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Britain's Most Evil Killers S08E01 (Sep 14 2023)
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00:01In the summer of 1991, the town of Bathgate in Scotland welcomed some new arrivals.
00:09Carol Jarvis and her three children settled into the community almost immediately.
00:14But the father, 41-year-old Harry Jarvis, was not the loving family man that he tried to portray.
00:22From the minute he met Carol, he was determined that she was going to be a possession.
00:27He didn't treat her well, he treated her dreadfully.
00:32In a twisted plot to end the marriage, Jarvis began drugging Carol and moved a new lover into the family's
00:39garden shed.
00:41The shed was basically just that. A very small, very basic shed. Dirty, damp.
00:49Apart from a cover or a duvet, and I think maybe a couple of pillows, there was nothing else.
00:56When his children began to suspect something was wrong, Jarvis claimed their mother had travelled over 60 miles away to
01:04Dundee.
01:05But in reality, Jarvis had murdered Carol and hidden her body under the floorboards.
01:11When the police looked in that place, very sadly, they discovered the partially decomposed remains of what appeared to be
01:22a female person.
01:24Harry Jarvis had proved himself to be one of Britain's most evil killers.
01:50On the 14th of September 2009, Graham Jarvis went to visit his sick mum, Carol.
01:57When Graham arrived, his mother wasn't there, and his father, Harry Jarvis, refused to let him into the house.
02:05It would be unusual for mum not to be there and do a disappearing act.
02:12You know, dad, you would understand, but mum has never done that at all, so I was like, hmm, something's
02:17all right here.
02:18Less than 24 hours later, Graham's dad, Harry Jarvis went on the run with his lover, who'd been secretly living
02:26in a shed in the garden.
02:28The truth about what really happened in that house in Bathgate begins to emerge to the surface.
02:34And everyone realises that Jarvis is an absolute monster.
02:37There can be no doubt about it.
02:39Jarvis really does deserve a place in a rogues' gallery of evil killers.
02:45This killer's story begins 300 miles south of Bathgate, in Lincolnshire, on the east coast of England.
02:53Jarvis was born in Grimsby, 1950s.
02:59He was a chancer, always looking for the best deal for himself.
03:05He was quite, you know, he was one of those people who is self-focused, self-obsessed, was never looking
03:13out for the good of other people.
03:16Little is known of Jarvis' childhood, but as an adult he'd moved down to South London, where he tried his
03:23hand at a few different careers.
03:26So, Dad's employment is varied, I feel like.
03:31Dad used to switch between being an engineer and a bus driver, and then went from bus driving to coach
03:40driving.
03:41But he never really sort of stood on a job for long, you know, he used to sort of change
03:49about.
03:50By the late 1970s, Jarvis was still living and working in South London.
03:56The 29-year-old had begun dating a younger woman named Carol Maynard.
04:01I think Mum was in her late teens at the time, and yeah, I think Dad was, obviously, I think
04:08it was a 12-year age gap between the two.
04:11Mum was actually working in a shop at the time, and Dad had just sort of went into the shop
04:18and just asked if they could go out on a date, and it went from there, if you like.
04:24The relationship blossomed, despite Carol's family being against the partnership.
04:31The family would have looked at him, looked at the age difference, and probably thought, no, no, no, this isn't
04:37good for Carol, who's still relatively inexperienced in life, and probably relatively naive.
04:45In 1982, Carol married Jarvis, and they went on to have four children together.
04:52The couple decided to move over 400 miles away from London, something their eldest son Graham remembers well.
05:01Around about 91, we moved up to Scotland.
05:05It was a long way, and, you know, obviously as kids, we weren't really sure what was going on or
05:12the reasoning behind it.
05:14Apparently, that was because he had lots of arguments with his family, and things started falling apart down in London,
05:21and he wanted to get away from everything.
05:24And they went just as far as they could possibly go by going to Scotland.
05:30The Jarvis family settled in a small town called Bathgate in West Lothian, about 20 miles west of Edinburgh.
05:41The town was an ordinary West Lothian town, working people, not a particularly wealthy environment, but not abject poverty.
05:55Carol seemed to flourish in her new area, becoming a brownie and girl guide leader.
06:02I always remember, like, she was really good at sewing, and, you know, sewing on the badges and on the
06:06uniform or the sash, and, yeah, I think she was genuinely happy and loved doing it.
06:15Mum was quite partial to dancing.
06:18She was always, again, like, at parties at the Life and Soul and sort of doing the twist or just
06:24really embarrassing mum dances, to be fair.
06:27But other than that, I think generally our hobbies were sort of limited just because, say, the four kids and,
06:35you know, growing up and balancing that out.
06:40Jarvis continued his work as a coach driver, doing long-distance journeys and spending days at a time away from
06:48his family.
06:49There was always some sort of scandal involved in terms of dad and jobs, you know, and I always remember
06:57him, you know, getting a job with a fish delivering company.
