Jill Dando

Jill Wendy Dando{{Cite web |title=Family history of Jill Wendy Dando |url=http://www.lasbury.com/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I8732&tree=tree1 |access-date=28 October 2022 |website=Lasbury Family History |archive-date=28 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128093402/http://www.lasbury.com/genealogy/getperson.php?personID=I8732&tree=tree1 |url-status=live}} was born at Ashcombe House Maternity Home in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset.{{Cite web|url=http://www.thewestonmercury.co.uk/content/twm/flatfiles/jilldando/JillDandoTribute/JillChildhood.aspx|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061008173526/http://www.thewestonmercury.co.uk/content/twm/flatfiles/jilldando/JillDandoTribute/JillChildhood.aspx|url-status=dead|title=Through the family photo album|archive-date=8 October 2006|access-date=23 October 2021}} She was the daughter of Jack Dando (February 1918 – February 2009{{cite web|url=http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Jill-Dando-s-dad-dies-91-Weston/article-699954-detail/article.html|title=Jill Dando's dad dies at 91 – Bristol News – This Is Bristol – Bristol Post|work=Bristol Post|access-date=3 January 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130505074040/http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Jill-Dando-s-dad-dies-91-Weston/article-699954-detail/article.html|archive-date=5 May 2013}}) and Winifred Mary Jean Hockey (August 1928 – January 1986), who died of leukaemia aged 57.{{cite news| url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article4446405.ece | location=London | work=The Times | title=Jill Dando bubbly excited and in love then she was shot on doorstep | first=Steve | last=Bird | date=2 August 2008}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Her only sibling, brother Nigel (born 1952), worked as a journalist for BBC Radio Bristol before retiring in 2017, having previously worked as a journalist in local newspapers since the 1970s.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bristol/content/articles/2005/10/21/radiobristol_nigeldando_feature.shtml|title=BBC – Bristol – BBC Radio Bristol – Nigel Dando|access-date=3 January 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401103232/http://www.bbc.co.uk/bristol/content/articles/2005/10/21/radiobristol_nigeldando_feature.shtml|archive-date=1 April 2016}} Dando was raised as a Baptist and remained a devout follower.{{Cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/gy4ge9/unsolved-murder-jill-dando-20-year-anniversary-conspiracies|title=The Unsolved Murder of Jill Dando, Britain's 90s TV Sweetheart|website=Vice.com|date=26 April 2019|access-date=23 October 2021|archive-date=10 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610215349/https://www.vice.com/en/article/gy4ge9/unsolved-murder-jill-dando-20-year-anniversary-conspiracies|url-status=live}} When she was three years old, it was discovered that she had a hole in her heart and a blocked pulmonary artery. She had heart surgery on 12 January 1965.

Dando was educated at Worle Infant School, Greenwood Junior School, Worle Community School,{{cite web|url=http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Jill-Dando-murder-timeline---Barry-George/Article/200808115063504|title=Story of the murder of Jill Dando|website=Sky News|access-date=25 May 2018|archive-date=9 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121009064749/http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Jill-Dando-murder-timeline---Barry-George/Article/200808115063504|url-status=live}} and Weston College Sixth Form, where she was head girl,{{cite news | title= Jill Dando Obituary | last= Barker | first= Dennis | work= The Guardian | url= https://www.theguardian.com/obituaries/story/0,,296482,00.html | date= 27 April 1999 | access-date= 23 June 2007 | location= London | archive-date= 22 October 2023 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231022222441/https://www.theguardian.com/obituaries/story/0,,296482,00.html | url-status= live }} and completed her A-levels. She then went on to study Journalism at the South Glamorgan Institute of Higher Education.

Dando was a member of Weston-super-Mare Amateur Dramatic Society and Exeter Little Theatre Company, with whom she appeared in plays at the Barnfield Theatre. She was a volunteer at Sunshine Hospital Radio in Weston-super-Mare in 1979.

Dando's first job was as a trainee reporter for the local weekly newspaper, the Weston Mercury, where her father and brother worked. After five years as a print journalist, she started to work for the BBC, becoming a newsreader for BBC Radio Devon in 1985. That year, she transferred to BBC South West, where she presented a regional news magazine programme, Spotlight South West. In 1987, she worked for Television South West, then BBC Spotlight in Plymouth. In early 1988, Dando moved from regional to national television in London to present BBC television news, specifically the short on-the-hour bulletins that aired on both BBC1 and BBC2 from 1986 until the mid-1990s.

