Chopped up and placed in suitcases: Mystery of teen's 1967 murder

Chopped up and placed in suitcases: Mystery of teen's 1967 murder

By Sanya Burgess, news reporter

Sexually assaulted, strangled and chopped up into pieces before being put into two suitcases - the murder of 17-year-old Bernard Oliver is one of the UK's grisliest killings.

Known as the 'Tattingstone Suitcase Murder', the case was re-examined in 2017 to mark 50 years since Bernard's death in 1967 - but many questions remain unanswered.

Why did the killer go through the effort of chopping up the body and then leaving it in two suitcases next to each other?

Who cut Bernard's hair and paid for his nails to be manicured?


How were the Kray twins linked to the murder?

Sky News has combed through the evidence and discovered previously unpublished details about the case, including how police spent two days on a pirate radio ship interviewing a DJ during their hunt to find a killer - or killers.

The discovery

Image: Officers at the scene where Bernard's body was found. Pic: Suffolk Police

When farmer Fred Burggy discovered a body cut up into eight neat pieces divided between two suitcases, he went back to work on his field.

It took the shocked land worker an hour to compose himself enough to make his way to a phone box to call the police.

The news soon spread around the small Suffolk town of Tattingstone - then comprising of a church, a couple of pubs and a population of just a few hundred - and it became the scene of one of the darkest murders in Britain's history.

Dave Kindred, now 71, was a young photographer on the local paper which reported the murder and has told Sky News he doesn't remember a feeling of fear settling on the locals. It was too disconnected from their lives.

The crime was so alien to the sleepy village - it was as if the body fell from the sky.

The body in the suitcases belonged to 17-year-old Bernard Oliver, who was reported missing 10 days before in north London's Muswell Hill.

Image: A photo of Bernard's head was published in newspapers across the country

Described by his family as gentle and friendly, Bernard worked in a London warehouse after leaving a special needs school.

However, when police first descended onto the field that cold winter morning they hit an immediate block - they could find no way to identify the body.

Investigators took the bizarre and macabre step of instructing a funeral worker to "dress up" the decapitated head, propping open the eyes and cleaning him up to be photographed.

The picture was circulated to the press, appearing in the pages of any newspaper whose editor was brave enough to run it.

Who was Bernard?

Some 80 miles away in London, one of Bernard's younger brothers peered over to look at the front page of his friend's newspaper as they waited for a bus back to Muswell Hill, where the Olivers lived with their father.

"My mate went 'Chrissy that's your brother, isn't it?'. I looked at it and I just knew straight away. There was no mistaking it," Chris Oliver told Sky News.

"I hadn't read the story, I'd just seen the picture and ... 'SUITCASE MURDER' and that's all I could see because nothing else registered."

The family, which had no bereavement support or counselling as is routine procedure today, were only just beginning to digest their grief when police began work to exclude them from their list of suspects.

"It was devastating. It was devastating to my whole family," said Chris, who now has children of his own.

Image: An article in The Times, from the day after the body was discovered. Pic: The Times / News Licensing

As so many murders are committed by someone known to the victim, investigators went through the family home, searched the father's car and asked difficult and upsetting questions at Highgate Police Station.

Chris, 15 at the time, says his brother Tony, then 13, took Bernard's death hardest out of the whole family.

"Really none of us spoke to each other about it because we were so hurt. It was difficult to bring the subject up and to talk about it," he says, recalling that his sister Maureen avoided it, as did his other brothers Andrew and Philip.

"Tony and me were the only two that really spoke about it and Tony more so than me because he had a fantastic memory about things. It just upset me to hear a lot of things he could remember about Bernard," Chris says.

"I can't turn around to you and say 'it's life!' because it's not. It's not what you expect to happen. It's absolutely devastating."

Image: National papers, like The Times, reported the news that Bernard had been named on 20 January, 1967. Pic: The Times / News Licensing

Bernard took after their father; a sprinkle of moles on his face, thick lashes framing grey-blue eyes and shock of dark brown wavy hair gave him a distinctive look.

At 5ft 3ins and of slim build, he could have been mistaken for a younger boy.

With his learning difficulties, Bernard came across younger mentally as well as physically.

