Clydach Murders – statement from the Dawson family

Statement issued on behalf of the family of Mandy Power, her daughters Katie and Emily, and Doris Dawson:

In June 1999 our much loved Mam, Sister Mandy and our nieces Katie and Emily were cruelly taken from us in the most horrific way anyone could ever imagine. The person responsible for these horrific crimes was David George Morris.

The loss and grief our family went through and continue to go through is heart-breaking and affects so many aspects of lives. No family should ever go through what we have and still do.

It hasn’t been helped by the constant campaigns, protests, incorrect media reports, make-believe books and TV programmes that have mislead some of the public into believing Morris is innocent. These have blatantly ignored proven facts and replaced them with misinformation to hide the truth.

During their investigation, police found a chain at the scene of the murders in Mandy’s home, which was worn by the killer. Morris swore on his children’s lives that the chain was not his. Weeks before the first trial, the police found paint between the links of the chain which forensically matched the paint on Morris’s kitchen units/worktops and it was only then that Morris admitted that the chain was his. It was then that Morris made up his alibi for being at Mandy’s that morning.

Morris’s claim that he was having an affair with Mandy was the foundation of his alibi but this was totally untrue, he was not having an affair with Mandy and was not with her that Friday morning. Phone records and witness statements given in court proved beyond doubt that Morris was not in Mandy’s home that morning. This totally destroyed Morris’s alibi and hence his explanation as to how his chain was found at the murder scene.

On 28th June 2002, Morris was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.

Morris then won an appeal based on a conflict of interest only, no new evidence being presented at this hearing.

The re-trial took place at Newport Crown Court. During this time, we again had to look at Morris and listen to lie after lie. Again, Morris was found guilty. Sitting through both trials and having to listen to what our family went through that night was heart-breaking beyond belief.

In October last year, a BBC documentary was aired in which Morris’s family and supporters called for an independent review and further forensic testing of various items, including the sock which was found at the scene and which had clearly been used by the killer. Also, this programme contained misleading information which has fuelled further irrelevant questions by the public, an example of which is the statement that Mandy’s body was taken to the bathroom and washed. This is utter nonsense and never happened.

Scientific testing has come a long way in the last 22 years and on October 18th the police confirmed there was scientific evidence of David Morris on the sock; sadly Morris’s family and supporters are refusing to accept these latest findings done by an independent forensic laboratory, which is what they called for!

We now feel that it is time that they accept that Morris murdered our family and finally let them rest in peace.