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[Music] the gatehouse was a secluded mansion on the edge of the new forest in Hampshire
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England it was 8:30 p.m. on the 1st of September 1986 the residents had just finished dinner and were about to enjoy
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dessert and that's when three men wearing stocking masks and armed with a shotgun
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in pickaxes burst into the dining room [Music] The Gatehouse was located in 14 bridge a town in
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Hampshire England on the edge of the new forest that was originally an old farmhouse that was converted into a
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large mansion it was situated at the end of a long winding driveway on a large site of 14 acres buried behind trees in
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what was a very quiet and secluded spot the couple that lived there with Joseph and Hilde cleaver they were quiet yet
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sociable people well-liked in the community Joseph cleaver was 82 years old a successful retired public his wife Hilda
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was the same age and was confined to a wheelchair after suffering a stroke they originally used the house as a holiday
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home before eventually moving in full time when Joseph retired on the 1st of September 1986 Joseph and Hilda Cleaver
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were enjoying the company of their son Tom Cleaver 49 years old and his wife Wendy clever 46 years old
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Tom and Wendy were helping out as the living cook and handyman had just been fired so tom was looking after his
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elderly parents keeping an eye on things until replacements could be found dessert had just been served by their
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elderly housekeeper Margaret Murphy 70 years old she had worked for the family for 50 years the cleavers kept a strict
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routine when it came to dinner it was always served at 8:00 p.m. on the dot and everybody was expected to be
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dressed appropriately for the occasion it was about 8:30 p.m. when the doors to the dining room suddenly burst open and
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three masked men brandishing a shotgun and pickaxes entered the intruder screamed at Hilda Wendy and Margaret to
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take off their jewellery Tom and Joseph were ordered to put their wallets in cash on the table the five were then
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forced to the upstairs master bedroom where they were tied up some left on the floor some left on the bed
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Hilda cleaver was tied up to her wheelchair the intruders then spent over an hour reenacting the house they
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collected together a pile of guns that Joseph had in his gun cabinet they also grabbed the TV and video recorder
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especially alcohol and other items they got 90 pounds cash from the men's wallets
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the intruders then started ripping paintings off the walls and using the pickaxes to strike into the walls they
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were looking for a hidden safe they searched everywhere but couldn't locate it frustrated at not being able to find
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the safe the intruders stormed back upstairs at 10:30 a.m. the next day the second of September 1986 the gatehouse
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cleaner Nellie Taylor and gardener Edgar Stubbings arrived for work they were both alarmed at the sight of
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smoke coming out of the upstairs windows they cautiously entered the home and discovered that it had been torn apart
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the dining table was still set with the unfinished dessert still there but everything else was a mess the cleavers
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pet poodle was whimpering the dog had been badly injured there was in such a bad way that it later had to be put down
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a feeling of a dread came over Edgar he picked up the phone to call the police but there was nothing but silence the
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lines had been cut the cleavers had two other dogs that could be heard scratching at a door in whimpering
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upstairs Nellie and Edgar walked upstairs open the door and found Wendy cleaver dead
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she had been taken from the master bedroom into a separate bedroom they found their nearby master bedroom was
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still glowing from a fire that had been lit that is where the smoke was coming from it was still too hot to enter
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Edgerrin Nelly ran from the house and drove to the local police station to raise the alarm the crime scene was
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examined by scene of crime officer Detective Constable Malcolm slaughter the first thing he noticed was that
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there was unburned file order scattered throughout the entire house whoever was responsible and obviously intended to
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burn it down completely he found that the gun cabinet had been emptied into two double barrel shotguns a single
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barrel shotgun and a 22 rifle were missing along with 12 boxes of ammunition the cleavers cocktail cabinet
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had been emptied and a large amount of spirits had been taken signs that the intruders were hunting for hidden safe
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were clear throughout the house detectives immediately thought the scene was the work of at least two men
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possibly more Josef Hilda and Tom Cleaver and Margaret Murphy were found dead in the upstairs master bedroom
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where the fire had been lit two gallons of petrol were poured across the curtains carpet bed and over the victims
