The investigation into the murder of Maxwell Confait led
to a major review into how suspects are treated by the police, especially
children and vulnerable people. A cause celebre, it came to be seen as a classic
miscarriage of justice.
The Crime
The Fire Brigade was called to 27 Doggett Road, Catford
at 0121 hours on 22 April 1972. A body was found.
It was that of Maxwell Confait a 26 year old
mixed race man from the Seychelles. A gay (?) transgender (?)
prostitute, Confait preferred to be called Michelle and was well-known in the
local area. He frequented the Black Bull Pub (now Fox and Firkin) and the
Castle (now Bar Nuvo). He had been strangled.
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| The Fox and Firkin pub (formerly The Black Bull), Lewisham High Street |
Initial investigation
The police did not look very far. The first suspect was
Winston Goode, the victim’s landlord and friend who lived at the same property
with his wife Lillian and their children although the couple were separated. He
denied any sexual relationship with Confait but admitted being jealous that Confait
was planning to move out. Shortly afterwards he committed suicide by swallowing
cyanide.
Confait confessions
On 24 April there were three more fires: along the
railway line near Catford Bridge Station; a sports hut on Ladywell Fields and 1
Nelgarde Road (the next street).The police arrested three youths. Colin
Lattimore aged eighteen but with learning disabilities, Ronnie Leighton, aged
15 and Ahmet Salih aged 14. The three were questioned without another adult
present. Lattimore admitted to the murder but Salih confessed only to observing
it.
Trial
The case went to trial at the Old Bailey where it
received national media coverage. Despite the boys all having alibis for the
time of death and claiming that the police had been violent to them in custody,
Lattimore was found guilty of manslaughter, detained indefinitely, and sent to
Rampton Hospital.
Leighton and Salih were found guilty of arson at Doggett
Road and Ladywell Fields. Leighton was sent to Aylesbury Prison for life. Salih
was sent to Royal Philanthropic School, Redhill for four years due to his age.
Appeal
In July 1973, leave to appeal was refused despite
disagreement between experts over the time of death. In 1975, the Home
Secretary Roy Jenkins referred the case to the Court of Appeal. Following a
high-level campaign led by Christopher Price, then local MP for Lewisham East,
all three suspects were later found not guilty and freed by the Appeal Court.
Lord Scarman criticised the original investigation for not emphasising the fact
that there had been no struggle. This suggested that the victim knew his
killer. He declared all three “innocent”. The Home Secretary then ordered a
full enquiry by Sir Henry Fisher to look at the Judges Rules (i.e. how the
police treat suspects, especially children and vulnerable people. Fisher made
recommendations for reform but disagreed with Scarman finding two of the three
defendants ” guilty on the
balance of probability”. As a result,
the report had to be published as a “return to the House of Commons” to make it
exempt from libel. A Royal Commission on Criminal Procedure followed.
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The Confait confessions-book by the local MP
Christopher Price and Jonathan Caplan with picture of
Maxwell/Michell Confait on the cover. |
Further inquiries
Another police enquiry led by Peter Fryer into the case
made no arrests.
In 1980, a high-level
police report by identified Douglas Franklin as the killer and Paul Pooley as a
witness. It also and confirmed that the time of death was 48 hours earlier than
stated at trial. Professors Cameron, Teare and Simpson had assumed rigor mortis
started after the discovery of the fire. In fact, Professors Usher and Mant,
forensic pathologists, found clear evidence that Confait had been dead for 48
hours and that rigor was wearing off. The report concluded that had the boys
not been arrested, Douglas Franklin would probably have become a suspect at an
early stage of the original murder enquiry. Shortly after his police interview
Franklin committed suicide.
Reforms
Eventually, the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and
its Codes of Practice (PACE) were passed and a system of “appropriate adults”
were created. The Prosecution of Offences Act, 1985 was also passed. It took
prosecution out of the hands of the police and into a new body; the Crown
Prosecution Service. This Act also codified the prosecution process. The
Brixton Riots (1981) and the Scarman Report were also key factors in passing
these Acts.
PACE sets out rules and safeguards for policing. The most
visible change was the requirement that all interviews with suspects in the
police station are recorded. Less visible was the role of the “appropriate
adult.” This means that an appropriate adult worker is appointed to safeguard
the rights, welfare and effective participation of children and vulnerable
adults detained or questioned by the police. They must be present for a range
of police processes including interviews, intimate searches and identification
procedures.
Maxwell Confit’s murder remains unsolved. Throughout the
investigations and the ensuing publicity, the victim seems to have been
forgotten. Another miscarriage of justice?
Julie Robinson, Local Studies Librarian, Lewisham Local
history and Archives Centre.
Email: local.studies@lewisham.gov.uk
Do you remember the case? Do you remember
Maxwell/Michelle from those days? If so, Wall to Wall Media, the makers of a
BBC2 documentary would love to hear from you. Please get in touch with Sandy on
020 7241 9319, or sandrine.tabalo@walltowall.co.uk. All conversations and contacts will be
treated with confidence and is not a commitment to take part in the
documentary.
