21st April 1965
Man pleads guilty to party shooting
Hilarity turned to horror at what The Mirror described as “a gay drinking party on a holiday island” when the 25-year-old host, Richard Murray-Stableford, produced a gun and began randomly shooting. One shot hit Patrick Wilkinson from Leeds, one of two guests at the party, who fell down dead.
Rather than showing immediate remorse, Murray-Stableford turned to the only remaining guest, Doreen Hollobone, to drink a toast, which she did, apparently only because she was afraid of what he might otherwise have done. But, humouring him was no good. As soon as they had downed their drinks, he shot her six times. She survived and told police everything from her hospital bed.
Death sentence
London-born Murray-Stableford didn’t make any attempt to deny what he’d done, and he was sentenced to death when the case came to court. The sentence was reviewed by the home secretary, as all death sentences were, and commuted to life imprisonment. Although initially sent to Wormwood Scrubs in London, he was moved back to Jersey so that he would serve his sentence closer to his recently widowed mother.
FREE Jersey history newsletter
Don't miss our weekly update on Jersey's fascinating history. We promise never to sell your data to anyone else, and there's a super-easy unsubscribe link on the bottom of each email so you can leave whenever you want.
Other events that occured in April
Plans revealed for bridge to France
- Plans for a 16-mile bridge linking Jersey to France, which would also carry fibre optic cables and fuel pipes, were revealed in April 2008.
- Read more…
Major Moses Corbet is appointed Lieutenant Governor of Jersey
- Corbet served in Menorca and Gibraltar before retiring to Jersey on the grounds of ill-health. He was appointed Lieutenant Governor in 1771.
- Read more…
French catamaran, St Malo, strikes rocks
- A rescue operation swung into action when Saint-Malo, a French-owned catamaran, struck La Frouquie rock off Jersey with 307 passengers aboard.
- Read more…
Civil partnerships are legalised
- It took civil partnerships almost three years to become legal in Jersey after they had been debated and approved by the States.
- Read more…