The biggest criminal investigation since the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper has been sparked by the passing of BBC journalist Jill Dando. Look into Jill Dando’s cause of death.
English journalist, newsreader, and television host Jill Dando. Dando spent most of her career working for the BBC, for which she was named 1997’s Personality of the Year.
She was a television presenter for BBC One’s Crimewatch with Nick Ross at the time of her death.
On April 26, 1999, Jill was fatally murdered in front of her Fulham, southwest London, house. Since the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper, the crime sparked the largest murder investigation by the Metropolitan Police and the largest criminal probe in the country.
A local man named Barry George was convicted of the murder and given a prison term, but after serving eight years in jail, Barry was exonerated following an appeal and a fresh trial. The Serbian “warlord” Arkan was classified as a suspect in 2012 despite having gone deceased in 2000.
Who murdered the BBC presenter Jill Dando?
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Jill received one headshot outside her Fulham, Southwest London, residence. At around 11.30 am on April 26, 1999, there was a gunshot. Jill was said to have passed quite instantaneously.
A neighbor discovered her corpse with her keys still in hand after about 14 minutes. Dando was taken to the nearby Charing Cross Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 1:03 p.m.
This is thought to be the only sighting of her suspected killer, who was described by her next-door neighbor as being tall and around 40 when he was last seen leaving the area. Only one of the 2,000 possible suspects who were questioned by police and hundreds of statements taken ever went to trial.
On May 25, 2000, Barry George was taken into custody and later accused of murdering Dando. Less than half a mile separated George’s home from Dando’s House.
On July 2, 2001, more than two years after Dando was fatally shot outside of her house, George was convicted guilty by a vote of 10 to 1 at the Old Bailey following a trial. He was given a life sentence in jail.
George had his conviction reversed in 2007 after serving eight years in jail, and Barry was acquitted of the murder the following year after a retrial. George attempted to sue for £1.4 million for “wrongful confinement,” but his claim was denied.
Additional Hypotheses for Jill Dando’s Death
There are several hypotheses surrounding Jill Dando’s murder, some of which are more believable than others. One of the theories was that a Serbian hitman assassinated the broadcaster in punishment for the West backing Kosovo in its struggle with Serbia. Jill was allegedly killed by the hitman.
Less than three weeks before she was killed, Dando organized a BBC Kosovo appeal for refugees trying to escape racial violence in the Balkans. The appeal garnered more than £1 million in a single day.
Dando’s murder method, which showed that a skilled assassin had carried out the execution-style killing while being able to slink away unobserved, supported this theory. The prosecution disproved the idea in the 2001 trial.
Other accounts claim that she was murdered in reprisal for her engagement with Crimewatch by a hitman from the London underworld or a devoted supporter. The murder of Jill Dando, however, remains unsolved.
Jill Dando’s Pre-Death Salary
Jill Dando’s estate, which entirely went to her Father because Dando passed away intestate, had a gross value of £1,181,207; after debts and taxes, it was worth £863,756; and after inheritance tax, it was worth £607,000.
Her Dando co-host Nick Ross suggested establishing an academic center in her honor, and Nick and her fiancé Alan Farthing contributed over £1.5 million.
The Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science was founded by University College London on April 26, 2001, the second anniversary of her passing.
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