:20:58,600
that it may be in the instance
of disposing of a body.
481
00:20:58,680 --> 00:21:02,000
When the double jeopardy rule
was changed
482
00:21:02,080 --> 00:21:04,360
and it became possible
to try people twice
483
00:21:04,440 --> 00:21:06,400
for the same murder,
484
00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:11,080
then that really was the removal
of the barrier to prosecuting him,
485
00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:13,680
so that was why in 2008,
486
00:21:13,760 --> 00:21:18,120
we decided to re-open
the investigation thinking that
487
00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:20,360
even if we couldn't find the body,
488
00:21:20,440 --> 00:21:22,800
then we still had a chance
for prosecution.
489
00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:27,880
It's so difficult to search
in this part of the world.
490
00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:31,760
There's so many woods and forest
and opens land,
491
00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:34,800
we saw that
in the Millie Dowler investigation
492
00:21:34,880 --> 00:21:38,200
where Surrey police searched
their county virtually continuously
493
00:21:38,280 --> 00:21:41,560
for six months
and still hadn't competed it,
494
00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:45,160
there was no way that we could do
a speculative search like that.
495
00:21:45,240 --> 00:21:47,040
If we were going
to search somewhere,
496
00:21:47,120 --> 00:21:50,080
we had to be doing it
on firm intelligence,
497
00:21:50,160 --> 00:21:53,520
with a good idea
that we were gonna succeed.
498
00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:57,080
So, when it came to the searches
that we were going to do
499
00:21:57,160 --> 00:21:59,640
for Maureen Hale's body,
500
00:21:59,720 --> 00:22:03,720
we had to be a little bit selective
and the only place really
501
00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:06,200
that we had any source
of intelligence
502
00:22:06,280 --> 00:22:08,800
or idea
that it was a good place to look
503
00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:10,320
was of course the family home.
504
00:22:10,400 --> 00:22:11,360
They had a large garden
505
00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:14,560
and we searched not only
inside the house
506
00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:16,920
and the building
but the entire grounds
507
00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:19,200
and that even meant
as far as removing
508
00:22:19,280 --> 00:22:22,360
a recently erected shed
and looking underneath it,
509
00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:25,760
we had ground
penetrating radar there
510
00:22:25,840 --> 00:22:27,480
to see if we can find areas of land
511
00:22:27,560 --> 00:22:30,560
that had been recently
turned open or disturbed,
512
00:22:30,640 --> 00:22:32,560
and the whole thing took three
or four days
513
00:22:32,640 --> 00:22:36,080
and was quite a large operation.
514
00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:37,480
But of course it came to nothing
515
00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:39,960
and we found no trace of her there.
516
00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:50,800
when the back garden was re-examined
and that was dug up
517
00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:54,440
to see if they could find a trace
of her there which they didn't.
518
00:22:54,520 --> 00:22:55,720
We dug up the patio
519
00:22:55,800 --> 00:22:59,480
and we dug up areas of interest
in the garden,
520
00:22:59,560 --> 00:23:01,240
but we never found any body
521
00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:04,720
or any bones or anything like that.
522
00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:06,840
I don't think
that they realistically
523
00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:11,680
would have had any expectation
of finding Maureen, wherein,
524
00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:14,560
you know, lay the great problem
with this case
525
00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:16,680
because without her body
526
00:23:16,760 --> 00:23:19,240
and the potential forensic
opportunities
527
00:23:19,320 --> 00:23:21,280
that might have thrown up,
528
00:23:21,360 --> 00:23:26,960
it neither rules Martin Hale in
as a definite suspect
529
00:23:27,040 --> 00:23:29,760
nor rules him out
as definitely being innocent,
530
00:23:29,840 --> 00:23:32,520
at least in the eyes of the police.
531
00:23:32,600 --> 00:23:33,840
During the course
of the investigation,
532
00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:36,920
we were contacted by a man
by the name of Timothy Gilbert,
533
00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:40,760
he was the manager
of the Silvermere Pet Crematorium,
534
00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:44,480
and he told us that around the time
that Maureen Hale went missing,
535
00:23:44,560 --> 00:23:46,520
he was approached
by a member of the public
536
00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:48,520
who asked to hire the crematorium.
537
00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:52,920
There was another
remarkable piece of evidence.
538
00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:57,400
And Martin Hale was in the habit
of drinking
539
00:23:57,480 --> 00:23:59,320
in a sports club
540
00:23:59,400 --> 00:24:03,160
which is effectively in the middle
of Sandown Park race course,
541
00:24:03,240 --> 00:24:04,680
but there is a bar
and he used to go in there
542
00:24:04,760 --> 00:24:06,320
and drink quite a lot.
543
00:24:06,400 --> 00:24:09,160
And just a day or two
544
00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:12,440
after Maureen had gone missing,
545
00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:17,800
he is in the bar and he meets a man
546
00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:20,000
he went to school with,
went to primary school with
547
00:24:20,080 --> 00:24:23,400
but he hasn't seen
for 30 or 40 years.
