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00:03I'm Steve Keogh, a former Scotland Yard murder detective inspector.
00:08I'm going to take you deep inside murder investigations,
00:13opening my contacts book for the first time
00:17to reveal the secrets of what it really takes to be a murder detective,
00:21on the front line, exposing how we solve the most heinous of crimes.
00:31Welcome to Secrets of a Murder Detective.
00:40The murder of Rosina Coleman in May 2018
00:44was one of East London's most challenging cases.
00:47I'm going to be meeting a detective on the case
00:49to reveal what really happened, the pressures, the setbacks
00:52and the methods in the investigation that brought the killer to justice.
00:55My name is Clare Watts. I was a detective constable
00:58on a homicide team in the Metropolitan Police in 2018.
01:04At the time of this murder, I was new to the homicide team
01:08and it was quite challenging being the new detective constable
01:12on a fully established murder team.
01:14Hi, Clare. Lovely to meet you.
01:20Clare, the incident we're going to be talking about today was from May 2018.
01:25What were you doing back then? What was your role?
01:28I just joined the homicide team at Barking.
01:31It was my first week. We were on call.
01:34And my initial few days there was just helping out on older cases.
01:40So you'd literally just arrived on the murder teams.
01:43Yes. And they would have 24 hour, seven day a week responsibility
01:48to respond to any murders that came in.
01:50Yeah, that's correct.
01:51Actually been there on attachment a few months before.
01:55We received the call from the control room around lunchtime.
01:59So the information that I was aware of was that we had an elderly female
02:05deceased in her bungalow in a residential street far from Romford itself.
02:20They believed it was a murder because of the crime scene itself.
02:25So as a result, we gathered our belongings.
02:28I was the driver.
02:30We drove to the venue in Ashmore Gardens.
02:34It was the school run. The traffic was heavy.
02:38Yes, the HAT car is a Marks vehicle.
02:40So it also can be rapidly deployed to the scene.
02:44I'm Gary Harriman.
02:46I was a detective sergeant of the Metropolitan Police
02:49involved in the investigation's murder of Rosina Coleman.
02:53The HAT car is a vehicle.
02:56It's a term that's used for the team that were on call for that week.
03:00There'll be numerous detectives, detective sergeants
03:04and detective inspectors and police officers on that team
03:07who will deal with those serious incidents.
03:11We arrived safely and were met by local uniform officers,
03:17so the first on-scene officers,
03:20with local CID officers that had attended.
03:24There we had a verbal briefing, effectively on the street,
03:29outside the premises.
03:31And at that stage, nobody entered those premises
03:34because we had to decide how to control cross-contamination.
03:39We didn't want to cause any problems with potential forensics.
03:43What are you confronted with when you get there?
03:45What do you see?
03:46There's cordons in place, as they should be, at the end of the street.
03:51The decision was made that only the DS and the exhibits officer
03:56with the crime scene manager would enter.
03:59They obviously kitted out in those lovely white overalls and overshoes,
04:05gloves and went into the address.
04:08And I was left with the instructions to start doing the knocking on the doors
04:12and trying to get some information.
04:14One of the most important things, as well,
04:16was trying to understand if there were any witnesses around.
04:19What sort of things were you getting back when you were doing that?
04:22The street was a very quiet residential street.
04:25It did have a lot of elderly residents,
04:27so those people did answer the door and we were able to speak to them.
04:32But there was also returns that we had to conduct later on in the evening
04:36when most people get back from work.
04:39So whilst we're knocking on their doors,
04:42we are keeping an eye out for CCTV on-premises,
04:45ring doorbells and looking at the dash areas of vehicles
04:50that are parked for any dash cameras.
04:52So we did that,
04:54and that was spent all day effectively into the evening.
05:00And then whilst I'm doing that with my colleagues,
05:04the crime scene is being forensicated.
05:07So when I attended the scene,
05:09local officers had already secured it
05:11and forensics had gone into the venue.
05:13So the premises had been secured from the front and from the rear,
05:18because at that stage you don't know
05:19where the perpetrators have come into that venue.
05:23And forensics had gone in and put down blocks
05:27that I could walk on without disturbing the scene.
05:30And I was also aware from officers,
05:32the victim, Rosina Coleman, lived alone at that address.
05:35It was an 85-year-old woman.
05:37She was a grandmother and loved by all the residents who knew her.
05:41Once the crime scene had been finished forensication,
05:44I was permitted entry to the property.
05:47It was a pristine bungalow, well cared for and loved.
05:52And that's where I saw Rosina.
05:55She was lying prone on her back in the threshold of her bedroom.
06:01And I think that she would have been on her back
06:04because the paramedics had been working on her.
