PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Ms Davies' case review report, seen by the ECHO, makes a number of claims including: that the death scene had been misinterpreted by the police and the official accepted sequence of events was likely erroneous; there were signs of crime scene staging present at the scene that had been missed by the police at the time; due to this misinterpretation the police narrowed their suspect pool to just those with a history of theft; and the CCRC may have missed earlier opportunities to conduct a thorough forensic review. Following previous interviews with Mr Gilbert, the ECHO reported how victim Mr Suffield was involved in a heated argument with betting shop punters regarding a payment. Ms Davies claimed these events were relevant and could provide motive for the murder of the victim. However, she claimed officers investigating Mr Suffield's death reached the conclusion of a robbery gone wrong "extraordinarily quickly"."
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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "Ms Davies told the ECHO that she reached the conclusion of a staged scene after examining a number of pieces of evidence at the scene. One example, Ms Davies claimed, was her examinations of the washing line used to tie the victim's wrists. She claimed the blood markings on the loosely tied knot contradicted the theory that Mr Suffield was tied up prior to the attack, while a defensive wound on his left hand suggested it was free at the time he was assaulted with the knife. Ms Davies also claimed the position of the victim's shirt, which was open and had been pulled up, showed the victim had likely been moved or repositioned after death by a third party. She claimed this "likely happened when the offender(s) lifted the body to situate the cord behind it". She alleged a third example was the placement of money bags in close proximity to the victim, which in her opinion "could be a sign of exaggeration on the part of the offender". She claimed the term, coined by the FBI, is where an offender "tries too hard to misdirect the police".
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PASSAGE THREE OF THE DAY: "It is understood the CCRC is currently reviewing thousands of cases following the acquittal of Andrew Malkinson, a Manchester man whose conviction for rape was quashed in 2023 after DNA evidence proved he was not the attacker. The Court of Appeal heard there were major failures in the handling of Mr Malkinson's case and investigators failed to follow up evidence right up to 2022."
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PASSAGE FOUR OF THE DAY: "In her written conclusion, Ms Davies claimed Mr Suffield's death "was a planned murder by an individual or individuals known to him" by offenders "aware of the victim's usual routine". She said: "I believe the offender(s) knew that they would be considered prime suspects by the police, so they manipulated the scene to misdirect the police investigation." Ms Davies alleged: "I believe the investigation was potentially flawed from the outset and, influenced by confirmation bias, the police were just looking at a small pool of suspects with a history of theft and robbery and they were closed-minded to other potential suspects."
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STORY: "'I served 36 years for murder - I will fight to my last breath to clear my name,' by Crime Reporter Patrick Edrich, published by The Liverpool Echo, on April 19, 2025.
SUB-HEADING: "Raymond Gilbert served 36 years for a murder he maintains he did not commit - could an expert's new evidence finally clear his name?" (Paddy has been the Liverpool ECHO's crime reporter since March 2024. He has a particular interest in how crime impacts the various communities across Merseyside and what the police's response to tackling it is. He has experience covering high-profile cases across the north west's criminal courts and is always on the look out for stories about Merseyside Police and the region's prisons. He previously worked as a general news reporter at the ECHO, joining the paper after graduating from Liverpool John Moores University in 2021.)
GIST: "Police investigating the fatal stabbing of a bookies' manager "misinterpreted" the crime scene and missed signs that it was "staged to look like a theft gone wrong", a team representing one of the convicted murderers has claimed. Raymond 'Ray' Gilbert, then 22, was one of two men convicted of the murder of John Suffield, who managed the Joe Coral betting shop on Lodge Lane in Toxteth.
Mr Suffield, 23, was opening up for the day on Friday, March 13 1981 when he was ambushed and attacked in what has always been referred to as a horrifically botched robbery. But according to forensic expert Stephanie Davies, a former senior coroner's officer for Cheshire turned independent death investigator, Merseyside Police "made some early errors" which could make Mr Gilbert's conviction unsafe.
A team supporting Mr Gilbert's attempts to exonerate his name has submitted a new case review report to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which they claim suggests an alternative sequence of events to the accepted narrative put forward by investigators. A spokesperson for the CCRC, the statutory body responsible for investigating alleged miscarriages of justice which has the power to refer cases back to the Court of Appeal, told the ECHO: "We have received an application in relation to this case." Merseyside Police declined to comment when approached by the ECHO.
Mr Gilbert, a petty criminal from the local area, was arrested within three days of the suspected robbery-turned-murder and was interrogated by detectives for 48 hours without a solicitor present. During that time he changed his statement several times, before he confessed to the murder, which he now claims was false and given under duress.
He also implicated his co-accused, John Kamara, but withdrew his confession once he had access to legal representation. Despite the savagery of the killing, the busy location and the close-knit community of Toxteth during the 1980s, no physical or forensic evidence was ever uncovered linking the two men to the scene.
Despite the retraction of the statement, the two men went on trial. But in a dramatic twist, Mr Gilbert, who claimed he was under pressure from local criminals furious that he had dragged an innocent man into the picture, asked for a note to be passed to the judge indicating he wanted to put an end to the saga and pleaded guilty, in what he later said was an attempt to reverse his mistake in implicating Mr Kamara.
It backfired and the pair were sentenced to life in prison, but Mr Kamara was eventually acquitted 19 years later in 2000 when his legal team found a litany of issues including the lack of disclosure of witness statements. However, Mr Gilbert has never been granted the opportunity to have his case heard before the Court of Appeal and, despite his eventual release in 2016, continues to maintain his innocence and wants the opportunity to clear his name once and for all.
Speaking to the ECHO this week, Mr Gilbert said: "I'm innocent of murder, I will keep shouting that. I just want the opportunity to prove it. That will happen when the CCRC examines the case. I hope they act on the evidence and give me and the victim's family justice. When you know you have not done it you will fight. I will fight to my last breath."
