The Black Panther: Donald Neilson

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In 1975, in the midlands of the United Kingdom, the elusive Black Panther struck again. Only this time it was a kidnapping of a young heiress. In this week’s episode, we cover the crimes of Donald Neilson who went from a home invader to a kidnapper murderer in a short period of time.

Follow along with this week’s episode by using our crime timeline.

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Location

Our episode begins in the village of Highley in Shropshire, England located on the west bank of the River Severn. Originally a farming village the discovery of coal turned the area into a large coal mining industry that remained in operation until the late 1960s. Shropshire is a landlocked area in the West Midlands of England that borders Wales and is considered the birthplace of industry.

Gone girl

On the morning of January 14, 1975, Dorothy Whittle took a bowl of cornflakes up to her 17-year-old daughter’s room to wake her up for the day as was her routine. When she opened the door she was surprised not to find Lesley in bed. After calling out for her and getting no reply she went to call Lesley’s older brother Ronald who lived close by. However, she was unable to do so as the phone line was dead. Dorothy drove to Ronald where he assured her that Lesley probably got up early and took the coach (bus) to school early as she had been studying for her exams.

When Dorothy and Ronald returned to the Whittle residence that theory was proven incorrect. In the lounge, a Turkish Delight box was found to contain four small rolls of Dymo tape that when rolled out told the family that Lesley had been kidnapped and the kidnapper was demanding a 50,000-pound ransom. The taped message also warned the family “no police, no tricks or death. 

Additional directions told the family to have someone go to a telephone kiosk in the Swan Shopping Center in Kidderminster. They were to arrive by 6 pm and wait until they were contacted. The call would come in sometime between 6 pm and 1 am. When the phone rang the person answering the call was only to give their name and then they would be told where to go next to drop off the ransom payment.

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Help

What would make Lesley a quiet, friendly studious girl a target of a kidnapper? She happened also to be an heiress to the Whittle Transportation Company. Her father, George, had died three years previously and had left his entire fortune to Dorothy, Ronald, and Lesley which at the time was 250,000 to 300,000 pounds.  

There was a bit of a scandal with George’s passing and his decision to leave everything to Dorothy who he had been with for thirty years and his kids. George and Dorothy were never married as he was still married to his first wife Selena. Selena had contested the will and had won a significant settlement. All of this had hit the media which had covered the sordid affair. 

Dorothy and Ronald didn’t hesitate to contact the police with Detective Chief Superintendent Bob Booth leading the investigation. Detective Booth had an impressive history of solving all seventy cases he had investigated. It was decided that Ronald would take the ransom to the telephone kiosk with undercover officers stationed nearby. Inspector Eddie Berry was stationed fifty yards from the telephone banks to record any calls that came into the kiosk. 

First of many

What happened next would be the first of many missteps by the authorities. In the Killers show Detective Booth is interviewed years later. He would say the first blunder came when he did not request a news blackout. The investigators had worked hard to keep Lesley’s kidnapping quiet and since things were moving so quickly they didn’t think the press would become aware of the story until after Lesley’s safe return. However, that assumption would turn out to be a mistake. 

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News broke of the heiress’s kidnapping that afternoon and the press descended onto Highly and they were relentless. An employee of the Whittle Transportation Company had leaked what was happening to the press. It got so bad that when Ronald went to the telephone kiosks the press followed and kept trying to take pictures and interview him. They didn’t seem to care that a young woman’s life was on the line. 

The officer in charge at the Swan Shopping Center decided to call off the vigil as he felt the kidnapper would not call due to all the media coverage. However, it doesn’t seem like he told everyone he was calling it off as Officer Eddie Berry was still monitoring the phones. It was around midnight that he heard one of the phones ringing. No one was there to pick up the phone call. To say Detective Booth was livid as he had not been informed that Ronald was sent home would be an understatement. He took it personally as he had let the family down.

24 hours

It was going on 24 hours since Lesley was taken from her home when authorities were notified by Whittle employee Len Rutt that he had answered a call from Lesley. At first, he thought it was her, but to his disappointment, it was only a recording. The recording was as follows, “mum, you need to go to Kidsgrove Post Office telephone box. The instructions are inside. I’m okay, but there are to be no police and no tricks, okay.”

It was decided once again that Ronald would be the courier. Kidsgrove was 75 miles from Highly so he had a distance to go but before he could leave the Scotland Yard Surveillance Team wanted to fit Ronald with a transmitter. This would just record his movements. Detective Booth contacted the local authorities in Kidsgrove informing them of a highly sensitive ransom drop being made in their area. Detective Booth didn’t want any interference from the Staffordshire Police asking them just to stay in bed. 

