I make this statement of my own free will without any threats, or bribes or any other form of influence of
any sort. Edward Wood,10.3.88.
STATEMENT(A)
My name is Edward Wood and I live at 4 Charlotte Street, North Shields. I live with my common-law wife who is
called Brenda McMillan and her son Tony. In March 1986 I was arrested for the murder of Alan Raffle and
jointly charged with Frank Wilkinson. When I was interviewed by the police they kept on telling me that if I
would implicate Frank Wilkinson and say he had done the murder then they would do everything that they could
for me to help me to get a not guilty at the trial. Atkinson knew it was me who had killed Raffle but he only
wanted to get Frank locked up. He told me that the orders had come from the top that Frank had to go and that
it didn't matter how. They even got rid of the gloves I had been wearing when I killed Raffle. They had found
them in the boot of my car. Frank Wilkinson was not involved in the murder at all but Atkinson said that they
would also drop an attempted rape charge against me as well if I put Frank in the frame. They told me what to
say and I said it.
When I went to trial at Kenton Bar in February 1987 I was found not guilty and got a walk-out but Frank got a
guilty and got life. I have took legal advice and had the rule of double jeopardy explained to me by two
solicitors. I know that I cannot be tried again for killing Raffle nor can I be accused of perjury because I
did not give evidence from the witness box. Having took all this into consideration and knowing that Frank
Wilkinson is in jail for life for a murder that I done I have decided to tell the truth about it because it
is on my mind and my sister has stopped talking to me because of it.
I got out of Preston jail in November 1985 and Frank Wilkinson picked me up at the gate. He had been looking
after me while I was in jail and he had been looking after Brenda as well. I went to work for Frank who is a
scrap metal dealer and general dealer in cars or anything else he can get his hands on. He is a well-known
villain who is always getting lifted by the police. He always walks away from the police station without a
charge and gives them loads of headaches. They said they wanted him locked up off the streets and didn't care
what for as long as it was for a long time.
Frank introduced me to Alan Raffle and a few other local villains who lived around the village and that. I
done a few deals with Raffle and this brings me to what happened on the night I killed Raffle, but it was an
accident. I had lifted a Sierra for Raffle from Davidson's up at Shiremoor and I took it to Raffle's Yard.
Raffle had a buyer up at Blyth and my end of it was a grand, but he wouldn't give me my money till the buyer
had weighed him on. I had to have the money as soon as possible because I owed it to . . . . . . . . . . .
for another bit of business. Raffle got Frank to plate the motor up for him. Frank plates up loads of ringers
for the lads. I stayed with Frank all of that night and borrowed some tools from him and one of the tools was
a hammer. I was going to stay at Frank's place all night because I had a few drinks, and spirits sometimes
makes me bad with my ulcer.
When our Ann and the lads had gone to bed I tried to get Frank to have a walk round to Raffle with me to see
about my money but Frank said to leave it till the morning because I had had too much to drink. lt was well
after half-eleven and me and Frank had a bit of a row at the front door. In the end I left him there and went
round to Raffle on my own in the Sierra because I was going straight down home when I had seen Raffle. I had
the tools I had borrowed from Frank in the car with me because I was taking them down home because I was
making a wall unit.
When I got to Raffle's yard I took the hammer out of the sack but I was only going to use
it to threaten Raffle with and I had no intention of hitting him with it or anything like that. All I was
going to do was threaten him for my money. Anyway Raffle came out of his caravan and we had a row about the
money he owed me and he told me to piss off out of his yard or he would grass me for the Sierra and
threatening to kill him and rob him. I lost my loaf a bit and took a clip at him with the hammer but I aimed
for his shoulder and he moved and I got him on the side of the head. I did not mean to hit him on the head
but he moved. He went on the deck and he was out like a light so I had a look in his pockets and got a nice
few quid and a giro Then I had a good look to see how much damage I had done and he was making funny noises
and his leg was jerking about in a really funny way. I had a good close look but he wasn't bleeding or
anything but I could see from the way he was jerking about that he was dying.
All I could think of to do was to get rid of the body because if he was found there Frank would know who had
done it, and if he was found somewhere else then I could say that he wasn't there when I went round to the
yard. Frank would keep his mouth shut about any deals I had going with Raffle about cars and things, I knew
that because he never tells anybody anything. I dragged Raffle into the back of the Sierra and put him on the
floor between the front and the back seat. Then I drove about while I was looking for somewhere to dump him.
He was making some really weird noises in the back of the car and it was obvious that he was dying and I must
have hit him too hard or something.
I went to a few places but everywhere I went there was courting couples and all sorts of things and I was in
a bit of a panic because Raffle was making some strange noises in his throat and things. Then I remembered
Frank telling me about when he went to Kielder, camping with the kids, and how he got lost and he said you
could lose anything in that place. So I drove up to the forest and went along some tracks and things till I
was in the middle of this forest. Raffle was making some bad noises by now and I knew for a fact that if
anybody found out what I had done I would get sent to jail for years. I was still in a panic and I was not
thinking right. I dragged Raffle out of the Sierra and got him in the car's headlights so I could have a
better look at him. I got the hammer again and I had to use the car's headlights because it was pitch black
in that forest. I hit Raffle a few more times on the head till he stopped moving and I was sure he was dead.
Then I threw the hammer into some trees and dragged the body into some other trees on the other side of the
track and there was blood all over the place especially on my clothes.
I drove back to North Shields and parked the car at the back of the out-house, just down a bit from ours, and
left it there. I went in and Brenda got up out of bed and saw the claret all over me and I told her that I
had been out on a job and I had a fight with a nightwatchman who had come on top. Brenda put all my clothes
in the washer right away and filled in her diary to prove that I had been in the house all night. I counted
the money I had got off Raffle and it came to just over £1,400 so I gave Brenda £300 to buy a stack system
for Tony's Christmas present and I kept the rest for my own bit of business. Brenda said that I would be
stupid to try to cash the giro so I put it in the ashtray and burned it.
This is the true account of what happened to Alan Raffle and it had nothing to do with Frank Wilkinson.
E. Wood. 10.3.88
I have got a friend of mine to do the writing for me because I am not a very good speller but he has wrote
down exactly what I have said and I have signed it. E. Wood.10.3.88.