Earlier, jurors had boarded a grey coach at the Old Bailey in central London and travelled to Berkshire for a first-hand view of key locations in the tragedy. The Old Bailey heard how Mr Wallis had confronted the thieves earlier that day and was at home when they returned under the cover of darkness wearing masks and gloves. "You obviously did your best to attend to PC Harper. On the night of 15 August 2019, PC Harper responded with a colleague to a 999 call about a quad bike theft, despite it being four hours past the end of their shifts. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. PC Harper died in August last year Why you can trust Sky News The series of events that led to the "gruesome discovery" of PC Andrew Harper lying injured on a country lane has been played out to a court. Harry Howard Finally, our thoughts remain with Andrews friends, family and colleagues.. [41] The court convoy was flanked by police cars and more officers lined the curb of the busy A4, which was temporarily closed to allow the jury to cross. Pc Harper and his crew mate Pc Andrew Shaw responded to Mr Walliss report, even though their shift had ended. Det Supt Blaik said the defendants made a "conscious decision" "not to assist the police" and said their family and friends had tried to "frustrate" the investigation. Deborah Adlam spoke after her son's killers Henry Long, 19 . Grieving officers lay tributes for killed newlywed colleague Pc Andrew Harper. In the first brief comments from the family, Philip Harper said: "We're absolutely devastated and we're in a bad place.". Comments have been closed on this article. It would be a virtual certainty,' the prosecutor said. The Telegraph 2.99M subscribers Three teenagers have been convicted of killing Pc Andrew Harper as they evaded arrest. Mr Laidlaw said: 'Henry Long continued to drive at speed for the next mile or so and he drove in a manner calculated to dislodge or shake the officer free from the strapping. Advertisement. In the next 15 seconds Cole removed the loop of strapping from the handlebars of the quad bike, Mr Laidlaw told the court. 'It was a senseless killing of a young police officer in the line of duty, a young man who was doing no more than his job.'. "[48] The law was added to the statute book on 28 April 2022[49] and is now law. PC Shaw told jurors: "I thought maybe he slipped on something. Recommended PC Andrew Harper's killer 'should be. A small circle of blue and white painted stones had been laid on the verge in tribute to the officer, with one saying 'when your heart stopped beating a part of me died'. Detectives investigating the death of a police officer have said he died of "multiple injuries", as they were given more time to question 10 suspects. The pair were childhood sweethearts and had been in a relationship for 13 years. Homeowner Peter Wallis called 999 to report a group stealing his quad bike in Stanford Dingley, Berkshire, at 11.17pm on 15 August last year. The killers have been jailed for a total of 42 years. Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services. [42], Harper's funeral was held on 14 October 2019 at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. PC Andrew Harper died a hero in the line of duty. Mr Laidlaw said Long drove at an average speed of at least 42.5mph down the windy road. Det Supt Stuart Blaik, the senior investigating officer in the case, said his team didn't have an "awful lot to go on in the very early stages". 13:30 EST 01 Jul 2020 What happened in the Ukraine helicopter crash? Cole ran directly past the police car and dived through the backseat passenger window after the officer came close to catching him in the interception at around 11.38pm, jurors were told. Long had pleaded guilty to, and Bowers and Cole were found guilty of, manslaughter. Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article. 2023 BBC. As PC Harper tried to apprehend one of the suspects, his ankles got caught on a tow rope attached to their Seat Toldeo and he was dragged to his death. PC Andrew Harper was killed while attending a reported burglary in a rural area of Berkshire. 'But the prosecution case is that it must have been very quickly clear to Henry Long, who was after all at the wheel of the car, that the vehicle was now dragging somebody behind it.'. It looked like a rag doll.. Football teams held silences before kick-off and the officer's hometown of Wallingford in Oxfordshire decorated shop windows with ribbons representing the "thin blue line". Peter Wallis dialled 999 to say he could see "four masked men" brandishing weapons. 'The three, effectively acting together as one, were determined to make good their escape at whatever the cost and regardless of the harm that anybody standing in their way may come to.'. He added that they had "hand-held things" and were "all masked" during the call that was played out in court, in which he asked the operator to send someone round to his house. Deborah Adlam spoke after her son's killers Henry Long, 19, Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, both 18, where convicted of manslaughter, saying she now has "no motivation" in life. Forensics officers could be seen combing the area as police widened the cordon around the scene earlier. Another read: "Such a shocking, mindless, horrific act of brutality. 