Dando presented the BBC television programmes Breakfast Time, Breakfast News, the BBC One O'Clock News, the Six O'Clock News, the travel programme Holiday, the crime appeal series Crimewatch (from 1995 until her death) and occasionally Songs of Praise. In 1994, she moved to Fulham. She was the subject of This Is Your Life on 8 November 1996.{{Cite news |last=Davey |first=Tim |date=9 November 1996 |title=Jill Gets The Big Red Book |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-post-jill-gets-the-big-red-book/157860710/ |access-date=26 October 2024 |work=Bristol Evening Post |page=20 |via=Newspapers.com |archive-date=30 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250130042720/https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-post-jill-gets-the-big-red-book/157860710/ |url-status=live }} On 25 April 1999, Dando presented the first episode of Antiques Inspectors.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/apr/27/duncancampbell.rorycarroll|title=TV star Dando murdered by single shot|author=Duncan Campbell|authorlink=Duncan Campbell (journalist, born 1944)|work=The Guardian|date=27 April 1999|access-date=3 January 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305152913/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/apr/27/duncancampbell.rorycarroll|archive-date=5 March 2016}} She was scheduled to present the Six O'Clock News on the evening of the following day. She was featured on the cover of that week's Radio Times magazine (from 24 to 30 April).{{cite news |last=Barker |first=Dennis |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/1999/apr/27/guardianobituaries.jilldando |title=Jill Dando: Broadcaster with feel-good factor |newspaper=The Guardian |date=27 April 1999 |access-date=13 April 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140414054750/http://www.theguardian.com/news/1999/apr/27/guardianobituaries.jilldando |archive-date=14 April 2014 }} Dando was also booked to host the British Academy Television Awards 1999, alongside Michael Parkinson, at Grosvenor House Hotel on 9 May.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/339084.stm|title=BBC News – Entertainment – TV stars honour Jill Dando|website=BBC|date=10 May 1999|access-date=25 May 2018|archive-date=27 December 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021227002529/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/339084.stm|url-status=live}} On 5 September, BBC One resumed airing of Antiques Inspectors, the final series to be recorded by Dando. The series had made its debut on 25 April, with filming of the final episode completed two days before that. The programme was cancelled following her death, but it was decided later in the year that it should be aired as a tribute to Dando.{{cite news |url=http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/bbc-may-pull-antiques-show/1213779.article |title=BBC may pull antiques show |publisher=Broadcast |date=30 April 1999 |access-date=12 April 2014 |archive-date=17 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230717035152/https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/bbc-may-pull-antiques-show/1213779.article |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/JILL+DANDO%3A+EVERY+PICTURE+TELLS+A+STORY...-a060149175 |title=Jill Dando: Every picture tells a story |newspaper=The People |publisher=Trinity Mirror |date=9 May 1999 |access-date=13 April 2014 |archive-date=17 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230717035153/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/JILL+DANDO%3a+EVERY+PICTURE+TELLS+A+STORY...-a060149175 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |first=Richard |last=Savage |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/JILL+DANDO%27S+LAST+TV+SHOW+GOES+ON.-a060409270 |title=Jill Dando's last TV show goes on |newspaper=The Mirror |publisher=Trinity Mirror |date=4 September 1999 |access-date=13 April 2014 |archive-date=17 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230717035149/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/JILL+DANDO%27S+LAST+TV+SHOW+GOES+ON.-a060409270 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/688e6069f16a498a83d56295dc8f14f0 |title=Antiques Inspectors – BBC One London – 5 September 1999 – BBC Genome |date=5 September 1999 |publisher=Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk |access-date=13 January 2018 |archive-date=17 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230717035035/https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/688e6069f16a498a83d56295dc8f14f0 |url-status=live }} The final episode aired on 24 October.{{cite web|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/1489844f4fa44de59dd9381c70a4287d|title=Antiques Inspectors|date=21 October 1999|issue=3949|pages=100|access-date=3 April 2019|via=BBC Genome|archive-date=17 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230717034909/https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/1489844f4fa44de59dd9381c70a4287d|url-status=live}}

At the time of her death, Dando was among those with the highest profile of the BBC's on-screen staff, and had been the 1997 BBC Personality of the Year.{{cite web|url=http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/years-don-t-know-killed-Jill/article-936486-detail/article.html|title=Ten years on and we still don't know who killed Jill|website=This is Bristol|date=25 April 2009|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130505140538/http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/years-don-t-know-killed-Jill/article-936486-detail/article.html|archive-date=5 May 2013|url-status=dead}} Crimewatch reconstructed her murder in an attempt to aid the police in the search for her killer. After Barry George was charged with the murder but acquitted, Crimewatch made no further appeals for information concerning the case.

From 1989 to 1996, Dando engaged in a relationship with BBC executive Bob Wheaton. She then had a brief relationship with national park warden Simon Basil. In December 1997, Dando met gynaecologist Alan Farthing, later Queen Elizabeth II's personal physician, on a blind date set up by a mutual friend. Farthing was separated from his wife at the time.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1403081.stm|title=Alan Farthing: 'No-one can replace Jill'|date=2 July 2001|publisher=bbc.co.uk|access-date=26 August 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826120740/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1403081.stm|archive-date=26 August 2014}} A couple of months after Farthing's divorce was finalised,{{cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/so-if-george-didnt-kill-jill-dando-who-did-6806264.html|title=So if George didn't kill Jill Dando, who did?|last=Cheston|first=Paul|date=1 August 2008|publisher=standard.co.uk|access-date=26 August 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924181613/http://www.standard.co.uk/news/so-if-george-didnt-kill-jill-dando-who-did-6806264.html|archive-date=24 September 2015}} the couple announced that they were engaged on 31 January 1999. Their wedding was set to take place on 25 September.BBC news item, 25 September 1999 [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/457253.stm Dando's fiance faces pain of wedding day] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230717034828/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/457253.stm |date=17 July 2023 }}

