Velma Murray (Unsolved Murder)

At age 13, Velma Murray began to struggle at school, and her mother, Clarissa, decided to send the teen to lodge with a family friend in Coventry. Velma settled in and over the next two years got on well in her new school. Then in April 1973, just as the now 15-year-old Velma was about to sit CSE exams, her life was tragically taken in the most horrific and cowardly manner. At one point, 150 police officers were working the case, but within a few months the investigation stagnated, and Velma's name soon disappeared from the pages of local newspapers. Five decades on, the motive for Velma's murder is still a mystery. 

Sources for the episode can be found here

Transcript

Velma Murray

This episode covers the cases of two missing children. Please exercise self care when choosing to listen. 

I first came across the name Velma Murray in a long list of unsolved murders from the 1970s. There were scant details about the crime but I knew I wanted to find out more with the aim of featuring it on Persons Unknown. I soon discovered that Velma’s case has had next to nothing written on it in decades and so began searching newspaper archives for contemporary sources to piece together events. I was able to find numerous articles, particularly from the Coventry Evening Telegraph, written in the immediate aftermath of the murder, but these soon fizzled out. I have done my best to give a clear and accurate account of what happened to Velma. There is a good chance that the person or persons responsible for her death are still alive, and there may be others who could identify them.

Late at night sometime in early April 1973 Bernine Grizzle had a premonition that her end of terrace house would catch fire and be burned to the ground. Understandably, the 42 year old was extremely troubled by this thought and worried the nightmare could become a terrifying reality. Not only was she anxious for her own life and property, Bernice was concerned that her 15 year old lodger Velma Murray would not know what to do in the instance of a fire breaking out at night.

Velma Beulah Murray had come to the UK from the Caribbean with her mother Clarissa Campbell when she was a young girl. The family settled in Birmingham and lived in Newcombe Road in the Handsworth area of the city. As she got older Velma began to find school difficult. I do not know the specific details concerning this but at age 13 Velma was sent by her mother to live with a family friend, Bernice Grizzle, in Coventry, a town 30 minute drive to the east. Bernice worked as a machinist at the Midland Trim and Equipment Factory on Carlton Road. She lived at 143 Rotherham Road in Holbrooks. After arriving in Coventry, Velma enrolled in President Kennedy School in Keresley, less than a twenty minute walk from her new home. Velma seemed to settle well to life in Coventry and responded positively to the change in school environment.

I can find precious little information on the kind of person Velma was. Her mother described Velma as a pretty, active girl and a teacher from President Kennedy Comprehensive School also says she was keen on sport. The teacher James Crossley, Velma’s House Master (a senior teacher) said Velma as a reliable girl and an efficient house monitor (or prefect).

Apparently in January 1973 Velma had been depressed following her CSE mock exams and was contemplating dropping out of school. CSEs were a qualification that ran in UK schools (with the exception of Scotland) between 1965 and 1987. They were for young people who were not taking the more academic O-level exams. Bernice had encouraged Velma to keep going with her studies and the teenager had taken her advice. Velma was due to take her exams in the summer of 1973. 

Following her premonition Bernice sat Velma down and explained what to do in the face of a house fire. After this Bernice felt a little better. She could

relax, believing that in the unlikely event of such an emergency her young ward would be safe from harm.

Three weeks after the unsettling dream, on Friday April 27th 1973, Bernice went to bed at 11pm. I believe Velma was already asleep. At about 1.30am, (now Saturday April 28th), Bernice was awoken by the sound of crackling flames. She jumped out of bed and to her horror realised the downstairs of the house was on fire. Bernice ran to Velma's bedroom and awoke the sleeping teen, yelling “Velma, Velma get up, the place is on fire”. Velma turned to go to the bedroom door but Bernice shut the door and told her to follow.

Bernice went to the bedroom window. She opened it and got onto the small ledge outside. Bernice then leapt to the ground. After landing safely she turned and shouted up to Velma to stay on the ledge. She told her not to jump. I don't know how high the drop was but I'm guessing Bernice thought there was a chance Velma could injure herself. From her viewpoint in the garden Bernice noticed that the kitchen door was open. She had checked before bed, like she always did, and all the doors and windows had definitely been locked. Bernice dashed in through the open kitchen door and shut the dining room door in an attempt to contain the blazing fire. She then went in search of help.

Bernice found a nearby phone box and dialled 999 but got no reply. Frustrated, she made her way to the house of someone she knew and raised the alarm.

