What is The Pembrokeshire Murders based on and when were they?-Alistair McGeorge and Pierra Willix-Entertainment – Metro

The Pembrokeshire Murders tells the story of a two double murders (Pictures: ITV)

In 2009 serial killer John Cooper was arrested after police used an episode of an old game show to identify him as a suspect in two double murders decades earlier.

In December 1985 Cooper had targeted a three-storey farmhouse at Scoveston Park in Wales, killing brother and sister Richard and Helen Thomas before burning down the house.

Then, four years later, he robbed and murdered couple Peter and Gwenda Dixon, who were on a coastal walk while on holiday in Pembrokeshire.

In subsequent years he also attacked five youngsters, threatening them with a gun, sexually assaulting one girl and raping another, committing 30 burglaries and an armed robbery by 1998.

However, it was just over a decade later he was finally arrested for the double murders, with footage from a 1989 episode of ITV gameshow Bullseye used to match him to a sketch made from witness descriptions.

Cooper, who was diagnosed as a psychopath, was jailed for life for the crimes in 2011.

Luke Evans played Detective Superintendent Steve Wilkins (Picture: ITV/ Warren Orchard/ Rex/ Shutterstock)

The story of his arrest was then detailed in the three- part 2021 drama series, The Pembrokeshire Murders, which was released on Netflix in the past week and has quickly become one of its most-watched programmes.

But what do we know about the true case that inspired it?

What is The Pembrokeshire Murders based on?

The series is set 20 years on from the crimes, with Luke Evans playing Detective Superintendent Steve Wilkins.

The drama tells the story of the cold case being revisited as the Cooper – played by Keith Allen – was brought to justice almost three decades after the first Scoveston Park double murder of the Thomas siblings.

With the suspect already known to viewers and police, the programme focuses on how the detective and his team searched for evidence to convict him for the two double murders, including the second Coastal Path murders which claimed the lives of the Dixons.

Keith Allen played the ‘Bullseye killer’ John William Cooper (Picture: Warren Orchard/ ITV)

Wilkins used advances in DNA profiling to launch Operation Ottawa to look into major unsolved crimes, with ITV journalist Jonathan Hill (David Flynn) caught up in the investigation after plotting a documentary series on the subject.

They ended up working together to bring Cooper to justice, eventually finding what they needed in an old episode of ITV game show Bullseye, which he had appeared on as a contestant just a few weeks before the second murder.

There was a striking resemblance between the younger Cooper and the artist’s impression of the murderer.

DNA evidence from a pair of khaki shorts in his bedroom – which had a drop of the victim’s blood, and had been taken from the scene.

Police also managed to recover the murder weapon, with the barrel of the shotgun painted over and thus covering up further traces of blood.

Cooper pleaded not guilty, but was convicted of both murders, and the 1996 rape and sexual assault of two teenagers in a group of five.

Who was John William Cooper?

He was eventually charged after police identified him using an old episode of the game show Bullseye (Picture: Warren Orchard/ ITV)

In 1998 – and as a result of police campaign Operation Huntsman – John William Cooper was arrested and charged with 30 cases of burglary and an armed robbery involving a shotgun.

He was found after officers looked at locations targeted by the robber, which ended up forming a radius around his home in Jordanston – and a subsequent search revealed 3,800 items linked to the burglaries.

His home was also not too far from Scoveston Park, and while he was questioned in connection with both murders, police were unable to charge him.

When the cold double murderer cases were reopened in 2006, Cooper was still in prison – but budgets were tightening and time was running out before his release.

During interrogation, he tried to blame his own, but inadvertently revealed details about the murder weapon – the shotgun he used during the armed robbery in 1998.

When were the Pembrokeshire murders?

A team of more than 100 officers were originally assigned to the case (Picture: Warren Orchard/ ITV)

The first – in December 1985 – saw siblings Richard and Helen Thomas discovered dead in the remains of their farmhouse, which was burned to the ground by their killer.

Although a team of more than 100 officers were assigned to the case, the killer – who shot the brother and sister – wasn’t identified at the time of the so-called Scoveston Park murders.

Four years later in 1989, husband and wife Peter and Gwenda Dixon travelled to the area of a camping trip and were shot at close range.

Their bodies were later found on the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, and the murderer stole the man’s wedding ring and wallet, before being spotted using his bank card at a cash machine shortly after the attack.

The drama series also stars Coronation Street’s Charles Dale, Line of Duty’s Owen Teale, and Gavin and Stacey’s Steven Meo.

The Pembrokeshire Murders is streaming on ITV and Netflix.

This article was originally published on January 11, 2021.

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.

Entertainment – MetroRead More