On the morning of 26 April 1999, 37-year-old Dando left Farthing's home in Chiswick. She returned alone, by car, to the house she owned at 29 Gowan Avenue, Fulham. She had lived in the house, but by April 1999 was in the process of selling it and did not visit it frequently. The purpose of her visit was to collect contract documents which had been faxed to her there by her agent Jon Roseman. As Dando reached her front door at about 11:32 BST, she was shot once in the head.{{cite news | publisher = BBC News | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/328804.stm | title = BBC presenter shot dead | date = 26 April 1999 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100123021143/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/328804.stm | archive-date = 23 January 2010 }} Her body was discovered about fourteen minutes later by neighbour Helen Doble.{{cite news|last1=Midgley|first1=Dominic|title=Will Jill Dando's killer be named at last?|url=http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/765042/Jill-Dando-killer-murder-investigation-murderer|access-date=26 April 2017|work=Express|date=9 February 2017|archive-date=17 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230717034839/https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/765042/Jill-Dando-killer-murder-investigation-murderer|url-status=live}} Police were called at 11:47. Dando was taken to the nearby Charing Cross Hospital where she was declared dead on arrival at 13:03.

{{blockquote|text=As Dando was about to put her keys in the lock to open the front door of her home in Fulham, she was grabbed from behind. With his right arm, the assailant held her and forced her to the ground, so that her face was almost touching the tiled step of the porch. Then, with his left hand, he fired a single shot at her left temple, killing her instantly. The bullet entered her head just above her ear, parallel to the ground, and came out the right side of her head.|author=Bob Woffinden|source=The Guardian (July 2002){{cite news|last=Woffinden|first=Bob|date=6 July 2002|title=Shadow of doubt?|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/jul/06/jilldando.weekend7|url-status=live|work=The Guardian|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170419022157/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/jul/06/jilldando.weekend7|archive-date=19 April 2017|access-date=6 April 2022}}}}

Richard Hughes, her next-door neighbour, heard a scream from Dando ("I thought it was someone surprising somebody") but heard no gunshot. Hughes looked out of his front window and, while not realising what had happened, made the only certain sighting of the killer — a six-foot-tall (183 cm) white man aged around 40, walking away from Dando's house.{{cite news|date=11 May 2001|title=The horrific scene when I found Jill|url=https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/7109898.horrific-scene-found-jill/|work=The Northern Echo|access-date=6 April 2022|archive-date=11 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221211100914/https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/7109898.horrific-scene-found-jill/|url-status=live}}

Forensic firearm examination indicated that Dando had been shot by a bullet from a 9mm Short calibre semi-automatic pistol, with the gun pressed against her head at the moment of the shot. The cartridge appeared to have been subject to workshop modification, possibly to reduce its propellent charge and thus allow it to function as subsonic ammunition. Police ballistics checks also determined that the bullet had been fired from a smooth bore barrel without any rifling, which indicated the murder weapon was almost certainly a blank firing pistol that had been illegally modified to fire live ammunition.{{Cite news |date=10 December 1999|title=`Odd' gun revives stalker theory in Dando killing|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/odd-gun-revives-stalker-theory-in-dando-killing-1131426.html|newspaper=The Independent|language=en}}

After the murder, there was intense media coverage. An investigation by the Metropolitan Police, named Operation Oxborough, proved fruitless for over a year. Dando's status as a well-known public figure had brought her into contact with thousands of people, and she was known to millions. There was huge speculation regarding the motive for her murder.

Investigating authorities quickly ruled out the work of a professional assassin due to the many amateurish aspects of the crime, such as the use of a converted blank firing pistol as the murder weapon and the fact Dando was shot in public on her doorstep rather than forced inside her house where her body would not be discovered for a much longer time period. Forensic psychologists working on the case predicted that the perpetrator would instead be a loner with a severe personality disorder.{{Cite news |date= 28 April 2024|title=Jill Dando’s co-host Nick Ross: Barry George will struggle to clear name|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/article/jill-dando-nick-ross-tv-presenter-murder-dcbdnnhhz|newspaper=The Times|language=en|archive-date=28 September 2024 |archive-url=http://archive.today/2024.09.28-154412/https://www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/article/jill-dando-nick-ross-tv-presenter-murder-dcbdnnhhz|url-status=live }}

