thumb|the murder victim wendy sewell was bludgeoned to death in the graveyard where stephen downing worked the stephen downing case involved the conviction and imprisonment in 1974 of a 17-year-old council worker, stephen downing, for the murder of a 32 year old legal secretary, wendy sewell, in the town of bakewell in the peak district in central england. following a campaign by a local newspaper, his conviction was overturned in 2002, after downing had served 27 years in prison. the case is thought to be the longest miscarriage of justice in british legal history, bbc news 15 january 2002 downing murder conviction quashedthe new injustices:from false confessions to false allegations and attracted worldwide media attention. ==history== ===assault=== wendy sewell was attacked, in bakewell cemetery, at lunchtime on 12 september 1973. a witness, charles carman, saw her enter the cemetery at about 12.50 pm. she was beaten with the handle of a pickaxe around the head, and sexually assaulted - her trousers, pants, plimsolls and parts of her bra had been removed. the attack was so brutal that she died from her injuries in chesterfield royal hospital two days later on 14 september, without being able to reveal who had assaulted her. ===trial=== the 17-year-old cemetery groundskeeper, stephen downing, was the primary suspect. he told police that he had found sewell lying on the ground, covered in blood, and that her blood got on his clothes because she shook her head. he was taken to the police station, questioned for nine hours without a solicitor present, and signed a confession,innocent â fighting miscarriages of justice even though his reading age was 11. the trial took place at the crown court at nottingham before mr justice nield and a jury between 13 and 15 february 1974. downing pleaded not guilty. a medical expert, the forensic scientist norman lee, gave evidence at the trial that the blood found on downing could only have been there if he had been responsible for the assault â he asserted that it was a textbook example [...] which might be expected on the clothing of the assailant. a full transcript of the tri
1957_births Crime_in_Derbyshire False_confessions Living_people Overturned_convictions_in_the_United_Kingdom People_acquitted_of_murder Unsolved_murders_in_the_United_Kingdom