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Murder of Lynette White

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158-494: Lynette Deborah White (5 July 1967 – 14 February 1988) was murdered in Cardiff , Wales. South Wales Police issued a photofit image of a bloodstained, white male seen in the vicinity at the time of the murder but were unable to trace the man. In November 1988, the police charged five men with White's murder, although none of the scientific evidence discovered at the crime scene could be linked to them. In November 1990, following what

316-473: A Haftrichter ("arrest judge") may order confinement that exceeds 48 hours. The former is called vorläufige Festnahme ("provisional confinement"), the latter is named Haftbefehl ("order of arrest"). Arrest warrants serve the enforcement of the proper expiry for instance in the Code of Criminal Procedure , but also in the civil procedure law and in the administrative law and the special administrative procedures after

474-535: A felony in a public place; these laws vary from state to state. In a non-emergency situation, an arrest of an individual in their home requires a warrant. Probable cause can be based on either direct observation by the police officer, or on hearsay information provided by others. Information the police bring to the neutral and detached magistrate must establish that—considering the police officer's experience and training—the officer knows facts, either through personal observation or through hearsay, that would suggest to

632-422: A mental age of 11, confessed to the killing after making 307 denials. Miller also implicated the other men. The trial commenced at Swansea Crown Court on 5 October 1989, but was interrupted on 26 February 1990 – after 82 days of evidence – by the sudden death of the judge, Mr Justice McNeill, from a heart attack. The subsequent retrial, also held at Swansea, commenced on 14 May 1990 before Mr Justice Leonard. It

790-491: A perforated ulcer in January 2011, aged 49. In September 2000, the case was reopened. Forensic scientists led by Angela Gallop discovered fresh evidence, including a small trace of blood on the cellophane wrapper from a cigarette packet and a further ten traces of the same blood underneath several layers of paint on a skirting board at the crime scene. The killer was dubbed "Cellophane Man" by scientists and detectives. No match

948-463: A preponderance of the evidence , that: The arrest warrant must, to comply with the Fourth Amendment, "particularly describe" the person to be seized. If the arrest warrant does not contain such a description, it is invalid—even if the affidavit submitted by the police or the warrant application contained this information. A mittimus ( Latin : mittimus , lit.   'we send')

1106-399: A reasonable, prudent person that the individual named in the warrant committed or was committing a crime. From 1964 to 1983, a constitutionally adequate affidavit comprised exclusively or primarily of hearsay information had to contain information suggesting to the examining magistrate that (1) the hearsay declarant supplying the information to the police was a credible person, and (2) that

1264-523: A steelworks close to the docks at East Moors, which Lord Bute opened on 4 February 1891. Cardiff became a county borough on 1 April 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888 . The town had grown rapidly and had a population of over 123,000. It retained its county borough status until 1974. King Edward VII granted Cardiff city status on 28 October 1905. It acquired a Roman Catholic cathedral in 1916. Later, more national institutions came to

1422-626: A British rather than exclusively Welsh identity . The relative lack of local support for the Assembly and difficulties between the Welsh Office and Cardiff Council in acquiring the originally preferred venue, Cardiff City Hall , encouraged other local authorities to bid to house the Assembly. However, the Assembly was eventually located at Tŷ Hywel in Cardiff Bay in 1999. In 2005, a new debating chamber on an adjacent site, designed by Richard Rogers ,

1580-452: A case like this." Tom Mangold , the BBC journalist and broadcaster who covered the case for Panorama in 1992 and 2012, called it "the biggest scandal in the history of British justice." Mangold also noted: "If the 13 accused Cardiff detectives had been found guilty, presumably all their previous cases — hundreds — would have had to be reopened and re-examined. Instead, they are now considering suing

1738-432: A criminal defendant is arrested on a bench warrant, the court may determine that the person is a flight risk (likely to flee the jurisdiction) and order that person held without bail. An arrest warrant is an "outstanding arrest warrant" when the person named in the warrant has not yet been arrested. A warrant may be outstanding if the person named in the warrant is intentionally evading law enforcement , unaware that there

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1896-410: A defendant is released on bail or under recognizance and misses a scheduled court appearance, or if a witness whose testimony is required in court does not appear as required by a subpoena, a bench warrant may be issued for that person's arrest. In cases where a bench warrant is issued to arrest someone who posted bail and subsequently missed their court date, once they are rearrested and brought before

2054-545: A half hours later she gave another statement claiming that she saw Miller, John and Ronnie Actie, Abdullahi, Tony Paris and Tony Brace (a doorman from the North Star club) outside 7 James Street. She also claimed to have heard screams from the flat and to have seen Ronnie Actie talking up to someone in the window of Grommek's flat before being let into the building. As part of the 2021 three-part BBC documentary A Killing in Tiger Bay

2212-483: A history going back to the 11th-century Norman Conquest . The region that may be called "Rural Cardiff" contains the villages of St Fagans , Creigiau, Pentyrch , Tongwynlais and Gwaelod-y-garth . In 2017, plans were approved for a new suburb of 7,000 homes between Radyr and St Fagans , known as Plasdŵr . St Fagans, home to the Museum of Welsh Life , is protected from further development. Since 2000, there has been

2370-519: A law. Courts can issue arrest warrant against an individual under Section 72 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 . Under bailable arrest warrant a person could execute a bail bond with sufficient sureties for his attendance before the Court at a specified time and thereafter until otherwise directed by the Court, the officer to whom the warrant is directed shall take such security and shall release such person from custody. A non bailable arrest warrant

2528-481: A marked change of scale and building height in Cardiff, with the development of the city centre 's first purpose-built high-rise apartments. Tall buildings have been built in the city centre and Cardiff Bay, and more are planned. Cardiff, in the north temperate zone , has a maritime climate ( Köppen : Cfb) marked by mild weather that is often cloudy, wet and windy. Cardiff is one of the warmest and wettest cities in

2686-473: A massive improvement in the quality of the built environment, although it had "failed "to attract the major inward investors originally anticipated". In the 1997 Welsh devolution referendum , Cardiff voters rejected the establishment of the National Assembly for Wales by 55.4% to 44.2% on a 47% turnout, which Denis Balsom partly ascribed to a general preference in Cardiff and some other parts of Wales for

2844-462: A neutral judge or magistrate, who has determined there is probable cause for an arrest, based upon sworn testimony or an affidavit in support of the petition for a warrant. The arrest warrant must specifically identify the person to be arrested. If a law enforcement affiant provides false information or shows reckless disregard for the truth when providing an affidavit or testimony in support of an arrest warrant, that may constitute grounds to invalidate

3002-699: A new business district. Caerdydd (the Welsh name of the city) derives from the Middle Welsh Caerdyf . The change from -dyf to -dydd shows the colloquial alteration of Welsh f [v] and dd [ð] and was perhaps also driven by folk etymology . This sound change probably first occurred in the Middle Ages ; both forms were current in the Tudor period . Caerdyf has its origins in post-Roman Brythonic words meaning "the fort of

3160-411: A new local authority vote, 134 out of 161 voted for Cardiff. Cardiff therefore celebrated two important anniversaries in 2005. The Encyclopedia of Wales notes that the decision to recognise the city as the capital of Wales "had more to do with the fact that it contained marginal Conservative constituencies than any reasoned view of what functions a Welsh capital should have." Although the city hosted

