Investigation Philip Smith (criminal)

smith contacted castle vale police station saying wished make statement rosemary corcoran s disappearance.


initial statement

when staff @ rainbow told him of corcoran s disappearance on 13 november, smith telephoned police station @ castle vale saying wished give statement. significantly, call came @ 4:00 pm, before body found in worcestershire had been positively identified corcoran s, , within hour smith had presented himself @ castle vale. detective constable ruth wilkins later recalled smith s phone call: said come police station inquiry , had seen [corcoran] on saturday night leave pub unknown man. insisted come on police station. said had been asked contact police else , gave mobile number.

in subsequent statement smith admitted being @ rainbow corcoran , male friend, claimed later separated when went public house, kerryman, , male friend ejected. smith said , corcoran went monte carlo s, nightclub in handsworth, , when left time later, corcoran confronted man described teddy boy, whom had argued @ kerryman. smith said man became aggressive, asked corcoran if wanted go home. claiming told him did not, said left her.

evidence , murder charge

the murder investigation, named operation green, led sir edward crewe, chief constable of west midlands police, , included 100 police officers , 50 support staff west midlands , west mercia forces. detectives viewed hundreds of hours of cctv footage, gathered more 100 separate exhibits , interviewed witnesses. evidence analysed scientists forensic science service (fss) in birmingham. martin whittaker, scientist headed fss team, spoke of huge volume of evidence: team pulled every strand of forensic evidence create kind of spider s web , in centre of all ... philip smith. in 20 years of working fss, have never had deal evidence in relation 1 suspect. quite overwhelming.

although smith maintained innocence, detectives gathered evidence linking him corcoran s death , of other 2 women. witnesses had seen him leaving rainbow both corcoran , hyde, , last person see them both alive. cctv footage around birmingham showed distinctive car visiting key locations linked investigation, , captured hyde getting out @ 1 point visit chemist. smith seen buying petrol filling station , driving near area hyde s body later discovered. corcoran seen on camera struggling smith outside monte carlo s. cctv footage showed him driving around bromsgrove, town close droitwich, after killing corcoran, , later film showed him returning birmingham. @ least 2 witnesses recalled seeing smith blood on him: motorist saw him buying petrol, , spoke smith appearance. smith told latter had been in fight, although had no visible signs of injury.

in addition evidence of witnesses , cctv cameras, there substantial forensic evidence linking him murders. investigators found on dozen bloodstains on car, on clothing , in flat, matching victims. there bloodstains on boots had kicked both corcoran , jordan, still wearing @ time of arrest. smith had tried clean clothes in bath of flat along pair of trousers belonging corcoran, , bag containing items belonging hyde discovered outside. detectives matched tyre marks car, had 4 different types of tyre, worcestershire murder scene , corcoran s body, on had driven. paintwork , fragments of glass found on jordan s body matched smith s car, including broken light cluster had thrown car s boot.

smith charged corcoran s murder on 17 november 2000 , remanded in custody following day. time death had been linked killing of hyde. police interviewed smith in connection deaths of hyde , jordan on 28 november , charged him murders 2 days later. while awaiting trial smith held category prisoner in high-security woodhill prison in buckinghamshire.