Category: Crown prosecution service (CPS)

Killer Simon Hall: Skullduggery, Crown Prosecution Lawyers, Controlling The Narrative, Concoctions & Web Of Deceit, Pre-Meditated Murder, Sentencing & A Time To Take Stock – Part 14a©️ 

Joan Albert’s Killer.
Photograph of Simon Hall taken whilst ’at large’ and ‘wanted’ by Suffolk police for a sexually motivated murder

Skullduggery, Concoctions & Web Of Deceit

The skullduggery used in an attempt to distort the reality of the true narrative of the facts of Simon Hall’s murder of Joan Albert, especially to any new comer to the world of the criminal justice system and its workings, would often succeed in duping people.

Although there were also many people and organisations already familiar with its workings who would also attempt to use their powers of persuasion and paltering to add to the already existing concocted, false and misleading narratives, distortions and confusion of a story based on a web of deceit.

Simon Spence who was the prosecution junior, alongside Graham Parkin, representing the crown prosecution service (CPS) during Simon Hall’s February 2003 trial, had made the false and misleading claim on his online bio that the evidence presented during the trial rested on contested fibre evidence.

This was and is untrue.

Simon Spence
Screenshot from Simon Spence’s online bio

NOTE: In June 2023 Innocence Fraud Watch became aware that Simon Spence and his chambers had removed the above blurb from his online bio.

The evidence heard throughout Simon Hall’s trial for his murder of Joan Albert rested on a whole lot more than contested fibre evidence asserted by Simon Spence.

Given Simon Spence’s role throughout the 2003 trial process and the 2010 appeal he would have known this if he was ever familiar with all the evidence in this case.

The jury were presented with a wealth of other evidence and Simon Spence would have had access to all the case files and access to the same police witness statements, which contained within them the very same excerpts which are published throughout this blog series.

The index for this blog series can be found by tapping on the button below;

The Truth Behind Killer Simon Hall & His Enablers Innocence Fraud Phenomenon Scam ©️

And as per the prosecutions closing speech, which was made by Graham Parkin, the CPS case did not rest simply on the contested fibre evidence which linked Simon Hall to his murder of Joan Albert.

The case also rested on material concocted by Simon Hall and members of his immediate family (Lynne, Phil and Shaun) heard throughout the trial.

Sentencing

Following the guilty verdict of the February 2003 trial the East Anglian Daily Times reported on Simon Hall’s sentencing.

Their article was published the day after sentencing had taken place. Below are excerpts from their article;

Hall was sentenced to life imprisonment at London’s High Court yesterday but his solicitor said an appeal against his conviction was already underway

Dressed in a black suit, lemon shirt and pale yellow chequered tie, Hall listened to yesterday’s proceedings with a sombre expression

He looked shaken as Mrs Justice Rafferty told him that Mrs Albert’s death had been both “brutal” and “undignified”

“Dogged and painstaking police work eventually led to you, linking you to her home and her body by two different types of fibres”, she said

“Why you chose in the small hours of the morning to break into her home, may never be known”

The judge told Hall his parents must feel devastated after showing loyalty to him during “testing years” when he had acquired a criminal record for violence

Only one sentence could be passed, she added,

“you will go to prison for life”

Before Hall was sentenced, his barrister, Peter Rouch QC, urged Mrs Justice Rafferty to consider the fact that the prosecution’s case was that Mrs Albert’s murder had been a “burglary that went wrong”

He said there was never any suggestion that whoever killed the pensioner had gone to her home to deliberately take her life

Mr Rouch also said Hall’s previous convictions for violence, an assault in McDonalds in 1997 and another for wounding, was a result of a street fight

“He is only 25. He has a strong family union. Whenever he comes out of custody he will have that unit”

During the trial, the prosecution claimed Hall targeted Mrs Albert’s home because of his special knowledge about her living circumstances

His mother, Lyn Hall had walked the widow’s pet dog Rusty and it was alleged Hall once told ex-girlfriend Joanne Blowers that she lived on her own and was from a wealthy background

Graham Parkins QC, said Hall broke into the widow’s home in the early hours of December 16, 2001, with the intention of burgling the property

Hall told police he was drinking in an Ipswich pub on the night of her murder, and moved to Liquid Nightclub, then drove home and arrived at his parents’ house in Snowcroft, Capel, as 6.28am

The prosecution said there was a missing hour unaccounted for.

The main evidence of the trial centered on more than a thousand fibres found in Hall’s wardrobe at his Snowcroft home, his Audi car and in his home in Hill House Road, Ipswich

Forensic experts were unable to distinguish them from those found at Mrs Albert’s home and on her body, the court heard

Hall’s family sat silent and expressionless as he was taken down to the cells

They declined to comment after the case

Excerpts from East Anglian Daily Times article headed 11th April 2003

When The Mask Comes Off & Taking Stock

In 2013 during further occasions when killer Simon Hall’s mask came off, he disclosed numerous fantasies and plans he said he had, some of which included grooming, luring, raping and killing various female members of his family, including his adoptive mother Lynne Hall.

Excerpts from Simon Hall’s Sentence Planning and Review Report, referring to events recorded in September and October 2013 respectively read;

Mr Hall was heard on the pin phone stating that he wanted to hurt himself and others by sexually assaulting them, killing & stab (sic) somebody in the eye

Intel suggests that Mr Hall has been making phone calls stating that he intends to have sex with his mother, sister and adoptive mother and he fantasises about having sex with a child, killing the child and burying the body

Excerpts from page 15 of HMP Wayland Sentence Planning and Review Report (Report dated December 2013)

Killer Simon Hall also disclosed that apparently when he was younger he had “gone down” on the family pet dog.

An offender manager from HM prison service, recorded this in her notes as having been a pet cat, even though the offender manager had the benefit of recorded prison telephone calls and call logs.

And if the offender manager had spoken directly to Simon Hall, or appraised herself of the facts of the case as to why Simon was imprisoned in the first place, she would have possibly known Lynne Hall only ever apparently had Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and rabbits.

Lynne Hall stated;

We had lived at St John’s drive since 1969 and only moved because Phil was changing jobs.

My husband is known as Phil rather than by his first name George.

I should add that for the majority of our married life I have had a dog, they have always been Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, the first one we had was a Blenheim, which denotes the colouring in this case tan and white, he was called “buttons”, Buttons actually made the move from Lincolnshire to Capel with the family.

I think we actually moved around 1980.

Buttons was with us about 3 years before he had to be out down. we were a year without the dog before getting Lady who was a tricolour, Black, tan and white, again she was a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Lady only died around 3 years ago

Excerpt from Lynne Hall’s police witness statement dated 25th July 2002

As well as fantasies of harming children, Simon Hall also said he would probably have killed again if he were released from prison.

These disclosures also included comments of killing his then wife.

The following excerpt relates to events from early September 2013, whilst Simon Hall was still in open prison conditions at HMP Hollesley Bay;

Mr Hall’s risk has increased due to his statements over the course of 8/9 September 2013 that he had thought about absconding and ”killing himself”.

However, given Mr Hall’s recent admission of guilt, added to the fact that his index offence and previous offences are of a violent nature, it gives rise to concerns about the potential for him to abscond and commit a further violent offence.

His recent disclosures about sexual matters, also give rise to increased risk that Mr Hall may abscond and commit, not only a violent offence, but one that may be sexual in nature

Statement from page 21 of Simon Hall’s HMP Wayland Sentence Planning and Review Report (Dated December 2013)

A further reference taken from the same report read;

Intel suggests that Mr Hall has thoughts of self harm and smoking drugs

November 2013 note from Simon Hall’s security intelligence files

Lynne and Phil Hall travelled to HMP Wayland on the 30th January 2014.

Lynne Hall visited with her adoptive son Simon Hall, whilst her husband Phil Hall apparently waited in the prison visitors parking area in his car.

In excerpts from a copy of a letter written from HMP Wayland by killer Simon Hall, addressed to his adoptive parents Lynne and Phil Hall, it read;

Dear Lynne and Phil,

If I had children I would never turn my back on them no matter what the situation was. Recent events demonstrate that I have suffered psychological problems for most of my life and they are only going to get worse unless I get the help I need

The difference between us is that I am sorry for hurting you and bringing a huge cloud of doubt and shame over ”The Family”. But all you seem to care about is your image and reputation

You’re ashamed of me – fair enough, but as much as I love you both, I’m ashamed of you too.