07:02And, you know, all of a sudden, we've got, like, tons and tons of fish in the freezer, and it's
07:07like, Dad, what's going on?
07:09And then, obviously, it's turned out. He's not delivered them, you know?
07:14And for all intents and purposes, Jarvis was a perfectly ordinary, comparatively hard-working bus driver.
07:23But beneath the surface, there were other more complicated things going on.
07:29Jarvis had amassed a number of criminal convictions over the years for dishonesty offences.
07:36Jarvis was a petty thief, an embezzler, a fraudster.
07:41And in that period of their marriage and their carols giving birth to the children and looking after them,
07:47he goes to prison on a number of occasions.
07:52He was always getting into scrapes and criminality.
07:57He didn't seem to be particularly grounded.
08:00He was, you know, moving around and changing jobs.
08:04He wasn't a particularly stable person.
08:07While transient Jarvis engaged in questionable behaviour, Carol was holding the family together.
08:14If anybody was to sort of put a label on mum, it would be, you know, loyal and definitely family
08:20-driven.
08:22She would put the family before herself and, you know, especially the four kids.
08:27Harry Jarvis and Carol's relationship was tumultuous by the time they were living in Scotland.
08:33But Carol did her best to shield her children from the reality of the situation.
08:38Carol was besotted with him.
08:42She would gloss over his faults and she would hide quite a lot from their children.
08:47But the kids were aware that something wasn't right with their dad's behaviour.
08:52They never knew what to expect from Jarvis as his moods were unpredictable.
08:59Growing up, seeing dad, it was almost a bit of an enigma.
09:04You weren't sure what you would get with dad.
09:06And one day he would be, you know, fantastic and, you know, he used to do everything for you.
09:16There was the times whereby obviously he was tired and, you know, when dad was tired, you would stay out
09:23of his way.
09:25And then there would be other times whereby you would be like, where's dad?
09:30And nobody would know where he was and he would be away for a few weeks.
09:35Harry Jarvis would often disappear for long periods of time, with the family unsure about where he'd gone or when
09:43he'd be back.
09:45I guess one of the most important times, you know, whereby I look back now, it was my birthday.
09:52I think I was like, I was 12 or 13 at the time.
09:55And dad wasn't there, and we didn't know where he was.
10:04Again, it just sort of resonates in terms of, you know, what, sometimes he was there, sometimes he was fantastic
10:11and other times you just didn't know what you were going to get.
10:14It was, you know, Jekyll and Hyde.
10:17Jarvis would go missing for weeks at a time, but his wife and children had no idea where he was
10:24going.
10:25Harry Jarvis was living a double life, but what was he hiding from his family?
10:40By the mid-1990s, 45-year-old Harry Jarvis was living in Bathgate, Scotland, with his wife, Carol, and their
10:49four children.
10:50But the long-distance coach driver was known to go missing for weeks at a time, leaving his family unsure
10:57of what was going on.
11:00Sometimes it would be for a few days, sometimes it would be for a couple of weeks, sometimes it would
11:05be for longer, and he would just disappear.
11:08And he would just return to the family home, as if it hadn't happened at all.
11:15When he did come back, it would almost be like a heated discussion as to, you know, what's happened.
11:21But despite the arguments and uncertainty of where he'd been, Jarvis always won Carol back around.
11:29He disappeared for months and months and months at a time, and would come back and, you know, wheedle his
11:35way back in with her again, profess his undying love for her.
11:40He would make excuses that, you know, it was the alcohol that caused him to disappear,
11:47when the reality was that he would meet people and sponge off them until their money ran out and then
11:52go back to Carol.
11:53And she always took him back, always.
11:59While Jarvis was away from his wife, he was spending time with other women.
12:04Harry Jarvis was somebody who was capable of going off and doing whatever he wanted to do at any given
12:10time.
12:11And it was clear that he had embarked on other relationships.
12:16He was clearly somebody who was capable of cheating on his wife.
12:22As well as infidelity, Harry Jarvis also had a problem with alcohol, which had a further detrimental effect on his
12:31family life.
12:32He did like a drink and he kind of knew and you would stay out his road.
12:39Quite a lot of the family's resources ended up being spent across the counter of the off-sales or the
12:46public house.
12:50Carol was, you know, forced to give him lots of money quite often.
12:55You know, she would have to give him her money just, you know, to make him stay, keep him happy.
13:01She herself firmly believed that marriage was for life and that women would forgive their husbands for anything.
13:08And Harry took advantage of that and took advantage of her kind nature, her loving nature.
13:15These incidents surrounding money and alcohol left lasting memories for their children.
13:22A lot of the argument stemmed through money when we were growing up in terms of, you know,
13:28Dad maybe spending it on alcohol and cigarettes rather than food and stuff.
13:36Yeah, it was difficult.
13:39With Jarvis unable to hold down a job for long and going missing for months at a time,
13:46it was Carol who made sure that children were looked after.
