Llanharry murders: Who killed Harry and Megan Tooze?

It was a treble execution that shocked a close-knit agrarian colony and intrigued the nation.

It has been 30 years since the blood-stained bodies of Harry and Megan Tooze were discovered nether hay bales successful the cowshed astatine their isolated cottage successful Llanharry, southbound Wales.

Who changeable the mates dormant is inactive a enigma and the lawsuit remains 1 of Wales' astir notorious unsolved murders.

Retired fruit-wholesaler Harry and his woman Megan led precise mean and ordered lives.

"We were told they kept themselves to themselves, they were creatures of habit, old-fashioned... didn't spell retired ever, didn't socialise peculiarly but were perfectly pleasant neighbours," said erstwhile BBC Wales writer Penny Roberts who reported connected the lawsuit astatine the time.

Monday 26 July 1993 began the aforesaid arsenic each different - the couple, who were successful their 60s - near their workplace cottage successful the colony of Llanharry successful Rhondda Cynon Taf and drove their Land Rover to Tesco successful adjacent Talbot Green to bash their play nutrient shop, stopping to cod their pensions connected the mode home.

Just hours aboriginal they were dead.

The couple's lone child, Cheryl Tooze, rang her parents each time successful the aboriginal evening.

On this peculiar evening she tried calling during the advertisement interruption of Coronation Street but got nary answer.

She past rang their neighbour Owen Hopkins.

"[She] telephoned maine a small spot distressed and confused that she couldn't get clasp of her parents," helium told BBC Radio Wales' The Murder Files: Harry and Megan Tooze successful 2021.

"Cheryl and I weren't successful regular interaction oregon thing but she had our fig successful lawsuit of problems."

Owen offered to spell to the workplace to cheque connected Cheryl's parents.

"It was quiet, we went circular and knocked the doorway and the doorway was locked truthful we shouted and called for Harry," helium said.

"I went to the shed, determination was cipher astir successful the yard, I thought possibly he'd fallen implicit oregon something."

He rang Cheryl backmost and told her her parents were not astatine location and suggested they telephone the police.

Cheryl told him her spouse Jonathan Jones was making the 200-mile (322 km) thrust from their location successful Orpington, Kent, and would beryllium determination shortly. Cheryl remained astatine location phoning different neighbours and waiting for news.

At astir midnight Owen called 999.

He recalled an serviceman arriving reasonably rapidly and carrying retired immoderate rudimentary searches of the property, knocking connected the cottage's doors and windows and calling the couple's names, but getting nary response.

More officers and a canine handler turned up and Owen was asked to amusement the canine handler astir the fields.

On returning to the cottage, Owen said helium recovered it open, walked into the hallway and could perceive idiosyncratic upstairs. An serviceman told him it was Cheryl's fellow Jonathan Jones.

He recalled Jonathan coming downstairs and them saying hullo to 1 different earlier Jonathan walked into the surviving room.

The couple's bodies were yet recovered by constabulary successful the cowshed the successful the aboriginal hours of the pursuing morning, prompting South Wales Police to motorboat a large execution investigation.

The mates had some been changeable successful the caput from down from a region of astir 3ft (0.9m), covered successful carpet and hidden nether hay bales.

Neither Harry nor Megan were killed successful the cowshed. The bodies were moved there, apt carried.

Penny Roberts was the archetypal newsman connected the scene.

"We drove close up… and I could spot humor connected the hay bales, I could spot it precise clearly," she told The Murder Files programme.

Steve Wilkins, a detective for 30 years, visited the couple's spot portion making the programme.

"The chances of idiosyncratic conscionable passing and selecting it arsenic a imaginable determination to onslaught look to beryllium rather remote," helium said.

"One of the archetypal things you'd beryllium asking yourself arsenic an serviceman starring the lawsuit would beryllium 'what makes Harry and Megan Tooze imaginable victims? What is the motive for attacking them'?"

Penny recalled the constabulary putting a batch of effort into reassuring the public

"It appeared astatine that constituent to beryllium random, wholly random and I deliberation radical were acrophobic of that," she said.

"But really erstwhile you look astatine it, erstwhile you looked astatine the victimology and what constabulary recovered and told america what they recovered successful the workplace location it became beauteous wide that Harry and Megan either knew their slayer oregon it was idiosyncratic they were expecting."

Steve said: "If this had been a random sidesplitting I would person expected to assistance successful establishing a wide motive - robbery, intersexual constituent oregon signs of a convulsive conflict but nary of these were present.

"What you get successful existent information is simply a mates of things that would pb investigators to deliberation this is idiosyncratic Harry and Megan Tooze knew."

So what did constabulary person to spell connected backmost successful 1993?

A neighbour told constabulary they had heard 2 gunshots astatine astir 13:30 that Monday but had assumed Harry was retired shooting rabbits - this gave constabulary a apt clip of death.

Then determination were items successful the location that suggested the mates had been expecting a visitor.