You turned your back on me when I needed you the most. I’m obviously not well, but you couldn’t give a shit.

Instead you remain victims and have not offered any kind of help or support when I clearly needed it. Some of my actions are unforgivable, but so are yours

I will not write again and I have removed the phone number

True colours always reveal themselves

Simon

Excerpts from a copy of letter Simon Hall wrote from HMP Wayland to his adoptive parents Lynne and Phil Hall

Excerpts from one of killer Simon Hall’s final letters read;

I panic because of shame and because the truth is destroying me.

Living in denial gave me no reason to panic and if you remember, I only started to panic like that when I was being found out lying. I panic through fear of judgement and rejection

Am I like my biological father? He put himself before the children that he had

I am worried about genetics.

All of the Walton kids are damaged.

I believe that both nature and nurture f**ked me up, I do hate Lynne I do hate Shaun, but I hate myself more.

If they were in this cell, I’d punch their lights out. That’s true, but I’d want to hurt myself too

I don’t think it’s genetics.

I remember my conscience as a kid, before Shaun got hold of me. I think nurture is so important from both to adulthood.

If I’d been in loving households, I’d be different

Excerpts from one of Simon Hall’s last letters from 2014

Simon Hall was found hanging in his prison cell after committing suicide on the 23rd February 2014.

Link to Part 15 here

The Violent Rapist, Parasitic Predator & Deceptive, Gaslighting Fraudster Andrew Malkinson & How He Went On The Run After Learning His Victim Was Helping Police Compile An E-Fit (Part 6)

Photo of violent rapist & parasitic predator Andrew Malkinson in Gran Canaria in May 2003

During the trial the judge made clear to the jury both John and Deborah Hardman had previous criminal convictions

Statement by Emily Dugan made on 1st October 2021 via a podcast called Seventeen years

Violent rapist and parasitic predator Andrew Malkinson claimed on 1st October 2021 that Deborah and Jonathan Hardman, who were prosecution witnesses during his trial, were “being arsehole’s” and “bugging” him at work and allegedly “making threats of physical violence” towards him.

Andrew Malkinson had apparently told the Hardman’s in June 2003 he would pay them back the £75 flight money they paid for him to fly to the UK from Gran Canaria.

It appears the Hardman family were targeted by Andrew Malkinson after he phoned them to tell them in the UK to tell them he had allegedly been “mugged” and had no money.

He also went on to tell them he would repay them for the sofa he soiled, after urinating on it one night whilst drunk.

24th July 2003: Police Hope For E-Fit Of Rapist

On the 24th July 2003, five days after Andrew Malkinson’s vicious attack and rape, Bolton News reported under the header Police hope for e-fit of rapist some of the following;

Detectives were today interviewing a woman recovering from a brutal rape in a bid to draw up an e-fit image of her attacker.

The 33-year-old mother-of-two, from Kearsley, was grabbed from behind as she walked home from a night out with friends along the M61 motorway bridge in Cleggs Lane, Little Hulton in the early hours of Saturday.

She was strangled until she became unconscious and then raped.

She has received counselling from trained officers and was today hoping to describe her attacker to detectives for them to compile an artist’s impression

Excerpt from an article by Bolton news headed Police hope for e-fit of rapist dated 24th July 2003

Once the E-Fit was completed it was circulated to local police officers.

On the same day Andrew Malkinson’s victim was helping police compile an E-fit of him, Andrew Malkinson “had had a photograph taken at work for a security pass on 24 July”.

It was reported that police constables (Pc) Gary Waite and Christopher Baybutt had realised the E-Fit looked remarkably similar to a man they had stopped riding pillion on an off road motorbike the month before.

The person driving the off road motorbike was the son of Deborah and Jonathan Hardman and the pillion passenger was Andrew Malkinson.

Excerpts from an August 2004 Manchester evening news article read;

By chance, four weeks before Malkinson committed the vicious rape, he was riding pillion on an off-road motorbike which was stopped by Little Hulton community beat officers, Pc Gary Waite and Pc Christopher Baybutt.

They warned the rider not to use the machine on the road and took his details and Malkinson’s.

At the time Malkinson was working as a security guard at the Ellesmere Shopping Centre, in Walkden.

Excerpts from a Manchester evening news article headed Strange drifter who covered his tracks dated 13th August 2004

Pc’s Gary Waite and Christopher Baybutt were reported to have “alerted senior officers” and the hunt for Andrew Malkinson began.

25th July ‘03: Andrew Malkinson Quits His Job & Flees Area Through Fear Of Being Recognised

When police arrived at fellow security guard Simon Oakes flat in Aspinall court, Atherton, where Andrew Malkinson had been sofa surfing after the Hardman’s had kicked him out, he was already on the run.

Andrew Malkinson told Emily Dugan in 2021 via a podcast called Seventeen years that on the 25th of July 2003 he “quit his job” as a security guard at Ellesmere shopping centre in Walkden and also apparently “called the police to complain” about Jonathan and Deborah Hardman.

Andrew Malkinson then had Simon Oakes drop him off at Manchester airport, telling Simon he planned to fly to Holland.

Instead of catching a flight however, Andrew Malkinson slept rough at the airport and eventually caught a train to Grimsby where Emily Dugan said he spent “a couple of nights” at a Salvation Army hostel.

The Manchester evening news reported on the 13th August 2004 under the header Strange drifter who covered his tracks that Andrew Malkinson had initially told the police he had changed his mind as “no standby flights were available” but by 2021 this narrative had also changed.

Below is a transcribe taken from Part 2 of the 2021 podcast where reporters Emily Dugan and Neal Keeling, along with rapist and fraudster Andrew Malkinson refer to the day of 25th July 2003, which was the day after it was announced his victim was helping police compile an E-Fit.

Emily Dugan stated:

On the 25th of July he decided to leave the area

This was 6 days after the rape took place

He was driven to Manchester airport by his flat mate

But upon arrival he says there was no direct flights to Amsterdam

Statements by Emily Dugan – 1st October 2021

Again Andrew Malkinson had initially told police that “no standby flights were available”, 18 years later he is now claiming “there was no direct flights to Amsterdam ”.

However Neal Keeling stated;

Malkinson’s explanation was that he’d just changed his mind

Instead of going back to Holland he went to Grimsby, his home town

Statements by Neal Keeling – 1st October 2021

Again, Andrew Malkinson had initially told police “no standby flights were available”.

But by the time he spoke to Emily Dugan in 2021 Andrew Malkinson now stated;

I thought it was an international airport

I thought it was open 24/7

And I got there, I.. I think it was after 8

Everything was shut, shut it down..

Statements by Andrew Malkinson – 1st October 2021

Manchester airport was NOT shut on the 25th of July 2003 and Andrew Malkinson had initially told police “no standby flights were available”.

Emily Dugan then stated;

I presume you didn’t have a smartphone in terms of trying to book a flight or knowing the airport was open

You know what access did you have for that information

Statements by Emily Dugan – 1st October 2021

Again Manchester airport WAS open on the 25th July 2003 and Andrew Malkinson had initially told police “no standby flights were available”.

Andrew Malkinson’s reply to Emily Dugan was;

No no

I.. I didn’t have any access at all

I was pondering what to do I thought I.. I.. can get a flight anytime I’ll go and see my mum

So I went to Grimsby to see my mum ‘cos I hadn’t seen her for a long time

I changed my plans you know

Like I always do

I’m a traveller

Statements by Andrew Malkinson – 1st October 2021

It is not known if Andrew Malkinson ever visited his mother Trisha/Trish.

Nor is it known if Andrew Malkinson’s mother gave evidence during his trial to support her sons claim that he had gone to visit her.

However the earliest he could have arrived in Grimsby would have been Saturday the 26th of July, that’s if he only slept rough the one night in Manchester airport.

