Age: 49
Sex: female
Date: 22 Jun 1996
Place: 75 Ribblesdale Road, Tooting, London
Jill Williams was beaten to death and robbed in her flat at 75 Ribblesdale Road, Tooting on 22 June 1996.
She had been bound with her own leggings and beaten and then asphyxiated.
Two men were tried for her murder at the Old Bailey, but one was acquitted and the jury failed to reach a verdict on the other.
It was heard that Jill Williams loved gold jewellery and would flaunt it and that shortly before her murder she had taken a number of items out of pawn after having come into some money.
The man that was acquitted of her murder said that he had been playing snooker at the time. It was heard that his fingerprints were found on a pawn ticket that was found in Jill Williams's safe.
Jill Williams was described herself as being a bit of a character as well as a petty thief and that at the time of her murder to have been on a community service order. She was also known as a go-between and a pick-pocket.
Two days before she was murdered she had taken most of her jewellery out of a pawn shop, Harvey & Thompson Pawnbrokers, in Northcote Road in Clapham. She was well known at the pawnbrokers and the woman there said that she had been quite cheerful and had told her that she planned to come by the following week to get the rest of her jewellery out. She noted that Jill Williams usually only took one or two items out of pawn as she could afford to do so, but that on that occasion she had unusually taken most of it out.
The items of jewellery she had taken included two necklaces, the cost being £212. In total she took out:
It was thought that the rest of her jewellery included two bracelets.
Jill Williams had lived at 75 Ribblesdale Road in Tooting for 20 years.
An upstairs neighbour of hers recalled that as he was leaving to go to work at about 10.30am, three days before her murder, he noticed that she had visitors. He said that he had taken a cat food tray and tin of food down to the kitchen, which was ordinarily open and found that it was closed and that when he peered in he saw that Jill Williams had company, seeing a man, and that she clearly didn't want him to see what she was doing. He added that he had seen a number of other people call on Jill Williams but that he had never seen that man before and didn't recognise him. He noted that she told him that she would deal with the cat food later.
An artists impression of a man that he saw in the kitchen with Jill Williams was later released, however, the police said that he wasn’t a suspect. The man was described as:
The upstairs neighbour said that he also got the impression that a third person had also been in the kitchen with her.
On the day of her murder, 21 June 1996, at about 8.45pm, Jill Williams went to a local convenience store to buy a packet of ten Embassy cigarettes and a box of matches for £1.55. The woman who served her said that she commented on the amount of jewellery she had been wearing and asked her whether she was going out that night and said that Jill Williams told her that she might be later.
Later on, her upstairs neighbour said that he got back to the house around 9pm after having been out with some friends from work for a drink and could hear that Jill Williams was home in the lounge and that the TV was on and that he got the impression that she had company, noting that there was certainly some low conversation going on. He said that he then went upstairs to his room and had a meal and then watched a film quite late into the night.
It was noted that Jill Williams often had late night visitors, and that at 1.30am a neighbour opposite said he saw someone that he didn't recognise. He said that he saw a light coloured car stop in the street and a woman get out and appear to pay the driver or say something to them before then going off into Jill Williams's house. The neighbour said that she was of average build, somewhere between 5ft 2in and 5ft 4in tall, and with fair hair pleated into a bun. He noted that he got the impression that she might have had keys to admit herself into the house and that after she went in he didn't see any more.
The upstairs neighbour, who was still watching TV said that he heard the door go at some time but nothing else.
The following morning, Saturday 22 June 1996, a man called at the pawnbrokers and gave them a ticket for two gold ID bracelets, paying £265 in cash for them and left. The cashier said that she vaguely remembered the man and thought that he had been white, but noted that it had been quite busy. She noted that it was only later that she discovered that it had been Jill Williams's ticket.
The upstairs neighbour said that he didn't leave the flat until about 2pm on the Saturday afternoon and that as he left he saw that Jill Williams's kitchen had very obviously been turned over and that when he went to look into her lounge he found her dead.
Following a search of her flat it was found that her jewellery and pawn tickets had all been taken.
During the investigation the police appealed for the woman that had visited Jill Williams to come forward, noting that very little was known about her at all but that she was likely to be the last person to see her alive. However, it was noted that it was still unclear whether she had been at Jill Williams's flat on the Thursday night or the Friday night.
The police also appealed for the man that had been seen in Jill Williams's kitchen to come forward, noting that they were not interested in anything that he might have bene doing at the time such as a drugs deal, and further stressing that he was not a suspect, but thought that he might have useful information about Jill Williams.
Two men were later tried for her murder at the Old Bailey. They had been:
However, the 30-year-old man from Battersea said he had been playing snooker at the time of the murder and called alibi witnesses to support his evidence and was acquitted. It was heard that his fingerprints had been all over the pawn tickets. He was acquitted of murder, manslaughter and robbery
The jury were also unable to reach any verdicts in respect of the 34-year-old man from Croydon.
Following the conclusion of the trial the prosecution said they would seek a retrial, but nothing more is known.
see You Tube
