Bernard Michael Oliver (1950 – January 1967) was a young

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

warehouse worker from

Muswell Hill Muswell Hill is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The hill, which reaches over above sea level, is situated north of Charing Cross. Neighbouring areas include Highgate, Hampstead Garden Suburb, East Finchl ...

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nort ...

. He disappeared on 6 January 1967, and his remains were found ten days later in the village of

Tattingstone Tattingstone is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England on the Shotley peninsula about south of Ipswich. The 2011 Census recorded the population as 540. History The Domesday Book of 1086 records the toponym as ''Tatituna'' or ''Tatist ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. His body had been cut into eight pieces and left in two suitcases. For this reason the crime is sometimes referred to as the Tattingstone Suitcase Murder. The case received widespread media attention, partly because police, unable to identify the body, took the unusual step of releasing a photograph of the victim's head to the media. The murder remains unsolved.

Disappearance and murder

On Friday, 6 January 1967, Oliver did not return home after spending the evening with friends, and was reported missing by his father the following morning. Several days later, on 16 January, farm worker Fred Burggy discovered human remains in two suitcases left behind a hedge in a field near the village of

. It was believed that the murder had occurred around 48 hours before the discovery of the body. Post-mortem tests showed that Oliver had been

sexually assaulted Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...

and

strangled Strangling is compression of the neck that may lead to unconsciousness or death by causing an increasingly hypoxic state in the brain. Fatal strangling typically occurs in cases of violence, accidents, and is one of two main ways that hanging ...

before his body was

dismembered Dismemberment is the act of cutting, ripping, tearing, pulling, wrenching or otherwise disconnecting the limbs from a living or dead being. It has been practiced upon human beings as a form of capital punishment, especially in connection with ...

. Unable to determine the identity of the victim, police took the unusual step of releasing a photograph of the victim's head to the media. Oliver's family contacted the police after seeing the photograph.

Investigation

The police investigation was initially headed by

Detective Superintendent Superintendent (Supt) is a rank in the British police and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries, the full version is superintendent of police (SP). The rank is also used in most British Overseas Territories ...

Tom Tarling of East Suffolk Police, before being taken over by Detective Superintendent Harry Tappin of the

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

. The location of the murder has never been identified, although police believed that the murder and dismemberment had taken place in Suffolk. Following the murder, witnesses reported sightings of Oliver in and around the

area in the time between his disappearance and the discovery of his body. In Tattingstone, a witness said she saw “a man, who was middle-aged and wearing a dark

trilby A trilby is a narrow-brimmed type of hat. The trilby was once viewed as the rich man's favored hat; it is sometimes called the "brown trilby" in Britain Roetzel, Bernhard (1999). ''Gentleman's Guide to Grooming and Style''. Barnes & Noble. and ...

and a long trench coat, walking in the direction of Tattingstone on the

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...

road, carrying a suitcase” on the night the suitcases were left. Several pieces of physical evidence were recovered. One of the two suitcases used to contain Oliver's remains bore the initials “P.V.A.”. The laundry mark “QL 42” was also found on a hand towel inside one of the two suitcases. A matchbox found in the pocket of Oliver's jacket was from a brand of matches marketed in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. The investigation was re-opened in 1977. In 2012, a man reported seeing two unattended suitcases and a man wearing medical gloves in the

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

docks area days before Oliver's body was discovered. The investigation was once again re-opened in 2017 when police appealed for any information concerning the murder.

Suspects

In 2004, documents released under the

Freedom of Information Act 2000 The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (c. 36) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that creates a public "right of access" to information held by public authorities. It is the implementation of freedom of information legislation ...

revealed that the

prime suspect ''Prime Suspect'' is a British police procedural television drama series devised by Lynda La Plante. It stars Helen Mirren as Jane Tennison, one of the first female Detective Chief Inspectors in Greater London's Metropolitan Police Service, who ...

s in the murder were two medical doctors, Martin Reddington and John Byles. Martin Bruce Reddington (26 June 1931 – May 1995) had a surgery in Muswell Hill. In 1965 a warrant had been issued for Reddington's arrest on charges of buggery and

indecent assault Indecent assault is an offence of aggravated assault in some common law-based jurisdictions. It is characterised as a sex crime and has significant overlap with offences referred to as sexual assault. England and Wales Indecent assault was a broad ...

