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REPORT RE: MURDER OF ALISON JANE SHAUGHNESSY
1. This report deals with the investigation into the murder
of Alison Jane SHAUGHNESSY. whose body was found on Monday
3rd June 1991 at about 8.30 pm. at Flat 3, 41 VARDENS ROAD,
BATTERSEA, SW11. She had been repeatedly stabbed with a
long bladed knife. John SHAUGHNESSY the victim's husband,
and Michelle TAYLOR his mistress, now one of the defendants,
made the discovery after she had driven him home from work
in her car.
2. To assist the reader the report is divided into the following
sections:-
1. Background of Alison and John SHAUGHNESSY.
2. Background of Michelle and Lisa TAYLOR.
3. Events leading up to the murder.
4. Events following the murder.
5. The murder scene.
6. The investigation.
3. BACKGROUND - Alison Jane SHAUGHNESSY nee BLACKMORE and
John Patrick SHAUGHNESSY
Alison SHAUGHNESSY was born in North London on 7th November
1969. Her parents, Robert and Bridget BLACKMORE came over
to England from Ireland in the early sixties and after their
marriage set up home in Flat 35B, Mount View Road, Stroud
Green, London N4. Alison was the second eldest of four children:
One older sister Susan and two younger brothers, Robert
and Richard.
4. In all Alison attended four separate schools in the North
London area; from the age of 5 years to 7 years at St Peters
Roman Catholic Infants School, Elm Grove, N8; from 7 years
to 11 years at St Gildas School, Oakington Way, N18; from
11 years to 13 years St Angela's Roman Catholic Secondary
School, Bushill Park, Enfield, and from 13 years to 16years
at Holy Family Convent School. She gained 3 G.C.E O'level
passes in English Language, Mathematics and Art.
5. Alison's parents are religious people, her mother more
so than her father, and consequently she became a regular
attender at church.
6. When she left school she had a few odd jobs before joining
Barclays Bank PLC at 366 Strand, Charing Cross, WC2 on 11th
November 1986 where she was employed as a regular payments
clerk. Her boss, David HARDY states that Alison has always
been a conscientious and willing worker. A work colleague
Jane Margaret WILLIAMS, makes the point that everyone in
the branch liked Alison. Albeit she was a friendly girl
she would keep her private life to herself. At the time
of her death Alison was employed in the open and closed
department which dealt with branch held accounts.
7. Sometime in October 1986 Alison was socialising in the
Archway Tavern, The Archway, North London, when she met
John SHAUGHNESSY.
8. John Patrick SHAUGHNESSY was born in Dublin on 7th December
1961. His parents Tom and Florrie SHAUGHNESSY still live
in Ireland and are now retired. John SHAUGHNESSY is the
second youngest of eleven children. He attended a local
primary school. His secondary education was at the Technical
School, Castlerea. He left there at the age of 18 years
with no qualifications.
9. When he left school in 1980 he found a number of different
employments locally, but in September 1985 he moved to Leeds
and got a job as a Warehouseman. Shortly after Christmas
1985 he moved to London to live with and work for his cousin,
Joe O'SHAUGHNESSY. During the summer of 1986 he returned
to Ireland for a short time but came back to London in September
of that year.
10. He immediately gained employment at the Churchill Clinic,
Lambeth Road, SE1 and in October 1986 he moved into staff
accommodation at 60 Lambeth Road, SE1.
11. The Churchill Clinic is a private hospital and the staff
accommodation , i.e. 60/62 Lambeth Road, are houses alongside
the Clinic which have been converted into hostels.
12. As previously stated it was a month later, in October
1986 that John and Alison met, and started courting each
other.
13. Albeit Alison lived in North London and worked in the
Strand and he lived and worked in South London, they managed
to see each other regularly during the week and at weekends.
14. Being much older than Alison he had had a number of
sexual relationships, while she was a virgin at the time
of their meeting.
15. Their relationship grew and after two to two and a half
years of courtship, they planned to get married in the summer
of 1990.
16. By this stage Michelle TAYLOR, one of the defendants,
was also working at the Churchill Clinic as a Bought Ledger
Clerk in the Accounts Department. John SHAUGHNESSY had moved
from his Porter's job to the Stores Department and became
involved in purchasing, an appointment which caused him
to have regular contact with Michelle TAYLOR. It wasn't
long before a relationship developed between them and in
March 1989 they began sleeping together in John's room at
the Clinic.
17. However, a month later John and Alison announced their
engagement and their intention to get married on 23rd June
1990. The then Matron of the Churchill Clinic. Patti THOW
arranged a party to celebrate the occasion and among the
guests was Michelle TAYLOR.
18. Despite his plans to wed Alison, John SHAUGHNESSY's
sexual relationship with Michelle TAYLOR continued. In September
1989 they both enrolled in evening classes at Morley College,
Westminster Bridge Road, Kennington, SE1. On Tuesdays they
did weight training together and on Thursdays they both
attended aerobics classes.
19. By this stage John had taken on an extra part time job
at the Clinic. He was required to attend to the flower beds
on a regular basis, and each Monday evening after his normal
working hours he would buy cut flowers for arrangements
for display throughout the Clinic. He had a fairly set routine
for that night. Shortly after 5.00 pm. he would walk up
to the flower stall outside Waterloo Railway Station which
is owned by Ronald (Buster) EDWARDS. He would purchase about
£40.00 worth of flowers, and obviously over a period
of about four years, they have got to know each other and
would sometimes chat for about 10 minutes each time they
met.
