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[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any time you need support
00:01:52
please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support please see the show
00:01:57
notes for this episode on your app or on our website this episode involves a crime against
00:02:05
children it may not be suitable for all listeners february 5 1921 was far from a typical
00:02:16
saturday afternoon in the valley town of abertalleri wales locals had rallied together to undertake a desperate search
00:02:27
shops and residences along the main street were checked as were the narrow alleyways between
00:02:32
them men and their sons ventured off into the surrounding hills while others trekked the lengths of the
00:02:39
railway tracks and the nearby ebba river their efforts were in vain but they didn't give up as the dull
00:02:49
skies gave way to night people were still searching they were joined by the town crier
00:02:57
who paraded up and down the main street shouting the name of the eight-year-old girl who had vanished from town
00:03:04
that morning frida bernell frieda burnell [Music] hours earlier frida burnell had been
00:03:40
skipping down somerset street into abertalleri's bustling town center the side of little frida in her black
00:03:48
buttoned boots red cap and brown coat all by herself didn't raise any eyebrows the coal mining town she called home was
00:03:57
small and the locals trusted each other frida was running an errand for her father who was in need of some feed and
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poultry grit for the chickens they owned he had promised his daughter a penny as
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a reward for buying the supplies on his behalf at around 9 00 a.m the bell at the top
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of the front door of mortimer's store jingled as frida entered the shop specialized in livestock
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supplies and while they had the chicken feed frida requested there weren't any sacks
00:04:32
of grit only loose grit frida said she would go home to ask her father if that would
00:04:39
suffice and if so she would come back but she never returned by late afternoon abitaliri's locals
00:04:50
were assisting police and the bernal family in trying to locate frieda somehow during her journey home from
00:04:58
mortimer's store she had vanished without a trace [Music] the following morning a local coal
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worker finished his shift in the mines and began the walk back to his home as he approached abertillary's town
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center he headed down a narrow side alley where he stumbled across a hessian sack
00:05:20
discarded in the mud it clearly held something the coal worker examined the sac closely
00:05:31
inside was the body of eight-year-old freda bernell her remains had been dumped just 90
00:05:39
meters from her house freda had sustained a violent blow to the head but it was the cord still wrapped around
00:05:49
her neck that had caused her death a piece of cloth was stuffed inside her mouth
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and her wrists and ankles were tied behind her back with the robe her attacker had also attempted to rape
00:06:02
her the shocking murder rattled the typically carefree townsfolk frieda's funeral was held on the street
00:06:12
outside her home to facilitate the large crowds of mourners that wished to attend
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they circled around her small coffin their sense of loss tinged with fear as they wondered who
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among them would carry out such a violent and disturbing crime in a desperate bid to identify freda's
00:06:33
killer locals carried out a seance in the 1920s it was widely believed that such acts allowed communication
00:06:43
with spirits who might be able to provide crucial information according to one participant the seance
00:06:51
succeeded with the spirits offering a description of frieda's murderer this description just so happened to
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match that of a man seen loitering near the alley shortly before her body was found there
00:07:06
he was an outsider and not known to the townspeople between 30 to 40 years of age
00:07:12
approximately five feet six inches tall with dark hair and a heavy mustache he was wearing dark
00:07:21
breeches a lounge coat and carrying a stick the information obtained via the seance
00:07:30
was taken seriously at the time but local authorities sought further evidence this type of crime was
00:07:38
unheard of in abertillary and was beyond their expertise so they requested assistance from london's
00:07:45
experienced and well-equipped scotland yard police force two detectives soon arrived in town to
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carry out an investigation it was determined that frida was murdered between 9 30 am
00:08:05
and 1 pm on the day she went missing her body was found in close proximity to a shed