Within six months, the Murder Investigation Team had spoken to more than 2,500 people and taken more than 1,000 statements. With little progress after a year, the police concentrated their attention on Barry George, who lived about 500 yards from Dando's house on Crookham Road. He had a history of stalking women, sexual offences and other antisocial and attention seeking behaviour.{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1419998.stm | work=BBC News | title=Dando killer's Diana 'obsession' | date=3 July 2001 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070907111231/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1419998.stm | archive-date=7 September 2007 }} George was put under surveillance, arrested on 25 May 2000 and charged with Dando's murder on 28 May.{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1185897.stm | work=BBC News | title=Jill Dando: The investigation | date=25 February 2001 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803074444/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1185897.stm | archive-date=3 August 2017 }} A search of his bedsit had uncovered over 4,000 photographs of hundreds of women covertly taken in public by George,{{Cite news |date=13 July 2001|title=Obsessive whose life of fantasy ended in deadly reality|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/jul/03/jilldando.media5|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en}} along with other photos of well known female TV personalities such as Caron Keating, Anthea Turner, Fiona Foster and Emma Freud,{{Cite news |date=13 June 2008|title=Barry George trial: Woman recalls encounter with Freddie Mercury imposter|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2008/jun/13/ukcrime2|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en}}{{Cite news |date=13 April 2012|title=Dando's 'killer kept photos of other top female TV presenters among thousands of pictures he hoarded at his home'|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/hp/front/dandos-killer-kept-photos-of-other-top-female-tv-presenters-among-thousands-of-pictures-he-hoarded-at-his-home-6837144.html|newspaper=The Standard|language=en}} in addition to newspaper article cuttings regarding Dando’s life and media career. Police also discovered a photo of George wearing a military gas mask while posing with a modified Bruni blank-firing handgun.{{Cite news |date= 10 June 2008|title=Barry George was a serial stalker, Jill Dando murder retrial told|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/article/barry-george-was-a-serial-stalker-jill-dando-murder-retrial-told-g9d233hbkdf|newspaper=The Times|language=en|archive-date=16 April 2025|archive-url=http://archive.today/2025.04.16-074022/https://www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/article/barry-george-was-a-serial-stalker-jill-dando-murder-retrial-told-g9d233hbkdf|url-status=live }} When shown this image during interrogation, George admitted it was him in the photo and that he had purchased the weapon via mail order, however George denied that it had been converted to fire live ammunition.{{Cite news |date=8 July 2008|title=Firearms expert says £55 ‘modified’ gun could have killed Dando|url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/arid-20066769.html|newspaper=Irish Examiner|language=en}}

Barry George's trial for the murder of Jill Dando began at the Old Bailey in early May 2001. Opening statements from the lead prosecution lawyer Orlando Pownall Q.C. outlined how George had "an exaggerated interest" in television personalities and firearms, and that photographic evidence regarding his obsession with celebrities had been recovered from his apartment.{{Cite news |date=4 May 2001|title=Dando suspect had 'exaggerated interest' in TV stars|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/may/04/jilldando|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en}} Pownall Q.C. went onto describe how police had recovered a photo of George posing with a blank firing pistol, similar to the weapon police believed was used in Dando's murder, and how George had been picked out of an identity parade by two different neighbours of Dando as the man they had seen acting suspiciously opposite her house in Gowan Avenue on the morning of the murder.{{Cite news |date=5 May 2001|title='Why would anybody wish to kill her?'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/may/05/jilldando.nickhopkins1|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en}} Authorities had also found several cut out newspaper articles regarding Dando's murder in George's apartment, along with handwritten lists of names and personal details of various other British celebrities.{{Cite news |date=8 May 2001|title=Police found Dando cuttings in accused man's home|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/may/08/jilldando|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en}} Pownall Q.C. added that forensic examination of a jacket seized from George's apartment found firearms residue inside a pocket of the same type that was detected on Dando's dead body, and was believed to have originated from the detonation of the percussion cap of the bullet that killer her.{{Cite news |date=9 May 2001|title=Dando defendant told police a 'pack of lies'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2001/may/09/broadcasting.jilldando|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en}}

The court heard how George had visited a disability health center in Greswell Street, which was approximately half a mile from Gowan Avenue, without an appointment about 20 minutes after Dando was murdered. Witnesses at the scene described him as being in an agitated state and carrying a plastic bag full of complaint letters. George again turned up at the center a couple of days later, asking staff about the exact time of his original visit, as he claimed a description of the prime suspect had been released that matched his appearance. The prosecution argued that George's motive for visiting the center was to establish an alibi for his whereabouts around the time of the murder.{{Cite news |date=15 May 2001|title=Dando accused 'set up alibi' at health centre|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2001/may/15/broadcasting.jilldando|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en}} The owner of a taxi company testified that George had visited his office on Fulham Palace Road at 1pm on the day in question, remarking that he appeared agitated and had no money to pay for his requested journey. George also returned to the office a couple of days later to ask about the time of his original visit and what he was wearing then.{{Cite news |date=16 May 2001|title=Dando suspect 'asked bizarre questions after shooting'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2001/may/16/broadcasting.jilldando|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en}} Although George would later claim in police interviews that he wanted to account for his movements after being told by other people that he matched a photofit picture of the murder suspect issued by the authorities, police records proved that the photofit was not released to the public until four days after the murder.{{Cite news |date=24 May 2001|title=Accused denied seeing Dando 'in the flesh'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2001/may/24/broadcasting.jilldando|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en}}

