Janet Holt claims that more than 40 years ago she murdered her business partner, who raped her. His body has never been | dG1fejNpMHk1dnNKT0k
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Short filmTranscript
00:00 A year after therapy, Janet Holt has dramatically confessed to murder,
00:06 triggering a major police investigation
00:09 into the disappearance of Fred Hanford.
00:12 I have a memory of tipping him off the barrel into the hole
00:17 and having to use the shovel to push one of his legs down
00:22 because presumably perhaps the hole wasn't quite deep enough.
00:27 The dig for Fred's body raised further questions.
00:32 So the police excavated some of the field.
00:36 I took about two foot off the top of the field
00:43 and then brought me back to show me that there was nothing there.
00:47 Two-thirds of cases police investigate involving recovered memory
00:52 are disputed by experts.
00:56 So either the location's wrong
00:59 or it hasn't happened in the way that Janet has said
01:02 because we haven't found a body and we've found no signs of disturbance either.
01:06 I tried to explain to them that in the late 1980s
01:12 or maybe even early '90s,
01:15 there was a new pipeline put to that reservoir
01:18 which came from Disney way over the valley.
01:21 Janet says the pipeline would have disturbed the ground where she buried Fred.
01:26 I have photographs of the route of the pipeline
01:32 and I've got horses on those pictures which were born around the late 1980s.
01:38 So I know my memory is perfectly correct about that
01:44 but I couldn't convince the police.
01:47 They kept saying my memory was at fault and that that was rubbish
01:53 but basically there was no remains there.
01:56 The pipe is closer to the reservoir
02:01 and it doesn't go over where she said that she buried Fred.
02:05 Had there been a disturbance in the soil,
02:08 the archaeologist would have identified that and she didn't.
02:14 Janet was released without charge.
02:17 It is so frustrating when you feel that people are not even beginning to believe you
02:25 and you're left with no way of convincing them really
02:29 other than just keep repeating the truth all the time.
02:32 But there were some who were perfectly willing to accept Janet's guilt - Fred's family.
02:40 I think she had a lot to do with it.
02:42 She'd arranged it and taken where it can't never be found.
02:47 That's what I think.
02:49 Well I think there's only one person who's benefited in all of this
02:53 and so therefore, you know, I've read far too many murder mysteries
03:00 and watched far too many crime thrillers without actually thinking who benefits?
03:06 Who's benefited?
03:07 Who actually benefited the most from it all and there's only one person?
03:12 Who is that person?
03:15 Well I think that's Miss Janet Holt.
03:18 Despite this, the family reject Janet's motive for killing Fred
03:24 and say he was not capable of committing rape.
03:27 To accuse somebody of rape when they are not there to defend themselves
03:34 is absolutely disgraceful.
03:37 And that is what I can't forgive.
03:40 I really can't.
03:44 I think, no, you are trying to completely destroy everything about Fred Hanford.
03:50 For Lynette, the motive is simple - money.
03:55 When he'd first gone missing, I had discovered that Janet and my father
04:01 had this business agreement drawn up.
04:06 In the event of something happening to one of them,
04:09 the other one would have the farm, the business.
04:12 So I did think maybe she killed him so she could have the business to herself.
04:19 I think she must have buried him somewhere else or dumped his body somewhere else
04:26 because nothing's ever been found.
04:28 And I think, well, hats off to Janet.
04:32 She's done very well to conceal his remains for 42 years.
04:36 For more UN videos visit: www.un.org/webcast
04:41 .
04:46 [BLANK_AUDIO]