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used by mortimer's store which contained stock too large to fit on the shop floor
00:08:19
multiple witnesses said that shortly after freida left mortimers they heard screams coming from the
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direction of the storied shed but assumed it was just children playing a resident who lived near the building
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heard what she described as a muffled funny sounding argument between 9 20 and 9 30 a.m she thought it was her son
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in the backyard herding one of their chickens but when she headed outside to check she
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found her son playing in a nearby lane on the floor of the mortimer's shed were loose pieces of corn chaff
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matching shards recovered from frida's skin and the sack she was found in a small handkerchief that frida was
00:09:08
carrying the day she was attacked was also discovered in the shed as was an axe it was hidden under a sack and while the
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blade itself was clean the handle was covered in wet blood the shed was 275 metres from mortimer's
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store which was owned and operated by its namesake a local man named herbert mortimer
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herbert had a strong alibi for the day of frida's murder with multiple witnesses confirming his
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whereabouts at the time she was attacked as for his storage shed herbert revealed
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that it was kept locked at all times and that there were only two keys that granted access
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herbeck carried one the other was held by one of his employees fifteen-year-old harold jones
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harold was at the front counter when freda visited mortimer's on february five she arrived shortly after 9am and only
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spent around two minutes in the store harold didn't notice which direction she headed
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in upon exiting the shop herbert mortimer vouched for his young staff member telling detectives that harold jones was
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at the store nearly all morning herbert's wife supported this assertion she had been in
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their apartment above the shop and could hear harold banging his foot against the wood paneling of the counter
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something he did constantly as he walked according to herbert harold only left her once for a short period
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at 10 a.m almost an hour after frida burnell had stopped by he'd been tasked with retrieving some
00:11:07
stock from the shed but the teenager didn't go alone herbert's ten-year-old son francis joined him the pair made the
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short walk together collected a sack of potatoes from the shed and delivered them to a nearby
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address before returning to the store later that day when word spread that frida burnell was missing
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harold slid his hand into his pocket only to realize that he didn't have the key to the shed on him
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realization dawned that he must have left it in the shed's door after running the errand with francis
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mortimer hours earlier harold kept news of the misplaced key to himself avoiding the fuss that would arise if
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his employer knew of his mistake later on while helping look for freda harold went back to the shed with
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francis mortimer and another local teen and was able to retrieve the key he didn't notice anything suspicious
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around the building at the time harold's story of leaving the key in the shed door
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opened the investigation up to many potential suspects anyone could have taken freda into the
00:12:27
secluded building upon realizing it was accessible yet despite having a strong alibi
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harold jones was eyed by scotland yard as a prime suspect in the case the fifteen-year-old knew frida burnell
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personally as she was friends with his little sister flossie consequently a level of trust existed
00:12:53
between harold and freda which meant he could have easily convinced her to go to the shed
00:13:01
the alleyway where she was later found had been searched the night she vanished but the sack containing her remains was
00:13:08
