As the finale of The Pembrokeshire Murders begins, John Cooper (Keith Allen) returns home to Pat (Caroline Berry) while Andrew (Oliver Ryan) gets work done on his tattoo. DCS Steve Wilkins (Luke Evans) watches the old footage of John Cooper on the television show. Pat runs the bathwater as John makes his way up the stairs. Seconds later, John calls 999 to tell them that his wife has collapsed and he needs an ambulance. Steve and Ella (Alexandria Riley) rush to the scene and meet with Anwen who confirms Cooper has been removed from the property. They go inside as Anwen explains the paramedics put her on the floor for CPR. Steve orders Anwen to let everyone know there might not be a crime here. They check and find no sign of a struggle or bruising on Pat’s body. Steve wonders if they could’ve prevented this from happening.

At the station, Steve tells the team they’ll need to wait for the pathologist’s report before they know if John killed again, but he won’t be allowed back into the house until then. Steve says this is a warning the John Cooper is out and no good will come of that. Steve says they should stop waiting for forensics and do something. The khaki shorts are out there and he wants to find them. The following day, Steve gets the team together and they intend to search the area around 28 Rose Meadow Lane and Sardis Village. They search the nearby area until Steve gets a call from the Home Office pathologist who reveals Pat died of natural causes. Andrew realizes his mother saw this coming since he remembers the ad she had cut from the newspaper. He tells Steve and Ella that she knew living with John again would be the death of her.

Andrew doesn’t think John will contact him and he knows he doesn’t want him at the funeral. Steve offers to help but Andrew isn’t sure that would be a good idea. He says he’ll go see Pat in his own time before Steve says he is sorry for his loss. Andrew says it isn’t his fault since bad things happen around bad men. Outside, Steve blames himself but Ella doesn’t believe they’re responsible for Pat’s death. Steve is worried that John is an even bigger threat with Pat out of the picture since it will be him and his thoughts and compulsions. John drinks alone at home. He goes to Pat’s funeral while Andrew stays at home and thinks about everything. Steve sifts through the evidence and John burns stuff outside of his home. Steve finds something and immediately asks his partner if Huntsman took all of the clothes and photographed every item.

He notices that the khaki shorts are the same and suggests there might be something wrong with the picture. Steve decides to go and see what the shorts look like for himself since he thinks the flash or something might’ve changed the color. They go inside and find the khakis. Sure enough, the color is slightly different from the picture. They’re a bit shorter so they wonder if Pat or someone else altered them. Ella checks and notices they have an elasticated waistband with no fly. She believes they’re women’s shorts. Steve says they’ll send them in for testing. Later, Steve gets a call from Angela Gallop. She encourages him to pull and he does. She tells him they unpicked the hem of the shorts and taped the uncovered area for fibers. Then, they noticed a faint stain and found a tiny flake of blood. She reveals that the blood belongs to Peter Dixon.

She says it is a full profile and the possibility of the blood coming from someone else is very low. Angela goes on to say that the evidence is Steve’s golden nugget. Steve can’t believe it. After a few seconds, he tells Angela that he bloody loves her. Back at headquarters, Steve gets permission to charge John Cooper with the lot and that includes Nolton Hill. The team begins working quickly to arrest John Cooper. During a search of his vehicle, detectives find a map for Fishguard & Pembroke. It appears that John has his kit with him so they believe they got him just in time. John is taken to an interview room where he is approached by Steve and Detective Inspector Richards. Ella asks John if he can see because she brought a spare pair of glasses just in case.

John admits he was on the television show, but he denies being the man in the drawing. He forgot he had collar-length hair 20 years ago but doesn’t think that is a crime. John explains the fabric on the khaki shorts was too heavy so he used them as bathers. He says he was telling the truth about his shorts being shorter than the ones in the drawing and he believes the picture proves his point. Then, Steve asks John about the bloodstain on the shorts so John claims Pat got most of his clothes from the Oxfam and Army Surplus. Again, he tries to place the blame on Andrew by claiming he had a habit of borrowing his clothes. John is asked if the blood was deposited on his shorts when he shot Peter Dixon but John says he never killed anyone in his life.

Steve shows him a picture of the fluff found in the pockets of the khaki bathers and says the fluff is consistent with John’s hair and skill cells. There is nothing belonging to Andrew on the shorts. The conversation turns to the gloves and John denies wearing gloves. Again, he says Adrian was the family’s glove wearer. When he says he never wore gloves, Steve asks him about the pair they found in the boot of his car. He confesses to wearing gloves now since he is older and feels cold more. Fibers consistent with all three gloves were found in the pockets of the khaki bathers. John gets upset and asks Steve if he is deaf. He reiterates himself about Adrian wearing gloves and not him. Steve begins talking about the sock belonging to Richard Thomas. Fibers from the sock were found on one of the gloves and vice versa.

John claims this is Fantasy Island. Steve asks him if he is responsible for the murders of Richard and Helen Thomas but John denies it. Ella brings up the young girl who was raped on March 6, 1996 and the fibers on her underwear. He is asked if he is the person who pointed a gun at five young people on Nolton Hill and searched them for money. He doesn’t answer so he is asked about being the rapist. Steve pulls out a picture of the shotgun and asks John about that. He says his DNA is on the gun because the prosecution made him handle it during the trial. John learns that they found blood on the gun but John continues denying that the gun belongs to him. He is told about Peter Dixon’s blood being found on the gun before he is asked if he killed them. John gets up, walks toward the wall, and turns his back on everyone.

