A new three-part documentary series on the Pembrokeshire Murders will revisit evidence from the investigation and poses crucial questions about the case. The series will arrive on Sky Documentaries and the streaming platform NOW TV later this year.
Two double murders in the 1980s
During the 1980s, the seaside community of Pembrokeshire was rocked by two separate double murders. Siblings Richard and Helen Thomas lost their lives at their residence in 1985, and four years later, Peter and Gwenda Dixon were killed while walking along the Pembrokeshire Coast Path.
For many years the murders went unsolved, until 2011 when John Cooper was found guilty following a high-profile police investigation, celebrated for its ground-breaking cold-case detective work.
New questions from local residents
A decade later, in 2021, the case returned to the national spotlight with ITV drama The Pembrokeshire Murders, which starred Luke Evans. Among viewers of the drama were two Pembrokeshire residents – journalist Andy Chandler and legal assistant Hayley Wood. Separately, both started questioning whether Cooper might have been capable of other crimes.
After combining their efforts, their enquiry led them down an unforeseen path. They revealed material from Cooper's initial defence case, which they believe presents fresh questions regarding his convictions and indicates alternative potential suspects.
The police remain certain they've secured the correct individual, and question whether evidence scrutinised decades afterwards, without the complete context of the initial inquiry, can undermine the determinations reached originally. The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) is currently examining material connected to the case.
Documentary assembles unseen material
With access to Hayley and Andy as they continue their inquiry, alongside those involved in the initial police inquiry, the new documentary assembles previously unseen material and archive footage, direct testimony and specialist analysis to scrutinise the contrasting viewpoints surrounding the case. At its core lies a question about the boundary between belief and certainty – and what occurs when fresh questions emerge about something that had seemed resolved.
Hayley Reynolds, head of documentary commissioning at Sky, said: "Hayley and Andy are two Pembrokeshire locals whose search for answers about crimes that have loomed large in their community for decades takes them somewhere entirely unexpected. What they uncover raises important new questions, turning their investigation into a compelling search for the truth."
Louis Mole, creative director at Magna Studios, added: "Stories of this scale demand a cinematic sensibility, but also the rigour of journalism and a genuine exploration of the truth. This series embodies Magna's approach: telling gripping, human stories through the different perspectives of those who lived them, with the craft and integrity to engage and challenge audiences."
The Pembrokeshire Murders documentary will be arriving on Sky Documentaries and streaming service NOW TV later this year.
