The Paperboy

On a cold, grey, January morning in 1988, 14-year-old Stuart Gough set off on his newspaper delivery round, just as he had hundreds of times before. Just as 1000s of other teenagers did all over the UK in a time when it felt safe to do so. An Army of paper boys and girls, delivering the news to millions of households. Of course, Stuart and his family could never have known that he would soon be the headlines of the very publications he was delivering.

Sources:
1988 Issues of:
The Birmingham Mail
Coventry Evening Telegraph
Nottingham Evening Post
Birmingham News
Sandwell Evening Mail
Leicester Daily Mercury
Daily Mirror
Sunday Mirror
Burton Daily Mail
Daily Record
Staffordshire Sentinel
The People

Transcript

Case of Crime, Season 1, episode 1, The Paperboy

On a cold, grey, January morning in 1988, 14-year-old Stuart Gough set off on his newspaper delivery round, just as he had hundreds of times before. Just as 1000s of other teenagers did all over the UK in a time when it felt safe to do so. An Army of paper boys and girls, delivering the news to millions of households. Of course, Stuart and his family could never have known that he would soon be the headlines of the very publications he was delivering.

Most residents of the village of Hagley near Kidderminster, were yet to rise when 14 year old  Stuart gough left to start his paper round, on Sunday 17th January 1988. That morning a thick fog had descended over the village,  and sunrise was still more than an hour away. Stuart set off into the darkness,  he lived a short walk away from M and G Higgins Newsagents, where he had held his delivery job for over a year. Stuart was a typical 80s teenager, he loved pop music, particularly Michael Jackson and computers, he was a keen tennis player and an Aston Villa fan. Stuart suffered from Asthma but this didn’t stop him from living life as a normal teenager.  He was said to be quiet but popular at school, teachers described him as conscientious and punctual, a sentiment echoed by Malcolm Higgins the owner of the newsagents, when he later remarked “Stuart has worked for me for 18 months and is a very reliable and steady boy”.

As anyone who delivered Sunday newspapers in the 80s will tell you, they were always many times thicker than the daily newspapers delivered on weekdays. For this reason, a common practice at the time was to divide a newspaper round into two, taking half the newspapers out before returning to the newsagents for the remaining. Indeed, this was something Stuart did on that particular Sunday.

Malcolm Higgins was becoming more and more anxious as the morning progressed. The time he had expected Stuart to return to the shop for his remaining newspapers, had long since passed. As had the voice telling him that Stuart had probably just run into a friend or a fellow paper boy along the way and lost track of time. When all of the other paper boys and girls had completed their rounds, Stuart was nowhere to be seen. Malcolm’s first call was to Stuart’s parents, Geoff and Jean Gough. Malcolm’s anxiety quickly turned to Geoff and Jean’s panic, as Stuart hadn’t returned home. Phone calls were made to friends and a quick search around Stuart’s delivery route, confirmed the growing fear that Stuart was in fact missing.

Chief Superintendent Tony Warren was appointed lead investigator in Stuart’s missing person case and he wasted no time in mounting a search operation, his years of experience had taught him that time was of the essence in a case like this. It was established quite quickly that it wasn’t at all in Stuart’s character to leave home without telling his parents where he was going. Chief superintendent Warren told reporters “We are extremely concerned for Stuart’s Welfare and we are treating this as a very serious enquiry. There is no reason for Stuart to go missing, he had no trouble at home” 

Within 24 hrs police had spoken to Stuart’s friends,  girlfriends, his family, teachers and neighbours. Nobody had seen Stuart and nobody could give any reason why he would go off on his own.  By this time a huge search operation was in motion 100 police officers, 6 mounted police and thermal imaging aircraft had been deployed. Adding to the search effort were over 300 members of the public, some travelling from neighbouring towns and villages to help. By Monday morning road blocks had been set up to question local motorists in the hope somebody had seen Stuart or knew where he was.

The only thing anybody knew for sure at this point was that Stuart had picked up the first half of his newspapers and left the newsagents at around 7.30am. Between 8.00am and 8.20am he delivered the last of his first batch of newspapers in Newfields Road and was heading back to collect the rest. The last person to see Stuart was a 20 year old female witness who placed him near M and G Higgins newsagents.