not spotted at that time investigators suspected harold had returned to the shed in the early hours
00:13:16
and removed freda's body under the cover of darkness before dumping it in the alley where it
00:13:23
was discovered the following day but none of this made sense to abertillary's residence
00:13:31
harald's employers vouched for his whereabouts at the time freda was attacked furthermore harold's parents insisted
00:13:40
that their son had been home all night as a means of obtaining additional income the jones family
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hosted a border who due to a lack of space actually slept in harold's bed alongside him
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the border maintained that harold had remained in their shared bed all night despite the town coming to his support
00:14:11
harold jones was arrested on suspicion of frida burnell's murder and held at the abertillary police
00:14:18
station to await an inquest into the eight-year-old's death he adamantly denied any knowledge of the
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crime the grief that had washed over abertillary following the murder was quickly replaced by outrage over the
00:14:34
arrest of harold who was an exemplary young lad like many others in the community he
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came from a coal mining family the working class joneses made do with what they had
00:14:48
and were immensely proud of their eldest son harold who was intelligent and well-read
00:14:55
he was very much loved by his parents philip and eleanor and neither he nor anyone in his family
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had any previous run-ins with the law [Music] harold was an inquisitive youth and had
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done very well at school with his former principal describing him as a model student he loved to play the organ
00:15:18
and practiced regularly at home harold left school at age 14 which was common at the time he
00:15:28
avoided taking up work in the physically demanding and dangerous coal mines by securing a job as a shop boy for
00:15:35
mortimers to mark his new employment harold had a photo taken of himself standing outside the store it
00:15:45
showed the slight teen immaculately dressed in a suit complete with pocket watch and cap
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not one to have his photo taken often harold stood awkwardly before the camera which captured his blank expression
00:16:02
herbert mortimer said harold was an obedient and trustworthy employee which was why he
00:16:08
gave him a key to his storage shared harold took great pride in his appearance wearing a suit and clean
00:16:17
white apron to work every day and his friendly nature ensured he was well locked by customers
00:16:25
outside of work the popular harold was never short of friends and had started dating a girl just prior
00:16:32
to his arrest still the investigators from scotland yard were certain they had freida's killer in
00:16:41
custody local police supported their decision much to the fury of the public they knew an outsider was to blame
00:16:55
a current as inquest into the death of frida burnell formally began a month after she was
00:17:01
found its purpose was to determine whether freda's death was caused by willful murder
00:17:08
and if so whether harold jones would face a criminal trial due to a lack of scientific testing at
00:17:16
the time the evidence against harold was largely circumstantial harold had spent the past month in a
00:17:25
prison cell at abertillary police station upon taking the witness box he looked nervous
00:17:32
and had difficulty answering questions often giving contradictory evidence the prosecution took his anxious
00:17:41
demeanor as a sign of guilt and for four hours they continued to barrage him with
00:17:47
questions multiple people testified in harald's defense including his employer his parents and the border who shared
00:17:57
his bed all in turn providing crucial alibis supporting his innocence were the reported sightings of a stick
00:18:07
wielding stranger with a mustache spotted on the corner of the alley where freda
00:18:12
was later found this was the same man allegedly described by spirits during a seance that townsfolk held
00:18:21
after the discovery of frieda's body the same spirits had also apparently provided the killer's name
00:18:29
which was written on a piece of paper folded and given to the coroner for his eyes
00:18:35
only the jury at the center of the inquest were left uncertain by the varying accounts
00:18:44
and returned an open finding the coroner refused to accept this result and the jury were made to reconsider
00:18:54
they returned with an amended verdict concluding that frieda's cause of death was willful murder by some person
00:19:03
or persons unknown bail for harold jones was refused and he was remanded in custody
00:19:12
until april 5 when he would be brought before a magistrate to determine whether he would go to trial
00:19:20
when asked if he had any response to the charges against him harold replied i know it looks black
00:19:27