"Firstly, there's a teacup and saucer successful the surviving room, there's immoderate statement arsenic to whether this is their finest beverage acceptable but everyone seems to hold that it wasn't your mundane beverage set," said Steve.

"Secondly, determination was a garment laid retired for Harry successful the chamber upstairs, the benignant of happening you mightiness enactment connected if you were expecting company.

"So South Wales Police's attraction turned to radical who knew Harry and Megan, radical who mightiness basal to payment from their deaths."

Two days aft her parents were killed, Cheryl Tooze made an entreaty to the nationalist with her spouse Jonathan sitting alongside her.

"If there's anyone retired determination who knows thing successful transportation with the brutal execution of some my parents delight interaction the police, delight assistance find the idiosyncratic who has destroyed my life, my mum and dada were my life," a visibly upset Cheryl told a country afloat of journalists.

"They whitethorn arsenic good person killed maine excessively for each my beingness is worthy now."

The entreaty got radical talking.

"Cheryl and Jonathan, and peculiarly Cheryl, didn't behave arsenic a bereaved, traumatised girl - and that doesn't mean she wasn't," said Penny.

"I've spoken to her a batch since and she was intelligibly going done hell."

A mates of years later, Cheryl gave an interrogation to the BBC wherever she tried to explicate her behaviour astatine the time.

"It was each truthful unreal and I deliberation somewhere, astatine immoderate stage, I'm not rather definite erstwhile it happened, but it was astir arsenic if I divided into two," she said.

"I conscionable watched myself, I became different idiosyncratic watching myself and reasoning 'what should that idiosyncratic bash now?'

"I cognize my parents didn't merit to beryllium killed and I can't header with the information that they mightiness person gone done immoderate atrocious torturing process, you cognize intelligence torture, perchance carnal torture, I can't header with that truthful I person to find my ain means of coping, my ain mode of surviving."

Steve said successful cases without a wide motive constabulary inevitably look to household members.

"Police look to household members successful these cases due to the fact that without a wide motive the question indispensable beryllium asked 'who volition payment from their death'?"

Cheryl Tooze was astatine enactment the time her parents were killed and her alibi has been corroborated.

"But Jonathan's alibi appeared to beryllium a batch much flimsy and, arsenic clip went on, suspicion turned towards him," said Steve.

Jonathan Jones, past 35, was self-employed recruitment consultant.

He told constabulary connected the time the Tooze's were killed helium took the time disconnected enactment and went into Orpington to look for bureau abstraction to rent - but constabulary could not find anybody who had seen him that day.

His partial thumbprint was besides recovered connected the cupful and saucer that had been recovered successful the couple's surviving room.

He was arrested successful December - 5 months aft the murders.

In aboriginal 1995 helium stood proceedings astatine Newport Crown Court and that April helium was recovered blameworthy of Harry and Megan's murders and sentenced to beingness successful prison.

"The papers said that that helium committed the transgression for £150,000 inheritance but the prosecution successful the tribunal openly admitted that nary motive was ever established," said Steve.

"This was a lawsuit built connected circumstantial evidence."

Cheryl stood by her boyfriend, moving successful with his household successful Caerphilly aft his arrest.

A twelvemonth aft his condemnation Jonathan Jones was released connected entreaty - 3 entreaty tribunal judges took conscionable 5 minutes to scope their decision.

The archetypal proceedings justice was criticised and it emerged constabulary had failed to seal the transgression country properly.

After walking retired of tribunal a escaped man, Jonathan and Cheryl kissed successful from of the waiting media and Cheryl told them: "Obviously I'm delighted. I've been assured from time one, I've ne'er had immoderate doubts and I was assured that the entreaty would beryllium successful."

The thumbprint was the lone grounds that placed Jonathan astatine the workplace cottage. Could Jonathan person inadvertently touched the teacup aft arriving astatine the couple's location to hunt for them?

"The fingerprint did not pb to immoderate conclusive decision that helium was fixed a cupful of tea, I hasten to adhd that the cupful was not examined for DNA. Somebody had it, idiosyncratic drank from it," said Steve.

The programme asked South Wales Police wherefore the cupful had not been analysed for DNA and the unit said the lawsuit has ne'er closed and is inactive nether progressive consideration.

There person been reviews of the lawsuit implicit the years but nary person led constabulary to the answers they were hoping for.

These days the cowshed wherever the mates were recovered dormant has been converted into a sitting country by the caller proprietor of the house.

Things person besides changed successful Llanharry.

"There was a fearfulness due to the fact that we didn't cognize who oregon however galore murderers determination were retired there, it could person been one, it could person been two, it could person been more," said Owen.

"Fear has subsided but similar astir radical we would similar to spot justness for Harry and Meg."

Have excessively galore years present passed for this lawsuit to beryllium solved?

"I stay a steadfast believer that justness tin beryllium done successful this lawsuit and galore much similar it," helium said.

"I've seen it before, the information is retired determination determination and tin beryllium recovered by those with a volition to find it."