3318-525: A population of only 1,870, making it only the 25th largest town in Wales, well behind Merthyr and Swansea . In 1793, John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute was born. He spent his life building the Cardiff docks and was later hailed as "the creator of modern Cardiff". A twice-weekly boat service between Cardiff and Bristol opened in 1815, and in 1821, the Cardiff Gas Works was established. After

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3476-510: A rate of nearly 80 per cent per decade between 1840 and 1870. Much of this was due to migration from within and outside Wales: in 1841, a quarter of Cardiff's population were English-born and more than 10 per cent born in Ireland. By the 1881 census, Cardiff had overtaken Merthyr and Swansea to become the largest town in Wales. Cardiff's status as the premier town in South Wales was confirmed when it

3634-478: A reinvestigation by the South Wales Police into the original police inquiry. On 13 April 2005, five retired police officers were arrested in connection with offences of false imprisonment , conspiring to pervert the course of justice and misconduct in public office . Four more retired police officers were arrested in connection with their roles in the original murder investigation on 21 April 2005. Along with

3792-459: A result, Nicholas Dean QC, leading counsel for the prosecution, informed the court, on 1 December 2011, that "the prosecution can no longer sustain a position maintaining that the court and the defendants can have the required confidence in the disclosure process, the confidence that my Lord has referred to with all its importance to our criminal justice system. In those circumstances I formally offer no further evidence and will invite my Lord to direct

3950-404: A scheduled adjudication, hearing, or similar proceeding. A bench warrant is a summons issued from "the bench" (a judge or court) directing the police to arrest someone who must be brought before a specific judge either for contempt of court or for failing to appear in court as required. Unlike a basic arrest warrant, a bench warrant is not issued to initiate a criminal action. For example, if

4108-481: A search for the truth but a police attempt to achieve—by any means short of violence—a concurrence between Mr Miller's account and Ms Vilday's." In his judgment, Lord Taylor said that the police had "bullied and hectored" Miller during a "travesty of an interview" and that "short of physical violence, it is hard to conceive of a more hostile and intimidating approach by officers to a suspect." The truthfulness of Miller's admission was, according to Taylor, "irrelevant" as

4266-422: A session with a hypnotherapist was scheduled. Violet Elizabeth Perriam was a secretary at a Cardiff yacht club. On 10 November 1988, the day after Mr. X was cleared of any involvement, Perriam gave a statement to the police that she had been driving home from the club and had passed 7 James Street at around 1.30 am on the night that White was murdered. She claimed that she saw four "excited" black males outside

4424-546: A shorter minimum tariff (the length of time before a prisoner may be considered for parole) than had been given to the wrongfully convicted men, due to the reduction for a guilty plea, highlighting a controversial feature of the sentencing guidelines. In 2004, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) began a review of the conduct of the police during the original inquiry. Over the next 12 months around 30 people were arrested in connection with

4582-414: A situation, and her head may have been forcibly held back for the knife wound to be inflicted. One of the two T-shirts Lynette was wearing was "absolutely lacerated. It looked like a colander ." Knight believed the murder weapon was at least five inches long. He determined that she had died between midnight and 4   am. Her wristwatch had stopped at 1:45   am, leading the police to conclude that this

4740-473: A statement to the police detailing his movements with Miller during the time of the murder, completely corroborating Miller's alibi. On 20 April 1988 DC Geoff Thomas put together a list of 12 people of interest, based on their previous criminal activities. One of the men, whose identity has never been publicly revealed and was referred to only as 'Mr X', was a convicted sex offender and paedophile who lived around twenty minutes driving distance from James Street,

4898-409: A total of 69 wounds. Although she had been stabbed seven times in the heart he concluded that it was the throat injury which had killed her. He said: "It would require considerable force because the skin, muscles, larynx and voice box had been cut right down to the neckbone." Speculating on how the wound could have been inflicted, he said it was a normal reflex for a person to keep their head down in such

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5056-546: A white male, approximately 5'8"–5'10", aged in his mid-30s, with dark hair and a "dishevelled" appearance. He was seen in a distressed state in the vicinity of the James Street flat in the early hours of 14 February, appeared to have cut himself on the hand, and had blood on his clothing. An E-FIT of the suspect was compiled and on 17 March 1988 DCS Williams appeared on the BBC television programme Crimewatch UK , where he stated that

5214-564: A wider pattern of counter-urbanisation in Britain. However, it recovered to become one of the few cities outside London where population grew in the 1990s. During this period the Cardiff Bay Development Corporation was promoting the redevelopment of south Cardiff; an evaluation of the regeneration of Cardiff Bay published in 2004 concluded that the project had "reinforced the competitive position of Cardiff" and "contributed to

5372-544: A wooden palisade in the early 12th century. It was of sufficient size and importance to receive a series of charters, notably in 1331 from William La Zouche, Lord of Glamorgan through marriage with the de Clare family, Edward III in 1359, then Henry IV in 1400, and later Henry VI . In 1404, Owain Glyndŵr burned Cardiff and took possession of the Castle. As many of the buildings were made of timber and tightly packed within

5530-456: Is a warrant issued by a judge or magistrate on behalf of the state which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual or the search and seizure of an individual's property . Arrest warrants are issued by a judge or justice of the peace under the Criminal Code . Once the warrant has been issued, section 29 of the code requires that the arresting officer must give notice to

5688-426: Is a writ issued by a court or magistrate , directing the sheriff or other executive officer to convey the person named in the writ to a prison or jail, and directing the jailor to receive and imprison the person. Police jargon sometimes refers to such a writs as a "writ of capias" , defined as orders to "take" (or "capture") a person or assets. Capias writs are often issued when a suspect fails to appear for

5846-578: Is a major centre for television and film production (such as the 2005 revival of Doctor Who , Torchwood and Sherlock ) and is the Welsh base for the main national broadcasters. Cardiff Bay contains the Senedd building and the Wales Millennium Centre arts complex. Work continues at Cardiff Bay and in the centre on projects such as Cardiff International Sports Village , BBC drama village , and

6004-480: Is a warrant out for their arrest, the agency responsible for executing the warrant has a backlog of warrants to serve, or a combination of these factors. Some jurisdictions have a very high number of outstanding warrants. The vast majority in American jurisdictions are for traffic related (non-violent) citations. The state of California in 1999 had around 2.5 million outstanding warrants, with nearly 1 million of them in

6162-557: Is at the summit of the Garth , within the county's northern boundary. Four Iron Age hill fort and enclosure sites have been identified within Cardiff's county boundaries, including Caerau Hillfort , an enclosed area of 5.1 hectares ( 12 + 1 ⁄ 2 acres). Until the Roman conquest of Britain , Cardiff was part of the territory of the Silures – a Celtic British tribe that flourished in

6320-473: Is evading arrest. Such person shall acknowledge in writing the receipt of the warrant and shall execute it if the person for whose arrest it was issued, is in, or enters on, any land or other property under his charge. Section 78 of BNSS protects the rights of the arrested by making it compulsory for the police to present the arrested person before a magistrate within 24 hours of the arrest of the person. The procedure for issuing arrest warrants differs in each of

6478-569: Is known of the fort and civilian settlement in the period between the Roman departure from Britain and the Norman Conquest. The settlement probably shrank in size and may even have been abandoned. In the absence of Roman rule, Wales was divided into small kingdoms; early on, Meurig ap Tewdrig emerged as the local king in Glywysing (which later became Glamorgan ). The area passed through his family until