against me but i never done it on april 5 he was ordered to stand trial for frida's murder
00:19:38
harold pleaded not guilty in the lead-up to the trial herbert mortimer sought to investigate
00:19:49
some of the circumstantial evidence that had implicated his young employee this included frida's handkerchief which
00:19:58
was found on the floor of the storage shed cited as evidence that she was killed
00:20:03
there according to the manchester guardian herbert discovered that if he leaned through one of the windows
00:20:11
he could drop a handkerchief that landed very near to where freda's had been found although this failed to address
00:20:19
the bloodied axe the corn chaff or multiple reports of a commotion from their shed
00:20:25
after frida left the store herbert still believed harold to be innocent herbert also recalled that when he first
00:20:34
bought the shed its previous owner had told him that she was missing a key and he would need to have another spare
00:20:41
made this meant a third unaccounted for key was still out there which would grant its holder access to
00:20:50
the shed on june 21 1921 the trial against harold jones for the murder of frida burnell
00:21:00
commenced harold received the glowing character references from his family his former school headmaster and his
00:21:09
boss herbert mortimer herbert stood by the alibi he had provided for harold from the
00:21:16
outset maintaining that the teen was in his store at the time freda was attacked when harold
00:21:25
took the stand he appeared calm and performed much better than at the inquest answering questions without hesitation
00:21:33
or contradiction his cross-examination was rigorous and lengthy but harold remained composed
00:21:42
throughout prosecution labelled harold as heartless and someone with tremendous ability to
00:21:49
control his emotions the trial only lasted one day after which the jury of seven men and five women
00:21:59
retired for five hours they returned with a unanimous decision for the willful murder of frieda bernell
00:22:09
fifteen-year-old harold jones was found not guilty the town of abertillary rejoiced
00:22:19
harold walked free from the courtroom and into the arms of his tearful to celebrate harold and his family went
00:22:28
for high tea at a local motel a luxury reserved for only the most special of occasions
00:22:36
locals accompanied him to share in the celebration some reports say that they presented him
00:22:43
with a gold watch with everyone who knew him to be innocent chipping in harold thanked his supporters despite
00:22:52
his ordeal which he described as horrendous he said that he didn't hold a grudge
00:22:58
against the town's people he then jumped into an open-top vehicle decorated with fresh flowers
00:23:05
and was driven through the streets of abitaliri supporters lined the footpaths waving
00:23:12
flags as harold received the hero's welcome they blamed the scotland yard detectives
00:23:19
for implicating the teenager through circumstantial evidence despite so many people providing
00:23:25
evidence that he could not have committed the crime as harold made his way home his neighbor
00:23:32
george little clapped him on the back and said well done lad we knew you didn't do it
00:23:51
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case file to sign up for your trial on friday july 8 1921 11 year old florence little completed
00:29:06
her homework ate her dinner and did her nightly chores at 9 pm she asked her father george if
00:29:14
she could go outside and play for a while with his permission florence met her good friend flossie jones outside
00:29:22
on darren street abitaliri as the two young girls lived just a few doors from one another
00:29:30
they played together often that night they skipped along playing hopscotch unaware
00:29:37
that someone was watching them afterwards the pair headed to flossie's home but flossie soon left to visit an aunt
00:29:49
in a neighbouring street she bid farewell to her friend before heading out the door
00:29:56
florence didn't return to her own home instead staying at the jones house she wasn't alone also present
00:30:06
was flossie's older brother fifteen-year-old harold jones it had been 17 days since he was acquitted for the
00:30:15
murder of freda bernell to the jubilation of his town according to differing reports harold
00:30:25
either invited florence to stay for a glass of lemonade or asked her to assist him
00:30:30
in running an errand since harold's trial florence had been cautious around him but she ultimately
00:30:39
accepted his offer the rest of the joneses were out at the time leaving florence alone
00:30:47
with harold he shot and locked the front door around an hour later florence's mother
00:30:58
elsie arrived at the jones residence she knocked on the door and after about two minutes
00:31:05
harold answered he was shirtless and smiling he told elsie that he had just been taking a bath
00:31:14
she asked if he had seen florence as she hadn't returned from playing with flossie
00:31:21
harold said that she had been at the house but left earlier via a back door with the
00:31:27
intention of going home elsie looked for her daughter throughout the surrounding streets
00:31:34
