Quote Originally Posted by Lucifer View Post
I have been trying to find out details of this case for some time now. I was unsure how to go about getting information. I have only just picked up this thread.

I was about 10/11 years old at the time of the murder and remember quite vividly being in the pie shop with my mother in Bridge St when Mr Griffiths body was brought out of the house. I felt a little scared at the time and I also remember the police coming to our house as they did to all the surrounding houses to take statements from everyone.

My sister was working at the Odeon cinema at the time she worked in the evenings as an extra job to her daytime job, I remeber she sold hot dogs in the foyer and my brother used to go to meet her out of work to walk her home. It seems that they probably passsed the house at about the time the police think the crime was commited they were interviiewd by the police but my brother and sister neither heard nor saw anything out of the ordinary.

The police searched all of the gardens and bins looking for a murder weapon as the old gentleman was bludgened to death and as I remember money was strewn about on the floor but it was just small change. I don't know if anything was taken, locals said that he used to hide his money behind the sweet jars in the shop and that he had just a few pounds on him when he went home that night, how true this is I have no idea but I think it was reported that they lay in wait for him coming home and battered him to death.

I do remember he was quite a petite man and appeared quite frail I don't know how old he was but to me he seemed very old. I used to go into his shop regularly for sweets. Lime fruit and liquorice and limejuice and soda were my favourites and he knew when I came in just what I wanted, it was always 2 oz because that was all I could afford.

If anyone has any information about the case I would love to know, or if anyone can tell me how to access the new archives or police archives I would appreciate any help. I cannot remember if anyone was ever a suspect I do know the crime was never solved.

There were several local rogues about town then. They all knew one another. They were all disgusted over the murder. It was heavily rumoured that a girl and her boyfriend carried out the killing for money. No-one grassed them up but no-one would have anything to do with them after the incident either. I don't know their names, and had no other knowledge other than hearsay, but they were pointed out to me more than once as being the perpetrators and I know that no-one of the crowd spoke to them ever again. The girl was thick set with dark hair and the guy was about the same height (5ft6 ish) and weaselly looking. I believe that some years later the couple were caught out on a national scam that they were running from Southport.