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6636-525: Is relatively flat and bounded by hills to the east, north and west. Its location influenced its development as the world's largest coal port, notably its proximity and easy access to the coalfields of the South Wales Valleys . The highest point in the local authority area is Garth Hill , 307 m (1,007 ft) above sea level . Cardiff is built on reclaimed marshland on a bed of Triassic stones. This reclaimed marshland stretches from Chepstow to

6794-496: Is represented by four constituencies: Cardiff East , Cardiff North , Cardiff South and Penarth , and Cardiff West . The Welsh Government is headquartered in Cardiff's Cathays Park , where most of its civil servants are based, with smaller numbers in other central locations: Cathays , Canton , and Cardiff Bay . There are other Welsh Government offices in other parts of Wales, such as Llandudno and Aberystwyth, and there are international offices. Between 1889 and 1974 Cardiff

6952-629: Is the capital and largest city of Wales . Cardiff had a population of 372,089 in 2022 and forms a principal area officially known as the City and County of Cardiff (Welsh: Dinas a Sir Caerdydd ). The city is the eleventh largest in the United Kingdom . Located in the southeast of Wales and in the Cardiff Capital Region , Cardiff is the county town of the historic county of Glamorgan and in 1974–1996 of South Glamorgan . It belongs to

7110-509: Is the main commercial centre of Wales as well as the base for the Senedd , the Welsh Parliament. At the 2021 census, the unitary authority area population was put at 362,400. The population of the wider urban area in 2011 was 479,000. In 2011, it ranked sixth in the world in a National Geographic magazine list of alternative tourist destinations. It is the most popular destination in Wales with 21.3 million visitors in 2017. Cardiff

7268-459: Is the only part of the Celtic Sea with exposed Jurassic ( blue lias ) geology. This stretch of coast with its reefs, sandbanks and serrated cliffs was a ship graveyard ; many ships sailing to Cardiff during the industrial era were wrecked on this hostile coastline during west/south-westerly gales. Smuggling, deliberate shipwrecking and attacks on ships were also common. "Inner Cardiff" consists of

7426-473: Is usually issued for serious offences and if there exist a suspicion that the accused will abscond. Section 74 and 75 of BNSS provide the power to the Chief Judicial Magistrate or a Magistrate of the first class may direct a warrant to any person within his local jurisdiction for the arrest of any escaped convict, proclaimed offender or of any person who is accused of a non-bailable offence and

7584-568: The Battle of St Fagans , between Royalist rebels and a New Model Army detachment, was a decisive victory for the Parliamentarians that allowed Oliver Cromwell to conquer Wales. It was the last major battle in Wales, with about 200, mostly Royalist soldiers killed. Cardiff was at peace throughout the ensuing century. In 1766, John Stuart, 1st Marquess of Bute married into the Herbert family and

7742-653: The Commonwealth Games in 1958, Cardiff became a centre of national administration only with the establishment of the Welsh Office in 1964, which later prompted the creation of various other public bodies such as the Arts Council of Wales and the Welsh Development Agency , most of which were based in Cardiff. The East Moors Steelworks closed in 1978 and Cardiff lost population in the 1980s, consistent with

7900-504: The Ely Estuary , which is the natural boundary of Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan. Triassic landscapes of this part of the world are usually shallow and low-lying, consistent with the flatness of the centre of Cardiff. The classic Triassic marl , sand and conglomerate rocks are used predominantly throughout Cardiff as building materials. Many of these Triassic rocks are purplish, especially

8058-452: The Eurocities network of the largest European cities. A small town until the early 19th century, its prominence as a port for coal when mining began in the region helped its expansion. In 1905, it was ranked as a city and in 1955 proclaimed capital of Wales . Cardiff Built-up Area covers a larger area outside the county boundary, including the towns of Dinas Powys and Penarth . Cardiff

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8216-667: The Iron Age – whose territory included the areas that would become known as Breconshire , Monmouthshire and Glamorgan. The 3.2 ha (8-acre) fort established by the Romans near the mouth of the River Taff in AD ;75, in what would become the north western boundary of the centre of Cardiff, was built over an extensive settlement that had been established by the Romans in the 50s AD. The fort

8374-503: The Los Angeles area. The city of Baltimore, Maryland had 100,000 as of 2007. New Orleans, Louisiana had 49,000 in 1996. The state of Texas in 2009 had at least 1.7 million outstanding warrants in the Houston area alone. Some jurisdictions have laws placing various restrictions on persons with outstanding warrants, such as prohibiting renewal of one's driver's license or obtaining

8532-492: The Saxon Shore forts of the 3rd and 4th centuries, a stone fortress was established at Cardiff. Similar to the shore forts, the fortress was built to protect Britannia from raiders. Coins from the reign of Gratian indicate that Cardiff was inhabited until at least the 4th century; the fort was abandoned towards the end of the 4th century, as the last Roman legions left the province of Britannia with Magnus Maximus . Little

8690-720: The St Lythans burial chamber near Wenvoe , (approximately four miles or six km west of Cardiff city centre); the Tinkinswood burial chamber , near St. Nicholas (about six miles or ten km west of Cardiff city centre), the Cae'rarfau Chambered Tomb , Creigiau (about six miles or ten km northwest of Cardiff city centre) and the Gwern y Cleppa long barrow , near Coedkernew , Newport (about eight miles or thirteen km northeast of Cardiff city centre). A group of five Bronze Age tumuli

8848-475: The Taff ". The fort probably refers to that established by the Romans . Caer is Welsh for fort and -dyf is in effect a form of Taf (Taff), the river which flows by Cardiff Castle, with the ⟨t⟩ showing consonant mutation to ⟨d⟩ and the vowel showing affection as a result of a (lost) genitive case ending. The anglicised Cardiff is derived from Caerdyf , with

9006-465: The 2004 and 2012 local elections, no individual political party held a majority on Cardiff County Council. The Liberal Democrats held the largest number of seats and Cllr Rodney Berman was Leader of the council. The Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru formed a partnership administration. In the 2012 elections the Labour Party achieved an outright majority, after gaining an additional 33 seats across

9164-467: The Czech Republic ). The arrest warrant includes: The arrest is conducted by the police . Following the arrest, the police must within 24 hours either hand the arrested person over to the nearest court or release the person. The court must immediately interview the arrested person, who has the right to have an attorney present, unless the attorney is not within reach. The court has 24 hours from

9322-451: The IPCC. White had left school without any qualifications and had been sexually abused for money since she was 14 years old. Tim Rogers, a BBC Wales journalist, interviewed White a few weeks before her murder as part of an investigation into child prostitution . Rogers said that White was "probably the most visible prostitute working in Cardiff at the time." Acquaintances said that "she would be

9480-625: The Napoleonic Wars Cardiff suffered some social and industrial unrest, starting with the trial and hanging of Dic Penderyn in 1831. The town grew rapidly from the 1830s onwards, when the Marquess of Bute built a dock , which eventually linked to the Taff Vale Railway . Cardiff became the main port for coal exports from the Cynon , Rhondda , and Rhymney valleys, and grew in population at

