Carl Bridgewater was the victim of murder in England in the fall of 1978, in a case where individuals were arrested, convicted and then released on legal grounds. There has been no legal resolution to the case. Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the United Kingdom (light green), with the Republic of Ireland (blue) to its west Languages None official English de facto Capital None official London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked...

Bridgewater was a thirteen year old newspaper delivery boy and Boy Scout, from Wordsley, near Stourbridge in the West Midlands, England. He was the son of Brian and Janet Bridgewater. He had only delivered the paper for Davies' newsagents near the centre of Wordsley for two months and was late on his round on the mild autumn afternoon of Tuesday, September 19, 1978, because he had been to the dentist. Nevertheless, he had picked up his bag of Express and Star papers as usual and lost no time delivering them on his yellow bicycle. It has been suggested that Sun Run be merged into this article or section. ... Map sources for Stourbridge at grid reference SO8883 Stourbridge is a town in the West Midlands, England. ... September 19 is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years). ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ...

Yew Tree Farm, at Prestwood, near Stourbridge, was only two stops away from the end of his round and, at about 4.15 pm, Carl freewheeled down the hill towards it and turned his bike into the track that led to the back door of the farmhouse. The front door, which looked out onto the A449 road between Kidderminster and Wolverhampton, was never used. The occupants of Yew Tree Farm, Fred and Mary Poole, were disabled and hard of hearing and would leave the back door open so that Carl could bring the paper in to them. Unbeknownst to Carl, however, the Pooles were not at home that day and it is believed that as he walked in, he disturbed a burglar or burglars and was then dragged into the living room and shot once through the head with a shotgun. The A449 is a major road in the United Kingdom. ... Map sources for Kidderminster at grid reference SO825765 Kidderminster is a town in the Wyre Forest district of Worcestershire, England. ... Wolverhampton is an industrial, commercial and university city and metropolitan borough in the English West Midlands, traditionally part of the county of Staffordshire. ...

An hour and a quarter later, at about 5:30 pm, his body was found by Dr Angus MacDonald, who was making a random visit that day to the elderly couple. He found the back door had been kicked open and went into the house to investigate. He found Carl’s body laid out on a settee, with his legs dangling over it and his bag of newspapers still slung over his shoulder. The boy could have been asleep, but for the gunshot wound in the side of his head. The boy’s clothing was not disarranged and there was no evidence to suggest that he had been sexually molested. It was simply a cold blooded and brutal killing. Carl’s bicycle was later found thrown into a nearby hedge. Dr MacDonald called the police and by the time that the Pooles arrived home three hours later, they found their driveway choked with police cars. The couple were too distressed to stay in the house and spent the night at Dr MacDonald’s home.

The murder horrified the nation. Four men, Vincent and Michael Hickey, Jimmy Robinson and Pat Molloy, who became known in the media as the Bridgewater Four, were later arrested and charged with Carl's murder. The two Hickeys and Jimmy Robinson were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1979. Pat Molloy was given twelve years for manslaughter. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

These men continually protested their innocence, claiming police had fabricated statements and beaten confessions out of them which led to their conviction. In 1997, the Court of Appeal declared their convictions unsafe. Vincent, Michael and Jimmy walked free, but Pat Molloy, who had died in prison in 1981, was posthumously acquitted. Her Majestys Court of Appeal is the second most senior court in the English legal system (with only the judges of the House of Lords above it). ...

Carl's real killer has never been caught and the reason for his murder remains as unknown as his murderer. But it may well be that either Carl knew his murderer, who killed him to silence him, or that the murderer had levelled the gun at Carl and it had gone off accidentally. A possible suspect is Hubert Spencer, who was convicted of a shooting murder at a nearby farm a month later.

French Kicks 2005 single "We Want Hen Fap" is about the Bridgewater case. The French Kicks is an indie rock group residing in New York City, USA. Their sound is a mix of garage rock, post punk, and modded pop. ...

External links

• BBC website