Persons Unknown

GCHQ, the UK government’s intelligence and cyber agency, recruited Welsh-born Gareth Williams in 2000 when he was still at university completing a PHD. He had come to their attention due to his extraordinary intellect, problem solving abilities and computer wizardry. By the time Gareth was 31 he had spent a decade protecting the national security of the UK and had been involved in several projects and missions of global importance. In August 2010 whilst he was on secondment with MI6, the secret intelligence service, Gareth’s dead body was found curled up inside a holdall in the bath tub of his central London flat. The bag had been padlocked shut and the keys were found inside the bag under Gareth’s body. Gareth’s fingerprints were not found on the padlock or the bath tub and Gareth was not wearing gloves. 

Sources

• www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-56158160.amp
• www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/retired-police-boss-reveals-possible-19789399.amp
• www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/mi6-spy-gareth-williams-was-killed-russia-refusing-become-double-agent-former-kgb-man-claims-a6670196.html%3famp
• www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8924617/amp/NORMAN-BAKER-body-bag-spy-Gareth-Williams-murdered-Russians-smeared-MI6.html
• www.theweek.co.uk/66231/how-did-spy-in-a-bag-gareth-williams-die%3famp
• www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/extraordinary-life-death-spy-found-15308075.amp
• https://www.buzzfeed.com/tomwarren/secrets-of-the-spy-in-the-bag
• www.bbc.com/news/uk-24927078.amp
• https://www.channel4.com/news/search/Gareth+Williams
• www.thesun.co.uk/news/15348401/clues-spy-in-bag-gareth-williams-dna/amp/
• amp.theguardian.com/uk/2012/may/02/gareth-williams-death-mi6
• www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/mi6-spy-gareth-williams-was-killed-russia-refusing-become-double-agent-former-kgb-man-claims-a6670196.html%3famp
• amp.theguardian.com/world/2010/nov/20/gareth-williams-spy-mi6
• www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17922388.amp
• www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24927078.amp
• www.thesun.co.uk/news/15348401/clues-spy-in-bag-gareth-williams-dna/amp/
• https://www.buzzfeed.com/tomwarren/secrets-of-the-spy-in-th

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Over an 18 month period between 1971 and 1973 three girls aged 10 and 11 years old were abducted and murdered in the City of Rochester upstate New York, USA. Their names were Carmen Colon, Wanda Walkowicz and Michelle Maenza. They all had first and second names that began with the same initial, and each girl’s body was found in a town which began with the same initial as their name.
 
 
 Sources:
 
 amp.theguardian.com/world/2012/may/26/alphabet-murderer

www.unsolvedcasebook.com/the-alphabet-murders/

amp.democratandchronicle.com/

killertales.com/2020/05/22/the-dark-and-disturbing-double-initial-murders/amp/

https://medium.com/the-true-crime-edition/richard-davis-had-more-victims-3a1d2bbebdd8

https://philosophyofcrime.com/the-murder-of-michelle-maenza/https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/

amp.democratandchronicle.com/amp/77384622

eu.democratandchronicle.com/videos/news/2018/03/07/double-initial-murders-carmen-colon-10-killed-1971/32696431/

amp.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/6mm3ml/the_alphabetdoubleinitial_killer_

https://13wham.com/news/local/state-police-pushing-for-new-leads-in-1973-double-initial-murder-case

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1377768/amp/Double-initial-serial-killer-suspect-boxes-notes-detailing-grisly-plans-torture-kill-women.html

https://web.archive.org/web/20191228214839/https://www.whec.com/news/double-initial-murders-was-it-the-work-of-one-killer/5255196/

https://www.websleuths.com/forums/threads/ny-the-alphabet-killings-rochester.80812/

https://digitalcommons.bard.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=senproj_s2020

amp.democratandchronicle.com/

amp.democratandchronicle.com/amp/3757645

nbcmontana.com/amp/news/local/dna-identifies-killer-in-missoula-cold-case-46-years-later

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It was the school holidays in April 1959 when the bubbly and confident 6 year old Carol Stephens was sent by her mum on an errand to the local shop in the Cathays area of Cardiff. When she returned she quickly dropped off the shopping and hurried back out of the front door determined not to let the rainy Welsh weather stifle her fun. Carol never came home and two weeks later her tiny body was found in a remote area of West Wales 90 km from her home. 

Sources:

https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
Western Mail Archive from April to September 1959. (Subscription required)

www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/cardiff-murder-cathays-carol-schoolgirl-19261395.amp

www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/cardiff-murder-cathays-carol-schoolgirl-19261395.amp 

BBC Wales “Darklands:Hunting the killers. 2020

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During the summer of 1990, in Llangollen, North Wales, 52 year old antiques dealer Trevaline Evans put a sign on her shop door which read “back in 2 minutes”. She popped across to a local market stall and purchased some fruit for her lunch. Around an hour and a half later a witness saw Trevaline walking near her home, a short distance from her shop. There have been no confirmed sightings of Trevaline since then. Did she choose to disappear? Was there an unfortunate accident? Or was she the victim of foul play by persons unknown?

Sources 

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/mystery-disappearance-trevaline-evans-almost-16318987.amp

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/murderer-who-killed-two-women-20734326.amp

https://medium.com/mystery-confidential/the-mysterious-disappearance-of-trevaline-evans-8c9d6ebccd7c

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/truecrimeengland.wordpress.com/2020/09/02/unsolved-the-disappearance-of-trevaline-evans/amp/

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/plaque-memory-antiques-dealer-mysteriously-19616661.amp

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/serial-killer-linked-to-21-year-old-case-152988.am

https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2011/06/10/ligus-im-a-natural-born-killer/

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/trevaline-evans-new-appeal-over-8445933.amp

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-37450337.amp

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/killer-christopher-halliwell-trophy-items-20322677.amp

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On a Saturday afternoon in September 1956 Jean Chalinder took advantage of her day off from work and headed out on her bicycle. She had decided to make her way to some farmland just a half-hours ride away from her home in the Penylan area of Cardiff. 

It should have been a pleasant time picking blackberries in the beautiful Welsh countryside and enjoying the autumnal sights and fresh air. What actually transpired was one of the most brutal murders the Welsh capital had ever witnessed and a hunt for a killer that continues to this day.

 
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 For more information about this case including resources and photographs please seek us out on Facebook and Instagram at Persons Unknown Podcast. 

Resources for this episode: 

The Western mail archive at https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk  (Subscription is required)

 http://www.unsolved-murders.co.uk

 https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/60-years-ago-week-newlywed-11931176

 “Manuel. Portrait of a Serial Killer” by A.M Nicol. Black and White Publishing 2008. Buy it here https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00AQXC720/ref=dbs_a_w_dp_b00aqxc720

 https://m.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/search-for-relatives-of-a-derry-woman-who-was-killed-in-1954-40337592.html

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Website with Transcripts:
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