Who Killed Harry Mowlam?

Henry Wilks witnesses Harry Mowlam take his final breath

The murder of Harry Mowlam and the mystery surrounding it was a major storyline that occurred between January and April 1986. 

The murder shocked the village as it was the first murder in the village since 1973. Harry Mowlam was the village brute and had acquired many enemies but his major rival was an unlikely one, it was the patient, hard-working farmer Matt Skilbeck, whom Harry terrorised and insulted after they clashed over some sheep Mowlam was mistreated. Thus, when Harry was found dead after a fight with Matt, many pointed fingers towards Matt. However, the killer was later revealed as Derek Warner, another rival of Harry.

Plot

Build-up

Harry Mowlam was a nasty and ruthless person who was well disliked in the community and thus attracted many enemies. He ran a quarry and did many shady deals. In September 1985, Mowlam purposely sabotaged a harvest at his new neighbour Emmerdale Farm, costing the business thousands of pounds in damages. Jack Sugden was aghast. Mowlam still held a grudge against the Sugdens and Skilbecks over them confiscating his abused dog in 1983.

In late October 1985, Mowlam teamed up with Derek Warner and Keith Johnson to stage a robbery on a wages van and stole £10,000. Mowlam supplied the explosives in which to blow the van up if they needed to. Sandie Merrick witnessed the robbery but was unsure of who the criminals were and told her brother Jackie Merrick, but as she was scared, she did not go to the police, but thought one of the robbers was Derek Warner, who was a friend of her father. Sandie did admit to Jackie that she saw Mowlam talking with Derek and Keith in the pub prior to the robbery, and suspected he was involved. At the same time, Mowlam made advances on his old rival Matt's pregnant wife Dolly Skilbeck, terrorising her, threatening her and causing her to have a miscarriage, much to the dismay of Matt and Dolly. Mowlam then hid the proceeds of the robbery and tried to keep it to himself until Derek menaced him into telling him. Mowlam then caught Matt tending to one of his neglected pigs and threatened him to stay off his land or he'd get hurt.

In January 1986, a drunk Harry Mowlam bragged that he could buy out the village if he wanted. He was then invited to The Malt Shovel by Derek and Keith, but it was a trap, they dragged him to a farm where there were vicious dogs barking behind wire fencing. They told Mowlam 3 things, keep his head down, don't tell anyone about how much money he has and not to throw his weight around with anyone. Harry ignored this and kept terrorising Matt Skilbeck, stealing his sheep. Harry then made another pass at Dolly and made her very frightened. Derek Warner, knowing that Mowlam was taking no notice of his warnings, was hot on Mowlam's trail, he could not find him at his quarry.

The murder

On 23rd January 1986, Matt Skilbeck tried to apprehend Harry for stealing sheep by attempting to stop him driving away which lead to Harry crashing into a wall. An angry Harry dragged Matt from the truck and the two had a fight, in which Harry was punching Matt repeatedly. Harry then had Matt in a bear hug and was going to kill him so Matt grabbed him by the neck, so Harry would let him go. Harry then hit Matt again, throwing him to the floor. And then Matt got up and punched him in the stomach, causing Harry to fall down the bank into the river, hitting his head on a rock on the way down. Harry sat up, holding his head, telling Matt that he would get him back. A dazed and confused Matt then returned home, battered and bruised. It was unknown exactly what happened after until April the same year. 

The following day, the local landlord of The Woolpack, Henry Wilks went for his morning stroll down by the local river and as he walked across a bridge and started some bird watching, he saw what looked like a body by the river bank. Henry went to investigate and saw Harry Mowlam laying motionless by the river bank. He had been badly bruised and beaten. As Mowlam was laying on his side, Henry turned him onto his back, and Mowlam then took his final breath and died in front of Henry. His eyes were wide open as if he had died in shock, and scared. He had marks around his neck, which indicated he may have been held underwater.

After finding Mowlam, and witnessing him die in front of him, Henry quickly rushed back to the village and phoned the police from The Woolpack. He was comforted by his co-partner Amos Brearly. Amos said maybe Mowlam died as he lived, violently, by the sword, so to speak. Police and forensics were swarming the riverbank where Mowlam's body was and the news spread like wildfire. Forensics concluded that strangulation was not the cause of death, but drowning caused by being left face-down in the water after a serious beating.

Matt was shocked to be told by Annie Sugden that Mowlam has been found dead, and it looks like he was killed, leading Matt to believe that he was responsible for his death. Matt went to the murder scene and came of his own accord to the police station.