Emily Dugan then stated;

After sleeping at the airport, Andy got the train to Grimsby and stayed at the Salvation Army for a couple of nights

He’d quit his job as a security guard in Manchester and soon began collecting unemployment benefits

Statements by Emily Dugan – 1st October 2021

If he only stayed at the Salvation Army hostel a “couple of nights” as Emily Dugan claimed, then this could suggest Andrew Malkinson slept there on Thursday the 31st July and Friday the 1st August, because Andrew Malkinson was arrested on the morning of Saturday the 2nd August 2003.

The earliest he could have gone to the job centre was Monday the 28th of July as they were only open Monday-Friday and it is unlikely Andrew Malkinson would have “began collecting employment benefits” in just five days.

Andrew Malkinson stated;

I signed on and told them my name and where I’m staying

If you’re someone running away you don’t disclose where you are do you

Statements by Andrew Malkinson – 1st October 2021

Neither Emily Dugan or Neal Keeling mention the fact that the day before Andrew Malkinson went on the run, it had been reported that his victim was helping the police compile an E-Fit sketch of her attacker.

Aftet Andrew Malkinson had “signed on” at Grimsby job centre, the job centre made a check with Ellesmere shopping centre in Walkden “whose managers tipped off police that Malkinson was in Grimsby”.

Link to Part 7 here

Killer Simon Hall: The Very Real Innocence Fraud Phenomenon, The Cult-Like “Wrongful Conviction” Movement, The CCRC, John Curtis, Michael J Naughton, Campbell Malone, Correna Platt, Keir Starmer, Simon Spence, BBC’s Rough Justice, Jon Robins, Emily Bolton & Clive Stafford Smith (Part 19g)©️

Michael Naughton

I think it’s clear that exonerations can be the result of fraud or misconduct on the part of post-conviction activists and litigators

John M Collins Jr

The majority of the people in the cult-like “wrongful conviction” movement will not acknowledge or address the innocence fraud phenomenon.

Not only do these people seem to not want to acknowledge and address this very real phenomenon, they do not to want to recognise and address their own failures and errors.

The majority of the people and organisations who were once associated with killer Simon Hall’s fraudulent public relations (PR) spin campaign and innocence fraud did not, and do not, appear to posses the humility to admit they were wrong or how, why and where exactly they went wrong.

Current Labour leader Keir Starmer

Keir Starmer Makes The Evidence Disappear

Before becoming the director of public prosecutions and head of the crown prosecution service (CPS) in 2008, the now leader of the labour party Keir Starmer appeared in the last ever BBC Rough Justice TV show.

The Rough Justice TV show was called The Innocents’ Brief and aired in April 2007 and featured the case of actual, factual guilty killer Simon Hall.

During the TV show Keir Starmer stated the following;

Simon Hall’s case is really peculiar because there is no particular reason to believe he is guilty of this offence.

The one crucial link is the fibre evidence.

Break this and the case disappears

Labour MP Keir Starmer via Rough Justice TV show – April 2007

On the 23rd of November 2006 Bristol university students had met with Keir Starmer at Doughty Street Chambers in London where “he raised an issue regarding the absence of statistical probabilities in the fibre evidence given by Judith Cunnison”.

Why didn’t Keir Starmer point out to the students that killer Simon Hall and the Hall family’s concoctions were a “crucial” part of the case against Simon Hall?

Campbell Malone

Campbell Malone

Campbell Malone, who was Simon Hall’s solicitor also appeared in the BBC Rough Justice TV show.

The following year Linda Tsang wrote a media article which was headed Lawyer of the week: Campbell Malone and asked Campbell Malone the following question;

What was your worst day as a lawyer?

Linda Tsang

Campbell Malone’s response was;

There have been a few.

It’s losing those cases you believe should not have been lost. The outstanding convictions of Susan May and Eddie Gilfoyle have to rank among the worst unresolved miscarriages of justice there have been.

And to lose those cases in the Court of Appeal, when there were compelling arguments as to why the convictions should have been quashed, still deeply troubles me.

But I know those cases will eventually come back before the Court of Appeal.

Campbell Malone – from article by Linda Tsang for The Times headed Lawyer of the week: Campbell Malone dated the 20th May 2008

Hilda Marchbank (89) was murdered by her niece Susan May on the 11th of March 1992 and Paula Gilfoyle (32), who was 8 1/2 months pregnant at the time, was murdered on the 4th of June 1997 by her husband Eddie Gilfoyle.

The killers of Hilda Marchbank and Paula Gilfoyle have both been unsuccessful at the court of appeal and both killers fraudulent public relations campaigns and cases, bare all the hallmarks of the innocence fraud phenomenon.

Criminal Cases Review Commission

Three months before the criminal cases review commission’s (CCRC) announcement that they were referring killer Simon Hall’s murder conviction back to the court of appeal (CoA), Campbell Malone was quoted by the Guardian;

“What worries me is that to an unusually substantial degree this case turns on one area of evidence – fibre evidence” said Hall’s lawyer, Campbell Malone.

“There are, on the one hand, other potential explanations for the transfer of the fibres, and there are question marks about the reliability of the fibre evidence that we would expect to support it, which has troubled me.

Also, we are aware that there has been continuing research in the approach to be taken with fibre evidence, which has moved on from the way that evidence was gathered and presented in [Hall’s] case”

Campbell Malone via an article by Natalie Hanman for the Guardian dated the 21st of July 2009

Campbell Malone was described on Twitter as “our appeals supremo” by Stephensons solicitors, following the CCRC’s announcement that they had referred Simon Hall’s murder conviction back to the CoA in 2009;

A 2010 media article quoted Campbell Malone;

This is a worrying conviction based almost exclusively on fibre evidence.

“There is no doubt this was a violent murder, but we believe fresh evidence now emerging points away from Simon.

It follows that someone else was responsible and we would ask anyone with information to call us on 01942 777777”

By Tom Parkes* for the Colchester Gazette article headed
Convicted of murder…but ‘innocent’ man seeks freedom dated the 16th of March 2010

Note: *Tom Parkes article falsely stated that Simon Hall’s then wife Stephanie (Hall) “met him when they both worked at a company in East Hill, Colchester”. Simon Hall met Stephanie Bon at a company in East Hill, Colchester not Stephanie (Hall).

Correna Platt

Correna Platt who trained under Campbell Malone, began representing killer Simon Hall after Campbell’s semi retirement just before Simon Hall’s appeal was heard in December 2010.

Correna Platt

Corenna Platt made a statement following the court of appeals decision to uphold Simon Hall’s murder conviction;

His legal team are concerned by the approach taken by the Court in coming to this decision.

It was agreed by all that this conviction rested entirely on expert evidence relating to fibre evidence and there is much other evidence that pointed away from Simon’s guilt. 

Corenna Platt of Stephenson’s solicitors here

Simon Spence

Simon Spence

As questioned in previous Parts of the this blog series, it is still not known why Simon Spence seemingly did not point out to the CoA judges that the CCRC had cherry picked from the prosecutions closing speech from killer Simon Hall’s February 2003 trial.

The CCRC, and seemingly the CoA judges were seen to be able to magic away the Hall families “concocted” evidence, which again Graham Parkin the prosecution barrister had stated during the February 2003 was “woven into the general framework of the case”.

Jon Robins

Jon Robins

Four months before the innocence fraud scam related to actual, factual guilty killer Simon Hall began to unravel, Jon Robins published an article to his website under the header Wrongly accused: a need for ‘imagination and outrage, which also included statements made by Campbell Malone;

“We’re back where we were in the late 1980s”, argued Campbell Malone, the veteran defence lawyer and miscarriage of justice campaigner at a debate in Manchester last week. 

“We have a conservative and cautious Court of Appeal which has a deep-rooted scepticism of what they regard as the miscarriage of justice industry. That is supported by a lack of interest in the media”.

Campbell Malone, a consultant with Stephensons solicitors, was talking at the second debate about Wrongly accused: Who is responsible for investigating miscarriages of justice?

By Jon Robins for the Justice Gao article headed dated

Two Months Before The Innocence Fraud Scam Began To Unravel

Campbell Malone continued to act as a “criminal appeals consultant” for Stephensons solicitors and published a blog in September 2012, two months before killer Simon Hall and Jamie Barker’s Zenith Windows burglary became known about by his then wife Stephanie (Hall).

Stephensons solicitors indicated to Stephanie (Hall) that killer Simon Hall’s Zenith Windows burglary “omission” would not alter Simon’s “position” as an appellant.

