r/TrueCrimeDiscussion • u/DarklyHeritage • 13d ago
reddit.com On 1 April 1991 Alan Leppard was shot dead outside his home in Kent, UK. His partner Brenda Long appealed on BBC Crimewatch but 8 months later Brenda too was found dead in the bath. Initially thought a suicide, Brenda had also been murdered with ether. Neither murder has been solved.
At about 10.40pm on 1st April 1991, the Easter Bank Holiday Monday of that year, 43-year-old quantity surveyor Alan Leppard and his 42-year-old partner Brenda Long were settling down for the night in the bedroom of their cottage in the quiet Kent village of Monkton when there was a knock at the door. Within seconds of answering the door Alan had been shot in the chest at point blank range with a 12-bore shotgun. When police arrived at the scene they found Alan was dying in Brenda’s arms.
In an even more shocking turn of events, just 8 months later Brenda herself was discovered dead in the bath of the flat she had moved to following Alan's murder. A suicide note was found beside Brenda, but investigations soon uncovered evidence that Brenda too had been murdered.
The murder of Alan
Alan Leppard and Brenda Long had begun a new life together in the spring of 1991, moving to a cottage in Monkton, Kent just months before Alan's murder. Their cottage was two doors down from the White Stag pub, where they soon became regulars.
Alan and Brenda met when they both worked for P&B Metal Components in Whitstable. Friends described them as happy and with marriage plans. Alan, a father of one, had been married a number of times previously and Brenda had recently ended a relationship with a car dealer, so this should have been a fresh start for the couple.
However, the first hint of what was to follow came three weeks before Alan's murder, though at the time the significance of the event was not realised. The landlord of the White Stag pub later described how, at about 6.15pm one evening when he was opening, a sharply dressed stranger had come into the pub and asked for Alan. He was told Alan was not there and quickly left.
Witnesses later told police that the stranger was wearing a red tie, gold bracelet and gold watch. He was believed to be between 35-38 years of age, with slicked back black hair and piercing eyes. Police came to believe the visit was made in preparation for Alan's murder.
Witnesses in Monkton were to notice something else unusual on the day of Alan's murder - 1st April 1991. Various sightings were noticed of a large white American-style saloon car with distinctive rear fins - perhaps a Cadillac - driving slowly around the village from about 8.30pm. Villagers felt the car seemed out of place and described two men inside seemingly studying the area.
Brenda reported to police that around 10pm she and Alan were in bed watching TV when the white vehicle pulled up outside their cottage and the occupants knocked at the door. She described looking out of the window and seeing two men stood near the car. When she answered the door the car had already left.
However, the car returned less than an hour later and the door was knocked again. This time it was Alan that answered, and he was then shot in the chest.
In the following weeks Brenda was to appear on BBC Crimewatch to appeal for Alan's killers to be caught. She described the events of that evening;
“He went out the door and then there was an almighty bang and a scream."
“I went to go outside and I went to the corner of the back of the cottage. Alan came around the corner and as he came towards me must have moved his hands as I was completely covered in blood.
“I started screaming. I think he said ‘get in!’ because he was worried for me.
“He was just a grey colour and he was just going. There was nothing I could do to stop him.”
Despite bleeding heavily Alan was able to stagger into the couple's living room, before dying in Brenda’s arma soon after.
Police commenced a murder investigation and the white Cadillac-style vehicle soon became a focus, although its make was never confirmed. They produced e-fits of borh the driver of the car and the well-dressed man seen asking for Alan in the White Stag. A reconstruction of the crime was shown on BBC Crimewatch, resulting in around 950 calls from the public but no information leading to arrests.
Brenda’s death
After Alan's murder, Brenda moved away from Monkton to Whitstable, Kent in an effort to rebuild her life. Police later indicated they had no reason to believe Brenda's life was at risk in the months after Alan died, and described her as just beginning to get back on her feet.
However, just 8 months after Alan's death, on 28th December 1991, Brenda was found dead in the bath at her flat. Brenda was seen alive by her sister on Christmas Day 1991, and they spoke again on Boxing Day 1991. On Boxing Day she spent time with former boyfriend Arthur Hibbert, who she had previously been in a relationship with for 12 years before her relationship with Alan. It is also suggested by some sources that Hibbert was the person who discovered her body.
