A wise old detective once told me: “There’s no such thing as coincidence.”
As I read about the horrific attack on 80-year-old pensioner Brenda Raymond, which occurred in Watford this week when she was sprayed with flammable liquid and set alight, the words of my former colleague chimed with me louder than ever.
Right now, Brenda is fighting for her life in hospital, and Hertfordshire Police are hoping the public will come forward and help them.
There were many factors about the attack on Brenda that my mind immediately went back to another vicious attack that occurred in Borehamwood, a town not far from where Brenda was so badly burnt.
Thirty-year-old family man Wayne Trotter was making his way home from a late shift at a plastics factory when, on December 5, 2002, as he approached his home in Borehamwood, he was doused in a flammable liquid and set alight.
He died a horrific death some twelve hours later in a specialist burns unit at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.
The similarities between these crimes are stark.
Both victims were white.
Both were alone and close to their homes on council estates.
The scenes of these crimes are only seven miles apart.
Both victims were covered in a flammable liquid and then set alight.
Brenda was attacked in November, Wayne in early December.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Police hunting maniac who set light to 80-year-old woman probe SECOND arson attackBoy, 6, dies after horror ‘arson attack’ that killed four members of familyRomanian national convicted for arson targeting Keir Starmer’s home deported
Appallingly, Wayne’s murder still remains unsolved all these years later. I have visited the scene of the attack on him many times and conducted a considerable amount of other research into his killing because I included his case in a book I wrote about unsolved murders.
One thing that became obvious to me was that the police investigation into his murder fell well short of what I would have expected it to be.
Let us hope the detectives working on Brenda’s case do a much better job.
There may well be other similarities between these crimes that we are not yet aware of.
Regardless, before I embarked on writing this piece, I felt I must do the right thing and contact Hertfordshire Police.
I doubted there was going to be an old-sweat detective working on Brenda’s case who would have also worked on Wayne’s murder.
The police do not make it easy for the public to contact them by phone these days.
It is all about portals, links, and dialling 101, which in itself is an interminable chore.
That said, I did eventually get to speak to a call handler from Hertfordshire Police who was attentive, courteous, and actually sounded interested in what I had to say.
Of course, I have no idea what her name, grade or rank is, but Hertfordshire Constabulary have got themselves an extremely capable and professional employee there.
I shall watch developments in this case with added interest.
My thoughts are with poor Brenda and all those who love her.
I sincerely hope Hertfordshire Police make a better first of this investigation than they did with the hunt for Wayne’s murderers.
In the meantime, I make no apology for repeating the words of one of the best detectives I ever worked with: “There’s no such thing as coincidence.”
Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter
