The mystery of who killed Jill Dando has prompted a number of theories since her death 25 years ago.
Friday marks a quarter of a century since much-loved TV star Jill Dando was gunned down on her doorstep in Fulham, South-West London. The Crimewatch presenter, at the height of her career, was shot at around 11.30am on April 26, 1999. One man was convicted but later acquitted and the murder remains unsolved.
A jilted lover
In the early stages of the investigations, rumours began to swirl around Ms Dando’s love life and the possibility that she was murdered by a former lover.
Following her murder, her personal life was subject to scrutiny, with detectives analysing her phone calls, and diaries and interviewing countless friends and acquaintances.
Ultimately, each of the men who had formed romantic relationships with the presenter were swiftly ruled out of the investigation.
Barry George
George was the only man to ever be put on trial for Jill’s murder. He lived near her home and had a history of sexual offences. A search of his flat revealed part of a gun holster, a list of firearms, and some news media coverage of Jill. There was also a photo of a man holding a handgun and wearing a gas mask, but George denies it is him.
George has insisted: “I never met her in my life, didn’t know who she was. The police, over and over grilled me about it.”
A particle of gunshot residue in his inside jacket pocket led to a guilty conviction and he spent eight years in prison, but after an appeal spearheaded by his sister, Michelle Bates, the gunshot evidence was dismissed and the conviction quashed.
Top lawyer Michael Mansfield KC, who defended George, insists: “The file should still be open. They should be looking.”
Serbian hit
Just 48 hours after Jill was killed, the theory appeared that the TV presenter was killed by a Serbian hitman.
Twenty days before her death, she had presented a Kosovo Crisis Appeal that had raised more than £1million in 24 hours in support of those refugees fleeing the Balkans.
Days before the murder, NATO bombed a TV station in Serbia, killing 16 employees. Jill’s agent Jon Roseman said: “We had a lot of mail, but not usually threatening. Then we received a letter that mentioned the appeal she had given earlier that month for Kosovo. It seemed to be somewhat threatening.”
The BBC received a phone threat within hours of the murder from an unidentified man with an Eastern European-sounding accent, who said: “Tell your prime minister in Belgrade 15 people were killed, so 14 more to go”.
The day after another caller with the same accent said: “Yesterday I called to tell you to add a few more numbers to the list.
“Your Government and Prime Minister Blair murdered, butchered, 17 innocent young people who work…like make-up artists, electrical technical engineers and these type of people. “
He butchered, we butcher back. The first one you had yesterday. The next one will be (then-BBC News chief executive) Tony Hall.”
Underworld crime gangs
One common theory was that she was murdered by a professional hitman in revenge for her work as a Crimewatch presenter. During the police investigation, detectives discounted up to 30 people who had reason to resent the crime programme, while convicted contract killers were visited in prison for information.
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Mistaken identity
A fresh theory emerged in 2022 during the court case of French former Elite model agency boss, Gerald Marie. Papers submitted to a Paris court alleged Marie wanted undercover female journalist Lisa Brinkworth ‘dealt with’ for exposing his firm.
In 1998, Lisa had been sent to join the giant modelling agency and covertly film for a BBC programme called MacIntyre Undercover. When the programme aired, Marie sued and the company had to pay £1.7 million in damages.
Then years later, Marie was accused of sexual assaults and rapes involving at least 11 other women, and Lisa came forward. Legal documents referred to a conversation in which Marie was overheard by staff ordering a member of the Russian mafia to ‘deal with a problem’ - but it’s suggested the assassin went on to kill the wrong target.
The documents from French law firm Bourdon & Associes states: “Shortly thereafter… a BBC journalist, Jill Dando, was shot dead in April 1999”, and draws similarities between Lisa and Jill, both being blonde journalists of the same stature in their thirties. Plus, they “lived close to each other and had people in common, including the (fiance) of Jill Dando”.
Jimmy Savile
Since the death of paedophile Jimmy Savile theories emerged that Jill had been investigating a paedophile ring at the BBC during the 1990s, prompting a revenge attack. The BBC said it had found no such evidence of such a claim.