Colin Pitchfork was born in March 1960. He was one of 3 children (Pitchfork had an older sister and a younger brother) and they lived in the village of Newbold Verdon in Leicestershire. Colin Pitchfork left school in 1976 and became a baker at Hampshires Bakery in Leicester.

Before the first murder Pitchfork had a history of indecent exposure. Furthermore in February 1979 Colin Pitchfork indecently assaulted a teenage girl (by touching her intimately). Pitchfork was sentenced to probation for indecent exposure but it did nothing to stop exposing himself. Unfortunately he was not caught after the indecent assault in 1979.

In 1981 Colin Pitchfork married. In 1983 he had a son. Colin Pitchfork had another son in 1986.

The Murder of Lynda Mann

Then on 21 November 1983 Colin Pitchfork raped and strangled 15-year old Lynda Mann from Narborough. Lynda Rosemarie Mann was a schoolgirl at Lutterworth Grammar School and she was a bright student. She was learning French, Italian and German. (No doubt she would have had a great career). By all accounts Lynda was a very nice girl. Her friends described her as bubbly or happy-go-lucky. Lynda was also a pretty girl and it was her ambition to travel the world. Lynda had two sisters, one older, one younger.

Lynda Mann a pretty 15 year-old schoolgirl

Lynda's body was found the next morning in the grounds of Carlton Hayes Hospital next to the Black Pad Footpath. Unfortunately the police investigation failed to catch the murderer. Pitchfork was interviewed after the murder of Lynda Mann and he did not have an alibi. However he was left in charge of his baby son at the time of the murder and it seemed unlikely he would leave a baby on its own while he committed rape and murder. Of course that is what he did do.

From samples taken from Lynda's body the police were able to determine the blood type of the murderer. Unfortunately it was a fairly common blood type and there was nothing to link Pitchfork to the murder. (Because of the location of the murder Colin Pitchfork was later dubbed the Blackpad Killer).

In February 1984 Lynda Rosemarie Mann was laid to rest in Narborough cemetery.

Shortly after the brutal rape and murder of Lynda Mann Colin Pitchfork and his family moved into a house in Haybarn Close in the village of Littlethorpe near the site of the murder. Pitchfork continued to work as a baker.

Colin Pitchfork said that after the murder of Lynda he stopped exposing himself for 6 or 8 months but he then started again. Then in October 1985 Colin Pitchfork attacked another teenage girl. Pitchfork threatened her with a screwdriver. He then penetrated the terrified girl orally. (At the time of his trial in 1988 forced oral penetration was legally indecent assault. However in 2003 the law was changed and it is now legally rape). Unfortunately, once again Pitchfork was not caught.

The Murder of Dawn Ashworth

On 31 July 1986 Colin Pitchfork raped and strangled another 15-year old schoolgirl. Dawn Amanda Ashworth from Enderby was a student at Lutterworth Grammar School. She was very good at drawing and painting and like Lynda Mann she was an attractive girl. Dawn Ashworth was also a likeable girl. She also had a reputation as a mature and sensible girl. The clergyman who conducted her funeral described her as 'respectful to parents'. In the summer of 1986 Dawn worked part time in a local newsagents. Dawn had a younger brother.

Dawn Ashworth another pretty 15 year-old schoolgirl

While riding a motorbike Pitchfork saw Dawn Ashworth enter a footpath called Ten Pound Lane in Enderby. He followed her and exposed himself to her. Terrified the girl ran from him. Colin Pitchfork went after her and raped her in a field next to the footpath.

After the rape Colin Pitchfork murdered Dawn Ashworth to prevent her identifying him. Pitchfork strangled Dawn then hid her body with foliage. The body of Dawn Ashworth was found two days later in a field next to Ten Pound Lane and the pathologists report revealed horrific injuries to her body.

Dawn Amanda Ashworth was laid to rest in the burial ground behind St John Baptist Church in Enderby. Unfortunately police again failed to catch the murderer. (Even though the case featured on Crimewatch UK in December 1986). There was, unfortunately nothing to link Pitchfork to the crime. (Because they took place in villages the two murders were sometimes called the Village Murders. They were also called the Enderby Murders).

However the police arrested an innocent man. A 17-year old kitchen porter named Richard Buckland was arrested in August 1986 and he confessed to the murder of Dawn Ashworth. The kitchen porter was very lucky. He might have gone to jail except for the fact that Dr Alec Jeffreys had just invented DNA fingerprinting.