Emily Bolton and husband Clive Stafford Smith

Campbell Malone’s blog was headed Where lies the truth in criminal defence cases? and included a reference to Clive Stafford Smith, husband of Emily Bolton who has promoted the innocence fraud of people like violent rapist and con man Andrew (Andy) Malkinson.

Tap on the button below for the index to the ongoing blog series on violent rapist Andrew Malkinson and his spin campaign;

The Spin Public Relations Campaign Of Violent, Rapist, Fraudster & Former Amateur Boxer Andrew Malkinson (AKA Andrew Strugnell) & The Criminal Cases Review Commissions & Their “Special Powers”

Campbell Malone’s blog also made reference to a book headed “Where Lies the Truth” by Michael O’Connell, as well as the conviction of George Kelly, who murdered Leonard Thomas and John Catterall in 1949 and was executed on 28 March 1950.

The CCRC also referred George Kelly’s murder conviction was also referred to the CoA, who quashed his conviction posthumously, deeming his conviction ‘unsafe’.

An unsafe conviction however does not equate to factual innocence and it’s possible the CCRC used the same (or similar) deceptive tactics they used when they referred Simon Hall’s murder conviction in 2009.

Towards the end of 2012 Simon Hall decided to dispose of the services of his solicitor Corenna Platt and Michael Naughton from Bristol university became his representative instead.

It was during the time that Michael Naughton represented killer Simon Hall, that his factual guilt to his murder of Joan Albert began to unravel and was eventually exposed.

John Curtis

John Curtis ~ Case review manager at the criminal cases review commission

In 2015 John Curtis, who was the CCRC’s case review manager for killer Simon Hall, wrote an article which was shamefully headed Righting Wrongs.

John Curtis stated on the CCRC;

The Commission’s contribution to society is important.

Miscarriages of justice remain a reality, as are the challenges to the organisation charged with their investigation

Excerpt by John Curtis for Counsel magazine article headed Righting wrongs dated the 12th of January 2015

In 2016 Corenna Platt went on to take part in a two part BBC TV show called Conviction: Murder at the Station with Louise Shorter, which promoted the innocence fraud of Paula Poulton’s killer.

Link to Part 19h here

Killer Simon Hall: Michael Naughton, 2005, Bristol University Innocence Project, Innocence Network UK, Barry Scheck, Peter Neufeld, Stephanie Bon, Killers Barry George & Michael Stone, Mike Burke/Bourke & “Justice for Barry”, The Illusory Truth Effect, Coercive Persuasion, Gaslighting & Murder Confessions – Part 17g©️

Michael Naughton & Bristol University Innocence Project

Michael Naughton who is referred to in previous Parts of this blog series and who is also mentioned on page 11 of the criminal cases review commissions statement of reasons here (Under the title of UoBIP = university of Bristol innocence project), works at Bristol university and he became involved with actual, factual guilty killer Simon Hall’s innocence fraud spin campaign early on.

Michael Naughton

Michael Naughtin’s online bio here reads in part;

…his work, which specialises on the problem of ‘miscarriages of justice’, with a particular focus on the wrongful conviction and/or imprisonment of factually innocent victims.

Michael Naughton decided to start an innocence project in 2004 the year after he had submitted his PhD thesis, which he chose to call Miscarriages of justice : exception to the rule?

The innocence project, referred to by some people as the innocence ‘fraudject’ due to the high number of guilty killers and rapists it helps free from prison, was based on the American version of the innocence project, co-founded by American lawyers Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld in 1992.

Stephanie Bon

Stephanie Bon

It is not known exactly when Stephanie Bon first made contact with Michael Naughton and if Stephanie, or manipulative killer Simon Hall, wrote to Michael after hearing about the launch of Bristol university’s innocence project.

However a 2005 media story indicated Michael Naughton had been contacted by many killers, including the killer of Jill Dando; serial stalker, rapist and predatory sex offender Barry George, as well as “the family” of sadistic serial killer and psychopath Michael Stone.

Both killers were referred to in Part 17d, which can be read by tapping on the button below;

The Innocence Fraud Of Serial Murderer Michael Stone “..an extremely dangerous man with an appalling record for dishonesty and violence”, His Deluded Sister Barbara Stone, The “Kent Experience” & More On The Illusory Truth Effect, Coercive Persuasion & Gaslighting of Innocence Fraud Killers & Their Deceptive Enablers- PART 17d

2005

Excerpts from the 2005 media story which centred on Michael Naughton and his “frustrations” with the criminal cases review commission (Referred to in Part 15 here) read;

The shelf above Mike Naughton’s desk in Bristol University’s law school is heaving with files of letters from prisoners who claim they were wrongly convicted and want help.

“It shows just how desperate so many people are”

says Naughton, a lecturer in criminal law.

“They have got nobody else to turn to so they are prepared to put their futures in the hands of a project led by university students. It really is quite disturbing”

Naughton’s office has become the bustling nerve centre of the University of Bristol’s Innocence Project which aims to provide free assistance to the victims of miscarriages of justice languishing in prison.

Students have been giving up their free time to sort through the mountain of correspondence.

“They should be out drinking or chasing the opposite sex but they are here getting stuck in” says Naughton

Barry George, the man convicted of killing the television presenter Jill Dando, has written to the project.

Naughton has also had contact with the family of Michael Stone, who has twice been convicted of murdering Lin and Megan Russell and whose latest appeal failed in January.

Many other notorious figures – Naughton will not name names – have been in touch.

Over the coming months and years undergraduates will work with local criminal lawyers, who are giving their time for free, on five cases which they believe stand a chance of being referred to the appeal court.

Naughton hopes that the six-month-old Bristol project will be the first of many to be launched at universities across the UK to create an “innocence network” of students working to free prisoners they believe have been wrongly convicted.

“It’s still very early days but we think there is a gap in the present system which needs to be filled”, he says.

Innocence projects are active in the US, Canada and Australia.

The best known was co-founded in 1992 by Barry Scheck, one of the lawyers who represented OJ Simpson at his trial. 

Excerpts by Steven Morris for the Guardian from his article headed Students to the rescue dated the 14th July 2005

Jill Dando’s Killer Barry George & His Confession To His Murder

Killer, serial stalker, rapist and predatory sex offender Barry George

Like killers Simon Hall and Michael Stone, Barry George used numerous aliases, including the alias Barry Bulsara.

Killer Simon Hall had used the name James Shiperlee, which was noted on his prison files;

Screenshot of Simon Hall’s HMP Wayland prison ’patient’ records

Like killer Simon Hall, killer Barry George was reported to have gone on to admit to his guilt to his murder of Jill Dando, as was reported here and here.

Also like killer Simon Hall’s immediate family members (Lynne, Phil and Shaun Hall) and others, killer Barry George’s uncle Mike Burke and his sister Michelle Diskin Bates chose to deny killer Barry George’s murderous crime and instead made excuses for him, his personality and his behaviours.

Excerpt’s from a 2002 Mirror newspaper story here reported some of killer Barry George’s uncle Mike Burke’s excuses;

Mike Burke (left) photographed alongside fraudster and con artist Surjit Singh Clair

Uncle Mike Bourke (sic) said:

“He was warned people might try and tape his conversations or put words into his mouth. 

“I just don’t think Barry would say anything like this. It is complete fiction. He has been on his guard.” 

Mike, of Co Limerick, Ireland, added:

“He has been a bit depressed lately because he knows a lot hinges on it. But he has done nothing to make his family doubt he is innocent”

However Mike Burke stated in the book he went on to write and publish;

On Sunday April 7th I heard on BBC Radio 4 news that the News of the World had a cassette tape of Barry allegedly confessing to the murder.

I bought the paper and read the story which I found difficult to believe.

It alleged that Barry said to other prisoners

’…because I was the man who committed the murder’.

I phoned the number given and listened to the tape recording which sounded like Barry though the sound quality was very poor.

I had warned him that something like that could happen.

The source of the tape was a by then deported Polish thief who claimed he used his tape recorder to record fellow prisoners’ music

Excerpt by Mike Burke from his book Mike’s Story: Barry George & the Jill Dando murder;

Mike Burke headed up the fraudulent public relations spin campaign to free his murdering, serial stalker and predatory rapist nephew Barry George.

