However, after Roy Brookes was cleared, Mr Chittenden was approached by an MP and asked if he, in any way, could help the distraught family of Miss Siddons.

Music used in this episode: "The Descent" by Kevin Macleod. All music used is sourced from https://filmmusic.io/ and used under an Attribution Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Lynn's grandmother Florence Siddons, 83, who campaigned to bring her killer to justice, was in court to hear the appeal judges say they had "no lurking doubt" about the safety of 53-year-old Brookes's conviction. I could have said nothing but I chose not to and the support I got from people afterwards was overwhelming and still is.” Read More Related Articles In 1978, 16 year-old Lynn Siddons was murdered on a canal towpath in Derby and her body left hidden in bushes. She had been stabbed 43 times, strangled unsuccessfully, and finally drowned in a puddle. Algae was found in her lungs. A 15 year-old boy was seen by eyewitnesses to leave the crime scene alone, and his age helps to explain why the killer had had so much trouble in killing the girl. The boy, who was recognized by the witnesses, was taken in for questioning, charged with murder, and tried in November. The confirmation of Brookes as the killer is the culmination of a lengthy campaign waged by Florence Siddons.

The Derby step-strangler case has the step-son committing the murder and the step-father doing the punishment for it, while the hereditary difference between them is the motive. This case serves as a warning against the bringing up of children by unnatural parents.

It was only then that Derbyshire Police, who accepted criticism of the way they had handled the case, charged Brookes with the murder. The memorial was arranged by British Waterways and is located about two miles from Lynn's home in Sinfin. Show Sponsor: Care/Of - Find the right vitamins, protein, and now collagen too, personalized just for you. Mr Chittenden said he then made the decision to release the papers to solicitors acting for Miss Siddons's family. But while speaking to his teenage client before and during the trial, it became clear to him that the real killer was the boy's stepfather, Michael Brookes.It was only then that Derbyshire police, who accepted criticism of the way they had handled the case, charged Brookes with the murder. Mr Chittenden, a father-of-three, helped to clear 16-year-old Roy Brookes of the murder of Sinfin girl Lynn Siddons when he was acquitted of the killing in 1978. This episode contains descriptions of crimes and events that some listeners may find disturbing or upsetting, plus there is a reference contained within the episode to a racial slur and the use of a discriminatory term that some may find offensive. It is contained within solely as it forms an integral part of a statement in the overall story canon, is not meant to cause offence, and categorically does not reflect the views of either myself, or the show.

However, his defence collapsed the trial, and he was never convicted. Ever since then, Thatcherist politicians have taken up his example, using "spin" and jaw-flapping measures to scupper public intelligence over matters of national importance while they squander the nation's heritage for their own personal success. After the trial the step-son retracted his claim that his step-father had been involved. Miss Siddons's late grandmother, Flo Siddons, campaigned hard to bring Brookes to justice and was handed a string of awards for her tireless work. The appeal court judges declared that they had "no lurking doubt about the safety of the conviction", which is an astonishing admission, since it means that they had neither instinct nor intelligence for any doubt about it. This would mean that they were not qualified to judge the appeal.It also highlights the need for the right to appeal against indecent or unreliable decisions made by judges, juries and courts. A defendant must be proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and there are many jury decisions like this in which this criterion has not been observed. Flo's daughter Gail Holford, said: "It was a long hard fight but my mum was always there at the front. His conviction followed a rare civil suit brought by Lynn's family after police failed to charge him with the murder. There is also a palpable tendency nowadays for the police to yield to pressure from the press in the matters of both detection and prosecution, and they are apparently suffering from the media bends.

Flo Siddons and her family fought to find the man who stabbed 16-year-old Lynn Siddons more than 40 times. Lynn's mother, Gail Halford, 53, said: "We are really pleased because he would have been a free man if he had won the appeal. Now he must serve his sentence. He deserved what he got." A friend of 16-year-old Lynn, Fitzroy Brookes, confessed to the murder, but was acquitted at his trial after accusing his stepfather Michael of the murder. They are right, what I did was professionally unforgiveable, but I did it because I would not have been able to live with myself knowing that Brookes was out there and could have killed again. His conviction followed a rare civil suit brought by Lynn's family after police decided not to charge him with murder.The plaque reads: "In loving memory of Lynn Siddons, 16 years old, tragically killed April 3 1978 - deep in our heart you will stay, loved and remembered every day." A Derby woman who spent 18 years campaigning to bring her granddaughter's murderer to justice has died aged 92. In 1998 he mounted an appeal, but the appeal court judges determined that a murderer's defence was worth more in criminal trials than the logic of the evidence or the eyewitnesses, and his appeal failed.