13:50Mum always made sure that we had food on the table, we always had clothes.
13:55So I think, you know, definitely a heart of gold rather than a pot of gold in her purse, if
14:02you like.
14:06It came as a blow to the family when Carol's health suddenly started to decline
14:12and doctors tried to establish what was wrong with her.
14:16Mum started to get ill round about 96, so, what was she, 34, 35 at the time.
14:25I just remember her being really lethargic and sore muscles all the time
14:30and they couldn't really figure it out for a good number of years.
14:35The major problem was what was described as fibromyalgia.
14:42She seems to have been rendered very weak
14:46and as a consequence of her weakness, she took to bed.
14:53I used to see her sort of lying down more,
14:56maybe not being able to do as much physically.
15:00Mentally, it was tough on her and, you know,
15:04I guess that didn't really help, obviously,
15:07with the whole dad situation and disappearing and, yeah, it was difficult.
15:12With Carol's health condition having such an effect on her ability to look after herself,
15:18Harry Jarvis was forced to give up work permanently
15:21and become a full-time carer for his wife.
15:25So, I think dad, I don't know if it was by choice that he gave up work to look after
15:33mum.
15:34Mum did get quite upset about, you know, not being able to do stuff for herself.
15:40Because of her conditions, Carol was entitled to receive financial support.
15:46He, of course, saw this as an opportunity to control her even further
15:50and, you know, it was money for him as well.
15:54You know, they were claiming disability benefits
15:57and it was a way for him to basically just live off Carol because of her illness.
16:04And she, of course, relied 100% on him.
16:07He would have been interested in looking at that situation and saying,
16:11how can I benefit from this situation?
16:13Is there any way that this can benefit me?
16:17By 2009, Carol had been living with her debilitating illness for over a decade.
16:23With all the children having flown the nest to either start their own families
16:27or study at university,
16:30Carol and Harry Jarvis were now living alone in their Bathgate home.
16:35They'd all moved out and were pursuing their own lives.
16:38So it was mostly just Harry Jarvis and Carol Jarvis in the house.
16:43And Harry would attend to Carol.
16:46He would assist her to use the toilet and would bring her food.
16:51And perhaps most significantly, he would attend to her medication.
16:56And much of the medical attention that was given to her
17:02was in relation to her pain relief.
17:06Carol relied on her seemingly caring husband for round-the-clock care.
17:11But in reality, Jarvis was still up to his old tricks.
17:16Harry Jarvis would, from time to time,
17:18just drop out of the picture altogether
17:20and would go off on missions of his own.
17:25And when that happened,
17:27the children would have to give up whatever they were doing themselves
17:32and go and look after their mum.
17:35We used to sort of, you know, speak to each other as siblings
17:38and say, like, you know what, like, you know, Dad's disappeared again.
17:42The Jarvis children soon noticed something wasn't quite right.
17:47When their dad was home and giving their mum her medication,
17:51Carol would be in bed sleeping most of the day.
17:54But it was a different story
17:56when they were in charge of giving her her tablets.
18:01She immediately sort of got better
18:03or she was up and about and looking for Dad.
18:07Whereas if Dad was there,
18:09she'd probably be sleeping, if that makes sense.
18:14It was almost like an improvement
18:17that you could physically see
18:19when you were there caring for her.
18:22And it was a question which the children had
18:26as to why she always seemed to be worse whilst in his care than in theirs.
18:31The siblings knew there was something not right,
18:34but they were too scared of their dad to question him about it.
18:39I think at the time,
18:41although we suspected it and we used to talk,
18:45I don't think anybody was kind of brave enough to challenge him
18:49and we just accepted it for what it was.
18:53In 2009, Harry Jarvis did another disappearing act.
18:59None of his family knew where he'd been,
19:01but this time he didn't return alone.
19:04He went on one of his walkabouts
19:06and returned to Bathgate with Rita.
19:13Now, Rita is an interesting character.
19:16She was adopted by a really quite wealthy businessman
19:21who had a company which made pastry.
19:26Rita had come into a significant inheritance from her adopted parent
19:30to the sum of two and a half million pounds.
19:33She had had, since her inheritance,
19:37a series of what appeared to be unsuccessful relationships with men
19:42and somehow or other, the money just evaporated.
19:48By the time that she met Harry Jarvis
19:51and they became involved with one another,
19:54to a very substantial extent, the money had gone.
19:59And when she met Harry, she fell in love with him instantly
20:03and he promised her that they would be together forever
20:08and she saw him as some sort of comfort blanket
20:12because she'd gone through all that money,
20:16she had nowhere to live, she was homeless
20:17and Harry was her knight in shining armour.
20:22I think that possibly Jarvis saw her and thought,
20:26ha-ha, this is somebody who either may have some money squirreled away
20:30or may be up for another inheritance with this family
20:34that she was involved in.
20:36So he locked onto her.
20:42Knowing that 54-year-old Rita Haster
20:45might already have spent her inheritance
20:48didn't stop Jarvis from fantasising.