9638-996: The Senedd; the constituencies for the Senedd are the same as for the UK Parliament. All of the city's electors have an extra vote for the South Wales Central regional members; this system increases proportionality to the Senedd. The most recent Senedd general election was held on 6 May 2021 . In the Senedd, Cardiff is represented by Jenny Rathbone (Labour) in Cardiff Central , Julie Morgan (Labour) in Cardiff North , former First Minister Mark Drakeford (Labour) in Cardiff West and former First Minister Vaughan Gething (Labour) in Cardiff South and Penarth . At Westminster, Cardiff

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9796-415: The South Wales Police." By the time the trial collapsed, all of the police officers charged had been allowed to retire. In February 2015, then Home Secretary Theresa May announced that an investigation into the collapse of the police corruption trial would be carried out, led by Richard Horwell QC. May, who rejected calls for a full public inquiry , said: "There are still unresolved questions surrounding

9954-567: The Tax Code, the Finance Court order or the social court law. Article 2 (Personal freedoms) (1) Every person shall have the right to free development of his personality insofar as he does not violate the rights of others or offend against the constitutional order or the moral law. (2) Every person shall have the right to life and physical integrity. Freedom of the person shall be inviolable. These rights may be interfered with only pursuant to

10112-533: The UK, with an average annual temperature and rainfall of approximately 11°C and 1200mm respectively. Summers tend to be warm and sunny, with average maxima between 19 and 22 °C (66 and 72 °F). Winters are fairly wet, but excessive rainfall as well as frost are rare. Spring and autumn feel similar, with mild temperatures averaging around 15°C as daytime maxima. Rain is unpredictable at any time of year, although showers tend to be shorter in summer. The northern part of

10270-472: The United Kingdom. With the exception of some outlying privately built estates at Michaelston-super-Ely , this is an economically disadvantaged area with high numbers of unemployed households. Culverhouse Cross is a more affluent western area of the city. Fairwater , Heath , Birchgrove , Gabalfa , Mynachdy , Llandaff North , Llandaff , Llanishen , Radyr , Whitchurch & Tongwynlais , Rhiwbina , Thornhill , Lisvane and Cyncoed lie in an arc from

10428-675: The Vice Squad. His common-law brother-in-law, Ronnie Williams, was also a police informant . Williams began passing information to the police in March 1988, much of it unreliable, including a claim that White had been stabbed in the Casablanca club in Butetown before being moved to the flat in James Street. Initially he claimed that Abdullahi knew the identity of the killer and was concealing this information but later he began to implicate him more directly with

10586-458: The Welsh f [v] borrowed as ff / f / , as also happens in Taff (from Welsh Taf ) and Llandaff (from Welsh Llandaf ). The antiquarian William Camden (1551–1623) suggested that the name Cardiff may derive from * Caer-Didi ("the Fort of Didius"), a name supposedly given in honour of Aulus Didius Gallus , governor of a nearby province at the time when the Roman fort

10744-429: The accused of the existence of the warrant, the reason for it, and produce it if requested, if it is feasible to do so. Czech courts may issue an arrest warrant when it is not possible to summon or bring in for questioning a charged person and at the same time there is a reason for detention (i.e. concern that the charged person would either flee, interfere with the proceedings or continue criminal activity, see Remand in

10902-546: The advent of the Normans in the 11th century. In 1081 William I, King of England , began work on the castle keep within the walls of the old Roman fort. Cardiff Castle has been at the heart of the city ever since. The castle was substantially altered and extended during the Victorian period by John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute , and the architect William Burges . Original Roman work can, however, still be distinguished in

11060-479: The arrest warrant need not be a judge or an attorney, but must be both capable of determining whether probable cause exists as well as be a neutral and detached official. While arrest warrants are typically issued by courts, they may also be issued by one of the chambers of the United States Congress or other legislatures . A warrant is invalid if the defendant challenging the arrest warrant can show, by

11218-428: The building, "arguing and gesticulating," and recognised two of them as John Actie and Rashid Omar, who was of mixed-race. John Actie had earlier responded to the door-to-door enquiries and told the police that on the night of the murder he had gone to the Casablanca club at around midnight, and had left there at around 3.30 am. John Actie was the cousin of Leanne Vilday's boyfriend, Ronnie Actie. Perriam's statement

11376-402: The case in "Butetown: The Bridge And The Boys", part of their Black Bag magazine and documentary series aimed at Black and Asian viewers. In May 1991 two of the convicted men were granted leave to appeal their convictions, but the third, Stephen Miller, was refused. Satish Sekar , an investigative journalist specialising in crime and justice issues, had tracked down two witnesses not called at

11534-826: The city of Newport; to the north by the South Wales Valleys , and to the south by the Severn Estuary and Bristol Channel . The River Taff winds through the city centre and together with the River Ely flows into the freshwater Cardiff Bay. A third river, the Rhymney , flows through the east of the city directly into the Severn Estuary. Cardiff lies near the Glamorgan Heritage Coast , stretching westward from Penarth and Barry – commuter towns of Cardiff – with striped yellow-blue Jurassic limestone cliffs. The Glamorgan coast

11692-449: The city, are built of Portland stone from Dorset. A widely used building stone in Cardiff is the yellow-grey Liassic limestone rock of the Vale of Glamorgan, including the rare "Sutton Stone", a conglomerate of lias limestone and carboniferous limestone. Cardiff is bordered to the west by the rural district of the Vale of Glamorgan, also known as the Garden of Cardiff, to the east by

11850-647: The city, including the National Museum of Wales , the Welsh National War Memorial , and the University of Wales Registry Building, but it was denied the National Library of Wales , partly because the library's founder, Sir John Williams, considered Cardiff to have "a non-Welsh population". After a brief post-war boom, Cardiff docks entered a prolonged decline in the interwar period . By 1936, trade

12008-411: The city. Cardiff is divided into communities, several with their own community council and the rest governed directly by Cardiff City Council. Elections are held every five years. The last contested elections would have been held at the same time as the 2017 Cardiff Council election had there been more candidates standing than available seats. Those with community councils are: The centre of Cardiff

12166-614: The coastal marl found near Penarth. One of the Triassic rocks used in Cardiff is "Radyr Stone", a freestone which as its name suggests is quarried in the Radyr district. Cardiff has also imported some materials for buildings: Devonian sandstones (the Old Red Sandstone ) from the Brecon Beacons has been used. Most famously, the buildings of Cathays Park , the civic centre in the centre of

12324-521: The core four [Psaila, Vilday, Grommek and Atkins] gave about the involvement of the original defendants in Lynette's murder were brought about by criminal conduct on the part of police officers involved in LW1 [the original murder investigation]. In my judgment, it was permissible for LW3 officers to suspect that officers who had been part of LW1 had engaged in a conspiracy to mould and manipulate evidence." Furthermore,

12482-410: The county, being higher and inland, tends to be cooler and wetter than the city centre. Cardiff's maximum and minimum monthly temperatures average 21.5 °C (70.7 °F) (July) and 2.1 °C (35.8 °F) (February). For Wales, the temperatures average 19.1 °C (66.4 °F) (July) and 1.1 °C (34.0 °F) (February). Arrest warrant An arrest warrant or bench warrant

