Description
Who Really Killed Claire? re-investigates the brutal yet apparently motiveless murder of 16-year-old Claire Tiltman in Greenhithe, Kent in 1993. It describes how police investigations faltered for almost 20 years until Colin Ash-Smith, due to be released from a long prison sentence for lesser attacks on young women, was unceremoniously charged with this cold case murder. This was one of the UK's very first cases involving the use of evidence of 'bad character' under a controversial new law. Expertly researched, the book revisits the crime scene, investigation, prosecution, media frenzy and belated urgency that led to Ash-Smith's conviction before he was 'back on the street'. Meanwhile, the predatory serial killer Robert Napper was ignored, despite 'hallmarks' and correlations making him a strong suspect. Well placed to raise doubts, experienced investigator Alan Jackaman analyses the wholly circumstantial evidence and explains why he believes misplaced 'gut feelings' may have beset the entire case. Extract: 'When asked again if he had murdered Claire ... [Colin Ash-Smith] replied, "Out of all the interviews I've been in I haven't told one single lie. I can categorically say I had nothing to do with Claire's murder ...".'