20:53He was obsessed with riches and, you know, having lots of wealth
20:58and Rita was perfect for him
21:00because, you know, he deliberately blanked out
21:04that she had squandered her money.
21:06He had pound signs, you know, in his eyes
21:08and that, as far as he was concerned,
21:10Rita would have more money, millions,
21:13more than he could ever dream of.
21:15So he thinks, well, this really is a meal ticket
21:18into a new world.
21:22And at one point, he even brags to the barmaid
21:26in his local pub
21:27that he's going to bleed Rita dry.
21:32Jarvis had brought Rita into his life
21:34but he couldn't bring her into his home
21:37as his chronically ill wife, Carol, was still there.
21:40And it ended up in this absolutely ludicrous situation
21:44where Rita was living in Jarvis's shed
21:48at the bottom of the garden.
21:51Literally all that was in there
21:52was some kind of awful, filthy mattress
21:55she was sleeping on.
21:57The shed was basically just that.
22:00A very small, very basic shed.
22:03Dirty, damp.
22:06There was a plastic bucket in the corner
22:09presumably for her comfort during the night
22:12but apart from a cover or a duvet
22:15and I think there were maybe a couple of pillows
22:18that were in the shed
22:19there was nothing else.
22:23So Rita was basically kept in the shed
22:26while Harry Jarvis was living in the house
22:28with his ailing wife.
22:34But there was the promise
22:37that if we go through this short amount of pain
22:41once Carol's out of the picture
22:44we've got the house, we've got everything.
22:46This is what they were both working towards.
22:49In an attempt to speed up proceedings
22:52Harry Jarvis had begun sedating his wife.
22:56So Carol was seemingly oblivious to the fact
22:59that another woman was living at the end of the garden.
23:02He had started to overdose Carol
23:05with some of the medication that she had
23:07and that was certainly having an impact.
23:11If she was aware that there was a woman
23:13living in the shed just right outside her bedroom window
23:17she never said
23:18and never gave any indication to anybody
23:21that she was aware of that.
23:23Carol may not have known
23:24but the neighbours had started talking
23:27about the unusual living arrangements
23:29on their street.
23:32Tittle-tattle, local gossip
23:33told us that neighbours knew
23:36there was a woman living in the garden.
23:39It seemed a bit of a tall tale at the start
23:42you know, it's not something that
23:44you would expect to hear.
23:46But Jarvis and Rita didn't seem to mind
23:49the locals knowing about them.
23:51He would walk around home with her
23:54and, you know, openly affectionate.
23:57Rita was said to have giggled like a schoolgirl
23:59around Jarvis
24:00and the two of them, you know,
24:02quite openly flaunted their relationship.
24:05Harry Jarvis was living a double life
24:07a carer to his sick wife
24:10and a lover to a woman
24:11who was living in his garden shed.
24:14Jarvis knew he needed to end it
24:17with either Carol or Rita
24:18but who would he choose
24:20and how would he get out
24:22of the love triangle
24:24forever?
24:33In the autumn of 2009
24:35Harry Jarvis was living a double life
24:38in Bathgate, Scotland.
24:40The 59-year-old had started
24:42to drug his bedridden wife Carol
24:44in an attempt to incapacitate her
24:47and he'd moved his lover, Rita,
24:49into a ramshackle shed
24:51at the end of the garden.
24:53The rest of the Jarvis family
24:54were completely unaware.
24:57Kimberley moved up to uni.
24:59I had already moved out.
25:01Kev had moved out.
25:02Susan had moved out
25:03so there was the opportunity
25:05for Dad to do that
25:06whereas I think if one of us
25:09was still at home
25:10then that wouldn't have been
25:12an option for him.
25:13But the children still visited
25:15their mum on a regular basis
25:17and were often around Bathgate.
25:20On the 11th of September 2009
25:23Graham Jarvis bumped into his dad.
25:26I had seen Dad
25:27and he was a bit dazed, you know
25:30and I always remember thinking
25:32I wonder what was up with him
25:34and he'd done as usual, you know
25:37do you have a couple of pounds
25:38and I was like
25:39no, I don't have change
25:40because I knew
25:41he would just spend it
25:43on drinks and cigarettes, you know.
25:45From my point of view
25:46I thought, do you know what
25:47I'm not doing it anymore.
25:49On that occasion
25:51Harry Jarvis wasn't in town alone.
25:53At the time
25:54Graham didn't know
25:56who Rita was
25:57or her involvement
25:58with his father.
26:00I remember physically seeing Rita
26:03a couple of steps behind him
26:04and she had a suitcase
26:06and I never really said
26:08anything about it.
26:09I sort of asked
26:10you know, where's mum
26:11and he said
26:12oh, she's in the house sleeping.
26:13I was like, alright.
26:15The weekend passed
26:16and Graham Jarvis
26:17had planned to visit his mum
26:19on the Monday evening
26:20like he did every week
26:22but earlier in the day
26:24Graham called his brother
26:26Kevin.