Ronald finally drove off, but due to all the time it took for the transmitter fitting and notification of local authorities he was over an hour late. It also didn’t help that when he arrived at the phone booth he couldn’t find the instructions that were taped to the backboard. Once he retrieved them he was told to drive a mile away to a road running through Bathpool Park. He was to go to a specific location, wait in the car and flash his lights. Once an hour had passed with no indication that the kidnapper was coming, Ronald was again sent home.

Day four

The next day Detective Booth wanted to do a full-scale search of Bathpool Park, but he was overruled by Scotland Yard who was concerned that if the kidnapper were watching it would tip him off that police were involved and that would put Lesley’s life in even more danger. A compromise was reached with Scotland Yard offering to send in some undercover officers to do a discrete search of the park. Detective Booth relented and over a two-day search, he was informed that nothing of significance was found.

Detective Booth asked the family if they would be willing to make a direct appeal to the kidnapper as they had not heard from him in a few days. Ronald gave a tv interview telling the kidnapper that he waits by the phone day and night for his call. He also had a message for those pretending to be the kidnapper and that was to knock it off. Hoping that the kidnapper would respond led to nothing but disappointment.

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Discovery

Nine days after Lesley’s kidnapping the investigation seemed to stall until Detective Booth received a phone call from West Midland Police asking him to examine an abandoned vehicle with the license plate of TTV 454H left in Dudley on the second night of Lesley’s kidnapping. This was the night Ronald had been waiting around for the kidnapper to call at the Swan Shopping Center. 

On January 15, 1975, in Dudley, a gunman opened fire on security guard Gerald Smith outside the Freightliner Railway Depot. Gerald Smith was shot six times and would survive his injuries. He would give police a description of his shooter after he confronted him for trespassing as looking like a “tramp.” The confrontation took place just 300 yards from where the abandoned vehicle was found. Shockingly, this car was not checked for eight days. 

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Once the vehicle was checked its contents would send Lesley’s kidnapping in a new direction. On the front seat were a tape recorder and a cassette tape, some rope, a flashlight or torch, and a pair of ladies’ slippers. Once the tape was played it confirmed to investigators that this was the vehicle that had transported Lesley away from her home.

The recording was as follows, “mum go onto the M6 North to junction 10 and onto the A454 towards Walsall. Instructions are taped under the shelf of the telephone box. There is no need to worry mum, I’m okay. Erm, I got a bit wet, but I’m quite dry now. I’m being treated very well, okay.” 

Scavenger hunt

Other items found were four envelopes that gave ransom instructions to phone boxes all over the Midlands. Detective Booth decided to follow the trail that Ronald may have followed that first night. The trail led Detective Booth to two telephone kiosks in Dudley just yards from where the kidnapper’s car had been abandoned. From there the instructions led Detective Booth to drive across the bridge to the Freightliner Railway Depot where he was to cross the road onto the car park to gate 8 of the Dudley Zoo. 

This was the same area where Gerald Smith had confronted a trespasser and gotten shot. In Detective Booth’s mind, he was convinced that the man who kidnapped Lesley had shot the security guard. Ballistics were run on the bullets retrieved from Smith’s shooting and the results would once again throw this case in a new direction.

The Black Panther

The bullets that have been embedded in Gerald Smith matched bullets to three sub-postmaster murders committed in 1974 and all attributed to the elusive Black Panther. On February 15, 1974, an intruder awoke the 18-year-old son of sub-postmaster, Donald Skepper of Harrogate in North Yorkshire. He pointed a gun at the young man and directed him to enter his parent’s bedroom to get the keys to the safe. Donald Skipper was awoken and told his son “let’s get him” but before he could get out of bed the gunman shot him and fled. Donald Skepper would die in his wife’s arms. 

Sub-postmasters and mistresses usually operated the post office alongside their other businesses and resided on the premises. 

The authorities were notified and put up roadblocks around town, but they would be unsuccessful. What the police didn’t know then is that the burglar who the media would later name the Black Panther due to a description by one of the victim’s wives because he was so quiet and quick like a panther, is that he hadn’t used a car that night. Upon fleeing the Skepper residence he followed the stream to the south end of town and got on the train. 

On September 6, 1974, just seven months later around 4 am Derek Austin, sub-postmaster of Baxendale Telegraph Office was shot with a .22 caliber firearm. He would also die after confronting the burglar. Then two months later on November 11, 1974, at the Langley Telegraph Sub Office, sub-postmistress, Margaret Grayland was found severely beaten suffering from several skull fractures. Her husband Sidney Grayland had been shot dead. 

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Sidney had gone to lock the back door of the store when Margaret heard a loud bang. When she went to investigate she was beaten in the head and left for dead. The burglar left with 1,000 pounds. Once again a .22 caliber firearm had been used. Police attributed all three murders to the Black Panther.