but failed to find her nervous and scared she phoned to the local police who commenced their own search at 11
00:31:43
15 pm word quickly spread and just as they had done with frida burnell five months earlier
00:31:52
locals gathered to look for another little girl coal miners who were due to start work
00:31:58
at 5am left their warm beds to search in the freezing cold among the many locals looking for
00:32:06
florence was harold jones who returned home at 3 30 am harold climbed out of bed the following
00:32:20
morning and ate breakfast all the while seeming his normal self a short while later police officers
00:32:28
arrived to question him in relation to florence little's disappearance he calmly smoked a cigarette while
00:32:37
telling them that florence had arrived at his doorstep the night before but then ran off
00:32:44
after the interview harold strolled outside to visit some friends a few streets away
00:32:52
given that he had just been involved in a murder trial involving a very similar incident the
00:32:58
police weren't convinced that harold had nothing to do with florence's disappearance
00:33:05
officers spoke with harold's father philip jones and advised him that they wanted to
00:33:10
search his house he replied very well come along a rudimentary search of the jones home
00:33:22
uncovered nothing that raised suspicion however it looked as though the kitchen walls had been
00:33:29
recently cleaned with white marks streaked across them an examination of harold's clothes
00:33:36
revealed seven ladies handkerchiefs stuffed into some trouser pockets these discoveries prompted a more
00:33:44
thorough inspection of the home a check under the kitchen sink revealed a bloodied pocket
00:33:52
knife harold's father later claimed that the blood on the knife was his as he had cut his finger slaughtering a
00:33:59
chicken a week earlier but this didn't explain a saucepan filled with bloody water that was found
00:34:08
alongside the knife or a blood-stained plank of wood discovered behind the kitchen coal burner
00:34:16
the rooms upstairs were re-examined scanning the ceiling in one of the bedrooms a constable noticed what
00:34:24
appeared to be blood smeared across a hatch that led to an attic realising that harold would have needed
00:34:32
to stand on something to gain access to the attic space the constable searched his bedroom and
00:34:38
found a small table with a cloth lying across it he lifted the cloth revealing a table
00:34:46
top streaked with bloodstains hoisting his upper body into the cramped attic catch
00:34:54
the constables shone a torch into the darkness lying spread out on top of the beams was
00:35:03
the partially clothed body of florence little lying in a pool of blood the constable carefully removed the
00:35:12
deceased eleven-year-old from the attic handing her tiny body to another officer
00:35:17
below harold's father philip watched on in disbelief then he went to find his son
00:35:30
harold jones was chatting to a friend approximately 320 meters from his home when he saw his father approaching
00:35:39
as reported in the manchester guardian phillips said to harold sonny come here they have found that
00:35:48
body in our house harold replied i have never done it dad philip said in response you or we
00:36:00
will have the blame do come out and face it philippa jones then performed a citizen's arrest of his own son
00:36:10
escorting him home without resistance as they walked down the street harold called over his shoulder to his friend
00:36:20
goodbye another holiday when harold walked through the front door his mother told him be brave my son
00:36:32
they found the body in the house florence died of blood loss caused by a slash to her throat
00:36:41
with almost all the blood in her body having drained away an analysis of her stomach contents
00:36:48
determined that florence died between 9 30 and 10 pm the previous night coinciding with the exact time period
00:36:57
that she was inside the jones home but before her mother stopped by looking for her
00:37:05
when florence's mother elsie heard of her daughter's murder she collapsed and was bedridden for
00:37:12
weeks reports asserted that she remained in a state of unconsciousness for days on end crowds of curious
00:37:21
onlookers gathered outside her home wanting to know the status of the police investigation
00:37:28
a similar group also lingered outside the jones residence school children even sold water to
00:37:36
rubberneckers harold jones was formally placed under arrest by the local police a doctor physically examined him and
00:37:49
noticed slight abrasions to his left and right forearms and a scratch on his right wrist
00:37:56
harold maintained he had received the injuries from falling from a bicycle a few days earlier
00:38:02
and said this was also the cause of bloodstains found on a pair of his trousers but the doctor was of the opinion that
00:38:12
the wounds were fresh and nowhere near severe enough to cause the heavy stains found on harold's pants
00:38:19
he put the abrasions down to harold squeezing through the attic to hide florence's body and his trousers
00:38:27
were bloodied from carrying her body in town an angry mob of 500 locals descended on the abertillary police