However Mike Burke did state in his book he harboured doubts about his nephew’s behaviour, evidenced by his following statement;

I was again concerned he was trying to threaten me.

This type of behaviour undermined my belief in him

Exceprt from Mike Burke’s book Mike’s Story: Barry George & the Jill Dando murder

2002: Michelle Diskin

In 2002 a Scottish organisation, which was set up by one* of the six IRA terrorists who was convicted for the murders of twenty one people, and injuring 182 people, following two pub bombings, published Barry George’s sister Michelle Diskin’s excuse for her killer brother Barry George having admitted to his murder of Jill Dando.

A screenshot of Michelle Diskin’s published excuse is reproduced below;

Screenshot of ‘Justice for Barry George’ propaganda (The original can be found here)

*Three of the six men who were convicted of the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings admitted to being members of the IRA and also admitted to having planted the bombs.
In 1987 all six men had their murder convictions deemed “unsafe and unsatisfactory” by the court of appeal, but to date all six men have been unsuccessful in proving their innocence.

Similarly to killers Simon Hall and Michael Stone, Mike Burke wrote about a suicide attempt his nephew Barry George had made a couple of months after he was found guilty for his murder of Jill Dando.

On the 16th of September 2001 there was a story published in the Mail on Sunday, and according to Mike Burke here, a prisoner by the name of Daniel Reece had saved killer Barry George from an “alleged hanging attempt”.

Link to Part 17g here

Killer Simon Hall: The Innocence Fraud Of Sadistic Killer Kevin Nunn, The Illusory Truth Effect, Coercive Persuasion, Gaslighting, Stephanie Bon, Ann Craven, Andrew Green, Michael Naughton, Claire McGourlay, The Forensic Institute, Allan Jamieson, Tiernan Coyle & CCTV Stills – Part 17f©️ 

Stephanie Bon, Andrew Green & Michael Naughton

Stephanie Bon wrote the following in September 2006 to Andrew Green, CCing Michael Naughton;

Stephanie Bon

Hello Andrew

I was talking to Michael today about an idea that has been at the back of my mind for a while now..

I have been contacted a quite few times by people in our situation whom I always redirect to you, also people who are interested in volunteering and again, I have referred them to you

I had an email last week from a girl from Suffolk (near me); her brother has been arrested by the same detective as Simon and Michael Heath is also the pathologist for the prosecution… there seems to be a pattern emerging…

As the case is awaiting trial she wasn’t able to give me too much information on it but in her words, everything is circumstantial… Anyway, as I said, I offered my support as always and advised her to contact you and Innocent

I was just wondering if it could be good to perhaps try and organise some kind of family support days, perhaps once a month (or more or less dunno yet), initially, just to support people morally maybe? Who knows we could get a guest once in a while, someone with knowledge, even if just to reassure people that they are not alone. We could pass on Innocent details, promote the Innocence Project and generally show people that there is help out there if you know where to look.

I know that when I started, it took me ages to find you and Ann and it’s thanks to you two, I am here today.

I would hate to know of anyone struggling on their own, been there, done that.. it’s tough.

I know that in our case Simon’s parents are completely lost, have no faith and don’t think that anyone is here to help, I know better and this is why I run the campaign.

If anything was to happen, I would want it to be part of Innocent, not as in you do the work (well I would need some advice of course) but as in, this isn’t something I would do off my own back, it would just be great to see Innocent grown and develop down here, the closest we have is London or Kent which isn’t that near and who knows it may be more accessible.

Like I said above, this is just an idea and I would not go ahead without your blessing or proper advice, it’s just something I thought of and I would very much like your feedback on it.

I have copied Michael in as we discussed this today and he knows that my motivation is not for personal gratification, I just want to help people like I get help everyday, even if I just help facilitate it, I’m not sure how many people would be interested but it’s worth a thought

Excerpts from email correspondence from Stephanie Bon to Andrew Green September 2006

The Innocence Fraud Of Sadistic Killer Kevin Nunn

The girl referred to in Stephanie Bon’s correspondence to Andrew Green was/is a woman, and appears to have been the sister of Dawn Walker’s killer, Brigitte Butcher.

Sadistic killer Kevin Nunn

Sadistic killer and innocence fraudster Kevin Nunn lost his last appeal the year after Simon Hall’s guilt to his murder of Joan Albert was exposed.

The June 2014 supreme court judgement can be read here.

On the first page of the judgement it can be seen that the UK innocence network chose to intervene in Kevin Nunn’s appeal.

An excerpt from a Bristol university school of law article headed Innocence Network UK at the Supreme Court 13 March 2014 reads;

INUK was granted leave to intervene in the matter because of the experience of its member innocence projects in assisting alleged victims of wrongful convictions to make applications to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC).

The CCRC is the body that reviews alleged miscarriages of justice and refers cases back to the appeal courts if it is felt that there is a real possibility that the conviction or sentence will not be upheld. 

Andrew Green claimed via his twitter bio to be an “expert on criminal cases post trial”.

Screenshot of Andrew Green’s twitter bio

and his Linkedin bio stated he is a case supervisor at the miscarriage of justice review centre based at Manchester university.

Screenshot of Andrew Green’s Linkedin bio

Claire McGourlay & Defunct Innocence Network UK

It was reported here that Claire McGourlay set up the Manchester miscarriage of justice review centre in November 2017.

And a university of Sheffield school of law newsletter regarding Claire McGourlay read;

Claire McGourlay

In October 2007 Claire McGourlay set up the first Innocence Project in South Yorkshire.

She secured funding from the White Rose Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning in Enterprise.

Her objective was to give students a unique insight into this area of criminal justice.

This project utilises a mentored teaching environment to maximise learning opportunities for students, each Innocence Project (IP) is student-led and centres upon research into alleged wrongful criminal convictions.

Students are involved in reviewing real criminal cases giving them a unique insight, and valuable first-hand experience of the criminal justice process.

Some cases where evidence can be accumulated to support a wrongful conviction are referred back to the Courts of Appeal via the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

The students and the School also became part of a wider national body called the Innocence Network UK (INUK) where the students attend training courses about protocols and professional work.

In fact 14 students attended one such training event in Cardiff 24-26 October 2008.

Innocence produces Sheffield Law Graduates more equipped for professional practice and research beyond their studies and makes them more attractive potential employers.

The teams are already working on their first cases comprising two murders, a rape and a serious assault.

On the 15th April 2008 Claire addressed the INUK national meeting ”Working with campaign groups and victim support groups” at which the Attorney General was present and she has also been invited to sit on the first INUK Committee.

On 30 April 2008 the IP students led a session on the benefits of the project to staff at the School Spotlight on learning and Teaching day.

University of Sheffield School of Law December 2008 newsletter

The Forensic Institute, Allan Jamieson, Tiernan Coyle & Fibre Evidence

During the 11th Annual Forensic Research and Teaching (FORREST) Conference, Glasgow, which was held in 2015, Andrew Green gave a presentation called When is Fresh Evidence Fresh and True? the treatment of scientific expert evidence and experts in the Court of Appeal Criminal Division (CACD) of England and Wales.

Screenshot taken from The Forensic Institute website

Bad Science, bad law was also included in a list published by The Forensic Institute for the 2015 conference

Screenshot taken from The Forensic Institute website

and next to a photograph of Michael Naughton it stated;

I will speak about science and justice as you suggest with examples from the literature and cases that I have worked on that have proven guilt as well as undermine the evidence of guilt.

Screenshot taken from The Forensic Institute website

It is not known if Michael Naughton did speak about science and justice as was claimed in the above however Andrew Green, who says he was invited by Allan Jamieson did speak at the event and published his talk – see here for full context;

The same Andrew Green who refers to himself as a “criminologist” and claims to be an “expert on criminal cases post trial” chose to use the case of actual, factual, guilty killer Simon Hall )whose innocence fraud was exposed in 2013) as part of his talk.

Below is an excerpt from hornswoggler Andrew Green’s talk;

Andrew Green

To the CACD (Court of appeal criminal division), some forensic scientists must appear to subvert the nature of the evidence on which prosecutors rely.

