On May 10, 2002, the Court of Appeal dismissed the posthumous appeal of James Hanratty for the 1961 A6 Murder. Two excellent documentaries were put out by rival TV channels about that time; this is one of them. Although it is primarily about Hanratty, future generations would do well to consider it a tribute to Valerie Storie, a remarkable woman who died in April 2016 aged 77, not bad for a paraplegic.
She is given much space here to tell her harrowing story, but no trigger warnings or safe spaces for a woman who suffered a fate worse than rape. She did not suffer fools gladly, she said.
If you are not au fait with the case, this is as good a place as any to start. It covers all the angles from before that fateful night when after kidnapping Michael Gregsten and his lover at gunpoint, James Hanratty murdered him in cold blood before raping Miss Storie then emptying his gun into her and leaving her for dead.
The investigating team led by Basil Acott did a stellar job, refraining from the temptation of framing the first suspect Peter Alphon, and following a trail that led to the small time wannabe gangster who had "done the lot" - one of the clues that helped fasten the noose around Hanratty's scrawny neck.
Campaigner Jean Justice is described as a playboy, but later in the programme his true colours are revealed. Another rich kid with too much time on his hands was the odious Paul Foot who latched onto inconsistencies in the evidence building an absurd conspiracy theory around them.
The prosecution case was not very slim as claimed by a senior police officer interviewed here; another senior officer who was given the task of reinvestigating any possible involvement of Alphon was not fooled.
There is a touch or unintended humour when the family of Hanratty and their fellow campaigners make a ludicrous about face. When DNA tests were ordered, Michael Hanratty said it was like winning the lottery, but when DNA pointed at the only credible suspect, Bindman lawyer Tamsin Allen was quick to dismiss it.
Valerie Storie said Michael Gregsten was her first true love and her last. Although she accepted their affair would have burned out, the crimes of James Hanratty shattered her life and so many others, and for what? Thankfully his father James Hanratty Senior died long before science confirmed a truth he would never have been able to accept.
She is given much space here to tell her harrowing story, but no trigger warnings or safe spaces for a woman who suffered a fate worse than rape. She did not suffer fools gladly, she said.
If you are not au fait with the case, this is as good a place as any to start. It covers all the angles from before that fateful night when after kidnapping Michael Gregsten and his lover at gunpoint, James Hanratty murdered him in cold blood before raping Miss Storie then emptying his gun into her and leaving her for dead.
The investigating team led by Basil Acott did a stellar job, refraining from the temptation of framing the first suspect Peter Alphon, and following a trail that led to the small time wannabe gangster who had "done the lot" - one of the clues that helped fasten the noose around Hanratty's scrawny neck.
Campaigner Jean Justice is described as a playboy, but later in the programme his true colours are revealed. Another rich kid with too much time on his hands was the odious Paul Foot who latched onto inconsistencies in the evidence building an absurd conspiracy theory around them.
The prosecution case was not very slim as claimed by a senior police officer interviewed here; another senior officer who was given the task of reinvestigating any possible involvement of Alphon was not fooled.
There is a touch or unintended humour when the family of Hanratty and their fellow campaigners make a ludicrous about face. When DNA tests were ordered, Michael Hanratty said it was like winning the lottery, but when DNA pointed at the only credible suspect, Bindman lawyer Tamsin Allen was quick to dismiss it.
Valerie Storie said Michael Gregsten was her first true love and her last. Although she accepted their affair would have burned out, the crimes of James Hanratty shattered her life and so many others, and for what? Thankfully his father James Hanratty Senior died long before science confirmed a truth he would never have been able to accept.