548
00:24:23,480 --> 00:24:25,840
And he's chatting to him
and this man tells him
549
00:24:25,920 --> 00:24:30,360
that he's now the manager
of a pet cemetery
550
00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:33,640
and golf course
down in Cobham called Silvermere.
551
00:24:33,720 --> 00:24:37,000
So, Martin says,
"That sounds really interesting.
552
00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:38,240
"I might pop down and have a look,"
553
00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:41,080
and the man who he was speaking to,
554
00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:43,440
the old friend thought
that he meant the golf course
555
00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:45,720
and he was interested
in playing golf.
556
00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:49,440
But Martin Hale turned up
there the very next day.
557
00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:51,280
And it wasn't the golf course
he was interested in,
558
00:24:51,360 --> 00:24:52,320
it was the crematorium.
559
00:24:52,400 --> 00:24:55,560
He asked the manager
560
00:24:55,640 --> 00:25:00,480
if he ever rented out
the incinerators at the crematorium
561
00:25:00,560 --> 00:25:03,000
and he looks at him,
you know, aghast and said, "No,"
562
00:25:03,080 --> 00:25:05,360
and Martin Hale then said,
563
00:25:05,440 --> 00:25:10,400
"What if I were to offer you
20,000 pounds,
564
00:25:10,480 --> 00:25:13,800
"would you let me borrow one
for the weekend then?"
565
00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:16,440
We found this quite interesting
because it wasn't the norm
566
00:25:16,520 --> 00:25:18,360
and we asked Mr Gilbert,
"Was it the norm?"
567
00:25:18,440 --> 00:25:19,760
And he said it was very,
very unusual
568
00:25:19,840 --> 00:25:22,640
for individuals to approach
and ask to hire it,
569
00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:24,800
not to cremate an animal,
570
00:25:24,880 --> 00:25:27,440
so he found it very interesting,
571
00:25:27,520 --> 00:25:29,320
and we also found it
very interesting.
572
00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:32,920
I mean, this was just
a staggering piece of evidence.
573
00:25:34,360 --> 00:25:37,200
His wife
has gone missing two days before
574
00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:40,560
and there he is offering
a large sum of money
575
00:25:40,640 --> 00:25:44,520
to use a crematorium,
576
00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:46,160
an incinerator,
577
00:25:46,240 --> 00:25:49,400
you know, the only use of those
is to dispose of a body.
578
00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:51,000
He just said, "No,
that didn't happen,
579
00:25:51,080 --> 00:25:53,960
"I went there,
I spoke to the man in charge,
580
00:25:54,040 --> 00:25:56,480
"who was an old friend
from primary school.
581
00:25:56,560 --> 00:25:59,480
"But I went there to look
and talk about the golf course,
582
00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:02,520
"not about the pet crematorium."
583
00:26:02,600 --> 00:26:05,520
The legal position is
when someone has been missing
584
00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:07,600
and there is no proof of life
for over seven years,
585
00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:10,400
you can apply to the court
to have them ruled
586
00:26:10,480 --> 00:26:11,440
and deemed as dead
587
00:26:11,520 --> 00:26:15,320
and that leaves you free
to marry again
588
00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:19,320
and also claim on any insurances
or various other things.
589
00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:21,560
You know, that the person
is legally treated as dead then,
590
00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:24,160
although there is no hard evidence
of it.
591
00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:25,320
As I understand it,
592
00:26:25,400 --> 00:26:28,920
it was very shortly
after that seven-year period was up
593
00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:31,200
that Martin Hale
made the application to the court.
594
00:26:31,280 --> 00:26:33,200
The court had no option
but to declare her dead
595
00:26:33,280 --> 00:26:35,640
because
there was absolutely no trace
596
00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:37,120
of her being alive
597
00:26:37,200 --> 00:26:40,840
since that day in 1999
when she was last seen.
598
00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:42,720
Our thought was you know,
599
00:26:42,800 --> 00:26:44,800
if you put everything we know
about this case
600
00:26:44,880 --> 00:26:46,960
in front of the jury,
and you have got,
601
00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:50,440
you know,
Hale trying to lose his car
602
00:26:50,520 --> 00:26:51,920
for a few days,
603
00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:53,880
borrowing a shovel from work,
604
00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:55,880
listing on a piece of paper
605
00:26:55,960 --> 00:26:57,360
the ways which he might dispose
606
00:26:57,440 --> 00:26:58,840
of his wife's body,
607
00:26:58,920 --> 00:27:03,960
and then asking
if he could pay a large sum of money
608
00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:07,240
to rent a pet crematorium
for the afternoon.
609
00:27:07,320 --> 00:27:09,320
There's so much there
610
00:27:09,400 --> 00:27:12,040
to build a circumstantial case
611
00:27:12,120 --> 00:27:14,840
that I thought it was time
we went to the CPS
612
00:27:14,920 --> 00:27:16,480
and said, "What do you think?"
