Barry Prudom
Encyclopedia
Barry Peter Prudom was an English
electrician
and multiple murderer who became the subject of a police manhunt
and what was at the time the largest armed police operation Great Britain
had ever seen, involving 12 police forces. Prudom became a fugitive after killing Police Constable David Haigh on 17 June 1982. Before being captured he killed twice more, shooting civilian George Luckett on 23 June 1982 and Police Sergeant David Winter on 28 June 1982. Described as an "avid outdoorsman and firearms enthusiast" Prudom's knowledge of military survival skills
learned while training with the Special Air Service
(S.A.S.) helped him evade capture for 18 days as he hid out in rural areas in the north of England. When eventually found, having been tracked by "Jungle" Eddie McGee, a former S.A.S. instructor, Prudom committed suicide
by firing a single shot to his head. It later transpired that Prudom had previously attended survival courses run by McGee, and had made extensive study of a manual on survival techniques written by the S.A.S. veteran, entitled No Need To Die.
son of Kathleen Edwards, a Leeds
dressmaker
, and Peter Kurylo, a soldier serving with the British Army
. Kurylo played no part in Prudom's upbringing and the two never met. The family home was at 39 Grosvenor Place, Leeds, and Prudom attended Blenheim Primary school and Meanwood
Secondary School
. Although born Barry Edwards, his name was changed to Barry Prudom in 1949 when his mother married Alex Prudom. He was briefly sent to an approved school
in Aycliffe Village
, County Durham
for housebreaking
. After leaving school, Prudom commenced an apprenticeship
and trained as an electrician
. In October 1965 he married Gillian Wilson, who was then aged 19 years. There were two children from the marriage, a daughter born in 1966, and a son in 1970. Prudom's mother died in a drowning accident while on holiday in 1973.
, reconnaissance and "stay-behind
" operations. Prudom was eventually rejected by the unit as he was considered temperament
ally unsuitable and disliked discipline. It is unknown which stage he had reached in the selection phase, which for the Territorials is spread over a longer period, although he did participate in training maneouvres with the unit. An official statement revealed only that he had "failed the final initiative test."
, and purchased a shop for his wife on Quarry Street, Leeds, but by 1977 he was working for the petroleum industry
in Saudi Arabia
in order to earn more money. While he was there his wife left him for another man. Police later disclosed that "While he was [in Saudi Arabia] his wife formed a liaison with another man and he got a 'Dear John' letter, which must have had a traumatic effect on him. From being a very stable hard working man, he became morose and irritable, and he was even more annoyed when he returned to England and found his wife had taken £8000 from the bank account." Between 1977 and 1982 Prudom dated Carol Francis and the two travelled extensively as he took work on oil rigs in Canada
and the USA
. In January 1982 while Prudom was in Wakefield
, West Yorkshire
, he was arrested for a violent assault on a motorist with an iron bar, and used his alias of Barry Edwards. After failing to attend Leeds Crown Court
to answer bail
, a warrant
was issued for his arrest. Francis had by now left Prudom and moved out of the house in Leeds that they had been living in.
calibre Beretta
Model 71 "Jaguar" pistol, which he had purchased in the US and smuggled back into Britain. The Model 71 was a virtually recoilless, lightweight and easily concealed pistol, described as "the signature terminator pistol of Mossad
... a compact, accurate and flawlessly reliable performer that could easily be used to quickly and accurately deliver multiple rounds into vital parts of a human body."
on a poacher
in the Washburn Valley
near Harrogate
, North Yorkshire
. When Haigh failed to respond to a radio call from his station at Harrogate, PC Mick Clipston was sent to check on his whereabouts, and discovered his patrol car at a picnic site at Norwood Edge
near Beckwithshaw
. The door of the car was still open and PC Haigh's body was next to it, having been killed by a single .22 Long Rifle
calibre
pistol shot to the head. Haigh's clipboard was found, on which he had written "Clive Jones, born 18/10/44, Leeds NFA [no fixed address]" followed by a vehicle registration number, KYF 326P. Having cleared the poacher and a Leeds man called Clive Jones of involvement, police launched a murder investigation, headed by North Yorkshire Police's Assistant Chief Constable
, David Burke.
The registration number recorded by Haigh belonged to a metallic green Citroën
car, which police ascertained had been the subject of a cash sale to an unknown man at Kingsbury
, London
in January 1982, and a witness came forward to say that he had seen the car parked at the murder location at approximately 06.35 on the 17 June.