In the case of Simon Hall ([2011] EWCA Crim 4), the prosecution relied on matching fibres from the crime scene to that found in Hall’s home.

There was no garment to which the fibres might be matched and fibres were of common types, so the proportions of fibres at each scene were compared, and these proportions were found to have matched.

In particular, the prosecution expert instructed for the trial found a small number of uncommon green fibres were found at the scene and at Hall’s home, and it was this that probably convinced the jury to convict Hall.

But at the appeal, a fibre expert, Tiernan Coyle was instructed on behalf of Hall, and he established the fibres said to be green were in fact black and indistinguishable from a large proportion of other fibres from both sites.

The argument (which is long and complicated) centred round the likelihood that the proportions of varying fibres from each site matched.

Coyle’s argument was (if I understand it correctly) that no one knows what proportions of any fibres exist in the environment in general and whether the proportions at the sites differ significantly from fibres which have gathered elsewhere.

Excerpt from Andrew Green’s talk When is Fresh Evidence Fresh and True?
Photograph allegedly from the 2015 conference (Source)
Photograph allegedly from the 2015 FORREST conference (Source)

Andrew Green did not attend killer Simon Hall’s trial for his murder of Joan Albert and therefore had no comprehension of all of the evidence presented to the jury.

Therefore his speculative comment on what “probably convinced the jury to convict Hall” is the same type of fraudulent nonsense already demonstrated throughout this blog series, and in other cases of the innocence fraud phenomenon.

The Hall Family’s Concoctions & Stills From CCTV

As have already been highlighted in previous Parts of this blog series, the prosecution relied on a whole lot more than the “matching fibres from the crime scene to that found in Hall’s home” as referred to by Andrew Green during his 2015 presentation.

It is still not known how the criminal cases review commission (CCRC) were able to magic away all the other evidence which was heard throughout Simon Hall’s February 2003 trial.

It is also still not known how the CCRC were able to magic away another main plank of the prosecution’s case, namely the Hall family’s concoctions.

Stills were extracted from CCTV footage of Simon Hall from the time he withdrew cash from the cash point machine located at Tesco’s on Saturday the 15th December 2001, where he purchased the black mole skin type trousers.

These stills were made available to the jury during the February 2003 trial, as was referred to at the foot of page 41 and top of page 42 of the judges summing up here.

Therefore it’s possible the jury were convinced killer Simon Hall was lying with regards the clothes and shoes he said he had been wearing that night and the following morning, as opposed anything to do with the fibre evidence.

For an alleged “expert on criminal cases post trial” it is interesting how criminologist Andrew Green doesn’t question how or why actual, factual guilty killer Simon Hall was wrongly convicted and sentenced for a ‘burglary gone wrong’ as opposed to his murder of Joan Albert having been sexually motivated.

Link to Part 17f here

Killer Simon Hall: The Illusory Truth Effect & The Enabling & Empowering Of Highly Manipulative Innocence Fraud Murderers, Psychopathy, Menticide & His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Services (HMPPS) & Monitoring – Part 17©️  

Joan Albert’s Killer.
Photograph of Simon Hall taken whilst at large and wanted by Suffolk police for a sexually motivated murder

Illusory Truth Effect & Gaslighting

In psychology, what is known as the illusory truth effect is a phenomenon in which a listener comes to believe something primarily because it has been repeated so often. 

The illusory truth effect can cause us to become susceptible to the effects of another dangerous form of reality erosion known as gaslighting. 

Deliberate manipulators who gaslight with the intention of eroding your reality and rewriting history tend to use the illusory truth effect to their advantage.

They will repeat falsehoods so often that they become ingrained in the victim’s mind as unshakeable truths.

Excerpts from 50 Shades Of Gaslighting: Disturbing Signs An Abuser Is Twisting Your Reality by Shahida Arabi

Dangerous and manipulative murderers who falsely claim to be innocent and who choose to launch fraudulent public relations spin campaigns, utilise a plethora of psychological tactics like coercive persuasion, the illusory truth effect and gaslighting to help promote their propaganda.

Some murderers, especially those like Simon Hall will use anything and anyone for self-serving purposes and unfortunately HM prison and probation service do not always adequately assess or monitor cunning and calculated individuals like killer Simon Hall.

Psychopathy, Brainwashing & Psychological Harm

Therefore these types of offenders still pose a great risk of causing psychological harm to people they come into contact with following their convictions, especially those people who are unaware of psychopathy and the varying personality disorders associated with dangerous killers.

Brainwashing (also known as mind control, menticide, coercive persuasion,  thought control, thought reform, and re-education) is the concept that the human mind can be altered or controlled by certain psychological techniques.

Brainwashing is said to reduce its subjects’ ability to think critically or independently, to allow the introduction of new, unwanted thoughts and ideas into their minds, as well as to change their attitudes, values and beliefs.

Mischaracterised Motive To Murder

By the time the case against killer Simon Hall went to trial in February 2003, his murder of Joan Albert had been mischaracterised.

The crown prosecution service proceeded on the basis killer Simon Hall’s motive to his murder of Joan Albert was a burglary gone wrong, as opposed to it being a sexually motivated murder – as it turned out to be.

The term enabler generally describes someone whose behavior allows a loved one to continue self-destructive patterns of behavior.

Enabling usually refers to patterns that appear in the context of drug or alcohol misuse and addiction.

But according to the American Psychological Association, it can refer to patterns within close relationships that support any harmful or problematic behavior and make it easier for that behavior to continue.

It’s not always easy to distinguish between empowering someone and enabling them.

There may be little difference between the two.

Murderers Enabling & Enablers

Numerous people and organisations enabled actually, factually guilty killer Simon Hall to launch, and continue with, his innocence fraud public relations spin campaign following his murder conviction and imprisonment.

One example of this was killer Simon Hall’s adoptive mother Lynne Hall, who a couple of years after her adoptive son Simon had been convicted for his murder publicly claimed;

Lynne Hall

I couldn’t still be living in the same village where all this happened, if I was not convinced my son was innocent

Lynne Hall via Evening star article headed New act appeal tactic for Simon Hall dated 18th April 2005

Lynne Hall chose to lie for over a decade about her knowledge of her adoptive son Simon Hall’s burglary of Zenith windows in Ipswich, which he carried out with Jamie Barker on the morning of Sunday the 16th of December 2001, not long before his murder of Joan Albert.

Tap on button below to read Part 16, which includes reference to the Zenith windows burglary;

PART 16 The Murderer & His & His Deceitful Enablers Propaganda, Self Presentation, Secrets & Lies & The Innocence Fraud Spin Public Relations (PR) Campaign & More On Jamie & Angela Barker & Collusion

Lynne Hall’s concoctions were highlighted by the prosecution during her adoptive son Simon Hall’s trial for his murder.

For example Graham Parkin stated during his closing speech to the jury;

Well members of the jury I’ve dealt with the shoes except in this regard.

Do you remember that very small piece of evidence given by Mrs Hall in what I described and I underline as being an essentially concocted part of this case?

To mislead you away from the truth.

Given she’s been ill up and down during the night all the previous day, she now remembers she said to him as he past through can I clean your tan boots. 6.30am on a Sunday morning do you believe it?

Excerpt from prosecutions closing speech made by Graham Parkin

More on Lynne Hall can be read at Part 7 of this blog series, which can be read by tapping on the button below;

PART 7 Lynne Hall, The Cover Up & Attempting To Rewrite History

Lynne Hall spoke to the BBC following the court of appeals January 2011 decision to uphold her adoptive son Simon Hall’s conviction for his murder of Joan Albert.

On the 14th of January 2011 under the header Simon Hall’s mother vows to ‘fight on there was a video of an interview with Lynne Hall, which now appears to have been removed.

The article which accompanied the video stated;

The mother of a man from Suffolk who lost his murder appeal has said she will fight on.

Simon Hall is serving a life sentence for stabbing 79-year-old Joan Albert at her home in Capel St Mary in 2001.

There was concern over fibres found at her home which linked Hall to the scene but the Appeal Court said there was “no reason” to doubt the conviction.

Mr Hall’s mother Lynne said she would continue to fight to have him freed.

