The Crime Book

297

claims. Two further counts of

sexual assault were brought

against Pitchfork as a result of his

willingness to provide details of

his crimes.

Pitchfork revealed that soon

after he started flashing girls, he

also began to follow them. The

rapes of Lynda Mann and Dawn

Ashworth insidiously developed

out of this tendency – the result

of pure opportunism as Pitchfork

spotted them in a secluded area.

The state of the teenagers’ bodies

indicated that Pitchfork had

beaten them before he strangled

them to death.

During questioning, Pitchfork

was totally unwilling to accept the

violent brutality of his behaviour,

and exhibited a psychopathic lack

of distress. Pitchfork claimed that

he strangled both of his victims

purely to protect his identity.

Colin Pitchfork was the world’s first

killer to be convicted of murder

based on DNA fingerprinting.

He was sentenced to life in prison,

with a minimum term of 30 years.

It was evident from the trial that

Pitchfork was compulsively violent

towards women. There was every

chance that he would murder

again, given the opportunity.

Appeal for clemency

In 2009, Pitchfork appealed his

sentence. The court heard how well

Pitchfork had adapted to prison life.

He had spent his time training to

transcribe printed music into Braille

and promised to help the blind when

he was released. He had studied and

become well educated, had never

been in trouble while in custody,

and was trusted to help fellow

inmates adapt to prison life. His

victims’ families, however, were

SERIAL KILLERS

unimpressed by such behaviour.

“Life should mean life,” said the

mother of one of the girls.

Pitchfork’s sentence was reduced

to 28 years, with the caveat that

“the safety of the public is assured.”

Whilst in prison, he also became an

artist. One of the sculptures he

produced was exhibited at the

Royal Festival Hall in London in

April 2009. Entitled Bringing the

Music to Life, it depicted a

miniature orchestra and choir, made

in meticulous detail by folding and

tearing the score of Beethoven’s

Ninth Symphony. It was sold for

£600. However, when British

newspapers heard about it, the

public was outraged and the

sculpture was removed from display.

In 2016, 30 years after Dawn

Ashworth’s murder, Pitchfork was

denied parole. He was, however,

moved to an open prison. ■

The key steps involved in

“DNA fingerprinting”, which

starts with a cheek swab or

saliva sample.

1. A DNA sample is taken.
   2. DNA is
   extracted from
   the sample.
   3. DNA fragments
   are separated into
   bands in an
   agarose gel.
   4. The DNA
   band pattern is
   transferred to a
   nylon membrane.
   5. A radioactive
   DNA probe is
   prepared.
   6. The DNA probe
   sticks to specific
   DNA sequences on
   the membrane.


2. Excess DNA is washed off and
   the radioactive probe is bound to
   the DNA pattern.


3. X-ray film is laid
   over the membrane
   to detect the
   radioactive pattern.


4. The X-ray film is
   developed to create a
   visible “DNA fingerprint”.

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