MURDER MYSTERY
THE BROTHER of TV star Jill Dando believes a new Netflix Series could be the key to solving her murder.
BBC newsreader and Crimewatch host Jill, then 37, died of a gunshot wound to the head outside her home in Fulham, West London, in 1999.
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Loner Barry George, now 62, was arrested for her murder and jailed for life in 2001.
But his conviction was later quashed before he was acquitted at a second trial in 2008.
Despite more than 2,000 potential suspects and a string of conspiracy theories, the killer has not been found.
But a new documentary - Who Killed Jill Dando? - hopes to shed light on the cold case.
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The series will feature Jill’s brother, who hopes the documentary could finally give his family some answers.
He told : “My hope is that the publicity will bring forward someone with new information who can bring Jill's killer to justice.
“I know [it was] a long time ago but someone might know something. My personal feeling is it was somebody looking for a kick and for notoriety.
“Jill was in the wrong place at the wrong time. There have been a number of names in the public domain and it might be one of them.
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“I am looking for a case which would come to court with a guilty verdict which is not overturned, and the person responsible for Jill’s death to be jailed.”
On the morning of April 26, 1999, Jill left her fiance Alan Farthing's home in Chiswick.
She returned alone, by car, to the house she owned in Fulham, West London.
But as Jill reached her front door at about 11:32am, she was shot once in the head.
Her body was discovered about 14 minutes later by a neighbour.
Jill was taken to the nearby Charing Cross Hospital where she was declared dead on arrival at 1:03pm.
BARRY GEORGE
As well as speaking to relatives, friends and co-workers of Jill, the show will also speak to Barry George - who is seen in the trailer saying he had eight years of his life taken away from him.
The police turned their attention to George, who lived about half a mile from Dando's house, shortly after her murder.
He had a history of stalking women, sexual offences and other antisocial and attention seeking behaviour.
George was put under surveillance, arrested and charged with her murder on May 28, 1999.
He was tried at the Old Bailey, convicted, and on July 2, 2001, was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Concern about this conviction was widespread on the basis that the case against George appeared thin.
Two appeals were unsuccessful, but after discredited forensics evidence was excluded from the prosecution's case, George's third appeal succeeded in November 2007.
The original conviction was quashed and a second trial lasting eight weeks ended in George's acquittal on August 1, 2008.
No one else has been charged with Jill's murder.
Sun columnist Jane Moore will also feature in the documentary.
Towards the end of the trailer she is heard saying: "To be sitting here 24 years on and saying, that we still do not know who killed Jill Dando is mind boggling."
Earlier her voice was also heard as she labelled the late star as "the golden girl of television," as she details how Jill was murdered.
MISTAKEN IDENTITY?
Last year the theory that Jill was murdered by a Russian Hitman in a case of mistaken identity emerged through bombshell French court documents.
Papers submitted to a Paris court allege Elite model agency boss Gerald Marie - who was accused of raping several women - wanted Lisa Brinkworth "dealt with" in revenge for her exposing his firm.
The documents claimed the French fashion tycoon hired an assassin who went on to kill the wrong target.
However, Nigel is not convinced by the idea.
He said: “It seems a bit fanciful, as if someone has got one and one and made three.”
Forensic studies showed Jill was killed by a single shot to her temple fired from a 9mm semi-automatic pistol pressed against her head above her left ear.
Neighbours did not hear the gunshot.
The only confirmed sighting of the killer was by Jill's next-door neighbour Richard Hughes, who described a 6ft white man aged around 40 walking away from the scene.
My hope is that the publicity will bring forward someone with new information who can bring Jill's killer to justice
Nigel Dando - Jill's brother
Former police officer Mark Williams-Thomas revealed in February 2017 a list of 100 suspects that weren't followed up, and an ex-Scotland Yard boss claimed that key evidence was "largely ignored".
An unidentified hitman claimed he knows who was behind the murder – but won’t say for fear he'll be killed.
The gunman said he had "no doubt in my mind" that Jill Dando was murdered by a "professional killer".
On ITV's This Morning in 2017, he said: "It was a professional, no doubt about it. The person still at large is very dangerous."
When asked about the other names on the list of suspects he said: "One particular name stands out to me but I won't identify that person because he is very dangerous.
"If I said who it was they would come after me."
Other theories surrounding the murder include that it was an IRA attack.
There has also been speculation that Jill's murder was a hit by a London underworld gang after she reported on them for Crimewatch.
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And some believe was that it was a revenge killing by Serbian warlords after the journalist fronted an appeal for Kosovan refugees.
Who Killed Jill Dando? will air on Netflix on September 26.
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