the powers that be in the town had conspired to protect the victim’s secret life, and perhaps themselves, from a massive scandal.
He explained that several other characters had been seen in or around the cemetery on the day of the attack, and that potential witnesses had either been ignored by the police or deliberately warned off.
He strongly believed that one particular officer, who ‘had it in for Stephen’, went flat-out to get a quick confession. Ray said that although his son quickly retracted it, the confession still formed the main plank of the prosecution evidence from which he was convicted.
Ray said there had been some previous attempts to obtain an appeal against conviction, the first being in October 1974, a few months after his trial, and the second some 13 years before, in 1981. Both failed. He then admitted to hiring a private investigator, Robert Ervin, a former army investigator, who worked on the case for about ten years but died some time ago.
Juanita let Ray do most of the talking. She looked uncomfortable and agitated, and began fumbling through the paperwork, before extracting some old cuttings that reported the previous attempts to appeal. She explained that the rest of the paperwork included court papers, copies of some old witness statements from years ago and various other official reports she thought I might find of interest.
Ray was anxious to continue, and he confirmed that the reason they wanted to see me that day was because a woman had telephoned them anonymously to say she had sent both me and the editor of the Star some fresh evidence that could help clear their son’s name.
‘The Star?’ I asked. ‘Do you mean the Sheffield Star or the Daily Star?’
‘Don’t know, she just said the Star.’
‘Look, I’ve just returned from a short break,’ I said. ‘I don’t think anything’s arrived here, nobody has mentioned anything, but I’ll go and check.’ I brushed past them and made my way to the main office.
‘Does anyone know anything about a letter concerning Stephen Downing?’ I asked. ‘His parents think some fresh evidence may have been sent here.’ Everyone shook their heads.
Jackie said, ‘Whatever came in that we couldn’t deal with is on your desk. I don’t recall anything about a Stephen Downing, though.’
‘What’s this all about?’ asked Norman.
‘I’m not quite sure at this stage, but their son Stephen has been in jail for murder for over 20 years. They are desperate and need a lifeline. I’ll ask Sam when he comes back,’ I replied.
I returned to my office and told the Downings that nothing had been received so far, but that I had contacts at both newspapers and would get back to them as soon as I could. We made arrangements to meet a day or two later at their home in Bakewell.
I was intrigued by what they had said. They were obviously biased, but it seemed worthy of investigation – particularly if some fresh evidence had come to light.
The Downings seemed a likeable couple, who genuinely believed in their son’s innocence. Ray had spoken of numerous conspiracy theories, while Juanita had maintained a more dignified stance, sitting there patiently listening to her husband’s defiant explanations.
I was apprehensive about getting involved, but my youngest son was now about the same age as Stephen was when he was convicted of murder.
Sam returned with another cigarette in his mouth. The ash was hovering precariously. ‘Did Ray Downing come in?’ he asked.
‘Yes, Sam. So what do you know about the case?’
Sam grabbed my arm and led me back into my office. ‘Ray’s well known around here,’ he explained, closing the door. ‘He drives people crazy with this tale about his son’s innocence. He has spent years trying to solve the crime and clear his lad. Poor sod. I really can’t blame him, though. Stephen was only a kid, and a bit simple too, from memory.’
In his hat and coat, Sam looked like a detective from a 1950s movie. I explained about the family’s current claim of an anonymous caller and some potential fresh evidence. He wasn’t too impressed. He had two or three more drags on his cigarette, then started to talk about the case through a haze.
‘It was all a long time ago, but I was on the story leading up to the trial. As far as I can recall, there was a slight feeling of surprise when he was convicted. He was only 16 or 17, I think?’
‘Seventeen, Sam,’ I confirmed.
‘Yes, whatever. I know other names were bandied about and the murdered woman was well known in the area, if you see what I mean?’
‘No, not really, Sam.’
‘She’d left her husband and I think there was some sort of scandal. You know what Bakewell is like. I think Stephen admitted something, then retracted it.’
‘I’m going to their house on Thursday. They want to show me a few other things of interest.’
Sam stared at me. ‘Be careful, be very careful,’ he said. ‘It’s a minefield. Don’t get sucked into it.’
CHAPTER 2
I contacted my friend Frank Curran at the Daily Star and Rob Hollingworth at the Sheffield Star. Neither had seen any letters relating to the Downing case, but said they would call if anything turned up.
My reporters were keen to become involved with something out of the ordinary and willingly helped with my investigations. Jackie spent a lot of time collating information from old newspaper cuttings from the early 1970s, trying to build up a true picture of the Wendy Sewell murder. She also contacted all the official channels for copies of any important paperwork. I tried to track down any relevant forensic or medical reports, and between us we soon built a substantial portfolio about the case.
Over the next few weeks we held several case conferences to discuss updates or developments. Following my initial review, I wrote to the Chief Constable at Ripley, asking for the release of some paperwork and any other relevant information regarding the murder.
It appeared the murder had naturally made quite an impact locally, but not necessarily nationally. And most of the press reports were fairly consistent.
On Friday 14 September 1973, the Derbyshire Times declared:
MURDER BID CHARGE
Critically ill in Chesterfield Royal Hospital with serious head injuries is an attractive 32-year-old housewife, who was found unconscious in a Bakewell cemetery just after lunchtime on Wednesday.
Yesterday morning, Derbyshire police said that a young man had been charged with attempted murder and would appear at a special court in Bakewell later that day. The accused is understood to be 17-year-old Stephen Downing, a gardener from a Bakewell council estate.
The woman, Mrs Wendy Sewell of Middleton-by-Youlgreave, was found just after 1.15 p.m. She was rushed to Chesterfield Royal Hospital but early yesterday morning had still not regained consciousness. Police are waiting at her bedside.
She
