31-07-2025
Mum murdered 35 years ago "not killed by husband" says top investigator
A top private investigator says the husband of Ann Heron is innocent of her murder in 1990 and police should look elsewhere
One of Britain's leading private investigators is convinced that Scot's mum Ann Heron wasn't murdered by her husband and says police should be looking at other suspects.
Mum-of-three Ann, 44, from Glasgow, was killed on August 3, 1990, after spending the day sunbathing in the garden of her luxury home, Aeolian House near Darlington, County Durham. Her wealthy haulage contractor husband Peter Heron, who found her body, was arrested in 2005 by Durham Constabulary but the charges were dropped three months later after he was able to show he was at work at the time of the murder. However he has remained under suspicion since.
Investigator Jen Jarvie, whose specialities include cold cases and crime scene analysis, has previously identified a second suspect violent criminal Michael Benson who died in 2011 but was eliminated by police.
Jen, a member of the Association of British Investigators (ABI). said: "I would not put my reputation on the line if I did not believe Peter Heron was innocent. "He has an accountable timeframe detailed down to the minute the emergency services were called. "I still believe that Benson needs to be thoroughly investigated. "Durham Constabulary do not know where he was at the time of the murder so they can't rule him out even though they say he is not suspect. "The police should keep an open mind. "No one wants this solved more than Peter Heron and his family."
Part-time carer Ann was found in a pool of blood in the lounge of her home around 6pm. Her throat had been cut and her bikini bottoms were missing. Jen, from Cleveland, North Yorkshire, taught trainee police officers for ten years before becoming a private investigator. She won the ABI Investigator of the Year in 2022 for her work on the Ann Heron case. Jen added:"The police need to do the right thing. "In my humble opinion it is not Peter. "You can't be in two places at the one time. "It's not about finding Peter guilty, but who has murdered Ann. "Its important that both families finally get some closure and peace of mind after 35 years."
Jen discovered that Michael Benson 's hometown was Leeds - 45 minutes' drive from Darlington. He also had convictions for firearms offences, burglary and robbery with a carving knife. Benson was given a life sentence in December 1972 for grievous bodily harm. In May 1989 he absconded from prison while on a day release programme and wasn't recaptured until 1999. During his time on the run, he married but left his wife in June 1990, taking her blue Ford Orion car - similar to a car seen speeding away from the murder scene.
Jen passed her file on Benson to police in October 2018 and DNA samples from Benson's family were later taken in the hope they would to match evidence collected from the crime scene. However no direct link was made with Benson and following a lengthy investigation he was dismissed as a suspect.
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In the Daily Record yesterday Ann's former police officer son Ralph Cockburn said he hadn't given up hope his mum's killer will finally be brought to justice after 35 years. At the time of her death Ralph was a detective constable with Strathclyde Police in Glasgow. But the father of three had to quit in 1996 on the grounds of ill health - due in part to the trauma of his mum's murder - and is now an insurance claims investigator.
Ralph, 61, said: "With the advancements in DNA and AI we are hoping that technology will finally give police the breakthrough we have been looking for all these years."
In an exclusive interview with Criminal Record this week, Ralph's sister Ann Marie Cockburn from Largs, Ayrshire, added: "Mum and I were so close. "I miss being able to pick up the phone and chat about something or nothing, I miss going shopping with her and doing all the things a mum and daughter should be doing together."
Detective Superintendent Craig Rudd of Durham Constabulary said: "The investigation into the murder of Ann Heron remains open.