They had a happy childhood, Chris says. The brothers would often go scrumping for apples, riding bikes or exploring in the woods. They would look out for Bernard when they were together.

The young lad was quiet and kept to himself but when he did speak up, he had a great sense of humour.

Everyone on the estate knew each other so Bernard certainly had friends - even if none were particularly close.

Bernard loved walking the family poodle, Pepe. During these walks he'd sometimes be joined by a female friend who lived a few doors down, but really, Chris says, Bernard was somewhat of a loner.

One Friday night, Bernard did have a night out with friends. It was 6 January 1967, and after he said goodnight and headed home, the next time he was seen he was divided between two suitcases, having been strangled and sexually assaulted.

The investigation

In a time before advanced forensics, CCTV, text message trails, and the rest of a modern investigator's arsenal, detectives had little to go on.

Photos from the Suffolk crime scene show no cordon was initially set up to limit the damage from police and press trampling through the area - with the potential loss of vital evidence.

Image: The suitcases were found in a field

The two suitcases which were hidden under a hedge were largely unremarkable - aside from the letters P.V.A which were painted on one between one of the briefcase-like clasps and the handle.

One suitcase was a grey-blue colour, while the other was a light cream shade.

The laundry mark "QL 42" was found on a small towel inside one of the cases. These marks were used to help return the item back to its owner after it had been cleaned.

Bernard was stripped and placed in the cases naked. A single item of clothing was in the case with him - a neatly folded jacket.

It was reported that the clothing was a sports jacket which belonged to Bernard.

Image: The letters P.V.A. can been seen on one of the cases. Pic: Suffolk Constabulary

Image: The letters were painted between one of the briefcase-like clasps and the handle

A pocket of that jacket contained a matchbox, which was from a brand of matches marketed in Israel. No other information about the matches - or whether Bernard was a smoker - has been made public.

Bernard's nails had been manicured and his hair freshly cut, his brother Tony told local press.

Bernard's stomach revealed he had recently eaten a meal, Sky News understands.

Police say there were sightings of Bernard after his disappearance in and around Muswell Hill by people who didn't know he had been reported missing.

Reports suggest he had died in a 48-hour timeframe of when his body was found.

In the first four months of the investigation, some 2,045 statements were taken and numerous submissions were made to the Metropolitan Police's laboratory.

Image: A light-coloured suitcase was also found

Detectives said they intended to "interview every gay man in London" - a few months before homosexuality was to become legal for those over 21 in England and Wales that summer.

Senior officers were still collating information and following up new leads into 1968, but no one has ever been brought to justice for the murder.

What type of killer are police looking for?

Image: Clinical forensic psychologist Professor Mike Berry, who has spent years interviewing and treating criminals

Clinical forensic psychologist Professor Mike Berry, who has spent years interviewing and treating criminals, has shared his insights on the case based on the limited information gathered by Sky News.

"It is extremely rare for offender(s) to dissect a victim and place the body parts in two suitcases," he told Sky News.

"If a body is dissected by a killer, she or he would normally disperse the body parts over a wide area often to avoid the victim being immediately identified. I find it bizarre why they put two suitcases in the same place."

Professor Barry, of Birmingham City University, added: "Clearly, the killer(s) are not trying to hide them. Although it would be slightly odd to cut up the body just to transport it easier.

"Due to the distance between Muswell Hill where he lived and Tattingstone where he was found, I don't think the killer would have dissected Bernard's body and transported him miles away so we have to assume that it's likely he was transported in a vehicle somewhere local to Tattingstone... before he was probably forced to engage in some illegal activity and then killed."

Bernard's body is likely to have been disposed within four to five miles of where he was killed, Professor Berry added.

Image: The suitcases were found at the blue marker. Pic: Google Maps

The other possible theories Professor Berry suggested include:

:: The method of disposal suggests a high level of "criminal sophistication". Therefore the killer would be more likely to be mature - perhaps in their 30s.

:: The area where Bernard was left is unlikely to have been completely new to whoever left the suitcases there. People are rarely random and are often guided by their mental map.

:: The initials on the case are likely red herrings. Based on the sophistication of the rest of the killer's actions, they were likely put there to deliberately distract the police.