12640-546: The defence team and expert witness Gísli Guðjónsson . Their appeal was heard over four days in December 1992 and ended after the Court of Appeal listened to an audio recording of Stephen Miller's police interrogation. Mansfield argued that the trial judge "was wrong to admit the evidence of Mr Miller's police interviews contained on the tapes because it was tainted by the officers' 'oppressive' conduct." The interviews were, he said, "not

12798-430: The discovery of the blood on White's clothing allowed the police to eliminate them from their inquiries. Stephen Miller was questioned at the beginning of the inquiry, having been picked up by the police early on 15 February, but after giving a statement detailing his whereabouts during the crucial period, he was released without charge and the police announced that he had been ruled out of their investigations. When Miller

12956-416: The explanation given by Chief Superintendent Thomas Page regarding documents that he had burned in his garden prior to his arrest, was, according to the judge, "open to considerable doubt". Other (active) UK cold cases where the offender's DNA is known: Citations Bibliography Cardiff Cardiff ( / ˈ k ɑːr d ɪ f / ; Welsh : Caerdydd [kairˈdiːð, kaːɨrˈdɨːð] )

13114-439: The first girl out at lunchtime, and the last one left at night", even working on Christmas Day. Described by friends as "pretty and popular", White earned around £100 each night. She told Rogers that she had been drugged and taken to Bristol by a gang of men who forced her into prostitution and that even after eventually making her way back to Cardiff she had found herself trapped in "a continual spiral of prostitution." By 1988 she

13272-474: The flat to have sex with White and after hearing a scream, Atkins went downstairs and saw Grommek exiting the flat covered in blood and carrying a blood stained knife. Atkins later said he had met White himself in the Custom House pub and went back to the flat to have sex with her. He then "wrestled her to the floor, sat astride her and stabbed her." As the statement contained "four completely different accounts in

13430-599: The flat. Azoospermic semen was present both in White's vagina and underwear, which pathologists determined had been deposited there within six hours of her death. Some of the blood found on White's clothing, including her exposed sock, was found to be from a male with the blood type AB. The subsequent murder inquiry was led by Detective Chief Superintendent (DCS) John Williams, the head of South Wales Police's Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Appeals for information led to several potential witnesses independently describing

13588-429: The following is true: Arrest warrants for witnesses can be issued if: In Scotland, a warrant to apprehend may be issued if a defendant fails to appear in court. In Northern Ireland arrest warrants are usually issued by a magistrate . For the police to make a lawful arrest, the arresting officer(s) must have either probable cause to arrest, or a valid arrest warrant. A valid arrest warrant must be issued by

13746-400: The force "was within its rights to investigate the officers" and dismissed the case. He said: "I find it very difficult to understand how the accounts emerged as they did if no police officer was instrumental in what occurred. I have reached the clear conclusion that reasonable grounds existed from the start of LW3 [the inquiry into police corruption] to suspect that the untruthful accounts which

13904-506: The hearsay declarant had a strong basis of knowledge for the alleged facts. Since 1983, a constitutionally sufficient affidavit must support a conclusion by a reviewing magistrate that the " totality of the circumstances " suggest that there is a fair probability that the facts the police relied on for probable cause to arrest are valid; the magistrate balances "the relative weights of all the various indicia of reliability (and unreliability) attending an informant's tip." The individual issuing

14062-532: The investigation, 19 of whom were serving or retired police officers. In 2007, three of the prosecution witnesses who gave evidence at the original murder trial were convicted of perjury and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. In 2011, eight former police officers were charged with conspiring to pervert the course of justice . Their subsequent trial was the largest police corruption trial in British criminal history. A further four police officers were due to be tried on

14220-411: The judge, the judge may raise the bail amount or revoke it completely. If a law enforcement officer stops an individual with an outstanding bench warrant against him, the person may be detained on the warrant, and may be held in jail until bond is posted or a hearing is held on the warrant. The hearing may result in the court setting a new bail amount, new conditions, and a new court appearance date. If

14378-583: The jury to return not guilty verdicts." The decision was made at the highest level, by Keir Starmer , at the time the Director of Public Prosecutions, Head of the Crown Prosecution Service and the most senior public prosecutor in England and Wales. The trial collapsed and South Wales Police immediately announced referral to the IPCC for further investigation. Starmer said: "Prosecutions will stand or fall on

14536-400: The killers in front of several other prostitutes. That evening she was questioned by PS David Hathaway and agreed that she had named the two men while drunk, but said this was a false accusation as a result of "drunken rambling" and that she had heard the names from DI Powell when he had questioned her earlier in the day. She was then asked by the police if she would agree to be hypnotised , and

14694-447: The men had been released purely on a legal technicality , that they would be seeking no other suspects, and resisted calls for the case to be reopened. In January 2002, new DNA technology enabled forensic scientists led by Angela Gallop to obtain a reliable crime scene DNA profile. The extracted profile led police to the real killer, Jeffrey Gafoor , who confessed to White's murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Gafoor received

14852-542: The moment of receiving the person from the police to either order remand or to release him. Reaching the maximum time is always reason for immediate release. Detaining a person is only allowed under certain conditions defined by the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany ( German : Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland ). In article 104 (Deprivation of liberty), the fundamental law determines that only

15010-492: The morning, Grommek had stated that he knew nothing about the murder but by the afternoon he had given a very detailed account of the circumstances surrounding the crime. Grommek also said that he had opened the door to the building to let Ronnie Actie in, and both he and Atkins now claimed that they too had heard screams that night. Psaila gave a new statement to the police on 6 December 1988. In this account, she had been present at St Clare's Court with Leanne Vilday and on hearing

15168-477: The most vulnerable members of Cardiff society", Psaila had an IQ of just 55, indicating mild mental retardation. Armed with Perriam's statement placing the group of black men outside the flat at the time of the murder, the police questioned Psaila on 17 November 1988 and insisted that she was somehow connected with the crime. In the first of two statements taken that day, Psaila claimed that Miller visited her at about 1   am on 14 February looking for White. Two and

15326-543: The murder, and claimed that Abdullahi had been able to leave work at the Coral Sea on the night of the murder without his colleagues being aware. It was well known by their associates and the police that Abdullahi and Williams "detested each other." On 19 May 1988 Detective Inspector Richard Powell took a formal statement from Abdullahi in which he gave details of his work on the Coral Sea . Leanne Vilday had also been placed under pressure during her interviews, particularly as it

15484-574: The nature of the questioning "required the interview to be rejected as evidence." He ordered copies of the recording to be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Chairman of the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice as an "example of what we hope we shall never hear again in this court". All three men had their convictions declared "unsafe and unsatisfactory" and were released. Yusef Abdullahi

15642-506: The north-west to the north-east of the centre. Lisvane, Cyncoed, Radyr and Rhiwbina contain some of the most expensive housing in Wales. Further east lie the wards of Pontprennau and Old St Mellons, Rumney, Pentwyn , Llanrumney , Llanedeyrn and Trowbridge . The last four are largely public housing stock, although much new private housing is being built in Trowbridge. Pontprennau is the newest "suburb" of Cardiff, while Old St Mellons has

15800-516: The officers, a further 13 people were arrested in connection with evidence and information that they had provided in 1988 which had incriminated the three convicted men. On 19 May 2005, three serving police officers – a Detective Constable , a Constable and a Detective Sergeant – were arrested. As the investigation continued, over 30 arrests had been made by November 2005, 19 of whom were serving or retired police officers, including one Inspector . In February 2007, four witnesses who gave evidence at