Detective Constable John Gallagher described how he interviewed George in April 2000 so as to eliminate him from inquires, and George had stated how he remained at home on the morning of the murder before attending a disability group in Fulham around lunchtime. Six days later the police broke into George's flat to search it for evidence, taking several items away for further examination. They returned in early May 2000 to carry out further searches, before a final search was carried out after George's arrest at the end of that month. Items seized included clothing, military related books and hand written documents.{{Cite news |date=21 May 2001|title=Murder suspect's 'shock over Dando death'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2001/may/21/broadcasting.jilldando|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en}} Among these were lists complied by George of the home addresses, physical descriptions and car registration numbers of almost 100 women, including Princess Diana. Detectives also processed hundreds of undeveloped camera rolls seized from his flat, which showed George had taken thousands of covert photographs of over 400 different women around Hammersmith and Fulham without their knowledge. A Cecil Gee branded overcoat was also seized as evidence, and was later found to have traces of firearms discharge residue inside one of its pockets.{{Cite news |date=22 May 2001|title=Search police questioned over contamination risk|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2001/may/22/broadcasting.jilldando|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en}}

Lead defence lawyer Michael Mansfield Q.C. asserted to the jury that Dando's death was caused by professional hitman, and that but for a microscopic speck of alleged firearms residue inside Geroge's coat pocket the prosecution would have no evidence whatsoever against his client. Mansfield Q.C. also raised the possibility of cross-contamination from police firearms officers as to why the residue was found in the first place.{{Cite news |date=22 May 2001|title=Search police questioned over contamination risk|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2001/may/22/broadcasting.jilldando|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en}} The defence suggested that Dando was infact killed on orders of Serbian warlord Željko Ražnatović in revenge for her involvement in a charity campaign for Kosovan refugees during the Yugoslav Wars.{{Cite news |date=15 June 2001|title=Serb hitman killed Dando, says defence|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2001/jun/15/broadcasting.jilldando|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en}} Mansfield Q.C. denied police accusations that George had been stalking Dando in the lead up to her murder, highlighting how that although George had accumulated the photographs and personal details of many other female TV presenters, no such material relating to Jill Dando was discovered by the police in his apartment when they searched it.{{Cite news |date=15 June 2001|title='Accused never stalked Dando'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/jun/15/jilldando|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en}}

Pownall Q.C. dismissed accusations that Dando's death was the result of a contract killing by Serbian extremists, highlighting how it would be pointless to commit such a crime and then not claim responsibility via the media.{{Cite news |date=20 June 2001|title=Prosecution dismisses hitman theory

|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2001/jun/20/jilldando.television|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en}} The prosecutor added that when all the circumstantial evidence presented in court after an exhaustive police investigation was considered in whole, the only candidate for the murder was Barry George.{{Cite news |date=20 June 2001|title=Dando Serb hitman theory 'nonsense'

|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/jun/20/jilldando|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en}} Defence lawyer Mansfield Q.C. countered that there was no conclusive proof that George was present in Gowan Avenue on the morning of the murder, with several witnesses giving different descriptions of his clothing, facial complexion and hairstyle. Mansfield Q.C. also disputed the prosecution's assertion that George, after first returning home to change clothes, had visited the disability center to create an alibi, asking the jury why a gunman who had just committed a murder would bother going out in public after successfully escaping detection in the first place.{{Cite news |date=23 June 2001|title=Dando prosecution case does not add up, says QC

|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/jun/23/jilldando.stevenmorris|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en}}

On 2 July 2001, after over 30 hours of deliberations, George was found guilty as charged by a majority verdict of ten to one, and was sentenced to the mandatory term of life imprisonment.{{Cite news |date=2 July 2001|title=George found guilty of Dando murder|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/jul/02/jilldando|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en}}

Concern about this conviction was widespread on the basis that the case against George appeared thin. Two appeals were unsuccessful, but after discredited firearm discharge residue forensic evidence was excluded from the prosecution's case, George's third appeal succeeded in November 2007. The original conviction was quashed and a second trial lasting eight weeks ended in George's acquittal on 1 August 2008.{{cite news | url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7536815.stm | title= George not guilty of Dando murder | publisher= BBC News | date= 1 August 2008 | access-date= 1 August 2008 | url-status= live | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081017160804/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7536815.stm | archive-date= 17 October 2008 }}

After George's acquittal, some newspapers published articles which appeared to suggest that he was guilty of the Dando murder and other offences against women. In December 2009, George accepted substantial damages from News Group Newspapers over articles in The Sun and the News of the World, following a libel action in the High Court.{{cite news|date=16 December 2009|title=Barry George in newspaper payout over Dando claims|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8415772.stm|url-status=live|publisher=BBC News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803074512/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8415772.stm|archive-date=3 August 2017|access-date=6 April 2022}}

Lines of inquiry explored in the police investigation included:

• Theories that a jealous ex-boyfriend or an unknown lover had killed Dando. This was quickly ruled out by the detectives who interviewed all Dando's friends and acquaintances and checked her phone calls.
• A belief that somebody had hired an assassin to murder Dando as revenge for their being convicted as a result of evidence garnered by Crimewatch viewers. After exhaustive inquiries this was also ruled out by detectives.{{cite news | url= http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article4446407.ece| title= Dando murder: we need to think twice before locking up the local weirdo | last= Cathcart | first= Brian | work= The Times | date= 2 August 2008 | access-date= 4 August 2008 | location=London}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
• Various theories relating to Bosnian-Serb or Yugoslav groups in retaliation for NATO actions against media outlets and her appeals for aid during the Yugoslav Wars.
• The possibility that a deranged fan may have killed Dando after she had rejected his approaches. Dando's brother, Nigel, informed detectives that she had become concerned by “some guy pestering her” in the few days before her death, but this was ruled out by detectives.
• A case of mistaken identity. This was judged unlikely, given that the killing took place on the doorstep of Dando's own home.
• Following the Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal a claim was made that Dando had investigated a paedophile ring at the BBC during the mid-1990s and had handed a dossier containing her findings to BBC management, purportedly prompting a revenge attack. The BBC said it had seen no evidence to support the claim.{{cite news |url=http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/Plymouth-journalist-Jill-Dando-knew-BBC/story-21663985-detail/story.html |title=Former Plymouth journalist Jill Dando knew of BBC paedophile ring, claims retired colleague |publisher=Plymouth Herald |date=21 July 2014 |access-date=22 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140722221125/http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/Plymouth-journalist-Jill-Dando-knew-BBC/story-21663985-detail/story.html |archive-date=22 July 2014 }}{{cite news |url=http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Jilll-Dando-tried-expose-BBC-paedophile-ring/story-21666998-detail/story.html |title=Jill Dando tried to expose BBC paedophile ring but 'nobody wanted to know' |publisher=Bristol Post |date=21 July 2014 |access-date=22 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140726212502/http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Jilll-Dando-tried-expose-BBC-paedophile-ring/story-21666998-detail/story.html |archive-date=26 July 2014 }}
• Actions taken by a professional rival or business partner also had to be considered. Her agent Jon Roseman stated that he had been interviewed as a suspect by police.

The original police investigation had explored the possibility of a contract killing, but since Dando was living with her fiancé and was only rarely visiting her Fulham residence, it was considered unlikely that a professional assassin would have been sufficiently well informed about Dando's movements to have known at what time she was going to be there. CCTV evidence of Dando's last journey (mainly security video recordings from a shopping centre in Hammersmith, which she visited on her way to Fulham) did not show any sign of her being followed.{{cite news|last=Burn|first=Gordon|date=3 July 2001|title=Watching Jill|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/jul/03/jilldando.media|url-status=live|work=The Guardian|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160814130301/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/jul/03/jilldando.media|archive-date=14 August 2016|access-date=6 April 2022}}

Initial investigations focused on Dando's personal circle since only a few people knew of her intention to visit her Gowan Avenue house on the day. Her agent Jon Roseman was an initial suspect since he knew Dando was going there to collect faxes he had sent her. But Roseman convinced detectives of his innocence. Bob Wheaton also attracted attention since he was a jilted lover and Dando had transferred £35,000 to him towards the end of their relationship. Wheaton stated that this transfer was a gift and not a loan. He also convinced detectives of his innocence.

On the night of her death, Dando's BBC colleague Nick Ross said on Newsnight that retaliatory attacks by criminals against police, lawyers and judges were almost unknown in the UK. Forensic examination of the cartridge case and bullet recovered from the scene of the attack suggested that the weapon used had been the result of a workshop conversion of a replica or decommissioned gun. It was argued that a professional assassin would not use such a poor quality weapon. The police therefore soon began to favour the idea that the killing had been opportunistically carried out by a crazed individual. This assumed profile of the perpetrator led to the focus on George.

Cold case reviews by the police after 2008 concluded that Dando was killed by a professional assassin in a "hard contact execution".{{cite news|date=5 March 2012|title=Plymouth TV presenter Jill Dando 'was executed on order of Milosovic'|url=http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/Plymouth-TV-presenter-Jill-Dando-executed-order/story-15400883-detail/story.html|url-status=dead|work=Plymouth Herald|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304170246/http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/Plymouth-TV-presenter-Jill-Dando-executed-order/story-15400883-detail/story.html|archive-date=4 March 2014}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/jill-dando-murder-five-unanswered-7764700|title=Five unanswered theories in the Jill Dando murder mystery|first=Jo-Anne|last=Rowney|date=29 March 2019|website=Mirror.co.uk|access-date=23 October 2021|archive-date=10 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231010214043/https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/jill-dando-murder-five-unanswered-7764700|url-status=live}} Pressing the gun against her head would have acted as a suppressor — muffling the sound of the shot and preventing the killer from being splattered with blood.

