Murder of Maxwell Confait: Difference between revisions
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=== Investigation === |
=== Investigation === |
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The first suspect was Maxwell Confait's landlord, Mr Winston Goode. |
The first suspect was Maxwell Confait's landlord, Mr Winston Goode. The two men had first met in a [[public house]] in [[Lewisham]] in [[1970]] shortly after Goode had broken up with his wife. |
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In 1972, Michelle moved into Mr Goode's house, Mr Goode sharing in Michelle's fondness of wearing women's clothes. |
In 1972, Michelle moved into Mr Goode's house, Mr Goode sharing in Michelle's fondness of wearing women's clothes. Michelle paid £2.50 per week in rent. |
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When the fire broke out, Mr Goode had been asleep. |
When the fire broke out, Mr Goode had been asleep. Upon waking up, he evacuated his wife and children (who were still living there) from the house. He then set off towards [[Catford Bridge railway station]] to telephone for the police. Mrs Goode sent a neighbour to help the distraught Mr Goode. |
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During the police interviews, Mr Goode inadvertently mentioned that he knew of Confait's plans to move out. |
During the police interviews, Mr Goode inadvertently mentioned that he knew of Confait's plans to move out. He admitted to being jealous but denied any homosexual relationship. A couple of days later, Goode was admitted to Bexley Psychiatric Hospital in a confused and traumatised state and was unable to remember the previous few days. |
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=== Suspects === |
=== Suspects === |
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Revision as of 02:03, 8 July 2007
The investigation into the murder of Maxwell Confait was a case which raised questions about police procedures, how police adhered to the procedures already stipulated and caused a major review in how suspects are treated, particularly children and "the educationally subnormal".
Details of the case
The London Fire Brigade was called to 27 Doggett Road, Catford, Southeast London, SE6, the home of Maxwell Confait, at 0121hrs on 22 April 1972.
The fire was extinguished by 1:31 am and the Metropolitan Police arrived at 01:45 am, followed by a police surgeon at 2:00 am.
One of the fire brigade team found the body of a mixed race man in his twenties in the upstairs back bedroom of the house behind a locked door. The next day, the identity of the man was found to be that of Maxwell Confait, 26 years old, a homosexual prostitute and transvestite who preferred to use the name "Michelle".
The police surgeon found the cause of death of Maxwell Confait to be from asphyxia. Mr Confait's lips were blue and there were marks where he had been strangled with rope or cord. Later, a lamp was discovered in a cupboard under the stairs and the flex in the dressing table drawer of the room where Maxwell Confait was discovered.
The police surgeon did not take the rectal temperature to establish the time of death because he suspected that Mr Confait was a "possible homosexual" and he did not wish to destroy any evidence of recent sexual activity.
The police surgeon estimated the time of death to have been between 8:00 pm and 10:00 the previous night. The pathologist estimated the time of death to have been between 7:45 pm and 11:45 pm the previous night.
The police found that the fire had been started by the deliberate igniting of a petrol can under the stairs.
Investigation
The first suspect was Maxwell Confait's landlord, Mr Winston Goode. The two men had first met in a public house in Lewisham in 1970 shortly after Goode had broken up with his wife.
In 1972, Michelle moved into Mr Goode's house, Mr Goode sharing in Michelle's fondness of wearing women's clothes. Michelle paid £2.50 per week in rent.
When the fire broke out, Mr Goode had been asleep. Upon waking up, he evacuated his wife and children (who were still living there) from the house. He then set off towards Catford Bridge railway station to telephone for the police. Mrs Goode sent a neighbour to help the distraught Mr Goode.
During the police interviews, Mr Goode inadvertently mentioned that he knew of Confait's plans to move out. He admitted to being jealous but denied any homosexual relationship. A couple of days later, Goode was admitted to Bexley Psychiatric Hospital in a confused and traumatised state and was unable to remember the previous few days.
Suspects
On Monday 24 April 1972, there were a number of fires in the area:
- alongside the railway line near Catford Bridge railway station
- in a small sports hut on Ladywell Fields
- a house in the next street, 1 Neigarde Road.