:: The killer's decision to include only the jacket in the cases could mean they held the rest of the clothes back as "trophies", or, if there are other victims, may have wanted to dress them up in Bernard's clothes.

Professor Berry said: "So much more information is required before a full and meaningful profile can be generated. Details of the post-mortem report and police records are essential as well as a visit to the disposal site and possibly the abduction site."

Kray twins, doctors, a record producer, a DJ and a mystery Dutchman: The suspects

Over the decades that have passed, a number of suspects have emerged in police enquiries.

Doctors

Documents in 2004 revealed that the prime suspects considered by the police were a pair of doctors, one of whom had reportedly worked as a naval surgeon.

The two doctors, Martin Reddington and John Roussel Byles, are widely seen as the most likely suspects but no hard evidence has emerged to link them to the scene.

In 1977, a private investigator claimed to recognise the suitcase embellished with initials as belonging to three men who used a laundrette in Muswell Hill.

She listed Reddington, who would have been 35 at the time of the murder, as one of them.

Reddington, who previously had a warrant out for his arrest on charges of buggery and indecent assault of males, was living in Australia by this point and police felt there was insufficient evidence to extradite him.

The same year the claim was made, he was charged in Sydney with committing an indecent assault on a male.

He died in May 1995, aged 63.

John Byles, who would have been 33 at the time, had previously been acquitted alongside another man over the assault of a 16-year-old male at their flat in Earl's Court, London.

Byles also left for Australia in the early 1970s and was arrested in Sydney in 1974 in relation to an alleged indecent assault on a boy.

His body was found in a hotel room in Queensland around the eighth anniversary of the discovery of Bernard's body.

He left two suicide notes, one addressed to Scotland Yard apologising but not saying what for; the other was to Reddington.

Reddington and Byles were also both suspects in the murder of a boy in London in 1973.

Mr Kindred told Sky News: "I think they [the police] knew who conducted the murders but there was no real hard evidence".

The Krays

Image: Reggie (r) pictured with his brother Ronnie

A former cellmate of gangster Reginald Kray, one half of the notorious Kray twins, claimed Reginald had confessed killing a "young gay boy" to him.

The twins had been sent to Suffolk as evacuees during World War II and bought a house at nearby Bildeston around the time of the murder. This connection to the area and Reggie's twin brother Ronnie's relationships with men is enough for some to accuse the Krays.

Record producer Joe Meek

The fourth name commonly mentioned in connection with the case is record producer Joe Meek.

Meek is known for pioneering experimental pop music in the 1960s. On 3 February 1967, two and a half weeks after Bernard's body was discovered, Meek shot his landlady before turning the gun on himself.

Meek, who was reportedly raised as a girl for the first four years of his life by his mother, had a history of paranoia and other mental health issues. Among other things, he claimed there were hidden microphones in his wallpaper placed there to steal his ideas.

Reports of his final days suggest his fear of being interviewed by police over the Tattingstone suitcase murder saw his mental health plummet and his behaviour degrade, claiming he was possessed.

DJ Tony Windsor

Image: Tony Windsor was questioned by police, Sky News has learnt. Pic: Ron Buninga and Radio London Ltd

An Australian DJ named Tony Windsor was spoken to by police about the case, Sky News can reveal.

Mr Windsor, who was reported to be one of the highest paid DJs in Australia years before, worked on board MV Galaxy - a ship from which pirate station Radio London was broadcast.

The ship was harboured off the coast of Frinton-on-Sea, around 12 miles away from Tattingstone.

Multiple sources have confirmed to Sky News that police boarded the ship in early February - just days after Meek killed himself and his landlady.

On 6 and 7 February, police asked questions of Mr Windsor, real name Withers.

He was widely described as an alcoholic by those who knew him.

It is understood the DJ was dismissed from Radio London on 7 February 1967, with his alcohol problems being blamed for his departure.

Mary Payne, the director of Radio London Ltd, told Sky News: "It was mainly Tony Windsor... who was of most interest. He was gay, alcoholic and a close friend of Joe Meek."

She added: "We do not know if he accompanied police to further their enquiries, or departed separately, but management put his dismissal down to his alcohol addiction."

