22 April 2024 , 19:00
1397
0
A man wanted for questioning in the Jill Dando murder bears a striking resemblance to a ruthless Serbian secret services assassin, a Mirror investigation can reveal.
The unidentified person was caught on CCTV following the gunman’s likely escape route after the Crimewatch presenter had been shot dead in 1999. It bore the hallmarks of a professional hit.
Facial comparison expert Emi Polito has now found a number of similarities between “Man X” in the CCTV and twice-convicted murderer Milorad Ulemek, who is serving 40 years in a Serbian prison.
At the time Jill was killed, the 56-year-old led a feared squad of hitmen responsible for targeting opponents of brutal dictator Slobodan Milosevic.
Jill’s brother Nigel, 72, told the Mirror: “I’m always interested in any new lines of inquiry about Jill’s death, especially if those lines of inquiry might lead to somebody being arrested and convicted of her murder.”
Man who 'killed 4 students' was 'creepy' regular at brewery and 'harassed women'
The unidentified person, known as Man X, was caught on CCTV following the gunman’s likely escape route
Milorad Ulemek led a squad of hitmen responsible for targeting opponents of brutal dictator Slobodan Milosevic (AFP via Getty Images)And Barry George, the man tried and convicted of the TV star’s murder only to be cleared after spending eight years in jail, has called on police to investigate.
Mr George, 64, who lived nearby at the time and has learning difficulties, said: “If he’s the person who committed that crime then he should face the full letter of the law and be brought from Serbia to the UK and be dealt with through the courts.”
Michael Mansfield KC, who defended Mr George during the first trial, said of our findings: “I would call for there to be a review and for the investigation to be resuscitated.
“There was a recent Netflix show called ‘Who Killed Jill Dando?’ Well, you may have the answer.”
Mr Mansfield added: "The Metropolitan Police has a duty to Jill Dando's family and loved ones, to Barry George and the public to fully investigate this new line of inquiry uncovered by the Daily Mirror.
"This should include a full forensic examination of the original CCTV of the unidentified man, all recovered finger and palm prints and to ascertain the movements of Ulemek at the time."
Milorad Lukovic (AFP via Getty Images)When Jill died, the Yugoslav war was raging and British planes were bombing Serbia as part of a NATO campaign. She had made an appeal for Kosovan refugees who were being massacred by Milosevic’s forces. Within hours of her death, a call was made claiming the murder was in response to the bombings.
The assassin bears a striking resemblance to the “sweating man” e-fit of a suspect who got on a bus in Fulham, South-West London, minutes after Jill was shot outside her nearby home.
Mr Polito, who gives expert evidence for the police, said Man X and the Serb killer have a similar shaped mouth, chin, hairline and right sideburn, while the general shape and sizes of their noses and right ear were the same.
Face recognition expert Emi PolitoHis report concluded: “Within the imagery limitations, no differences were found between Man X and Mr [Ulemek].” But he could only give limited support to them being the same person because of a lack of detail in the blurry still of the CCTV image.
Husband and wife enjoy Xmas dinner days before she's charged with his murder
He concluded: “There are a number of similarities between the two men… in particular the appearance of the mouth and of the hairline that add some light weight to the contention that they are the same person.”
Mr Polito said that it may be possible to make a more definitive finding if better quality CCTV was obtained. In addition, the expert highlighted a dent on the bridge of Ulemek’s nose which is not visible in the CCTV image but is evident in an e-fit created by an eye witness at the time, which was released by the police. Mr Polito has not given the e-fit image.
Ulemek’s lawyer Aleksander Kovacevic said his client did not wish to 'participate' when asked if he murdered Jill. He wrote: “I inform you that my client has been made aware of this and that he is not interested in participating.”
Jill’s killing on her doorstep at just after 11.30am on Monday April 26, 1999, shocked the nation and led to one of the biggest homicide investigations ever conducted in the UK.
Emi Polito has now found a number of similarities between “Man X” in the image and twice-convicted murderer Milorad UlemekIt remains one of Britain’s most notorious unsolved murders but police have not touched the files for more than 10 years.
With the 25th anniversary on Friday, a Mirror investigation has examined thousands of pages of police files, spoken to a number of witnesses and former detectives and travelled to Serbia. We have found that the Met Police were in possession of the original CCTV of “Man X” within two weeks of the murder.