26:27He's like
26:28I went round to the house earlier
26:31and mum wasn't there
26:32and I says
26:33what do you mean?
26:34He says
26:35I spoke to dad
26:36and she said
26:37like
26:38she was
26:39her way out somewhere
26:39I was like
26:40doesn't it make sense?
26:42He'd explained
26:44what
26:45actually happened
26:46and he had went
26:47round to the house
26:47there was no sign of mum
26:48and dad was acting dodgy
26:51and I just remember thinking
26:53like
26:53he looked dodgy
26:54on Friday
26:55you know
26:55there's something
26:56not quite right.
26:57After sharing
26:58their concerns
26:59the brothers decided
27:01to go to the family
27:02home together.
27:04We went to
27:05Bathgate
27:06and sort of
27:07knocked on the
27:08door at first
27:09and dad came outside
27:11and he wouldn't let us
27:13into the house
27:14and we said
27:15like dad
27:15what's going on
27:16like
27:16where's mum?
27:17He was like
27:17oh
27:18we plan on moving
27:19up to Dundee's
27:20well she's up in Dundee
27:21looking for a house
27:22and she'll be back
27:23tomorrow.
27:26Now the son
27:27found that very odd
27:28because normally
27:29she required assistance
27:30to do that
27:31and there was no word
27:31of who was assisting
27:33and father was there
27:34didn't really hang
27:35together very well.
27:37In the course
27:38of their investigations
27:39of the mother's
27:40whereabouts
27:42with the father
27:43he provided
27:44additional
27:45and what seemed
27:46to be contradictory
27:47accounts.
27:48Harry Jarvis
27:50changed his story
27:51a number of times
27:52while trying to
27:53explain where
27:54his wife was.
27:55I think the next
27:56excuse was that
27:57she was in respite care
27:59to give him a break
28:00and I think
28:01you know
28:02he then said
28:03that she was thinking
28:04about not coming back
28:05and was going to
28:06stay up north
28:07and she wanted
28:08to stay
28:09in a care home.
28:10all of the explanations
28:12that he gave
28:13for Carol's disappearance
28:16were implausible
28:17but absolutely crazy.
28:19They were not
28:20thought through.
28:22With the story
28:23about Carol
28:24not adding up
28:25and Harry Jarvis
28:26refusing to let
28:28his children
28:28into the house
28:29Graham made the
28:31difficult decision
28:32to call the police.
28:34It looked suspicious
28:36it sounded suspicious
28:37so we phoned
28:38the police
28:39and the police
28:40came out
28:41and dad was
28:43quite calm
28:43in the garden
28:44and he was
28:45you know
28:46chatting away
28:47and sort of saying
28:48listen mum's in
28:49Dundee
28:49it's fine
28:50and then the police
28:52said can we go
28:52in the house
28:53and he was like
28:53yeah you can't
28:54he can't.
28:55The two officers
28:57you know
28:58enter the house
29:00say where's
29:01Carol
29:02and they search it
29:04and they find
29:06Rita hiding
29:07under the bed.
29:10It almost defies belief
29:12but it gets
29:14even funnier.
29:16Jarvis then says
29:17to the officers
29:18oh that's my wife
29:19Carol.
29:23However
29:24another officer
29:25who had dealt
29:26with Jarvis
29:27several times
29:28and had met
29:29Carol
29:29because of a
29:30domestic call
29:31that she'd been
29:31called out to
29:32at the house
29:33knew instantly
29:35that the woman
29:37under the bed
29:37wasn't Carol Jarvis.
29:40The Jarvis children
29:41were only now
29:42becoming aware
29:43of their father's
29:44involvement with Rita.
29:46They were now
29:47even surer
29:47that something
29:48was wrong
29:49with their mum.
29:51What ultimately
29:52is frustrating
29:53as it was
29:54the police
29:55basically said to us
29:55listen
29:56because your mum's
29:57an adult
29:59we'll have to wait
30:0024 hours
30:02there's not much
30:03we can do
30:04sort of go home
30:05and we were like
30:06that's rubbish.
30:08We weren't sure
30:09what was going on
30:10you know.
30:11She'd just presume
30:12that she's missing
30:13and we need to get
30:14to the bottom of it.
30:17after an agonising
30:19night of concern
30:20for her children
30:21the following day
30:22the police
30:23officially recorded
30:24Carol Jarvis
30:25as a missing person.
30:29I went down
30:30to the police station
30:31to report a missing
30:32and one of the police officers
30:34said like
30:35we'll go round
30:36to the house
30:36and we'll
30:37try and look
30:38for belongings
30:39or presume
30:40any clues
30:40right.
30:41Graham went
30:42to the house
30:42with the officer
30:43and started
30:44to look
30:44for any clues
30:45as to where
30:46Carol may have
30:47gone.