'Henry Long, sped off, PC Harper was lassoed around his ankles by the loop of the strap. [3] He was educated at The Henley College, where he showed an ambition for joining the police. I just knew he was in trouble.". You can be satisfied I am now a shadow of the person I once was. In August 2019, Andrew went to a property in Berkshire to respond to reports of a stolen quad bike, despite it being four hours after his shift was supposed to have finished. [26] Bowers and Coleboth minors at the time of the offence and originally protected by Section 39 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal a quad bike[15] but denied manslaughter. Prosecutor Jonathan Laidlaw QC said: What then follows, you leave the car and had the gruesome discovery that body is your colleague. Pc Andrew Harper, 28, was killed during a "serious incident" near the A4 Bath Road, between Reading and Newbury, at the village of Sulhamstead in Berkshire. Harry Howard An officer has shared the moment he made the gruesome discovery of PC Andrew Harper who was lying gravely injured in a country lane. POLICE detectives have revealed the cause of death of PC Andrew Harper following the murder investigation which launched on Thursday night (August 15). Colleagues only realised it was one of their own who had been killed due to his police uniform, prosecutor Jonathan Laidlaw QC said. Asked if he was home alone, Mr Wallis said: Yeah. PC Andrew Harper, 28, was responding to a burglary report on Thursday in Sulhamstead, Berkshire, when he was dragged along the road by a vehicle. Fellow officers have been laying flowers at the scene of the death throughout the morning. A Post Mortem was carried out on Andrews body yesterday, and the cause of death has been recorded as multiple injuries. The jury was shown footage of the incident, recorded on a camera attached to the officers' unmarked police car. In respect of our investigation, we are interviewing those in custody, carrying out house to house enquiries, obtaining and reviewing CCTV footage, undertaking forensic examination, and taking witness statements.". 'They had thought through and carefully planned the offence. She placed his police helmet on his coffin during a funeral service at Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford, after colleagues and crowds lined the streets of the city to pay their respects. In an update given near the scene, Thames Valley Police spokesman Jack Abell said an emergency call was made reporting a burglary at a residential property at 11.18pm on Thursday. Police forces,. Deborah Adlam, the mother of PC Andrew Harper, said her first-born had been "ripped" from her, PC Andrew Harper was killed by three teenagers trying to steal a quad bike, Lissie Harper, the widow of PC Andrew Harper, Lissie and Andrew had been married for just one month when he was killed, PC Andrew Harper and his wife, Lissie, celebrating their wedding, (left to right), Henry Long, 19, Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, both 18, were convicted of manslaughter. Mrs Harper said her husband was the "kindest, loveliest, most selfless person you will ever meet". Pc Shaw later discovered his colleague's body. contact the editor here. The series of events that led to the "gruesome discovery" of PC Andrew Harper lying injured on a country lane has been played out to a court. [3] He joined Thames Valley Police's road policing unit approximately six weeks before his death,[3][5] and was based at the force's Abingdon station. As the retrial began in June, new jurors were placed 2m (6ft 6in) apart, while members of the press and the public followed proceedings on monitors in neighbouring courtrooms. The abandoned quad bike can be seen rolling slowly behind the police car while PC Harper pursued Jessie Cole towards the getaway car. 'How could he possibly survive if the car continued to be driven away and for some distance?'. Ten males aged between 13 and 30 have been. After four weeks of evidence and 12 hours, 22 minutes of deliberations, jurors acquitted all three defendants of murder. Police search the scene, where Thames Valley Police officer Pc Andrew Harper, 28, died following a 'serious incident'. A post-mortem revealed the devastating effect of even the initial injuries, thought to have been sustained when the back of PC Harper's head struck the ground. [18], Shaw lost sight of the SEAT but in his pursuit found Harper's stab vest in the road. The body of PC Andrew Harper's was 'too damaged' for his family to see, his mum revealed in a heartbreaking victim impact statement. Ten males aged between 13 and 30 have been arrested on suspicion of murder. PC Andrew Harper, 28, was dragged to his death by a car in Berkshire, prosecutors say 'The report, which was made by the homeowner, Peter