Ken Williams, an 83-year-old retired labourer from South West London, has come forward with new testimony regarding the murder of prominent BBC presenter Jill Dando nearly a quarter of a century ago. Speaking to the Mirror, Williams recounted witnessing a remarkably athletic man exhibiting erratic and daring behaviour in the vicinity of Jill Dando’s home in Gowan Avenue, Fulham, shortly around the time of her murder on 26 April 1999.
Williams said he had just placed a bet and was walking his black Labrador, Angie, when he observed the man running out from Jill's road across busy traffic. The man then proceeded to leap onto and spin off the bonnet of a moving car before landing on the pavement and grabbing a nearby pole about four-and-a-half feet from the ground. Williams described the suspect as agile and fit, stating, "No ordinary person could have done what he did." He estimated the man to be around 5ft 10 or 11, of medium build, with black, collar-length hair, and wearing a dark suit with what appeared to be an inside-out coat or a jacket resembling a bodywarmer.
"I thought that was the man that killed her because he came from Gowan Avenue. Why would he run across that road like that when the traffic was moving? I thought it was mad," Williams reflected. When asked if he was certain the man he saw was Jill Dando’s killer, he replied unequivocally, "Yes, definitely." He further noted that the man’s physical capabilities and behaviour ruled out a previously convicted suspect named Barry George, whom Williams had seen around before the murder but believed incapable of such intense physicality. “I knew they got the wrong man straight away,” Williams affirmed.
This new account comes amid growing calls for a review of the unsolved case following evidence linking Milorad Ulemek, a Serbian former hitman serving a 40-year sentence for war crimes, to the murder. Ulemek, also known by the nickname "Legija," has been identified by other witnesses and facial comparison experts as a man seen near the murder scene. At the time of Dando’s killing, the UK was involved in military action against Serbia, and there were fears among security services that the murder was politically motivated due to Dando’s work presenting BBC shows such as Crimewatch and a charity appeal for Kosovan refugees.
Additional witness testimonies describe seeing a similar white male figure, mid to late 30s with dark hair, in smart dark clothing near the Fulham Palace Road area at the time. Among them, a van driver expressed being “80% sure” that Ulemek was the man he nearly collided with near where Williams observed the “crazy man.” Another motorist separately reported seeing someone matching Ulemek’s description on the morning of the murder.
Ken Williams provided his statement to police five days after the murder, describing the suspect’s unlikely dash across busy traffic and unusual escape manoeuvre. Police also found unexplained finger and palm marks on the pole the suspect grabbed, though their origin remains unidentified. Williams suggested police should consider comparing these prints to Ulemek’s.
The original police investigation identified a "sweating man" e-fit based on sightings of a man running in a suit who drew much attention, yet months later, retired lead investigator Hamish Campbell stated the "sweating man" and another possible "running man" were excluded as suspects after detailed analysis. The police force has responded by saying no unsolved murder case is ever closed and that any new information would be seriously reviewed.
The enduring mystery of Jill Dando’s murder—a crime that shocked the UK in 1999—continues to attract public and official interest, with renewed scrutiny now focused on the possibility that the perpetrator may have been connected to international espionage and political violence.
Source: Noah Wire Services