June 1989, Wales: The man who murdered them [couple] was 44-year-old serial killer John Cooper. This prolific armed robber had mercilessly killed them just for their bank card. And the murderer loved the limelight. Britain’s Most Evil Killers s3e6: John Cooper, Pick TV 2019
He brutally slayed four people in a hit-man style execution then carefully covered up his tracks. ibid.
September 1985: a fire destroys a manor house near Milford Haven. Inside were Richard Thomas and his sister Helen. Both had been murdered. The police believed an armed intruder targeted the house thinking Helen was alone. When her brother came home, the gunman, fearing he’d be recognised, panicked and fired. Faking It: Tears of a Crime s3e7: & Ben Butler & John Cooper, Discovery 2018
‘He is violent, he is sadistic, far far removed from the person you see in public.’ ibid. Kerry Daynes
Weeks later in June 1989 Cooper continued to believe he would get away with his crime by striking again, and once again striking close to home. This time the victims were Oxfordshire couple Gwenda & Peter Dixon. ibid.
We had 45 officers on that initial investigation and immediately we recovered vast amounts of stolen property. Property from these previous burglaries, some dating back 15 years or more. ibid.
This drama is based on the true story of a police investigation that took place in Pembrokeshire, Wales, between 2006 and 2011. The Pembrokeshire Murders I, caption, ITV 2021
17 years ago the couple were blasted to death with a shotgun by an unknown killer as they walked along here – at the coastal path in Little Haven, Pembrokeshire. Despite the huge police investigation, no-one was ever charged with the crime, and the Dixon family’s long wait for justice continues. ibid. local television news
They interviewed Copper but didn’t get anything. ibid. old ex-rozzer
I’m talking about three … I think he did them all. ibid. investigating rozzer Steve
He’s pointing the finger at his own son. The Pembrokeshire Murders II, rozzer
It’s not your fault [death of Cooper’s wife]. Bad things happen around bad men. The Pembrokeshire Murders III, son to rozzer
With Pat out of the picture, he’s [Cooper] even more dangerous. It’s a ticking time bomb. ibid.
‘He is the most dangerous human being I’ve ever come into contact with. This was about excessive violence. For him, taking someone’s life in order to take property off them is totally justifiable.’ The Pembrokeshire Murders: Catching the Game Show Killer, investigating rozzer, ITV 2021
This is the story of an extraordinary hunt for a serial killer who evaded justice for almost a quarter of a century. The case is at the heart of a major ITV drama. ibid.
A serial killer stalked. In the 1980s four innocent people were blasted to death with a shotgun. For more than 20 years the crimes remained unsolved. ibid.
2006: Encouraged by developments in forensic science, Dyfed/Powys police brought together a small handpicked team of detectives to take a fresh look at the murders. The top secret operation was codenamed Ottowa. ibid.
The killer had slipped through the net again. For a number of years. But the murders were not the only unsolved series of crimes worrying detectives. For more than a decade this rural area of Wales had been dogged by a series of burglaries. ibid.
The rapist with the balaclava and shotgun was also the man behind the Scoveston and Coastal Path murders. ibid.
‘It’s a cold, controlled evil that I think I saw in Cooper which I don’t remember in anyone else I’ve been involved with.’ ibid. prosecuting brief
On May 26th 2011 John Cooper was sentenced to life in prison for four murders, rape and sexual assault. Cooper is serving four whole-life sentences. ibid. captions
COOPER, KEVIN [viz Miscarriages of Justice: Kevin Cooper]: True Crime Recaps 2022
On Saturday June 4th 1983 Bill Hughes’ 11-year-old son Chris spent the night with the neighbours. The Ryens were a loving upper-middle-class family … He [Bill] showed up at the Ryen’ house and knocked on the front door. When nobody answered he peered through the window and saw something his brain refused to accept: the walls and the floors were covered in red … Bill kicked in the front door to find a total bloodbath. He rushed over to his son who was dead on the floor, stabbed 25 times in the head, chest and arms. He then found Doug & Peggy [Ryen] stabbed over 30 times each. Poor Jessica bled out in her parents’ doorway … Miraculously, 8-year-old Josh was still alive. True Crime Recaps: Was Kevin Cooper Framed for Murder? Youtube 19.29, 2022
Several other witnesses reported seeing three disorderly at the Canyon Coral bar on the night of the murders not too far from the Ryen home. They had blood on their clothes and they left in a car similar to the missing station wagon. ibid.