06:07And she reminded me of my mum.
06:08My mum was only about five years younger than her.
06:13So, you know, it's an interesting scene to go to.
06:17And I felt that I wanted to take part
06:21in trying to solve the murder of Rose for her family.
06:28I call her Rose because that's what she was called.
06:31Right.
06:32And I noticed that her head was closest to the door,
06:36to the bedroom, and that she was on her back.
06:39I noticed blood around her, on her neck area, on her skull.
06:47I also noticed that she was very well-groomed.
06:53She had, like, polished nails and manicured and pedicured.
06:58So that stuck out for me.
07:00And then after I finished, obviously, looking at Rose,
07:03I looked round the room.
07:05And you could just see cupboard doors open,
07:09bits of clothing hanging out of drawers and cupboards.
07:12So it was a chaotic...
07:14But you could tell a violent scene had occurred here.
07:19How did you feel when you were there in that house?
07:21You sort of give yourself a bit of a talking to.
07:24Try not to be emotional.
07:25It's difficult not to get emotional.
07:27But, you know, you get a lump in your throat.
07:29So, yeah.
07:30I investigated a lot of murders,
07:31but there are certain ones that do that,
07:34where, for me, it was children or vulnerable people.
07:37Rose was a vulnerable person.
07:38Mm-hm.
07:39Seeing someone that has lost their life,
07:43whose last moments are in that violent ending,
07:46it does give you that extra drive, doesn't it?
07:48Yeah, it does, definitely.
07:52Any crime scene, if it's a residential area,
07:57you know, it's normal for the neighbours to leave a curtain twitch,
08:01as you say, or come out and have a chat.
08:04They want to find out what's going on.
08:06Um, the issue with the murder,
08:10I think we cordoned off each end of the street.
08:13There was shock.
08:13Um, obviously they heard that Rose had died.
08:18Um, and there was a few people that were visibly upset.
08:23She had adult children and grandchildren.
08:27Um, so, yes, it was a big shock for that family
08:31and her neighbours and friends.
08:34Were there any signs of forced entry into Rose's home?
08:38No, not at all.
08:40So, you'd be looking for things like broken doors,
08:43broken windows, broken locks, there was none of that.
08:45So, what did that tell you about, potentially,
08:48how this had happened?
08:50Well, we knew the patio doors were open,
08:52so we knew that either someone has walked in,
08:57the opportunist has managed to walk in,
09:00but it also put in their minds
09:03that it could be someone that she knew
09:04and that that person was invited in,
09:08or they even had access to the property.
09:11In any murder investigation like this,
09:13all the detectives that are working on it need to come together,
09:17um, have team meetings
09:19to discuss what each of you have been doing,
09:24making others aware of what information
09:25and evidence is available.
09:27Did you all come together to discuss what had gone on?
09:30We did.
09:31We sat round and discussed what we'd established.
09:35What we got is, um, a residential bungalow.
09:38The patio doors were open.
09:40There was a messy search, untidy search, in the bedroom.
09:45It looked like property had been stolen.
09:47So, the likely scenario was a burglary that had gone wrong.
09:52Your team are working on the basis
09:55that one of the most likely scenarios for Rose's death is a burglary.
10:00And burglaries can happen in different ways.
10:02It could be where someone's broken into somebody's house,
10:05or it could be what's referred to as artifice burglaries,
10:08where someone essentially tricks their way in.
10:12Older people tend to be the victims of these, don't they?
10:15They do, yes.
10:16Um, I think they're a bit more trusting.
10:19And if they believe what the person's telling them,
10:21we'll grant them access to their premises.
10:25So, as a team, what were you doing to try and establish
10:27whether it was connected to one of these types of burglaries?
10:30So, we obviously had researchers that were looking into crime data patterns
10:37that were in that area,
10:39looking for any burglaries that had taken place with date parameters.
10:45Then they'd have to methodically go through and check
10:48to see what method was used, what items were stolen,
10:52whether there was any signs of actual breaking,
10:55or whether it was, as you say,
10:58being tricked into gaining access to a premises.
11:08Artifice burglaries are where a suspect will trick their way
11:13into somebody's home in order to steal.
11:16And more often than not, they will target elderly victims
11:20because they are more likely, in their eyes, to fall for their ruse.
11:25But this presents problems.
11:28By the very nature of the victims being older,
11:32they can quite often get confused
11:34and the information they give to police isn't always accurate.
11:39Plus, those that carry out these types of crimes
11:42are well practised in what they do
11:44and they use methods to prevent themselves being caught.
11:53Rosina Coleman would have been pronounced deceased at the scene
11:56and she would have been taken away to a mortuary awaiting a post-mortem.
