Juror 'casts doubt' over Dando case

12 April 2012

One of the jurors in the Jill Dando murder trial has spoken out for the first time about her doubts over the conviction of loner Barry George, saying she felt "outraged" after leaving the court.

Janet Herbert said she believed she had been "tricked" and that she felt compelled to go public with her concerns about the case because "I couldn't live with myself if I didn't".

Ms Herbert was speaking as part of a new BBC documentary on the popular television presenter's murder, which claims to have unearthed new evidence casting doubt about George's conviction.

The programme contains an interview with a second, unidentified juror, who alleges that jury members discussed the case outside of the jury room, despite the directions of the judge.

It also features analysis by an expert on firearms discharge residue which casts doubt on a crucial element of forensic evidence used to prosecute George.

The documentary further claims that one witness discussed the case with a detective on the inquiry team, with whom she was having an affair, before she gave evidence in court.

However, the programme is likely to attract controversy as it is presented by a man, Raphael Rowe, who himself is a victim of a miscarriage of justice.

Mr Rowe was jailed for life along with two other men for a series of crimes, including the murder of hairdresser Peter Hurburgh and several robberies, committed near the M25 on the night of December 15, 1988.

His first appeal was dismissed, but after the case was referred back back to the Court of Appeal in 1999 by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), his conviction was eventually quashed. The programme makes no mention of this.

Asked if his experiences might have affected his objectivity, Mr Rowe, now a reporter on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, said: "I refute that. I would say my experience and knowledge brings something fresh to something as sensitive as this."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in