Instead of testing the pants they [rozzers] threw them out. ibid.
They had a new suspect in their sites, a 25-year-old black man named Kevin Cooper. ibid.
Despite every piece of testimony and evidence they’d been given including Lee’s bloody overalls, the investigation pivoted to focus only on Kevin Cooper. ibid.
The initial report indicated that several assailants used a hatchet, an ice-pick and one or two knives. ibid.
The State’s original test on blood in the house did not match Kevin. ibid.
The tampered evidence should have been enough to declare a mistrial. ibid.
As of 2022 Kevin is a 64-year-old man still sitting on Death Row and still insisting that he is an innocent man. ibid.
COOPER, WILBERN: The Killer Within: Wilbern Cooper: The Ordinary Man TV -
He seems like an ordinary man but for over 13 years he’d kept a sinister secret. It was time for Wilbern Cooper to face the killer within. The Killer Within: Wilbern Cooper: The Ordinary Man, Sky Crime 2021
In the early hours of September 30th 1978, Farmington Hills police had received a call to a house on Middlebelt Road. There they found the body of resident David McKillop. He was just 22 years old … the victim of a peculiarly brutal attack. ibid.
COPELAND, DAVID: Larry O’Hara - Real Crime TV - Crimes that Shook Britain TV - David Copeland - BBC online - Killing Spree: London Nail Bombing TV - Richard D Hall: Kill Jill 2018 - Panorama TV - Nail Bomber: Manhunt TV -
Did MI5, police and their media assets allow Copeland to plant his bombs, and cover up before, during and after? Larry O’Hara, Notes from the Borderland issue 3 Autumn 2000
This is the story of two terrifying weeks in London when a lone bomber held the City in the grip of terror. No-one knew where he’d strike next or why. Hundreds were maimed. Three people were killed. The police manhunt faced an enormous challenge. Real Crime [with Mark Austin] s6e9: Nailing the Nail Bomber, ITV 2007
It helped that Brixton had one of the UK’s highest concentrations of CCTV cameras. ibid.
24th April: Only six people needed treatment for minor injuries. An hour or two later and Brick Lane would have been heaving with people. ibid.
The police were now confident that the attacks were racially motivated. ibid.
30th April: ‘We’re talking six-inch nails, so you could see them protruding out of people’s arms, legs, faces, chests; I mean it could have been a hardware store. ibid.
This bomb was the most horrific: in the confined bar two people had been killed, but many more were critically injured. ibid.
April 1999: London in the UK was the centre of an unprecedented terror attack. A lone right-wing fanatic went on a one-man rampage killing three people and injuring hundreds. Crimes that Shook Britain s2e1: The London Nail Bombings, CI 2011
The make-shift bomb packed with nails and stuffed into a plastic box had been sat at Brixton Market for over thirty minutes. ibid.
The bomb had originally been placed at a bus-stop then moved three times before detonating outside the Iceland store. ibid.
Brick Lane: Almost to the hour, seven days on from Brixton, police were dealing with another terrorist attack. ibid.
The terrorist had struck a third time. The device tore through Soho causing the biggest devastation so far. ibid.
He freely discussed his reign of terror. ibid.
Copeland was adamant he acted alone. ibid.
I feel nothing ... I did what I had to do. David Copeland
I think perfectly British people have a right to ethnic cleanse. I couldn’t help it. I had to do it. David Copeland
Nail bomber David Copeland has failed in his bid to reduce his minimum jail term of 50 years.
Copeland was given six life sentences in June 2000 for three counts of murder and three counts of causing explosions in London in order to endanger life.