12:00So, from the post-mortem,
12:02it was established that Rose suffered blunt,
12:06false trauma to her skull and her neck
12:10and she would have been hit 11 times.
12:15So, in the top of her skull, about here from behind and to her neck.
12:20We didn't know what the weapon was at that time,
12:23but it would have been a blunt, false weapon of some description.
12:28Just for me, when you describe that,
12:31that goes way beyond what is necessary to incapacitate, disable,
12:38whatever you want to do, an elderly lady,
12:41to hit them that many times, that's just...
12:47I mean, I can't even begin to start to describe how awful that is.
12:52No, it's dreadful.
12:53We knew that Rose had had a telephone conversation with her daughter
12:57and that would have been around 7.30 in the morning.
13:01And that was the last information we had of her being alive.
13:12So, Rose had a gardener, a stroke handyman,
13:16and he had gone round to the address to collect some work boots.
13:22And he initially got no reply and assumed she was in the bath,
13:29so went away and did a job.
13:30I think it was in Chadwell Heath.
13:32And then came back a bit later on.
13:36He's discovered her, um, covered in blood.
13:39He then calls 999.
13:42His name was Paul Prowse.
13:44And he, um, knew our victim, or Racina Coleman,
13:50for five to six years,
13:52and apparently treated like a member of the family,
13:56a frequent visitor at that address.
13:59So I would have known her layout of her home very well.
14:04So you essentially had this window
14:05between which Rose had been murdered.
14:08You had the...
14:08From the end of the telephone call with the daughter...
14:11Mm-hm.
14:11..and Paul discovering her body.
14:13Were you able to build up anything in between there,
14:16maybe from what she was doing during the day?
14:19No, we found that quite challenging,
14:20because had it been a younger victim
14:23who may have been on their phone
14:25or playing computer games or on social media,
14:28we didn't have that as, um, open to us as an option for a lead
14:33because of her... I assume because of her age,
14:36because I certainly know from my mum
14:38wouldn't be on the phone texting someone.
14:40It is quite difficult to track, uh,
14:44people of the age of Rosina, that is 85,
14:48as they very rarely use social media,
14:52uh, quite often not even using smartphones or computers,
14:56and therefore there is very little of a footprint
15:00for them to be found.
15:02My name is Chris Watts.
15:03I'm a digital forensic investigator.
15:05Uh, job that I've carried out for the last 31 years.
15:10In the early stages of a murder investigation,
15:12the murder team will be looking to trace the victims' movements.
15:17And to do that, they will be looking for CCTV,
15:21a mobile phone that may, uh, show where they've been,
15:25who they've been calling, who's been calling them.
15:31Rosie's home was treated as a crime scene.
15:33Was there anything significant found?
15:36There was, actually.
15:37There was a ripped part of a, uh, rubber glove or Gore-Tex glove
15:43that had been trapped in, like, a door of the cupboard.
15:48So we suspected the suspect had obviously left it there in...in a panic.
15:54That suggests someone who's forensically aware...
15:57Yeah.
15:57..who doesn't want their fingerprints or DNA found.
16:00And that's gonna...
16:01If you're dealing with a suspect like that,
16:04it's gonna make solving a crime more difficult, isn't it?
16:07It does,
16:07because they've obviously put some thought behind it
16:09before they've gone and committed that crime.
16:13So that was a bit of a red flag.
16:20So your team have put in a lot of work
16:22into trying to identify any burglars in the area.
16:25Were there any other lines of inquiry that you took as a team?
16:29Well, we have to keep an open mind
16:30so we would be looking at the person that found her.
16:34The person that, uh, called 999.
16:38Most witnesses, when they come to police,
16:39they'll make a statement on a piece of paper
16:41and they'll get to sign it.
16:42But those that are considered significant,
16:45ones that could hold some really important information,
16:47are dealt with in a different way, aren't they?
16:49They're dealt with either on video or tape.
16:52Is that how Paul, who discovered the body, was dealt with?
16:55That's right, yes, he was.
16:57So his initial account,
16:59when the first attending officers
17:01was on their body-worn camera recorded,
17:03and then later on when he gave his lengthy, um, account
17:08with our homicide detectives,
17:10then that would have been recorded as well.
17:14So part of the next steps of the investigation
17:17was obviously to, uh, look at people's accounts,
17:21obviously one of which was the handyman, Paul's,
17:24and that it had been noted that there was discrepancies.
17:28What were you seeing?
17:29We were seeing that, or we noticed,
17:31that he was getting muddled around his visits
17:36to the address and the timings.