, West Yorkshire, around 25 miles from the scene of Haigh's murder.
and walked to Torksey, Lincolnshire
, where on 20 June he broke into a house and tied up the elderly occupant, 75-year old Freda Jackson. He stole £
4.50 from her then left, saying later that he had been unconcerned about her welfare as he knew "the bread man would find her in the morning". The robbery was not connected with Prudom until 23 June.
, Nottinghamshire
. The occupants, George Luckett, 52, an electrician, and his wife Sylvia, 50, were tied together at the elbows and both were shot once in the head. George Luckett's wound was fatal but Sylvia Luckett survived, although she was left with permanent brain damage and no clear recollection of the incident. After Prudom left the scene, Mrs. Luckett managed to crawl to a nearby house and raise the alarm with neighbours. Prudom took the Lucketts' brown-coloured Rover car, registration VAU 875S and then drove to Dalby Forest
, North Yorkshire
. At some point he stole registration plates from another car, CYG 344T, and attached them to the Rover.
When North Yorkshire Police received details of the Girton murder and of the Torksey robbery they concluded that the same man was responsible and the incident rooms at Nottingshamshire Police and Lincolnshire Police were connected to the North Yorkshire computer to allow the three forces to share and compare information relating to the investigations.
PC Ken Oliver. When Oliver asked him to step out of the vehicle, Prudom opened fire with his .22 pistol, the first round hitting the officer's face. As Prudom got out of the car to fire again, the police dog reacted by attacking Prudom, giving Oliver a chance to run for cover in a nearby house, and of the seven bullets that hit him none was fatal. The dog was also shot twice and wounded. Prudom then smashed the radio transceiver
in Oliver's van and drove it a short distance into the forest before returning and setting fire to the Rover. He then headed into the forest and went to ground once more. Within hours a huge manhunt had commenced in the forest, involving police marksmen
, helicopters and 1,000 police officers on foot. As darkness fell the search was halted, although police maintained a cordon around the forest throughout the night.
survival techniques. PC Oliver was able to identify his assailant as Prudom from photographs and latent fingerprints on the burned out vehicle found near Leeds were found to be those of Prudom. Ballistic tests proved that the same gun had been used in the killings of Haigh and Luckett, and the police released Prudom's name to the media as their prime suspect
and the most wanted man in Britain.
At 14.00, Police Sergeant David Winter, 31, and PC Mick Wood received information about a suspicious man seen in the village of Old Malton
, North Yorkshire
, 200 yards from the village police station. Winter challenged Prudom, who produced his pistol and opened fire. Although Winter tried to take cover behind a low wall, he was pursued by Prudom and shot three times, the final shot fired from point-blank range
. After then firing at a Guardian
journalist and a BBC
news crew, Prudom escaped from the scene through a nearby alley. Heavy rain hampered the search efforts for the next two days, and despite the presence of 600 officers, including 100 armed officers, the use of dogs and the RAF's
Search & Rescue Westland Wessex
helicopters, Prudom eluded detection.
from the Parachute Regiment and had served as an NCO
in 22 Special Air Service Regiment
. Having completed 22 years of service, McGee had retired from the Army and now operated the National School of Survival, a survival training school near Harrogate. He had authored five books on the subject, and No Need To Die was considered a "bible" for enthusiasts of personal survival studies. His tracking
skills had been learned while living among Australia's indigenous aboriginal people
and pygmy groups in Africa
. He was married with two sons, both of whom were serving police officers in Yorkshire. Chief Constable Henshaw said of the development "Now we have somebody looking for him with even more skill in the art of evasion and survival than Barry Edwards has. I am confident we are going to find him."
McGee and a colleague, Eric Longden, joined the manhunt at Dalby Forest, and then moved on to Malton, where they followed tracks from PS Winter's body through the town's Old Manor Moor, Huttons Ambo and Low Hutton areas, escorted by an armed police bodyguard from the Central Firearms Unit. After several hours, he search moved suddenly back to Dalby Forest when police were informed that a camouflaged bivouac shelter
had been uncovered in a Forestry Commission
plantation.
