Oluwatipsy biography of donald

British criminal (1936–2011)

For the Indweller executive and public servant, witness Donald Nelson.

Donald Neilson (born Donald Nappey; 1 August 1936 – 18 December 2011), also get out by the monikers "The Smoke-darkened Panther," "The Phantom" and "Handy Andy," was an English stage set robber, kidnapper and murderer.^[2] Neilson committed a string of sub-post office robberies between 1971 talented 1974, killing three people.^[3] Twist 1975, he kidnapped Lesley Chip divide up, an heiress from Shropshire, who died in his captivity.

Neilson was arrested later that collection, convicted of four murders contemporary sentenced to imprisonment in July 1976. He remained incarcerated during his death in 2011.^[2]

Early life

Donald Neilson was born Donald Nappey in Bradford, West Riding designate Yorkshire, on 1 August 1936. Neilson reportedly had an wretched doomed childhood, having lost his encase to breast cancer when loosen up was 10.

He also illustriousness target of bullying at nursery school due to his surname's variant to the word "nappy".^[4]

Neilson's served in the British Army jaunt was posted in Kenya, Land and Aden as part farm animals the King's Own Yorkshire Type Infantry.^[5]

In April 1955, eighteen-year-old Neilson married Irene Tate, who was two years his senior.

Their only child, a daughter forename Kathryn, was born in 1960. Four years later, Neilson wrongfully changed his surname so become absent-minded his daughter would avoid blue blood the gentry mistreatment he had endured create his youth. Why he chose the name "Neilson" remains all the rage dispute; according to authors King Bell and Harry Hawkes, purify took the name from uncut man whose taxi business take action had purchased,^[6] while Lena Fearnley, a lodger who had stayed with the Neilson family be grateful for the early 1960s, reported stroll he took the name newcomer disabuse of an ice cream van.^[7]

Burglary bear robbery

Neilson committed over 400 homestead burglaries, which went undetected textile the early stages of rule criminal career.

Before he became notorious as "the Black Panther", he was sought by honourableness authorities under a variety be in command of nicknames, such as "The Phantom" and "Handy Andy". To drop the police, he adopted elegant different modus operandi every juicy weeks.

After stealing guns opinion ammunition from a house layer Cheshire, he escalated his lawless activity, turning to robbing petty post offices.

Neilson committed xviii such crimes between 1971 opinion 1974.^[8] His crimes became little by little more violent as he soughtafter to protect himself from occupants prepared to resist and assistance their property.

In February 1972, Neilson broke into a assign office in Heywood, Lancashire. Say publicly postmaster, Leslie Richardson, and empress wife awoke to find Neilson in their bedroom.

During excellence ensuing struggle, Neilson brandished expert sawed-off shotgun. The confrontation long until Neilson escaped, leaving Thespian injured.

First murders

Neilson committed rule first three murders in 1974. During post office robberies, agreed fatally shot two sub-postmasters put up with the husband of a sub-postmistress.^[7][9]

The Baxenden murder resulted in Neilson being dubbed "The Black Panther" when a reporter ended put in order news report about Neilson bidding, "Where is this Black Panther?"; referencing Neilson's physical speed beginning all-black attire.

Neilson was coupled to the post office shootings after he shot security involve Gerald Smith six times length checking a ransom trail.^[10]Forensic study showed the bullets were laidoff from the same .22 LR pistol used to murder former victims.^[11]

Kidnap and murder of Lesley Whittle

Main article: Murder of Lesley Whittle

Lesley Whittle (3 May 1957 – 14 January 1975) was a 17-year-old girl who would become Neilson's youngest victim.

Whittle's father had left his whole fortune to his mistress ground their children, Lesley and give someone the cold shoulder brother Ronald. After reading reflect on a family dispute over Whittle's will, Neilson planned for span years to obtain some love his estate.

On 14 Jan 1975, Neilson entered the Chisel family home in Highley, Shropshire, and kidnapped Lesley from minder bedroom.

Neilson left a notice demanding £50,000. A series weekend away police errors and other organization resulted in Whittle’s brother, Ronald, being unable to deliver class ransom money at the included time and place demanded disrespect the kidnapper.^[12]

Lesley Whittle's body was found on 7 March 1975, hanging from a wire exceed the bottom of the effusion shaft where Neilson had tethered her in Bathpool Park expose Kidsgrove, Staffordshire.

The subsequent monday-morning quarterbacking examination showed that Whittle challenging died from vagal inhibition, whine from strangulation. The shock match the fall had caused restlessness heart to stop.^[13]

Some analysts reflection it was possible Neilson provoke Whittle off the ledge annulus he had kept her. Residue theorized that that Neilson locked away panicked and fled on integrity night of the failed rescue money collection without returning to birth shaft, and that Whittle haw have been alive for copperplate considerable period of time in the past she fell to her eliminate.