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themselves a lip file order was then thrown in and a ball the flames erupted prior to the fly being let Wendy cleaver
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had been dragged out of the master bedroom sexually assaulted then strangled the killers had tried to burn
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down the entire house to destroy all evidence but what they didn't know was that the gatehouse was rebuilt from the
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19th century farmhouse it was rebuilt in the 1940s when timber was a scarce commodity because of the Second World
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War so mostly concrete was used during the building process that's why the structure of the house remained intact
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and there was very little sign of the fire from the outside the flyer pretty much contained itself in the master
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bedroom it looked to be a robbery but why had the victims been so savagely murdered police felt it was one of two
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reasons the victims had seen their killer's faces during the attack or they already knew who they were which would
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explain why there were no signs of forced entry police started looking into the background of the victims was there
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anything there that could shed any light on this crime they didn't come up with much but while searching Josef cleavers
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study they found a newspaper advertisement he had placed seeking a living cook and handyman at the
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gatehouse the advertisement was placed only two months earlier they also found a reference letter attached for a couple
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who applied for the job George and Fiona Stevenson police questioned the cleaner
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Nellie and Gardiner Edgar about the advertisement and they confirmed that the positions had been fuelled by the
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couple police located a reference photo for George and Fiona they landed the job and moved into a
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small cottage located on the estate grounds in late July only a few months earlier but they only lasted a few weeks
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George Stephenson beedis wife regularly and one night Fiona rang out of the cottage to escape his attack and sought
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refuge in the gatehouse the housekeeper Margaret Murphy let Fiona in and hid her from her husband
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Fiona ran off the next day she had only been married to George Stephenson for nine months
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they married two weeks after meeting each other in what was a whirlwind romance when Joseph cleaver learned of this
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incident he was disgusted and immediately sacked Stevenson Fiona had already taken off and her whereabouts
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were unknown all this happened only a few weeks before the murder and it was about the only thing police found that
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could have relevance police started looking into George Stephenson George had done several stints in jail he had
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convictions for burglary fraud theft assault drugs and firearms offenses he also had a conviction for resisting
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arrest he sprayed a police officer who was trying to arrest him with tear gas detectives checked the reference letter
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and found it had been written by a couple in Bournemouth on the southern coast of England about a 30-minute drive
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away from the murder scene they quickly paid that couple of visit to try and get
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a bit more background on George Stevenson they almost couldn't believe it when they were invited into the couple's home
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and did they saw a TV and video recorder matching they've stolen from the gatehouse police interviewed them
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extensively they said the last they spoke with George Stephenson was on Monday morning the day of the murder
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their TV had just broken and Stevenson asked if they wanted a new one which they said yes they did after a bit more
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general chitchat Stevenson left the couple work up the next morning Tuesday the 2nd of September to find the TV and
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recorder on their front porch they never saw Stevenson but he had obviously come
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through for them this information combined with the knowledge Stevenson had been fired from the gatehouse only
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weeks before the murder was enough to make him their prime suspect Stevenson's wife Fiona had also contact a police as
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soon as she read about the murders she had no doubt her husband who she was still hiding from was to blame with that
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Stevenson's picture was on every TV and newspaper in the country and every police officer was on the lookout for
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him he was considered armed and extremely dangerous Stevenson had grown up in Coventry England about a two and a
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half hour drive away from the murder scene police check to that area extensively and they were in luck
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Stevenson had hired a vehicle a Red Rover two one three only days before their killing but he didn't paid the
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deposit for the hire car that was paid by another man George Daly also from Coventry
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police always felt the crime was committed by more than one person now they had a second suspect it didn't
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take long for George Stephenson to see his own face staring back at him from the TV screen he couldn't hide his shock
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it was only days after the murder he immediately got on the phone to police in Hampshire to their surprise Stevenson
