Jill Dando’s murder sent shockwaves throughout the nation, and remains unsolved to this day.
The journalist was one of the most famous and well-liked television presenters of the 1990s, fronting hit shows such as Crimewatch and Holiday. Her natural warmth and bright smile drew comparisons with Princess Diana. And, just like the much-missed Royal, Jill died tragically young with her whole life still ahead of her.
On the morning of April 26, 1999, Jill Dando woke up at the Chiswick home of her fiancé, the gynaecologist Alan Farthing, making him breakfast in bed before he headed out to work. The bride-to-be had been excitedly looking forward to their September wedding, and the evening before the happy couple had written a letter to the swanky Claridge’s Hotel, where they’d planned on holding their reception.
At around 10 am, Jill left Alan’s home and carried out a few errands before returning to her house in Fulham, West London, including picking up the ingredients for a fish dinner she’d planned to cook for Alan that evening. The rest of Jill’s day was set to be typically glamorous, with plans to attend a charity lunch at an upmarket Mayfair hotel.
As Jill reached her front door at 29 Gowan Avenue, however, at 11.32 am, the unimaginable happened. An unknown person shot Jill in the head, with a single bullet. She was only 37 years old, and her loss was felt deeply by the British public, who continue to long for answers.
Neighbour Richard Hughes heard a scream shortly after Jill pulled up to her house, but at the time didn’t think it significant, later telling the jury that he ‘thought it was someone surprising somebody’.
Richard, who lived at number 31, did however take a look out of the window, and saw a white, dark-haired man between the ages of 30 and 40, walking toward Fulham Palace Road. He remembered the man as being of average height, with a thick-set build.
Just under 15 minutes later, another neighbour, Helen Doble, found Jill’s lifeless body slumped in her doorway. Giving evidence at the subsequent trial, as per The Guardian, a traumatised Helen recalled: “To suddenly encounter such a violent scene was completely horrific. It took me a few seconds to realise it was Jill, because of the way she looked.”
The police were called, sparking the country’s biggest murder investigation since the hunt for the murderous Yorkshire Ripper. The finger was quickly pointed at Barry George, who successfully appealed against his wrongful conviction. 25 years on, the Mirror takes a look at some of the current theories as to who the true killer actually is…
‘Serbian secret services assassin’
A man wanted for questioning in Jill’s murder bears a striking resemblance to a ruthless Serbian secret services assassin, a Mirror investigation revealed earlier this week.
The unidentified person was caught on CCTV following the gunman’s likely escape route after the Crimewatch presenter had been shot dead in 1999. It bore the hallmarks of a professional hit.
Facial comparison expert Emi Polito has now found a number of similarities between “Man X” in the CCTV and twice-convicted murderer Milorad Ulemek, who is serving 40 years in a Serbian prison.
At the time Jill was killed, the 56-year-old led a feared squad of hitmen responsible for targeting opponents of brutal dictator Slobodan Milosevic.
When Jill died, the Yugoslav war was raging and British planes were bombing Serbia as part of a NATO campaign. She had made an appeal for Kosovan refugees who were being massacred by Milosevic’s forces. Within hours of her death, a call was made claiming the murder was in response to the bombings.
The assassin bears a striking resemblance to the “sweating man” e-fit of a suspect who got on a bus in Fulham, South-West London, minutes after Jill was shot outside her nearby home.
Mr Polito, who gives expert evidence for the police, said Man X and the Serb killer have a similar shaped mouth, chin, hairline and right sideburn, while the general shape and sizes of their noses and right ear were the same.
His report concluded: “Within the imagery limitations, no differences were found between Man X and Mr [Ulemek].” But he could only give limited support to them being the same person because of a lack of detail in the blurry still of the CCTV image.
He concluded: “There are a number of similarities between the two men… in particular the appearance of the mouth and of the hairline that add some light weight to the contention that they are the same person.”
Mr Polito said that it may be possible to make a more definitive finding if better quality CCTV was obtained. In addition, the expert highlighted a dent on the bridge of Ulemek’s nose which is not visible in the CCTV image but is evident in an e-fit created by an eye witness at the time, which was released by the police. Mr Polito has not given the e-fit image.
Ulemek’s lawyer Aleksander Kovacevic said his client did not wish to ‘participate’ when asked if he murdered Jill. He wrote: “I inform you that my client has been made aware of this and that he is not interested in participating.”
‘Amateur loner’
For years, the assassin-style single shot in the head has led many to believe that Jill’s murder was the work of a professional. However, Detective Chief Inspector Hamish Campbell recently spoke with the Mail Online about his theory that the man responsible had all ‘the hallmarks of the loner’, rather than someone hired by a criminal gang or corrupt politician.
Detective Campbell, who led the inquiry into Jill’s death, revealed: “I wrote in my personal notes, in earliest weeks, that I considered the killing to be the work of the loner or the obsessive. Many months later I recorded that I still feared the loner or an ill man was responsible.
“Twenty-five years later, there’s still nothing from the vast criminal networks. No one emerging. So it must have been a loner, or at least someone acting on their own initiative. That I feel sure of.”
Describing the shooting as amateurish, Detective Campbell added: “The approach in broad daylight, unmasked, un-gloved — and walking away? A single bullet, leaving evidence of casing, and, remarkably and importantly, the location. That was always significant. Jill was visiting 29 Gowan Avenue, just by chance, her visit was random. It had not been pre-planned.”
Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com
