The No Body Murder Case | Linda Razzell - Part 1 transcript

Welcome to season 4, episode 15 of They Walk Among Us, a podcast dedicated to UK true crime. This is part one of a two-part case. Don't forget on Monday, September 16th, 2019, season 1 of They Walk Among Us will be exclusively available on Patreon. For more information, visit patreon.com/hewalk among us. Listener caution is advised as this episode contains adult themes and descriptions that some listeners may find distressing.

At 8:40 a.m. on the morning of Tuesday, March 19th, 2002, Linda Razelle got in a red Ford Escort along with her partner, Greg Warl, and three of her four children. She was running late, which was not uncommon. From a home in Pentland's close in Highworth, Swindon, Linda was dropping Greg at his home, also in Highworth, and getting the kids off to school before heading to work just under 10 miles away. The 41-year-old arrived at Alcott Road near Swindon College, where Linda worked as a part-time learning support assistant.

She was seen by a resident who was opening his driveway gate as she made her way towards the college around 9:10 a.m. on foot. She was passing through an alleyway leading to up road and then onto drove road. The alleyway isn't even 100 m long and is overlooked by several properties. It's only wide enough to fit one vehicle through and there is not enough room to turn a car around. Swinden College was located 5 minutes walk away from Linda's car, a short journey she often made without incident.

After Linda had dropped Greg off at his home in H Highworth, he was on the afternoon shift, starting work around 3:30 p.m. But at 6:24 p.m., Linda's eldest daughter contacted Greg, telling him her younger siblings had not been picked up from an afterchool club. As soon as he hung up the phone, Greg Warl made a call to police, reporting Linda Roselle as missing. Later that evening, Greg again called authorities to tell them he was going to look for Linda's car, as he thought he knew where it was parked.

Around 45 minutes later, at 10:17 p.m., Greg called the police again, telling them he had found the vehicle. A forensic team examined Linda's car, registration L955XDG, which had been left abandoned. Linda was described as white, petite at just over 5' tall, slim, blue eyes with dark long curly hair which had a hair clip in. She was last seen wearing a black coat, a gray top, gray trousers, and brown slip-on ankle boots.

The coat Linda was wearing had large plastic buttons. One identifying feature was a scar on the bridge of her nose. A fully functioning mobile phone was found around 5:00 p.m. in the alleyway the next day, partially covered by a piece of wood. His location suggested it had been placed there, likely concealed. Wayne Boon, acting superintendent for Wilshshire Police, said, quote, "We are leaving all our options open. There is no reason why she would have gone missing.

She might have been illegally abducted." An incident room was set up by police and missing posters were put up all around Swindon. As concern grew, police believe there may have been something sinister at play. So on March 22nd, a dive team was brought in to search a large lake nearby in Queens Park. Police also undertook a detailed search of an open area of woodland in Lawn Park around a third of a mile south. During a press conference held two days after Linda had gone missing, her partner at the time, Greg Warl, pleaded with Linda to return in the hope she might still be alive.

If you can see me now, Linda, your children want you to come home. I want you to come home. Your family in Wales, your cousins, they all want you to come home. It's Matthew's birthday soon, and you promised him a shopping trip. He won't hold you to it, but he just wants you to come home. We love you. Come home. Originally from Carvin in West Wales, Linda Razelle, maiden named Davis, visited her birthplace numerous times a year, and it was considered that she may have returned there.

Both of Linda's parents had passed away, though she had surviving relatives in the area. Her cousin, Julie Wesmore, had been looking after the children. Julie's partner Steven spoke with the Gazette and Herald and told them, "It is a very difficult time, as you can appreciate. It is possible that Linda may have come back down here. She knows the Kmaran area very well and we and the police have thought of this and any possibility that is where she might be.

All we can do is wait. We have to try and be positive about it all and hope Linda will contact us to let us know she is well. Julie spoke to Linda just a few days before she disappeared and everything was fine. Linda is a very caring mother. She is very loved by everyone. Before her phone was discovered, one of Linda's children sent their mother a text message which read, "All we want is for you to come home, but if you feel you can't, that's fine." While police could not rule out the possibility that Linda had chosen to disappear, as at the time there appeared to be no forensic evidence that suggested a struggle, police were pursuing a line of inquiry that she had been abducted.