Maurice Johnson in East Mount, Old Malton, and took him, his wife Bessie and their son Brian as hostages. He ate a meal in the Johnsons' home, which he described as the "last supper", and hid out at the house for 11 hours. Brian Johnson later related: "As the night went on, we got talking as though we had known each other for years. He was calling me Brian and my father he was calling dad." Prudom gave Brian Johnson a gift of a US paratrooper's
ring, and then, believing the area was relatively safe, tied up the family and left the house at 03.15 on 4 July.
(S.A.S.) member, was assisting the police, Prudom set a false trail leading away from the Johnson home, then headed back and hid in a makeshift shelter near Malton's Tennis Club, only 300 yards from the police station which was also the temporary headquarters coordinating the manhunt. Around two hours later the Johnsons had managed to free themselves and called the police. McGee picked up Prudom's trail at the Johnson residence, and noticed disturbances of fresh dew
on the grass which led him to where Prudom was hiding. A firearms squad from Greater Manchester Police
, led by Chief Inspector David Clarkson, was called to the scene and Prudom was told to give himself up. Stun grenades were thrown by the police and, on hearing a gunshot from Prudom's location, Clarkson ordered his officers to open fire. When firing subsided, Prudom was found dead in the hideout.
at Leeds University
, who reported that there were a total of 21 penetrating shotgun wounds to Prudom's body which had "insufficient velocity to enter the body cavity
", a .22 bullet fired into the right side of his head which was consistent with a self-inflicted wound, and a further shotgun pellet which had entered through his forehead. Both of the head wounds would have caused instant loss of consciousness and possibly instant death. Oakley summed up the evidence to the jury by saying: "I would submit to you that there is an abundance of evidence to suggest that he fired the shot that killed himself", and the jury took just 18 minutes to return a verdict of suicide.
Prudom was buried in an unmarked grave in Harehills Cemetery, Leeds.
band Combat 84
wrote a song titled Barry Prudom, which was released on 24 September 1983 as the B-side of their Rapist EP, featuring the lyrics: "Barry Prudom, Barry Prudom, He's coming for you with his gun, Barry Prudom, Barry Prudom, He's Public Enemy number one."
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
electrician
Electrician
An electrician is a tradesman specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, stationary machines and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the maintenance and repair of existing electrical infrastructure. Electricians may also...
and multiple murderer who became the subject of a police manhunt
Manhunt
Manhunt may refer to:In film:* Bloodfist VII: Manhunt, a 1995 action/adventure film starring Don Wilson* Man Hunt , a 1941 film directed by Fritz Lang* Man Hunt , a 1985 Western film directed by Fabrizio De Angelis...
and what was at the time the largest armed police operation Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
had ever seen, involving 12 police forces. Prudom became a fugitive after killing Police Constable David Haigh on 17 June 1982. Before being captured he killed twice more, shooting civilian George Luckett on 23 June 1982 and Police Sergeant David Winter on 28 June 1982. Described as an "avid outdoorsman and firearms enthusiast" Prudom's knowledge of military survival skills
Survival skills
Survival skills are techniques a person may use in a dangerous situation to save themselves or others...
learned while training with the Special Air Service
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
(S.A.S.) helped him evade capture for 18 days as he hid out in rural areas in the north of England. When eventually found, having been tracked by "Jungle" Eddie McGee, a former S.A.S. instructor, Prudom committed suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
by firing a single shot to his head. It later transpired that Prudom had previously attended survival courses run by McGee, and had made extensive study of a manual on survival techniques written by the S.A.S. veteran, entitled No Need To Die.
Early life
Prudom was the illegitimateLegitimacy (law)
At common law, legitimacy is the status of a child who is born to parents who are legally married to one another; and of a child who is born shortly after the parents' divorce. In canon and in civil law, the offspring of putative marriages have been considered legitimate children...
son of Kathleen Edwards, a Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
dressmaker
Dressmaker
A dressmaker is a person who makes custom clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Also called a mantua-maker or a modiste.-Notable dressmakers:*Cristobal Balenciaga*Charles Frederick Worth...
, and Peter Kurylo, a soldier serving with the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
. Kurylo played no part in Prudom's upbringing and the two never met. The family home was at 39 Grosvenor Place, Leeds, and Prudom attended Blenheim Primary school and Meanwood
Meanwood
Meanwood is a suburb and former village of north-west Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.-Origins and History:The name Meanwood goes back to the 12th century, and is of Anglo-Saxon derivation: the Meene wude was the boundary wood of the Manor of Alreton, the woods to the east of Meanwood Beck...