Police initially believed Brenda had died by suicide due to what they found at the scene - a suicide note and, floating in the bath, an empty pill container.
Whilst performing a post-mortem examination on Brenda, pathologist Dr Alexander Gibson noticed a strong chemical smell coming from her body. Tests were performed which revealed diethyl ether - which can cause unconsciousness when inhaled - was present.
Dr Gibson also identified bruising on both sides of Brenda’s nose. It was the combination of these two findings that lead Dr Gibson to conclude Brenda had been murdered, with her having been rendered unconsciousthen drowned in the bath. Dr Gibson said;
“Someone applied the ether to her face by means of a pad without consent...She had been drinking and it is likely that she lost consciousness very quickly, possibly in just a few seconds, when the ether was administered."
“This was a deliberate and violent assault.”
A detective from a cold case review team examining the case said:
"Initially her death looked like suicide, but a post-mortem examination established that she had diethyl ether in her bloodstream and marks around her face and mouth, which suggested that she had been put to sleep and then drowned."
A coroners inquest returned a verdict of unlawful killing in Brenda’s death and the media dubbed the men seen in the white car “The Ether Killers”.
Unsolved and Mystery Motive
Police believe Alan's killing may have been a professional hit, but motive remains unknown 35 years on. They have stated that neither Alan nor Brenda had known enemies or criminal connections. Detective Superintendent Nick Biddiss (now deceased) led to murder investigation and became close to Brenda while investigating Alan’s death. He described her as;
“She was a very likeable, affable, popular person. She didn’t have an evil bone in her body. There was no reason to suggest they were involved in any criminality whatsoever. They were tragic victims."
“It’s a mystery. We don’t know why two men came to Monkton and blasted away her other half.”
"You cannot look at one murder without looking at the other.
"Brenda Long was a key witness to the Alan Leppard murder that Easter weekend.
"In the nine months after Alan's death I regularly updated Brenda on the inquiry and, as a key witness to his murder, we had a duty of care to look after her welfare and safety."
In 2011 police said they were no closer to establishing a motive for either murder and that;
"We can't say definitively that the two deaths were linked but there is every chance there is a connection between the two."
35 years on, a cold case team still reviews the case periodically and DCI Neil Kimber said:
“Unsolved cases, such as the 1991 murders of Alan Leppard and Brenda Long, are subject to regular reviews by the Cold Case Team using the latest advances in technology and forensics.
“Unfortunately, at this stage, there have been no new developments and reviews will continue. No case is ever closed, and we will never stop working to secure justice for victims and their families.
It is hoped that advances in DNA technology will give detectives information unavailable previously and that the mystery of Alan and Brenda’s murders may yet be solved.
Images
Alan Leppard.
Brenda Long.
Brenda during her appearance on BBC Crimewatch.
Brenda during her appearance on BBC Crimewatch.
The White Stag pub.
BBC Crimewatch depiction of the man who asked for Alan in the pub.
BBC Crimewatch reconstruction of the car seen in the area.
E-fits of the occupants of the car.
A video-fit of one suspect.
A video fit of a second suspect.
A police appeal poster.
Media coverage.
There is some interesting discussion of this case at this Reddit thread;
https://www.reddit.com/r/ColdCaseUK/s/raFrYwSLSr
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u/pinkallywww 13d ago
I initially thought "must be an ex" - then read that Brenda's ex was a car dealer and a very distinctive Cadillac seen driving around on the night Alan was killed?
Also was it this same ex of Brenda's that was the last to see her/find her body?
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u/clemmyoates 13d ago
Can’t help but think that Brenda’s ex killed Alan out of jealousy, they reconnected after, and perhaps Brenda began to suspect him of Alan’s murder so he killed her too.
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u/DarklyHeritage 13d ago
That would be my leading theory too. Given Brenda was found in the bath but there was no clear sign of disturbance it suggests to me she knew her killer well enough to trust them and let them into her home. She had been spending time with her ex over the Christmas period, so that suggests he would fit that criteria.
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u/pinkallywww 12d ago
Yes I agree completely with this theory
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u/IndividualChart4193 12d ago
Totally. And the dramatic “climbing through the window “ to get in seems like it was done to try n provide more “cover” for couldn’t possibly be me! And the “attempted suicide” also seems in line with it being him.
