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Accounts made by two witnesses in a BBC documentary Beyond Reasonable Doubt? Murder On 13 Reasons Why. The Sky Original series examines the horrifying murders in the Swansea valley village of Clydach in 1999. David Morris denies the 'massacre' of Mandy Power and her family. The jury in the Clydach murder retrial has been told they will never forget what were described as the worst murders Wales has ever seen. Just weeks after he died police released fresh forensic DNA evidence linking Morris to a bloodstained sock found at the murder scene. Read about our approach to external linking. An examination of a sock identified the presence of a mixed Y-STR profile that links David Morris or a male relative to the crime scene. "I remember lying on the floor of the car thinking: 'I'm going to die here in the back of this car and I won't be able to prove I'm innocent'. Video, The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure, He was convicted of the murders for a second time in 2006, review into elements of the case was announced by South Wales Police, the Crown Prosecution Service said no information, Explosion derails train in Russian border region, Banana artwork in Seoul museum eaten by visitor, Trump says 'great to be home' on visit to Scotland, NFL player's daughter, aged two, drowns in pool, JP Morgan snaps up troubled US bank First Republic, Father tells how gunman opened fire on Texas home, Indian 'killer' elephant relocated to tiger reserve. Among the evidence was a blood-soaked sock police believe was used as a glove, and a gold chain that appeared to have been pulled off the killer in a fight with Mandy. BBC News. (Incidentally, when hostilities broke out between them, he would retire for a time to his Winter Palace, a flat rented from the council. In 2007, his whole-life sentence which means no possibility for parole was quashed with a minimum 32-year sentence put in its place. Baby taken to hospital after dog attack in Caerphilly, Wales, Princess of Wales has handbag 'stolen' by baby boy on visit to Aberfan, Prince William and Kate abseil off Brecon Beacons cliff during visit to South Wales. During this first trial, he explained his lies about the chain not by a desire to avoid a murder conviction, but to conceal his affair with Power from his sexual partner, Mandy Jewell, a divorce with a young child, with whom he had lived for four years. He had spent the rest of his life maintaining his innocence and appealing his conviction. "Those sort of things don't really happen in those sort of communities - close-knit, industrial communities," he says. As someone trained in forensics, moreover, she would know better how to clean up a crime scene than would Morris, who, according to some, had neither the intelligence nor the knowledge to do a good job of it. After being convicted once, Morris successfully fought for a retrial, and was convicted again. David Morris, 59, killed three generations of the same family in the Swansea Valley village in 1999. ", Clydach murders: Blood-stained sock links David Morris to scene of killings, police say, David Morris was sentenced to life imprisonment for the Clydach murders. The medical causes of death were given as ischaemic heart disease and diabetes mellitus. Sky Crime's new true-crime series, Murder In The Valleys, takes a deep dive into a 22-year-old case which many believe resulted in a wrongful conviction. His DNA wasn't found on the gold chain either, however forensics determined there was 'brick dust and green paint chips' within the links. I Am Madeleine McCann girl timeline update: McCanns break silence, financial gain claims and reaction to DNA results, Strictlys Giovanni Pernice admits hes so proud over huge achievement: Moments like this I will always treasure, New pictures of George and Charlotte with Grandpa King released, Michelle Keegan unveils very drastic makeover in Bank Holiday snap, Pregnant Strictly star Janette Manrara shares stunning pics from babymoon with Aljaz as she plans to return as family of three. Police commission independent forensic review of Clydach Murders - ITVX Campaigners had spent years calling for his release. She played the viola. Several witnesses, however, deposed that she had arrived at 6 AM, before the events were common knowledge. It is also an account of what seems a miscarriage of justice. Poppy Dixon, Director of Documentaries and Factual Commissioning at Sky, said: The Clydach murders remain one of the largest and most divisive investigations in Welsh history. Speaking on the biggest murder inquiry in South Wales' history, he said: "I was a serving police officer 22 years ago, who was wrongfully arrested for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. It's not good enough. 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South Wales Police commissioned a review in the hope that we could in some way provide closure for those most affected by the murders. Mandys mother Doris Dawson was also a victim. Clydach murderer died after collapsing in prison, 'Nothing to undermine' Clydach murders conviction, Fresh doubts over Clydach murders conviction, Russia launches missile attacks on Ukraine, MasterChef Australia host Jock Zonfrillo dies, Air strikes pound Sudan capital as truce extended. Is climate change killing Australian wine? I was remanded in custody for four days, interviewed on 26 occasions and suspended for four years., In a statement given exclusively to the Mirror, Stuart says he believes police officers made a catalogue of errors fuelling speculation his family was responsible for the tragedy. They might have sought to protect their own, or those whom they thought were their own; and it was obvious from the outset that, with such a clear conflict of interest, the South Wales Police should have handed over the investigation to another force. They had intercourse against the wall, on the other side of which Powers 80-year-old invalid mother was sleeping. "One of the difficult things is separating the fact and fiction, the gossip from the truth.". In the early hours of Sunday, June 27, 1999, the bodies of Dorris Dawson, 80, her daughter Amanda Power, 34, and her granddaughters Katie, 10, and Emily, 8, were found in their burned out home in Kelvin Road, Clydach, Wales. THE CASE: The worst mass murder in South Wales criminal history was also the most grotesquely savage. Not one of them has got one piece of evidence. The slaughter of three generations of the same family sparked the biggest criminal investigation in . Viewers can watch Murder in the Valleys when it premieres on Sunday February 06 2022. A gold chain that he wore turned up at the murder sitein effect, the only evidence against him, other than his bad character and reputation for violence. Murder In The Valleys premieres on Sky Crime and NOW on Sunday 6 February. The alibi could hardly be weaker: two suspects backing each other up. It would be intriguing to know what proportion of Britains serious housing shortage results from the increasingly kaleidoscopic, and constantly fracturing, nature of relationships in our society.). Read