Then, we jump over to Nolton Hill Estate where Steve and Ella meet with Erin James who says her name is Erin Davies since she was married. They’re invited inside and they tell her about the arrest of the man who likely attacked her. She wonders why didn’t do this many years ago. Steve steps in and admits they let her down, but they want to make sure it never happens again. Erin explains she doesn’t want to take part in any trial. Ella says they won’t be required to attend court since everything will be done via video link. Erin is worried because her husband doesn’t know about her rape. When they return to headquarters, they tell the others that Leanne Dauncey will testify and she might be able to convince Erin to testify too.

Karen Joseph will not because she is basically housebound. The two boys aren’t going to testify. Next, Jonathan Hill (David Fynn) gives a news report regarding John Cooper’s upcoming trial and Andrew watches it from his flat. On the day of the trial, we hear the opening statement from the prosecutor who claims John Cooper was wearing the khaki shorts when he murders the Dixon couple. Gerard Elias QC (Owen Teale) tells everyone that Mrs. Dixon always carried a pair of shorts in her backpack in case the weather turned warm. No shorts were found at the Coastal Park crime scene. He questions whether the defendant changed into Dixon’s shorts because he panicked when he saw blood on his pants. Andrew arrives at the courthouse and learns that Steve is waiting outside because the SIO is the last Crown witness.

Andrew says he is as ready as he’ll ever be. Meanwhile, Elias tells the court about the artist’s impression of the man using Peter Dixon’s bank card. Although the sighting took place two days later, the suspect was still wearing Mrs. Dixon’s shorts. Elias wonders if John was wearing the shorts as a trophy or for sexual gratification. Elias shows everyone the drawing and the video of John Cooper on the game show. Steve tells Andrew that the defense attorney is going to be hard on him. Andrew says he has his dragon scales for protection. Andrew explains he changed his name because John is the one who called him Adrian. It was more of a girl’s name back then and John used it and A Boy Named Sue to belittle his son. Adrian begins testifying and is promptly asked about wearing gloves and his father’s clothes.

Adrian admits he used to wear gloves but he says John Cooper did as well. He denies stealing from his parents. Then, he is accused of forging his father’s signature. They have technical difficulties and have to stop briefly. Then, the defense attorney tries to make Andrew look like the bad guy. Andrew eventually gets upset and makes it clear that he doesn’t want to be there. Erin and Leanne arrive at the courtroom and they’re promptly greeted by Ella and Steve. Both have decided to give their evidence in court. They say Karen died and they want to do this for her, Stephen, and David. Leanne seems shocked when she takes the stand and sees John. A curtain is put up to protect her identity. She tells the court what happened on the night of the attack. Erin testifies and says the same. The man approached with a mask on and told them to shut up. He hit one of the boys with a shotgun.

The man was angry and the kids were scared. Erin felt the man pull her hair back before he told her to stand up. She followed his orders and went with him. The defense attorney tries to discredit Erin’s testimony but she says she remembers every detail like it was yesterday. She says you try to forget something like that but you cannot but admits they never actually saw the man’s face. John Cooper is next to take the stand. He tells everyone about Pat’s death and what he believes caused it. He goes on about being poor and wearing secondhand clothes. John insists he is innocent of these crimes and the ones he went to prison for as well. The judge wishes to stop until tomorrow but Gerard Elias asks for a few minutes with Cooper. When given the chance, he immediately asks about the balaclava. John is given the item and asked if it belongs to him. John admits it is his but he denies committing the robbery.

Elias reminds him that this isn’t what he told the jury during the Huntsman trial. John admits he made a mistake when he denied that the balaclava was his. Elias wonders if he is lying to the juror now or then but John claims he only made a mistake. Instead, he misresemembered the facts. John is forced to admit that he lied to the jury in 1998. Then, the jury retires to consider the verdicts and the waiting game begins. Ella finds Steve and learns that he has written post-verdict statements for the press for both possible verdicts. Ella believes he can get rid of the not guilty statement but Steve admits that it is his letter of resignation. Before long, the jury returns with its verdict. Steve tells his team it has been an honor to work with them. Steve looks around and finds Andrew in the courtroom.

The foreman confirms they have reached verdicts for all 11 counts. John Cooper gets visibly upset as he is found guilty on all charges. He yells out that he is not a child rapist. He is found guilty of all charges before lashing out at the judge and being sentenced to life. Before John is led away, he claims this is a persecution of John Cooper carried out by Steve Wilkins. Once that is over, Steve goes outside and speaks to the press. Then, he approaches Jonathan Hill and asks if he is ready for his exclusive. Andrew finishes the van and sells it to a man with a kid. Steve learns that he is a visitor. He finds Jack (Steffan Cennydd) waiting for him because he wants to see where it all happened. He tells his father that he has decided the sixth form is not for him and his mother blames him. Instead, he is thinking about joining the police.

They joke about that before Andrew goes to his mother’s grave. He leaves flowers and says he should’ve stayed so they could’ve talked. He apologizes and the episode ends.

 

The Pembrokeshire Murders Review

The Pembrokeshire Murders got much better with each episode. Although some characters were more important than others, all actors and actresses did exceptionally well in their respective roles. This helped add authenticity to the show and that was important since we’re dealing with a true story. The big revelation of the khaki shorts and Dixon’s blood weren’t jaw-dropping but the twists and turns were still enough to maintain my attention.

I enjoy most true crime shows but will argue that some have been better than others. The Pembrokeshire Murders was an ordinary story that turned out to be a surprisingly good television show. There wasn’t much that made it stand out from other solved cold cases. Nevertheless, it succeeded by focusing more on the people involved including those close to the killer.

I think many will agree that Andrew Cooper stole a lot of the spotlight. Either way, the series was enjoyable and it only lasts 3 hours or so. If you’ve got a few hours to kill, there are worse ways to spend your time. The finale scores an 8 out of 10. Previous recaps of The Pembrokeshire Murders can be found on Reel Mockery.