Despite being depicted in the media for decades as a woman who sent an innocent man to his death, Valerie kept quiet. Captions are provided by our contributors. Alphon was the son of a senior figure at Scotland Yard. 22:52, 05 Apr 2022. Home richfield school district michael gregsten wife. Valerie Storie did not recognise Alphon in an identity parade, and he was released four days later after being detained on a charge of assaulting Meike Dalal. Why did you shoot him?" 22nd August 1961, Michael Gregsten a 36-year-old research scientist at the Road Research Laboratory at Langley, near Slough. At about 9pm on August 22, 1961, Michael Gregsten, 36, and his girlfriend Valerie Storie, 22, were sitting in their Morris Minor 1000 car in a lay-by at Dorney Reach, Buckinghamshire, when. This was the beginning of the crime which would see Michael murdered and Valerie raped and shot before being left at Deadman's Hill on the A6. Alphon subsequently surrendered himself, and was subjected to an intense interrogation. Paul Foot and some other campaigners argued elsewhere that the DNA evidence could have been contaminated, in view of the fact that the small DNA samples from items of clothing, kept in a police laboratory for over 40 years in conditions that, as they argue, "do not satisfy modern evidential standards", had to be subjected to amplification techniques to yield any genetic profile. The man accused of the "A6 murder" has entered a plea of "not guilty" at the start of his trial at Bedfordshire Assizes in Bedford. Case 172: Michael Gregsten & Valerie Storie - YouTube They were, though, generally relaxed talking in their cornfield. Still can't find what you're looking for? Despite this, Michael was having an affair with his 22-year-old lab assistant, Valerie Storie. [citation needed]. "However, my MP joined the rebel cause, became embroiled in a committee set up to prove a miscarriage of justice, and had the temerity to write to me asking me to join it.". Flatline intro and Come play with me intro and outro www.dl-sounds.com, Logo and website design Paulina Szymanska, James Hanratty: The A6 Murder Crime Files, Tributes pour in for Sloughs brave Valerie Storie Slough & South Bucks Observer, Man is charged with A6 murder The Guardian, Court told of A6 car chase The Guardian, Calls to Yard in A6 case The Guardian, Hanratty family in new appeal against murder conviction BBC News, Police denial of concealing evidence The Guardian, Lay by murder gun identified The Guardian, New search in lay by murder The Guardian, Lennon film on the A6 murder found The Observer, Fresh confession revives Hanratty doubts The Guardian, Appeal court to reveal Hanratty murder case The Guardian, DNA hampers effort to clear Hanratty The Guardian, Murder casebook: James Hanratty Crime and Investigation Network, A miscarriage of justice? In August 1961, 22-year-old Valerie Storie and 36-year-old Michael Gregsten were the victims of James Hanratty in the notorious 'A6 Murder'. He then ordered her to drag Michael's body out of the car to the edge of the lay-by before ordering her to show him how to operate the vehicle. I would ask you now to respect my wish to be left in piece.". They dispatched a telegram to Valerie's place of work, inviting her to the Corn Exchange to "refute any allegations that may be made against you". The case became a cause celebre, with politicians and pop stars, legal experts and writers joining the campaign to prove he was the victim of a miscarriage of justice. The gunman replied that Gregsten had frightened him by turning too quickly. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Michael Gregsten with his wife Janet 1962 OLD PHOTO at the best online prices at eBay! The case involved the death of a man who lived not far from Hanratty and Mr Stickler thinks he could have heard about it while he was in prison for house breaking. Crime A6 Murder of Michael Gregsten. [28] However, Bob Woffinden wrote that there was only one occasion when Justice and Jeremy Fox supported Alphon financially, when Fox paid a hotel bill for him. Learn more about how you can collaborate with us. A6 Murder who wrote the letter to Gregsten's boss complaining of the [29] Fox split from Jean Justice in the 1970s, but continued the fight to clear Hanratty until his death in 1999, three years before the Court of Appeal upheld the conviction on the basis of the DNA evidence retrieved from Hanratty's corpse. Professor Hobbs said: 'It is important that people understand that it is very easy to jump on a bandwagon and come up with a conclusion that is wrong.'. My evidence has never changed, neither have I ever had any doubts. [34][37][39], At the appeal hearing in 2002, Michael Mansfield QC, the barrister acting for the Hanratty family, said that a vial, among surviving evidential items, had been broken which could account for contamination. Nudds' statement also said that Alphon had stayed in the hotel as he claimed, and had remained in his room, Room 6, all night. The gunman ordered Gregsten to drive in several directions, before stopping beside the A6 at Deadman's Hill, where the offences took place. After her retirement she remained an active member of her community, giving presentations on family history and helping to establish a minibus service in her hometown of Slough. The Long Silenceis, in essence, Valeries posthumous autobiography, explaining for the first time every explicit detail of the cat and mouse drive, as Michael and Valerie tried on over twenty occasions to deter and thwart the apparently indecisive Hanratty. Organize, control, distribute and measure all of your digital content. James Hanratty news from the St Albans & Harpenden Review He was sent to Walton Prison, Liverpool, where he was again identified as a psychopath.