Who Killed Jill Dando? 25 years on what happened to BBC journalist, theories and was she assassinated?

It has been 25 years since the murder of Jill Dando shocked a nation. The Crimewatch presenter was just 37-years-old when she was killed in broad daylight by a single bullet wound on the doorstep of her home.

Dando had been a firm fixture on the BBC, presenting shows including BBC Breakfast Time and the One O'clock and Six O’clock News. At the time of her killing, she presented Crimewatch alongside Nick Ross.

On the 25th anniversary of her murder, the horrific crime still has yet to be solved. Whilst a new investigation has found a suspect “bears a resemblance” to a Serbian assassin, police are still appealing for leads in the case.

In a statement from Scotland Yard to The Mirror, they confirmed that the investigation is now in an “inactive phase”, adding: “However no unsolved murder is ever closed and detectives would consider any new information provided to assess whether it represented a new and realistic line of enquiry.”

Who was Jill Dando?

Jill Dando was a popular British journalist and presenter who was a fixture on TV in the 1990s. She had been presenting on BBC TV since 1988, with some of her credits including BBC Breakfast Time, Breakfast News, BBC One O'clock News, and the Six O’clock News. At the time of her death she presented Crimewatch alongside Nick Ross.

On April 26, 1999 at the age of 37, Dando was killed in broad daylight by a single bullet on the doorstep of her Fulham home. She had been staying with her fiancé Alan Farthing in Chiswick and was in the process of selling her place in Fulham when she returned to the property that morning.

Dando was shot in the head with a 9mm calibre semi-automatic pistol, she was discovered by her neighbour who alerted police. The journalist was taken to hospital, but was pronounced dead on arrival.

Who killed Jill Dando?

Despite one of the biggest homicide investigations in British history, the murder of Jill Dando remains unsolved. Following the horrific murder, police launched a huge investigation which resulted in Barry George being convicted of the crime in July 2021. The main piece of evidence against George was a single particle of gunpowder that was found in the pocket of one of his coats. The particle matched those found at the crime scene, however years later doubt was later cast over this piece of evidence.

Reported by Crime and Investigation, speaking during the BBC documentary The Murder of Jill Dando, which aired for the 20th anniversary of her death, forensic scientist Angela Shaw explained: “1-100 people might pick up a particle unknowingly. A single particle a year later in a coat pocket could not link Barry George to the shooting.”

In 2008, seven years after being convicted of one of the UK’s most infamous killings, George was acquitted of Dando’s murder. He attempted to claim compensation for “wrongful imprisonment” after serving eight years in prison, however this was denied by the Ministry of Justice.

Who is Barry George?

George was convicted of the murder of Jill Dando in 2001, however in 2008 after serving eight years in jail he was acquitted of the crime. He recently participated in the Netflix documentary about Dando’s murder, which was released in September 2023. In the trailer an interview shows him facing the camera stating: “It makes me angry that they’ve taken eight years of my life”.

What has Jill Dando’s brother said?

Speaking in September before a Netflix documentary investigating the murder aired, Dando’s brother, fellow journalist Nigel, opened up about what he believes happened to his sister. Reported by Sky News, upon hearing news of her death, Nigel said: “Within a couple of minutes, really, of hearing that Jill had died, half of my brain wanted to grieve for her loss and be close to my dad… He was in his eighties and not in the best of health. So, you had the family side of things.”

He continued: “But, you know, one of the leading TV celebrities in this country gunned down on her own doorstep. It’s going to... It’s a heck of a story. And you kind of knew what was going to come down the line. I was trying to prepare myself to deal with that, knowing that you had to deal with the media. But trying to protect my dad from any excesses of it.”

He explained his theory behind his sister’s murder was that she was “in the wrong place at the wrong time”. He said: “My theory before this happened and that’s been reinforced since by watching this documentary, is that Jill was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and that somebody walking down the street, holding a gun for whatever reason, spotted her, either knowing her or not knowing who she was, and shot her dead.”

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Was she assassinated?

Dando was killed by a single bullet to the temple, which has often been associated as the hallmark of a professional killing. Despite happening in broad daylight there was only one confirmed sighting of the killer, with her neighbour spotting a six-foot white male walking away from her home.

There have been many theories behind the killing, including her connection to presenting Crimewatch or Serbian hitman, as just weeks prior to her murder she had fronted a BBC appeal for aid for the Kosovo and Albanian refugees.

When can I watch Who Killed Jill Dando? on Netflix?

All three episodes of Who Killed Jill Dando? are available to watch on Netflix.

Sarah McCann is a Trends Writer for NationalWorld who specialises in stories around TV, Film and Health. If you liked this article you can follow Sarah on X (Twitter) here. You can also share your thoughts in the comment section below.