Excerpts from a BBC article headed Simon Hall’s mother vows to ‘fight on’ dated 14th January 2011

It is not known if Lynne Hall (or a representative for Lynne Hall) contacted the BBC to have the video of her being interviewed removed, or if the BBC decided to remove the video or if there was another reason why the video is no longer available to view online.

However following the release of the news Lynne Hall’s adoptive son Simon Hall had confessed to his actual, factual guilt to his murder of Joan Albert the East Anglian Daily Times reported the following;

The mother of Simon Hall today expressed her shock at learning of her son’s murder confession.

But Lynne Hall still maintains her son is innocent of the murder of pensioner Joan Albert in December 2001.

Mrs Hall said:

“I’m absolutely shocked because I know he is innocent and I still believe he is.

“But it’s the system. If he had pleaded guilty in the beginning, he would be home now.

“I know he has been really low and in hospital recently. He’s given up”

Hall’s parents Lynne and Phil Hall and his brother Shaun supported him through numerous appeals which were unsuccessful.

Mrs Hall added:

“I believe he feels he can’t take any more after all the fight he has put up and how brave he has been.

“If that’s his decision, that’s his decision but I will never believe that”.

Excerpts by Lauren Everitt for the East Anglian Daily Times article headed Capel St Mary: Simon Hall’s mother’s shock at his murder confession dated the 8th August 2013 article

In reality killer Simon Hall would NOT have been “home now” and out of prison if he had admitted to his guilt to his murder “in the beginning” as Lynne Hall claimed.

Killer Simon Hall was apparently progressing through the prison system quicker than many life sentenced prisoners and would have been where he was, or in a C-category prison

On the 10th of March 2014, three days before his brother’s funeral, Simon Hall’s older brother Shaun Hall stated to his brother Simon’s former wife;

Shaun Hall

Simon even saw mum recently and told her all about the truth about the confession.

We have access to all of these things..

You never knew the real simon and you never will now..

Shaun Hall

More on Shaun Hall can be read at Part 11 and Part 11a of this blog series by tapping on each of the buttons below;

PART 11 – Shaun Hall: “It’s Family And It’s Personal”, Murder Confession’s, Bare Face Lies & “Controlling Nature”
PART 11a – Shaun Hall: Innocence Fraud, Donations To Keep Website Running, More Confessions, Acting Out Of Character & “Just Remember The Truth Always Comes Out In The End”

Link to Part 17a here

Killer Simon Hall: The Grift & Grifters Of The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), Helen Pitcher, Richard Foster, John Curtis, Euan Smith, James/Jim England, Julie Goulding & Simon Spence For Suffolk Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), The Court Of Appeal Judges & Cherry Picking – Part 15©️   

🌟 The Magic Makers 🌟

Helen Pitcher

Helen Pitcher

Helen Pitcher is the current chairman of the criminal cases review commission (CCRC).

Helen was first appointed as chairman on the 1st November 2018 as can be read here, and was reappointed as chairman in 2021 as can be read here.

Excerpts reads;

The Ministry of Justice has confirmed the reappointment of Helen Pitcher in her role as Chairman at the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) – the independent body responsible for investigating possible miscarriages of justice.

The reappointment, approved by Her Majesty on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, takes Helen into her second term and fourth year at the helm of the CCRC.

Chief Executive, Karen Kneller warmly welcomed the appointment as the Commission marks its 25th anniversary next year.

“Huge congratulations to Helen from all of us here at the CCRC. We are delighted that the term for this role has extended from three years to five after we sought to lengthen it.

“Helen is not only our Chairman but is very much part of the fabric of our organisation, bringing invaluable and unrelenting consistency and experience to the role in the quest to investigate possible miscarriages of justice”.

The CCRC made the decision to refer Simon Hall’s conviction to his murder of Joan Albert to the court of appeal on the 14th of October 2009, based on what they claimed was “new evidence relating to fibre evidence”.

Photograph of Simon Hall taken whilst at large and wanted by Suffolk police for his sexually motivated murder of Joan Albert

CCRC Commissioners Jim/James England, Julie Goulding & Euan Smith

The three CCRC commissioners who made the decision were Jim (James) England who had been chief crown prosecutor for West Mercia, Julie Goulding a trained nurse, solicitor and former NHS chief executive and Ewen Smith a criminal defence solicitor.

Copy of page 54 of the criminal cases review commission’s statement of reasons

The three of them had been appointed as commissioners three years earlier, as can be seen here.

According to the CCRC;

Anyone convicted in the criminal courts of England, Wales or Northern Ireland, or in the Court Martial or Service Civilian Court, who believes they have been wrongly convicted or sentenced, can apply to have their case reviewed.

Applicants usually need to have exhausted the normal appeal process before approaching us.

It is our role to review cases and to identify any new factors which might shed light on the safety of the conviction or the correctness of the sentence.

The Commission considers cases impartially and employs people with a wide variety of skills and experience, including lawyers and investigators, to carry out this task.

In the course of a case review we may interview new witnesses or re-interview people involved in the original case.

We may also commission new expert reports or arrange fresh forensic tests such as DNA profiling.

The Criminal Appeal Act 1995 which created the Commission provided us with the power to obtain documents and information from any public body in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

In addition to basic material from court and prosecution files, there are times when we need to obtain other material such as medical records or files from social services or other agencies.

Sometimes we also need to look at defence files or obtain material from private companies or individuals and will seek their co-operation in providing their records.

During this period, staff at the Commission will usually start work on the case by obtaining some of the papers that are required for a review such as the prosecution files and judgments from the trial and the original appeal.

The Commission’s casework is carried out by Case Reviewer Managers and Commissioners who are chosen for their experience and skill in relevant areas.

When a review is complete we will consider, in light of everything that is known about the case, whether there is anything that raises a “real possibility” that the appeal court would quash the conviction or reduce the sentence if we referred it.

Whenever a referral seems possible, a committee made up of three Commissioners will meet to consider the case and decide whether or not to make a referral.

When a referral is made, the relevant appeal court must hear the case.

It is for the court to decide whether or not the conviction should be quashed or the sentence reduced.

The Commission’s decision about whether or not to refer a case is communicated to the applicant and his or her legal team or designated representative in a document called a Statement of Reasons.

This sets out in detail the Commission’s analysis of the case and the reasons for its decision.

Excerpts from the CCRC’s 2009/10 annual report and accounts

Abracadabra 🪄

The CCRC’s 2010/11 annual report and accounts, which included a reference to their referral to the court of appeal of Simon Hall’s conviction to his murder of Joan Albert read;

There is no doubt that the way in which expert evidence is presented to juries, and the weight that is attached to it, will become an increasingly important feature in appeals.

In this respect, we have found it helpful to be able to share knowledge and experience with the Forensic Science Regulator and his staff who have offices within our building.

Examples of the ways in which expert evidence has come before the Court this year as a result of Commission referrals include:

* methods of comparing fibres (R v Hall [2011] EWCA Crim 4)

Excerpts from page 19 of the CCRC’s 2010/11 annual report and accounts

The CCRC’s October 2009 statement or reasons highlighted at their paragraph 16 just one of what they viewed to be a “central” aspect to the prosecutions case, as per screenshot below;

Although the CCRC did make reference to Lynne Hall’s “reliability” at their paragraph 225;

Cherry Picking

The CCRC chose to cherry pick at the prosecutions closing speech and magic away the Hall families concocted evidence, which again Graham Parkin stated was woven into the general framework of the case;

Now Simon Hall was wrong in our submission when he said that this case is all about those fibres.

True it is that the finding of fibres is central to the prosecution case and of course without them there would be no case.

But it doesn’t rest simply on your assessment and your decision based on those fibres in Mrs Cunnison’s evidence.

No it does not. In fact I’ll go so far as to say this, the prosecution now have more evidence in this case for you to consider than we could ever possibly imagined we were going to have when I stood up to open it to you to outline it to you in other words just over a fortnight ago.

Now members of the jury we did not know nor indeed could we know that Simon Hall’s case was to develop well beyond what he had ever said before.

More particularly during the course of long detailed sensible interviews concluded by police officers in the presence of his solicitor throughout.

We did not know that his defence would include some material, and I’m going to say this, I’ll use the word deliberately and explain to you why I say it in a moment.

