‘IT HAUNTED MY DREAMS’
Jill Dando neighbour breaks silence on mystery killing and relives horror of finding murdered TV presenter’s bloodied body on doorstep
JILL Dando’s neighbour has broken her silence on the mystery killing and relived the horror of finding the murdered TV presenter dead on her doorstep.
Vida Saunders was having a cup of tea with a neighbour on April 26, 1999 when there was a knock at the door.
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The friend at the door said something had gone on in the next street, Gowan Avenue, and to go and look.
Not knowing what was going on, she took her mug of tea with her.
She told the : “What I saw as soon as we stepped through the front gate hit me like a physical blow.”
Jill’s body was lying at an odd angle and looked like she had collapsed on the spot, with her head against the front door.
Mrs Saunders said: “She was in a pool of blood, and I noticed her lips were blue and there were some small drips of blood running from her nose.”
Speaking publicly about the horrific incident for the first time, she described how Jill was still holding a bunch of keys in one hand and her handbag in the other.
Mrs Saunders added: “That image of Jill lying there... I would have visions, snapshots of it in my dreams and even when I was doing my laps when I went swimming. I couldn’t get it out of my head.
“It has given me many sleepless nights.”
Mrs Saunders has only ever spoken to the police about what she saw that day.
That image of Jill lying there... I would have visions, snapshots of it in my dreams and even when I was doing my laps when I went swimming. I couldn’t get it out of my head
Vida Saunders
Jill Dando's murder is one of the most famous unsolved crimes in Britain and there's a documentary about the crime coming out later this year.
Crimewatch host Jill, 37, was shot once in the head outside her flat in Fulham, West London in April 1999.
She was one of the best known faces on British television.
From 1995 until she died she was the presenter of BBC's Crimewatch and in 1997 she was awarded the BBC Personality of the Year.
The 37-year-old's body was discovered by neighbour Helen Doble 14 minutes later.
Forensic studies showed Jill was killed by a single shot to her temple fired from a 9mm semi-automatic pistol pressed against her head above her left ear.
Neighbours did not hear the gunshot.
The only confirmed sighting of the killer was by Jill's next-door neighbour Richard Hughes, who described a 6ft white man aged around 40 walking away from the scene.
At the time of her death Jill was engaged to be married to gynaecologist Alan Farthing.
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Local man Barry George was convicted and jailed for her murder in 2001 based on what the prosecution claimed was gunshot residue in his coat pocket.
His conviction was overturned on appeal in 2007 and he was found not guilty after a second trial in 2008.
The case has remained unsolved amid speculation this was a "professional" hit.
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