Investigation

Matt Skilbeck as a suspect

Matt Skilbeck was held in custody and grilled by police. He was the prime suspect, due to their fight, and Matt was left dazed and unable to remember what happened after the fight, and then the following morning Mowlam was found dead, battered and bruised, by the river bank. At the police station, Matt explained his version of events and the DS, he revealed that Mowlam died of severe blows to the head and had marks on the neck and throat. As they knew from reports that Mowlam causing Matt's pregnant wife Dolly to lose their baby and thus have a motive as well as an opportunity to kill him. Due to this, the police felt that they had enough to charge Matt with murder. They thought that due to the marks on Harry's neck, that after the fight, Matt went down the riverbank and held him underwater to finish him off. Matt breaks down crying, as he thinks he has killed someone. Dolly went to the police station and Sgt Ian MacArthur said that Matt has been charged with murder.

Dolly came home from the police station in a state of shock and everyone was just as shocked and in disbelief that Matt has been arrested and charged with murder. Despite the police reports and autopsy confirming Mowlam was killed, Dolly clutched at straws and suggested that Mowlam may have died of a heart attack or stroke after the fight, but the autopsy had concluded he was murdered, and it took place after the fight. Matt's lawyer, Mr Hall, briefed him about possible bail, saying that Matt has to raise £3000 for bail, and that is without Legal Aid. Matt was given bail as money rounded up by Jackie, Henry and Jack Sugden.  

On 6th February, Sandie, who had had enough of withholding info about what she saw regarding the robbery that Harry was involved in last year, admitted to the police that she thought she saw Derek Warner on the day of the robbery on the wages van. The Detective Sgt asks if she will testify in a court of law, saying she saw Derek at the robbery site just before it happened. The same day, Derek was arrested but later released the next day due to lack of evidence. Derke did seem to be very curious as to how Mowlam died.

Matt's lawyer comes round to see Matt and Matt and Dolly, saying that there are motives galore, and that maybe Matt should plead guilty to manslaughter, and reminded them of the abuse they suffered at Mowlam's hands. The lawyer also said that according to Matt's statement he thinks Mowlam had caused Dolly's miscarriage, giving him a motive to kill Mowlam. Matt asked for another autopsy to be done. Henry suggests that Matt gets another lawyer as they feel Mr Hall is trying to get Matt to plead guilty to manslaughter. Henry suggests his own solicitor, Mr Barrett. 

Matt and Henry met up and Henry told him he wanted to help in every way he could but he wanted Matt to walk with

him down to the river where he had the fight with Mowlam and where his dead body was found. Matt then showed Henry where he tried to stop Harry driving away when stealing his sheep. Matt explained to Henry about how a fight ensued after the crash and explained what happened during the fight, and then how Mowlam fell down the riverbank into the beck. As Henry asked Matt if he was sure this was where he last saw Mowlam, Matt assured him he was 100% sure. Then Henry told him this was not where he found the body, but that was rather 20 metres downstream, near a boulder, and pointed out that Matt could not be capable of carrying a 17 stone man downstream on his own, in his dazed state, and then leaving him. Matt then started remembering a few things and was convinced he did not kill Harry.

Sgt MacArthur was supportive of Matt and wondered if Mowlam had anything to do with the robbery on the wages van last year. The police, especially DS Webb, believed the only connection between Mowlam and Derek Warner was that he knew him, and the only bad things Harry Mowlam did was drive fast and get into a bit of bother with his neighbours.

A second autopsy was done on Mowlam, and it was the same result, death by drowning and contusions on the neck and throat. DS Webb and MacArthur measured the distance from where Matt last saw Mowlam alive, and where Mowlam's body was found, a good 20 or more yards. Webb thought Matt had a bad memory or was lying about where Mowlam was last seen alive, and was still convinced that Matt had killed Mowlam. MacArthur, on the other hand, was sure that Matt was innocent. DS Webb then mildly scolded MacArthur for being biased towards Matt, being a family friend as well. He reminded MacArthur that, at the end of the day, he is still a policeman.

Mowlam's land was up for sale, and the Sugdens put in a bid for it. This was cause for gossip, and Matt worried that it would give the police reason to think Matt had another motive for killing Mowlam - so his family could get Mowlam's land. Matt's lawyer advised against putting in a bid for the land.