00:38:38
station demanding harald's immediate release their support for him was unwavering
00:38:45
despite the teen's implication in the murder of yet another young girl some were so convinced that he was being
00:38:54
stitched up again that they threatened to kill the officers involved in his arrest
00:39:01
the station's superintendent was tasked with trying to calm the mob and told them i have found the body of
00:39:09
the child in the attic of harold jones fairly murdered and i have arrested harold jones
00:39:16
i think this is all i can tell you and it would help us if you disperse and go to your homes
00:39:25
following the ordeal the superintendent likely overcome with stress spent the rest of the weekend in bed
00:39:32
on doctor's orders a coroner's inquest began on july 11 three days after florence was killed to
00:39:44
determine whether harold jones should once again stand trial for murder harold professed his innocence just as
00:39:53
he had done with the frida burnell case halfway through the inquest he spotted his mother on the balcony and
00:40:01
yelled out to her hello mom she replied hello son and was promptly removed from the
00:40:09
courtroom to prevent further interruptions as reported in the manchester guardian
00:40:17
harold's sister flossie had to be dragged in by her father to give evidence she cried
00:40:24
constantly hardly able to speak of her close friend's murder harold did not even glance at her
00:40:32
instead staring straight ahead with an emotionless expression the inquest was adjourned until july 23
00:40:41
at which time the coroner summed up his findings he told the jury it was customary to
00:40:48
look for some motive in such crimes but this was a case in which there appeared to be no motive
00:40:56
he reminded them that although they might consider harold jones a madman they had no jurisdiction to inquire into
00:41:04
the mind of a person all they need do was determine whether he was guilty or not
00:41:12
[Music] the inquest jury deliberated for 30 minutes before finding harold jones guilty of
00:41:20
the willful murder of florence little meaning that he would face a criminal trial for her murder
00:41:28
he displayed no emotion upon hearing the verdict and when asked if he had anything to say
00:41:34
he jumped to his feet and loudly exclaimed not guilty [Music] harold was sent back to prison to await
00:41:46
trial while awaiting trial for florence little's murder harold put pen to paper and wrote
00:41:56
i harold jones confess i did willfully and deliberately murder florence little on july 8 causing her to die without
00:42:06
preparation to meet her god the reason for doing so being the desire to kill written confession went on to detail how
00:42:18
he strangled her before cutting her throat and placing her head over the kitchen sink to drain
00:42:25
her of blood he then described how he hoisted her body into the attic using some rope and afterwards cleaned
00:42:33
himself and the kitchen quote as i was having a bath mrs little came to the door
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just as i was washing my head and my body i denied florence was in the house and
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went back and finished my bath [Music] on november 1 1921 harold jones appeared in court
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and pleaded guilty to the murder of florence little his written confession was read aloud
00:43:04
before the director of public prosecutions made an announcement another statement
00:43:10
was to be read to the court in order to put to rest any worry remaining amongst the families of
00:43:16
abitaliri this one began i harold jones willfully and deliberately murdered freda bernell in mr mortimer's warehouse
00:43:29
on the 5th of february harold later explained that frieda had not left mortimer's store to check with
00:43:41
her father about buying the chicken grit rather harold had told her to accompany
00:43:47
him to mortimer's shed where he had the supplies she required to avoid them being seen together he
00:43:55
told her to walk on her head and that he would catch up with her after he strangled and sexually
00:44:02
assaulted freda harold left her body in a sack in the shed he then returned to mortimer's to
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continue his shift at around 10 a.m harold was tasked to run an errand to the shed to gather some
00:44:19
potatoes and deliver them to a nearby address he was accompanied by ten-year-old
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francis mortimer who provided a statement that contradicted his fathers and instead highlighted harold as a
00:44:34
suspect usually francis would wheel a trolley into the shed to help harold load the goods but on this occasion
00:44:44
harold told francis that the trolley was unnecessary and had him wait outside harold then
00:44:51
opened the shed's door just a fraction before shimmying his way in francis assumed there was something on
00:45:00
the other side preventing the door from being opened fully harald emerged a short while later with
00:45:07
a sack of potatoes and told francis to deliver them to a nearby address adding that he would soon follow
