Who was Georgina Edmonds and how was Matthew Hamlen caught?
THE horrific death of Georgina Edmonds sparked a mystery as police tried to track down the culprit.
The pensioner, who was murdered in her own home, was finally brought justice in 2016 when her killer Matthew Hamlen was jailed after two trials.
Georgina Edmonds, 77, was murdered in January 2008
Who was Georgina Edmonds?
Georgina Edmonds was a 77-year-old widow who lived alone at her home in the village of Brambridge, Hampshire in South East England.
She was described as an “independent character who walked her two cocker spaniel dogs, drove her own car and did her shopping locally”.
Mrs Edmonds did have restricted mobility.
The pensioner was found dead in the kitchen of her riverside cottage in a pool of blood by her son, Harry, who lived in a larger house on the same estate.
She had been bludgeoned and stabbed to death.
When was Georgina Edmonds’ murdered?
Georgina Edmonds was murdered on January 11, 2008.
She was stabbed 37 times with a knife on her chest, neck and upper back before being beaten with a marble rolling pin broke into three pieces.
Her death sparked a two-year manhunt and almost 2,000 DNA samples were taken from local people in an attempt to identify her killer.
Who is Matthew Hamlen?
Matthew Hamlen was an electrician from Bishopstoke, Hampshire.
At the time of Mrs Edmonds murder he was married and had one child.
He was was found guilty of the 2008 murder of Mrs Edmonds in 2016 and was sentenced to life with a minimum of 30 years in prison.
He was originally charged with her murder in 2010 but was cleared in 2012.
In 2014, following a relaxation of the double jeopardy law, which had previously prevented anyone being tried for the same crime twice, he was re-arrested.
Following fresh evidence, a six-week trial was held at Winchester Crown Court, where Hamlen was then convicted.
Hamlen had a history of domestic violence and cocaine use, was suspected of dealing drugs – and was thought to be considerably in debt.
He had always denied any involvement in the killing and told police that he could not remember if he had been to the scene of the murder on the day Mrs Edmonds was killed.
What is Double Jeopardy?
Up until 2003, in English law, a defendant could not be tried a second time on the same charges after they had been acquitted under the double jeopardy law.
The 2003 Criminal Justice Act, however, now allows the Court of Appeal to quash an acquittal and order a retrial when “new and compelling” evidence is produced.
The legislation applies to up to 30 offences including manslaughter, kidnap, rape, armed robbery and a number of serious drugs crimes.
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How was Matthew Hamlen caught?
Hamlen was caught after new DNA evidence linked him to the crime scene.
DNA on Mrs Edmonds’s clothing was found to be 26 million times more likely to come from Hamlen than from anyone else, the court heard.
Mobile phone analysis also placed him close to Mrs Edmonds’s house on the day of the murder and DNA found on the rolling pin was also likely to come from Edmonds.
Prosecutors argued CCTV footage of an unidentifiable man trying to withdraw £200 from a cash machine using the victim’s debit card on the same night of the murder was of Hamlen.
The jury of nine men and three women took four hours to reach their unanimous verdict after a six-week trial at Winchester crown court.
In October 2016 Hamlen’s defence team lodged an appeal, arguing his conviction was unsafe.
The appeal was rejected at the Royal Courts of Justice.