20. Invariably Michelle would see John while he was flower
arranging and it was on Monday evenings, according to him,
that they would return to his room and make love. He denies
any sexual activities after their evening classes on a Tuesday
and Thursday, when he relates that he would return to his
room while Michelle travelled home to her parents house
in Forest Hill.
21. Albeit he was leading a "double life", John
and Alison travelled over to Ireland in a hired car on 20th
June 1990 to be married three days later. Alison had met
Michelle TAYLOR on a number of occasions but it appeared
that although she may have suspected, she did not know of
her intimate relationship with John. They both invited Michelle
to their wedding and she travelled with them over to Ireland
on the 20th June 1990. In fact John paid all her travelling
and accommodation expenses.
22. On the night before the wedding Michelle TAYLOR was
at the same location as John, and in the early hours of
the next morning, the wedding day, she fell asleep for a
short while in John's room. He stated that nothing untoward
occurred between them and she left and returned to her own
room.
23. According to all the family the wedding at the Roman
Catholic Church, Piltown, Co Kilkenny was splendid and everyone
had a very happy day. However, the Very next morning Alison
and John were told that John's cousin Frank BURKE, had been
killed in a car accident on his way home from their wedding,
and that other members of his family were still in hospital
suffering from their injuries. They cut short their honeymoon
and helped the rest of the family deal with the tragedy.
24. On their return to London, Alison lived With John in
his room at 60 Lambeth Road, SE1.
25. A month earlier, May 1990, after a row with her father,
Michelle moved from her parents address to a room in the
Clinic's accommodation block at 62, Lambeth Road. She occupied
a ground floor room while John and Alison lived on the first
floor in the house next door. However there is a communicating
door between the two houses.
26. If Alison didn't see her parents on a weekend, she used
to visit the family regularly on a Monday evening and would
often stay over night there. On those occasions, after completing
his flower arranging, John would go back to Michelle's room
and they would make love. According to John, this would
happen at least twice a month.
27. During this stage, Alison, John and Michelle would sometimes
go out for a drink together in the nearby public house,
The Three Stags. It didn't happen very often and on one
occasion he recalls that the three of them had been for
an Indian curry together. Albeit there were never any outward
signs of hostility between the two girls, it is fair to
say that Alison was not altogether happy about Michelle
invariably being in John's company. Her fears were allayed
by John, but behind her back he continued his sexual exploits
with Michelle.
28. Sometime shortly after their wedding, in July or August
1990, John and Alison were invited to dinner at Michelle
TAYLOR's parents house at 76 KEMBLE ROAD, FOREST HILL, SE23.
Other than the fact they appeared to be just friends, there
appears to be no other reason for the invitation. Lisa TAYLOR,
the second defendant, didn't actually have a meal with them
but was there at sometime during their visit.
29. On the 7th January 1991 Alison and John moved out of
their room at 62 Lambeth Road to Flat 3, 41 Vardens Road,
Battersea SW11, property belonging to the Thames Housing
Association. The flat was previously occupied by Mrs Mary
BURKE, John's aunt and the mother of Frank BURKE who was
killed in the car accident on his way home from their wedding.
She too was injured in the accident and could not face returning
to the flat, so Alison and John were given the opportunity
to take over the tenancy.
30. John and Alison had a fairly regular daily routine.
They would leave their flat together at about 8.20am. in
the morning, walk down to Clapham Junction Railway Station
and catch the train to Waterloo. There they would part company.
Alison caught a number 68 bus to the Strand and be at her
work at Barclays Bank by 9am. and John would walk down to
the Churchill Clinic.
31. Alison would very occasionally stay behind after work
to have a drink with friends, but more often than not she
would simply return home. The journey would take her about
35 minutes. She had a very simple life; she liked reading,
embroidery, and loved watching 'soap operas' on the television.
More recently, this year, she and John became interested
in American Football.
32. John of course would stay on at work on Mondays and
albeit he used to attend evening classes on Tuesdays and
Thursdays, he sometimes would travel home to see Alison
after work before returning to Morley Colelge. On Fridays
they met at home to go shopping together.
33. From March 1991 Michelle TAYLOR began to drive John
home to Vardens Road after they had finished the flower
arranging. Apart from about two occasions when she stayed
to have an orange drink or something, she would drop John
off and drive back to the Clinic.
34. Michelle always drove to John and Alison's home from
Churchill Clinic by the same route: Lambeth Road, Embankment,
Vauxhall Cross, Wandsworth Road, Lavender Hill, St John's
Hill and finally left into Vardens Road. According to John
the journey was never more than 15 minutes.
35. In May 1991 both John and Alison were made aware that
Edel SLATTERY, John's niece who Michelle had befriended
at the wedding, was about to travel from Ireland to London
to stay with Michelle. Alison was not happy about the arrangement
and at the time of her death was in possession of a partly
finished letter to Edel in which she indicated her dislike
of Michelle. ( Exhibit No. CS/102).
BACKGROUND - Michelle Ann TAYLOR and lisa Jane TAYLOR
(Defendants)
36. Michelle TAYLOR was born on 12th November 1970. Lisa
TAYLOR was born on 21st July 1973. Their parents Derek and
Ann Elizabeth TAYLOR reside at 76 Kemble Road, Forest Hill,
SE23, a terraced house. They have four children: David 22
years, Michelle 20 years, Lisa 18 years, and Tracey 12 years.
37. Both Michelle and Lisa attended Crofton Girls School,
Manwood Road, SE14. Michelle left at 16 years of age with
a pass in GCE O'level English Language and CSE passes in
Commerce, Business Studies, Computer Studies and Mathematics.
Lisa also left at 16 years of age with one qualification,
Grade One English Oral examination.
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