Murder of Shrewsbury peace campaigner and rose grower is subject of new documentary airing tonight

The two-part programme Who Killed Hilda Murrell? airs at 9pm tonight (Tuesday, October 28) and tomorrow on the Welsh channel S4C, and will look into the perceived shortcomings of the police, whether there was a connection to the secret services and whether the correct killer was caught.

Hilda Murrell was abducted and later found dead around five miles from her home in the county town in March 1984. She was 78 years old.

She had been a gifted schoolgirl, becoming head girl at Shrewsbury Girls High School, going on to become a highly respected rose grower, selling flowers to the Queen Mother and winning awards as director of nursery Edwin Murrell Ltd at flower shows in Chelsea, Southport and Shrewsbury.

She was also an environmental activist and anti-nuclear campaigner.

For many years there have been doubts surrounding her murder.

Former Member of Parliament Tam Dalyell claimed that the secret services were involved in her death and her family now say that one of Mr Dalyell's sources was a famous and experienced former MI6 officer.

Following a review of the case almost 20 years after the murder, and with the help of DNA technology developments, Andrew George was sentenced in 2005 to at least 13 years in prison and remains in prison to this day.

George was 16 at the time of the murder and some, including her family, have raised questions about his guilt.

The program explores several theories linked to the murder, including that Hilda Murrell came across secret details about the sinking of the Belgrano during the Falklands War.

Her nephew, Commander Robert Green, worked in the Navy, with some claiming he was instrumental in sinking the Belgrano, but Mr Green insists he was not part of that decision.

The program also explores the possibility that the secret services were investigating Hilda Murrell as a leading anti-nuclear campaigner, as she was at the time in the process of writing a paper for a public inquiry into the development of the Sizewell B nuclear power station.

In the programme, Mr Green recalls the day he heard of his aunt's death. 

"I got a phone call that Hilda was missing and then the police contacted me later that same day and said that they had found her car, and that they had found a body, and we went to a mortuary that afternoon where I identified Hilda's body. I had no idea how difficult that was and it will be forever."

Suspecting that Andrew George was not responsible for Hilda's murder, Mr Green and his wife Dr Kate Dewes began to investigate the case themselves after the trial had ended.

Dr Dewes said: "There were no statements from witnesses who said that young boys were walking around the streets, knocking on doors and trying to burglarise them, which would match Andrew George's description."

And according to David Williams, one of the journalists who followed the story at the time, there are still questions about what happened to Hilda Murrell.

"I feel, after all this time, I'm still not clear in my mind what the truth is. I think that one person knows what the truth is, and that person is Andrew George. He knows us. He knows who was in the house then, doesn't he? And if there was someone in the house besides him, those are the people who know the truth."

The programme will be available to stream on S4C Clic and BBC iPlayer, with Welsh and English subtitles.