613
00:27:16,560 --> 00:27:21,400
A file was eventually presented
to the Crown Prosecution Service
614
00:27:21,480 --> 00:27:23,960
and because he never had
previously been charged
615
00:27:24,040 --> 00:27:27,320
or taken to court and acquitted,
616
00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:30,480
there were no
double jeopardy issues,
617
00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:34,400
and the CPS gave the go ahead
for him to be prosecuted
618
00:27:34,480 --> 00:27:35,800
on a charge of murder.
619
00:27:35,880 --> 00:27:37,040
It didn't take the CPS very long
620
00:27:37,120 --> 00:27:38,080
to come back to us
621
00:27:38,160 --> 00:27:39,120
and say, "Yeah, we've looked
622
00:27:39,200 --> 00:27:40,240
at this circumstantial evidence
623
00:27:40,320 --> 00:27:43,200
"and we think
there's a realistic prospect
624
00:27:43,280 --> 00:27:44,520
"of conviction here,"
625
00:27:44,600 --> 00:27:46,480
and that's the criteria they use,
626
00:27:46,560 --> 00:27:48,560
"Go and charge him."
627
00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:51,200
I was the arresting officer
for Martin Hale.
628
00:27:51,280 --> 00:27:53,840
Colin Sutton had decided
that he wouldn't be arrested
629
00:27:53,920 --> 00:27:54,960
at his home address
630
00:27:55,040 --> 00:27:58,120
because we didn't want
to bring any more pain
631
00:27:58,200 --> 00:27:59,200
to his family.
632
00:27:59,280 --> 00:28:00,680
So, it was decided
he'd be followed away
633
00:28:00,760 --> 00:28:02,800
from his address,
634
00:28:02,880 --> 00:28:04,080
when he came to a stop,
635
00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:07,480
we'd engage with him
and he would be arrested,
636
00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:10,000
unfortunately
as we were following his car away,
637
00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:12,120
the surveillance team lost sight
of him,
638
00:28:12,200 --> 00:28:16,680
and we bomb-bursted
to all corners of Surrey
639
00:28:16,760 --> 00:28:17,760
to try and find him.
640
00:28:17,840 --> 00:28:19,960
I parked up in a Tesco's car park
641
00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:22,640
and was reviewing
what was said in the logs.
642
00:28:22,720 --> 00:28:26,080
It said he left his home address
with an orange carrier bag,
643
00:28:26,160 --> 00:28:28,360
and as I sat in the car on my own,
644
00:28:28,440 --> 00:28:30,400
I thought, "Halfords,"
645
00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:34,160
so I drove to the nearest Halfords
and his car was parked up there.
646
00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:36,560
He came out of Halfords
with another male,
647
00:28:36,640 --> 00:28:37,840
as he approached his car,
648
00:28:37,920 --> 00:28:39,880
I stopped him, introduced myself,
649
00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:42,120
and formally arrested him
and cautioned him.
650
00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:43,800
I had never met him,
651
00:28:43,880 --> 00:28:47,120
so I hadn't formed an opinion
on him,
652
00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:48,840
during the cold case review,
653
00:28:48,920 --> 00:28:50,880
I met him on a number of occasions,
654
00:28:50,960 --> 00:28:55,040
and I found him to be accessible,
655
00:28:55,120 --> 00:28:56,560
he would always talk.
656
00:28:56,640 --> 00:28:59,040
Pretty normal
to be perfectly honest,
657
00:28:59,120 --> 00:29:00,280
I didn't dislike him,
658
00:29:00,360 --> 00:29:03,105
but I had a job to do
and that's what I had to do.
659
00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:03,240
GOOD EVENING
660
00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:06,280
When Martin Hale was arrested,
he was polite,
661
00:29:06,360 --> 00:29:07,840
you know, he was a reasonable man.
662
00:29:07,920 --> 00:29:09,800
He was a man who ran a business
663
00:29:09,880 --> 00:29:11,520
and knew how to interact
with people.
664
00:29:11,600 --> 00:29:13,360
I'd say he was shocked,
665
00:29:13,440 --> 00:29:15,120
it was my opinion
that he had no idea
666
00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:16,440
that he was going to be arrested
667
00:29:16,520 --> 00:29:18,800
or the police were
even reinvestigating the matter,
668
00:29:18,880 --> 00:29:20,720
so when I formally arrested him,
669
00:29:20,800 --> 00:29:23,880
the expression on his face
I'd describe as sheer shock.
670
00:29:23,960 --> 00:29:28,680
Martin Hale was arrested,
interviewed,
671
00:29:28,760 --> 00:29:32,040
and he denied knowing anything
more than he had said before
672
00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:33,600
about the disappearance of his wife,
673
00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:35,200
that he had nothing to do with it
at all.