15958-478: The one document" it was not treated seriously. Yusef Abdullahi had been questioned as part of the routine door-to-door enquiries. At the time of the murder he had been working on board the ship MV Coral Sea , some 8 miles (13 km) away in Barry Docks . Although he did not realise this at the time, his common-law wife Jackie Harris was having an affair with Geoff Smith, a South Wales police officer attached to

16116-556: The original investigation with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. Two further witnesses in the original trial, Violet Perriam and Ian Massey, were also charged with perjury. In July 2011 the trial ( R v Mouncher and Others )—the largest police corruption trial in British criminal history—of Chief Inspectors Graham Mouncher and Richard Powell, Chief Superintendent Thomas Page, Detectives Michael Daniels, Paul Jennings, Paul Stephen, Peter Greenwood and John Seaford, and Violet Perriam and Ian Massey, commenced at Swansea Crown Court. Massey

16274-495: The original murder trial were charged with perjury . In December 2008, three of the accused – Angela Psaila, Leanne Vilday and Mark Grommek – were found guilty of committing perjury and each sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. The fourth, Paul Atkins, was deemed "unfit to stand trial." Mr Justice Maddison, sentencing, said: "It's been submitted on your behalf, accepted by the prosecution, and I accept it myself... you were seriously hounded, bullied, threatened, abused and manipulated by

16432-404: The other hand, Gabalfa, Plasnewydd and Cathays north of the 'arc' have large student populations, and Pontcanna (north of Riverside and alongside Canton) is a favourite for students and young professionals. Penylan , to the north east of Roath Park, is an affluent area popular with older parents and the retired. To the west lie Ely and Caerau , which have some of the largest housing estates in

16590-431: The pioneering approach of familial DNA searching . He had been unmasked as the killer after forensic samples from three 1973 murder victims were found to match his living son, and detectives on the White case hoped techniques could be used in their case. Using this process of familial searching, a partial match was eventually made with the profile of a 14-year-old youth who was known to the police but who had not been born at

16748-479: The police arrested Stephen and Tony Miller, Yusef Abdullahi, Ronnie Actie, Rashid Omar and Martin Tucker. John Actie and Tony Paris were arrested on 9 December. No forensic evidence had been found to link any of the men with the crime scene. The police were notified on 10 December that Psaila's blood type was AB, the same as that found on White's sock and trousers. They reinterviewed her the following day, insisting that it

16906-552: The police believed this man was responsible for White's murder. Williams said: "This man almost certainly had the blood of the deceased on him." On 25 February the police detained an individual who bore a striking resemblance to the e-fit but he was released the following day after providing an alibi corroborated by a third party. The suspect seen outside the flat has never been positively identified. Francine Cordle, whom White had been due to testify against, and Cordle's mother, Peggy Farrugia, were also initially considered suspects, but

17064-538: The police during a period of several months leading up to late 1988, as a result of which you felt compelled to agree to false accounts they suggested to you." However, perjury was "an offence which strikes at the heart of the system of the administration of justice." In March 2009, the Special Crime Division of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced that there was "sufficient evidence" to prosecute three serving officers and ten former officers involved in

17222-426: The police forced entry and at 9.17 pm found White's body inside. PC Johnson later testified that he was aware that White was a "missing witness" in a court case and that officers had been looking for her. PC Prosser said, "We had been looking for her all weekend." He said he discovered White lying on her back on the floor of a bedroom in the flat, having suffered "massive injuries." White's throat had been cut from

17380-433: The prosecution of relevant documents. On 28 November 2011, Mr Justice Sweeney ordered the prosecution to produce to him a number of specific documents requested by the defence. Four of the documents were "found to be missing from their expected location" and an initial investigation by the police concluded that the documents had been destroyed in 2010 on the instructions of Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Coutts. As

17538-458: The quality of disclosure, and failings can leave the court with no choice but to acquit defendants who have a case to answer." On 17 January 2012, the missing documents were found in the office of DCS Coutts, still in the original box in which they had been sent from the IPCC. Sekar responded to the acquittals by saying: "It is a very, very sad day for justice, as it suggests you cannot ever prosecute police officers successfully if you can't do it in

17696-425: The reason for her disappearance have ever been ascertained. She was due to be called as a witness for the prosecution in two forthcoming trials, and it was later conjectured that she was deliberately "lying low" to avoid giving evidence. The first trial ( R. v Francine Cordle ) involved an allegation of attempted murder and the second ( R. v Robert Gent & Eric Marasco ) involved an allegation of attempting to procure

17854-580: The reasons why no-one was found responsible for this appalling miscarriage of justice." The inquiry was expected to present its findings in the summer of 2015 but this was delayed by the civil actions brought by former officers against South Wales Police. Following the collapse of the corruption trial, eight former police officers and seven others sued South Wales Police for damage to their reputations. The action alleged malicious prosecution, false imprisonment and misfeasance in public office by South Wales Police. On 14 June 2016, Mr Justice Wyn Williams ruled that

18012-459: The results of the DNA analysis eliminated Mr. X from the investigation. Although their prime suspect had been eliminated from the inquiry, the police had collected thousands of statements through interviews and door-to-door enquiries. After the collapse of their case against Mr. X the police now returned to these. Among them were statements from Paul Atkins and Mark Grommek, two associates of Mr. X. Grommek

18170-418: The right ear across the front and around to the left side of the neck, exposing the bones of the spine. There were multiple stab wounds to her chest and breasts, and other wounds to her face, stomach, arms, wrists and inner thighs, as well as defensive wounds on her hands. Bernard Knight , the pathologist who conducted White's autopsy, described it as "a mutilating attack with sexual overtones" and identified

18328-410: The same charges in 2012. In November 2011, the trial collapsed when the defence claimed that copies of files which they said they should have seen had instead been destroyed. As a result, the judge ruled that the defendants could not receive a fair trial and they were acquitted. In January 2012, the missing documents were found, still in the original box in which they had been sent to South Wales Police by

18486-400: The same day, naming Stephen Miller, Ronnie and John Actie, Abdullahi and Paris as the killers, and saying that she and Psaila had both been forced to cut one of White's wrists to ensure their complicity and silence. Over a period of four days, Stephen Miller was interviewed on 19 occasions for a total of 13 hours; he was denied access to a solicitor for the first two interviews. Miller, who had

18644-602: The screams the two had gone to 7 James Street. In what Sekar called "a most remarkable coincidence", Vilday, Grommek and Atkins all decided independently to go to the police that day and give new accounts of the murder. Vilday said that on hearing the screams she had gone to the flat and found White dead inside. In the room were Miller, Abdullahi, Ronnie Actie, Tony Miller (Stephen Miller's brother) and an unnamed man of mixed-race. Grommek and Atkins gave statements which corroborated this new version of events. Psaila and Vilday were then taken into protective custody . On 7 December 1988,

18802-466: The services of a 13-year-old girl for prostitution. When White disappeared, the police began actively searching for her, and a judge issued a warrant for her arrest to ensure that she attended the first trial, which was listed to commence at Cardiff Crown Court on 15 February 1988. Earlier in February 1988, another prostitute, Leanne Vilday, had loaned White the keys to the flat in James Street, where she