In early 1999, the UK and NATO were involved in the Kosovo War, opposing Serbia. Immediately after the Dando killing, a number of telephone calls were made to the BBC and other media outlets claiming responsibility for the killing on behalf of Serb groups. These calls stated that the murder was revenge for the NATO bombing campaign in Serbia, and threatened further killings. These calls were not judged wholly credible and may have been hoaxes. Nevertheless, at George's first trial, his defence barrister, Michael Mansfield, proposed that the Serbian warlord Arkan had ordered Dando's assassination in retaliation for the NATO bombing of the RTS headquarters. Mansfield suggested that Dando's earlier presentation of an appeal for aid for Kosovar Albanian refugees may have attracted the attention of Bosnian-Serb hardliners. Dando's appeal for aid for the Kosovar Albanian refugees had been shown on television three weeks before her murder.{{cite AV media|title=Jill Dando: The 20 Year Mystery|date=26 April 2019|medium=Television production|work=ITV}}

In 2019, it was reported that the British National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) had given an intelligence report to the Dando murder enquiry claiming that the murder was in retaliation for the RTS bombing and Arkan had ordered the killing. The report highlighted a possible connection between the bullet used to kill Dando and bullets used in assassinations in Germany, namely handmade markings found on them. An opposition journalist, Slavko Ćuruvija, was assassinated outside his home in Belgrade just a few days before Dando's murder and the method used in both cases was identical.{{cite news|last=Sawer|first=Patrick|date=3 March 2012|title=Jill Dando 'murdered by Serbian hitman'|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/9120523/Jill-Dando-murdered-by-Serbian-hitman.html|url-status=live|work=The Daily Telegraph|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925154056/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/9120523/Jill-Dando-murdered-by-Serbian-hitman.html|archive-date=25 September 2015|access-date=6 April 2022|url-access=limited}} In 2019, four men of the Serbian Secret Service were convicted of this murder. However, the verdicts were reversed on appeal in 2024, which led to a widely criticized acquittal of the four.Associated Press release [https://apnews.com/article/serebia-journalist-murdered-acquittal-8129c7fcb0974ebe927d484587d818b9 4 February 2024] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226143000/https://apnews.com/article/serebia-journalist-murdered-acquittal-8129c7fcb0974ebe927d484587d818b9 |date=26 February 2024 }} In 2002, journalist Bob Woffinden had advanced the view that a Yugoslav group was behind the Dando killing and, in various newspaper articles, contested all the grounds on which the police had dismissed this possibility.{{cite news | url= https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2008/aug/01/jilldando.ukcrime3 | title= With Barry George innocent, who did kill Jill Dando? | last= Campbell | first= Duncan | work= The Guardian | authorlink=Duncan Campbell (journalist, born 1944)| date= 1 August 2008 | access-date= 4 August 2008 | location= London | url-status= live | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141008115945/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2008/aug/01/jilldando.ukcrime3 | archive-date= 8 October 2014 }}

File:weston-super-Mare Jills Garden.jpg

Dando's funeral took place on 21 May 1999 at Clarence Park Baptist Church in Weston-super-Mare.{{Cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/349661.stm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20030618033541/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/uk/349661.stm|url-status=dead|title=BBC News | UK | Emotional farewell to Dando|archivedate=18 June 2003|website=News.bbc.co.uk|access-date=23 October 2021}} She was buried next to her mother in the town's Ebdon Road Cemetery.{{cite web|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article/4443940.ece|title=The Sunday Times|access-date=3 January 2016}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} Her father inherited all of her estate, valued at £607,000 after debts and taxes, because she died intestate.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/uk/387565.stm|title=BBC News – UK – Dando leaves £1m|access-date=3 January 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030811101745/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/uk/387565.stm|archive-date=11 August 2003}}

Dando's co-presenter Nick Ross proposed the formation of an academic institute in her name and, together with her fiancé Alan Farthing, raised almost £1.5 million. The Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science was founded at University College London on 26 April 2001, the second anniversary of her murder.{{cite web | url= http://www.jdi.ucl.ac.uk/about/jdi/index.php | title= About the UCL Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science | work= Jill Dando Institute | access-date= 30 October 2007 | url-status= live | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071107061003/http://www.jdi.ucl.ac.uk/about/jdi/index.php | archive-date= 7 November 2007 }}

A memorial garden designed and realised by the BBC Television Ground Force team in Dando's memory, using plants and colours that were special to her, is located within Grove Park, Weston-super-Mare, and was opened on 2 August 2001.{{cite news|url=http://www.thewestonmercury.co.uk/content/twm/flatfiles/jilldando/JillsGarden/GardenIndex.aspx |title=A memorial to Jill Dando |publisher=The Weston & Somerset Mercury |access-date=23 June 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070819002817/http://www.thewestonmercury.co.uk/content/twm/flatfiles/jilldando/JillsGarden/GardenIndex.aspx |archive-date=19 August 2007 }} The BBC set up a bursary award in Dando's memory, which enables one student each year to study broadcast journalism at University College Falmouth. Sophie Long, who was then a postgraduate who had grown up in Weston-super-Mare and is now a presenter on BBC News, gained the first bursary award in 2000.{{cite web|url=http://media.www.falmouthnavigator.com/media/storage/paper194/news/2001/03/05/StudentLife/Fca-Bursary.Winners-52419.shtml|title=FCA Bursary Winners|publisher=Falmouth Navigator|author=Sonia McDuff|date=3 May 2001|access-date=21 January 2008|archive-date=2 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402222809/http://media.www.falmouthnavigator.com/media/storage/paper194/news/2001/03/05/StudentLife/Fca-Bursary.Winners-52419.shtml|url-status=dead}}