Deadly consequences

In addition to the three murders, the Black Panther had been linked to dozens of unsolved home invasions, 400 in fact. His M.O. was to force open windows, and cut telephone wires all while wearing his signature look of a black balaclava, dark clothing, and carrying at least two firearms. So now investigators knew who was responsible for Lesley’s kidnapping; they just didn’t know who “he” was. 

There was a description of the Black Panther that police in the area carried with them. He was described as being between 5’5 – 5’7, athletic build, possibly 35 or older with a possible shoe size of 7. His hair is described as dark, with no sideburns, with hair short in the back and perhaps curly on end. His eyes were described as wild or staring, and he had a fresh complexion and a semi-lantern jaw. How police came by this description is from a confrontation with a sub-postmaster in 1972 who had confronted a burglar and Margaret Grayland after she recovered from her injuries.  

In February 1972, the Panther gained entry to a sub-post office located in the residence of Leslie Richardson. Leslie was awoken in bed by a hooded man. He immediately jumped into action physically confronting the burglar and as the two men fought his wife called the police. Two gunshots would go off putting holes in the ceiling. In the melee, Leslie would rip off the intruder’s hood. The burglar would leave empty-handed.

Six week later

Six weeks after Lesley Whittle had been taken from her bedroom in the middle of the night police were no closer to finding her or her kidnapper. Both Detective Booth and Ronald Whittle went on tv to plead for the kidnapper to get in touch. In a bit of a ruse to not let on that Ronald had been working with police from the beginning, Detective Booth played ignorant when the reporter asked him about the second failed ransom drop in Bathpool Park. Detective Booth wanted a reason to do a more thorough search of the park and felt that if he pretended to just hear about the location the kidnapper wouldn’t be surprised by a search taking place there. 

This new search led to the discovery of evidence that seemingly had been overlooked when Scotland Yard had conducted its search seven weeks earlier. A piece of Dymo tape was found on the ground outside of a drain shaft. Typed out was “drop the suitcase into the hole.” A spanner or wrench was also found. This device could be used to unlock the metal bars covering the drain holes. After these discoveries seems to be the point at which the various teams, Detective Booth, Scotland Yard, and the Staffordshire police department working relationships started to fracture.

Day 51

It had been 51 days since Lesley Whittle was kidnapped and police were no closer to finding her. Phillip Mastery, a scene of crime officer similar to that in the US as a crime scene investigator or CSI, was called in to follow the various clues that had been found around Bathpool Park. His search focused on the underground shafts that ran beneath the park. He started with the shaft that the message about dropping the suitcase into was found outside of. In one shaft he found a reporter’s notebook, tape recorder, and pencils. 

In searching another ventilation shaft Mastery descended 60 feet into the cold and damp when he came upon a platform that held a piece of foam and a sleeping bag. He could see a metal wire secured to the ladder and when he looked below the platform, he discovered the naked body of Lesley Whittle hanging from a wire noose around her neck. Her feet dangled just 7 inches off the bottom of the shaft floor. 

Evidence would determine that Lesley had most likely died the night of the failed ransom drop in Bathpool Park. She is believed to have died due to a heart attack as her neck did not break and there were no signs of strangulation.

Questions

Authorities wanted to know why Lesley’s kidnapper didn’t appear to collect the ransom that night and killed her instead. One possible explanation was the kidnapper confused Ronald’s vehicle with someone else that night. Peter Shorto and his girlfriend had gone to Bathpool Park for some alone time around 2:45 am. They were there for about 15 minutes when they saw a flashing light from a torch or flashlight about 150 yards away from their car. The light was moving side-to-side so it didn’t look to be coming from headlights. 

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It was soon after that Short saw a panda car (police car) enter the park and drive to the right of his car parking about 100 yards away with an officer exiting his vehicle to smoke a cigarette. Detective Booth believes that mistaking Short’s vehicle for Ronald and the police presence spooked the kidnapper who then panicked, ran back to the shaft Lesley was being held in, and in his anger pushed her off the platform killing her. 

There are other law enforcement officials who disagree with Detective Booth’s theory namely Harold Wright, head of Stratfordshire’s Criminal Investigation Division. He adamantly denies that there were any police in the area that night. However, in one documentary Detective Booth had gotten a copy of all the cars that were recorded going into Bathpool Park that night and before Ronald had even arrived a panda car is reported to have entered. 

Sidelined

After the discovery of Lesley’s body, Detective Booth was taken off the case and it was handed over to Commander John Morrison, head of Scotland Yard’s Murder Squad. Detective Booth would be further chastised for what his superiors felt was unprofessionalism by being demoted back to patrol officer.

