Court Case Result - Criminal Sentence
- Country
- England & Wales
- Hearing Date
- 26 May 2011
- Court Location
- Swansea Crown Court
- Judge
- Mr Justice John Griffith Williams KT
- Case Number
- T20097163
- Name
- John William Cooper
- Gender
- Male
- Age
- 66
- Co-Defendant/s
- No
- Bail Position
- In Custody
Offence/s
- Sentence notes
- 4 life sentences
- Length
- Life
Sentencing Details
- Public Protection Sentence
- Minimum to Serve - Whole Life
- Total Sentence
- Whole Life Term
- Sentenced Upon
- Conviction After Trial
- Distinguishing Features / Details
- He was found guilty of the murders of a 58-year-old man and his 54-year-old sister at their farmhouse near Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire on 22 December, 1985, as well as the murders of a 51-year-old man and his 52-year-old wife near Littlehaven, Pembrokeshire on 29 June, 1989. He had shot his victims at close range. He was also found guilty of rape, indecent assault and attempted robbery after he attempted to rob a group of five teenagers. He raped a 16-year-old female at knife point and sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl in a field near Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire on 6 March, 1996.
In 2006 police began a cold case review of the double murders after he was caught and sentenced for burglaries and robbery (in 1998). Investigators recovered a 12-bore sawn-off shotgun discarded near the scene of the robbery (at a house in Sardis, Pembrokeshire) that he was convicted of and DNA evidence from blood on the weapon matched his second male victim. He was charged in May 2009 after advances in forensic techniques meant investigators were able to link items in his possession to the crimes, including fibre evidence from a pair of gloves, DNA evidence from bloodstains on his draw-string shorts and handwriting evidence from a shotgun cartridge box with writing on it which could have matched the handwriting of his first female victim.
The judge said: "You are a very dangerous man... highly predatory who, but for advances in forensic science, may well have continued to evade capture... The murders were of such evil wickedness that the mandatory sentence of life will mean just that." - Online Resources
- Search Case Reports (Press / Police)
- Case Timeline
-
View Timeline
- Crime Location
-
View Map
Legal Teams & Authorities
- Chambers
- Chambers of Mr Mark Evans KC
- Barrister
- Mark Evans KC
- Chambers
- 9 Park Place
- Barrister
- Gerard Elias KC
- Expert Witness
- LGC Forensics
Defence Team
Prosecuting Team
TOP