18960-585: The streets of Cardiff". From 1901 coal exports from Barry surpassed those from Cardiff, but the administration of the coal trade remained centred on Cardiff, in particular its Coal Exchange , where the price of coal on the British market was determined and the first million-pound deal was struck in 1907. The city also strengthened its industrial base when the owners of the Dowlais Ironworks in Merthyr (who would later form part of Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds ) built

19118-419: The supposed screaming was reconstructed, using an actress in White's former flat and sensitive sound recording equipment placed at Psaila's former flat. Even with no background noise, the screams were barely audible. The same day, Grommek and Atkins gave new statements to the police saying that they had also seen a group of men outside the flat, including Ronnie Actie and Abdullahi. During his first interview, in

19276-503: The three legal jurisdictions. In England and Wales , arrest warrants can be issued for both suspects and witnesses. Arrest warrants for suspects can be issued by a justice of the peace under section 1 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 if information (in writing) is laid before them that a person has committed or is suspected of having committed an offence. Such arrest warrants can only be issued for someone over 18 if at least one of

19434-486: The three men, began to receive high-profile support, including that of American community leader Al Sharpton , and Gerry Conlon , a recently exonerated member of the " Guildford Four ". Further television documentaries followed in 1992, including "Unsafe Convictions" as part of the BBC documentary series Panorama and in 2021 the three-part BBC documentary A Killing in Tiger Bay , which included first-hand accounts from Miller, Paris and John Actie, as well as from some of

19592-487: The time of the murder of White. This led to the arrest on 28 February 2003 of Jeffrey Gafoor, who was the youth's uncle. Gafoor was prosecuted for the murder in July 2003. On 4 July 2003, at Cardiff Crown Court , he pleaded guilty to White's murder and the judge, Mr Justice Royce , sentenced him to life imprisonment, with a minimum tariff of twelve years and eight months. In November 2004, the IPCC announced that it would supervise

19750-477: The title. Welsh local authorities had been divided: only 76 out of 161 chose Cardiff in a 1924 poll organised by the South Wales Daily News . The subject was not debated again until 1950, and meanwhile Cardiff took steps to promote its "Welshness". The stalemate between Cardiff and cities such as Caernarfon and Aberystwyth was not broken until Cardiganshire County Council decided to support Cardiff; and in

19908-480: The town walls, much of Cardiff was destroyed. The settlement was soon rebuilt on the same street plan and began to flourish again. (Glyndŵr's statue was erected in Cardiff Town Hall in the early 20th century, reflecting the complex, often conflicting cultural identity of Cardiff as capital of Wales.) Besides serving an important political role in the governance of the fertile south Glamorgan coastal plain, Cardiff

20066-444: The trial who could provide an alibi for Miller's whereabouts at the time of the murder. Miller asked him if he would organise a new legal team to prepare his appeal. Sekar persuaded renowned solicitor Gareth Peirce to take on the case and handle the renewed application to appeal, and Peirce instructed Michael Mansfield QC to represent Miller in court. A public campaign to overturn the convictions, started by families and friends of

20224-649: The wall facings. A town grew up under the castle, consisting mainly of settlers from England. Cardiff had a population of between 1,500 and 2,000 in the Middle Ages – a normal size for a Welsh town in the period. It was the centre of the Norman Marcher Lordship of Glamorgan. By the end of the 13th century, Cardiff was the only town in Wales with a population exceeding 2,000, although it remained relatively small compared with notable towns in England and continued to be contained within its walls, which were begun as

20382-453: The walls of his honours castle and from the north part of the town to the south part where there is a fair quay and a safe harbour for shipping." Cardiff became a borough in 1542 and further Royal Charters were granted to it by Elizabeth I in 1600 and James I in 1608. In 1573, it was made a head port for collection of customs duties. Pembrokeshire historian George Owen described Cardiff in 1602 as "the fayrest towne in Wales yett not

20540-459: The wards of Plasnewydd , Gabalfa , Roath , Cathays , Adamsdown and Splott ward on the north and east of the city centre, and Butetown , Grangetown , Riverside and Canton to the south and west. The inner-city areas to the south of the A4161 road , known as the "Southern Arc", are with the exception of Cardiff Bay some of the poorest districts of Wales, with low levels of economic activity. On

20698-483: The warrant. These minimum requirements stem from the language contained in the Fourth Amendment . Federal statutes and most jurisdictions require the issuance of an arrest warrant for the arrest of individuals for most misdemeanors that were not committed within the view of a police officer. However, as long as police have the necessary probable cause, a warrant is usually not needed to arrest someone suspected of

20856-636: The welthiest". It gained a second Royal Charter in 1608. A disastrous flood in the Bristol Channel on 30 January 1607 (now believed to have been a tidal wave) changed the course of the River Taff and ruined St Mary's Parish Church , which was replaced by a chapel of ease dedicated to St John the Baptist. During the Second English Civil War St Fagans , just to the west of the town,

21014-654: Was a busy port in the Middle Ages and declared a staple port in 1327. In 1536, the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 led to the creation of Glamorganshire and Cardiff was made the county town , it also became part of Kibbor hundred , around the same time the Herberts became the most powerful family in the area. In 1538, Henry VIII closed Cardiff's Dominican and Franciscan friaries, whose remains were used as building materials. A writer in this period noted: "The River Taff runs under

21172-476: Was a convicted armed robber incarcerated at HM Prison Cardiff at the same time as Tony Paris and John Actie. He agreed to act as a police informant against the men in return for "representations made by the police" to his forthcoming Parole Board hearing, and gave evidence at their trial that Paris had confessed to White's murder in his presence. During the trial, "concerns had been almost continually raised" by defence counsel relating to alleged non-disclosure by

21330-554: Was a county borough governed by Cardiff County Borough Council (known as Cardiff City Council after 1905). Between 1974 and 1996, Cardiff was governed by Cardiff City Council , a district council of South Glamorgan . Since local government reorganisation in 1996 , Cardiff has been governed by the City and County Council of Cardiff, based at County Hall in Atlantic Wharf, Cardiff Bay. Voters elect 75 councillors every four years. Between

21488-615: Was at less than half its value in 1913, reflecting the slump in demand for Welsh coal . Bomb damage in the Cardiff Blitz of World War II included the devastation of Llandaff Cathedral , and in the immediate postwar years, the city's link with the Bute family came to an end. The city was recognised as the capital city of Wales on 20 December 1955, in a written reply by the Home Secretary , Gwilym Lloyd George . Caernarfon had also vied for

21646-494: Was at the time the longest murder trial in British legal history, lasting 197 days. On 22 November 1990, three of the five accused were found guilty of White's murder. Tony Paris, Yusef Abdullahi and Stephen Miller – who became known as the "Cardiff Three" – were each sentenced to life imprisonment . Cousins Ronnie and John Actie were acquitted of the murder; both had spent two years in custody. 17 years later, in September 2007, Ronnie

21804-578: Was chosen as the site for the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire in 1883. A permanent military presence was established with the completion of Maindy Barracks in 1877. Cardiff faced a challenge in the 1880s when David Davies of Llandinam and the Barry Railway Company promoted rival docks at Barry . These had the advantage of being accessible in all tides : David Davies claimed his venture would cause "grass to grow in

21962-486: Was established. Although some sources repeat this theory, it has been rejected on linguistic grounds by modern scholars such as Professor Gwynedd Pierce. Archaeological evidence from sites in and around Cardiff show that people had settled in the area by at least around 6000 BC, during the early Neolithic; about 1,500 years before either Stonehenge or the Great Pyramid of Giza was completed. These include

