Murder of Marie Wilks

22 year old Marie Wilks was abducted and murdered on 18 June 1988. She had broken down on the M50 motorway near Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, and had been assaulted and taken within the sight of motorists as she used the emergency telephone. Her murder remains unsolved.

Background[]

Marie Wilks was seven months pregnant and heading home to Worcester after a journey to spend the afternoon with her husband, Adrian, who was at a cadet's camp in Symonds Yat. She had only recently passed her driving test, and had kept to minor roads on the inward journey. Her 11-year-old sister, Georgina Gough, and Marie's 13 month old son, Mark were with her in the car that day. On the way home, Marie took a wrong turn and found herself on the M50 motorway.^[1] Shortly afterwards, her car's oil light came on and smoke came out of the bonnet. In 1988, mobile or cell phones were not common, and Marie's only option was to walk the 700 yards down the hard shoulder of the motorway to the nearest emergency phone. She made a call to the operator at 7.37pm, and asked for a message to be given to her father, Terry Gough for him to come and collect his family. Unfortunately, Mr Gough had gone on a fishing trip with the only family car. The operator attempted to relay this information to Mrs Wilks, but could not, as in the four minutes it took to try and contact Mr Gough, Marie had been abducted and the operator only heard the sound of passing cars. The police were called and faced the sight of Georgina carrying baby Mark down the hard shoulder in search of her sister.^[2]

Search and discovery[]

By 8.10 pm, a police helicopter had been scrambled to search with heat-seeking imagery, however, it was unsuccessful due to the hot June weather. At 8.20pm, began to aid the large police search. At dawn, the following day, some blood was discovered around the emergency phone area. On 20 June, two days after the disappearance, the body of Marie Wilks was discovered down an embankment on the Eastbound carriageway about three miles from her car, near the Bushley area in Hereford and Worcester.^[3] There was evidence that a car had been reversed behind the crash barrier.^[4] The pathologist's report would later confirm the attack on Mrs Wilks produced bruising on the face, and a broken jaw, caused by a punch or a kick. She had been stabbed in the side of her neck and her carotid artery had been severed. She had bled to death after being thrown down the embankment.^[4]

Investigation and arrest[]

West Mercia police set up interview areas in nearby service stations and also stopped motorists looking for witnesses. On 24 June, an artist's impression of a possible suspect was released, with further witness descriptions of a blonde man seen at the crime scene. He was described as "of young appearances, in his 20s", blonde crew cut hair, with possible yellow or orange highlights. He had pale skin and a long sharp nose. On the 25th June, a reconstruction was filmed on the M50, with WPC Taryn Green dressed in a similar pink and white maternity dress to the one Marie had worn. On 28 June, following an identity parade, Edward Owen Browning was charged with the abduction of murder of Marie Wilks.^[5]

Edward Browning[]

"Eddie" Browning was a 32 year old former Welsh Guardsman, working as a doorman in a South Wales social club. He lived in Cwmparc, in the Rhondda Valley area of South Wales. He was married, and expecting a baby with his wife, Julie. Police had become interested in Browning after several calls identifying him from the artist's impression.^[6]

Trial[]

The trial of Eddie Browning took place at Shrewsbury Crown Court, beginning of 3 October 1989, and ending on 10 November 1989. The evidence produced by Mr Anthony Palmer, QC, for the prosecution was circumstantial in nature. Mr Palmer told the Court that Browning had been identified as a possible suspect from the artist's drawing released after Marie's death. He was known to own a butterfly knife, similar to the knife used to kill Marie. He was also known to have a history of violence, fighting and had a hot temper. Mr Palmer continued that Browning had had a row with his pregnant wife on the day of the murder, and had stormed off telling her he was driving to Scotland. He reminded the jury that Browning owned a silver Renault 25 car, and the Prosecution called witnesses to say that they had seen a similar car at the scene of crime. The M50 would also have been a natural route to Scotland from the accused's home. A 20-foot tyre mark near the embankment where the body was found was linked to a bald tyre on Browning's car that may have made that type of mark. Browning himself said that he had crossed the Severn Bridge on his journey to Scotland and had not travelled on the M50 that day. However, Mr Palmer pointed out that security cameras did not pick up Browning's car that day.^[7]

Mr John Griffiths Williams QC, for the defence, argued that Browning had not been on the M50 on the 18th June, 1989. He argued that Browning only bore a superficial resemblance to the artist's impression, especially in regards to hair cut and age. Mr Williams' major argument, though, centred on the total lack of forensic evidence linking Browning to the crime. There had been no blood found on either his clothing or in his car.John Hayward, the former Home office forensic scientist concluded it was "unlikely" Marie Wilks was ever in Eddie Browning's car. Mr Griffiths argued that a major stab wound to the neck would have produced a mass of blood.

The jury did not believe Eddie Browning's version of events and he was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison to serve a minimum of 25 years.

