Found Deceased UK - George Wilson, 41, Nottingham, 8 Sept 1963

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Daily Mail:

Police launch cold case review into 'Pretty Windows Murder' of landlord 50 YEARS ago which remains unsolved despite five separate confessions
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The bloodied body of George Wilson, 41, was found yards from the front door of the Fox and Grapes pub in Nottingham minutes after he took his dog for a late-night walk in the early hours of September 8, 1963.

The unsolved case - know has the Pretty Windows Murder because of the pub's attractive frontage - led to five confessions, but all of them were deemed fake by police.

Mr Wilson, who had a six-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son, had been stabbed 13 times with a six-inch Bowie knife but no money had been taken from his wallet, which suggested to police that his murder was personal rather than random.

His wife Alberta found him lying in the street after she heard their mongrel Blackie scratching at the door and saw the dog was covered in blood.
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More, with pictures, at the link; also see:

Why Pretty Windows murder still resonates. (nottinghampost.com)
 
'Pretty Windows' murder: Family seek closure. (BBC News)
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Mr Wilson's daughter, Margaret, who was six at the time, said: "We would really like to know who did this for our own peace of mind, even if the offender is dead."

She said: "We think that quite a lot of local people will have known something about his death.

"We are also pretty sure that Blackie [the dog] would have attacked his killer, he was very protective of him.

"Our mother died without ever knowing who did this or why and we need some closure after the killer robbed us of our dad."
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More, with pictures, at the link
 
Second post in OP is from thisisnottingham.co.uk btw. My mistake.

Much detail here:

George Wilson - 'Pretty Windows' murder anniversary. (nottinghamshire.police.uk)
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In the early stages of the investigation, detectives spoke to a number of witnesses, including a security guard who reported seeing a white man just up the road from the pub. He was described as being in his early 30s, between 5ft 10” and 6ft tall, wearing a green Trilby and a light-coloured raincoat, said to have been carrying a knife or a chisel.

Nine days later, two young boys playing in Polser Brook, a ditch just off the A52, near to Holme Pierrepont, discovered a knife, which they handed in to police. A forensic examination subsequently linked the weapon to George’s murder.
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More at the link
 
This is where I live. I'd heard of it but nothing too specific. I used to do the admin for the nursery next door, which is called Pretty Windows. The pub is now called the Peggers Inn and it's rough as heck.
If anyone wants any photos of the scene as it is now, I'd be happy to oblige.
 
This is where I live. I'd heard of it but nothing too specific. I used to do the admin for the nursery next door, which is called Pretty Windows. The pub is now called the Peggers Inn and it's rough as heck.
If anyone wants any photos of the scene as it is now, I'd be happy to oblige.
Pictures! yes, post please!
 
From today, BBC News: 'Pretty Windows' murder: 'Possible' new leads
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"Some people have come to us with names, some are talking about possible motives, others have information about the weapon," said Det Ch Insp Tony Heydon.

"We are now taking all of this and cross-checking it with our files to see if we have any new leads to go on."
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the rest at the link
 
This is where I live. I'd heard of it but nothing too specific. I used to do the admin for the nursery next door, which is called Pretty Windows. The pub is now called the Peggers Inn and it's rough as heck.
If anyone wants any photos of the scene as it is now, I'd be happy to oblige.

''Rough as heck'' Now Fluttershy, you are not doing it justice are you ?
I was in there about 14 years ago and Wyatt Earp wouldn't have gone in. There was pint pots flying overhead, a trip to the toilets needed somebody to 'cover' you (women as well) And you wouldn't dare complain about the lipstick around your drinking glass (yes folks, even the pint pots)
This was at my last visit, my first was in the mid 1970's and nothing had changed.
If it was the same in 1963 I'm not surprised they couldn't solve it, 60 revellers and 60 suspects, IMO.
 
Ah, gosh. Poor little Blackie!

And the wife and kids, and George of course, but the poor little dog, coming home like that.... I'm glad this case is being re-opened. It seems like they've got some good evidence, so maybe they can solve it.

Poor old pub too, looks a bit out of place in its modern street, doesn't it? Thanks for the pics, Fluttershy.

13 stab wounds, knife carried to the pub and then discarded, no robbery - does sound personal, and probably anger-motivated.

Was George borrowing money from or working for crooks, or cheating on his wife with somebody else's? Was the first question in my head.
 