Fears for the safety of other children in Hagley began to grow, and on the morning after Stuart’s disappearance, a number of paper boys didn’t turn up to deliver their newspapers, those who did were accompanied by an adult. Children who had normally been allowed to play freely in the streets were kept close to their parents. Those who normally made the walk to school alone were now in larger groups, with many being dropped off at school by an adult.

In the hope that someone would come forward with any information that would lead to Stuart’s safe return, a press conference was held in Hagley. Geoff and Jean Gough would put out an emotional appeal to both Stuart and the nation. Although Jean valiantly tried to read a statement she and husband had prepared, the emotional distress upon a distraught Mother was too much. The Gough’s neighbour Pat O’Hara continued the statement on the family’s behalf “If you are there, Stuart, and have done something. do not be frightened to come home. Your mum and dad love you, so come home. And if anyone has got him. don't hurt him”

Detectives in Stuart's case were very quickly alerted to an attack on a 14 year old paper girl in Cheshire. On the friday before Stuart went missing Claire Henderson from Cuddington had been approached by a male who was impersonating a police officer, the girl was taken at knife point and sexually assaulted before being forced out of the assailants car onto a country lane. Discussions between the two police forces struggled to connect the two cases but they weren’t ruling anything out. 

The first Major lead in Stuart’s case came when 14 year old Anthony Dingley, who also had a newspaper round in Hagley, came forward to tell police that, on the morning before Stuart’s disappearance he had been approached by a Stranger.  Anthony didn’t tell his parents about the encounter when it happened, as he knew that his mum was already nervous about him having an early morning paper round, and would probably have made him give it up. 

Anthony described how he had been approached by a Black man in a silver-grey datsun car. The man had asked for directions to Birmingham, which Anthony gave, and the man drove away. As the car disappeared out of sight, Anthony continued with his deliveries on Thicknell lane.  When the same car passed him slowly three more times, Anthony became concerned and hid himself and his bike under a bush on a driveway, until he was sure the motorist was gone. Anthony described the man as about 25 years old, of african-caribbean appearance with short hair. Although Anthony only saw the man sat in a car he estimated his height to be around 5ft 7ins.

The description of the man and his car given by Anthony Dingley, immediately sounded familiar to police. Two days before Stuart had disappeared,  In the village of Wellington near Hereford, another teenager had been attacked. 18 year old Richard Holden was cycling along a dark country lane when he was approached by a man for directions. The man knocked Richard from his bicycle, held a knife to his throat and covered his mouth and nose with a chloroform soaked rag. The assailant then dragged Richard into his car, drove to a nearby Orchard, and began removing Richard’s clothes. During the attempted sexual assault Richard regained conciousness and kicked his attacker in the groin. As the man reeled from the pain, Richard made his escape. Although Richard told police he thought his attacker's car was gold or dirty white in colour, his description of the man was extremely similar to the description Anthony Dingley had given of the curb crawling stranger he had encountered.

Although a substantial line of enquiry for the police, the richard holden connection didn’t deter the search and hope that Stuart may somehow still be found. A reconstruction of Stuart's last known steps was mounted in Hagley. A local teenager would retrace Stuart's steps from the gough family home to M & G Higgins newsagents. The boy was dressed in jeans, a grey ski jacket with green flashes, grey trainers and fingerless gloves, clothes that matched those worn by Stuart on the day he disappeared. The purpose of the reconstruction was to hopefully jog a memory for anyone who may have seen Stuart walking along Worcester road or the surrounding area.

As the police doubled down on their efforts to find Stuart, so did the local community. A local man who didn’t wish to be named offered a reward of £5000 for any information that would lead to Stuart’s safe return. More and more local people joined the search and police were using every resource they had available to them.  detectives working on the case had begun to fear the worst and the search for a missing person was turning into the search for a kidnapper. 

