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02 September 2020 / Dr Jon Robins
Issue: 7900 / Categories: Features , Criminal
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Gordon Park: under review

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In the light of the latest failed appeal against the conviction of Gordon Park for his wife’s murder, Jon Robins reviews the evidence

Some 23 years ago last month the body of Carol Park was discovered by amateur scuba divers in a large bag at the bottom of Coniston Water in the Lake District.

The grim find took place more than two decades after the 33-year old schoolteacher unexpectedly disappeared having missed a family day trip to Blackpool. Her corpse was trussed up with 20 feet of rope and string in a foetal position and then wrapped in a bin liner, rucksack and a sack made out of a dress. This was all weighed down by lead pipe.

Just before the summer break, appeal judges dismissed a posthumous attempt to overturn the 2005 conviction of her husband for her murder. Supported by the couple’s children, Gordon Park had always insisted that he was wrongly convicted. Little over a year after a failed appeal in 2008, the former teacher took his

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NEWS
The Law Society RFC Festival of Sport returns next month, bringing together legal and financial services professionals for one of the sector’s largest annual sporting events
Legal aid deserts leave almost one in four without adequate access to justice
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has warned solicitors and law firms that using artificial intelligence does not alter their professional obligations, amid concerns over inaccurate legal material and client confidentiality
From forgotten interest claims to case-management appeals, a string of procedural developments offers useful—and occasionally cautionary—lessons for practitioners

Jonathan Fisher KC highlights that it now accounts for around 40% of criminal offences, with roughly 70% involving technology, and argues that the UK cannot simply prosecute its way out of the problem. Detection, investigation and prosecution all require improvement, while different fraud types demand tailored responses.

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