THE DAILY MAIL

GIRL, 11, CONVICTED OF MURDER

AN 11-YEAR-OLD girl has been sentenced to life after being found guilty of murder at the Old Bailey.

Jean Burdon remained composed and expressionless as the guilty verdict was read out after a four-hour deliberation by the jury.

Jean Burdon is said to have ‘struck the temple with a blunt object’ of 10-year-old Susan Wallace in an unprovoked attack on 20 June last year. Susan was found dead in a derelict bomb-shattered building by two passing boys.

Mr Justice Downing described her as a dangerous risk to other children and said she will be held in a secure unit for ‘many years’.

Mum walks into the study carrying a mug of tea. ‘Here we are. Red Bush,’ she says, placing it carefully on my desk. ‘I don’t know how you can drink that stuff. The smell turns my stomach.’

‘Look at this,’ I say, and Mum reads the article over my shoulder. ‘Do you think Daphne Hartall could really have been this person?’

‘Well, it’s possible that Sheila Watts was the new identity given to Jean Burdon.’

‘And Gran found out?’

‘She must have done. She mentioned a Susan Wallace too, didn’t she? Do you remember? When she was talking about Jean?’

‘You don’t think she’s just confused because this was a high-profile case and she remembers it from childhood?’ I ask hopefully.

Mum glances at me with concern. ‘I don’t think so,’ she says. ‘I’m sorry.’

I feel tears pressing. ‘The police are going to think Daphne killed Neil Lewisham, aren’t they? And that Gran found out and killed Daphne. They’ve got a motive now.’

Mum pats my shoulder. ‘They’ll need more evidence before they can go down that route, don’t worry,’ she says, but she doesn’t sound convinced.

‘Do you think the private detective is working for Daphne/Sheila/Jean, whatever her name is? That’s if she isn’t the other body, of course.’

‘What makes you say that?’

‘Well, Davies said his client is looking for some important paperwork and you said he called it evidence. What else could he mean? He’s obviously some kind of thug. And whoever he’s working for sounds desperate.’

‘I’ve told the police everything we know about Glen Davies. Hopefully they’ll talk to him and make him tell them who he’s working for.’

‘Daphne would be old now, though . . .’ I say doubtfully, rubbing my temple. I can feel a headache coming on.