Appeal[]

After an initial unsuccessful appeal, Eddie Browning's new QC, Michael Mansfield, launched a new appeal in 1994. He introduced new evidence to the court, that West Mercia Police has withheld witness evidence and statements. In particular, the evidence under hypnosis of off duty police Inspector Peter Clarke.^[8] He had seen a grey/silver car pulling over onto the hard shoulder at the crime scene. During his hypnotic state, Inspector Clarke gave the car registration number as C856HFK; Browning's car registration was C754VAD. There were other differences in make of car and type of hubcaps. Another witness was "encouraged", according to Mr Mansfield, to say that he had seen a C reg car when in actuality, he could not be sure. Lord Chief Justice Taylor gave opinion that if this evidence had been included in the original trial, he could not be sure that the verdict would have remained the same. The appeal was granted and, in May 1994, Browning was freed. He spoke of "the living nightmare" suffered by himself and his family and told the Wilks family to go back to West Mercia police as they had lied to the family from day one.^[9] Browning was granted over £600,000 in compensation for his six years in prison. Detective Chief Superintendent David Coles, head of CID, later said" All I would say is that I was completely satisfied with the investigation".

Issues raised by the murder[]

Safety[]

The fate of Marie Wilks was still being discussed in relation to driver safety years later.^[10] Other similar incidents, involving serious attacks on lone female drivers who had broken down,^[11] and the continued fears of women revealed in surveys that showed that eight out of ten women felt "some degree" of anxiety in driving alone.^[12] In 1988, the only safety option opened to motorists was the emergency phone.There was conflicting advice given to women who broke down. These women, on being interviewed, described being abandoned by police or even being fined for helping other stranded women. In 2021, Police are still advising the use of the emergency phone while also recommending to get into your car if another person approaches you and you feel in danger.^[13] There does not seem to be any new thinking on the subject of the safety of solo female motorists.

Violence against pregnant women[]

A part of the circumstantial evidence against Eddie Browning was the fact of his angry row with his pregnant wife. There is some literature to evidence the vulnerability of pregnant women to attack.^[14] Pregnant women are attacked and murdered for various reasons, with the desire to control the overriding one.^[15] There is little academic study in the UK, and none about the murder of an expectant mother by a stranger. The exceptional murder of Marie Wilks shocked the British public, not only by its brutality but in its singularity. The USA has a crime of murder of the unborn child, with the "Unborn Victims of Violence Act", of 2004. The UK has no such laws. An unborn child is not a person in law in the UK, although there is a law of child destruction, which has been difficult to prove in most cases.^[16] The murder of Marie Wilks also caused the death of her unborn child.

Bystander theory[]

One of the most shocking aspects of the crime was that 11 year old Georgina Gough was seen walking down the hard shoulder, carrying her baby nephew, looking for her sister, and that no motorist stopped to help her. Latane and Darley found that sometimes apathy stops intervention.^[17] People tend to use excuses, in this case, being in a car on a motorway. There are "strong situational factors" at play that stop a person acting in a critical situation. The term "bystander effect"^[18] refers to the theory that the more witnesses there are, the fewer will help in crisis. Applying this to the M50 murder, it is possible to theorise that those people in cars imagined that "someone else" would do something, the "diffusion of responsibility" hypothesis.

Withholding of evidence by the police[]

Detective Inspector Peter Clarke was off duty and driving on the M50 on 18 June 1988, when he spotted a man on the hard shoulder as well as a car. In court, he described what he had seen; a grey/silver car and a blonde man. However, West Mercia police had not told the court that Inspector Clarke had agreed to undergo hypnotism in order to better recollect specific details. During hypnosis, however, Inspector Clarke gave the car registration number as C856HFK. Eddie Browning's car registration was C754VAD. The police also reserved other evidence from further witnesses. The successful 1994 appeal by Browning hinged on this abuse of process,^[19] the non- disclosure of evidence and this led, along with other similar cases to the Criminal Procedure and Investigation Act of 1996.^[20] before this Act, defence barristers had access to all "unused material". In reality, the senior investigative officer decided what was shared. The conviction of Browning overturned on appeal was one of a series of cases where an appeal was upheld because of non-disclosure of possibly pertinent evidence. The Home Secretary, in 1996, took the decision of disclosure away from the police and gave it to the Crown Prosecution Service.^[21] The CPS would then apply the test "does the unused material assist the defence or undermine the prosecution". Lord Chief Justice Taylor decided that if the new evidence had been included at the original trial, it was impossible to determine whether the verdict would still have been guilty.

Use of hypnosis in criminal investigations[]

In 1977, the use of hypnosis in order to retrieve "hidden" evidence from a witness to a crime, was treated with some interest with studies concluding that it "may be a potential tool to get information".^[22] In 1995, the Court of Appeal stated that "hypnosis... should not normally be considered in relation to witnesses who might be called to give material evidence". In 2018, The Crown Prosecution Service concluded that the use of hypnosis may be subject to "cueing" or suggestion planting. A hypnosis subject should only be used as a witness in 'exceptional circumstances'.^[23]

Popular culture[]

Belinda Baur has written a novel loosely based on the murder of Marie Wilks, called "Snap".^[24] The novel was long listed for the Man Booker prize 2018^[25]

Conclusion[]

In 2016, Detective Chief Inspector, Steve Tonks, and his team, reopened the case to see if any new forensic evidence could be generated to solve the murder. No such evidence was found and it remains unsolved. The murder of Marie Wilks produced outrage at the death of a young mother; fear in lone female motorists; embarrassment and frustration for West Mercia Police force whose tactics and procedures were found to be deficient; and shone a spotlight on crimes against pregnant women.

See also[]

• List of kidnappings
• Murders of Jacqueline Ansell-Lamb and Barbara Mayo, two young women who were also abducted and murdered on motorways in England during 1970

References[]