00:45:16
he eventually caught up with francis and they delivered the stock before returning to the store
00:45:25
later that night as the search for frida was well underway harold returned to the shed with francis
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and another local teen francis explained that it was about 10 20 pm when the group headed down the
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dark quiet laneway when they were halfway there harold turned to his two companions and said
00:45:50
you wait here while i go down to the shed he then walked on alone at one point he turned back to the
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others and whispered loudly eulog keep quiet before entering the shirt when harold exited he locked the door
00:46:11
behind him and approached francis and the other team again whispering for them to keep quiet
00:46:20
harold said he came up with the lie that he had left the shed door unlocked thereby making it plausible that someone
00:46:27
else could have killed freda in there he claimed to know about creating alibis and
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covering his tracks from reading countless detective novels when alone harold returned to the shed
00:46:42
and removed the sack that held frieda remarking that she was so light he could carry her body
00:46:49
under one arm he then dumped her in the alleyway where she remained undiscovered
00:46:55
until the next morning it was believed that harald killed florence little because he enjoyed the publicity and
00:47:04
celebrity status he received after murdering freda bernell harold could offer no explanation for
00:47:12
the murder other than stating he had been commanded to kill following a blinding crash
00:47:18
that turned everything crimson he said he could not disobey the commands of a demon in his head
00:47:28
the judge was satisfied that although harold jones was not normal he was sane enough to understand
00:47:35
that he had confessed to his crimes he addressed harold passing the sentence that he be detained
00:47:42
and his majesty's pleasure meaning that he would be imprisoned for an indeterminate period
00:47:50
the judge asked that nobody make a spectacle outside court as it was clear that harold was
00:47:57
vain and loved being in the public eye following this harold jones was escorted out
00:48:05
without incident those who wondered why harold jones had pleaded guilty before his trial
00:48:16
even began soon had an answer at 15 years old harold was beneath the legal age to
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receive capital punishment as a sentence if the trial extended beyond his 16th birthday
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on january 11 1922 a guilty verdict would result in harald facing the death penalty
00:48:39
by pleading guilty to both murders before he turned 16 harold jones saved himself from the
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hangman's noose he appeared to show no remorse for his actions and was labelled a calculating
00:48:54
psychopath the residents of abitaliri struggled to come to terms with the realization
00:49:03
that a popular local teenager whose innocence they had believed in was in fact a
00:49:09
cold-blooded killer in the aftermath of the confession herbert mortimer admitted that the alibi he'd provided
00:49:18
for harold following frida burnell's murder was false he had said that harold was at
00:49:25
his shop at the time of the attack only later confessing that he had made this up
00:49:31
because he was certain harold was not a murderer following this revelation the mortimers
00:49:39
became outcasts and were forced to close their shop and leave town harold's family remained
00:49:47
in abertillary his parents staying in their house until their deaths harold jones was shuffled between
00:49:57
various prisons throughout the united kingdom he became known as a model inmate who
00:50:04
had a cheery personality and liked competing in prison sports he was well liked by both fellow
00:50:11
prisoners and guards and was known to gloat about fooling scotland yard detectives with
00:50:17
his cunning despite a psychiatrist recommending that harold remain in prison forever
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he was released on parole at age 35 after serving 20 years according to the book a desire to kill
00:50:35
the mystery of harold jones by kevin banks police commissioner and prison reformer
00:50:41
alexander paterson approved his release saying one day he will be the father of happy
00:50:49
children this sentiment was echoed by a prison chaplain who wrote of harold in 1933
00:50:59
he is a very nice lad who was a foolish boy he puts his crime down to reading too
00:51:05
many thrillers i think he will be a much more useful person outside prison than inside
00:51:14
following harold's release his immediate whereabouts were unclear as he was green at parole at the height
00:51:22
of world war ii some sources claim he was subscripted into the royal artillery as a gun fitter
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or served in the merchant navy he adopted his mother's maiden name going by harry stevens
