Ex Merseyside police chief joins fight to free killer

Mar 2 2008

A former top police officer is battling to free a man her force helped jail for life in a “huge miscarriage of justice”.

Alison Halford, 67, was assistant chief constable of Merseyside Police in 1992 when Eddie Gilfoyle, 45, was charged with murdering his pregnant wife even though she left a suicide note.

Detectives believed Gilfoyle fooled Paula, 32 at the time and eight months pregnant, into writing the note and somehow persuaded her to climb a ladder in their garage with a noose around her neck.

The noose vanished, was never tested for DNA and Mrs Gilfoyle’s body had no signs of force.

The hospital porter was convicted in July 1993 and is now serving his 15th year in jail.

Last week, prosecution witness Professor David Canter, the pioneer of criminal profiling in Britain, said he had changed sides and believed the conviction was unsafe.

The news was applauded by Gilfoyle’s sister Susan Caddick, 49, and her husband Paul, who resigned from the police force in disgust at the treatment of his brother-in-law.

Now, Ms Halford has revealed she has visited Gilfoyle, of Wirral, Merseyside, in prison and that the officer in charge of the investigation against him was “inexperienced”.

Ms Halford said of meeting Gilfoyle’s family: “I recognised a genuine belief that Gilfoyle was the victim of a huge miscarriage of justice.

“Being cautious I visited him in prison and after seeing him also felt there had been a huge miscarriage of justice.”

In a letter to The Times, she added the family’s complaints led to an independent investigation which concluded the conviction was unsafe.

She wrote: “Even more worryingly was my exchange of e-mails with the superintendent of a neighbouring force, appointed to investigate the Caddicks’ complaints.

“Amazingly, he reported to the then Police Complaints Authority that the evidence against Gilfoyle and thus the conviction was unsafe.

“This stunning disclosure seemed to fizzle out and nothing seems to have been done.”

A Merseyside Police spokesman said: “The Senior detective on the Wirral at the time was an experienced investigator with a proven record in major and serious crime inquiries.

“He oversaw the investigation, which was conducted by a Detective Chief Inspector.

“Any Chief Constable will have an overview of all investigations carried out in his/her force. However, the progress of any investigation, all decisions made and liaison with the Crown Prosecution Service and barristers, towards advancement of the case through court is the responsibility of the SIO (senior investigating officer).”

Gilfoyle has lost two appeals so far but his family are working towards another.