Rtn Graham Furnival: The Barn Murder

Our speaker today was our own Graham Furnival, who spoke about the Barn Murder case, which dates back to November 1972, when Graham was a young detective with Essex Police. Graham gave us a fascinating insight into the progress of the case, with the wrong person originally charged with the murder, based on identity parade evidence. When that individual was acquitted, after a retrial, partly because of an alibi provided by the wife of Charlie Kray, elder brother of the notorious Kray Twins, the hunt of the murderer stalled until evidence, including the gun that was used, was uncovered during an unrelated investigation by Cumbria Police that delivered the murderer to Essex Police.

That individual had an accomplice and Graham outlined the work he and a colleague did in tracking down that individual. That included locating a Second World War pillbox where items taken at the time of the murder had been left. Graham described piecing together a Barrett map, and also visiting the house of one of the three young boys who had innocently taken items left at the pillbox and seeing an imitation lighter from the murder scene on a dining room table!

Our late member George Harris was the senior officer on the case and Graham told us that George and his immediate superior went to Pentonville Prison to obtain a confession from the second suspect. Senior officers interviewing suspects was one of several changes highlighted by Graham from modern policing techniques, along with the fact that in 1972 the investigating officers did not have computers, mobile phones, or the internet to assist them.

A very enjoyable talk which held the attention of all present at the meeting.