00:51:39
in 1948 harold married a 36 year old woman named muriel they lived together with
00:51:47
muriel's elderly father a former police officer in the london neighborhood of fulham
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[Music] it is not clear whether muriel or her father knew of his criminal past in 1950 muriel gave birth to a baby girl
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the couple's only child harold is reported as having held jobs as a sheet metal worker
00:52:13
caretaker and a night watchman he died of bone cancer in 1971 aged 64. shortly before his death he asked muriel
00:52:26
to ensure his real name harold jones appeared on his death certificate following his release in 1941
00:52:40
harold jones appeared to live a normal law-abiding life however crime historians and members of
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law enforcement have recently speculated that harold may have been responsible for a number of
00:52:54
vicious unsolved murders in london during the 1950s and 60s these were termed the hammersmith nude
00:53:03
murders and the perpetrator was dubbed jack the stripper he was given this name because his
00:53:12
crimes bore striking similarities to those of jack the ripper who stalked and murdered
00:53:18
sex workers throughout london nearly a century earlier jack the stripper had six confirmed
00:53:26
victims but it's likely that up to eight women fell victim to the unknown assailant
00:53:32
his targets were sex workers whose bodies were all found in a state of undress the most common cause of death was
00:53:42
strangulation with the victims bodies showing no signs of a struggle prior to their murders
00:53:49
in most cases the women's teeth or dentures were taken jack the stripper would dump their
00:53:57
bodies with seemingly reckless abandon but left behind little evidence despite an extensive and thorough
00:54:06
investigation by scotland yard the killer was never apprehended when specks of paint were found on the
00:54:14
bodies of three victims investigators wondered whether the killer worked in the auto repair
00:54:20
industry but this lead went nowhere at the time scotland yard was unaware that harold jones now going by the name
00:54:32
harry stevens was living very nearby in fact his home was within a four street radius
00:54:41
from where two of the victims resided he also worked in the sheet metal industry and had access to an industrial
00:54:50
area where some of the bodies were found the murders abruptly stopped in 1965 on harold jones's 59th birthday
00:55:03
some have speculated that perhaps he was no longer able to kill due to suffering from the cancer that
00:55:10
would eventually kill him abertillary author neil milkens is certain that harold
00:55:18
jones was jack the stripper as is david wilson a professor of criminology at birmingham
00:55:24
city university in 2019 the bbc aired a documentary titled dark sun the hunt for a serial
00:55:35
killer detailing harold's possible connections to the hammersmith nude murders the producers also tracked down his
00:55:44
daughter who had no idea about her father's criminal past harold was known to leave his family on
00:55:53
occasion choosing to board in a hostel for days at a time though he only ever did this on weekdays
00:56:02
coincidentally all jack the stripper murders were committed on weekdays in his book a desire to kill the mystery
00:56:13
of harold jones author kevin banks points to the women's handkerchiefs that fifteen-year-old
00:56:19
harold kept in his possession banks likens this collection to the teeth and dentures stolen from the hammersmith
00:56:27
victims he also argues that the hammersmith victims who were all small and petite
00:56:34
had similar builds to frieda bernal and florence little but without any forensic evidence from
00:56:42
the crimes it's unlikely that the killer's identity will ever be known harold jones continued to terrorize the
00:56:53
people of abertillary even after his release from prison when organ music was heard emanating
00:57:00
from the front room of the jones family home rumors circulated that he was back in
00:57:06
town in 1950 he was spotted visiting the graves of frida burnell and florence little he was also known to
00:57:16
pop into the local fish and chip shop on occasion abertillary author kevin banks said that
00:57:23
when he was little and misbehaved his nan would tell him to watch out or harold jones will get you
00:57:33
despite the passage of a century frida and florence's murders have not left the minds of abitaliri residents
00:57:42
in 2018 local author neil milken's raised four thousand pounds to have the girls headstones restored
00:57:50
after years of neglect had caused them to fall into disrepair hundreds of people attended the
00:57:57
unveiling of the repaired graves including relatives of frieda and florence florence's niece told the south wales
00:58:07
argus newspaper it is truly wonderful what happened here today the new grave means my aunt
00:58:15
can finally be at peace another relative added it is very emotional being here but i think they will both be happy with
00:58:27
their new graves god bless them [Music] you