After headlines broke of Lesley’s murder the public started to notify the authorities of items they had found in Bathpool Park over the fifty-one days that some could say were an embarrassment of riches; flashlight, more Dymo tape, binoculars. Even though police had collected various items and even found fingerprints, no match was made, and they were no closer to finding out who the Black Panther was. 

Suspicious character

On December 11, 1975, almost a year after Lesley’s kidnapping, two patrol officers in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, noticed a man acting out of place. They pulled up beside him and asked him his name and address which he refused to give. Suddenly the man showed a sawed-off shotgun pointing it in the window at the two officers. The man then said, “don’t move, any tricks and you are dead.” He then directed the officer in the passenger seat to get in the back seat while he got in beside the driver. He then put the gun into the side of the driver and directed him to drive out of town. 

While driving through town the officer behind the wheel suddenly jerked it back-n-forth while the officer in the back grabbed for the shotgun with two shots going off. The panda car would come to rest outside of a fish and chips shop. One customer, Roy Morris, exited the shop to assist the officer in cuffing up the man. 

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Once in custody, the man would remain silent for two days refusing to answer any questions. After two days for whatever reason, he decided to talk, telling the officers his name, Donald Neilson.

The Black Panther

Donald Neilson was born Donald Nappey on August 1, 1936, in Bradford. His father, Gilbert was a textile worker, and his mother Phyllis a housewife. Phyllis would pass away when Donald was young with the grandmother taking over his care. Donald was a victim of bullying due to the fun kids would make of his last name. By the age of 15, he would drop out of school. 

At age 18, Donald’s life seemed to take a turn for the better when he was drafted into national service into the army where he thrived. He rose to the rank of Lance Corporal. Donald even got married to Irene Tate who unfortunately convinced him to leave the Army and return home to start a family. Their only child Kathryn was born in 1960. 

Donald went into the construction trade and for a time was successful and the young family prospered. Before Kathryn started school Donald changed the family name to Neilson not wanting his daughter to go through what he did. Neilson missed his Army days and family activities including going out into the country and playing military games.

The family’s financial security took a turn for the worse by the 1970s after Neilson’s business adventures failed. That is when Neilson decided to put his military training to use and turned to home invasion/robberies.

1972

It is noted that Neilson is accredited with approximately 400 home burglaries prior to turning to rob close to 18 sub-post offices. He was first known as the “Brace and Bit Robber” due to his technique of using a brace and bit to drill into a window frame and then using a coat hanger or screwdriver to open the catch to gain entry into the dwelling he was robbing. 

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It was in 1972, Neilson had read about the scandal over George Whittle’s estate in the Daily Express and he began to plan what he thought would be his biggest score. For months leading up to that night in January 1975, he surveyed and trained to kidnap one member of the Whittle family. 

His kidnap kit included night vision goggles, binoculars, and wire rope. Neilson had stolen a Morris 1300 and outfitted it with a fake license plate. This is the car he would use to scout out Lesley’s home in Highley, Shropshire, and would be found eight days after Lesley’s kidnapping outside of Dudley Zoo. 

The following is Neilson’s version of events the night he took Lesley. Entering the Whittle home in the early morning hours of January 14th, Neilson woke Lesely pointing a sawed-off Remington shotgun at her ordering her to get dressed. Lesley put on a blue dressing gown and slippers. Neilson then covered her mouth and eyes and bound her hands. On the way out of the house, he left the ransom note and then fled in the stolen vehicle.

Bathpool Park

Neilson drove Lesley 65 miles to Bathpool Park, Staffordshire where he made Lesley descend a metal ladder into a ventilation shaft some 90 feet down onto a 2 ft by 5 ft metal platform. Once settled and disrobed Neilson placed a metal noose around her neck tethered to a metal pipe with a 5 ft metal wire in-between. 

It was in the shaft that Neilson made Lesley record the messages to her mother and brother regarding the various ransom drops. 

Neilson always denied that he had killed Lesley Whittle in a rage. He claims that when he returned to the shaft after the 2nd failed ransom drop, as she was moving over to make room for him, she accidentally slipped off the platform.

Trials

On June 14, 1976, the elusive Black Panther, Donald Neilson stood trial in Oxford Crown Court for the kidnapping and murder of Lesley Whittle. He would be found guilty by a jury of his peers. He then stood trial on July 6, 1976, for the murders of Donald Skepper, Derek Austin, and Sydney Grayland and the attempted murder of Margaret Grayland. He would be found guilty of the three murders, but not guilty of Margaret’s attempted murder. He was sentenced to life in prison. 

Neilson also received a whole-life tariff distinction, which means that instead of being eligible for parole after 30 years he could never be released from prison except under extremely compassionate circumstances according to a UK government website (linked below).  

Donald Neilson died on December 18, 2011, at the age of 75 from a motor neuron disease similar to ALS.

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