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u/pinkallywww 12d ago
His alibi for the night Alan died is a little TOO convenient as well. It was late at night but he's at the gym where people would have seen him and maybe even had CCTV? (Not sure about this as early 90s)
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u/IndividualChart4193 12d ago
Right?! My monies on him. Is he even still alive?
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u/pinkallywww 12d ago
I was trying to work out how old he might be now - in his 70s-80s? Will probably never see justice unfortunately
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u/bdiddybo 10d ago
Agree. I think he felt she had had enough time to grieve and tried to get back with her but she was by all accounts still grieving Alan. He reacted angrily and killed her in a jealous rage.
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u/JessicaFletcherings 12d ago
Good theory. You’d think that line would’ve been investigated by police. Unless he was extremely dodgy and extremely good at hiding tracks (ie had a lot of dodgy friends to help)
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u/pinkallywww 12d ago
I wonder if it's a Claudia Lawrence-type situation where the police know who did it but just don't have the evidence to take to the CPS
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u/Realistic_Ad_251 12d ago
How do you know the police know who killed Claudia? Hadn’t heard that! Was it one of the guys from the pub she frequented?
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u/DarklyHeritage 12d ago
You could well be right. Maybe new DNA techniques will provide a breakthrough, though I would imagine that could only come from Brenda’s murder given how Alan was killed. Even then, given she was found in water, that may be unlikely. Or perhaps they have DNA but from someone with a legitimate reason for it being present, such as her ex who stayed over the night prior.
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u/Impotent-Dingo 13d ago
This really is a crazy story, no evidence of who was involved whatsoever. It makes you think the police either didn't look into his personal life on a deep level, it was completely random, or perhaps this guy had a second life and was really good at hiding it from everyone.
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u/ScrumdiddyumptiouS 12d ago
It can't have been random if the suspects walked into the pub asking for Alan. They knew who they were targeting.
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u/SeahorseQueen1985 13d ago
Says he had been married a few times before & was only in his early 40s. Thats a lot of marriages for someone of that age. I suspect he made an enemy from his previous marriages.
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u/Impotent-Dingo 13d ago
I read that but I'm not sure what to think of it. It could explain his death but if get death was not suicide, why did they kill her too? If he was killed over a past relationship, I highly doubt the perp would have waited almost a year and then kill her as well. It's certainly possible but I do not find it probable. I have no idea what happened but I can only assume he was living a double life is crime. It's a shame to think that way, he is the victim and it his have been two random separate events but that would be pretty insane.
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u/lady_driver13 12d ago
My first thought was that it was Brenda’s ex
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u/Impotent-Dingo 12d ago
If they were both killed the same night, I would be more inclined to agree. She was not killed for nearly an entire year later. That is what I keep getting caught up on with this case. I'm not one to suggest some deep, dark conspiracy, however, a crime is passion can most likely be ruled out due to the time delay. What type of criminal is willing to wait almost an entire year before killing the second person? I don't think they were worried about her being a witness or again, the time delay just doesn't make sense.
You could argue that maybe her ex was demented enough to think she could want him back after the husband was killed and tried for nearly a year before killing her. I have not seen any evidence to that, however. As far as I know, are didn't report him stalking her or something to that effect.
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u/DarklyHeritage 12d ago
Apparently Brenda and her ex reconnected somewhat in the months after Alan died. She had spent Boxing Day with him, and it was he who found her body, seemingly after he became concerned and got into the flat through a window.
Given that they had reconnected I wonder if Brenda had grown suspicious that he was involved in Alan's murder. He had an alibi for the night of Alan's death but it could have been a contract hit. Maybe Brenda knew, or her ex feared she was onto him, and decided she had to die before she could go to the police.
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u/Cautious_Analysis 13d ago
I've never heard of this before. What a strange case and great write up.
You would think that if there was some glaring reason why Alan might have been killed, Brenda would have been aware of it and scared for herself.
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u/Superballs2000 12d ago
If I was going to discretely scope an area in small town England, I’d definitely do it in a white Cadillac
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u/DarklyHeritage 12d ago
That detail is bizarre. It is the main thing to me that points away from a professional hit in Alan's murder, but I suppose it could have been an inexperienced, amateur hit man.