Secondary School
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
. Although born Barry Edwards, his name was changed to Barry Prudom in 1949 when his mother married Alex Prudom. He was briefly sent to an approved school
Approved School
Approved School is a term formerly used in the United Kingdom to mean a particular kind of residential institution to which young people could be sent by a court, usually for committing offences but sometimes because they were deemed to be beyond parental control...
in Aycliffe Village
Aycliffe Village
Aycliffe Village is a village in County Durham, in England. It is situated immediately to the south of the town of Newton Aycliffe.St Andrews Church in Aycliffe Village dates back to Saxon times and Church Synods were held there in AD 782 and AD 789. The village has a long historical background...
, County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
for housebreaking
Housebreaking
Housebreaking is the process of training a domesticated animal that lives with its human owners in a house to excrete outdoors, or in a designated indoor area, rather than inside the house. The pet owner's desire is to break the habit of eliminating in the house, hence the term...
. After leaving school, Prudom commenced an apprenticeship
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
and trained as an electrician
Electrician
An electrician is a tradesman specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, stationary machines and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the maintenance and repair of existing electrical infrastructure. Electricians may also...
. In October 1965 he married Gillian Wilson, who was then aged 19 years. There were two children from the marriage, a daughter born in 1966, and a son in 1970. Prudom's mother died in a drowning accident while on holiday in 1973.
Service with special forces
In 1969 Prudom enlisted with Leeds-based B Squadron, 23 Special Air Service (V), part of the Army's part-time volunteer Territorial force. The unit specialised in covert surveillanceSurveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
, reconnaissance and "stay-behind
Stay-behind
In a stay-behind operation, a country places secret operatives or organisations in its own territory, for use in the event that the territory is overrun by an enemy. If this occurs, the operatives would then form the basis of a resistance movement, or would act as spies from behind enemy lines...
" operations. Prudom was eventually rejected by the unit as he was considered temperament
Temperament
In psychology, temperament refers to those aspects of an individual's personality, such as introversion or extroversion, that are often regarded as innate rather than learned...
ally unsuitable and disliked discipline. It is unknown which stage he had reached in the selection phase, which for the Territorials is spread over a longer period, although he did participate in training maneouvres with the unit. An official statement revealed only that he had "failed the final initiative test."
Marital breakdown
Prudom subsequently established himself as a grocerGrocer
A grocer is a bulk seller of food. Beginning as early as the 14th century, a grocer was a dealer in comestible dry goods such as spices, pepper, sugar, and cocoa, tea and coffee...
, and purchased a shop for his wife on Quarry Street, Leeds, but by 1977 he was working for the petroleum industry
Petroleum industry
The petroleum industry includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transporting , and marketing petroleum products. The largest volume products of the industry are fuel oil and gasoline...
in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
in order to earn more money. While he was there his wife left him for another man. Police later disclosed that "While he was [in Saudi Arabia] his wife formed a liaison with another man and he got a 'Dear John' letter, which must have had a traumatic effect on him. From being a very stable hard working man, he became morose and irritable, and he was even more annoyed when he returned to England and found his wife had taken £8000 from the bank account." Between 1977 and 1982 Prudom dated Carol Francis and the two travelled extensively as he took work on oil rigs in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In January 1982 while Prudom was in Wakefield
Wakefield
Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, he was arrested for a violent assault on a motorist with an iron bar, and used his alias of Barry Edwards. After failing to attend Leeds Crown Court
Leeds Crown Court
Leeds Crown Court is the highest court in West Yorkshire, England. The buildings are situated in Westgate in Leeds city centre, adjacent to Leeds magistrates courts.-Notable cases:...
to answer bail
Bail
Traditionally, bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail...
, a warrant
Arrest warrant
An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by and on behalf of the state, which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual.-Canada:Arrest warrants are issued by a judge or justice of the peace under the Criminal Code of Canada....
was issued for his arrest. Francis had by now left Prudom and moved out of the house in Leeds that they had been living in.