An artist’s impression of the man who had approached Anthony Dingley was released to the press along with a description of his car. In an Accompanying statement Chief Superintendent Tony Warren, said that he feared for Stuart’s safety and believed that he may no longer be in the Hagley area. His statement released alongside the artist’s impression said “we really would like to hear from the man or for someone to tell us who he might be”

Eight frogmen from the west midlands underwater team scoured pools of water in the Client hills area of Hagley, whilst a helicopter equipped with thermal imaging cameras flew overhead. Another 20 detectives were assigned, boosting their numbers to 170 police personnel working on the case. The search so far had unearthed several asthma inhalers but non had been identified as Stuart’s.

In an effort to try to improve the safety of newspaper boys and girls, the Birmingham mail announced that they would be providing 20,000 personal attack alarms to the children delivering the news in the Midlands area. The alarms would emit a loud shrill noise when activated, drawing immediate attention to anyone who felt unsafe.

At the same time Chief superintendent Tony Warren admitted publicly that he believed that something serious had happened to Stuart. This announcement came after a couple came forward to say that they had seen a paperboy walking towards M and G Higgins newspapers around the same time that Stuart had gone missing. Police now believed that Stuart had been abducted just 100 yards away from the shop where he worked. Geoff and Jean Gough also told reporters that whilst they would never give up hope, they now feared the worst for Stuart. 

On Wednesday 20th January The BBC received a phone call that would raise the hopes of everyone involved in the case. An unidentified man had called BBC’s pebble mill centre and claimed that he had Stuart. The caller was brief but said “Shut up and Listen, The missing boy Stuart is OK, I repeat OK” The news of the phone call was something that the Goughs clung to, a glimpse of hope that Stuart was still alive and would be returned to them soon. 

In a second phone call from the man, he failed to be able to get Stuart’s name right or provide any details that would prove that he had Stuart, and police very quickly ruled the calls a sick hoax.

The devastation this brought to the gough family was clear. Four days after Stuart had disappeared Geoff admitted to the Daily Mirror that he feared his son was dead. His tearful wife June said “The police tell us we must not give up hope. I cling to that. I won’t accept he is not coming back. I can only hope he hasn’t suffered” Both Geoff and Jean, described how they had to stay strong for their other children Mark, 11 and Richard 13. In the hope that they could cling to some sort of normality both boys had been taken to school all week, whilst the search for Stuart continued. Mark and Richard were finding it hard to even mention Stuart’s name without breaking down. The couple went on to thank the community of Hagley who they described as their extended family.

The community of Hagley were sharing the burden of fear and anxiety with the Gough family, doing everything they could to help. People took days off work to help search, families provided food and much needed support to the gough family. The village church in Worcester road had stayed open around the clock since the search for Stuart began, and placards placed outside read “open for prayers for the Gough family”

A heavy overnight snowfall left Hagley and the surrounding areas covered in a 3 to 4 inch blanket of snow. The search for Stuart continued but the thick snow was hampering the search party in their efforts. The search of the Clent hills and countryside areas had to be put on hold until the snow began to thaw. Chief superintendent Tony Warren, used the brief pause in search activities to remind the public that they were very keen to speak to the african-caribbean man who had been described by both Anthony Dingley and Richard Holden.

One week after Stuart’s disappearance, frustrated police chiefs and detectives were re-grouping, a decision had to be made about what to do next. Despite one of the biggest search operations the UK had ever seen, not a scrap of physical evidence or a clue to Stuart’s whereabouts had been found. Over 700 people had been searching for Stuart for almost 7 days. Police officers had visited over 1000 homes in the village and questioned more than 3000 of the 6,500 residents of Hagley. Police divers and aerial cameras had been used to scour the countryside surrounding Hagley and frustrated detectives were still desperate to find a lead in the case. Detective Chief Inspector Allan Scrafton said “We have found none of Stuart’s belongings and do not know his whereabouts, this leads us to believe that he has been abducted and taken from the area”

Despite the lack of progress, determined detectives were far from giving up on Stuart. The search was to continue and attempts to generate new lines of enquiry were launched. Anthony Dingley, the newspaper boy who had been approached by a stranger just before Stuart had gone missing, agreed to be hypnotised. With the consent of his mother Anthony was hypnotised by a Doctor from Lancashire, and whilst he recalled the incident very well, police had hoped to unearth some details Anthony may have forgotten. Unfortunately no new information or details were provided by Anthony under hypnosis.

