Jill Dando News
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| Wednesday 12th May 1999 A team of top detectives has been called in to review the investigation into the murder of BBC presenter Jill Dando. Scotland Yard says the senior staff will look for fresh leads
and check to make sure nothing has been missed as the inquiry enters its third week. The
team of "wise men" will sift through Operation Oxborough, the name given to the
case, later this month.
That will involve checking the entire investigation at Kensington police station,
examining the records of decisions taken and questioning detectives on the leads they have
followed. Police still have few strong leads in their investigation of last month's
shooting in Fulham, west London. Sir Paul Condon, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, will receive a copy of
the review team's report. About 50 officers are working on the case, and the review will
give senior officers valuable information on the resources deployed by the Yard. It is one
of the first reviews ordered after a radical shake-up of the way the force investigates
murders following the bungled inquiry into the stabbing of black teenager Stephen
Lawrence. Tuesday 11th May 1999
At the beginning of this year's ceremony, which was to have been presented by Ms Dando along with Michael Parkinson, one minute's silence was held in her honour. Later Parkinson paid tribute to TV's "Golden Girl", who was shot dead outside her home nearly two weeks ago. He said: "We all remember Jill Dando and we all miss her, no-one more so than I did tonight." Following her death, it was decided she would not be replaced, and Parkinson fronted the show on his own. As the stars arrived for the ceremony at London's Grosvenor House, some reflected on
the tragedy. Brookside actor Michael Starke, who plays Sinbad in the show said of her
murder: "This kind of event pales into insignificance against something like that.
She was a lovely woman and she will be remembered as that." Jill Dando's picture was the last image flashed on to the screen at the awards in a montage of British television figures who have died during the year. Sunday 9th May 1999 Five of the Jill Dando's past boyfriends have been in the public eye, but the diary is believed to identify others previously unknown. None of the five is under suspicion. They all had serious relationships with Jill. Her first was with John Crockford-Hawley whom she met 16 years ago at a council meeting in Weston-super-mare, Avon. He was 15 years her senior. He said recentlyThe relationship fizzled out when when she got her first big break with BBC Devon. Jill also fell for legal clerk Andrew Ray while covering local courts. They dated for five years. Andrew, now a criminal lawyer this week revealed that Jill asked for his help in making contacts with the criminal underworld. When Jill moved to London she embarked on a seven-year relationship with her former Breakfast News boss Bob Wheaton. She blamed the split in 1996 on work pressures. In January 1997 she began an intense eight-month affair with 6' 7" game warden Simon Basil, 33. He moved from South Afica to be near Jill but their relationship did not last. Then she was intoduced to gynaecologist Alan Farthing. They planned to marry later this year. Thursday 6th May 1999 The police believe that the man whose E-fit picture was released by detectives last
week could have caught a train out of the area. Yesterday they disclosed that the driver
of a bus had reported picking the man up near the scene of the shooting and then dropping
him at Putney Bridge Tube station. The station has security cameras and the police may be
able to isolate still pictures of the suspect. London Underground changes the film every
seven days, but officers have already gathered some film. A bus driver later saw the man, who had been sweating heavily, board his No 74 bus at a stop on Fulham Palace Road. The man stayed on for a few stops, made a mobile telephone call and got off at the station. The police are examining whether there is a connection between the suspect travelling to Putney Bridge and a metallic-blue Range Rover seen speeding from a road opposite Miss Dando's home. It was caught later on a closed-circuit camera crossing Putney Bridge; the driver has not come forward. One possibility being investigated is that the Range Rover was part of a planned escape that went wrong and that the gunman was calling his accomplice so that he could be picked up at Putney Bridge. Detective Chief Inspector Hamish Campbell, leading the investigation, said yesterday that inquiries were concentrating on tracking the suspect. Mr Campbell said: "He is the prime suspect; that is why we want people to concentrate on him. It's important tracking that man from the crime scene to give us some indication perhaps as to the background and how the escape was planned." Mr Campbell said that the police still had no idea of the motive for the killing. "That part of the inquiry is causing some of the problems," he said. He added that witnesses had told police about the "sweating man". One saw him almost knocked down by a van on Fulham Palace Road close to where Miss Dando was killed. He said that the sightings of the suspect in Bishop's Park near the murder scene were now "more pertinent". Mr Campbell said police believe that the man was in the park and that he then returned to Fulham Palace Road and went to the bus stop. Mr Campbell said it was vital that more witnesses came forward. He also confirmed that Miss Dando had visited a fish shop in Fulham Road in the hour before she was shot. The detective was speaking after the formal opening of the inquest at West London Coroner's Court in Fulham. The inquest was told that Miss Dando's body could not yet be released to her family because scientific examinations were still continuing. Saturday 1st May 1999
Police are also saying a blue metallic Range Rover was spotted speeding away from the scene of the murder.
Friday 30th April 1999
Scotland Yard made the picture public today at a Press Conference, stating that the
long delay between the murder and the release was due to the number of witnesses involved
in capturing the image of the suspect. Each witness had a slightly varying impression of
the man, with one key individuals sightings from a bus stop enabling the greatest detail
to be added. Police say the final result is a very good likeness of the suspect. The vehicle was seen on Fulham Palace Road at 11:52 am, with one
occupant travelling at a high speed. Although no direct connection between the car and the
murder has been established, police wish to interview the driver of the vehicle to
eliminate them from their enquiries. Return to Latest News Page Return to Index Page
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Realplayer
The UK television industry
has paid tribute to murdered BBC presenter Jill Dando at the annual Bafta TV awards. 
Jill
Dando kept a record of the men in her life-and the rows that ended some of her romances.
Diaries discovered during a search of her home are said to describe in detail the
tv presenters heartache as she searched for love. Now Scotland Yard detectives hope the
pages of longhand, jotted down daily since she became famous might hold the key to the
killer. For they are convinced she knew the man who ordered her brutal doorstep
slaying two weeks ago. 
Detectives hunting the killer of Jill Dando are checking hours of
closed-circuit television security film from the London Underground system. 
"The response to the E-fit has been quite good and we have received dozens
of calls, but the information has not yet been evaluated," said a Scotland Yard
spokesman.