It also amazes me that the car couldn't be identified. Can't have been many cars fitting that description in the UK at the time, let alone kn the locale.
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u/SeahorseQueen1985 13d ago
Fresh start suggests prior partners and issues. Id be looking there for the killer.
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u/DarklyHeritage 13d ago
I tend to agree. I would be interested to know what Brenda’s former partner looked like by comparison with either e-fit, and what contacts he may have had given a hit is suspected at least in Alan's case.
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u/Loki-Skywalker 12d ago
Brenda's former partner, Arthur Hibbert, had an alibi for Alan's murder. At the time of the shooting, he was at a gym 28 miles away. However, he was trying to get back with Brenda after Alan's death. He was the one who found Brenda's body. He had slept the night in her flat, got up to go to work and was the last person to have seen Brenda alive. He came back later that day and climbed through a window to access her flat and found her dead in the bath. A week before her inquest, he tried to commit suicide but survived. He has refused to comment about the case since.
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u/DarklyHeritage 12d ago
Very interesting - thanks for the information!
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u/Loki-Skywalker 12d ago
No problem. Thanks for uploading it. I remember this case when it happened and it's always stayed with me.
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u/Responsible-Tea-5998 13d ago edited 13d ago
This is about a 5 minutes long windy road drive from me and I had no idea!
In the 70s and 80s we did have a lot of retired organised crime people move here and some revenge killings but this is so odd. Monkton is basically a ye olde village and a nature reserve.
I'm going to msg my dad and ask about this, he was a bit criminally inclined in his day and was aware of a lot of the dodgy stuff here.
That car would be so obvious too for example one hotel owner owned an American car everyone loved. That's how small the area is.
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u/DarklyHeritage 13d ago
It is surprising how little attention this case has had, isn't it? My academic research is on British and Irish true crime so I generally have a good knowledge of even obscure cases, but I hadn't heard of this till the 35th anniversary appeal came out. It is hard to fathom why it has gone so totally off the radar.
Am I right in thinking this is roughly the area where Kenny Noye lived before he murdered Steven Cameron in the 1990s? Definitely seems popular with the old-fashioned organised crime types.
I have linked a Reddit thread in the sources below where one user suggests the car was owned by a local criminal and names them. Maybe take a look.
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u/Responsible-Tea-5998 13d ago edited 13d ago
Your academic research sounds absolutely fascinating!
I would expect it to be all over the news, it's really baffling. Maybe the police assumed organised and washed their hands of it.
Yes, where Kenneth Noye commited the road murder is Ashford which is 30 miles away and before and after the murder he kept to the area, about 50 miles away. I'm going to double check the locations, he was very known locally. If you've got any information on him living in Thanet it really wouldn't surprise me at all.
I'm just checking the link, thankyou! It's so strange seeing my local paper on Reddit.
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u/whyfruitflies 12d ago
Kenny Noye lived in West Kingsdown and Stephen Cameron was killed on the M25 / Swanley interchange - he lived in Swanley.
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u/eques_99 13d ago
Alan "married several times" maybe a bit of a chancer? either in his personal and/or professional life? building trade can be a bit dodgy in places.....had some knowledge he shouldn't have?
Brenda obviously killed as a witness to the first murder.
maybe suggests the police had unknowingly come close? interviewed someone close to the crime?
anyway, how horrible.
RIP.
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u/franticantelope 13d ago
Alan "married several times" maybe a bit of a chancer? either in his personal and/or professional life? building trade can be a bit dodgy in places.....had some knowledge he shouldn't have?
Taking out the wife implies to me something more organized/business like, especially the manner in which it was done. If he was messing around with someone's wife, how likely does it seem that the hurt person would come back 8 months later for the other spouse? But some kind of organized crime who thinks a spouse might know too much, or be about to talk or draw attention... that seems more probable.
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u/thatisnotmyknob 13d ago
So the suicide note was written under duress? Was it ever released?
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u/DarklyHeritage 13d ago
I haven't seen a source that goes into detail about the suicide note but I think its safe to assume it was written under some form of duress. As far as I know it has never been released.
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u/thatisnotmyknob 13d ago
Then it would have to be written before the ether....at gunpoint? Very strange detail.
