The key to unlocking the mystery surrounding the long-standing Jill Dando murder case, spanning over 26 years, might lie hidden within the 223 boxes of evidence stored in police archives.
Recently, the Metropolitan Police revealed that they are carefully reviewing the information in these boxes to determine if it could lead to a fresh and viable line of investigation. While no formal inquiry has been launched yet, this assessment marks a significant step in the case.
Nigel, Jill’s brother, has mentioned the occasional emergence of “new” information in the past, only for it to lead to dead ends. After investing nearly two years of meticulous examination alongside former colleague Matt Young, he strongly believes that there are unexplored avenues of investigation that deserve further attention.
The investigation into Jill Dando’s murder stands as one of the largest homicide inquiries ever conducted by the Metropolitan Police, second only to the ongoing probe into the Stephen Lawrence case. Each of the 223 evidence boxes, containing approximately 1,000 pages, holds crucial information related to the case.
The extensive records amount to 23,246 documents stored in the Home Office Large Major Enquiry System, known as “Holmes,” a database utilized for major criminal investigations. The 1999 investigation, named Operation Oxborough, faced immense pressure from its inception.
Scotland Yard was still grappling with the aftermath of the Macpherson report, which had recently criticized the institution as “institutionally racist” following the Stephen Lawrence murder. Resolving the complexities of the Jill Dando case posed a significant challenge.
Det Chief Insp Hamish Campbell’s dedicated team interviewed over 2,500 individuals, tracked 1,200 vehicles, and collected 3,700 exhibits. The exhaustive £2.75 million inquiry delved into numerous leads, with a team of 45 officers scrutinizing 80,000 mobile phones and reviewing extensive CCTV footage.
Exploring every possible angle, they examined 60 cases of firearm-related female murders, cross-referenced 8,000 names provided to the police, and traced 20,000 blue Range Rovers. Former Met Commissioner Sir John Stevens detailed the overwhelming influx of correspondence, with 3,000 letters, calls, and emails flooding in daily.
Barry George’s arrest in April 2000 marked the beginning of a year-long process to solidify the case, aiming to avoid any mishaps akin to the Lawrence case. Although his conviction initially brought a sense of relief, George was ultimately acquitted in a 2008 retrial after spending eight wrongful years behind bars.
Despite the case being placed on inactive status in 2014 following a thorough forensic review, there has been no comprehensive evaluation by an independent investigator. Periodic reviews and additional forensic assessments have been conducted since then.