Serial killer who slayed three generations of the same family in 1999 Clydach murders dies in prison
Serial killer David Morris who slayed three generations of the same family in notorious 1999 Clydach murders dies in prison aged 59
Prison Service said David Morris, 59, died at HMP Long Lartin in WorcestershireEx-builder killed Mandy Power, 34, her mother and her two daughters in 1999All four had been bludgeoned to death with a pole before house was set on fireClydach inquiry was the largest murder probe ever undertaken by a Welsh force
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A serial killer who slayed three generations of the same family in the notorious Clydach murders more than 20 years ago has died in prison aged 59.
David Morris killed Mandy Power, 34, her bed-ridden mother Doris Dawson, 80, and her daughters Katie, 10, and Emily, eight, at their home near Swansea, in 1999.
All four had been bludgeoned to death with a pole before their house was set on fire.
The ex-builder, who had been an occasional lover to Ms Power, was jailed for a minimum of 32 years – convicted for a second time of their murders in 2006.
An earlier conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal when a second trial was ordered. He was found guilty by a second jury.
A Prison Service spokeswoman confirmed Morris died at HMP Long Lartin in Worcestershire, where he was serving a life sentence.
David Morris (pictured above), who slayed three generations of the same family in the notorious Clydach murders more than 20 years ago, has died in prison aged 59
David Morris killed Mandy Power (pictured left), 34, and her bed-ridden mother Doris Dawson (right), 80, at their home in Clydach, near Swansea, in 1999
He also killed Ms Power’s two daughters Katie (left), 10, and Emily (right), aged eight. All four had been bludgeoned to death with a pole before their house was set on fire
‘HMP Long Lartin prisoner David Morris died on August 20. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has been informed,’ she said.
Morris had long maintained his innocence and last year a programme by BBC Wales Investigates questioned the safety of the conviction.
It featured interviews with two potential witnesses – one who said he had never spoken to police and the other who said he contacted police to report what he had seen but nobody ever called him back.
South Wales Police said they had spoken to the two men and sought advice from the Crown Prosecution Service, who said no information had been provided that undermined Morris’s conviction.
Morris was arrested after the finger of suspicion wrongly pointed to Ms Power’s lover, Alison Lewis.
Former policewoman Ms Lewis and her former husband Stephen, an officer with South Wales Police, were arrested on suspicion of murder a year after the deaths.
Ms Power with her two daughters, Katie and Emily. The Clydach inquiry was the largest and most complex murder investigation ever undertaken by a Welsh police force
Mr Lewis’s brother Stuart, also a police officer, was arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice. They were all released without charge.
In 2001 investigations into the murders were reignited after an off-duty police officer claimed they overheard a conversation about Morris and Ms Power having had sex.
This led to Morris becoming centre of the investigations – he had previously given a statement to police in the weeks after the deaths.
The juries of both of Morris’ trials, in 2002 and 2006, were told of his previous convictions for violence. He was found guilty of the four murders at both trials
Morris was found to have lied about whether a gold chain found at 9 Kelvin Road was his – he swore it wasn’t ‘on the lives of my children’ but later admitted it was.
He claimed he initially hid his relationship with Ms Powers from police as it would have meant the end of his relationship with girlfriend Mandy Jewell, who had been best friends with Ms Powers.
Issues were also found in Morris’ alibi in which he claimed he had wandered the streets for hours after leaving the New Inn pub on the edge of the village of Clydach before getting home at 3am when Ms Jewell let him in.
Ms Jewell told police he got home between 10.30pm and 11pm but she didn’t let him in – later in court she said she didn’t know what time he’d got back but she had let him in.
The juries of both of Morris’ trials, in 2002 and 2006, were told of his previous convictions for violence. He was found guilty of the four murders at both trials.
The Clydach inquiry was the largest and most complex murder investigation ever undertaken by a Welsh police force.
