BGP’s Head of Investigations discusses the Jane Andrews case
Jim Dickie, BGP’s Head of Investigations and Crisis Management recently appeared in a Channel 5 documentary looking into the 2000 murder committed by Jane Andrews, who at the time was working for Sarah, the Duchess of York. Jim was the SIO (senior investigating officer) tasked with the investigation into this particularly complex and high profile murder.
In September 2000, Ms Andrews, a member of the Royal Household, had brutally murdered her boyfriend, Thomas Cressman, by beating him with a cricket bat, as well as stabbing him. Not only was the case complex, but due to Andrews’ links to the Royal Family, it naturally attracted substantial worldwide media interest.
Andrews, who has never expressed any remorse for her crime, continually tried to cover her tracks, and blame others, using virtually every defence she could think of.
Jim and his team then went about uncovering the truth, and were able to show that contrary to Andrews’ claims, Mr Cressman was not only an honest and successful businessman, but also a considerate and caring individual. Her attempts to portray him otherwise were not only refuted by the evidence, but were totally dismissed by the jury, who unanimously convicted her of murder. She was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Andrews has recently lost her appeal against the conviction. She had claimed that she was sexually abused as a child, and was suffering from diminished responsibility when she killed Mr Cressman. However, three appeal court judges dismissed this, upholding her 2001 conviction.
Mr Cressman’s father welcomed the decision, stating that his son’s reputation was intact, despite her “despicable” attempt to ruin it.
Jim additionally stated that “she murdered him in real life, and then attempted to murder him in death by trying to ruin his reputation”.