674
00:29:35,280 --> 00:29:36,640
So, we were always unable
675
00:29:36,720 --> 00:29:38,520
to find Hale's body,
676
00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:42,160
but nevertheless we went to court
in 2008
677
00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:48,160
and we were reasonably confident
that we had enough evidence
678
00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:50,760
that any reasonable jury
679
00:29:50,840 --> 00:29:52,800
would look at all the facts
680
00:29:52,880 --> 00:29:53,880
and conclude
681
00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:56,000
that she must have been
murdered by him.
682
00:29:57,960 --> 00:30:00,080
The children didn't know
which way to turn,
683
00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:02,400
once we'd arrested him
and charged him
684
00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:05,720
because
they've already lost their mother,
685
00:30:05,800 --> 00:30:07,680
they've lived
with their father growing up
686
00:30:07,760 --> 00:30:09,240
into adults, most of them
687
00:30:09,320 --> 00:30:11,200
and, you know,
it was really difficult for us
688
00:30:11,280 --> 00:30:12,600
to deal with them
689
00:30:12,680 --> 00:30:16,640
because they wanted to be supportive
of their father
690
00:30:16,720 --> 00:30:20,120
and we sort of tried
to deploy family liaison officers
691
00:30:20,200 --> 00:30:21,160
to them as we would do
692
00:30:21,240 --> 00:30:23,480
to the children
of any murder victim.
693
00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:25,000
But of course, the difficulty was,
694
00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:27,760
the suspect
was also very close to them,
695
00:30:27,840 --> 00:30:30,120
it's a really unusual situation.
696
00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:34,520
The children
I'm sure were extremely traumatised
697
00:30:34,600 --> 00:30:35,560
by losing their mother
698
00:30:35,640 --> 00:30:38,240
and I'm aware
that they supported their father
699
00:30:38,320 --> 00:30:40,520
throughout the whole trial process
700
00:30:40,600 --> 00:30:41,680
and didn't believe
701
00:30:41,760 --> 00:30:43,160
that he could have killed
their mother.
702
00:30:43,240 --> 00:30:44,560
And perhaps even more so
703
00:30:44,640 --> 00:30:48,480
because they'd spent the last
seven or eight years
704
00:30:48,560 --> 00:30:50,440
thinking their mother
has deserted them
705
00:30:50,520 --> 00:30:52,080
and they are living
with their father,
706
00:30:52,160 --> 00:30:54,840
so there is a lot of
kind of conflict
707
00:30:54,920 --> 00:30:57,160
and conflicted ideas and views
708
00:30:57,240 --> 00:30:58,760
for those young people
to understand.
709
00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:00,840
It was something we were never
710
00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:03,040
really able to come
711
00:31:03,120 --> 00:31:04,520
to terms with satisfactorily,
712
00:31:04,600 --> 00:31:07,760
the relationship
that we had with the children
713
00:31:07,840 --> 00:31:09,800
was always a little bit
at arm's length.
714
00:31:09,880 --> 00:31:11,160
It wasn't like
715
00:31:11,240 --> 00:31:14,360
a normal family liaison relationship
716
00:31:14,440 --> 00:31:15,560
because of that.
717
00:31:15,640 --> 00:31:20,520
By the time the case came to trial
in 2009,
718
00:31:20,600 --> 00:31:23,480
Martin Hale had
already had his wife, Maureen,
719
00:31:23,560 --> 00:31:25,600
declared legally dead by the court.
720
00:31:25,680 --> 00:31:28,400
Although we had to go
721
00:31:28,480 --> 00:31:30,240
through the process of proving that
722
00:31:30,320 --> 00:31:31,600
and making sure that we could find
723
00:31:31,680 --> 00:31:33,280
no trace of her being alive,
724
00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:34,320
I really don't think
725
00:31:34,400 --> 00:31:35,440
that was an issue for the jury,
726
00:31:35,520 --> 00:31:39,440
their sole issue was who killed her.
727
00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:42,560
The defence case was clearly
728
00:31:42,640 --> 00:31:44,400
that Martin Hale
had nothing to do with it.
729
00:31:44,480 --> 00:31:46,440
He couldn't answer anything more
than he'd answered already,
730
00:31:46,520 --> 00:31:47,840
he didn't know
what happened to his wife,
731
00:31:47,920 --> 00:31:48,920
she just left.
732
00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:50,200
What they also did though
733
00:31:50,280 --> 00:31:53,920
was they kind of exploited
734
00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:55,880
the lover Andrew Horton.
735
00:31:58,080 --> 00:32:01,760
Martin Hale was eventually charged
with his wife's murder
736
00:32:01,840 --> 00:32:03,960
and stood trial here
in Kingston Crown Court
737
00:32:04,040 --> 00:32:07,520
in January and February 2009.
738
00:32:07,600 --> 00:32:10,560
What happened was that Andrew Horton
who was Maureen Hale's lover
739
00:32:10,640 --> 00:32:12,480
was called as a witness.
740
00:32:12,560 --> 00:32:16,520
He gave a rather colourful account
of his lifestyle
741
00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:20,040
and his philandering
and misogyny I suppose.