Paul Jennings, a detective inspector with the Swindon police, said, quote, "At this point in time, we are leaving all options open, but there appears to be absolutely no reason for her going missing. The greater amount of time someone is missing, the greater our concern. With Linda's children being cared for by relatives, a week after her disappearance on March 26th, police staged a reconstruction of her last movements.

A police support worker used Linda's Ford escort and then retraced her assumed steps to the point where she went missing. Analysis of both her mobile phone and the area surrounding the scene where she was spotted had revealed no new clues. Nothing was found during the dives at a lake in Queens Park either. Linda Riselle's passport had been left at her home. She did not have a change of clothes and her bank account showed no signs of being accessed.

However, strangely, she had visited three banks and building societies the day before she vanished. One of her daughters described her mother as being in a quote good mood, more cheerful than usual leading up to her disappearance. As concern grew, Linda's aranged husband, Glenn Rosselle, spoke with the local press, explaining that he had been interviewed at length by police and he was helping the investigation in any way he could.

The couple had been married for 16 years. However, the union had dissolved in 2000 after which Linda had briefly spent time in Karenshire. While Glenn did not know where Linda was, he was certain she wasn't in Swindon, stating, "I think she could have gone to Wales where her roots are, or possibly France. She is a fluent French speaker." He went on to say that Linda wasn't someone to just disappear and it was unlikely she was traveling on her own.

Glenn said, "I think she does not want to be found because if she did, she would have come forward. I haven't spoken to her since May last year, but I understand from her family that she was very stressed and upset about the whole divorce proceedings. We both just wanted it to end." The couple had separated 2 years earlier, although they were still going through a protracted divorce. The court date was set to resolve the financial details of their separation and was scheduled the same week Linda disappeared.

As locals prayed for her safe return, a spokesperson for the police insisted there would be no letup in the search for the 41-year-old. Officers will continue their inquiries over the Easter bank holiday period, which will include analysis of information received from the public to determine any fresh lines of inquiry. Officers are currently viewing CCTV footage seized from around the town center area, including bus and railway stations, for any clues as to Linda's mystery disappearance.

While police were making every effort to track Linda down, it did indeed look as though she had just vanished. The outcome did not look good as none of Linda's relatives in Carmir had heard from her. There was no information from the hundreds of house-to-house inquiries police had undertaken. As each day passed, it seemed more and more likely that something awful had happened. Alvina Kumar, a Wilshshire police spokesperson, was turning to the public in the hope that someone had yet to speak up.

Unfortunately, there are no new developments and Linda Razelle remains outstanding. No transactions have been made from her bank account. We urge anyone with any information, no matter how small and insignificant it appears, to come forward. It wasn't just the police who were losing hope that Linda would be found alive. Her family voiced their concern after speaking with reporters. By the middle of April, Linda's 42nd birthday was fast approaching.

And with no sign of the mother of four, her children, two daughters, and two sons, made her a birthday card on which they wrote, "Happy birthday, Mom. We love you. Come home safely. Graeme Davis, Linda's brother, showed the press the card and spoke of the difficulty the youngsters were facing, saying that it isn't their uncle the children need, but their mother. The children are being as strong as they can for their mom, he said.

But the pain they are feeling inside is unimaginable. They just pray she's going to walk through the door at any moment. The family had baked a birthday cake and blew up a single balloon, though there was little cause for celebration. With April 2002 coming to a close, police issued nearly 500 letters to the owners of guest houses and hotelers in the Carmier area in the hope that someone had seen Linda Razelle. Along with the letter was photos of Linda and a questionnaire for anyone who might have spotted the missing mother of four.

There was also someone of interest that Swindon police wanted to speak to. Detective Inspector Paul Jennings appealed for a man sat in the front passenger seat of a cream Nissan parked on Al Scott Road on the day Linda disappeared. He seemed to be in his 40s and was wearing a dark colored anorak. with police desperate to speak to anyone that might have seen Linda. During the second week of May, they released the last photograph of her taken from a CCTV camera in a branch of HSBC on March 18th, a day before she disappeared.