Ms Davies, who holds a string of qualifications in death investigations, crime scenes and forensic science, previously wrote a highly sensitive report while working at Cheshire Constabulary alleging a serial killer could be behind a number of murder suicides. The report resulted in her taking the force to an employment tribunal after she was suspended for raising concerns.
The investigator, who was introduced to Mr Gilbert by a mutual contact around a year ago, told the ECHO: "At first I didn't think it was something I could help with as the case against him had been built around his guilty pleas. However, after I looked at the forensic evidence I thought the narrative wasn't right. I looked a bit deeper and believed Ray was telling the truth."
Ms Davies' case review report, seen by the ECHO, makes a number of claims including: that the death scene had been misinterpreted by the police and the official accepted sequence of events was likely erroneous; there were signs of crime scene staging present at the scene that had been missed by the police at the time; due to this misinterpretation the police narrowed their suspect pool to just those with a history of theft; and the CCRC may have missed earlier opportunities to conduct a thorough forensic review.
Following previous interviews with Mr Gilbert, the ECHO reported how victim Mr Suffield was involved in a heated argument with betting shop punters regarding a payment. Ms Davies claimed these events were relevant and could provide motive for the murder of the victim. However, she claimed officers investigating Mr Suffield's death reached the conclusion of a robbery gone wrong "extraordinarily quickly".
Ms Davies told the ECHO that she reached the conclusion of a staged scene after examining a number of pieces of evidence at the scene. One example, Ms Davies claimed, was her examinations of the washing line used to tie the victim's wrists. She claimed the blood markings on the loosely tied knot contradicted the theory that Mr Suffield was tied up prior to the attack, while a defensive wound on his left hand suggested it was free at the time he was assaulted with the knife.
Ms Davies also claimed the position of the victim's shirt, which was open and had been pulled up, showed the victim had likely been moved or repositioned after death by a third party. She claimed this "likely happened when the offender(s) lifted the body to situate the cord behind it".
She alleged a third example was the placement of money bags in close proximity to the victim, which in her opinion "could be a sign of exaggeration on the part of the offender". She claimed the term, coined by the FBI, is where an offender "tries too hard to misdirect the police"
In her written conclusion, Ms Davies claimed Mr Suffield's death "was a planned murder by an individual or individuals known to him" by offenders "aware of the victim's usual routine". She said: "I believe the offender(s) knew that they would be considered prime suspects by the police, so they manipulated the scene to misdirect the police investigation."
Ms Davies alleged: "I believe the investigation was potentially flawed from the outset and, influenced by confirmation bias, the police were just looking at a small pool of suspects with a history of theft and robbery and they were closed-minded to other potential suspects."
Mr Gilbert served 36 years in prison before his eventual release in 2016, but says he could have been set free as long ago as 1995 if he had confessed his guilt to the Parole Board. Six CCRC applications have previously been submitted on his behalf, but all have been unsuccessful.
He and his team have maintained these have all been refused because of the details of his confessions, which he told the ECHO were obtained through "coercion and duress". Ms Davies and Hayley Woods, a paralegal who submitted the CCRC review, have claimed Mr Gilbert's confessions showed a lucidity that matched the ever-changing information that interviewing officers were privy to. Ms Davies said: "Miscarriages of justice can and do occur when false confessions or false pleas are made by innocent suspects."
Mr Gilbert now lives in Leeds with his wife after spending five years back in Liverpool after his release from prison. He said he moved away from Merseyside as "some people felt uncomfortable around me and I felt uncomfortable around them". When asked to describe his continued fight to clear his name, he told the ECHO: "It's sad. I lost everything when I was in prison. I lost my dad, who was my best mate. I lost my oldest brother. I'm too old to have kids, I have missed that, and everything else I would have liked to have done. Clubs, music, football, I have missed it all."
His team have requested the next step taken by the CCRC is a forensic review to "confirm definitely the absence" of Mr Gilbert at the scene. Ms Davies wrote: "If no forensic materials remain or are not viable for such a review, then the test for reasonable doubt must be considered as well as the real possibility that Mr Gilbert's conviction could be overturned."
It is understood the CCRC is currently reviewing thousands of cases following the acquittal of Andrew Malkinson, a Manchester man whose conviction for rape was quashed in 2023 after DNA evidence proved he was not the attacker. The Court of Appeal heard there were major failures in the handling of Mr Malkinson's case and investigators failed to follow up evidence right up to 2022.
Mr Gilbert and his team told the ECHO they understand there are six exhibits of forensic evidence currently stored in boxes by the CCRC which could be the key to proving his innocence. Ms Woods told the ECHO: "Just like Andy Malkinson's CCRC applications, there seemed to be a focus upon conferring (Ray's) guilt rather than the possible research that may have established that this man could be innocent.
"The CCRC did not drill down enough across other evidence involving Ray either that may have indicated other possibilities. They have the powers to gain access to police files and delve deep into the individual's own records. It has since come to light that these documents could have played a significant contribution in determining the outcome of Ray’s applications also. The team working on this new application have found numerous evidential issues that could have easily backed up his previous applications if these records had been investigated."
Ms Davies claimed to the ECHO: "The CCRC has never been aware that the police made some early errors. That is brand new information. The ideal outcome from this is a referral back to the Court of Appeal, but we know it will take time." Mr Gilbert, who remains a convicted murderer while he waits to find out if his latest application is successful, added: "I was a petty crook who did things I'm not proud of, but I never murdered anyone. I will continue to fight until the day I die."
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/i-served-36-years-murder-31435639
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
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SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
———————————————————————————————
FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
—————————————————————————————————
FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