742
00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:22,120
And he told the jury all about
743
00:32:22,200 --> 00:32:25,080
how he would often have
several lovers
744
00:32:25,160 --> 00:32:26,240
on the go at the same time
745
00:32:26,320 --> 00:32:29,680
and I don't think he really
endeared himself to the jury.
746
00:32:29,760 --> 00:32:33,560
And the defence then called
a couple of his former girlfriends.
747
00:32:33,640 --> 00:32:36,320
And the jury heard
748
00:32:36,400 --> 00:32:38,040
that he had been violent
towards them
749
00:32:38,120 --> 00:32:41,120
and he threatened
on one occasion to kill them.
750
00:32:41,200 --> 00:32:45,200
There was some potential evidence
against Martin Hale,
751
00:32:45,280 --> 00:32:47,480
otherwise the case
would never have been brought.
752
00:32:47,560 --> 00:32:49,360
There was a note he'd written,
753
00:32:49,440 --> 00:32:51,120
he didn't deny writing it,
754
00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:54,920
in which he wrote about the various
means of disposing of a body.
755
00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:58,040
He'd gone to see someone
about the potential
756
00:32:58,120 --> 00:33:00,520
for using a pet crematorium.
757
00:33:00,600 --> 00:33:03,600
There was the aspect
of his fractured relationship
758
00:33:03,680 --> 00:33:04,720
with Maureen.
759
00:33:04,800 --> 00:33:07,280
There was some evidence
that was never even presented
760
00:33:07,360 --> 00:33:10,000
to the jury
761
00:33:10,080 --> 00:33:12,120
in the sense
that it didn't lead anywhere.
762
00:33:12,200 --> 00:33:17,480
But Martin Hale
had a reasonable explanation for
763
00:33:17,560 --> 00:33:20,080
all of the evidence
that was put against him.
764
00:33:20,160 --> 00:33:22,640
The fact
that his marriage broke down,
765
00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:23,920
that kind of thing happens,
766
00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:26,240
it doesn't mean
that someone has killed somebody
767
00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:27,320
or murdered someone.
768
00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:31,680
It doesn't necessarily provide
a motive
769
00:33:31,760 --> 00:33:33,600
for killing his wife.
770
00:33:33,680 --> 00:33:37,000
All that you need
is a reasonable doubt
771
00:33:37,080 --> 00:33:39,560
and all it needed was just
a couple of members of that jury
772
00:33:39,640 --> 00:33:43,840
to think this
rather unsavoury character
773
00:33:43,920 --> 00:33:45,400
who they see before them
774
00:33:45,480 --> 00:33:47,080
could have been responsible
for the murder.
775
00:33:47,160 --> 00:33:48,400
It was a three-week trial,
776
00:33:48,480 --> 00:33:51,440
and at the end of the trial
he was found not guilty
777
00:33:51,520 --> 00:33:52,960
and so allowed to go a free man.
778
00:33:56,160 --> 00:33:58,840
It took the jury three hours
to acquit him,
779
00:33:58,920 --> 00:34:00,880
hardly anything
in a long murder trial
780
00:34:00,960 --> 00:34:04,040
as this was
or a longish murder trial.
781
00:34:04,120 --> 00:34:06,880
They must have been fairly certain
782
00:34:06,960 --> 00:34:09,840
that there was not enough evidence
to convict
783
00:34:09,920 --> 00:34:11,600
and that he was therefore
784
00:34:11,680 --> 00:34:13,960
not guilty of the crime,
785
00:34:14,040 --> 00:34:17,080
the only way
that could ever be changed now
786
00:34:17,160 --> 00:34:22,840
is with double jeopardy laws
and the discovery of a body.
787
00:34:23,960 --> 00:34:25,640
I was sitting
at Kingston Crown Court
788
00:34:25,720 --> 00:34:27,600
waiting for the verdict
789
00:34:27,680 --> 00:34:32,880
and it came rather more quickly
than we might have expected.
790
00:34:32,960 --> 00:34:35,760
And it's a fool's game really
to try and read into that
791
00:34:35,840 --> 00:34:39,920
because, you know, you can have
guilty verdicts very quickly,
792
00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:42,320
you can have not guilty verdicts
very quickly.
793
00:34:42,400 --> 00:34:46,200
But I guess given the amount
of evidence
794
00:34:46,280 --> 00:34:48,040
that I thought
we'd presented to the court,
795
00:34:48,120 --> 00:34:51,640
I kind of expected it
to take a little bit longer
796
00:34:51,720 --> 00:34:54,840
for the jury
to deliberate through it,
797
00:34:54,920 --> 00:34:55,880
and I was shocked,
798
00:34:55,960 --> 00:34:57,000
I really was shocked
799
00:34:57,080 --> 00:35:00,120
because I thought we had presented
800
00:35:00,200 --> 00:35:01,840
a compelling case
801
00:35:01,920 --> 00:35:03,680
and we'd worked hard at it.
