Colin Pitchfork
Colin Pitchfork is a British convicted murderer and rapist. He was the first person convicted of murder based on DNA fingerprinting evidence, and the first to be caught as a result of mass DNA screening. Pitchfork raped and murdered two girls in neighbouring Leicestershire villages, the first in Narborough, in November 1983, and the second in Enderby, in July 1986. He was arrested on 19 September 1987 and sentenced to life imprisonment on 22 January 1988, after admitting both murders.
Life
Pitchfork lived in Newbold Verdon, attending school in Market Bosworth and Desford, until his marriage in 1981 to a social worker, after which he lived in Littlethorpe. The Pitchforks had two sons.Before his marriage, Pitchfork had been convicted of indecent exposure and had been referred for therapy at Carlton Hayes Hospital, Narborough.
Pitchfork had obtained work in Hampshires Bakery in 1976 as an apprentice. He continued to work there until his arrest for the murders. He became particularly skilled as a sculptor of cake decorations and had hoped, eventually, to start his own cake decorating business. According to his supervisor, he was "a good worker and time-keeper, but he was moody... and he couldn't leave women employees alone. He was always chatting them up."
Crimes
On 21 November 1983, 15-year-old Lynda Mann took a shortcut on her way home from babysitting instead of taking her normal route home. She did not return and so her parents and neighbours spent the night searching for her. The next morning, she was found raped and strangled on a deserted footpath known locally as the Black Pad. Using forensic science techniques available at the time, police linked a semen sample taken from her body to a person with type A blood and an enzyme profile that matched only 10% of males. With no other leads or evidence, the case was left open.On 31 July 1986, a second 15-year-old girl, Dawn Ashworth, left her home to visit a friend's house. Two days later, her body was found in a wooded area near a footpath called Ten Pound Lane. She had been beaten, savagely raped and strangled to death. The modus operandi matched that of the first attack, and semen samples revealed the same blood type.
The prime suspect was Richard Buckland, a local 17-year-old youth with learning difficulties, who revealed knowledge of Ashworth's body, and admitted to the Ashworth crime under questioning, but denied the first murder.
DNA profiling
In 1985, Alec Jeffreys, a genetics researcher at the University of Leicester, first developed DNA profiling along with Peter Gill and Dave Werrett of the Forensic Science Service.Gill commented:
Using this technique, Jeffreys compared semen samples from both murder victims against a blood sample from Buckland and conclusively proved that both girls were killed by the same man but not by Buckland. Buckland became the first person to have his innocence established by DNA fingerprinting.
Jeffreys later said:
Leicestershire Constabulary and the FSS then undertook an investigation in which more than 5,500 local men were asked to volunteer blood or saliva samples. This took six months, and no matches were found.
Arrest and conviction
On 1 August 1987, one of Pitchfork's colleagues at the bakery, Ian Kelly, revealed to fellow workers in a Leicester pub that he had taken the blood test while masquerading as Pitchfork. Pitchfork told Kelly that he could not give blood under his own name because he had already given blood while pretending to be a friend of his who had wanted to avoid being harassed by police because of a youthful conviction for burglary. A woman who overheard the conversation reported it to police.On 19 September 1987, Pitchfork was arrested. During subsequent questioning, Pitchfork admitted to exposing himself to more than 1,000 women, a compulsion that began in his early teens. He later progressed to sexual assault and then to strangling his victims in order to protect his identity. He pleaded guilty to the two rapes/murders in addition to another incident of sexual assault, and was sentenced to life imprisonment. The Lord Chief Justice at the time of his sentencing said: "From the point of view of the safety of the public I doubt if he should ever be released." The Secretary of State set a minimum term of 30 years; in 2009, Pitchfork's sentence was reduced on appeal to 28 years.
Artwork
In April 2009, a sculpture that Pitchfork had created in prison was exhibited at the Royal Festival Hall, Bringing the Music to Life, depicted an orchestra and choir. The sculpture was exhibited as part of a venture by the Koestler Trust, having been purchased by the Festival Hall for £600. Following outrage in the papers and from victim-advocate groups, it was removed from display.Parole reviews
On 22 April 2016, the Parole Board for England and Wales heard Pitchfork's case for early release on parole. Pitchfork's advocates presented evidence of his improved character, noting that Pitchfork had furthered his education to degree level and had become expert at the transcription of printed music into braille, for the benefit of the blind. The families of victims Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth opposed his release on parole.On 29 April 2016, the Parole Board announced that Pitchfork's petition for parole had been denied, but they then issued a recommendation that Pitchfork be moved to an open prison. In June 2016, Michael Gove, then serving as Justice Secretary, agreed with the board's recommendation, and at some point prior to 8 January 2017, Pitchfork was moved to an undisclosed open prison. The Parole Board denied parole again in 2018. He may be eligible for parole again in 2020.
On 3 May 2018, Pitchfork was denied parole. The Parole Board said Pitchfork will be eligible for a further review within two years. Lynda's mother said the Parole Board had "listened to us before the murderer". Last year, it emerged Pitchfork would be released from open prison on unsupervised days out. It had been widely expected that Pitchfork could be approaching final release from prison on parole.
In November 2018, Pitchfork was spotted walking around Bristol, so it was assumed that he had been moved to HM Prison Leyhill in Gloucestershire.
Drama
In 2014, ITV commissioned a two-part television drama, Code of a Killer, based on Pitchfork's crimes and the creation of DNA profiling. It starred John Simm as researcher Alec Jeffreys and David Threlfall as David Baker, the lead police detective. Pitchfork was played by Nathan Wright. The drama was the first broadcast in two 90-minute episodes, on 6 and 13 April 2015.It was subsequently reformatted as three episodes and released on DVD.
The New Tricks episode "Dark Chocolate" references Colin Pitchfork several times and it is ultimately the similarities between Pitchfork's case and the case the UCOS team are currently investigating that leads to the criminal's arrest.