Anthony wasn’t the only person connected with the case that was hypnotised at this time. Richard Holden, the 18 year old who had been attacked two days before Stuart went missing, was also interviewed under hypnosis. In this case Richard was able to recall more information about his ordeal, recalling a more detailed description of his attacker and he identified his assailant’s car as a Silver Colt Sapporo, a vehicle not dissimilar to a datsun. 

This updated description of the car involved in Richard’s attempted assault allowed the police to cross reference the description of the assailant with owners of a Silver Colt Saporro. 
As the search for Stuart continued around 40 sixth form students from Stuart’s school, joined police officers in a shoulder to shoulder search of the countryside surrounding the area that Stuart was last known to deliver a newspaper.

Chief Superintendent Tony Warren launched a fund to help STuart’s family.. Stuart’s father Geoff had been made redundant a year earlier and had only been able to find temporary work since. The fund would help the already suffering family, lifting the burden of daily living costs whilst they desperately searched for their missing son.

The search for Stuart widened in the following days. Police reacted to eye witness reports, that a man matching the description issued in the press was seen in North and mid wales the day after Stuart vanished. A police helicopter supported officers in scouring the countryside of the Elan Valley in mid-wales and lake Balla in North Wales. An appeal had been put out to farmers and hikers in the area to be vigilant for any newly disturbed ground, this was a saddening turn of events as it meant that the authorities, whilst not giving up all hope, were now looking for a grave.

On the 29th of January 1988 a man was arrested by police in connection with the Richard Holden case, his name was Victor Miller, of Pennfields Wolverhampton. 

Prior to this arrest, circumstantial evidence led police to suspected Miller of being the perpetrator of the Richard Holden attack and had suspicions that the same assailant had been involved in Stuart’s disappearance. This initial contact left detectives frustrated when Victor Miller’s partner Trevor Peacher provided Miller with an Alibi for the time of Richard’s attack and the times Stuart was thought to have gone missing. Undeterred detectives were sure they had the right man and so began to gather evidence against Miller. Police matched tyre prints from the Richard Holden scene with the Tyres on Miller’s Silver Colt Sapporo and were able to find matches for footprints found at the scene with footprints in a loft where Miller worked. This new evidence was vital in shattering the Alibi Miller and his partner Trevor Preacher had provided for his whereabouts at the time of Richard’s assault.  

After initially being questioned about the abduction of Richard Holden, Miller was charged with the offence and held in police custody. Miller's interview’s turned to the circumstances around Stuart Gough’s disappearance, the day after being charged in the Richard Holden case, Victor Miller confessed that he had killed Stuart Gough and agreed to lead detectives to the boy’s body. 

32 Year old Victor Miller was in fact already known to the criminal justice system. In 1976 he was handed down a 4 year sentence for assault and possession of a dangerous weapon. Barely out of prison he was again jailed in 1979, this time for 7 years for three counts of indecent assault and one of wounding with intent. Despite his previous convictions and a clear escalation in the type of offences he was committing, Miller was released from Gloucester prison, just 4 years into his 7 year sentence.

After being unable to find work upon his release, Victor Miller was enrolled in a government funded Job creation scheme and was given gainful employment as a driver and handyman. Unbelievably some of Miller’s duties included dropping off and picking up groups of children from various community groups and events. Solicitor’s for the organisation, which was called Crypt, said that staff were aware of his previous two convictions, and added that he would have never gone out with Children alone, he would always be accompanied by another member of staff. It would later be revealed that Miller had committed a number of offences whilst employed by Crypt.

In an incident that eerily echoed the circumstances of Stuart’s abduction, Miller had forced a 13 year old paperboy into the back of a van belonging to the Crypt organisation. He drove the boy to the nearby town of Bridgnorth where he forced him to perform sexual acts. In the 12 months that Miller was employed by crypt he carried out several other similar attacks on young men.