802
00:35:03,760 --> 00:35:06,400
And it was difficult really to see
803
00:35:06,480 --> 00:35:09,880
if, you know,
the jury accepted the evidence
804
00:35:09,960 --> 00:35:12,320
that we'd discovered,
805
00:35:12,400 --> 00:35:15,760
then I thought they were bound
to convict him.
806
00:35:15,840 --> 00:35:17,960
The children gave evidence
in court,
807
00:35:18,040 --> 00:35:19,800
saying there had been a row
between their parents
808
00:35:19,880 --> 00:35:22,160
on the night that Maureen vanished,
809
00:35:22,240 --> 00:35:24,000
but their demeanour
towards their father
810
00:35:24,080 --> 00:35:27,080
was the all-important thing
for a jury,
811
00:35:27,160 --> 00:35:29,600
they would have been looking
very carefully at that
812
00:35:29,680 --> 00:35:34,120
and it wouldn't fail to register
with them
813
00:35:34,200 --> 00:35:37,360
that Martin's children
were being supportive of him
814
00:35:37,440 --> 00:35:40,720
in what must have been
his darkest hour at that point,
815
00:35:40,800 --> 00:35:44,120
facing trial for the murder
of his wife,
816
00:35:44,200 --> 00:35:48,160
their mother,
a very difficult situation.
817
00:35:48,240 --> 00:35:51,360
But the fact that the children
didn't turn their back on him
818
00:35:51,440 --> 00:35:55,560
would certainly have been
a compelling factor in this case.
819
00:35:55,640 --> 00:35:58,440
It's always difficult
when you think you've got a good
820
00:35:58,520 --> 00:36:01,960
and solid case and you go to court,
and the jury acquit.
821
00:36:02,040 --> 00:36:06,640
In this case, we had a mass
of circumstantial evidence,
822
00:36:06,720 --> 00:36:10,440
there was all the evidence
about Maureen not having any contact
823
00:36:10,520 --> 00:36:12,400
with officialdom with her bank,
824
00:36:12,480 --> 00:36:14,600
doctors, hospitals,
anything like that,
825
00:36:14,680 --> 00:36:16,800
missing out
on important family events,
826
00:36:16,880 --> 00:36:19,640
walking out
and never saying a word again
827
00:36:19,720 --> 00:36:21,480
to five children.
828
00:36:21,560 --> 00:36:24,520
You've also got the fact that
on the night that she went missing,
829
00:36:24,600 --> 00:36:27,720
Martin Hale borrowed a spade
from his place of work
830
00:36:27,800 --> 00:36:30,040
which he didn't take back
for a few days
831
00:36:30,120 --> 00:36:34,000
and bizarrely also at the same time
swapped his 7 Series BMW
832
00:36:34,080 --> 00:36:36,520
with his manager's car,
which was a Ford Fiesta.
833
00:36:36,600 --> 00:36:39,120
And he didn't swap that back
834
00:36:39,200 --> 00:36:41,200
until after he had been arrested
by police
835
00:36:41,280 --> 00:36:42,520
and they'd searched the Fiesta.
836
00:36:42,600 --> 00:36:44,520
But the fact is that
837
00:36:44,600 --> 00:36:47,200
it is the prosecution
who bring the case
838
00:36:47,280 --> 00:36:49,920
and the prosecution have to prove it
beyond any reasonable doubt,
839
00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:52,280
if any member of the jury
has a reasonable doubt,
840
00:36:52,360 --> 00:36:53,640
they have to say not guilty.
841
00:36:53,720 --> 00:36:56,960
It's always slightly disappointing
when you get a non-guilty verdict,
842
00:36:57,040 --> 00:37:00,720
but the evidence
was put before 12 men and women
843
00:37:00,800 --> 00:37:04,080
and they came back
with a not guilty conclusion,
844
00:37:04,160 --> 00:37:06,720
so we have to accept it and move on.
845
00:37:06,800 --> 00:37:08,840
I think in this case,
846
00:37:08,920 --> 00:37:11,160
there was a witness
called Andrew Horton
847
00:37:11,240 --> 00:37:14,280
who was Maureen Hale's lover.
848
00:37:14,360 --> 00:37:17,080
What the defence then did
was brought two witnesses
849
00:37:17,160 --> 00:37:19,800
who were former girlfriends of his
850
00:37:19,880 --> 00:37:22,720
who kind of painted a picture of him
as this misogynist
851
00:37:22,800 --> 00:37:24,560
and somebody
who'd been violent towards them,
852
00:37:24,640 --> 00:37:26,160
threatened violence to them,
853
00:37:26,240 --> 00:37:29,200
and in one case actually threatened
to kill her.
854
00:37:29,280 --> 00:37:31,840
I remember watching
Andrew Horton give evidence
855
00:37:31,920 --> 00:37:34,200
at Kingston Crown Court
during the course of the trial.