Just then Bernice heard a loud explosion and she raced back to the house. She was expecting to see Velma waiting on the ledge but the fifteen year old was nowhere to be seen. Bernice realised Velma, for some reason, must have gone back inside the house. At that moment Bernice’s heart sank with dread; she knew the explosion must have killed the young girl. 

6.05

Velma’s body was discovered in the upstairs bathroom. She had retreated here to escape the flames but had succumbed to smoke inhalation. Home office pathologist Dr Derek Barrowcliff concluded that Velma's cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning. She died very quickly. There were minimal burns to the body.  

It was soon established that the conflagration had been no accident. The burnt remnants of a 32lb propane gas cylinder 6.15 was found on the ground floor in a living room situated at the rear of the house. This had been the cause of the large explosion. After it had exploded it had fallen through the floorboards. Traces of a flammable liquid were detected throughout the lower floor of the house. An empty five gallon polythene container was found near the entrance. Tests confirmed the liquid was paraffin. Bernice Grizzle kept a container of paraffin in her garage which was found to be missing. Therefore it is believed that this was the source of the accelerant.

Assistant Division Fire Officer Leslie Turrall confirmed that the fire was started in three separate places with paraffin. There was no doubt in his mind that it was a deliberate act and that the person knew the occupants of the house would be asleep in bed. They were vulnerable and unsuspecting targets.

Someone with malicious intent had deliberately started the fire, and Velma's death was viewed as a case of murder. Bernice assumed she had been the intended target. She could not understand why anyone would want to murder her. Bernice told a journalist from the Coventry Evening Telegraph, “I have never harmed anyone.”

The Chief of Coventry CID, Detective Superintendent Tom Meffen, was placed in charge of the case. He soon authorised the release of a description of a man seen in the alley behind 143 Rotherham Road about three hours before the blaze started (the time was given as 10.10pm). He was a white man in his late 20s or early 30s of average build and height. The man had dark hair which was fairly long and he may have had a moustache. He was wearing a black, felt type, flat hat, a light coloured shirt and a dark coloured coat which resembled a duffle coat. 

The public were also asked to look out for anyone who may have visible burns. It was highly likely that the killer had not got away unscathed from the flames. Local landladies were asked to recall whether any lodgers had suddenly left their dwellings recently with no explanation. The police asked people to think hard on this matter as they wanted to solve the murder as quickly as possible so the local community could move forward and heal.

Seventy detectives were put on the case and canvassed the surrounding area. This number soon swelled to one hundred, and extensive door to door inquiries were carried out. 750 pieces of information were collected. Police were confidently able to say the propane cylinder had been stolen from a white van belonging to the next neighbour, who lived at number 145 Rotherham Road,  which was parked at the rear of the house. The man had noticed it missing the morning after the fire when he went to work and reported it to the police straight away. 

The motive for the attack on 143 Rotherham Road was a mystery. Clarissa Campbell, Velma's mum, could not think of anyone who had a grudge against the family and said Velma had no known enemies. 

DS Meffen and his team went through about half a dozen possibilities as to why the crime could have been carried out but there was not one clear, obvious answer. The team of one hundred detectives were working flat out, often 14 hours a day, to solve this puzzle.

Rotherham Road was in a fairly quiet part of the city. Ethnically it was a predominantly white area but about one in ten people were black. Bernice and Velma lived in a block of 6 houses which were all occupied by black families. Investigators began theorising that the attack had been racially motivated. Behind the scenes, known extremists living in the area were looked into, but publicly DS Tom Meffen would only say that he was not prepared to speculate about motives. The Glasgow Daily Record reported on April 4th 1973 that neighbours lived happily together and that there was no history of racial trouble. After the attack, black families living nearby were fearful something similar would happen again. 

It was revealed that ten minutes before the fire a gang of youths were seen and heard “charging” down Parkgate Road which runs parallel to and half a mile north of Rotherham Road. It was estimated that there were around 12 or 14 youths in this gang. DS Meffen did say that there was every likelihood that they had nothing to do with the fire, but they may have seen something that could prove valuable. It has never been established if the youths had any connection to the fire.

The night of the fire was a Friday into Saturday so there had been quite a lot of people out and about in the streets. Many individuals had been traced, but there were three people in particular the police were keen to talk to so they could eliminate them from their inquiries. 

One person was the owner of a red Hillman Imp car. It had been parked outside 143 Rotherham Road and had to be moved to allow the fire brigade to get to the fire. Another was a black man who was wearing a small pork pie hat and probably had a small beard, who was the driver of a blue Ford Cortina. Thirdly there was a white man aged 18-25 with fair hair with a fringe cut. He was wearing shirt sleeves and a sleeveless pullover. 