30:47One of the first
30:48things they saw
30:49at the property
30:49was Carol's purse.
30:52Mum doesn't
30:52go anywhere
30:53without her purse
30:54so you know
30:54there's something
30:55definitely wrong
30:56now.
30:57The discovery
30:58of Carol's purse
30:59meant the search
31:00for the missing
31:0147 year old
31:02was immediately
31:03stepped up.
31:04It had been
31:05just over
31:05one week
31:06since Graham Jarvis
31:08had last
31:08seen his mum.
31:11So they sent
31:12forensics
31:13and scenes
31:14of crimes
31:15officers
31:15and specialist
31:16search officers
31:17to look
31:18at the property
31:20and the garden
31:21to see if it
31:22would give
31:22any clue
31:23as to Carol's
31:24whereabouts.
31:25The police
31:26did carry out
31:27a search
31:28and that included
31:29a search
31:29of a cellar.
31:31The cellar
31:33below the living
31:34room in the
31:34house which
31:35was accessed
31:36from a hatch
31:37in the living
31:38room.
31:38When the police
31:39looked in
31:41that place
31:42very sadly
31:43they discovered
31:44the partially
31:46decomposed
31:47remains
31:49of what
31:50appeared to
31:51be a female
31:52person.
31:53The space
31:54under the
31:55floorboards
31:56was known
31:56to the Jarvis
31:58children.
31:58It was almost
31:59like a cupboard
32:00door, he opened
32:00it, he would
32:01go down
32:01and certainly
32:02as kids
32:04we used
32:04to go
32:04down there
32:05and used
32:06to play
32:06hide and seek
32:07down there
32:07and stuff
32:08like that
32:09and yeah
32:10it was quite
32:11a big space.
32:12The police
32:13had to let
32:14the Jarvis
32:14children know
32:15that a body
32:16had been found
32:17at their
32:17parents'
32:18home.
32:18The police
32:19basically said
32:19listen we've
32:21found a body
32:21we will do
32:22some you know
32:24checks
32:25you know
32:26to formally
32:27identify it
32:28but it
32:29didn't take
32:29a genius
32:29to work
32:30out that
32:30you know
32:31what it
32:31was mum
32:32you know
32:32I just
32:33felt
32:35I felt
32:36sick
32:36I'd just
32:37been sick
32:37you're in
32:38shock
32:38and almost
32:40like what
32:41in the
32:41half's going
32:41on like
32:42what's
32:43happened.
32:44Carol's body
32:45had been
32:45wrapped in a
32:46duvet and
32:47bound with
32:47packing tape
32:48so it was
32:49clear to
32:50police that
32:51she'd been
32:51placed there
32:52by somebody.
32:53Attention
32:54turned to
32:54Harry Jarvis
32:55but nobody
32:56knew where
32:57he was.
32:58Jarvis and
32:59Rita had
32:59disappeared.
33:01Detectives
33:01needed to
33:02act fast
33:03to find
33:03the man
33:04so used
33:04to
33:05disappearing.
33:15Following
33:15the discovery
33:16of Carol
33:17Jarvis'
33:18body under
33:18the floorboards
33:19of her
33:20house,
33:20police wanted
33:21to talk to
33:22her husband
33:22Harry Jarvis.
33:24The 59-year-old
33:25had gone
33:26on the run
33:27with his
33:27lover Rita
33:28and the
33:29police needed
33:29to find
33:30them fast.
33:33Jarvis and
33:34Rita Haster
33:35run.
33:38They take
33:39off from
33:39Bathgate and
33:40they go to
33:40Perth where
33:41they stay
33:42in a B&B.
33:43Even more
33:44bizarrely,
33:45they leave
33:46the B&B
33:46without paying
33:49which infuriates
33:50the owners
33:51of the
33:51bed and
33:52breakfast
33:53they were
33:53staying in.
33:54who report
33:55them to
33:55the police
33:55and they
33:56describe them.
33:57And of course
33:58their descriptions
33:58exactly match
34:01Harry Jarvis
34:02and Rita Haster.
34:03The police
34:04were able
34:05to trace
34:05Jarvis and
34:06Rita using
34:07CCTV.
34:09When the pair
34:10arrived in
34:10Edinburgh,
34:11they were
34:11arrested and
34:12taken in
34:13for questioning.
34:14The police
34:15were sure
34:15that Harry Jarvis
34:17had murdered
34:17his wife,
34:18but their
34:19investigation
34:20hit a stumbling
34:21block when
34:21they tried to
34:22ascertain how
34:23Carol had
34:24died.
34:26The state
34:27of decomposition
34:27was such
34:28that the
34:29pathologist
34:29who carried
34:30out the
34:30post-mortem
34:31examination
34:31could not
34:35identify
34:35what the
34:37mechanism of
34:38death had
34:38been.
34:39What was the
34:40cause?
34:40Was it
34:41something organic?
34:42Was it
34:43some trauma?