about our approach to external linking. It's added the incomplete mixed Y-STR result is "as expected as if Morris had contributed to it". At the time, he was a father to two daughters, and was living with his girlfriend, and didn't want to be found out as a cheater. pic.twitter.com/P6G7hzHBLo. Either it was true, in which case it suggested something about the morality of the eventual victim, as well as her attitude toward her elderly mother; or, if untrue, it suggested that Morris thought that it would have no effect on peoples view of him because, around here, everyone behaved like this. "I really welcome the news that South Wales Police have agreed to carry out an independent review of the forensic evidence," he told BBC Wales. Campaigners had spent years calling for his release, casting doubt on the integrity of the original investigation. His trial heard he had a sexual relationship with Ms Power and was fuelled by drink and drugs when he went on a killing spree in June 1999. They were eventually ruled out as suspects in 2001. How has this happened, and 22 years later Im still sat here, defending myself, telling people that Im not a murderer, when all I wanted to do was love her? However, she now believes this could have been the killer returning back to set fire to the house after murdering the family. But the doubt surrounding the case means Stuart and his wife cant go out to a local restaurant without people pointing and sometimes verbally accusing him of involvement in the murders. He died in prison in August, aged 59, having always protested his innocence. I have a habitwhether good or bad, I cannot say, though my wife does not fully approveof buying books almost everywhere I go. The finger of suspicion fell on Stuart Lewis, his police officer brother Steve and Steves wife Alison Lewis, who was having an affair with Mandy. The only DNA evidence found was hers, in Mandy Powers vagina. Stephen Lewis's identical twin brother, Stuart, was also investigated at the time of the murder. When it collapsed, the coarsest hedonism replaced it, which the Clydach murder case illustrates graphically. There hasnt been a day when I havent missed her. Morris has always maintained his innocence, but a bid to take his case to the Court of Appeal was rejected as recently as 2018 by the Criminal Cases Review Commission. Read about our approach to external linking. South Wales Police said it hoped the review would help the family of the victims move on and "answer the questions posed by others once and for all". Mandy Power, aged 34, her invalid mother, Doris Dawson, and her two children, Katie and Emily, aged ten and eight, were killed with a blunt instrument, wielded with such force that it inflicted injuries far greater than those necessary to cause death. Circumstantial evidence also implicated Alison Lewis, including her jealousy and capacity for violence and her awareness that her lover was still seeing men. South Wales Police has confirmed an independent forensic review will take place of some of the evidence used to convict a man over the murders of three generations of the same family. You can read here how the shadow of the horrific crime has refused to life from the village. Though, or perhaps because, Clydach is a small place, tight-knit and socially incestuous, the storya shocking one, of byzantine complexityis more than enough to put one off the supposed joys of community, if not forever, at least for some time. It was a sigh that had been building up for more than a year - and last Tuesday many months of tension came flooding out. "They completely believe he didn't do it and they'll say it's not a question of blind faith," Phillips says of Morris's family. This was therefore to be their model. Katie and Emily Power, who were murdered alongside their mother and grandmother in Clydach in 1999, Police Inspector Stuart Lewis has broken his 22-year-silence. Murder In The Valleys true story: Case for and against David Morris He also wanted a similar chain to evade suspicion that the one at the crime scene was his. This commitment resulted in a forensic link between the convicted killer David Morris and an item of great significance which was recovered from the murder scene. Indeed, the jealous are often jealous because they themselves are unfaithful and suppose that everyone is like them. Assistant Chief Constable David Thorne, of South Wales Police, said: South Wales Police has shown a commitment to providing evidence-based answers to the issues which have been raised about this case over many years. A. man convicted of murdering three generations of the same family more than 20 years ago has died in prison, it has been confirmed. "There are so many unanswered questions in this case that need to be addressed. A blood-stained sock found at a crime scene links the man convicted of the Clydach murders from 22 years ago, South Wales Police have said. VideoThe secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure, LGBT troops take love for Eurovision to front line, Why an Indian comedian is challenging fake news rules. "I really thought I was going to be killed.". Are you interested in supporting the magazine? My brother knew Katie (one of the girls murdered) and had attended her 10th birthday the weekend prior to the murders. Morris, who died in August aged 59, was . The family had been bludgeoned to death with a pole in an "orgy of savagery", prosecutors said, before their house was set on fire in June 1999. Morris always protested his innocence and his family have vowed to clear his name. This case has been looked at and looked at and explored. Clydach murders appeal goes ahead. Clydach murderer of three generations of the same family in the Swansea Valley village in 1999, Dai Morris' cause of death is still questionable after he died on Friday (August 20, 2021) in prison at the age of 59. To bolster this claim, the police produced a small-time drug dealer, who said that he had sold Morris amphetamines shortly before the murders. Can you imagine anybody saying I am the monster that did this? They said: "The loss and grief our family went through and continue to go through is heart-breaking and affects so many aspects of lives. The case deeply divided the community for more than 20 years despite the conviction of a local builder. What happened was absolutely horrendous - you can't begin to understand the [Power] family's pain and suffering. A judge convicted David of murder at Swansea Crown Court in 2002. Assistant Chief Constable David Thorne, of South Wales Police, said the reinvestigation did not "demonstrate any lack of confidence in the conviction of Morris". Due to the brutality of the murders, South Wales Police were under enormous pressure to find and convict Mandy's murderer. David 'Dai' Morris was . Former Inspector Stuart Lewis was held in a cell for four days and says the way his own force dealt with the murder inquiry has ruined his life. The South Wales Police have a reputation, not for making the punishment fit the crime, but for making the evidence fit the suspectin this case, perhaps without even believing the suspect guilty.