Illegal possession of firearms
Prudom did not hold a license to possess firearms, but carried a .22 LR.22 Long Rifle
The .22 Long Rifle rimfire cartridge is a long established variety of ammunition, and in terms of units sold is still by far the most common in the world today. The cartridge is often referred to simply as .22 LR and various rifles, pistols, revolvers, and even some smoothbore shotguns have...
calibre Beretta
Beretta
Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta is an Italian firearms manufacturer. Their firearms are used worldwide for a variety of civilian, law enforcement, and military purposes. It is also known for manufacturing shooting clothes and accessories. Beretta is the oldest active firearms manufacturer in the...
Model 71 "Jaguar" pistol, which he had purchased in the US and smuggled back into Britain. The Model 71 was a virtually recoilless, lightweight and easily concealed pistol, described as "the signature terminator pistol of Mossad
Mossad
The Mossad , short for HaMossad leModi'in uleTafkidim Meyuchadim , is the national intelligence agency of Israel....
... a compact, accurate and flawlessly reliable performer that could easily be used to quickly and accurately deliver multiple rounds into vital parts of a human body."
17 June – Murder of PC David Haigh
After commencing duty at 06.00 on 17 June 1982, PC David Haigh, aged 29, was attempting to serve a summonsSummons
Legally, a summons is a legal document issued by a court or by an administrative agency of government for various purposes.-Judicial summons:...
on a poacher
Poacher
Poacher may refer to:*One who engages in poaching, the theft or illegal killing of animals or plants*A device used for poaching *Poacher , a family of fish...
in the Washburn Valley
River Washburn
The River Washburn is a river in Yorkshire, England. It originates high in the Yorkshire Dales and ends where it meets the River Wharfe. It lies within the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.-Course:...
near Harrogate
Harrogate
Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. The town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters, RHS Harlow Carr gardens, and Betty's Tea Rooms. From the town one can explore the nearby Yorkshire Dales national park. Harrogate originated in the 17th...
, North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
. When Haigh failed to respond to a radio call from his station at Harrogate, PC Mick Clipston was sent to check on his whereabouts, and discovered his patrol car at a picnic site at Norwood Edge
Norwood, North Yorkshire
Norwood is a civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. According to the 2001 UK census, Norwood parish had a population of 200....
near Beckwithshaw
Beckwithshaw
Beckwithshaw is a village in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England about south-west of Harrogate.-Amenities:The village has a primary school, a pub and a 19-century church, dedicated to St Michael and All Angels. A board in the church names all the vicars, the first being Charles...
. The door of the car was still open and PC Haigh's body was next to it, having been killed by a single .22 Long Rifle
.22 Long Rifle
The .22 Long Rifle rimfire cartridge is a long established variety of ammunition, and in terms of units sold is still by far the most common in the world today. The cartridge is often referred to simply as .22 LR and various rifles, pistols, revolvers, and even some smoothbore shotguns have...
calibre
Caliber
In guns including firearms, caliber or calibre is the approximate internal diameter of the barrel in relation to the diameter of the projectile used in it....
pistol shot to the head. Haigh's clipboard was found, on which he had written "Clive Jones, born 18/10/44, Leeds NFA [no fixed address]" followed by a vehicle registration number, KYF 326P. Having cleared the poacher and a Leeds man called Clive Jones of involvement, police launched a murder investigation, headed by North Yorkshire Police's Assistant Chief Constable
Assistant Chief Constable
Assistant chief constable is the third highest rank in all British territorial police forces , as well as the British Transport Police, Ministry of Defence Police and...
, David Burke.
The registration number recorded by Haigh belonged to a metallic green Citroën
Citroën
Citroën is a major French automobile manufacturer, part of the PSA Peugeot Citroën group.Founded in 1919 by French industrialist André-Gustave Citroën , Citroën was the first mass-production car company outside the USA and pioneered the modern concept of creating a sales and services network that...
car, which police ascertained had been the subject of a cash sale to an unknown man at Kingsbury
Kingsbury
Kingsbury is an area in the London Borough of Brent, northwest London. The name Kingsbury means "The King's Manor".-History:Kingsbury was historically a small parish in the Hundred of Gore and county of Middlesex. Until the nineteenth century it was largely rural with only scattered settlements....
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in January 1982, and a witness came forward to say that he had seen the car parked at the murder location at approximately 06.35 on the 17 June.
19 June –Car discovered
Prudom's Citroën was discovered burned out in a cornfield near LedshamLedsham, West Yorkshire
Ledsham is a village and civil parish north of Castleford and east of Leeds in the county of West Yorkshire, England. The village is in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough and near to the River Aire and the A1 Great North Road. It has a population of 162.There is an 8th century Anglo-Saxon...