Wallis, indicated that three or four masked and. According to Long, the passengers were shouting to "go this way, go that way, slow down." He told them to shut up and put music on . Andrew James Harper (22 March 1991 15 August 2019)[1][2] grew up in Wallingford. PC Harper death: Officer recalls 'gruesome discovery' of colleague's body, A quad bike is seen attached to a Seat car which was stopped by PC Andrew Harper. [22], On 17 August, Thames Valley Police's Major Crimes Unit stated that a post mortem performed the previous day gave Harper's cause of death as "multiple injuries", which was congruent with their theory that he had been "caught between a vehicle and the road, and then dragged for a distance". Now his devastated wife of just 28 days has released a heartbreaking tribute to her . Proceedings were halted to discuss measures to safeguard jurors after someone in the public gallery was seen pointing at them. Registered in England & Wales | 01676637 |. The trio admitted conspiring to steal a quad bike along with Thomas King, 21, from Basingstoke. On 15 August 2019, 28-year-old English police constable Andrew Harper was killed near Sulhamstead, Berkshire, England in the line of duty. 'Tragically, at that very moment and still in the act of chasing Jessie Cole down, PC Harper must have quite unwittingly stepped, with both feet, into the loop made of the strapping trailed behind the SEAT. Credit: PA On Saturday, forensics officers were seen searching a caravan. PC Harper's widow Lissie described being in "a lost and endless world" after her husband was killed in the line of duty, a month after their wedding day. Prosecutor Jonathan Laidlaw QC said: "What then follows, you leave the car and had the gruesome discovery that body is your colleague. However, the circumstances as to how Andrew came to be out of his vehicle and then caught under the suspect vehicle and dragged, is unknown. A tragic series of events that led to the gruesome discovery of Pc Andrew Harper lying catastrophically injured in a country lane has been played out in court. Harper's widow had made a victim impact statement and later released an open letter, in which she implored Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Home Secretary Priti Patel to allow a retrial seeking a murder verdict. The A4 Bath road was also closed again yesterday (August 17) while police officers carried out searches. Read about our approach to external linking. Who was Ukrainian minister Denys Monastyrsky? [33] The following day, the 11-person jury retired to deliberate. 'With Jessie Cole now in the car, Henry Long drove off at speed, flooring the accelerator to make good their escape. This new jury heard how Long, 19, Bowers and Cole, both 18, had hitched a Honda quad bike to the back of a Seat Toledo at a home near Stanford Dingley, Berkshire, and made off into the darkness as the vehicle's owner dialled 999. PC Andrew Harper Thames Valley Police officer Andrew Harper died while on duty on Thursday, August 15 after responding to reports of a burglary between Reading and Newbury. Pc Shaw turned his vehicle around, expecting to find PC Harper waiting for him. He was just 28 years of age. Detective Supt Ailsa Kent added: "I can confirm that the males were arrested from a local authority-run caravan and mobile home site, Four Houses Corner, in Reading Road near Burghfield Common. "They came round earlier and now they're at my property in Stanford Dingley.". Mrs Harper said "the messages, support and kind words" had been "overwhelming". The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. On 15 August 2019, 28-year-old English police constable Andrew Harper was killed near Sulhamstead, Berkshire, England in the line of duty. The policemen switched their blue and white emergency lights on, and PC Harper ran to intercept Cole - coming 'pretty close' to grabbing the suspect - before Cole 'dived' through one of the windows. "Feet whipped forward and you land on your back - that's how Harps fell," PC Shaw said. What happened in the Ukraine helicopter crash? Mr Justice Edis told them: 'The vehicles have been put in similar positions to the position they would have been in during part of the incident.'. Driver Henry Long, 19, and passengers Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, both 18, were jailed for dragging PC Harper to his death in July. [35] In his summary, on the matter as to whether the jury had been subject to any improper pressure, Edis said: "To the best of my knowledge and belief there is no truth in that at all". [22] A fourth male, a 21-year-old from Basingstoke, was charged with conspiracy to steal a quad bike and subsequently pleaded guilty to the charge. [5][28][29], The trial was temporarily suspended on 17 and 18 March as a member of the jury was unwell. [27] Long, who was driving the SEAT,[11] had previously admitted manslaughter and conspiracy to steal a quad bike. Our love goes to his lovely wife, Mum and Dad, brother and all of his family and friends. 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