On the cold grim morning of  31st January 1988 Victor Miller lead a police convoy to a country lane in Bromsberrow just off the M50. This was an area that was familiar to 32 year old Miller. 20 years earlier he had been placed at Bodenham Manor School in the area. A school for emotionally disturbed boys, Miller had spent 8 years there after a troubled home life. In an act of cowardice that perhaps revealed more about Miller’s character than anything else up to that point, he would not enter the narrow country lane where he had left Stuart’s Body, instead he told officers to look for a drainage culvert, there they found the body of 14 year old Stuart Gough. Stuart had been sexually abused, partially strangled and finally bludgeoned to death.

In his confession Miller blamed an alcohol fuelled argument with his partner Trevor as the driving force of his actions. He said that after the confrontation he had been unable to control himself and his urges and set out determined to attack a young boy. In letters he would later write to Peacher, miller told how he had stalked a different paperboy in Hagley the day before he took stuart, but the boy seemed to disappear and miller gave up the chase. This boy we now know to be Anthony Dingley. Miller also confessed that After abducting Stuart and subjecting him to an unimaginable attack, that he had spent around 20 mins deciding what to do, whilst Stuart lay injured on the ground. He eventually decided that if he let Stuart go he would certainly be caught and his only course of action was to kill stuart and hide his body.

Shortly after the tragic discovery,  Stuart’s parents Geoff and Jean were informed that the police had found Stuart’s body. Although they had tried to prepare themselves for such news, they always clung to a thread of hope that Stuart would be found alive. That hope was cruelly ripped away as they were informed of the devastating reality of what had happened to their Dear Son, and a realisation that they would have to tell Stuart's siblings that their big brother would never be coming home.

The  devastated community of the village of Hageley turned to the local church for comfort. In a service attended by the Gough family. Reporters at the church were eager to talk to the gough’s but they could manage few words. Stuart’s father Geoff wept as he said “I’m glad he’s at peace. I know now we are going to have him back. Jean simply added “At Least we’ll be able to put him to rest”

On 1st February Victor Miller appeared in court for a short remand hearing in the charges he faced for Stuart’s murder. In an unusual act for a court hearing of this type, Miller’s solicitor Mr Anthony Davies asked if he could read a statement that had been prepared by Miller. Mrs Joyce Capper the chairman of the Bench agreed. As Miller listened to his statement being read for the court he stood motionless, and showed no emotion as the words were spoken.

‘I have been charged with the murder of Stuart Gough. I do not intend to defend the charge. I have cooperated fully with the police. I can never make up for taking Stuart from his family, but would ask and indeed trust that justice will be done and that I would receive the maximum sentence from the courts. I make this statement to the court to save speculation and further distress to Stuart’s family and all concerned’

As news of Miller’s confession was released Geoff and Jean’s Grief was accompanied with a growing sense of anger, with Stuart’s mother calling for Miller to be jailed for the rest of his life. At a press conference in Hagley Jean became too emotional to read a statement she and her husband had prepared so  Stuart’s father Geoff took over, he thanked all of the members of the press describing them as absolutely Marvellous. Jean spoke through tears as she described how the village of Hagley had become the family of hagley, just one united community sharing the grief of the Gough’s. When questioned by the press about Victor Miller Geoff said that he hoped he would Rot in Hell, he added “I can’t understand how an animal like him could do such a thing to a child. I think he is a disease to society and I think he should get everything that’s coming to him”.

Anger was also growing amongst the residents of Hagley as they started a petition for a return of the death penalty, something that had been all but abolished 20 years earlier.

On February 9th 1988 Stuart was finally laid to rest beneath trees in Hagley’s St John the Baptist Church.

whilst over 400 mourners gathered in the church, hundreds more lined the streets of Hagley. The village's shops and businesses had closed in a mark of respect and the children of hagley were given the day off school, they chose to line the streets in a guard of honor for Stuart.  Stuart’s Inconsolable parents held on tight to each other and to Stuart’s younger brothers, Richard and Mark, for comfort. Jean Gough clutched Stuart’s brown school jumper to her chest. Amongst the mourners in the church many of the detectives and police officers who had searched for Stuart stood shoulder to shoulder with villagers who had done the same. Amongst the hundreds of floral tributes laid all around the village and in the church, one in particular stood out. Malcolm and Gillian Higgins, the owners of the newsagents where Stuart had worked, Laid a wreath in the shape of a newspaper delivery bag. 