22120-526: Was first taken in by the police for questioning he was still wearing the clothes that he had been wearing at the time of the murder. These were dirty and unwashed – the police even joked with Miller during his initial interview that he should sit in the opposite corner of the room due to the smell of his clothing – but there were no traces of blood found on them. His car was also forensically examined with no result, and his blood type did not match that found on White's clothing. Another witness, David Orton, also gave

22278-456: Was found dead in his back garden; police said there were no suspicious circumstances. Evidence concerning the unreliability of the taped police confession of Stephen Miller was given by Icelandic-British academic, forensic psychologist and former detective Gísli Guðjónsson . In early 1991 a number of journalists began to question the safety of the convictions and commercial television broadcaster Channel 4 transmitted their own investigation of

22436-603: Was found in the United Kingdom National DNA Database . In January 2002, after the development of the Second Generation Multiplex Plus (SGM+) test, forensic scientists, led by Professor Angela Gallop , were finally able to obtain a reliable crime scene DNA profile. Hopes were also raised of solving the case when in the same year South Wales Police were able to positively identify a historical Port Talbot serial killer, Joe Kappen , using

22594-399: Was her blood that was found on White. Psaila gave a new version of events, this time claiming that she and Vilday had been present when White was murdered, and had taken part in the killing. She named Stephen and Tony Miller, Ronnie and John Actie, Tony Paris and Abdullahi as the other killers, and said Vilday had been responsible for cutting White's throat. Vilday then gave a new statement on

22752-411: Was interviewed by Detective Constable Paul Fish, who believed that, had he been pressed, he would have confessed to White's murder. It was decided however to adopt a "softly-softly" approach until they had DNA results from the crimescene. On 19 October 1988 Detective Inspector Graham Mouncher placed Mr. X under surveillance for three days to identify his routines and associates. The policemen's main concern

22910-424: Was known to use prostitutes, and was a frequent visitor to Cardiff. He had a history of mental illness and had been classified as a " psychopath " by his doctor. When interviewed by the police, he admitted that he had in the past paid White for sex, and was unable to account for his movements or provide an alibi for the period of the murder. Crucially for the investigating officers, Mr. X was of blood type AB. Mr. X

23068-414: Was later created Baron Cardiff . In 1778, he began renovating Cardiff Castle. A racecourse , printing press , bank and coffee house opened in the 1790s and Cardiff gained a stagecoach service to London. Despite these improvements, Cardiff's position in the Welsh urban hierarchy declined over the 18th century. Iolo Morganwg called it "an obscure and inconsiderable place" and the 1801 census found

23226-406: Was later murdered, for the purpose of taking clients there for sex. After White disappeared, Vilday was unable to get into the flat herself without the keys and on the evening of 14 February she asked taxi driver Eddie Dimond, who knew both women, to take her to the address. There Vilday was able to get another occupant to drop a spare set of keys from a window to open the main door of the building but

23384-450: Was one of a series of military outposts associated with Isca Augusta ( Caerleon ) that acted as border defences. The fort may have been abandoned in the early 2nd century as the area had been subdued. However, by this time a civilian settlement, or vicus , was established. It was likely made up of traders who made a living from the fort, ex-soldiers and their families. A Roman villa has been discovered at Ely . Contemporary with

23542-463: Was opened. The Senedd (Welsh Parliament; Welsh : Senedd Cymru ) has been based in Cardiff Bay since its formation in 1999 as the "National Assembly for Wales". The Senedd building was opened on 1 March 2006 by The Queen . The Members of the Senedd (MSs), the Senedd Commission and ministerial support staff are based in Cardiff Bay. Cardiff elects four constituency Members of the Senedd to

23700-547: Was she who had initially raised the alarm with the police, who felt she may be concealing information. She was a single parent, a lesbian, a drug addict, and a prostitute. The police were visiting her daily, leading to her being asked to leave the flat she shared with her friend, Angela Psaila, who was also a prostitute. She began lodging with another couple, who also complained that the police were calling round to speak with Vilday on an almost daily basis. On 19 May 1988, while drunk, Vilday eventually named Miller and Yusef Abdullahi as

23858-417: Was still unable to enter her own flat. Dimond and Vilday then drove to Butetown Police Station to report the situation and their concerns about White's disappearance. They returned to James Street with PS William Bisgood, PC Simon Johnson and PC Anthony Prosser, who were expecting to serve the arrest warrant on White and then take her into police custody. On arrival, Vilday and Dimond remained outside while

24016-410: Was that Mr. X would voluntarily commit himself to a mental institution if he became aware of the surveillance but by 25 October DI Mouncher was so convinced that he was the killer that he requested further surveillance. This took place between 27 and 30 October 1988. On 7 November 1988 Detective Chief Inspector Adrian Morgan informed DCS Williams that Mr. X was now the prime suspect . On 9 November 1988

24174-407: Was the "breakthrough" needed by the police and her allegation that she saw John Actie and others "at or near the scene of the murder" allowed the investigation to take a new direction after it had reached an impasse following the elimination of Mr. X. Angela Psaila lived in a flat at St Clare's Court, Butetown , which had an unrestricted view of the front of 7 James Street. Described later as "one of

24332-434: Was the most likely time of death. White's body was discovered between the foot of the bed – the room's only furniture – and the window, still clothed but with one shoe off. There was heavy bloodstaining to the base of the bed, the carpet and the walls of the room. There was very little blood on the mattress, where an opened but unused condom was found. Forensic examination found 150 different sets of finger and palm prints in

24490-594: Was the tenant of the flat immediately above that where White was murdered. Both Atkins and Grommek were homosexual and had previous convictions for petty crimes , which made them, in the view of Satish Sekar, "susceptible to police pressure." Both men gave alibis for their whereabouts at the time of the murder, but under pressure from the police Atkins eventually gave a statement on 26 April in which he first said that Grommek had killed White, and then confessed to killing her himself. Detective Chief Inspector John Ludlow recorded that Atkins first stated that Grommek had gone to

24648-454: Was then the longest murder trial in British history, three of the men were found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment . In December 1992, the convictions were ruled unsafe and quashed by the Court of Appeal after it was decided that the police investigating the murder had acted improperly. The wrongful conviction of the three men has been called one of the most egregious miscarriages of justice in recent times. The police insisted that

24806-500: Was treated for posttraumatic stress disorder after his release from prison and campaigned on behalf of other victims of miscarriages of justice and for the reopening of the investigation into White's murder. In 1996 he said: "Until it happens to you, no-one can have any idea what it's like to be convicted for a murder you didn't commit. We've been really messed up by what we've been through. We needed counselling, but no-one offered us any help. Being inside really did my head in." He died of

24964-655: Was working every day to pay for her boyfriend Stephen "Pineapple" Miller's cocaine addiction. Miller, who was also her pimp , took at least £60-£90 each day from White, who was his only source of income. Each day he would drive her to where she worked, Riverside, Cardiff , before meeting with her at the "North Star" club in the evenings to collect her earnings. The two lived together at a flat in Dorset Street, Cardiff. White went missing five days before her murder and made no contact with Miller or any of her friends or known associates. Neither her whereabouts during this period nor

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