, West Yorkshire, around 25 miles from the scene of Haigh's murder.
20 June – Robbery of Freda Jackson
After abandoning the Citroën, Prudom had hitchhikedHitchhiking
Hitchhiking is a means of transportation that is gained by asking people, usually strangers, for a ride in their automobile or other road vehicle to travel a distance that may either be short or long...
and walked to Torksey, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, where on 20 June he broke into a house and tied up the elderly occupant, 75-year old Freda Jackson. He stole £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
4.50 from her then left, saying later that he had been unconcerned about her welfare as he knew "the bread man would find her in the morning". The robbery was not connected with Prudom until 23 June.
23 June – Murder of George Luckett
Just before dawn on 23 June he broke into another home approximately 20 miles away in GirtonGirton, Nottinghamshire
Girton is a village in Nottinghamshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 143. It is located 17 miles west of Lincoln.The parish church of St Cecilia is a small aisleless church almost totally rebuilt in 1879...
, Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
. The occupants, George Luckett, 52, an electrician, and his wife Sylvia, 50, were tied together at the elbows and both were shot once in the head. George Luckett's wound was fatal but Sylvia Luckett survived, although she was left with permanent brain damage and no clear recollection of the incident. After Prudom left the scene, Mrs. Luckett managed to crawl to a nearby house and raise the alarm with neighbours. Prudom took the Lucketts' brown-coloured Rover car, registration VAU 875S and then drove to Dalby Forest
Dalby Forest
Dalby Forest is a forest located on the southern slopes of the North York Moors National Park in North Yorkshire, England. It is maintained by the UK Forestry Commission...
, North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
. At some point he stole registration plates from another car, CYG 344T, and attached them to the Rover.
When North Yorkshire Police received details of the Girton murder and of the Torksey robbery they concluded that the same man was responsible and the incident rooms at Nottingshamshire Police and Lincolnshire Police were connected to the North Yorkshire computer to allow the three forces to share and compare information relating to the investigations.
24 June – Attempted murder of PC Oliver
Prudom was stopped during a routine check in the Bickley area of Dalby Forest, approximately 8 miles from Scarborough, North Yorkshire, on 24 June by police dog handlerPolice dog
A police dog, often referred to as a "K-9 dog" in some areas , is a dog that is trained specifically to assist police and other law-enforcement personnel in their work...
PC Ken Oliver. When Oliver asked him to step out of the vehicle, Prudom opened fire with his .22 pistol, the first round hitting the officer's face. As Prudom got out of the car to fire again, the police dog reacted by attacking Prudom, giving Oliver a chance to run for cover in a nearby house, and of the seven bullets that hit him none was fatal. The dog was also shot twice and wounded. Prudom then smashed the radio transceiver
Transceiver
A transceiver is a device comprising both a transmitter and a receiver which are combined and share common circuitry or a single housing. When no circuitry is common between transmit and receive functions, the device is a transmitter-receiver. The term originated in the early 1920s...
in Oliver's van and drove it a short distance into the forest before returning and setting fire to the Rover. He then headed into the forest and went to ground once more. Within hours a huge manhunt had commenced in the forest, involving police marksmen
Authorised Firearms Officer
An Authorised Firearms Officer is a British police officer who has received training and authorisation to carry and use firearms. The designation is significant because within the United Kingdom, police officers do not routinely carry firearms...
, helicopters and 1,000 police officers on foot. As darkness fell the search was halted, although police maintained a cordon around the forest throughout the night.
25 & 26 June – Police search Dalby Forest
The search of the forest commenced again at daybreak on 25 June and again on the 26 June but despite maintaining a cordon throughout police were unable to find any sign of Prudom.28 June – Identification of Prudom, murder of PS David Winter
Although Prudom had given a false name and no address, he had given his true date of birth, and an officer, PC Martin Hatton, who was cross checking outstanding arrest warrants made the connection between PC Haigh's written note and the birth date of "Barry Edwards". The police searched the address given by "Edwards" and established he was actually Barry Prudom, "a keep-fit fanatic, obsessed with weapons and the military." During the search they also found Eddie McGee's No Need To Die manual detailing special forcesSpecial forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
survival techniques. PC Oliver was able to identify his assailant as Prudom from photographs and latent fingerprints on the burned out vehicle found near Leeds were found to be those of Prudom. Ballistic tests proved that the same gun had been used in the killings of Haigh and Luckett, and the police released Prudom's name to the media as their prime suspect
Prime suspect
A prime suspect is the person who is considered by the law enforcement agency investigating a crime to be the most likely suspect.There are various reasons a person may be considered a prime suspect...
and the most wanted man in Britain.