Other suspects

While either Matt or Derek were the main suspects, others may have also had motives to kill Harry Mowlam:

• Jack Sugden - Jack hated Mowlam due to the fact he tried to sabotage Emmerdale Farm. Also, when Mowlam tried to get even with Matt, Jack told Mowlam he will have to take the whole family on if he tries, not just Matt. Jack was annoyed when he found Matt had been beaten up by Mowlam. Jack was shocked when he found Mowlam had died.
• Keith Johnson - Keith was also involved in the Home Farm robbery. Keith, along with Derek had warned Mowlam not to keep bragging about his riches as they were worried the police would catch them out. Harry ignored Keith and Derek's warnings. On the day Mowlam died, Derek was hunting him down, and Keith may have heard that Mowlam was going against him and Derek's wishes.
• Jackie Merrick - While unlikely, it is not beyond all doubt that Jackie could be a suspect. He seemed very pleased when he heard that Matt had a fight with Mowlam. Also, 2 years earlier, Mowlam refused to pay Jackie for a job he did for him, chased him off, and then tried to knock Jackie off his motorbike. Shortly before Mowlam was killed, Jackie was roughed up by Mowlam along with Matt when they tried to rescue his neglected pig.

Derek Warner revealed as the true murderer

Derek Warner began acting suspiciously and kept saying how he had money put by. He also seemed very interested in the murder of Harry Mowlam and said it probably was deliberate. This made Reverend Donald Hinton suspicious that Warner was involved in last year's robbery. Hinton told the police that Derek had been talking about his money situation and how he had been sacked from Hotten Electrics.

The police investigated Derek and it soon emerged that he must have been involved in the robbery. The proceeds of the robbery were thought to be buried on Mowlam's land, thus meaning that Mowlam also was involved. Sgt MacArthur said that there was more to Harry Mowlam than they first thought and that if Matt had killed a known criminal it blows a huge hole in the prosecution against him. The police kept watch on the pigpen where they thought the money was buried. At the same time, Keith Johnson kept helping himself to money from the loot at the pigpen on Mowlam's land. He was once caught by Derek but Keith fobbed Derek off, saying he was going to move the loot.

On 3rd April, after Derek overheard Jackie Merrick saying the ground kept being dug up at the pigpen on Mowlam's land, Derek went to the pigpen with a gun, unaware that the police were watching. He saw Keith digging up the loot and held a gun to him. The police overheard Derek saying he should kill Keith like he did Harry. Keith and Derek then saw the police and while Derek got away, Keith was caught and arrested. Derek Warner ran off into the night, with his gun.

Derek Warner holds Reverend Donald Hinton hostage

Derek headed for the village with his gun and took Reverend Hinton hostage, saying he should take him for a drive so he can get away properly. As Derek and Hinton went outside, a policeman spotted Derek so he fired a gunshot at the officers, making them aware that he was armed, and frogmarched Hinton back inside the vicarage. He thought Hinton had set him up. 12 armed marksmen surrounded the vicarage. Hinton persuaded Derek to give himself up. Even though he killed a fellow criminal, Derek knew he was going to go to prison for at least 4 or 5 years. Derek soon realised the game was up and admitted he never meant for Matt to get accused of Harry's murder. He put the gun down, and went outside with Hinton and was told by police to get on the floor and spread his arms and legs wide. He was then arrested and bundled into the police car.

Derek Warner admitted to the murder and said he had seen Matt and Harry fight, and saw Harry fall into the stream and Matt walk off. Derek then seized his chance to confront Mowlam, and he hit him in the head several times, then scarpered, leaving Mowlam laying face down in the river, badly injured. Due to his severe head injuries, Mowlam was too badly injured to call for help, and he lay in the river overnight. As it was night time and an isolated river, no one would notice him, which would result in his death. 

Aftermath

In March 1986, Harry's body was released and he was buried in Beckindale Cemetery. Seth Armstrong was the only mourner, showing how hated Mowlam was in the village. Even though he lived by the sword and died by the sword, once Mowlam's killer was apprehended, Mowlam could rest in peace. Donald Hinton, the local vicar, said Harry Mowlam's spirit has finally been laid to rest.

Following Derek's arrest, the case quickly went to trial and Derek Warner was jailed for the murder of Harry Mowlam. He was to serve his time in Armley Jail, Leeds. Beckindale was now a much quieter place to live in again now that evil Harry Mowlam was dead and Derek Warner was in prison.

Matt was relieved to be in the clear but was angry at the police. For a while all Matt could think about was Mowlam and how he was wrongly accused of his murder. But Matt soon started to move on with his life and do his best to forget Mowlam. It would always, however, remain at the back of Matt's mind that he was once accused of murder. And Harry Mowlam and his murder would not be forgotten in such a hurry. He was referred to several times after the dust settled. In June 1988, 2 years after Harry Mowlam's death, Dolly mentioned how she still grieved over her miscarriage, which had been caused by Mowlam, meaning Harry was still getting at the Skilbeck's from beyond the grave.