856
00:37:34,280 --> 00:37:36,520
He was very confident,
857
00:37:36,600 --> 00:37:39,200
and he came across
as very believable
858
00:37:39,280 --> 00:37:41,480
and that's a case
of swaying the jury
859
00:37:41,560 --> 00:37:43,240
with what he had to tell.
860
00:37:43,320 --> 00:37:45,120
He had been involved
in numerous affairs
861
00:37:45,200 --> 00:37:48,240
and he had
assaulted numerous ex-girlfriends,
862
00:37:48,320 --> 00:37:50,160
but he was quite happy
to talk about that.
863
00:37:50,240 --> 00:37:52,960
I think it's easy to understand
864
00:37:53,040 --> 00:37:56,600
how the jury didn't take to him
865
00:37:56,680 --> 00:38:00,040
and the suggestion
that it could have been him
866
00:38:00,120 --> 00:38:03,280
and not Martin Hale
that murdered Maureen Hale
867
00:38:03,360 --> 00:38:05,400
was enough
in some of those jurors' minds
868
00:38:05,480 --> 00:38:08,040
just to provoke that doubt
and that's all they need,
869
00:38:08,120 --> 00:38:10,840
a reasonable doubt
and they must acquit.
870
00:38:10,920 --> 00:38:14,120
And I think it is the main reason
871
00:38:14,200 --> 00:38:17,320
that the jury found
there was a doubt
872
00:38:17,400 --> 00:38:21,560
because the question
was left hanging there,
873
00:38:21,640 --> 00:38:26,720
you've got Maureen's lover
at the time is this man,
874
00:38:26,800 --> 00:38:31,560
who has a record
of using violence towards women.
875
00:38:31,640 --> 00:38:34,720
Is it possible, members of the jury,
that he might have killed her?
876
00:38:34,800 --> 00:38:39,000
I was surprised
that the jury found him not guilty,
877
00:38:39,080 --> 00:38:40,840
but our justice system means
878
00:38:40,920 --> 00:38:44,480
that there only has to be
a small amount of doubt
879
00:38:44,560 --> 00:38:46,800
to go for a not guilty verdict,
880
00:38:46,880 --> 00:38:49,080
so I can only assume
that they thought
881
00:38:49,160 --> 00:38:52,520
there was some reasonable doubt
that he had not murdered his wife.
882
00:38:52,600 --> 00:38:53,840
That's what happened.
883
00:38:53,920 --> 00:38:56,200
Ultimately professionally,
884
00:38:56,280 --> 00:38:58,000
you know, I did my job,
885
00:38:58,080 --> 00:39:02,120
I got a team together
to get the most evidence we could
886
00:39:02,200 --> 00:39:03,440
and to put it before a court
887
00:39:03,520 --> 00:39:07,120
and then the rest of that process
kind of takes over.
888
00:39:07,200 --> 00:39:08,800
Of course, during the trial,
889
00:39:08,880 --> 00:39:11,040
the fact that Martin Hale
890
00:39:11,120 --> 00:39:14,320
might have been
in another relationship himself
891
00:39:14,400 --> 00:39:15,920
was never put before the jury
892
00:39:16,000 --> 00:39:18,320
and indeed it was difficult
for us to work out,
893
00:39:18,400 --> 00:39:20,360
we still really don't know
894
00:39:20,440 --> 00:39:23,600
how long his relationship
had been going on
895
00:39:23,680 --> 00:39:25,480
and whether that was prior
896
00:39:25,560 --> 00:39:27,240
to Maureen's disappearance
897
00:39:27,320 --> 00:39:29,120
or something
that occurred afterwards.
898
00:39:29,200 --> 00:39:33,840
I think the depth and breadth
of the evidence
899
00:39:33,920 --> 00:39:36,480
that we presented
to the court in this case
900
00:39:36,560 --> 00:39:39,440
exceeded that in other cases
that I had
901
00:39:39,520 --> 00:39:41,960
where the defendant
was found guilty.
902
00:39:42,040 --> 00:39:43,240
At the conclusion of the trial,
903
00:39:43,320 --> 00:39:45,160
the Metropolitan Police
made a statement
904
00:39:45,240 --> 00:39:47,080
to say
that there was no further leads
905
00:39:47,160 --> 00:39:48,640
for them to pursue at that moment,
906
00:39:48,720 --> 00:39:51,760
so unless it goes back
to another cold case review
907
00:39:51,840 --> 00:39:53,400
or someone approaches
the investigation
908
00:39:53,480 --> 00:39:55,720
with some new information
at this stage,
909
00:39:55,800 --> 00:39:57,440
it's not being re-opened.
910
00:39:57,520 --> 00:40:00,480
He seemed a very decent quiet chap,
911
00:40:00,560 --> 00:40:03,640
yes, and still
is a very level-headed,
912
00:40:03,720 --> 00:40:05,560
calm sort of person,
913
00:40:05,640 --> 00:40:08,640
that's as much as we know him.