17:38So, on one occasion,
17:40he said he was actually at Rose's premises,
17:44when, in fact, he was fixing a washing machine in Jabril Heath.
17:48So he couldn't have been where he said he was at that time.
17:56Then they start to look at...
17:58..the CCTV.
18:00So, at this stage,
18:01you're trying to build a picture of what went on.
18:03So you're collecting CCTV, ring doorbell,
18:06home address CCTV.
18:08You're making a house-to-house inquiries with residents.
18:12You're prioritising your forensics
18:14to hopefully establish who may have committed this offence.
18:18We did identify a couple of addresses
18:21that had CCTV cameras,
18:25generally covering their drive,
18:26but it would also cover part of the street
18:28that Rose's address was in.
18:31So both cameras that had been identified
18:34were set up where we needed an engineer to come out
18:37to, obviously, do the download.
18:40Once that had happened,
18:41and the engineers fed that CCTV back to you,
18:44was there anything significant on it?
18:45The team noticed on the footage from that street
18:50that there was this silver car
18:53passing by on a couple of occasions.
18:55PHONE RINGS
19:02Whilst digital evidence can be very compelling,
19:06it does not detract from the hard work
19:09of the murder detective
19:10who is out asking questions,
19:14knocking on doors,
19:15viewing hours and hours of CCTV footage
19:18to find that one little nugget of evidence
19:21that can really turn a case on its head.
19:25It's probably a Nissan driving up and down that road
19:30and around the area.
19:32Later on, we knew that Paul had a silver Nissan Micra,
19:37and we obviously put two and two together
19:41and realised that we should be looking at Paul.
19:50We wasn't happy with the account given by the handyman,
19:55and to corroborate the events of that day,
19:59I took a statement from his partner.
20:01I went round and spoke to her.
20:02I took a statement of his movements
20:05to try and get some more evidence.
20:07I took a statement from a resident
20:10where the handyman had been earlier that day.
20:12He provided me with details of the clothing
20:14that the handyman had been wearing.
20:16So what sort of things were you doing around Paul?
20:19Looking at the ANPR cameras,
20:22which identified his car.
20:25So Paul had stopped at a DIY store
20:28and bought a packet of latex gloves,
20:33and he then returned to the premises at 09.23 hours,
20:41or thereabouts.
20:43And then we know from the footage
20:45that his car is still in situ an hour and 40 minutes later,
20:50and he then returns back to his vehicle and drives away.
20:55Does it marry up with what he's saying in his witness accounts?
21:00No, not at all.
21:10Sometimes killers will try to stage a crime scene
21:13to make it appear as if something different has happened,
21:17maybe an accident or suicide.
21:19And they will spend a lot of time to try and achieve that.
21:23But there are certain evidential avenues
21:26that they have no control over.
21:28Phone records, CCTV, ANPR, and financial transactions.
21:34All evidential opportunities that they cannot influence at all.
21:39And invariably, it will be these that will catch them out.
21:44From the forensic examination, photography,
21:49the team were able to establish
21:51that Rose was assorted, physically assorted, in her bedroom.
21:58That she would have been killed that morning.
22:07Then, as the investigation developed,
22:10we was looking at CCTV footage of movements,
22:15looking at Paul's movements.
22:17We established that he had been at a job
22:24fixing a washing machine in Chadwell Heath.
22:27About half-eight then picked up on the camera in the DIY store,
22:31buying the Gore-Tex gloves at about 5 past 9.
22:35He's on camera again at 9.12 in Roses Street.
22:41So we can see him in his car,
22:43which was a Nissan Micra, silver,
22:46and was in her dress for that hour and 40 minutes.
22:50He gave an account that he had attended the address
22:55about half-past eight.
22:57He says to collect his work boots that he needed for a job.
23:00I mean, in fact, we knew that he was actually working
23:03on a washing machine at half-past eight.
23:07So that was one of the first lies that we established.
23:12And then, as it developed, he said he came back again
23:18at a different time to what is shown on the CCTV.
23:23And that's obviously when he goes into the bungalow
23:26and discovers that she's dead.
23:28And when we compared that footage
23:31for when he first turned up at the address
23:33and then his second returned to the address,
23:38he actually is in different clothing.
23:41He's changed his clothing.
23:42So, obviously, that's a red flag for us.
23:51So he completely missed out in both his interviews
23:54that he had gone to Roses' house,
23:57was there for an hour and 40 minutes,
23:59and on the way had stopped off and bought latex gloves.
24:03What were you thinking then when this information come through?
24:07The glove was the same colour
24:08as the ones from the packet in the DIY store.
24:12The officers that attended the DIY store
24:15would have got the receipt for that as well.