34:44Whatever it was,
34:45it could not be
34:46ascertained what
34:47it was.
34:48Two post-mortems
34:50failed to
34:50establish a
34:51cause of
34:51death and
34:52police were
34:53really struggling
34:53to put a
34:55case against
34:56Harry together.
34:58When Harry
34:59was interviewed
34:59about his
35:00wife's death,
35:01he gave an
35:02unusual
35:03explanation.
35:04When police
35:05asked what
35:06had happened
35:06to Carol,
35:08Harry said
35:08that she
35:09had had a
35:09fit during
35:10a sex game
35:11gone wrong.
35:14He had
35:15actually said
35:16that she
35:17couldn't get
35:18out of the
35:18fit and
35:18then she
35:19had passed
35:20away and
35:20I think
35:20that was
35:21his only
35:22explanation
35:23ever.
35:25Jarvis told
35:26the police
35:26that he
35:27was so
35:28grief-stricken
35:28by Carol's
35:29death that
35:31he couldn't
35:31bear to
35:32part with
35:32her so he
35:33put her
35:33under the
35:34floorboards
35:34to stay
35:35close to
35:35her.
35:37Unable to
35:37establish a
35:38cause of
35:39death,
35:40it was hard
35:40for the
35:41police to
35:41prove that
35:42Harry Jarvis
35:43was lying
35:44about what
35:44had happened
35:45to Carol.
35:47but the
35:48search of
35:48his house
35:49had uncovered
35:50some love
35:50letters written
35:51by Jarvis and
35:53Rita.
35:54It was quite
35:55an odd
35:55relationship in
35:57that they
35:58would write
35:58love letters
35:59to each other
36:00even though
36:00she was
36:00living ten
36:02feet away
36:02in the
36:03garden shed.
36:05The notes
36:05that Harry and
36:06Rita shared
36:07with each other
36:07basically there
36:08was the
36:09usual
36:10I love you,
36:11I miss you,
36:12we'll be
36:12together forever
36:13thing.
36:15As investigating
36:16officers read
36:17through the
36:18letters,
36:19one note in
36:19particular caught
36:20their attention.
36:22He writes to her
36:23drugs doing
36:24their job,
36:25the over
36:26medication of
36:28Carol.
36:29It's just taking
36:30longer than I
36:30thought.
36:33We'll be together
36:34soon in
36:35paradise.
36:37Harry was making
36:39it clear that he
36:40wanted to be away
36:41from his wife,
36:42he would somehow
36:43dispose of her
36:44and he would go
36:45with Rita.
36:46And those were
36:47the messages he
36:48was giving Rita
36:49and at the same
36:50time he was
36:52acting in a
36:54manner towards
36:54his wife which
36:56was not in his
36:57wife's interest
36:59and detrimental
37:00to her health.
37:04The Jarvis
37:05children had
37:06noticed previously
37:07that their mum's
37:08condition improved
37:09when they were
37:10looking after her
37:11and these letters
37:13were proof that
37:14Harry Jarvis had
37:15been drugging his
37:16wife.
37:17The police were
37:18able to use this
37:19in the case
37:20against him and
37:21take him to court
37:22for the murder
37:23of Carol Jarvis.
37:25Harry Jarvis and
37:27Rita Hacer were
37:28charged by the
37:29police together with
37:31the murder of
37:32Carol Jarvis and
37:33associated charges
37:34also.
37:35Rita's lawyers
37:36applied for Rita
37:37to be tried
37:38separately to Jarvis
37:40and this application
37:41was granted by the
37:42court.
37:43In early 2011
37:45Harry's trial
37:46commenced at
37:47Edinburgh High
37:48Court.
37:49The prosecution
37:50team knew it
37:51would be difficult
37:52to persuade the
37:53jury as all of
37:54the evidence in
37:55the case was
37:56merely circumstantial.
37:58We were prepared
38:00by the police at
38:01the time to say
38:02that listen there's
38:03there's a possibility
38:05that it might not
38:07go our way.
38:09We were advised
38:11this and you know
38:12we don't really feel
38:14100% confident in
38:16this.
38:17Harry Jarvis
38:18maintained his story
38:19that Carol had died
38:20from a fit during
38:21sex and that he was
38:23not guilty of the
38:24murder but the love
38:25letters proved to be
38:26his downfall.
38:28The notes were a
38:29significant piece of
38:30evidence because it
38:31did indicate that
38:34Harry had malicious
38:36intent towards his
38:38wife.
38:40I remember the
38:42jury's eyes widening
38:44when that evidence
38:46was led.
38:47It seemed to me it
38:48plainly had an impact
38:49on them.
38:50Harry Jarvis was
38:51seen by the jury for
38:53the callous killer that
38:54he was and on the
38:5630th of March 2011
38:58they found him guilty
39:00of the murder of
39:01Carol Jarvis.
39:02Jarvis was sentenced
39:04to life imprisonment
39:06after a fairly
39:07lengthy trial.
