Viewers of The Pembrokeshire Murders last night were left shocked by the ‘chilling’ cliffhanger as the serial killer’s lies to the police were exposed by his past appearance on Bullseye.
The three-part ITV drama sees Hollywood actor Luke Evans play Detective Superintendent Steve Wilkins, who in 2006 led a review of two brutal unsolved double murder cases from two decades earlier.
Siblings Richard and Helen Thomas were found dead at their farmhouse in Wales in 1985, and the bodies of Peter and Gwenda Dixon were found by the Pembrokeshire coastal path four years later, but the killer John Cooper was not brought to justice until 2011.
In the second episode of the drama, viewers saw DS Wilkins unearth footage of Cooper on the game show Bullseye, showing him looking remarkably similar to a police sketch of the killer from a witness’ description following the Dixons’ deaths.
In an earlier police interrogation, Cooper claimed the sketch of the murderer, created in 1989, looked nothing like him at that time.
In the second episode of The Pembrokeshire Murders, viewers witness DS Wilkins unearth footage of John Cooper on the game show Bullseye (pictured right), showing him looking remarkably similar to a police sketch (pictured left) of the killer from a witness’ description following the Dixons’ deaths
The three-part ITV drama sees Hollywood actor Luke Evans (pictured) play Detective Superintendent Steve Wilkins, who in 2006 led a review of two brutal unsolved double murder cases from two decades earlier
Viewers were left shocked following the cliffhanger – which also saw a 999 call being made at Cooper’s home, but no response being given to the operator. So far, why the emergency services were called remains unclear.
One fan tweeted: ‘Oooh roll on tomorrow…hope they nab him..what a way to end episode two!.’
Another wrote: ‘Watched second episode of #pembrokeshiremurders so chilling,’ while a third added: ‘Much better episode today, but what a cliffhanger.. need tomorrow’s episode now!’
Reaction: Viewers were left shocked following the cliffhanger – which also saw a 999 call being made at Cooper’s home, but no response being given to the operator
A fourth viewer said: ‘Nothing like an engaging episode with a right cliff hanger. Got to wait for tomorrow now fellow viewers.’
‘Really enjoying it you have done a brilliant job, can’t wait to watch the last episode tonight,’ another impressed viewer added.
When the detective and his team found the lost footage on last night’s episode, they appear shocked.
DS Wilkins was seen pausing the Bullseye episode in the exact place where Cooper’s side profile matched that of an artist’s impression of the murderer from a witness description in the Eighties.
Keith Allen (pictured) plays the arrogant John Cooper, who was given a life sentence after becoming Wales’s worst serial killer
‘Pause it there please, rewind a bit. There,’ Luke Evans’ character said. ‘It may not prove he killed the Dixons but it proves what he looked like four weeks before,’ he added.
Detectives, led by Superintendent Steve Wilkins, were able to nail Cooper for the murders through advancements in DNA testing, as well as linking him to the area where the crimes were committed after comments he made on Bullseye.
On the show, the murderer bragged about his extensive geographical knowledge of the Pembrokeshire coastline upon which the Dixons were later killed.
Cooper’s long history of crimes already included 30 robberies and a violent assault – for which he was arrested and sentenced to 14 years in 1998 for burglary and robbery before being released in 2009.
Detectives, led by Superintendent Steve Wilkins, were able to nail Cooper (played by Keith Allen in the drama, pictured right) for the murders through advancements in DNA testing, as well as linking him to the area where the crimes were committed after comments he made on Bullseye
Detective Steve Wilkins (pictured), 61, is now living in Cheshire with his second wife Diane, 56, and penned the 2012 book The Pembrokeshire Murders: Catching the Bullseye Killer, on which the drama is based
Using advanced developments in DNA and scientific evidence, detectives were able to link the gun used in a robbery he was convicted of to the murder weapon in the Dixon’s case.
Several items belonging to both sets of victims were also found in his possession.
Although Cooper denied his guilt, he was arrested and convicted of two double murders and jailed for life in May 2011 for the two double murders.
After an eight-week trial the serial killer was also convicted of separate offences of rape, sexual assault, and attempted robbery – he will never be released.
Who was the Bullseye killer?
A diagnosed psychopath, Cooper – who was married to late wife Patricia and had two children – was a prolific thief before he turned killer.
Richard and Helen Thomas were found murdered at their home, Scoveston Manor, near Milford Haven, in December 1985. They had been killed in an ‘execution style’, with both suffering shotgun wounds.
Police speculated that there may have been an altercation between the two but soon decided a third party was involved. Cooper sprinkled paraffin around the house and set it alight.
It was speculated that Cooper, a local in the area, was jealous of the millionaire farmers and targeted them at the secluded stately home.
He was known to enjoy the Pembrokeshire coast – even mentioning it on Bullseye – where he intercepted the walk of his second set of victims.
Cooper shot Peter and Gwenda Dixon in the face with a sawn-off shotgun as they enjoyed a coastal walk on the final day of their Welsh summer holiday on the Pembrokeshire coast, in June 1989.
He hid their bodies in nearby bushes. Cooper also stole money from them, using their bank cards to withdraw £300.
Cooper was sentenced to fourteen years in 1998 for robbery and burglary, enabling the police to collect further evidence against him.
While going over the material from the investigations, Steve hired criminal psychologist Dr Adrian West to build up a profile of the killer.
He told The Sun: ‘I asked Adrian, “How dangerous is this guy?” and he said, “Steve, I have only come across two people in my professional life who if I found in my bedroom in the middle of the night, I know I would have to kill them to survive. One is Donald Neilson, the so-called Black Panther, and the other is John Cooper.” And I just went cold. I just thought, yes, this is a dangerous guy.’
Cooper (pictured in 2009 as he was led into court) was sentenced to fourteen years in 1998 for robbery and burglary, enabling the police to collect further evidence against him
Cooper was brought in for interviews but denied any guilt, insisting he had not murdered anyone
Pictured: the gun John Cooper used to murder the Dixons and items of clothing found at the time
Steve kept the reopened investigation, codenamed Operation Ottawa, secret before revealing live on ITV Wales News in November 2007 that he was carrying out a cold-case review and made a renewed public appeal for witnesses.
A breakthrough came in 2009 when archive footage from Bullseye, fronted by Jim Bowen, was obtained and officers managed to freeze a frame of Cooper standing in the exact same position as an artist’s impression of the wanted killer sketched at the time of the original investigation.
Steve said the similarity was such that it looked ‘like a tracing’. Along with the striking similarity to the artist’s sketch, Cooper discussing the area of Pembrokeshire on the show also led detectives to believe he was their killer.
Having noticed the shorts recovered from Cooper’s home were shorter than the artist’s impression, Steve asked forensic experts to unpick the hem – which is when they found the traces of Mr Dixon’s DNA.
Father-of-two Steve, now 61 and living in Cheshire with his second wife Diane, 56, grew up in Pembrokeshire and is played by Welsh-born Hollywood star Luke Evans in the series
He explained: ‘What had happened was Cooper’s wife, who was a seamstress, had shortened the shorts and in doing so she had actually sealed in some of the forensic evidence.’
Cooper had been released from prison on parole in January 2009, but was arrested again four months later for the double murders, a serious sexual assault and five attempted robberies in Milford Haven in 1996.
Steve told how when he was arrested, he was found with a map, gloves and a rope in the boot of his car.
Although Cooper denies his guilt, he was convicted of two double murders and jailed for life in May 2011.