24:18I've been in that situation so many times
24:20where you're at the beginning of a murder investigation
24:23and you've got no idea where it's going to go.
24:26And if it is a burglary,
24:29that's going to be difficult to solve.
24:31But then something can happen in an inquiry,
24:35two or three bits of evidence fitting together,
24:37and it can change the whole direction of what you're doing.
24:40That's one of these moments, isn't it?
24:42Yep, it raised the status from a significant witness
24:46or person of interest to a suspect for a murder.
24:53So each morning we'd have a team meeting
24:55where we'd talk about the developments.
24:56I was a bit shocked as a day earlier
24:58and taking a statement from the handyman's partner.
25:02I had met the handyman,
25:03and I didn't believe that he could do anything so brutal.
25:06After the breakthrough was discussed in the meeting,
25:09the decision to arrest the handyman
25:11was made by the senior investigating officer.
25:13I attended the address of the handyman
25:15and arrested him for the offence of murder of Rosina Coleman.
25:22His reaction, he didn't say anything on reply to caution.
25:27He looked a bit in shock.
25:32Paul was arrested three days after the murder
25:35at his home address,
25:36and I was assigned to be the lead interviewer
25:40for his suspect interviews.
25:42You were what's known as an advanced interviewer?
25:45Yes.
25:45So you would have had extra training than many of your colleagues.
25:49Correct, yep.
25:50One of your first tasks would be to draw up,
25:54write up some what we call pre-interview briefing
25:58or pre-interview disclosure for the solicitor,
26:01for the legal representative of anyone being interviewed.
26:05That's correct.
26:05A lot of thought goes into that, doesn't it,
26:07of, well, what is it we're going to tell them
26:09before we interview them?
26:10And I decided that I would hold back on information
26:14because what I wanted to avoid
26:16was if you tell the whole evidential story to him,
26:22he can then fit a defence around it.
26:23I would only tell him what he knew the police knew.
26:28The fact that he called police,
26:31the fact that he knew Rose for a long time,
26:35and the fact that he had been seen in the street with his car.
26:44That resulted in no-comment interview throughout.
26:48I still ask questions,
26:49because it's my job to still ask those questions,
26:52and was met with no comment, no comment.
26:55So the first one being the no-comment interview.
26:57Yeah.
26:58Then we go into the second one.
27:00Yeah.
27:01Can you remember what more information you gave him on that second one?
27:03I gave him more information around that
27:06we knew that he'd been to the address on a couple of occasions,
27:13and he then, after his private consultation with his solicitor,
27:18decided he was going to speak freely,
27:20and he gave a very detailed account of his movements,
27:25but obviously missed out the fact that he'd actually been in her address
27:29for over, what, an hour and 40 minutes.
27:31So he never disclosed that.
27:39Also held back on the imagery from the DIY store as well.
27:45And that was obviously disclosed to him during that interview.
27:48That was at the end of interview two.
27:50My colleague had a laptop,
27:51so I knew at what point I was going to turn the laptop around and show him.
27:56Well, that's you turning up.
27:58That's you leaving.
28:00That's you talking to the officer,
28:03and he's captured you on body worn.
28:05And I could see you're in different clothing.
28:08So, and that's, at that point, it was like, shut down.
28:12I need to speak to my solicitor.
28:14During the interview process with Paul Prowse,
28:17I was aware that the rest of the team were engaged in other tasks,
28:21one of which was to search his home address,
28:24where they would be looking for the murder weapon,
28:29clothing that maybe have traces of rose,
28:34whether it be blood or skin matter, on his clothing.
28:39So your first interview was not giving him an awful lot, really,
28:43just telling him the basics that he would have known,
28:46that the police know. Yeah, exactly.
28:48Then he's been speaking for England in the second interview.
28:51So what's he going to tell us now?
28:53Now that we've delivered our evidence
28:55and shown him what we've got, we showed our hand,
28:58I was excited to know, is he going to go back to no comment
29:01or is he going to actually talk again?
29:04He wants to stop. He wants to speak to his solicitor.
29:07He hadn't accounted for what that CCTV showed.
29:10You then also disclosed to him, after this,
29:16the fact that he's been seen buying latex gloves.
29:21Yes.
29:21Gloves that match the part of the glove
29:25that's found at the scene in the wardrobe.
29:28Right.
29:29So the evidence is now building, building, building.
29:33He is in no doubt that it's not looking good for him.
29:41The role of the interviewing officer, Claire, was vital in this investigation.
29:47She is not known as an advanced interviewer.
29:50I mean, she would have spent weeks training in situations
29:54where actors would have come in,
29:57actors that would have provided a real challenge
29:59to test whether or not she has the ability to pass,
30:03because not everybody passes this course.