We couldn’t know that his case was going to involve material, which has been concocted.

Made up.

If you find it so to be you’ll have to ask yourselves the question why has it.

Because concocted means deliberate and dishonest.

To be woven into the general framework of the case, the general framework of his movements on that particular weekend of his lifestyle and those of his family generally.
It is a serious submission that I make to you.

That Simon Hall aided by members of his family his rehearsed story, which they know in important parts not to be true.

He’s done it for an obvious reason the Crown say to escape proper justice.

To stave a conviction for murder.

Others in his family have done it for a perfectly understandable reason, wrong though it is in the result. Perfectly understandable isn’t it?

Mrs Hall said as you would have expected to, they can’t she can’t begin to believe that he Simon could do the thing which he is accused of. And I’ll add to that what mother could?

Excerpts from the prosecutions closing speech by Graham Parkin (starting at the bottom of page 16 continuing onto page 17 here)

Simon Spence For The Crown Prosecution Service & The Three Court Of Appeal Judges

Simon Spence

Again, it is not known why Simon Spence on behalf of the crown prosecution service seemingly conceded with the CCRC in 2009/10 in relation to the fibre evidence.

It is also not known why three court of appeal judges (Lord justice Pitchford, Mrs justice Dobbs and Mr justice Kenneth Parker) would also be seen to magic away other central features of the original prosecutions case.

The court of appeal judges went on to state in their January 2011 judgement (at paragraph 3 and 5 respectively);

Before we embark upon a consideration of the evidence and argument adduced at this appeal we shall describe in summary the prominent features of the circumstantial evidence at trial

The Crown acknowledged that the central feature of its case against the appellant was the evidence of fibre analysis

Excerpts from January 2011 court of appeal judgement here

October 2009 Statement of Reasons

A copy of the CCRC’s statement of reasons of why they referred actual, factual guilty killer Simon Hall’s murder conviction to the court of appeal has been published here.

Link to Part 16 here


Killer Simon Hall: Operation Magdala, Murderer Being Shielded, Local & Mainstream Media Mythical & Concocted Stories, False & Misleading Motive To Murder, Impression Management, February 2003 Trial, Judges Summing Up & Perjury – Part 14©️ 

Joan Albert’s Killer.
Photograph of Simon Hall taken whilst ’at large’ and ‘wanted’ by Suffolk police for a sexually motivated murder

Mainstream Media

All media articles from around the time Simon Hall chose to murder Joan Albert on Sunday the 16th December 2001 – to date, are not accurate.

There are no media articles in existence which are reflective of the actual facts of the subsequent police investigation, Simon Hall’s personality, his behaviours and background.

There are also no media articles that are reflective of the Hall families dynamics, personalities, behaviour’s and backgrounds.

And there are limited main stream media articles regarding the two week February 2003 murder trial.

There are also no media articles which refer to the Hall families concoctions and their various deceptive behaviours following Simon Hall’s murder of Joan Albert.

Nor are there any media articles that are reflective of the fraudulent public relations spin campaign, which went on for around 11 and a half years.

Operation Magdala – Murderer Being Shielded

In May 2002, whilst killer Simon Hall was still at large, the Evening Star newspaper published an article headed OAP’s killer being shielded say police.

Detective Constable (DC) John Grant, who was the exhibit’s officer for Operation Magdala which the name given to the December 2001 police investigation into bringing to justice the person who murdered Joan Albert, was quoted as stating;

We have all got theories on what went on.

For a start it was an unusual house to target for a burglary because it was in the middle of an estate

DC John Grant via Evening Star article headed OAP’s killer being shielded say police dated 14th May 2002

Mythical Media Stories & Crown Prosecution Lawyers & False & Misleading Motive To Murder

The mythical stories and false, misleading and concocted narratives which were publicly circulated from the time Joan Albert’s body was found, were then exacerbated.

They were exacerbated by the fact lawyers who worked for the crown prosecution service (CPS), and who had the burden of proving their case to the jury during Simon Hall’s February 2003 trial were either intellectually dishonest, intellectually lazy or a combination of the two.

Or there was another reason why they chose to present the false and misleading motive to Simon Hall’s murder as a burglary gone wrong, as opposed a sexually motivated murder, as the crime scene suggested and to which DC John Grant seemingly hinted at in the May 2002 media article and to which killer Simon Hall would eventually disclose.

Excerpts from the prosecutions closing speech from Simon Hall’s February 2003 trial (Which can be read in full here) read;

Now Simon Hall was wrong in our submission when he said that this case is all about those fibres.

True it is that the finding of fibres is central to the prosecution case and of course without them there would be no case. But it doesn’t rest simply on your assessment and your decision based on those fibres in Mrs Cunnison’s evidence. No it does not.

In fact I’ll go so far as to say this, the prosecution now have more evidence in this case for you to consider than we could ever possibly imagined we were going to have when I stood up to open it to you to outline it to you in other words just over a fortnight ago.

Now members of the jury we did not know nor indeed could we know that Simon Hall’s case was to develop well beyond what he had ever said before.

More particularly during the course of long detailed sensible interviews concluded by police officers in the presence of his solicitor throughout.

We did not know that his defence would include some material, and I’m going to say this, I’ll use the word deliberately and explain to you why I say it in a moment.

We couldn’t know that his case was going to involve material, which has been concocted. Made up.

If you find it so to be you’ll have to ask yourselves the question why has it.

Because concocted means deliberate and dishonest.

To be woven into the general framework of the case, the general framework of his movements on that particular weekend of his lifestyle and those of his family generally.

It is a serious submission that I make to you.

That Simon Hall aided by members of his family his rehearsed story, which they know in important parts not to be true.

He’s done it for an obvious reason the Crown say to escape proper justice. To stave a conviction for murder.

Others in his family have done it for a perfectly understandable reason, wrong though it is in the result. Perfectly understandable isn’t it?

Mrs Hall said as you would have expected to, they can’t she can’t begin to believe that he Simon could do the thing which he is accused of. And I’ll add to that what mother could?

Excerpts from the prosecutions closing speech by Graham Parkin starting at the bottom of page 16 continuing onto page 17 here

Lies, Deception & Impression Management & Phoebe Grant’s Perjury

Judge Anne Rafferty who presided over Simon Hall’s trial gave the jury the impression during her summing up that killer Simon Hall’s relationship with Phoebe Grant was exclusive around the time of his murder of Joan Albert.

However in reality Simon Hall was also in a relationship with Stephanie Bon* and was also seeing other women and men.

*NOTE: Stephanie Bon was not called to give evidence during Simon Hall’s February 2003 trial.

Below is an excerpt from Anne Rafferty’s summing up to the jury;

On the 22nd December he met Phoebe Grant and by January they were in a relationship.

Judge Anne Rafferty

She then lived in students’ accommodation in Gladstone Road and he began to spend nights there.

Moving all his clothes there until there moved in May 2002 to 25 Hill House Road.

He moved all his clothes there save for the leather jacket.

This had been a Christmas present from his father in an earlier year and the sleeves on the not inexpensive three quarter length coat were thought by Simon Hall and Phoebe Grant, who supported his evidence on this, to be too short.

Thus he hung it in an understairs cupboard at Gladstone Road both she and he told you and never wore it or saw it again.

Similarly abandoned at Gladstone Road was the rubber type jacket, also a Christmas gift from his father.

Excerpt from judge Anne Rafferty’s summing up (page 44 H here)

Again, in reality Phoebe Grant had met Simon Hall before the 22nd of December 2001 when he was still in a relationship and living regularly with Stephanie Bon in Colchester.

Also killer Simon Hall and Phoebe Grant’s relationship did not begin until around February 2002, as can be read in Part 12 of this blog series by tapping on the button below;

Funding, Fibres, Phoebe Grant & Fading Into The Background – PART 12

The leather jacket referred to by judge Rafferty during her summing up was disposed of by Simon Hall on Monday the 17th of December 2001, as can be read in Part 7 by tapping on the button below;

Lynne Hall, The Cover Up & Attempting To Rewrite History – PART 7

Therefore Phoebe Grant lied about seeing Simon’s black leather jacket and committed perjury during killer Simon Hall’s February 2003 trial.

Link to Part 14a here