[9]. With the gun still pointing at them, the man said, I have been on the run for four months. [19] Alphon claimed he had spent the evening of 22 August with his mother, and the following night at the Vienna Hotel, Maida Vale; the police quickly confirmed this and Alphon was released. In the 'Storie papers' is a script containing her stronger feelings on the matter. On 11 September, two cartridge cases were found in the guest basement bedroom of the Vienna Hotel, which were matched with the bullets that killed Gregsten and to the ones in the gun found on the bus. Valerie later wrote of it: "In times of trouble one could always go to one's MP and ask for, and possibly receive help and understanding. However, she was certain that this occurred on Monday 21 August. Yet in spite of this, Valerie kept her silence, Paul explained. Michael Gregston was murdered by James Hanratty 1962. Moreover, the murderer drove badly, whereas Hanratty was an experienced car thief. michael gregsten wife / June 11, 2022 June 11, 2022 / were achilles and patroclus cousins /. [30], The Hanratty family acting through their solicitor, Sir Geoffrey Bindman, repeatedly called for further inquiries into the case. Police believe the couple, both employees of the Road Research Laboratory near Slough, were confronted by a man with a gun as they were parked on Dorney Common in Berkshire yesterday evening. His wife, Maureen Hanratty, said the family had been 'put through hell' because of the behaviour of the authorities. The following month Richard Ingrams, a close friend and colleague of Paul Foot, wrote a brief article about Alphon's part in the case in The Independent. Although Gregsten and Storie offered to give him all their money and the car, the man appeared to have no plan and seemed to want them to stay with him. ;Picture taken at home of Mrs. Janet Gregston with her two sons Anthony 3 and Simon (9) 1961. michael gregsten wife. As they sat there was a tap on the driver's window. [17], Late in the evening of Tuesday, 22 August 1961, Valerie Storie was sitting alongside Gregsten in his car in a cornfield at Dorney Reach, Buckinghamshire. Free shipping for many products! Jet tila michael voltaggio and defending champion and last seasons winner brooke williamson. Despatched to the youth wing of Wormwood Scrubs, he slashed his wrists; placed in the prison hospital, he was declared a 'potential psychopath'. Miraculously, Valerie survived, but was left paralysed from the chest down for the rest of her life. [1] He was hanged at Bedford Jail on 4 April 1962, after being convicted of the murder of scientist Michael Gregsten, aged 36, who was shot dead in a car on the A6 at Deadman's Hill, near Clophill, Bedfordshire in August 1961. In July of the following year he fell from his bicycle, injuring his head and remaining unconscious for 10 hours; he was admitted to Wembley Hospital, where he remained for nine days. Why is it called "Deadmans Hill"? - Maulden Village michael gregsten wife - Agenciap10.com "If anyone doesn't want to be punished then they, surely, don't commit the crime. But for the next 40 years Valerie was slammed by campaign groups and celebrities who were convinced Hanratty was innocent, making her reluctant to speak to the media during her lifetime. 10:56, 04 Apr 2022 Gregsten's girlfriend, Valerie Storie, was raped, shot five times, and left paralysed. Rachel Muir For Mailonline Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images Storie and Gregsten pleaded with him not to shoot them. The police then took the unusual step of publicly naming Alphon as the murder suspect. Drain the heater and clean it. Michael Gregsten with his wife Janet before he was murdered in his She told them: "I have never had a problem with the truth. 'What I do find distasteful is that the family's belief in their son's innocence has been boosted by campaigners who have given them false hope. I do this act in the knowledge that it will clear my family's character of any act or wrong'. Copyright 04/03/2023 Alamy Ltd. All rights reserved. This should have been the end of the matter, but for the rest of her life Valerie was hounded by the media, campaign groups and celebrities including John Lennon and Yoko Ono, who insisted Hanratty was innocent. Detectives and tracker dogs have spent the day searching the surrounding area and so far two cartridges have been found. Case 172: Michael Gregsten & Valerie Storie - Casefile True Crime On Tuesday, 22nd August, 1961, Michael Gregsten, 36, a research physicist, called at the address of his estranged wife at Sabine House, Abbots Langley, and. Crime Files Reopened: Was James Hanratty in Rhyl the night a scientist In the evening of Thursday 24 August, the murder weapon, a .38 revolver, was discovered under the back seat of a 36A London bus, fully loaded and wiped clean of fingerprints. On 11 October, Hanratty was arrested by police in Blackpool, at the Stevonia cafe. The initial prime suspects were Hanratty, a petty criminal, and Peter Louis Alphon, an eccentric drifter.