The police very quickly stopped an eighteen year-old man, Colin Lattimore, who had a mental age of eight. Lattimore admitted to lighting the fire at Doggett Road with his friend, Ronnie. Ronnie Leighton, aged 15, and their friend, 14 year-old Ahmet Salih were taken into police custody.
Despite the law stipulating that "As far as practicable, children (whether suspected of a crime or not) should only be interviewed in the presence of a parent or guardian, or, in their absence, some person who is not a police officer and is of the same sex as the child", all three of them were questioned without any other adult being present.
Lattimore and Salih accused the police of hitting them. Lattimore suffered a nosebleed and Salih cried. Leighton also claimed to have been a victim of police brutality. Lattimore and Salih both admitted to starting the fire. Lattimore admitted to the murder of Maxwell Confait but Salih only confessed to observing the murder.
Trial
By 25 April 1972, the police considered the case solved. After a preliminary hearing at Woolwich Magistrates Court, Colin and Ronnie were sent to Ashford Remand Centre on charges of murder. Ahmet was released on police bail for arson.
The families of the three boys and their legal representatives fought the case at trial. All three boys had alibis for the time which the police surgeon and the pathologist had estimated the time of death, so if the medical experts were right, these boys could not have committed the crime.
In court, the same two medical experts had changed their opinion concerning time of death, claiming it could have been as late as 1:00 am, claiming that the heat of the fire could have speeded up the onset of rigor mortis. Usually the rectal temperature would be heavily relied on, although was not taken in this case.
In court at the Old Bailey on 11 November 1972, the jury found Colin Lattimore guilty of manslaughter (on grounds of diminished responsibility) and two counts of arson (Doggett Road and Ladywell Fields). He was ordered to be detained under the Mental Health Act indefinitely and was sent to Rampton Hospital.
Ronnie Leighton was found guilty of arson at Doggett Road and Ladywell fields, and also of burglary at a nearby address in Sangley Road, SE6. He was sent to Aylesbury Prison for a life sentence.
Ahmet Salih was found guilty of the same offences as Ronnie Leighton, but was sent to Royal Philanthropic School, Redhill for a four-year sentence on account of his age.
The appeals of the boys were refused and the charges against the police for brutality were quickly dismissed.
Reexamination of Cases
Colin Lattimore's father, insistent that his son was innocent, wrote many letters including to the Queen, Prime Minister and Home Secretary. His Member of Parliament, Mr Carol Johnson, MP, wrote to the Home Office.
Eventually, the National Council for Civil Liberties became interested in this case and contacted one of the leading pathologists in the country, Professor Donald Teare. Teare stated for the benefit of the case that Maxwell Confait died between 6:30 pm and 10:30 pm without question.
Meanwhile, the General Election on February 1974 brought Roy Jenkins and Alex Lyons into the Home Office, both of whom were committed to reviewing miscarriages of Justice. The new Member of Parliament for Lewisham was Christopher Price, MP. Around this time, the first suspect, Mr Winston Goode, committed suicide by swallowing cyanide.
Following a 30 minute documentary of this case on ITV television, the Home Office had a change of heart. Another great contemporary pathologist, Professor Keith Simpson was brought in, who broadly agreed with those of Professor Teare.
It was during the spring of 1974 that the Lord Chief Justice Widgery examined the case and on 18 June 1975, Roy Jenkins announced in parliament that the case was to return to the Court of Appeal.
After a week of evidence in the Royal Courts of Justice and another week of court being adjourned for a verdict to be reached, all three suspects were found not guilty of all charges and promptly freed.
Lord Scarman criticised the police for their handling of the case, claiming that they should have put more emphasis on the fact that there had been no struggle, suggesting that Maxwell Confait had known his killer.
The Court of Appeal judgement led to an enquiry on the Judges' Rules stipulating how police treat suspects, particularly children and "the educationally subnormal" which was "palpably in need of review". This partly informed the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.
Although the case of Maxwell Confait was reviewed by Peter Fryer, Assistant Chief Constable of West Mercia, no further arrests were made and the case remains unsolved.
See also
External links
References
Lane, Brian (1992); The Murder Guide to London: Detailed accounts of the capital's most gruesome and bizarre murders; Magpie, London; ISBN 1-85813-064-6.