At 14.00, Police Sergeant David Winter, 31, and PC Mick Wood received information about a suspicious man seen in the village of Old Malton
Old Malton
Old Malton is a village in North Yorkshire, England. The village is situated just off the A64 road and is north east of the larger, town of Malton....
, North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...
, 200 yards from the village police station. Winter challenged Prudom, who produced his pistol and opened fire. Although Winter tried to take cover behind a low wall, he was pursued by Prudom and shot three times, the final shot fired from point-blank range
Point-blank range
In external ballistics, point-blank range is the distance between a firearm and a target of a given size such that the bullet in flight is expected to strike the target without adjusting the elevation of the firearm. The point-blank range will vary with the firearm and its particular ballistic...
. After then firing at a Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
journalist and a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
news crew, Prudom escaped from the scene through a nearby alley. Heavy rain hampered the search efforts for the next two days, and despite the presence of 600 officers, including 100 armed officers, the use of dogs and the RAF's
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
Search & Rescue Westland Wessex
Westland Wessex
The Westland Wessex is a British turbine-powered version of the Sikorsky S-58 "Choctaw", developed under license by Westland Aircraft , initially for the Royal Navy, and later for the Royal Air Force...
helicopters, Prudom eluded detection.
30 June – Eddie McGee joins manhunt
Eddie McGee (c.1938-2002), nicknamed "Jungle Eddie" by colleagues, was a former Physical Training InstructorPhysical Training Instructor
Physical Training Instructor is a term used primarily in the British Armed Forces and British police, as well as some other Commonwealth countries, for an instructor in physical fitness.-United Kingdom:...
from the Parachute Regiment and had served as an NCO
Non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer , called a sub-officer in some countries, is a military officer who has not been given a commission...
in 22 Special Air Service Regiment
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
. Having completed 22 years of service, McGee had retired from the Army and now operated the National School of Survival, a survival training school near Harrogate. He had authored five books on the subject, and No Need To Die was considered a "bible" for enthusiasts of personal survival studies. His tracking
Tracking (hunting)
Tracking in hunting and ecology is the science and art of observing animal tracks and other signs, with the goal of gaining understanding of the landscape and the animal being tracked...
skills had been learned while living among Australia's indigenous aboriginal people
Australian Aborigines
Australian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...
and pygmy groups in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. He was married with two sons, both of whom were serving police officers in Yorkshire. Chief Constable Henshaw said of the development "Now we have somebody looking for him with even more skill in the art of evasion and survival than Barry Edwards has. I am confident we are going to find him."
McGee and a colleague, Eric Longden, joined the manhunt at Dalby Forest, and then moved on to Malton, where they followed tracks from PS Winter's body through the town's Old Manor Moor, Huttons Ambo and Low Hutton areas, escorted by an armed police bodyguard from the Central Firearms Unit. After several hours, he search moved suddenly back to Dalby Forest when police were informed that a camouflaged bivouac shelter
Bivouac shelter
A bivouac traditionally refers to a military encampment made with tents or improvised shelters, usually without shelter or protection from enemy fire or such a site where a camp may be built. It is also commonly used to describe a variety of improvised camp sites such as those used in scouting and...
had been uncovered in a Forestry Commission
Forestry Commission
The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for forestry in Great Britain. Its mission is to protect and expand Britain's forests and woodlands and increase their value to society and the environment....
plantation.
1 July – Siege of Malton
Chief Constable Kenneth Henshaw ordered "the largest arsenal of weapons ever issued to a British police force" and placed a cordon around Malton, sealing off the town. Although certain that Prudom was still hiding somewhere in the town, police gave regular briefings to the media saying that they were searching for him in Dalby Forest. Inspector Peter Walker later explained: "We wanted him to believe we were seeking him elsewhere. The safety of the public was uppermost in our minds. The media reports were invaluable because they led Prudom to believe that the hunt was concentrated outside the town in Dalby Forest."3 July – Prudom resurfaces
For several days Prudom hid in the countryside around the town; on 3 July, he entered the home of pensionerPensioner
In common parlance, a pensioner is a person who has retired, and now collects a pension. This is a term typically used in the United Kingdom and Australia where someone of pensionable age may also be referred to as an 'old age pensioner', or OAP. In the United States, the term retiree is more...