39:09In view of the
39:09gravity of the crime
39:11that he'd been
39:11convicted of he must
39:13serve that minimum
39:13term of 15 years.
39:15In her own trial
39:17Rita Haster was
39:18acquitted of Carol's
39:19murder as there was
39:20insufficient evidence
39:22of her having any
39:23involvement in the
39:24killing.
39:25However her DNA had
39:27been found on the
39:27packing tape that
39:29Carol's body was
39:30wrapped in suggesting
39:31that she had helped
39:32Jarvis hide the body
39:34under the floorboards.
39:35On the evidence put
39:37to the jury Rita was
39:38found instead guilty
39:40of attempting to
39:41defeat the ends of
39:42justice and was
39:43sentenced to four and
39:44a half years in
39:45prison.
39:46Harry Jarvis was
39:49the main perpetrator
39:51in fact the sole
39:52perpetrator of the
39:53murder but that Rita had
39:57become embroiled with
39:58them and that Jarvis's
40:00manipulation had got
40:02her into that situation.
40:04He was the one person
40:06who really was in charge
40:09of what was going on.
40:11Harry Jarvis was sent to
40:13Addywell prison just five
40:15and a half miles from the
40:16home he shared with Carol
40:18and their children.
40:21For their kids the verdict
40:24was bittersweet.
40:26They gave the guilty
40:27verdict so we were kind of
40:30delighted and I guess you
40:32know the the after that you
40:37then start to sort of have
40:41the sort of feeling of you
40:43know what he's still our
40:44dad if you like you know
40:45and again it's that mixed
40:48emotions if you like.
40:50Whereby you're on a high
40:51but then you're thinking
40:52to yourself do you know
40:53what like he's still dad so
40:56it's difficult.
40:58On the 20th of April 2017
41:01six years into his life
41:03sentence Harry Jarvis reported
41:05pains in his chest to prison
41:07staff.
41:09He collapsed in his cell and
41:11attempts to resuscitate him
41:13proved to be fruitless.
41:14It was like half twelve I
41:17went and got the kids from
41:18school.
41:19As I came round the corner I
41:22clocked the police car sitting
41:24there and just something
41:25inside me was like I know
41:28why they're there.
41:29They got out of the car.
41:30I just said please please tell
41:33me he's dead and then that
41:35was it.
41:37The children of that
41:38marriage between Harry and
41:41Carol Jarvis were in the most
41:42awful situation.
41:44They had such a dilemma of
41:46trust.
41:47They had a dilemma of
41:48loyalty because their mum had
41:51gone and their dad had
41:53possibly been responsible for
41:55that but he was still their
41:57dad.
41:58For Graham the pain of his
41:59mother's murder still affects
42:01him.
42:02Yeah I can remember it like it
42:04was yesterday like down to the
42:05second.
42:06I'll always you know drive past
42:09the house and have a wee look
42:11or I'll sit there for five
42:12minutes.
42:13I always think to myself
42:14somebody's going to one day
42:15come out and go who are you
42:16because you keep appearing in
42:18your car and sit in there and
42:20I think it doesn't get any
42:22easier.
42:23By lying about the murder
42:25Harry Jarvis left his children
42:27with questions that will never be
42:28answered.
42:29I think the frustrating thing is
42:32we'll never know as well you know
42:33to what happened.
42:35But Harry Jarvis was somebody who
42:37acted for the sole benefit really of
42:41Harry Jarvis.
42:42He was a person clearly who thought
42:45only of himself.
42:46He has achieved nothing except
42:50killing an innocent vulnerable wife
42:54who'd born in four children and
42:58loyally stood by him despite the
43:00womanizing despite the drinking
43:01despite him disappearing despite
43:03him stealing the disability
43:05allowance and the carer's
43:06allowance.
43:07If there is a word for Jarvis beyond
43:11monster I would say it was
43:13despicable.
43:14His motivation for everything
43:15throughout his life was money from
43:17his you know fraudulent crimes
43:19deception everything Harry Jarvis
43:22did was motivated by money.
43:26On the face of it you know dad and
43:28Rita were planning to sort of live
43:31together and rather than dad just
43:33doing the easy thing and splitting
43:34up with mum he's obviously thought
43:37you know what the best way out of
43:38it is to take mum out the equation
43:41by hook or by crook.
43:43I know they say breaking's up are hard
43:45to do and stuff but surely there's
43:48an easier way out then sort of
43:50killing somebody.
43:54Jarvis was a callous killer with no
43:57empathy for his wife or children.
44:00After drugging and murdering Carol
44:02he hid her body under the floorboards
44:05and went on the run with his lover
44:07before spinning lies about what had
44:10happened. A selfish and narcissistic
44:13manipulator Harry Jarvis will be
44:16remembered as one of Britain's most
44:19evil killers.
44:22A finished
44:23Ahich
44:23a
44:23a
44:23good
44:24a
44:25a
44:50Transcription by CastingWords
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