26/05/2011

Labourer Jailed For Two Double Murders

A 66-year-old Labourer has been found guilty of two Pembrokeshire double murders.

John Cooper, from Letterston, has been jailed for life after evading justice for decades.

Cooper, who was convicted of separate charges of rape, sexual assault and attempted robbery, was found guilty of the 1985 murder of siblings Richard and Helen Thomas, and Peter and Gwenda Dixon, an Oxfordshire couple, in 1989.

The Swansea Crown Court jury found Cooper guilty of all charges following an eight-week trial.

Mr Justice John Griffith Williams described Cooper as "a very dangerous man, highly predatory who, but for advances in forensic science, may well have continued to evade capture."

(BMcN/GK)

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