A community that had been ripped apart by the tragic and brutal loss of Stuart came together on that day to honour and remember him. A community that now had to live with the realisation that its sleepy village wasn’t as safe as they once thought and would never be the same again. As they struggled to make sense of what had happened anyone and everyone offered support to the Gough family in any way they could. Jean Gough would later say she doesn’t know how she would have managed without the kindness and generosity of her community. 

The anger of some residents risked dividing the unity that Stuart’s death had brought about. Many of the village’s community put aside their grief as they sought to seek Justice for Stuart. The petition to bring back the Death penalty had gained much more support in the days following Stuart’s funeral. In an ill timed meeting inviting the local MP to discuss the issue, tempers were frayed. Rev Alan Brooksbank who had presided over Stuart's funeral, angrily told those attending that Geoff and Jean Gough wanted the whole issue to be dropped as it was causing them a lot more unnecessary pain and sadness. Nonetheless the petition spread much further than the village of Hagley, pubs, clubs and shops all over the west midlands began to collect signatures. Local resident Betty Morris who had started the petition found that she had much more support than she ever anticipated, and along with two other women, Gill Carr and Trish Clarke, from nearby Dudley formed The National Capital Punishment Campaign. Public support for the reintroduction of the Death penalty was high, and the NCPC were able to deliver  a document containing more than 60,000 signatures to Downing street. The British public, it seemed, saw the death penalty as the ultimate deterrent for the ever growing number of extremely violent crimes in the country.  There was also a groundswell of support for the return of the death penalty amongst tory MPs The Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher along with 200 of her peers were set to vote in favour of the restoration of the ultimate punishment, after it was debated in the house of commons. Despite the public pressure on their local MPs, the bid to restore the death penalty failed when the motion for it’s return was defeated in parliament. 

On Thursday 3rd November 1988 Victor Miller’s trial began at Birmingham crown court. He did not contest any of the Charges made against him and a guilty verdict was swiftly recorded. Upon his sentencing the judge, Mr Justice Otton said ‘There are compelling, overwhelming and unanimous medical opinions and your own wish to remain in prison for the rest of your life. The Public deserves to be assured you will never be released.’ As he was led from the dock to begin his full life sentence Victor Miller smiled and Rubbed his hands.

After the trial Stuart’s parents Geoff and Jean told of their never ending Nightmare of grief and sleepless nights. A tearful Geoff Gough told how some nights were so painful that he would pray to die so that he could be with Stuart. Jean Gough told how she had had to give up her Job because she couldn’t cope anymore. Two broken parents who somehow had to find the strength to carry on and provide their other two sons with as normal a life as possible. The boys, Richard and Mark, were deeply affected by the loss of their brother but still tried to help their parents through the heartbreak they were all feeling. Geoff said that Stuart’s last words will always haunt him, he simply said 'Goodnight Dad’ as he climbed the stairs to bed.

Over the coming years the Gough family became more of a part of the Hagley village community than ever, with the support of their friends and family they found the strength to Carry on. Geoff became a champion of the community. He joined the Victim support organisation, offering advice to others who had suffered tragedy, he was heavily involved in the boy scout and st johns ambulance movements, he became president of the Hagley community association and a parish councillor. In 2005 he was awarded an M.B.E. for his services to the community. Both Mark and Richard went on to have families of their own making Geoff and Jean very proud Grandparents.

Stuart never got to listen to the charts that SUnday afternoon, he never got to use the  michael jackson concert tickets he had been given by his Mum and Dad. He didn’t get to see Stefan Edberg beat Boris Becker at wimbledon or watch the newly promoted Aston villa play in the first division.  He never got to meet his nieces and nephews. He will however never be forgotten by the community of Hagley and his loving family.