914
00:40:08,720 --> 00:40:10,720
The whole thing cost him
his business,
915
00:40:10,800 --> 00:40:13,160
it's cost him everything.
916
00:40:15,280 --> 00:40:18,680
Yes, it's a very strange,
horrible situation.
917
00:40:20,200 --> 00:40:22,440
The law was served
918
00:40:22,520 --> 00:40:26,480
and police officers in that position
919
00:40:26,560 --> 00:40:31,440
have to expect that verdicts
920
00:40:31,520 --> 00:40:33,080
are not always gonna go their way,
921
00:40:33,160 --> 00:40:37,000
they may invest a long period
of time,
922
00:40:37,080 --> 00:40:38,920
a lot of resources,
923
00:40:39,000 --> 00:40:43,920
they may spend weeks and weeks
in terms of administration
924
00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:46,560
that goes into mounting
of a court case.
925
00:40:46,640 --> 00:40:47,920
But at the end of the day,
926
00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:53,240
it's a jury of 12 fellow peers,
927
00:40:53,320 --> 00:40:56,240
the man and woman
on the Clapham London bus
928
00:40:56,320 --> 00:41:00,120
will decide whether a person
is guilty or not quite rightly
929
00:41:00,200 --> 00:41:03,320
and in this instance
the world has to assume
930
00:41:03,400 --> 00:41:06,680
that Martin Hale was innocent.
931
00:41:06,760 --> 00:41:08,120
I'm overjoyed really,
932
00:41:08,200 --> 00:41:10,680
it put some sort of closure
on the case
933
00:41:10,760 --> 00:41:14,680
and really I'd just like to thank
my legal team, Richard Christie,
934
00:41:14,760 --> 00:41:17,320
that's worked very hard
on putting the case together
935
00:41:17,400 --> 00:41:18,560
over the last few months.
936
00:41:21,200 --> 00:41:24,840
There's not much really more to say
on the matter at the moment.
937
00:41:24,920 --> 00:41:30,560
I'm really just pleased to be out
and there's some closure on it.
938
00:41:30,640 --> 00:41:32,120
After Martin Hale's acquittal,
939
00:41:32,200 --> 00:41:34,480
the Metropolitan Police
re-assessed the case
940
00:41:34,560 --> 00:41:37,760
and decided not to proceed
with the inquiries any further,
941
00:41:37,840 --> 00:41:40,440
the case effectively now is closed.
942
00:41:40,520 --> 00:41:46,400
And one has to accept
a course of a jury's decision,
943
00:41:46,480 --> 00:41:51,480
but perhaps we're also entitled
to look at why a case was brought
944
00:41:51,560 --> 00:41:53,960
in the first place
against a suspect,
945
00:41:54,040 --> 00:41:57,680
there is still a mystery
about what happened to Maureen
946
00:41:57,760 --> 00:41:59,560
because her body
has never been found.
947
00:41:59,640 --> 00:42:01,800
We took every opportunity there was,
948
00:42:01,880 --> 00:42:03,200
we found new evidence,
949
00:42:03,280 --> 00:42:05,280
we found compelling evidence,
950
00:42:05,360 --> 00:42:07,160
the only clincher may well have been
951
00:42:07,240 --> 00:42:09,880
had we'd been able
to find Maureen's body
952
00:42:09,960 --> 00:42:13,200
because that may have given us
some more scientific evidence
953
00:42:13,280 --> 00:42:17,000
or its location might have pointed
towards guilt or otherwise.
954
00:42:17,080 --> 00:42:21,880
Martin Hale was found not guilty
for his wife's murder,
955
00:42:21,960 --> 00:42:24,600
so he is free to continue
the rest of his life,
956
00:42:24,680 --> 00:42:27,640
and in the meantime,
Maureen remains missing.
957
00:42:27,720 --> 00:42:29,040
It's increasingly difficult
958
00:42:29,120 --> 00:42:30,240
in the 21st century
959
00:42:30,320 --> 00:42:32,840
to disappear without trace
960
00:42:32,920 --> 00:42:34,720
because everything has a record,
961
00:42:34,800 --> 00:42:36,000
you know, your phone, money,
962
00:42:36,080 --> 00:42:38,280
doctor, dentist,
963
00:42:38,360 --> 00:42:39,560
all sorts of things like that.
964
00:42:39,640 --> 00:42:44,280
And, you know, there was just simply
no trace of Maureen Hale
965
00:42:44,360 --> 00:42:45,600
from the day she was last seen.
966
00:42:45,680 --> 00:42:48,360
Yeah, I'm sure she's dead.
967
00:42:48,440 --> 00:42:51,720
It was the only case I did
where there wasn't a body,
968
00:42:51,800 --> 00:42:54,280
and it's also the only murder case
969
00:42:54,360 --> 00:42:57,160
that I ever had that got
before the court
970
00:42:57,240 --> 00:43:00,080
and the defendant was acquitted.
76729
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