30:05It's a really difficult course.
30:07And I think the technique demonstrated by her in this case
30:13is a reflection of just how high-level these officers are.
30:24Which way did it go?
30:26He confessed.
30:28It totally blew my mind.
30:31So I obviously started the recording equipment,
30:34did the introductions, and then he just...
30:37I can't even remember his stance.
30:39He was like, hands here, and he said,
30:41Claire, I'm going to tell you everything.
30:46What did he say? What did he say happened?
30:48He said that he'd been round there for a cup of tea.
30:52They'd been chatting.
30:54Rose was walking him to the front door
30:55when she made some flippant comment along the lines of,
30:59I'll cheer up your silly sod, or something like that.
31:03And he said something flipped,
31:05and he then hit her with this hammer that he had in his hand.
31:10And then he realised,
31:12I've got to finish this because I can't leave her alive.
31:17And so he continued to hit her a further ten times with that hammer.
31:24But what he'd also said was that this occurred in the hallway.
31:29So we know no violent struggle or attack occurred in the hallway.
31:35It all took place in that bedroom.
31:40He decides that he's got to make it look like a burglary.
31:43So he opens up all the wardrobes,
31:46pulls out stuff from drawers, cupboards.
31:50He clearly was wearing gloves at the time,
31:53because obviously we've established that there was a glove,
31:57or partial, like a finger part of a glove,
31:59attached to one of the cupboards near to her safe,
32:03where she kept her jewellery.
32:05And he also disclosed that he did steal from her.
32:10He stole the diamond ring and also cosmetic jewellery.
32:18And he took some money, but he says not a lot,
32:22and then left.
32:25He then went home.
32:27What are you thinking as he's telling you this story?
32:31Part of me is obviously excited because we're getting a confession.
32:37His excuse was that he was in debt,
32:41and that he gave this scenario where apparently Rose made this flippant comment
32:48about, you know, cheering up.
32:50And that's how he reacted.
32:52I suspect, as did some of the team,
32:54that he was actually in her bedroom when she walks in on him,
32:59going through her stuff.
33:01And I think that Rose was going to call the police,
33:05and he had to stop her from calling the police.
33:07And he did that by hitting her with that hammer.
33:11When people confess, when they do it,
33:14they're not always being completely honest.
33:17Often they try and mitigate.
33:18He wanted to minimise potentially that, you know,
33:23in his eyes it wasn't premeditated,
33:25that it was just a thing that happened with his brain
33:29that just a comment by her triggered him to become violent.
33:32But I never believed that, as did my colleagues.
33:37One thing that kind of destroys that story are the gloves.
33:42Yeah.
33:43Why would he be wearing gloves if it was just a sparing moment thing?
33:50He reacted. It doesn't make sense, does it?
33:52No, not at all.
33:54Again, another lie that was uncovered and, you know,
34:00sealed his fate, shall we say.
34:06Mr. Prowse had previous convictions dating back to 1966,
34:12and I think 1994 for...
34:15Well, back in 1966 it would have come under the Larceny Act,
34:19which was theft offences and also a burglary offence.
34:24He was a gambler and owed lots of money,
34:28so was desperate for money.
34:30He wasn't earning lots of money working as a handyman.
34:35My thoughts at this time
34:36are with Rosina Coleman's family and friends,
34:39but also having met a partner of the handyman
34:43and her family,
34:45I felt upset for them knowing that
34:48a loved one could commit that brutal offence.
34:51Even though we had a confession,
34:53we need to make sure that we had all the evidence
34:55to prove the offence
34:58and confirm to a jury that Paul Prowse
35:01was the person who had killed Rosina Coleman.
35:04Once he started to confess,
35:08it was all fed back to the team then.
35:10And then once that was done,
35:12we could concentrate on getting more detail.
35:14Obviously, we wanted to find out where the metal weapon was,
35:17what did he do with his clothing?
35:20What's happened to all the stolen property?
35:23So that was what was going on in my mind.
35:26I had to steer myself back into getting that information.
35:30At any stage,
35:32Paul Prowse could have withdrawn his confession
35:36and we had to make sure
35:37we had all the evidence to secure our conviction.
35:49All murders are treated the same.
35:53You don't differentiate in the work you put in
35:56based on the type of victim.
35:59But, undoubtedly,
36:01you can become more emotionally invested in a case,
36:04particularly where there is a vulnerability around the victim.
36:08if they're a child or an elderly person.
36:12Now, that doesn't mean you put in more effort,
36:15but, undoubtedly,
36:16you can become more emotionally invested.
36:19And I think when it comes to Rosina's murder,
36:23the team that investigated it,
36:25that would be the same.
