Did someone murder dad 43 years ago

[mick2me 3,033]

Can any of our members help with this?

The children of a city newsagent who disappeared more than 40 years ago believe he may have been murdered.

Hyson Green newsagent Bryan Carter vanished without a trace in February 1968 at the age of 39.

Darryl Carter and Christine Litchfield

His twin children, Darryl Carter and Christine Litchfield, supported by a veteran police officer, are convinced he was murdered.

Darryl, 61, of Bilborough, suspects rumours that his father's body is buried in the foundations of the Hyson Green flats could be true.

And he believes that his father might have been involved with a gang smuggling cigarettes through his shop.

The twins have lived with the mystery of what happened to their father for more than 40 years.

But the rumours persist. Did Bryan Carter, a newsagent in Hyson Green, flee to Malta to escape criminals – or was he murdered?

And if his fate was a sudden violent death, what happened to the body of that 18-stone man?

Darryl and Christine, 61, who were teenagers back in 1968 when their father disappeared, doubt he ever left Hyson Green alive.

Darryl said stories that the body was buried in the concrete foundations of the Hyson Green flats which were being built at the time, have the ring of truth.

Based on hearsay and conjecture the siblings, who said their father was the 'black sheep' of his family, believe he may have been involved with a criminal gang, perhaps something to do with smuggling tobacco through his little Radford Road corner shop.

It is a theory supported by a senior police officer of the day.

"My belief is that he fell foul of them in some way and they got rid of him," said Darryl.

"My father loved me and I cannot believe he would have run away without getting some kind of message to me."

Christine, now Mrs Litchfield, added: "He used to collect pools money around the local pubs. He would have come into contact with a lot of different people."

Weight to the theory was provided by retired police superintendent Alf Bowley who was divisional commander at the time of Bryan Carter's disappearance.

"I remember it because it was so unusual," said Mr Bowley, 90, of Wollaton.

"He disappeared without explanation. We checked cellars and garages for his body, but there was no clue to where he had gone. There was a thought that he was handling stolen cigarettes.

"I remember all the rumours and I felt pretty certain that he was dead – all his stuff was left behind – but we never had any evidence to support that.

"But he was such a big man, how could they have taken his body away?"

Seven years after his disappearance, Bryan Carter was officially declared dead, but his children cannot help wondering if the truth will ever come out.

The extraordinary story was revealed by Darryl when he heard a talk by Helen Bates of the Partnership Council who is leading a Hyson Green local history project. "I am interested in local history anyway, and I thought that if I revealed the details, someone, somewhere might have an answer.

"But if I find out anything, I don't expect it to be good.

"Over the years I have convinced myself that he might have been a 'wrong 'un' and up to something. That would account for him being murdered and his body buried."

Darryl, who lives in Bilborough, and his twin sister, from Bramcote, had a difficult childhood, raised by their grandfather Albert Carter, an embroidery manufacturer, at his large house in Derby Road, after their parents split up.

Bryan Carter continued to live in a flat above his shop, but their mother Sonia moved to the South coast.

"My father and grandfather were estranged. Father was the black sheep of the family," said Darryl.

But there was a bond between father and children who would visit him at the shop and remember being taken on trips to the Savoy Cinema. "Magical moments," Darryl recalled.

But one morning in February 1968, Darryl arrived at the shop to find it full of police officers.

There was no sign of his father.

"I was shocked, but I went off to college, assuming they would find him."

The police did find his red Mini car with a suspicious dent in the side – "as if someone had driven into the side of it" said Darryl – and all his belongings. The only thing missing was his passport.

Bryan Carter's disappearance made front page news in the Post on Tuesday, February 20, 1968.

One police line of inquiry was that he had been the victim of a repeat crime – he had been battered by an intruder a year earlier.

They built a picture of a popular and jovial local character who had been drinking with friends in local pubs including the Star Inn, Basford, on the night he disappeared.

Neighbours raised the alarm the next morning when customers found the shop door locked.

Police discovered the lights in his flat were still lit and his television set was switched on.

But there was no trace of Bryan Carter, who was 39, and he was never seen again.

"At that time, it did not cross my mind that he was dead," remembered Darryl, a married man with one daughter.

"He was a big lad, 18 stone at least.

''He told me he had boxed in the Navy, I felt he was Superman."

Following his disappearance, the twins would walk the streets of Nottingham and, thinking they had seen him from the back, rush past only to find the person was not Bryan.

There was even a report that he had been seen in Malta and Christine went out to see if she could find him – but to no avail. "I think he may have been involved in smuggling – something to do with a gang locally or from out of town – and he fell foul of them," said Darryl.

"He was the type of person who might have stepped out of line. He thought he was invincible ... that is how he came across to me."

More than 40 years on, they accept it is unlikely the truth will ever be revealed.

Christine, married with one daughter, says: "We were very close and I would like to know what happened. I still get tearful sometimes, especially if there is a story-line on TV about a missing person being found. I just think 'it didn't happen to me'."

Darryl's view is slightly different. "I am not looking for closure – I believe in looking forward, not back," he told the Post.

"He is too far from me now, but I believe that if he had been alive, he would have contacted me to say he was all right."

A police spokesman said: ''This case was extensively investigated in line with policing procedures at the time.

''Anyone with new information relating to Mr Carter's whereabouts is asked to contact police on 0300 300 99 99 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.''

http://www.thisisnot...tail/story.html

[Lim 1]

Does any one recall a man called stanly mackelroy ? Also known as " mac the knife" known in the meadows and seniton area ?

[Cliff Ton 10,490]

Why is the question asked in this thread? Is he in some way connected with the story about Bryan Carter?

[siddha 825]

A police spokesman said: ''This case was extensively investigated in line with policing procedures at the time.

Very reassuring.................