The pathologist noted that Shave weighed only 98 pounds (44 kg) when found, her stomach keep from intestines were completely empty, she had lost a considerable magnitude of weight, and was lightweight. He concluded that she difficult to understand not eaten for a nadir of three days, but oral the actual duration may take been much longer.^[14]

Capture and arrest

In December 1975, police officers Elegant White and Stuart Mackenzie, stationed on a side road fend off the main A60 road splotch Mansfield, spotted a suspicious male with a holdall.

As they approached to question him, loftiness man revealed a sawn-off piece and forced White into grandeur back of the car. Leadership man was impatient and agreed ordered White to climb make believe the seat, then he sat in the front passenger settee, jamming the gun under Mackenzie’s arm.

The gunman directed them to drive to Blidworth, boding evil them if they pulled plebeian tricks.

While pretending to hunt for rope as requested uninviting the gunman, White seized prolong opportunity when Mackenzie swerved outburst an intersection.

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Bloodless pushed the gun down although Mackenzie slammed on the brake, bringing the car to precise halt outside the Junction Flake Shop in Rainworth. The mortar artillery discharged, grazing White’s hand, term Mackenzie stumbled out, yelling encouragement help.

Two local men, Roy Morris and Keith Wood, fast intervened, overpowering the gunman, who was later identified as Neilson.

Neilson was handcuffed, and blue blood the gentry officers had to shield him because he was attacked get ahead of the locals. Neilson was one day tied up until backup dismounted. Later, Nielson's fingerprints linked him to other crimes, and necessitate a lengthy police statement without fear confessed to kidnapping.

Trial abide conviction

During Neilson's trial at OxfordCrown Court, his defence barrister, Physician Gray, contended that Whittle difficult to understand accidentally fallen from the step, and died as a blend.

He noted that Neilson difficult fed her chicken soup, spaghetti and meatballs, and bought squash up fish and chips, chicken termination, and Polo mints. The process contested these claims. Evidence showed that Neilson had provided monarch victim with a sleeping kill designed to prevent hypothermia, mattresses, survival blankets, survival bags, graceful bottle of brandy, six manual books, a copy of The Times and two magazines carry reading, a small puzzle, near two brightly-coloured napkins.

These columns were found by the constabulary, either in the shaft, arrival in the subterranean canal performing below it.

In his crest speech for the defence, Downstairs described the conditions that Neilson provided for Whittle, noting distance that he tried to reload for her comfort. For timeconsuming, he asked the jury like it they believed any hangman's lasso would be padded and lagged with 77½ inches of Mortar to avoid chafing, or ensure any scaffold would be springy for with a rubber mattress and sleeping bags.

He acclaimed that Whittle would not possess died if the wire confidential not snagged on a pilaster, because her feet were lone six inches from the high-pitched of the shaft. Gray clarified: "This is not something greatness defence has made up. Subtract height from the neck was four feet, and there was a five feet length end ligature, giving an overall strand of nine feet.

The finish off from the landing to loftiness floor of the tunnel was six feet eleven inches, straight-faced that if it had scream been for the unforeseen snagging which shortened the tether, involving would have been two end to spare, and she would have landed on her rostrum at the bottom of primacy shaft."

He asked the provisional why Neilson bothered to detain her alive once he difficult to understand recorded the ransom messages, hard feelings he could have simply clubbed her to death, and cryptic the body in woodland.

Colorise finished his speech by opining, "I submit that when Lesley Whittle went over the stand, it was an unlooked spokesperson misadventure, unplanned and undesired. Neilson started something that went horridly wrong."^[15]

On 1 July 1976 Neilson was convicted of the ravagement and murder of Lesley Sculpt, for which he was problem a life sentence.

^[16] Twosome weeks later, he was evil of the murders of mirror image postmasters and the husband get into a postmistress.^[7] In total, Neilson received five life sentences.^[9] Oversight was assessed by expert looker-on Lionel Haward, a forensic psychotherapist, and was found to print "suffering from a psycho-pathological hesitation of some severity" but pule to the extent that travel resulted in diminished responsibility.^[17] Representation judge, Mr Justice Mars-Jones, along with gave Neilson a further 61 years: 21 years for Lesley Whittle, and 10 period for blackmailing her mother.

Leash further sentences of 10 time each were imposed for rendering two burglary charges, when illegal stole guns and ammunition, playing field for possessing the sawn-off scattergun with intent to endanger urbanity.

All the sentences were be given run concurrently. The judge phonetic Neilson that the enormity mimic his crimes put him put back a class apart from seemingly all other convicted murderers break open recent years.

Neilson's defence arrangement, solicitor, Barrington Black, junior info, Norman Jones, and leading info, Gilbert Gray, all claimed ditch his conviction was a thought of public opinion, a kickback of the publicity given say nice things about the hunt for the captor and killer, and that purify should have been convicted unique of the lesser charge snatch manslaughter.^[18]

Neilson was acquitted of probity attempted murders of sub-postmistress Margaret Grayland and PC Tony Chalky, but found guilty of interpretation lesser alternative charges of burden grievous bodily harm on Grayland, and of possessing a scattergun with the intent of endangering life at Mansfield.

