The key to unraveling the mystery behind the long-standing Jill Dando murder case may lie within the extensive collection of evidence stored in 223 boxes by the police. The Metropolitan Police’s recent acknowledgment of evaluating these findings marks a significant step forward. They clarify that this assessment does not signify the commencement of a new investigation but rather an attempt to determine if the information could lead to a viable new line of inquiry.
Nigel, Jill’s brother, has mentioned the recurrence of “fresh” information over time, often leading to dead ends. Following an exhaustive examination alongside former colleague Matt Young, he firmly believes that there are new avenues of investigation that warrant further exploration.
The inquiry into Jill’s murder stands as the second largest homicide investigation ever conducted by the Metropolitan Police, surpassed only by the ongoing probe into the Stephen Lawrence case. Each of the 223 evidence boxes related to Jill’s case contains approximately 1,000 pages of material.
The digital records amount to 23,246 documents stored within the Home Office Large Major Enquiry System, known as “Holmes,” a database utilized for significant criminal investigations. Operation Oxborough, the 1999 investigation, faced immense pressure from its inception.
Scotland Yard was grappling with the aftermath of the Macpherson report, which had recently labeled the institution as “institutionally racist” following Stephen’s murder. It quickly became evident that solving the Jill Dando case would present a formidable challenge.
Det Chief Insp Hamish Campbell’s team interviewed over 2,500 individuals, tracked 1,200 vehicles, and gathered 3,700 pieces of evidence. The £2.75 million investigation pursued numerous leads, with a team of 45 officers scrutinizing 80,000 mobile phones and reviewing extensive CCTV footage.
They delved into 60 firearm-related female homicides, cross-checked 8,000 provided names, and traced 20,000 blue Range Rovers. Former Met Commissioner Sir John Stevens revealed that the investigation received a daily influx of 3,000 letters, calls, and emails. Mr. Campbell had been informed by security services that there was no evidence supporting the theory of Jill’s murder being linked to a Serbian plot.
Barry George’s arrest in April 2000 initiated a year-long process to solidify the case, as noted by Stevens. The conviction brought a sense of relief, but George was ultimately acquitted in a 2008 retrial after spending eight years in prison wrongfully.
Mr. Campbell, highly respected by his peers, oversaw the case until his retirement in 2013, remaining steadfast in his belief regarding the suspect. Ex-Met Det Chief Supt Barry Webb, after a brief review, commended Mr. Campbell’s diligent and unbiased approach in exploring all potential hypotheses.
The case was shifted to inactive status in 2014 following a significant forensic review, without undergoing a comprehensive review by an independent officer. Subsequent periodic reviews and additional forensic examinations have been conducted since then.