of males. However, before inquiries could be completed, he left the UK for

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. Reddington made a number of return visits to the UK, but no evidence has been found placing him in the vicinity of the murder. In 1977, a private investigator claimed to recognise the suitcase with the initials P.V.A. on its side as belonging to three men who used a laundrette in Muswell Hill, one of whom was Reddington. Reddington was never interviewed in connection with the offence, and it was decided there was insufficient evidence to extradite him from

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. In 1977 Reddington was charged in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

with committing an indecent assault on a male. He died in May 1995, aged 63. John Roussel Byles (27 January 1933 – 19 January 1975) was acquitted along with another man in November 1963 of assaulting a 16-year-old male at their flat in

Earl's Court Earl's Court is a district of Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London, bordering the rail tracks of the West London line and District line that separate it from the ancient borough of Fulham to the west, the ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Byles left the UK for Australia in the early 1970s when inquiries began into the

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...

of boys aged between 9 and 14 in

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

. On 17 December 1974, Byles was arrested in Sydney in relation to an alleged indecent assault on a boy, but absconded on $2,000 bail. His body was found in a room of the Prince of Wales Hotel in Proserpine,

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

on 19 January 1975. He left two suicide notes, one addressed to Scotland Yard, the other to Reddington. The note to the police contained an apology for his actions, but no direct reference was made to the Tattingstone murder. Reddington and Byles are also said to have been suspects in the murder of a boy in London in 1973, following an apparent,

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

relationship. At this time homosexuality was only

legal Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

between two consenting male adults aged 21 and above.

Joe Meek Robert George "Joe" Meek (5 April 1929 – 3 February 1967) was an English record producer, sound engineer and songwriter who pioneered space age and experimental pop music. He also assisted in the development of recording practices like over ...

(5 April 1929 – 3 February 1967) was a record producer and songwriter who ran a recording studio at 304

Holloway Road Holloway Road is a road in London, in length. It is one of the main shopping streets in North London, and carries the A1 road as it passes through Holloway, in the London Borough of Islington. The road starts in Archway, near Archway Under ...

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

, in North London. Police in the Oliver investigation announced their intent to interview all of the homosexual men in London. This would have included Meek, following a 1963 conviction for “importuning for immoral purposes” in a public toilet. Some accounts claim that Meek was afraid of being questioned. It was rumoured that Oliver had worked as a tape-stacker in Meek's studio. On 3 February 1967, Meek killed himself after murdering his landlady, Violet Shenton. Reginald Kray (24 October 1933 – 1 October 2000) was a gangster from the

East End of London The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

, sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

along with his brother Ronald in 1969 for the murders of

George Cornell George Cornell (13 November 1927 – 10 March 1966) was an English criminal and member of The Richardsons, who were scrap metal dealers and criminals from South London. Cornell was shot and killed by Ronnie Kray at The Blind Beggar public hou ...

and

Jack McVitie Jack McVitie (19 April 1932 – 29 October 1967), best known as Jack the Hat, was an English criminal from London during the 1950s and 1960s. He is posthumously famous for triggering the imprisonment and downfall of the Kray twins. He had acted ...

. In September 2000, Kray confessed to a previously unknown murder while being interviewed for the BBC documentary ''Reggie Kray: The Final Word''. A former cellmate of Kray's, Pete Gillett, claimed that Kray had also confessed the murder to him, and that the victim was “a young gay boy”. It has been suggested that this is a reference to Oliver's murder, although the confession is widely believed to relate to the disappearance of Edward “Mad Teddy” Smith in 1967. The Kray brothers were sent to Suffolk as evacuees during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and bought a house at Bildeston – approximately from Tattingstone – in 1968.

In popular culture

The murder of Bernard Oliver forms part of the background to the 1998 novel ''The Long Firm'', by

Jake Arnott Jake Arnott (born 11 March 1961) is a British novelist and dramatist, author of ''The Long Firm'' (1999) and six other novels. Life Arnott was born in Buckinghamshire. Having left Aylesbury Grammar School at 17, he had various jobs includin ...

References

External links