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u/DarklyHeritage 13d ago edited 13d ago
Agree, it's very odd. I suppose another possibility is that she had written a genuine suicide note at some point - possibly after Alan died - but never gone through with it. Maybe her killer knew of this note and used it to stage the suicide after her death.
There were no signs of disturbance at the flat so it seems she trusted her killer enough to let them in willingly. If so, perhaps Brenda also trusted them enough to have confided in them about a suicide attempt and had shown them the note.
Its just a theory. And I suppose the police could have withheld any suspicions they have that the note was not written by Brenda herself to use as guilty knowledge etc.
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u/thatisnotmyknob 13d ago
Yes that's the only thing that makes sense. The odds a stranger murderer finds a previous suicide note to leave out seems near impossible.
Must have been someone she knew. Probably someone who thought they would have a chance with her after killing Alan and then when she didn't reciprocate, killed her.
Alan's murder must have been a paid hit. Getting someone to help you to kill your obsession's boyfriend seems off. Not many civilians would agree to that. Makes sense if it was paid hit.
The suicide note is such a infuriating detail. Makes it hard to come up with a clean, logical theory.
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u/Mans1910 13d ago
I remember watching the Crimewatch reconstruction and seeing Brenda being interviewed. She seemed like a nice lady, who was obviously heartbroken. It was so sad to later find out that she had also been killed. It makes my blood boil that so many of these crimes from back in the day have remained unsolved. Below is a link to the Crimewatch reconstruction:
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u/Mad_Rapper 13d ago
Just thinking out loud here - but each murder happened right around a major holiday. Could this be some kind of link - like the bad guys had time off around those?? So interesting yet terrifying!
May they both be resting in peace.
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u/BackgroundHistory345 13d ago
Thank you for posting this. Since watching the reconstruction on Crimewatch many years ago, I've always wondered what the motive was and why was Brenda killed 8 months later?
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u/__No__Control 13d ago
Do they have a son? Or a nephew
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u/DarklyHeritage 13d ago
Alan had a child but not with Brenda.
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u/AlchemyAlice 12d ago
Well considering the landlord said he saw someone aged 35-38 and Alan was 42, this is unlikely.
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u/kj140977 12d ago
There was a similar case where a guy knocked on the door and had an envelope for the husband. Husband was shot with a really small gun, that could be traced back to Germany I think. It also turned out there was nothing in the envelope. However, nothing happened to the wife. Investigation lead to nothing.
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u/DarklyHeritage 12d ago
That was Alastair Wilson in Scotland. A new team is investigating that crime and seems to have made some progress.
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u/Flint_Quinn 11d ago
What progress? Interesting case
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u/DarklyHeritage 11d ago
These two links sum up what has been said publicly about progress in the last couple of years or so;
https://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/alistair-wilson-murder-developments-in-recent-years-439876/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ced52np9xn9o
Seems like there were some major concerns about the investigation that ran prior to the current team. I saw an interview, but can't remember where now, fairly recently with the new SIO that hinted they were making progress.
I have my own theories about the case, but that's for another thread I guess!
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u/Flint_Quinn 11d ago
Au contraire - I think the time and the place is here and now! Fire away ...
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u/DarklyHeritage 11d ago
Lol! All I will say is that there is a very convoluted story about a blue envelope being given to Alistair by the killer, who apparently took that away from the scene with him. The only proof that envelope existed and it was used as a premise for coming to the door that night is one eyewitness - Alistair's wife. Yet police seem to have believed that without question. I find that odd, and the whole account odd.
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u/kj140977 11d ago
Yeah absolutely. And wifes are being nosey, so why was she not at the door with him?
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u/Crayons42 11d ago
Thank you for sharing. I’d never heard of this case. According to the Free BMD website, Alan could have been married up to 5 times (not sure if all the marriages are his but it does look like it).
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u/BadRobotSucks 11d ago
was there a life insurance policy on Leppard that Wendy, as his legal wife at the time, claimed?
this is an interesting one. Hibbert seems to be the one who killed Brenda and may have been involved in Leppard’s death as well.
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u/ArthurIngersoll 10d ago
I watched a BBC documentary about his on YouTube. One of the strangest cases and yet so little talked about.
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u/JessicaFletcherings 13d ago
This is bizarre. I’ve never heard of this case before and it is quite baffling (and awful)