It showed a white male with dark hair, thought to be born between 1960 and 1970, wearing a dark suit, a light shirt and a light and dark coloured tie. He was filmed approximately a mile from the murder scene walking into Putney Bridge Tube station, buying a ticket and then entering through the barriers. Seconds later he turned around and left the station after going back out through an exit barrier, police files reveal.
At the time, detectives suspected the killer had been trying to meet with a getaway driver in a blue Range Rover that was spotted before and after the murder.
Do you think we'll ever discover what happened to Jill Dando? Vote in our poll HERE to have your say.
Det Chief Insp Hamish Campbell told the opening of Jill’s inquest on May 5, 1999, that a man resembling the e-fit of the suspect was seen getting on a number 74 bus minutes after the shooting.
He was sweating heavily and speaking into a mobile phone. The bus, which was not fitted with CCTV, took him two stops from the Fulham Palace Road to the Tube station.
The driver came forward to confirm he had picked up the e-fit suspect. Detectives accessed CCTV footage taken in and around the station suspecting that was the route he took. But they never released images of Man X.
Scotland Yard confirmed earlier this month that he remains unidentified. The force refused to answer a number of other questions after we gave them two weeks to respond.
Like the descriptions of the suspect, Ulemek was in his 30s at the time and of a similar build, height and hair colour. He is in the Zabela high security prison, known locally as Serbia’s Alcatraz, near the eastern town of Prozarevac. Ulemek was convicted of plotting the murders of Serbia’s former President Ivan Stambolic in 2000 and the country’s first democratically elected PM, Zoran Djindjic in 2003.
The former French Foreign Legionnaire and gang boss is understood to have learned English while living in London as a young man. He is Serbia’s most infamous paramilitary soldier and human rights groups say his units were responsible for some of the worst atrocities in the Yugoslav wars of the 90s. More commonly known by his nickname, Legija or Legionnaire, he also calls himself Lukovic, a name he took from his former wife.
Jill, 37, was shot in the head once at point-blank range as she went to open her front door, seconds after getting out of her blue BMW convertible.
Jill Dando was planning to marry Alan Farthing (Alan Davidson/REX/Shutterstock)
Jill was killed by a single bullet as she stood on her front doorstep (PA)The attack bore the hallmarks of a ruthless and well thought-out military operation. Custom-made ammunition was used which experts had not previously seen in the UK.
Jill was grabbed from behind and forced down so her head was nearly on the ground by the killer who had been laying in wait for her. The gun muzzle was then pushed against her skull, behind her left ear. The “hard contact” attack meant the sound of the explosion from the gunshot was greatly reduced and no one reported hearing it. Jill was killed instantly.
The “9mm short” bullet recovered from the scene was smaller and less powerful than the more common 9mm parabellum. Ballistics experts found it could have been fired by a palm-sized semi-automatic pistol like a Beretta or a Walther PPK. Smaller pistols and unusual ammunition were hallmarks of a number of assassinations conducted abroad by the Yugoslav security services.
Jill was shot on her doorstep in Fulham (PA)Witnesses said the unmasked, smartly dressed gunman coolly shut the gate of Jill’s home at 29 Gowan Avenue and slowed down when he realised he was being watched.
Two neighbours who saw him leave the murder scene gave a similar description of a man that three people saw running down the Fulham Palace Road in the direction of Putney Bridge Tube.
Jill was killed three months after she announced her engagement to gynaecologist Alan Farthing. Her father Jack died on his 91st birthday in 2009 having never seen justice for his only daughter. Jill’s mother, Winifred, died of leukemia 13 years earlier.
Barry George was wrongfully convicted of Jill Dando's murder (PHILIP COBURN)Scotland Yard said in a statement on Monday: "On the 25th anniversary of Jill Dando’s murder, our thoughts remain with her family and all those affected by her death.
"In the years since her murder, the investigation has been subject to numerous reviews, aiming to identify whether matters could be progressed with advances in technology and forensics.
"The investigation is now in an inactive phase, which means that it is not currently subject to routine reviews. However no unsolved murder is ever closed and detectives would consider any new information provided to assess whether it represented a new and realistic line of enquiry.'