Maurice Johnson in East Mount, Old Malton, and took him, his wife Bessie and their son Brian as hostages. He ate a meal in the Johnsons' home, which he described as the "last supper", and hid out at the house for 11 hours. Brian Johnson later related: "As the night went on, we got talking as though we had known each other for years. He was calling me Brian and my father he was calling dad." Prudom gave Brian Johnson a gift of a US paratrooper's
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
ring, and then, believing the area was relatively safe, tied up the family and left the house at 03.15 on 4 July.
4 July – Police locate Prudom
Having learned from television reports that Eddie McGee, a former Special Air ServiceSpecial Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
(S.A.S.) member, was assisting the police, Prudom set a false trail leading away from the Johnson home, then headed back and hid in a makeshift shelter near Malton's Tennis Club, only 300 yards from the police station which was also the temporary headquarters coordinating the manhunt. Around two hours later the Johnsons had managed to free themselves and called the police. McGee picked up Prudom's trail at the Johnson residence, and noticed disturbances of fresh dew
Dew
[Image:Dew on a flower.jpg|right|220px|thumb|Some dew on an iris in Sequoia National Park]]Dew is water in the form of droplets that appears on thin, exposed objects in the morning or evening...
on the grass which led him to where Prudom was hiding. A firearms squad from Greater Manchester Police
Greater Manchester Police
Greater Manchester Police is the police force responsible for law enforcement within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester in North West England...
, led by Chief Inspector David Clarkson, was called to the scene and Prudom was told to give himself up. Stun grenades were thrown by the police and, on hearing a gunshot from Prudom's location, Clarkson ordered his officers to open fire. When firing subsided, Prudom was found dead in the hideout.
Inquest
The inquest into Prudom's death was presided over by coroner Michael Oakley. The post mortem was conducted by Dr. Siva Sivas, a lecturer in forensic pathologyForensic pathology
Forensic pathology is a branch of pathology concerned with determining the cause of death by examination of a corpse. The autopsy is performed by the pathologist at the request of a coroner or medical examiner usually during the investigation of criminal law cases and civil law cases in some...
at Leeds University
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
, who reported that there were a total of 21 penetrating shotgun wounds to Prudom's body which had "insufficient velocity to enter the body cavity
Body cavity
By the broadest definition, a body cavity is any fluid-filled space in a multicellular organism. However, the term usually refers to the space located between an animal’s outer covering and the outer lining of the gut cavity, where internal organs develop...
", a .22 bullet fired into the right side of his head which was consistent with a self-inflicted wound, and a further shotgun pellet which had entered through his forehead. Both of the head wounds would have caused instant loss of consciousness and possibly instant death. Oakley summed up the evidence to the jury by saying: "I would submit to you that there is an abundance of evidence to suggest that he fired the shot that killed himself", and the jury took just 18 minutes to return a verdict of suicide.
Prudom was buried in an unmarked grave in Harehills Cemetery, Leeds.
Television
The manhunt for Prudom has been the subject of at least one television documentary:- Manhunt: Phantom in the Forest - First aired on Britain's ITV2ITV2ITV2 is a 24 hour, free-to-air entertainment television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998, and is available on digital television via satellite, cable, IPTV and terrestrial platforms. The channel has the...
27 June 2002.
In popular culture
English Oi!Oi!
Oi! is a working class subgenre of punk rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The music and its associated subculture had the goal of bringing together punks, skinheads and other working-class youths ....
band Combat 84
Combat 84
Combat 84 were an English Oi! band active during the early 1980s. Formed in 1981 in Chelsea, London by skinheads 'Chubby' Chris Henderson and 'Deptford' John Armitage, Combat 84 rose to national prominence after being featured in a controversial 1982 BBC Arena documentary about the skinhead...
wrote a song titled Barry Prudom, which was released on 24 September 1983 as the B-side of their Rapist EP, featuring the lyrics: "Barry Prudom, Barry Prudom, He's coming for you with his gun, Barry Prudom, Barry Prudom, He's Public Enemy number one."