Aware that public interest might be waning, police also issued home footage of Linda taken at some point during the mid to late 90s. In the footage shot on a handheld camera at a family gathering, Linda was filmed sat next to her youngest child who was barely a year old. Di Jennings confirmed that over 30 officers were working the case, but was still frustrated that no members of the public had come forward. We are fairly astonished and quite dismayed that we have a sighting of Linda about 9:10 a.m. on that Tuesday.

Swindon was busy and there were lots of people around. Yet, there has been no contact from Linda or no more confirmed sightings. Jennings also made an urgent appeal for a man to come forward who told a local taxi driver that he had seen Linda Razelle on the day she disappeared. The man had blonde hair and was picked up outside Swindon Railway Station a week and a half after March 19th, 2002. The detective said the man caught a taxi between 300 p.m. and 400 p.m. and was taken to Abby me's public house.

He told the taxi driver that a friend of his saw Linda Razelle at one of the entrances to Queens Park. Officers appealed for this person to contact them urgently. The investigation, Operation Docker, had spent a considerable amount of funds to try and track down Linda, somewhere in the region of a quarter of a million pounds, interviewed close to 3,000 people, logged over 1 and a half thousand statements, and 9,000 items were taken into evidence.

On May 15th, almost 8 weeks since Linder had vanished, police made an arrest. Though the details of who they had taken into custody remained a mystery. At a press conference, all that police spokesperson Alvina Kumar would say is, quote, "As a result of certain evidence coming to light, a 42year-old man was arrested on Wednesday morning on suspicion of murder. He is currently in custody at Wesley Police Station. There was no announcement made on whether or not a body had been found. 2 days later, it was reported that Glenn Riselle, Linda's aranged husband and father to her four children, appeared at Swindon Magistrate's Court charged with her murder.

During the short hearing, he did little more than confirm his name, address, and age. Wearing a blue shirt and black trousers, appearing relaxed, Razelle briefly glanced towards the public gallery where his children, Linda's cousin Julie, and brother Graeme was sitting. With Glenn Rosselle in custody on suspicion of his wife's murder, that did not stop police continuing to appeal to the public for information about a man they wanted to speak to.

He had been seen close to even Swindon Primary School in the area of Meadow Road and Pasture Close. The former being the location of Glenn Razelle's current address. Police released a photo fit of the man and asked that either he or someone who knew him come forward. But in the intervening months, they heard nothing. Glenn Riselle faced a plea and case management hearing in September of that year. From Bristol Crown Court dressed in a gray suit, Roselle confirmed his name and that he was pleading not guilty.

After adjourning the case for a further hearing, Judge Lester Booman agreed that Glenn Riselle could be bailed providing he surrender his passport and observe a curfew. He was told to stay at his mother's home in Somerset and was not allowed to enter Wiltshire. A prosecutor for the crown explained to the court that they were still analyzing the forensic evidence gathered. As winter approached, a trial had still not taken place, and it was reported that it wouldn't commence until the summer of 2003 at the earliest.

The case was adjourned by judge Lester Boothman after legal discussion between Peter Henry acting on behalf of the defense and Michael Paroy QC acting for the crown. It was a complex case and the first time Wiltshire police had brought a murder charge against someone when the body of the alleged victim was missing. Linelle would remain on bail until the trial. Although the trial had been scheduled to take place in summer, it wouldn't be until the middle of October 2003 that legal proceedings would begin in court 1 at Bristol Crown Court.

Prosecutor Michael Paroy QC addressed the jury of seven men and five women during his opening statement, informing them the blood from Linda Rosselle had been found in a car her husband had borrowed. You will hear there is strong scientific evidence that points to her having been injured and bleeding and placed in the boot of a car being driven by this defendant. The evidence points inexurably to her having been killed on March 19th and killed by this defendant.

The jury were told that Linda's blood was found not only on the underside of a parcel shelf in the boot, but also on a mat in the footwell of the passenger seat. There was a one ina billion chance that the blood belonged to someone not related to Linda Riselle. Forensic experts believe the blood stains in the passenger seat of the Renault Lagoona came from either a blood soaked glove or weapon which had been dropped there.

The blood on the underside of the parcel shelf was found using lumininal, a chemical that can highlight blood which is not visible to the human eye. While there was not a body to carry out testing on, police extracted DNA from the results of a cervical smear test Linda had undergone years before. The jury were informed that following on from her divorce from Glenn Riselle and the subsequent legal proceedings, Linda was due to receive the home she had shared with her husband and £30,000 in cash.

