In the woods near Penllergaer, Swansea, a 12-year-old girl named Muriel Drinkwater was sexually assaulted and shot. The murder of Muriel Drinkwater in 1946 is one of the oldest ongoing cold cases in the United Kingdom and came to be known as the Little Red Riding Hood murder.
One of Wales’s most intriguing criminal stories is still the murder of Muriel Drinkwater. Because the case of Murial Drinkwater has remained unresolved despite a multi-decade investigation that has used modern technologies, let’s learn more about Muriel Drinkwater.
The Little Nightingale
John Percival and Margaret Drinkwater had four children; Muriel Joan was the youngest. She attended Gowerton High School and earned the nickname “The Little Nightingale” in her community for her lovely singing voice.
On June 27, 1946, like she did every day on her way home from her school, Muriel was skipping through the woods when the idyllic summer day turned tragic. Let’s find out what happened on the day of the murder as we read the next section.
The Tragedy
Twelve-year-old Muriel Drinkwater traveled home from school in the Penllergaer, Swansea, on 27th of June 1946. At about 2:30 pm, Muriel was found singing as she got off their school bus. She had to go a mile through the woods to get to Tyle-Du Farm, where her family lived.
Later on that afternoon, Muriel’s mother, Margaret, caught a glimpse of Muriel as she approached their property from around 400 yards distant through her kitchen window. Muriel and Margaret waved to one another as Muriel went to the yard.
Moments later, Muriel’s route curved into a densely forested region, and Muriel’s mother returned to her kitchen duties. Muriel didn’t come back home. When Muriel didn’t come, Margaret wasn’t particularly concerned, and she thought that her daughter had probably left to play with friends.
After a few hours, John Percival, Muriel’s father, and other villagers started looking for her. She was discovered lying in the bushes in the Japanese larch grove close to her home at 4:30 pm the next day. Her eyes were still wide open, and she held up one hand.
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The Findings
According to an autopsy that was performed after her death, Muriel had been beaten, raped, and shot twice in the chest.
The gun used for the murder of Muriel Drinkwater was located by the police in the brush close to where Muriel’s body was recovered. Wrappers from lollipops and cigarettes were also discovered close by, indicating that the killer had been watching for her to pass by.
The team also recovered a book that was originally owned by Muriel but was discovered at a charity store in Carmarthen. The team is looking into whether this has any bearing on the case and is calling for anyone with information to come forward.
The Persons of Interest
The suspect’s profile was made public by the police. More than 20,000 males residing in Swansea, Carmarthenshire, and Aberdare, were questioned, and they visited every residence within a 400 square kilometer area. Nonetheless, the murderer remained hidden.
Hubert Hoyles
Hubert Hoyles has been a significant person of interest in Muriel’s slaying for many years. 13-year-old Hoyles bought eggs from Muriel’s mother at their farm on the day of Muriel’s murder. He saw Muriel walking on the path on his way home. Knowing that Hoyles had been the final person to see poor Muriel alive, suspicion immediately surrounded him.
At a police storage facility in 2008, Paul Bethel, a DCI, found Muriel’s blue coat, school uniform and underwear. Bethell was even thrilled that a no longer visible dried semen stain was ringed with yellow color on the back of the coat.
Colin Dark, a doctor, received the coat from Bethell, who examined it over three years and effectively extracted enough DNA snippets to produce a Y-STR profile from the said semen stain. By testing and collecting swabs from the murderer’s kids, grandsons, or even the great-grandsons, the police will be able to identify Muriel’s killer.
Its profile was entered into UK National DNA Database, but none of the nearly five million DNA profiles there recognized it. But more significantly, Hoyles was cleared by the DNA findings of any role in the murder of Muriel Drinkwater.
Harold Jones
When two young girls were slain in a town approximately 45 miles away, Harold Jones was suspected of also killing Muriel, according to South Wales Police. However, after reexamining the forensic evidence and considering allegations that he was accountable, they determined that Jones was not the murderer.
The head of the South Wales Police’s Specialized Crime Review Unit, Detective Chief Inspector Mark Lewis, stated that due to advancements in forensic technology, it had been proven that Jones was not Muriel Drinkwater’s killer and had eliminated Harold Jones as a suspect in the murder of Muriel Drinkwater Case.
He was then released after being found not guilty and was carried through the town shoulder high by his supporters. In the days following his verdict, he struck again. This time, the victim was an 11-year-old girl named Florence Little. He enticed her to his residence, cut her throat, and hid her body in the attic.
When her remains were found, Jones confessed to both murders and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. After being released from prison in 1941, he enlisted in the army and served in Libya before his military service ended in February 1946.
Four months after he left the forces, the murder of Muriel Drinkwater happened, which led him to be a person of interest.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Curious about what happened to this poor young girl who lost her life at such a young age? Here are some questions most people talk about.
What happened to Muriel Drinkwater?
The Little Red Riding Hood murder, often called the Muriel Drinkwater murder, is a 1946 child murder case from Wales that has never been solved. At Penllergaer, Swansea, a 12-year-old schoolgirl named Drinkwater was raped and shot.
What is the mystery of Harold Jones?
In 1921, while he was only 15, British child killer Harold Jones murdered two preteen girls in Monmouthshire, Wales. On June 21, 1921, in the Monmouthshire Assizes, Jones was found not guilty of killing 8-year-old Freda Burnell, his first victim.
Where is Muriel Drinkwater buried?
On July 2, more than 3,000 people mourned for Muriel Drinkwater’s burial. She was laid to rest in Penllergaer’s St. David’s Church, UK.
The Bottom Line: What We Know
A 12-year-old girl named Muriel Drinkwater was murdered in 1946 while returning from South Wales after being beaten, raped, and shot. Despite the time and money invested in tracking down the murderer, the case was unresolved.
Muriel Drinkwater’s murder had a profound impact on the entire family. The murder of Muriel Drinkwater has been an open case, and many are still yelling for justice.
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