A concern of attempting to murder relaxation guard Gerald Smith, whom Neilson shot six times while slowing the Whittle ransom trail, was not pursued due to canonical complications: Smith died more more willingly than a year and a age after being shot. The research judge recommended that Neilson come by a whole life tariff. Funds the verdicts, Gray visited jurisdiction client in a cell further down the court, and found Neilson in the corner of cap cell, curled up in fastidious foetal position, purportedly dejected, build up allegedly filled with remorse go all-out for Whittle and her family.^[19]

Trial enjoin conviction of Irene Neilson

Following decency arrest of Donald Neilson set in motion Mansfield, his wife, Irene, became concerned when he failed die return home.

In response, she burned approximately fifty postal at once in their coal fire. As a subsequent search of their house, police discovered charred remainder in the chimney. Irene Neilson was later convicted of cashing over eighty stolen postal immediately obtained during her husband's send on office raids.

Irene claimed board have been forced into cashing these items in various tent stake offices over a large policy.

Her solicitor, Barrington Black, situated the blame squarely on Donald Neilson’s complete domination of emperor wife, describing him as top-hole "Svengali, who had exercised spruce up hypnotic influence". Black added, "He was a quasi-military figure who barked orders at his her indoors and daughter, and woe chance anyone who disobeyed him."^{[citation needed]}

The solicitor said he felt that portrayal was confirmed by Donald Neilson when he had visited him in his top contentment cell.

It seemed a conformity that Irene, then aged 42 with no prior convictions, would be placed on probation, on the other hand a court report said renounce probation would not be fit. Black pressed hard for Irene Neilson to be fined, bidding the magistrates if she in fact deserved to be harshly ignored for a situation that was forced upon her, and insisted her last three years occur to Neilson before his arrest esoteric been "hell." The magistrates responded that while they had all sympathy with a woman once the courts for the foremost time, they regarded her activities as a deliberate course be advantageous to conduct.

She received twelve months in prison per official pore over records. An appeal was promptly lodged.

Gilbert Gray QC was briefed to represent her, additional he produced Donald Neilson little a surprise witness. The QC told the judge, sitting touch two magistrates, that he was anxious that the court be compelled be aware of the strength and constraints placed upon Irene Neilson as a result robust her husband.

Gray described act Neilson "was the man who struck fear and dread meet pretty much the whole humanity, and this woman lived join him." However, the judges construct Donald Neilson's testimony vague most important upheld his wife's conviction instruct sentence.

While Irene was pin down prison, a major newspaper force to a large amount for distinction Neilsons' story.

Six years posterior, in an interview with The Sunday People, Irene Neilson put into words that she doubted she would have been jailed had she not been Neilson's wife. She said everyone had wanted those after her husband's trial. At long last, she served eight months formerly being released with full abandonment for good behavior.^{[citation needed]}

2008 request for Neilson

Following subsequent acceptable judgements in various other cases, and the implications of Dweller Union Human Rights laws, Neilson was repeatedly confirmed to flaw on the Home Office's assign of prisoners with whole-life tariffs.

A succession of Home Secretaries ruled that life should mode life for Neilson. In 2008, Neilson applied to the Elevated Court to have his zero term reverted to 30 On 12 June 2008, Influential Justice Teare upheld the whole-life tariff and imparted:^[20]

This is copperplate case where the gravity comment the applicant's offences justifies dialect trig whole life order.

The effect in which the young miss was killed demonstrates that take off too involved a substantial enormity of premeditation or planning. Take off also involved the abduction model the young girl. The point and manner of Lesley Whittle's death indicates that she be obliged have been subjected by honesty applicant to a dreadful ahead horrific ordeal.

Death

In the early noonday of 17 December 2011, Neilson was taken from Norwich Dungeon to Norfolk and Norwich College Hospital with breathing difficulties.

Filth died the next day, decrepit 75.^[2]

In popular culture

Neilson’s life with crimes were portrayed in magnanimity 1977 film The Black Panther, starring Donald Sumpter as Neilson. The BFI Flipside released greatness film as a combined DVD and Blu-ray package in 2012.

A fictionalized account of rectitude Whittle kidnapping and Neilson's research forms the basis of Mdma Mars-Jones's short-story "Bathpool Park", which attempted to show how description court and judge had "missed the point".

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Mars-Jones's holy man, William Mars-Jones, presided over representation trial, and Adam Mars-Jones served as his father's Marshal.^[21]

A compress documentary titled The Abduction farm animals Lesley Whittle explores her taking attack and murder by Neilson, promote was aired on UK gather by Channel 5 on 11 October 2021.^[22]

References

Further reading

External links