He had reportedly paid £650 a month in child support for his children, though this had stopped when he was made redundant in December 2001. Unbeknownst to Linda, Glenn had received a payout of nearly £70,000 and began to spend the funds, traveling around the world with his new partner, Rachel Smith, nearly 20 years his junior. When Linda's solicitors discovered that a payout had been made, a court order was issued and Roselle's financial assets were frozen on Friday, March 15th, 2002.

Linda disappeared on Tuesday of the following week. Michael Paroy QC was certain there was a financial motive behind Roselle's actions to allegedly dispatch his wife. The prosecutor also said that the motive for killing Linda was not only to avoid losing further assets, but Glenn was aware that Linda had drawn up a will when they were married in 1983, in which a surviving spouse would be the sole beneficiary. A life insurance policy in Linda's name was worth around $150,000 along with another in joint names worth 25,000.

The home they had shared on Pentilan's Close in H Highworth, Swindon, would also be left to the other in the event of one of them dying. The pair had met 4 years before their marriage on a train while the then 20-year-old Glenn was on a business trip and 19-year-old Linda was traveling to Reading where she was starting a multiple language degree. They eventually became romantically involved and during that period, Linda was staying in France for a part of her coursework.

Unfortunately, she started to suffer panic attacks which went undiagnosed until she returned home. In the early 80s, she spent some time receiving mental health care at two facilities in Essex and Swindon and was diagnosed with agorophobia. The couple married and went on to have four children between 1987 to 1996. But with Glenn working long hours for a financial institution following in his father's footsteps, he was often away from home and the marriage suffered.

Linda would no longer sleep in the same bed, often choosing to stay in one of the children's rooms. In a statement Glenn provided to police, he claimed that in the late '9s, Linda admitted to sleeping with someone else, a builder who had done some work on an extension at their home. While Glenn claimed he wanted to make the relationship work, he also would have an affair with Rachel Smith, the woman who he would be romantically involved with during the period of Linda's disappearance.

Although at the time the pair made an effort to continue the marriage, it wasn't until 2000 that they would begin divorce proceedings. Glenn had first moved to Somerset with his mother while going through the protracted and acrimonious events. Glenn was diagnosed with depression and given medication. He would admit that he made things difficult for his wife after she left Swindon abruptly when they parted ways. He hoped that she would stay with relatives in Wales and he would receive the home they shared on Pentilan's Close in Hyworth.

Michael Paroy QC insisted that as Riselle's future was in jeopardy, the defendant took action to remedy his problems. But he was unaware that Linda had changed her will in December 2000. after the couple had initiated divorce proceedings. So any assets would be left to her children, not her husband. Roselle's actions were described as an elaborate and carefully planned killing. Paroy spoke about Linda, saying, quote, "She was a woman who absolutely adored her children.

They have heard nothing from her since that day. Linda's bank account had not been accessed and there had been no attempts to use her credit cards. Police had contacted other forces throughout the UK and even Interpol to see if they heard anything. They came up with nothing. Council for the Defense Stuart Jones QC noted the difficulties in tracing someone who had changed their name by deedpole as there are some methods through which it could be done that would not leave a paper trail.

It did not help that if Linda used her maiden name of Davis, it would make searches even more difficult as it was an incredibly common name. Stuart Jones QC asserted that the blood evidence discovered in the Renault Lagoona was planted and his client was innocent. A number of witness sightings were reportedly made in which Linda was seen as far a field as Bath and Western Super Mayor, although none of these could be fully corroborated.

On the morning of Linda's disappearance, witness Christine M told the court that she saw a woman who, to the best of her knowledge, was Linda Riselle. After dropping off her child at school at approximately 900 a.m. from her home on the corner of Upen Road and Drove Road, Christine saw a woman carrying a briefcase wearing a trouser suit and a raincoat who appeared to be in a hurry. The area is on the opposite side of the alleyway from Alcott Road where Linda had been witnessed parking her car.

Earlier that morning, Postwoman Yolanda Gingel spotted Linda's red Ford Escort on the driveway of a home on Pentilan's Close around 8:15 a.m. In a witness statement, Yolanda would go on to say that she believes she witnessed Linda driving a silver Ford Fiesta the day after she went missing. She would reportedly say, quote, "I thought, oh, it's Linda. Good for her. She's got a new car. I made eye contact. She didn't need to turn her head to see me.