''Ah, gosh. Poor little Blackie! '' I must admit, I thought that. That got me, more so at first. :(

Also to add
''Was George borrowing money from or working for crooks, or cheating on his wife with somebody else's? Was the first question in my head''

The crooks side I tend to lean to. Possibly he was being threatened by protection guys and went to meet them.
__________________
 
'Pretty Windows' murder: Family seek closure. (BBC News)
Mr Wilson's daughter, Margaret, who was six at the time, said: "We would really like to know who did this for our own peace of mind, even if the offender is dead."

She said: "We think that quite a lot of local people will have known something about his death.

"We are also pretty sure that Blackie [the dog] would have attacked his killer, he was very protective of him.

"Our mother died without ever knowing who did this or why and we need some closure after the killer robbed us of our dad."
It would be nice to think that Blackie tore a hole in the killer and that somehow, 50 years on, this would jog someone's memory about having seen a dog-injured person just after the crime.
 
Robin, I thought the same, re 'crooks' - but is 13 stabs with a bowie knife excessive, even for that? Maybe not, but they must've really wanted him dead. So not a gambling debt, probably, or the like - debtors break kneecaps, you can't get money out of a corpse. Unless he'd racked up a massive debt and refused outright to pay it.

Protection money's a good call, but then - what to make of George "wearing a suit on the night of his death, as if he had been planning to go somewhere or meet someone"?

Stabs with a six inch blade to the face and neck also suggest a great deal of anger, so that with the suit inclines me toward a jealous hubby sort of personal vendetta. There was the anonymous threat too... but if George was cheating on his wife, he wouldn't be fessing up to knowing who the threat likely came from..

Or yeps, a little business with a class of crook slightly higher than the average yob. Someone he wanted to impress, perhaps. Loan shark or 'godfather', rather than just the collectors.
 
"One witness described a man running down Longden Street at 12.50am wearing a green Robin Hood style hat, a light-coloured raincoat and appeared to have a knife or chisel in his hand."


.....or it was a nutter. :facepalm:
 
Aus, It's possible he was trying to impress somebody of the protection style fraternity.
I have been told members of the Krays gang were trying to apply their trade in Nottingham at about this time. There were meetings going off in back rooms of certain Nottingham drinking establishments on how local business people were going to deal with it.
As for the 'Robin Hood style hat' Either the wearer or witness may have participated in some strong Notts Ale ;)
 
"One witness described a man running down Longden Street at 12.50am wearing a green Robin Hood style hat, a light-coloured raincoat and appeared to have a knife or chisel in his hand."


.....or it was a nutter. :facepalm:

Never, ever discount the possibility of a random nutter.
 
Just so, Fluttershy. No accounting for those, either. Anyone that mad -might- leave himself a trail to follow, though, careless and wotwot. Other violent crimes, etc.

Interesting info on the Krays, Robin! I was watching a couple docos on them only recently... lovely lads, eh.

I'm glad his daughter gets to see the case at least revived. It must've been hard news, at only six. :(
 
Wife found him n I'd like to See her clothing is it in the case file?
 
Good call, Cherry. I don't think the case files are available, since it's an ongoing. I'm going to try to hunt up some old news articles, when I get to it.

I've some thoughts on this:

----- "The father-of-two was killed as he left the pub, well-known for the intricate design of its windows, to take the family dog for a walk shortly after midnight.

About 20 minutes later, George's wife Betty heard the dog barking in the alley nearby.

The former miner was found lying face down with injuries to his face, neck, head and back. He died at the scene.

Nine days after the murder, two young boys playing in Polser Brook, near Holme Pierrepont, discovered a knife which they handed in to police. "

1. Where's Polser Brook, relative to the pub, any locals know? Rough distance?

2. Looking at the scant timeline..

- George takes his dog for a walk around midnight after a busy Saturday night in the pub and a quiet drink with his wife after closing at 10.30pm. ( Was this a habit for George? Did he change into the suit before leaving, or was he wearing it already? Wasn't he all in, after a busy night and an hour and a half of relaxation after, with drinks?)

- The wife hears Blackie barking from a nearby alley (how do they know it was from the alley? where was the alley in relation to the pub?) about 20 mins later.

- Blackie at some time after that scratches on one of the pub doors (I wonder where the landlord's dwelling was, relative to the rest of the pub?) and is seen to be bloody.

- George is found by his wife yards from the front door where he died of his injuries. (Was there any blood trailing along the street, or was he attacked where he lay?)

- Bits of broken roof tile from a nearby building suggested to police that the attacker had jumped down off the building.

- The first stab wound, to the back of his neck, was fatal.

- A knife connected to the murder is found about a month later in its sheath (who sheaths a murder weapon??) on the road between Nottingham and Radcliffe-on-Trent. Police thought the weapon had been thrown from a passing car.

Just noting questions down, worth researching.
 

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