36:32So, members of the investigation team,
36:35including the SIO,
36:37would have physically gone
36:38and had a face-to-face with Rosie's family
36:41to tell them, you know,
36:42what has been disclosed in interview.
36:45Clearly, they were distressed
36:46by what was disclosed by Mr. Prowse.
36:49They were shocked, angry.
36:52Every emotion you could ever imagine.
36:55So, the third interview was the confession?
36:59Yeah.
36:59But you had a fourth interview.
37:01What was that about?
37:02So, we wanted to find out
37:04what he'd done with Rosie's items.
37:07We needed to find out
37:09what had happened to the murder weapon.
37:11And we wanted to find out
37:12what he'd done with the clothing he was wearing
37:14at the time of murdering Rose.
37:17So, we took in a map
37:19and asked him to point out
37:20where he'd discarded these items.
37:23And during that interview,
37:25also disclosed that the ring that he kept,
37:28the diamond ring,
37:29he had hidden that actually at his home address
37:32where he had like a brick-built shed
37:35at the end of his garden
37:37and there was a loose brick
37:38that he hid the diamond ring behind.
37:41So, as a result of that information,
37:42that was relayed to our team
37:45who then organised a specialist search team
37:48to come out and retrieve those items.
37:49I was aware the search of Paul Price's address
37:53had located a ring of Rosina Coleman's
37:57in his shed
37:58and that I was then directed
38:00to a river nearby the house
38:03where a bag was found
38:05containing the murder weapon,
38:07some clothing
38:08and other items of Rosina Coleman.
38:13The Pulsar search team
38:14that conducted the specialist searching
38:16of the River Rom
38:18retrieved the murder weapon
38:20which was a nylon hammer
38:21and retrieved Paul's clothing
38:24that he was wearing
38:25at the time of the murder.
38:26They were obviously submitted
38:27to the forensic science lab
38:29and they were able,
38:31even though it had been in the water
38:32for some hours,
38:34they was able to prove
38:35that Rose's DNA
38:38was on that hammer
38:40and her DNA was on his clothing.
38:46The evidence against Paul Price
38:49was overwhelming.
38:50The forensic linking him to the scene,
38:52the forensics in the bag
38:53with a murder weapon,
38:55the CCTV showing
38:56that he'd lied to police
38:57with his account
38:58of finding Rosina Coleman
39:00deceased in the address.
39:03These were all strong
39:05piece of evidence.
39:06So what you and the team
39:09have done
39:09is built up
39:12a substantial case
39:14against him.
39:16Overwhelming.
39:17Overwhelming.
39:18Which is going to then
39:19put him in a position
39:20because he is now charged
39:21with Rose's murder.
39:23Yeah.
39:23He is going to go to court
39:25and he's got two options.
39:26You either plead guilty
39:29or not guilty.
39:30Not guilty,
39:30you have a trial.
39:32Yeah.
39:32Guilty, obviously not.
39:40Port Price plead guilty
39:42to the murder of Rosina Coleman,
39:45Elliot Bailey.
39:51And was sentenced to a minimum
39:55of 22 years imprisonment.
40:00So he pleaded guilty to murder.
40:02Mm-hmm.
40:03Got a minimum sentence,
40:04a life sentence.
40:05Yeah.
40:05With a minimum of 22 years.
40:07Yeah.
40:08Meaning there will be
40:09that amount of time
40:09before he can apply for parole.
40:11Correct, yeah.
40:12How do you feel
40:14when you reflect
40:15on that sentence?
40:18Well,
40:20I would have preferred
40:21that he got longer,
40:23but...
40:24Gets credit for that.
40:24Credit, yeah.
40:25So the judge gave him credit
40:27for his plea of guilty.
40:29So,
40:30it was satisfying
40:33that that family
40:34didn't have to go to trial
40:36and sit and listen
40:37to all the evidence
40:39that they would have to listen to.
40:41It would be very graphic
40:43and very distressing for them.
40:47I suppose importantly
40:48for Rose's family,
40:50what would have been
40:50the most significant
40:53then would have been
40:54the engagement ring.
40:55Definitely, yeah.
40:57It transpires,
40:58I think it was worth
40:59about £7,000
41:00at that time.
41:05So,
41:06my overall impression
41:07of Mr Prowse as a person
41:09is someone
41:11that got himself
41:12into such a mess
41:14financially.
41:17And I think
41:19he believed that
41:20Rose was wealthy
41:23and that he could use
41:25his position of trust
41:28to actually take
41:31items from her
41:33to raise money
41:34for his debts.
