Barry George has been found guilty of the murder of TV presenter Jill Dando. The 41-year-old loner stood impassively in the dock of the Old Bailey as the jury returned a 10-1 majority verdict after almost 32 hours of deliberation. The judge, Mr Justice Gage, sentenced George, who he described as “unpredictable and dangerous”, to a life sentence. Jill’s fiancé, Alan Farthing, her brother Nigel and his wife, and her Crimewatch co-presenter Nick Ross, showed little reaction as the verdict was read out.
On April 26 1999, the popular BBC star was returning home from a shopping trip when she was gunned down outside her house in Gowan Avenue, south-west London. Over £2 million was spent on the subsequent murder hunt by the Metropolitan Police, and it took a year before the list of possible suspects was whittled down to just one – George.
After George was found guilty, Angus Campbell, the officer in charge of the investigation, took the witness stand to read out George’s previous convictions for indecent assault and attempted rape. It was well-known that the unemployed “oddball” who hated women had a low IQ, a history of psychological problems, and a love of guns. When police searched his flat, they found copies of Ariel, the BBC’s in-house publication, that had been published after the Crimewatch presenter’s death.
George was convicted on the basis of a mixture of circumstantial, forensic and eyewitness evidence, although thrice during the trial he was asked if he had killed Jill Dando and thrice he replied: “No sir.” A speck of residue from the gun used to kill Jill was found in his coat pocket, and a strand of fibre that matched his trousers was found at the scene of the crime, and several eyewitnesses placed him in the vicinity on the day of the murder.
But, until George’s arrest, over a year after the murder, there were several theories as to why Jill, who was planning her wedding to gynaecologist Alan Farthing, was murdered. These ranged from an obsessive fan who wanted to be close to her, to a disgruntled criminal who wanted to silence the Crimewatch presenter, to a Serb hitman who wanted to avenge the NATO bombing of Serbian TV during the Balkan conflict.
After the trial had ended, a member of George's defence team told reporters outside the Old Bailey that he would appeal against the guilty verdict. Marilyn Etienne said that their client was "understandably devastated" by the conviction. "Preparations are being put in hand immediately for an appeal," she said. George's sister, Michelle Diskin, said: "Barry George is innocent. Barry was charged with a terrible crime but he was never responsible for it."
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