DNA is the blueprint of every living thing. In each person parts of the DNA sequence are unique. Dr Jeffreys found a way to extract DNA from body tissue and put it into readable form.

Comparison of DNA from samples taken from the bodies of Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth proved Richard Buckland was not the murderer and the police released him in November 1986.

The police then decided to take blood samples from over 4,500 men in the area, including the village of Littlethorpe and extract the DNA. Colin Pitchfork was one of those men but he thought of a plan to escape justice. In January 1987 he persuaded a colleague at the bakery named Ian Kelly to go in his place and pretend to be him. Pitchfork removed his photo from his passport and replaced it with a photo of Ian Kelly. When he gave a sample of his blood Kelly used the altered passport as evidence that he was Colin Pitchfork. The ruse worked.

Pitchfork might have got away with it but Ian Kelly mentioned it in a pub in August 1987. A woman who heard him was worried and eventually she contacted the police. When the police questioned Ian Kelly he confessed. So on 19 September 1987 the police arrested Colin Pitchfork, then aged 27 at his home in the village of Littlethorpe near Narborough.

After his arrest Colin Pitchfork confessed to the atrocious murders of Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth as well as the indecent assaults. Pitchfork claimed he only wanted to expose himself to the two girls but when they ran away from him in terror he decided to rape them. Pitchfork said he murdered Lynda and Dawn to prevent them identifying him. (Of course if Pitchfork had not confessed DNA fingerprinting would have proved he was guilty anyway).

The Trial and Appeal of Colin Pitchfork

Colin Pitchfork was brought to trial for his evil crimes on 22 January 1988. The trial was a short one as Pitchfork pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for the two murders. He was also sentenced to 10 years for the two rapes. Colin Pitchfork was also sentenced to 3 years for the two indecent assaults. He was also given 3 years for the conspiracy to pervert the course of justice (by avoiding giving a DNA sample). Ian Kelly the colleague who gave a blood sample instead of him was given a suspended sentence of 18 months suspended for 2 years.

The trial judge Mr. Justice Otten said 'The rapes and murders were of a particularly sadistic kind'.

The Lord Chief Justice said: 'from the point of view of the safety of the public I doubt if he should ever be released'.

Eventually in 1994 the Home Secretary, Michael Howard decided Colin Pitchfork should spend at least 30 years in prison. Colin Pitchfork's sentence was reviewed in August 2008. At that time Mr Justice Grigson said 'The murders were callous and calculated'. Mr Justice Grigson said that if he could he would make a 'whole life' order ( which would mean that Pitchfork would spend the rest of his life in prison). He also said 'It would be wholly inappropriate for me to reduce what I regard as a modest sentence for truly horrific crimes'.

In Mr Justice Grigson's words these two murders were 'truly horrific' and if it were not for the invention of DNA fingerprinting Colin Pitchfork would not have been caught. Even then he tried to escape justice and he nearly succeeded. If his colleague had not talked in a pub about how he gave a blood sample in Pitchfork's place the perpetrator of two 'callous and calculated' murders would have gone free.

You can read Mr Justice Grigson's comments online Click here

However in 2008 Colin Pitchfork was given leave to appeal against his sentence (which Mr Grigson described as 'modest'). Pitchfork's appeal began on 30 April 2009 and ended on 14 May. Unfortunately his sentence was reduced from 30 years to 28. In my opinion it is wrong that Pitchfork's sentence was reduced by even a small amount. A man who raped and murdered two children deserves no leniency. I believe Pitchfork deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison for his unspeakable crimes.

(When he appeared in court in 2009 Colin Pitchfork looked quite different from his police mug shots of 1987. He was almost bald and wore glasses).

Today Colin Pitchfork is 49. He is still in prison but in theory he could be released as early as September 2015. Meanwhile his victims families are serving their own life sentences.

Dawn Ashworth and Lynda Mann

A report of Pitchfork's 2009 appeal is also online Click here. This report reveals horrific details of Pitchfork's crimes.

An online memorial to Lynda Mann and Dawn Ashworth

A Facebook Group trying keep Colin Pitchfork in prison for the term he deserves. Anyone can join.

Families Fighting For Justice (An organisation fighting for victims rights and offering support to victims families).

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