In the wake of Jill Dando’s murder on April 26, 1999, police acquired CCTV footage depicting a suited man, N6814, potentially involved in her killing. Despite witness identification of N6814 within a month and the availability of his image within two weeks of the crime, police inexplicably delayed nearly a year, until April 7, 2000, before initiating a search for him. This delay has drawn criticism and raised questions about the handling of the investigation.
An unidentified witness, driving near Dando’s Fulham residence shortly after the shooting, observed a startled man holding a mobile phone and sprinting away. She identified N6814 in the CCTV footage as the individual she had seen fleeing on May 24 and 25, 1999, within a month of the murder.
However, the next mention of N6814 in the case files appears almost a year later, on March 15, 2000, when the CCTV image was published in the Police Gazette, an internal police magazine. Around this time, the timestamp associated with N6814’s presence at Putney Bridge station also shifted from after midday in May 1999 to 11.53 am in March 2000 and Action 8990.
This revised timestamp seemingly ruled out N6814 as the man seen boarding the 74 bus, as police had previously stated in May 1999 that he alighted at the Putney Bridge bus stop at approximately 11.55 am, a short distance from the station.
The witness who initially identified N6814 expressed surprise and dismay upon learning of the delay in searching for him. She stated that she was never questioned about the CCTV footage during the defense case at Barry George’s first trial in 2001, nor asked to participate in an identification parade for George.
The Metropolitan Police declined to address questions regarding the delay in searching for N6814 and the discrepancy in the CCTV timestamps. Michelle Bates, George’s sister, expressed outrage over the delay and called for a thorough investigation into the apparent mishandling of the case.