I thought that she looked cross and wasn't happy to see me. Even knowing what I know now, I am sure it was Linda." Yolanda was familiar with Linda as they had known each other through their local children's play group. She appeared to be in a hurry, which wasn't at odds with the witness's perception of Linda. She apparently always looked flustered, often running late. Linda was said to have appeared, quote, "A bit nervy and edgy." After realizing that Linda Riselle was missing, Yolanda Gingel contacted the police.

Linda was apparently traveling on Lechlade Road around a third of a mile southeast of Pentland's close on a stretch of road which if followed south would take the traveler to the center of Swindon. Greg Warl took the stand and described his concern that something serious had happened when Linda did not answer her phone and did not reply to any text messages he had sent her on the afternoon of March 19th, 2002. Greg Warl had been dropped off at his home in Highworth by Linda before heading to Eastrop Infant School where Linda's youngest son was performing in a school assembly.

He headed to work in the afternoon, though had to leave early as no one had picked Linda's children up from an afterchool club. While she was described by some witnesses as a bit flustered on occasion, Linda was never late when picking up her children. Greg made contact with Linda's cousin to ask if she had seen her and then the police to report his partner missing. He traveled to Alfcott Road where she would usually park her car and discovered the red Ford Escort.

He checked inside for anything that might point to where she had gone, hoping that possibly she had just left her mobile phone in the car, but found nothing. Greg thought the worst and was worried that his partner's body had been left in the vehicle, so opened the boot. It was empty and there was no trace of Linda Razelle. Her children were at first told that their mother was just running late, but those close to Linda had to soon break the news to her children that she might not be coming home.

As a witness statement was read to the court describing what the children were told, Julie Wesmore, Linda's cousin, turned around in her seat and stared directly at the defendant. Glenn Riselle did not return her gaze. In a police statement read to the court by prosecutor Michael Paroy QC, Glenn Riselle told officers that the last time he had seen his wife was on March 17th, 2002 during a hearing in judges chambers at Swindon County Court in which they were finalizing their divorce.

This conflicted with the information he gave the press when he was interviewed. After speaking with his lawyers, Roselle then spoke with a friend of his, Mike Suckcliffe, or William Suckcliffe as he has also been referred to. Along with Christopher Willlet, the trio had planned a short trip to France to shop for some cheap alcohol. Roselle told his friend that he would be unable to make the trip as his bank accounts were frozen and he would need to get back to court at a moment's notice.

However, he told Suckliffe that he could use his Ford Galaxy to make the trip, and Roselle would use Suckliff's Renault Lagoona in the meantime. Riselle drove the Lagona home to his rented accommodation on Meadow Road on March 18th. And early the next morning, after realizing that the car needed fuel, he drove along Great Western Way, filling up the car with £15 worth of fuel at a Sainsbur's petrol station. This was the morning Linda disappeared.

He was 9 mi southwest of Linda's home and just under 3 mi west from where her car would ultimately be left on Alcott Road. Glenn told the police he returned home before leaving again on foot at 9:00 a.m. to go for a 2 and 1/2 hour walk at Lyd Park. There were however no witnesses who could corroborate his account during this period, though a neighbor spotted the Renault Lagoon on Riselle's Drive at 9:00 a.m. and then 11:00 a.m.

In his statement, Riselle said that when he returned from his walk, he had a bath, picked up his missed voicemails on his mobile phone, then spoke to his lawyer. His mobile had accidentally turned itself off, so his movements could not be traced. He left the property at 300 p.m. to go to his solicitors, which can be corroborated by a pain display ticket. He then spoke with his partner, Rachel Smith, on the phone, before taking another walk at Barbar Castle.

His general movements during this point are confirmed by his mobile phone, which was now on and could be tracked through cell tower analysis. Later he went for dinner with his partner at the Red Line in Avery and then traveled to the pheasant in Hungerford to meet his friends who had returned from France with the alcohol they had purchased. After paying them for his share, he then drove his Ford Galaxy back home around 11:30.