Affectionately known by his friends as TW, he died in June 1985, aged 64.

Ms Payne was 17 in 1967, the same age as Bernard.

She says: "As teenage listeners, we loved Big L [Radio London] and were - thankfully - innocent and totally oblivious to any scandals at the time.

"We have since discovered many things about the station's personnel and their associates that have saddened us deeply.

It's all horribly sleazy stuff and very sad that someone has for so long got away with murdering this poor kid."

Image: The DJs on board Radio London were adored by their listeners. Pic: Grey Pierson and Radio London Ltd

David Hawkins, an MV Galaxy engineer, was on board when the two policemen visited Radio London.

"I remember they had a good line in gallows humour, joking 'we are currently seeking a man who boarded a bus in Ipswich with two suitcases and asked for one full fare and two halves please'," Mr Hawkins told Sky News.

Mr Hawkins, who sat next to one of the policemen during lunch, could not remember if they had spoken with Mr Windsor but said they had been intending to speak to "every gay man in the local area".

The engineer worked alongside Mr Windsor on the boat and when asked whether the DJ had a problem with alcohol, he replied: "Oh lordy, yes."

It is not clear at this stage what happened after police left the boat the second day. There is nothing to suggest Mr Windsor was contacted or linked by police any further in the case.

The Dutch connection

David Hawkins said one of the other lines of enquiry police were pursuing was to procure a list of Dutch crew members from the boat's captain.

Mr Hawkins said he did not think the policemen were "terribly high ranking" and were from the local force.

"Their basic mission was to find out which of the Dutch crew had come off the ship immediately before the murder took place and had perhaps gone on to Holland later," he said, adding that the questioning was connected to the initials P.V.A that had been stencilled onto one of the cases.

"The initials could suggest a Dutch family name," he said.

Mr Hawkins also told Sky News that his lunching partner told him that one theory was that the victim had died following a meal with his killer.

"They had analysed the contents of poor Bernard's stomach and found what his last meal had been. They said sadly [he may have] had a row with a boyfriend after dinner and was cut up after it," he said.

It is not known how far the police investigated a Dutch connection outside of asking for a list of the Dutch crew from the boat's captain.

Police were unable to comment on enquiries conducted on the MV Galaxy.

Now, more than 50 years on...

Image: This is the spot as seen today where the suitcases were discovered. Pic: Google Street View

Buried in East Finchley, a stone's throw from Muswell Hill, Bernard's epitaph reads: "So sad was the day you were taken from us. You will always be in our hearts forever dearest brother. Always loved. Never Forgotten. R.I.P."

The case was reviewed by police in 2009 and looked at again in 2015. The 50th anniversary of Bernard's death saw a number of calls come into police, prompting an additional review.

A review of the forensic evidence has been concluded and the findings have been analysed but not been made public.

A spokesperson for Suffolk Police told Sky News: "The joint Major Investigation Team has its own team of police staff who routinely review unsolved crimes from Suffolk and Norfolk.

"It is never too late for people to come forward with any information they think may help this inquiry, even though the crime occurred more than 50 years ago.

"For each victim, there are family and friends who continue to grieve and who require closure. The investigation into this death remains open and we will not stop looking for the person or persons responsible."

Image: The hedges where the suitcases were hidden. Pic: Suffolk Police

Chris Oliver, whose parents separated before Bernard was murdered, believes the police worked hard to find his brother's killer, but wonders if things would have been different had DNA testing been more advanced in the 1960s.

He said: "I wish it had been solved before my father died, my mother died and Tony died. I don't know if it ever will be. It's been 51 years. It's a long time."

Talking about what it would it mean to the family if Bernard's killer, or killers, were caught now, Chris is detached: "At the end of the day, look, it doesn't bring my brother back.

"Even if I found out tomorrow who did it - he might be alive, he might be dead - but it doesn't bring my brother back. People say you'll get closure but I'm never going to get closure."

:: Do you have any information? You can contact the major crime review manager by email on unsolvedcasereviews@norfolk.pnn.police.uk or email Sky News reporter sanya.burgess@sky.uk

:: Follow Sky News' special coverage, One Day of Crime, throughout Thursday.