Former Crimewatch presenter Nick Ross has claimed that police had a ‘scattergun approach’ to solving co-host Jill Dando’s murder case, which he says could have damaged the investigation into her killing.
Mr Ross, 71, believes that police TV appeals were focused on the wrong things and that he would have ‘done things differently’.
In another complaint, he says police were wrong to focus on a Range Rover spotted near Jill’s house on the day of her murder, as it led to Crimewatch staff being swamped with related calls.
Jill, 37, was shot once in the head on her doorstep in Fulham, London on April 26, 1999, in a killing that shocked the nation and remains one of the most notorious unsolved crimes in recent memory.
Ex-Crimewatch host Nick Ross has criticised the police’s probe into the murder of his co-presenter Jill Dando (pictured together in 1995)
Mr Ross, 71, believes that police TV appeals were focused on the wrong things and that he would have ‘done things differently’
After her killing 20 years ago, detectives assumed that her stint on Crimewatch was a possible motive for her murder.
However, this has now been criticised by co-host Mr Ross, who described it as ‘foolish’ before insisting that criminals were unlikely to target the people trying to catch them.
Mr Ross told the Mirror: ‘The thing is, and not so much the fault of the senior investigating officer, but top brass, they had this intuitive and, we thought, rather foolish view, it would be to do with Crimewatch.
Mr Ross also criticised the focus police placed on a Range Rover that was spotted near the scene of Jill’s killing
Twenty years on from the death of Jill Dando (pictured above) witnesses have revealed new testimonies
‘And we knew it would not be to do with Crimewatch. In modern times, there has never been a judge attacked for sending someone down, a prosecuting solicitor, or anybody.
‘A lot of the appeals could be frustrating when police had this scattergun approach.’
Barry George pictured before his original court appearance in 2001
He repeated his criticism of the focus on the Range Rover, pointing out that it would just swamp staff with useless info.
Mr Ross says this was proven by the more than 7,000 tips they received about the Range Rover.
He insisted a more focused appeal into Jill’s murder could have been beneficial to the investigation.
In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said: ‘The investigation into the murder of Ms Dando remains an open investigation, and therefore we cannot comment in any detail other than to say we will always explore any new information which may become available.’
Mr Ross’s words come weeks after a shocking photograph showing the blood-splattered doorway where TV presenter Jill was gunned down 20 years ago was released.
The horrific photo, which aired on the BBC’s The Murder of Jill Dando, shows blood splattered on the door, with a trail over the path leading up to the house.
Random items are strewn around the scene and, most chillingly, her handbag sits by the foot of the door.
A man named Barry George was convicted of Jill’s murder in 2001 – but he was later acquitted after serving seven years in prison.
The horrific scene where Crimewatch presenter Jill Dando was gunned down 20 years ago, a crime that shocked the nation
A step by step account of Jill Dando’s last moments as she embarked on a shopping trip in Hammersmith before driving home