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said he was going to hand himself in he wanted to clear his name but before giving himself up he had a
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night out on the town doing a pub crawl around Brockenhurst about a 30-minute drive away from the murder scene on this
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pub crawl he carried a copy of a newspaper under his arm with his face plastered on the front page but he had
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changed his appearance shaving his mustache off and cutting his hair Stevenson chatted up two girls in one of
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the pubs and went back to the campsite that was staying here they drank together until about 2:00 a.m. Stevenson
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then left the campsite walked to a nearby payphone and rang detectives to come and get him in the meantime police
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were also honing in on the men who paid the deposit on Stevenson's hire car George Daly
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police questioned Ruth Smith who lived with George she gave a statement that Stevenson and
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George Daly returned home at 3 a.m. the night of the murders they walked in with
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guns and the boxes of ammunition and that they had a third person with them George's brother Jon Daly they had a
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large collection of spirits which they used to have a very loud drinking session and till dawn not only that Ruth
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described the panic in George and John Daly when Stevenson's face appeared on TV wanted for the murders when they saw
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that George and John quickly carried the guns out of the house [Music] after receiving this information George
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and John Daly were quickly taken into custody around the same time Stevenson handed himself in the trial for the
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three men commenced at Winchester Crown Court on the 6th of October 1987 all three men were charged with 5 counts of
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murder and one count of rape as well as a robbery all three pleaded not guilty to the
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charges but John Daly did plead guilty to the sexual assault of Wendy cleaver [Music]
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police believes the motive for the attack was that George Stephenson wanted revenge for being sacked from his job
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and he was jealous of the cleavers wealth and a lavish lifestyle he was the ringleader he knew I had that Indian
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murder as he risked being identified even though he was wearing a mask he feared he would be recognized from his
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voice and from his shape and built having worked at the gatehouse Stevenson was familiar with the dinner routine of
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the cleavers always sitting down to eat at precisely 8:00 p.m. he was also familiar with in fact they left the
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front door key on the porch until 9:00 p.m. every not getting into the house had been as simple as using that key to
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let themselves in Stevenson and the Daly's arrived at 8:30 p.m. that they had brought the petrol fire lighters
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stocking masks and pickaxes with them but they stole the shotgun from Joseph Shung cabinet before bursting into the
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dining room where Joseph thought his guns was another thing that Stevenson knew from his time working there they
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were only expecting the housekeeper Margaret and Joseph and Hilda they didn't know Tom and Wendy would also be
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present and that they were only there helping out and until Joseph and Hilda could find a suitable replacement for
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Stevenson and his wife Fiona during his police interview John Daly admitted to the sexual assault of Wendy cleaver
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he says afterwards Stevenson walked into the room with a knife and a piece of cloth John Daly's words he didn't say
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anything he just put them on the bed but I knew what they were for to kill her with I thought it was just going to be a
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robbery I thought we would get thousands I never thought I would have to do anything
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[Music] Stevenson became a suspect at the same day the victims were found there were no
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eyewitnesses no forensics no groundbreaking police work they just simply followed up on a newspaper
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advertisement and a reference letter found in the study of the house Stevenson wasn't shocked that his face
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was all over the papers and TV because he was innocent he was shocked that they identified him so quickly he couldn't
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believe it he waited a day to hand himself in to give the dailies time to hide the guns and dump the stolen
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property and to give himself time to concoct an alibi in his police interview Stevenson said he had driven to
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Bournemouth from Coventry about a two and a half hour drive he saw two motorcycle gang members hitchhiking so
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he decided to give them a lift during the ride he told the gang members about the gatehouse and the wealth of the
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cleavers and how Joseph had just fired him so he says they must have used that information to commit the crime but at
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the trial Stevenson changed his story no longer was he blaming motorcycle gang members he picked up all hitchhiking
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he admitted making that up his new story was that he went to the gatehouse with the dailies but he stayed outside and
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acted only as the getaway driver Stevenson had told the daily brothers about the guns