Investigators also wanted motorists who had stopped to watch the fire to come forward. Rotherham Road lay on the main route between the suburbs of Radford and Coundon and it was thought many people travelled along the road that night. 

Exactly a week after the murder police covertly monitored the scene of the crime and compiled a list of cars and people seen travelling along Rotherham Road. DI David Stokes indicated that the operation gathered some useful information and it had been worth doing as more people were now being sought.

At first police said they had received cooperation from the local community, but this soon changed as  DS Tom Meffen publicly criticised the public and accused some people of withholding information. He was very disappointed that appeals for more people to come forward had not been answered. Finding things difficult in Coventry, the investigation widened to cover Birmingham, Manchester and even London.

In Birmingham, police interviewed Velma's mother Clarissa Campbell and tried to seek out old friends and contacts in the area. They learnt that Velma had last visited over Easter, which was the weekend before the fire. They were keen to establish details of the stay; who Velma had met and what she did. 

During the second week of the investigation a further fifty detectives were brought in and leave was cancelled for all 150 officers now working the case. DS Meffen renewed his appeal for public help in solving the crime. He emphasised that the placing of the gas cylinder in the house was tantamount to planting a bomb. The explosion was so great it had fractured internal walls. Meffen was adamant about the urgent need to find the man in the black felt hat who was seen behind 143 Rotherham Road on the night in question. It was for the safety of the whole community that he needed to be traced.

Despite failing to uncover a motive the police were trying to remain, at least publicly, optimistic. Far from morale flagging, investigators were motivated by the brutality of the crime to persevere and find the person responsible for such a heinous and cowardly act.

In the midst of all the police work Bernice Grizzle was having to try and rebuild her life. Fortunately she had house insurance, which covered the structural damage to the property, but not the cost of redecorating. A man from the Binley area of Coventry, Keith, started a fund to cover her costs. He worked at the Chrysler plant at Ryton just outside Coventry and the £54.33 was mainly contributed by employees from the factory. This would be about £850 in today's money. The fund was administered by a local branch of LLoyds bank. In 1973 this amount would have made a big difference to Bernice.

Late in the evening of Thursday 17th May (one report says it was the morning), an unknown man called the offices of a Holbrooks taxi firm. He told them he had some information that he wanted passed onto the police. He then gave them some details concerning the fire at 143 Rotherham Road before hanging up. Before doing so he said he would call again. The taxi firm called the Stoney Stanton Road police station and passed on the information. 

Police confirmed at the time that the caller had mentioned a detail about the fire that only a few people knew. This was obviously something about the crime scene that had not been made public. DS Meffen pleaded for the man to come and see him, and promised that whatever he said would be taken in the strictest confidence. If the man was scared then he could simply phone in and remain anonymous. As far as I can tell, the caller did not get back in touch.

The inquest into Velma's death had been adjourned several times at the behest of DS Meffen in order for further inquiries to be completed. It eventually concluded in September 1973. Evidence of Velma’s identity was given by a George Burrell who is listed as living with Velma’s mother Clarissa. I assume he was Velma’s step-dad. Altogether 10,000 people had been interviewed and 3000 statements taken, but the case did not appear to be near being solved. Coroner James Blythe was unable to pass any judgements regarding who might be responsible and could only display sympathy to Velma’s mother Clarissa. 

This I’m afraid is where the case has been stuck for the last five decades. If the police ever did decide on a motive for the murder, they have never revealed it. It does not appear that police were ever able to identify the man wearing the black flat cap seen acting suspiciously behind the house on the night of the fire. I do not know if the three other men I described, who were seen near 143 Rotherham Road were ever traced. 

One can only speculate whether it was a racially motivated attack or the result of gang activity. What is clear is that the house was specifically targeted. We can't say for certain why that was, or even if Velma, Bernice or both were the intended victim.

I think it is quite possible that more than one person was involved in this crime, and whoever did it knew the area very well. Judging by the fact that the gas cylinder was stolen from a neighbour's van and the paraffin from Bernice's garage, the culprit may live very close by. 

I am convinced there are still people who know what happened to 15 year old Velma Murray. Time changes people and perhaps old loyalties are no longer as strong as they once were. It's never too late.

If you have any information about the unsolved murder of Velma Murray you can contact Crimestoppers completely anonymously on 0800 555 111.