41:35We do know subsequently
41:37that,
41:38this is from Rose's family,
41:40that
41:41Rose had said
41:42to her family
41:43that things
41:44keep going missing
41:45in the house
41:46or in the bungalow.
41:48And they initially
41:49put it down to
41:50well,
41:51she is in her 80s,
41:52she's just getting
41:53a bit forgetful.
41:54So,
41:55they never
41:57regarded
41:57Paul then
41:58as someone that would
41:59do something like that.
42:00It's very rare
42:01for someone
42:02to confess to a murder.
42:04even though the evidence
42:05points to them
42:06committing the offence.
42:07The family of
42:08Rosina Coleman
42:09will never see her again.
42:11It's 22 years
42:12life imprisonment,
42:13justice
42:14for the family
42:15in regards to
42:17the time that Paul
42:18Prowse must serve.
42:20In this tragic case
42:22where Rosina
42:22was murdered
42:23in her home,
42:25digital forensics
42:26helped alongside
42:27other forensics
42:28thinking about
42:30the latex glove
42:31and the CCTV.
42:34Rosina's family
42:35were able
42:36to get justice
42:38at the end
42:39of the day.
42:41When you reflect back
42:43on the investigation
42:44into
42:44Rose's murder,
42:45how do you feel about it?
42:47I have satisfaction
42:48and
42:50I suppose
42:51I'm quite proud
42:51of that confession
42:52and it's very important
42:54to the family mainly.
42:59Claire, you had a fantastic career
43:01which you finished
43:01on the murder teams.
43:03What was your journey
43:04getting there?
43:05I first joined
43:06as a uniform officer
43:07as a probationer
43:08for two years
43:09and then decided
43:11I wanted to be
43:11a detective
43:13and trained
43:14to be a detective.
43:14so I then went on to
43:17a robbery squad
43:19and then
43:20investigated
43:22anything from
43:24child protection
43:24matters,
43:25domestic violence
43:26matters,
43:27all the way up to
43:28and beyond
43:29stranger rapes.
43:30this gave me the skills
43:32that I wanted
43:33to accumulate
43:34before I ended up
43:35on the homicide team
43:36because that was my dream.
43:37So after
43:38those 28 years
43:39you
43:40made it onto
43:41a homicide team.
43:42Mm-hmm.
43:43Which
43:44is
43:45majority
43:45men at all ranks,
43:47particularly at the
43:48more senior ranks.
43:49Correct, yeah.
43:51How was
43:52that experience
43:53as a female
43:54officer there?
43:55Well,
43:56for me
43:56I found it
43:58quite positive
44:00I was quite confident
44:01and would
44:02put my name
44:03forward for
44:04you know
44:05various roles
44:06because I wanted
44:07the important roles.
44:08I was coming
44:09to the twilight years
44:10of my career
44:11and I wanted
44:12to
44:13take part
44:14in important roles
44:15and I knew
44:16that I had the skills
44:17and the confidence
44:18to deal with that.
44:19So essentially
44:20are you telling me that
44:21for you
44:22you didn't feel
44:23that being a female
44:25on the team
44:25I wasn't overlooked.
44:26I believe I had
44:27the same opportunity
44:29as my male colleagues.
44:31I was
44:31asked to do
44:33important roles
44:34like they were
44:34asked to do
44:35important roles.
44:36So a positive
44:38experience.
44:39For me
44:39looking
44:40at
44:42Rose's murder
44:43who died
44:44in the most
44:46horrific
44:47circumstances.
44:49you as an individual
44:53managed to
44:55turn somebody
44:56who was going
44:58no comment
44:59in an interview
45:00turn that into
45:02someone giving
45:03a false account
45:04and turn that into
45:06which is
45:07incredibly rare
45:09a confession.
45:11Definitely.
45:12the work that you
45:13did as an individual
45:14undoubtedly
45:15contributed
45:17to justice
45:19for Rose's
45:20family.
45:21So just on their
45:22behalf I'd like to
45:23thank you
45:24for the work you did
45:25which I think is
45:26absolutely outstanding.
45:27Very satisfying.
45:28Absolutely outstanding.
45:29Well done.
45:40Crime dramas often give
45:41a false impression
45:42of police interviews
45:44particularly
45:45in the case of
45:46murderers
45:46who rarely speak
45:47to you.
45:48The fact that
45:49Claire was able to
45:50get this suspect
45:51to not only speak to her
45:52but then confess
45:54to the crime
45:55was a reflection of
45:56what an outstanding
45:57detective she clearly was.
46:00In the past.
46:07In the past.
46:15In the past.
46:18In the past.
46:20In the past.
46:24In the past.
46:28In the past.
46:34Thank you for looking