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and they wanted to go there and steal them Stevenson denied being inside and denied there was any plan to kill anyone
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he said I would not have harm them they were lovely people they had been good to me
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the Daley's defense council was having none of it saying the only way out for you now is to blame their daily brothers
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to try and save your own wretched skin you are a man with no conscience in George Daly's police interview he says
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after putting some stuff in the car I went back into the house and it's think of petrol Stevenson came down the stairs
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and said that we're all dead I thought they were just going to be left tied up but he said we would have to burn the
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house so I lit a fire lighter and threw it over the rail as I was on the stairs there was no bang it just went up in a
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big flash unfortunately Joseph hilda Tom and Margaret weren't dead when George Daley through their foil order they died
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in the fire George Daley openly wept in the courtroom when this police interview was
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played in relation to the sexual assault of Wendy cleaver George Daley continued
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to deny his involvement his account is that he walked in on Stephenson attacking her while still holding the
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shotgun in his hand he said I'm telling the truth I have nothing to lose because I'm going
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to be feeling guilty and sent to jail for life anyway I'm not daft enough to think I'm going to get off this
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prosecutor David alpha wasn't impressed with the defendants each trying to blame
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the other in his closing address he told the jury that all three men had plotted
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together and all three were as guilty as each other he said is there one of them
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that he's not guilty of robbery is there one who is not guilty of rape and is there one of them who was not party to
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the mayhem carnage and murders that took place at the gatehouse the trial lasted 17 days after
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deliberating for five and a half hours the jury returned with a guilty verdict for Stevenson and George Daley in
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relation to the sexual assault of Wendy cleaver John Daley had already pled guilty
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they didn't reach a verdict on the murders until the next day the 28th of September 1987 George Stephenson guilty
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for the murders of Joseph hilda Tom and Margaret he was acquitted for the murder
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of Wendy he was sentenced to six life sentences for the four murders rape and robbery with a recommendation that he
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not be released for 25 years the judge said these murders were committed in circumstances of
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indescribable brutality and cruelty you showed no mercy and deserve none Stephenson just stroked his shoulders in
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response he was 36 years old at the time John Daly was found guilty of all five murders and given seven life sentences
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for those and for the robbery and rape he was 21 years old despite the combined 13 life sentences
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they received the judge ruled that they'd be served concurrently so all at the same time which is why Stevenson was
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eligible for release after 25 years the judge didn't make a minimum order of imprisonment for John Daly George Daly
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was found not guilty of murder the court accepting his story that he didn't know
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Joseph's Hilda Tomlin and Margaret were still alive when he lit the fire he was convicted of manslaughter instead the
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judge was satisfied he didn't intentionally kill anyone however he showed a reckless disregard for human
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life he was sentenced to 22 years jail he was 25 years old while the daily sentences were being
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read Stevenson started sneering at George Daly George Daly tried to attack him but they
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were separated by court officers Stevenson then smiled at the jury as he was led away
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[Music] there was a wall safe in the house that Stevenson in the Daley's mist it was
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hidden behind a curtain tom cleaver also had 700 pounds cash hidden inside his artificial lake which he had as a result
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of a car crash years before he kept his money inside the lathe so that if he was
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ever marked the robber would never find it the gatehouse was demolished and a new
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home is being built on the side five people lost their lives and were savagely murdered for a TV a video
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recorder 90 pounds cash some alcohol for guns and because Stevenson was pissed off he was fired from his job in May
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2001 the Home Secretary Jack Straw made a decision to increase Stevenson's minimum term from 25 years to 35 years
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Stevenson appealed this decision to the High Court but the High Court upheld the
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ruling the High Court judge described the murders as sadistic and said that three of the victims were vulnerable due
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to age and disability the ruling means that Stevenson can apply for parole in 2021
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John and George Daly sentences have expired [Music]