In 2007, Weston College opened a new university campus on the site of the former Broadoak Sixth Form Centre where Dando studied. The sixth-form building has been dedicated to her and named the Jill Dando Centre.{{cite web|url=http://www.weston.ac.uk/media/article.php?id=369|title=University Campus Dedicated to Jill|work=Weston College|date=16 August 2007|access-date= 25 October 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071107032954/http://www.weston.ac.uk/media/article.php?id=369|archive-date=7 November 2007}}{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/6932654.stm|title= College remembers presenter Dando|date=6 August 2007|work=BBC News|access-date=30 October 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090217042126/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/6932654.stm|archive-date=17 February 2009}}

The life, death and subsequent police investigation of Jill Dando was the subject of a true crime Netflix miniseries titled Who Killed Jill Dando?, released in 2023 and running for a total of three 44-minute-long episodes.{{cite web |title=Who Killed Jill Dando? |url=https://www.netflix.com/ca/title/81594933 |website=www.netflix.com |publisher=Netflix |access-date=11 April 2024}} The miniseries received mixed reviews from critics, citing pacing issues, although the documentary's usage of vintage archive footage from Dando's career and early childhood were also noted as a point of interest. Critic Lucy Mangan drew attention to the details shared by Dando's brother, Nigel, of the two siblings "eating sand-blown lettuce sandwiches" on the beach together and how this added to the thoroughness of the story presented.{{cite web |last1=Gregory |first1=Elizabeth |title=Who Killed Jill Dando? The true and terrifying story behind the British journalist's cold-blooded murder |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/who-killed-jill-dando-real-story-b1106508.html |website=www.standard.co.uk |publisher=The Standard |access-date=11 April 2024}}{{cite web |last1=Mangan |first1=Lucy |title=Who Killed Jill Dando? review – only one person in this show seems to know |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/sep/26/netflix-who-killed-jill-dando-review-only-one-person-in-this-show-seems-to-know |website=The Guardian |date=26 September 2023 |access-date=11 April 2024}}{{cite web |last1=Farley |first1=Lloyd |title=The True Story Behind 'Who Killed Jill Dando?' The famed BBC personality's killer is still out there |url=https://collider.com/who-killed-jill-dando-true-story-explained/ |website=collider.com |date=7 October 2023 |publisher=Collider |access-date=11 April 2024 |archive-date=30 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250130052957/https://collider.com/who-killed-jill-dando-true-story-explained/ |url-status=live }} The miniseries also interviewed Barry George, who was 63 and living with his sister in Ireland at the time of filming. George stated, "I live in Ireland now. It's quiet here. You're treated like a scab in London, but you're not here."{{cite web |last1=Jacobs |first1=Eammon |title='Who Killed Jill Dando?' features Barry George, the man acquitted of the BBC TV presenter's murder. Here's what he's doing now. |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/who-killed-jill-dando-barry-george-netflix-2023-9 |website=www.businessinsider.com |publisher=Business Insider |access-date=11 April 2024 |archive-date=29 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229125621/https://www.businessinsider.com/who-killed-jill-dando-barry-george-netflix-2023-9 |url-status=live }}

{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

{{commons category}}

• {{IMDb name|name=Jill Dando|id=0199250}}
• [http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/jill_dando/default.stm BBC microsite for Jill Dando]
• [https://www.richplanet.net/richp_genre.php?ref=252&part=1&gen=1 Kill Jill - Investigative Documentary about the case]
• [https://goodnewspost.co.uk/ Good News Post] - newspaper set up by Jill Dando News, in Jill's memory, with the help of Nigel Dando

{{S-start}}

{{s-media}}

{{succession box

| before= Sue Cook

| title= Co-host of Crimewatch

| with= Nick Ross

| years= 1995–1999

| after= Fiona Bruce

}}

{{S-end}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dando, Jill}}

Category:1961 births

Category:1999 deaths

Category:1999 in London

Category:1999 murders in the United Kingdom

Category:1990s murders in London

Category:20th-century Baptists

Category:20th-century English journalists

Category:20th-century English women

Category:BBC newsreaders and journalists

Category:English reporters and correspondents

Category:Deaths by firearm in London

Category:Deaths by person in London

Category:English Baptists

Category:English women journalists

Category:English murder victims

Category:English television presenters

Category:Television personalities from Somerset

Category:Murdered British journalists

Category:Alumni of Cardiff Metropolitan University

Category:People from Fulham

Category:People from Weston-super-Mare

Category:People murdered in London

Category:Unsolved murders in London

Category:Violence against women in London