Page 15 of Murder in the Family

Me? I have nothing to hide. Nothing whatsoever. I wasn’t even in London the day Luke died. And before you ask, I don’t feel guilty about Caroline.

(pause)

Luke, though. That’s another matter. I do feel guilty about Luke. You could say the whole thing was all my fault.

CUT TO: Crime scene PHOTO, the face blurred out. The body is sprawled on its back on a flight of steps; there are cracks in some of the slabs, and a spade and several other workman’s tools visible at the top left. It’s obviously been raining but there’s still a large blood stain around the head.

NARRATOR

Luke Ryder had been married to Caroline Howard for just over a year when he died. He was 26, and a native of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. The only paid work he’d ever done that we know of was as a barman, first in Sydney and then in Greece.

The odds of someone like him even crossing paths with Caroline Howard were vanishingly small. And yet he did, and two years later he was dead.

No one has ever been charged with the killing of Luke Ryder. The case that gripped the public, baffled the police, and changed the lives of his three young stepchildren forever remains unsolved.

But with the twentieth anniversary of the murder now approaching, and with so many recent advances in DNA and forensics, perhaps it’s time to take another look.

Perhaps it’s time to bring Luke Ryder’s killer to justice, and give the Howard family some closure.

CUT TO: Dining-room at Dorney Place. The team are seated around the table, along with Nick and Guy. Nick is unshaven, with shoulder-length dark hair going grey. He’s wearing a blue cotton shirt, and has various beaded and plastic bracelets on his left wrist. Guy is in a black T-shirt.

There are papers and photos on the table, glasses of water, a cafetière of coffee, laptops. There’s also a whiteboard and pinboard propped on easels; the latter has some of the images we’ve already seen (exterior of the house, entrance gate, family tree, etc).

CLOSE-UP as camera pans over the pictures, finishing with a series of shots of the family.

NICK VINCENT (Producer)

(looking round at those seated at the table)

And that’s where you guys come in. If we’re going to solve this case we need an A-team, and that’s what we’ve got – I don’t think there’s any aspect of the criminal justice system we don’t have covered round this table.

There are smiles, some muted laughter.

And as you can see, we’re here at Dorney Place, where the murder took place. It’s the first time anyone but the police or the family has had access to the house, which will give us a unique opportunity to walk the scene and maybe – after all this time – work out what actually happened that night.

(gesturing at the cafetière)

The coffee’s better than at the studio, too.

(More laughter.)

And amazingly enough this is actually the first time we’ve all met together in the same room. So we’re going to do that cringe-making thing everyone does and go round the table introducing ourselves. Perhaps you can start, Alan?

In next SEQUENCE camera moves to each team member as they speak, name and title appearing on screen.

First CLOSE-UP is on Alan. He’s in a dark jacket and tie, glasses and a slightly creased white shirt; he has short salt-and-pepper hair and a thin face. He talks in a rather staccato way and seems ill-at-ease.

As he speaks there are video-only CLIPS of news items from some of his cases, with Alan speaking to camera, being questioned by the press, etc.

ALAN CANNING

I’m Alan Canning, a retired detective inspector from the Metropolitan Police, specializing in homicide. I have over thirty years’ experience in criminal investigations, and I was working at the Met when this case occurred, though I never worked on that team.

Camera moves to Hugo. He’s in his early fifties but doesn’t look it. He’s wearing a suit with wide pinstripes, a pink shirt and a spotted navy and white tie. There’s a red silk moiré lining visible inside his suit jacket. He’s smooth, confident, perhaps a little superior.

HUGO FRASER

I’m Hugo Fraser KC, which for those outside the UK stands for King’s Counsel. It basically means I’m a senior member of the Criminal Bar in England and Wales, and I’ve been both defending and prosecuting offenders of all varieties since 1997.

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