South Wales Police will review the evidence of a historic case which led to one of the UK's most notorious miscarriages of justice. The murder of Cardiff newsagent Phillip Saunders nearly 40 years ago led to the wrongful conviction of Michael O'Brien, Ellis Sherwood and Darren Hall, while the real killer is yet to be found.
The news comes just two months after the accused Michael O'Brien launched a petition to gain justice for Mr Saunders and his family. He has been advocating for the case to reopen.
In reaction to the police announcement, Michael said the update was a "really big step in the right direction".
Police Statement
The police force announced the update on Friday in a statement that reads: "South Wales Police is carrying out a review of exhibits to assess whether there is any potential for further forensic investigation. This work is being carried out by the force's Major Crime Review Unit in the hope that advances in forensic science will provide the breakthrough needed to identify who was responsible for Phillip Saunders murder in 1987. Mr Saunders' family and others affected by this case have been informed and our thoughts continue to be with them."
Michael O'Brien's Reaction
Speaking to WalesOnline on Friday, Michael said he had recently met officers at South Wales Police about the review. Describing a conversation with one of the officers, he said: "He was very committed to seeking justice for the victim's family and for us. I'm really pleased they are taking it seriously, it's so important. In the Cardiff Five campaign (the 1988 murder of Lynette White which resulted in five men wrongly being found guilty of her murder) they found the real killer. I'm hoping the same can be done here. I'm really hopeful. I'm a secondary victim. I met the [Mr Saunders'] family in a documentary a couple of years ago and I said I would campaign for the case to be reviewed. And hopefully this is the start of the case being reopened. I am on cloud nine to be honest, I didn't think I would ever see this day."
The Murder
On October 12, 1987, Cardiff man Mr Saunders headed home from his kiosk at Cardiff Central bus station with the £500 takings in his pocket, when he was attacked in his garden. The 52-year-old was murdered with a spade, and a pathology report revealed he had sustained five blows to the head.
Wrongful Convictions
On the night of Mr Saunders' murder Michael, Ellis and Darren were out in Cardiff attempting to steal a car and were seen in the city. The three men were brought in for questioning a month later, released on bail and then rearrested and charged with murder. On June 27, 1988, Michael O'Brien who was 19 at the time was put on trial for the murder alongside his brother-in-law Ellis and Darren. The three men were given a life sentence after they were found guilty of murder.
Appeal and Acquittal
In the mid-1990s all of the witnesses from the court case admitted that they had been lying during the case in an interview for BBC's Week In Week Out programme. Thames Valley Police conducted an investigation which concluded there had been more than 100 breaches of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act in the original inquiry by South Wales Police. The Welsh force was said by the Criminal Cases Review Commission to have shown a "systematic disregard" of interrogation rules. The trio, known as the Cardiff Newsagent Three, successfully put in an application and when the appeal came one year later the judges at the Court of Appeal sat for a total of three minutes, after hearing days of evidence, before they acquitted the trio of all charges. The three men were released after spending 11 years and 43 days in prison.