After police were notified of Linda's disappearance, they went to interview Glenn Riselle and retrace his last steps on the morning of March 19th, 2002. The officers who made the journey with Glenn noticed they had mud on their shoes when they returned. However, when seized after Linda's disappearance, Roselle's shoes did not. Curious as to why that was, Roselle said he had wiped them on his lawn. 8 days after Linda had disappeared, police again returned to Roselle's home as they wanted to forensically examine the entire property.

This news upset Roselle and he began to cry. He told Detective Sergeant Tim Corner, who attended the property, that he had set up a noose in his loft space. While he hadn't gone through with it, the rope was still hanging there. Following the examination of the property, Glen Riselle was told he was under arrest on suspicion of killing his wife. Police found a number of inconsistencies in his story and also when asked what clothing he had been wearing on the morning that Linder had disappeared, he lied.

Riselle insisted that he had been wearing a black jacket, mo shirt, and black jeans. But after police retrieved the CCTV footage from the petrol station, they spotted that Razelle was wearing blue jeans during the morning and black in the afternoon. This along with the blood found in the lagoona put him squarely in the sights of detectives. During the second week of the trial, jurors were transported from the courtroom and taken to a stretch of road where Linda parked her car on the day she disappeared.

They also walked the journey it was hypothesized she made from Alcott Road traveling to Uppen Road and in the direction of Queens Park. The witness had seen Linda as he was coming out of his property and by the time he got into his car and drove down the alley, Linda was nowhere to be seen. This would give the culprit around a minute in which to incapacitate Linda and get her in the vehicle used in the abduction. As her mobile phone was left in the alley, police believe that indicated this was the abduction site.

The seven men and five women of the jury were then also shown the area of Lyd Park where Glenn Riselle said he was walking during the morning of March 19th, 2002. While there was not a single sighting of Riselle on Alcott Road, his whereabouts that morning could not be corroborated as his phone was either out of range or switched off during this time. Riselle would say his phone had a fault in which it would switch itself off.

Police thought he switched it off to conceal his location. Interestingly, an expert discovered Razelle's claim to be true. However, only if it was in the inside pocket of a tight fitting pair of trousers. A friend of Rosels had tried to call him. However, his phone was either off or out of range. They had left a voicemail which was later picked up. A witness who specialized in telecommunications tested the mask near Razelle's home on Meadow Road and around Lyd Park, but could find no issues with the signal.

Professor Yan Stewart said, "I found no point throughout that circuit where there was a poor signal, and in most cases, I could see there was a good signal from cell sites." There were also tests completed on Linda's phone. However, it was confirmed that the mobile device had not been moved since it had either been left or concealed in the alley between Alcott Road and Uppen Road. Numerous calls were made to the mobile from Linda's boyfriend, Greg Warl, throughout much of March 19th to the following day.

Mike Suckliffe, a friend of Glenn's took the stand. Suckliffe, who had worked for Zurich Financial Services for 10 years, was also made redundant at the same time as Razelle. The witness owned the silver Renault Lagona that Roselle had borrowed during the period it was being alleged by the prosecution. The defendant had murdered his wife. After he received the car back, when the pair switched vehicles at the Feeasant Pub in Hungerford, Suckliffe noticed nothing strange about the car, only that a copy of Autoport magazine had been left inside.

The police arrived at his home on March 20th, 2002 asking questions about Linda. After she had disappeared, Suckliffe had spent time with Razelle and they went for a bike ride from Suckliff's home in South Cerny Glsters, 15 mi northwest from Razelle's home in Swindon. Sutcliffe would go on to testify that Roselle pondered if police had searched the Sappan canal tunnel on the seven temps canal. The pair cycled to Ashton Kes and then Cricade close to the Cotsworld Water Park passing an area which warned pedestrians of quicksand.

Somehow, the conversation between the two focused on where Linda's body might be concealed, and Roselle said the area of Quicksand would be a good place to hide a body. As the witness's testimony came to a close, Suckliffe was asked if he could explain how Linda Riselle's blood could end up in multiple places in his car. He replied, "No, not at all. This is the end of episode 15. To hear more on the investigation, the outcome of the trial, and what happened next, please tune in tomorrow.

Thank you for listening and special thanks to this week's Patreon producer Christine Classen and everyone who supports us on Patreon. Information on this episode can be found in the show notes or on our website at theywalk among uspodcast.com.