header-logo header-logo

02 September 2020 / Dr Jon Robins
Issue: 7900 / Categories: Features , Criminal
printer mail-detail

Gordon Park: under review

26580
In the light of the latest failed appeal against the conviction of Gordon Park for his wife’s murder, Jon Robins reviews the evidence

Some 23 years ago last month the body of Carol Park was discovered by amateur scuba divers in a large bag at the bottom of Coniston Water in the Lake District.

The grim find took place more than two decades after the 33-year old schoolteacher unexpectedly disappeared having missed a family day trip to Blackpool. Her corpse was trussed up with 20 feet of rope and string in a foetal position and then wrapped in a bin liner, rucksack and a sack made out of a dress. This was all weighed down by lead pipe.

Just before the summer break, appeal judges dismissed a posthumous attempt to overturn the 2005 conviction of her husband for her murder. Supported by the couple’s children, Gordon Park had always insisted that he was wrongly convicted. Little over a year after a failed appeal in 2008, the former teacher took his own life in prison on his 66th birthday.

The

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Hogan Lovells—Lisa Quelch

Hogan Lovells—Lisa Quelch

Partner hire strengthens global infrastructure and energy financing practice

Sherrards—Jan Kunstyr

Sherrards—Jan Kunstyr

Legal director bolsters international expertise in dispute resolution team

Muckle LLP—Stacey Brown

Muckle LLP—Stacey Brown

Corporate governance and company law specialist joins the team

NEWS

NOTICE UNDER THE TRUSTEE ACT 1925

HERBERT SMITH STAFF PENSION SCHEME (THE “SCHEME”)

NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND BENEFICIARIES UNDER SECTION 27 OF THE TRUSTEE ACT 1925
Law firm HFW is offering clients lawyers on call for dawn raids, sanctions issues and other regulatory emergencies
From gender-critical speech to notice periods and incapability dismissals, employment law continues to turn on fine distinctions. In his latest employment law brief for NLJ, Ian Smith of Norwich Law School reviews a cluster of recent decisions, led by Bailey v Stonewall, where the Court of Appeal clarified the limits of third-party liability under the Equality Act
Non-molestation orders are meant to be the frontline defence against domestic abuse, yet their enforcement often falls short. Writing in NLJ this week, Jeni Kavanagh, Jessica Mortimer and Oliver Kavanagh analyse why the criminalisation of breach has failed to deliver consistent protection
Assisted dying remains one of the most fraught fault lines in English law, where compassion and criminal liability sit uncomfortably close. Writing in NLJ this week, Julie Gowland and Barny Croft of Birketts examine how acts motivated by care—booking travel, completing paperwork, or offering emotional support—can still fall within the wide reach of the Suicide Act 1961
back-to-top-scroll