‘He is violent, he is sadistic, far far removed from the person that you see in public.’ ibid. Kerry
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 recovered vast amounts of stolen property. Property from these previous burglaries, some dating back 15 years or more … We found in the cesspit five-hundred keys.’ ibid. rozzer
Then came the first damning forensic evidence. 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 Cooper 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 Ottawa. 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
[News]: A search is underway for two people who have been missing for three days along the Pembrokeshire coastline. Forensics: Catching the Killer s4e1: The Pembrokeshire Murders, Sky Crime 2024
They’d obviously suffered a very violent death. ibid. rozzer
We looked at clothing and samples taken from the bodies of Gwenda and Peter Dixon. ibid. forensics lady
There was the body of Mr Richard Thomas. The fire was raging … The next day the officers doing the searching found the remains of Helen … Both Richard and Helen Thomas were murdered sustaining shotgun wounds. ibid. rozzer
During the early 2000s all cases were being reviewed due to advances in forensic science. ibid.
Five children between the ages 14 and 16 had been attacked. ibid. narrator
A female home alone was confronted by a masked man. ibid.
That search of Cooper’s dilapidated house would provide evidence to link him to a spate of robberies. ibid.
[rozzer]: Within a distance of no more than 5 miles we had 2 double murders, and then in 1996, 5 children were indecently assaulted by a man in a balaclava and a sawn-off shotgun. True Crime Presents s1e5: Connecting a Killer, ITV 2025
What was described as a wild man, unkempt hair, unshaven, and wearing a pair of Khaki shorts. ibid.
The MOs of the unresolved murders and sexual assaults indicated it was one perpetrator
The house – they found jewellery, gloves, a balaclava, and in particular a sawn-off shotgun. ibid.
You have fibres going from Cooper’s house to the offences, you had fibres also from items found in the offences going back to Cooper’s house. ibid.
The blood on the shotgun and indeed the blood on the shorts. ibid.
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, ROGER & DAVID: Robbie Coltrane’s Critical Evidence TV -
Christmas Day and a woman has disappeared. Presumed missing soon became feared dead. A secret affair with murderous consequences. Robbie Coltrane’s Critical Evidence s2e2: The Perfect Murder, 2018
34-year-old Sameena Imam was last seen six days earlier leaving her work on Christmas Eve. But straight away the details surrounding the case did not sit well. ibid.
‘Roger Cooper confirms that he has been in a relationship with Sameena.’ ibid. rozzer
Roger had cuniningly created a false alibi. So what else was he lying about? ibid.
So if the driver wasn’t Roger, who could have moved the car? David Cooper [brother] had already lied to police. ibid.
‘What followed was a confession from David Cooper.’ ibid. rozzer
‘Sameena had some clingfilm around her legs. And we recovered loads of fingerprints of David Cooper on that clingfilm but not one of Roger.’ ibid.
This wasn’t the first time the brothers had plotted to kill Sameena. ibid.