Witnesses From Beyond the Grave Heard at Trial of 1974 Murder

John Apelgren, 80, denies murdering 22-year-old sex worker Eileen Cotter

An undated image of Eileen Cotter, 22, who was murdered in Islington, north London, on June 1, 1974. (Metropolitan Police)

LONDON—A jury has heard statements from two dead witnesses at the trial of an 80-year-old man accused of murdering a sex worker in north London in 1974.

John Apelgren was a 31-year-old bricklayer in May 1974 when he allegedly punched Eileen Cotter, 22, and then strangled her before throwing her body out of his Austin 1100 car.

Cotter’s half-naked body was found behind garages not far from Arsenal’s then stadium in Highbury, north London, on the morning of June 1, 1974.

A jury at the Old Bailey in London heard Apelgren deny murder and also plead not guilty to indecently assaulting an 18-year-old guest at his wedding in 1972.

Prosecutor Alexandra Healy, KC, said DNA samples from the victim’s body matched that of Apelgren.

Opening the case, Healy said, “The prosecution case is that the reason the defendant’s DNA was not recovered from Ms Cotter’s underwear or tights is because he was the last person to have sexual intercourse with her and that he then attacked and strangled her.”

She said: “Having killed her he pushed her out of his car. Her body was discovered in the position it fell, without shoes, and with her tights and underwear still around her right leg. Eileen Cotter did not have the defendant’s DNA on her underwear and tights because she never pulled them up after he had sex with her. She was dead.”

Cotter’s handbag, glasses, and shoes were all missing.

On Tuesday, Healy read out two statements from witnesses who were interviewed by detectives in 1974 but have since died.

Christopher Fitzpatrick, who ran a mobile hot dog van during the evenings from a pitch outside the entrance to Finsbury Park, was interviewed by police two days after Cotter’s body was found.

He said his clientele included sex workers who operated in the area and he said he had first seen Cotter in February 1974 when she appeared with a young boy—who she said was her brother—and bought a couple of cups of tea from him.

Victim Advised Against Prostitution

Fitzpatrick said: “After that she teamed up with a dark-haired girl called Marie. We told her not to get on the game. She wasn’t cut out for it.”

He said the last time he saw her she was with a man in his mid-20s who was “well-built, with broad shoulders, clean shaven and good looking” and he said the man seemed to know Cotter well and bought her a hamburger before they walked off.

Fitzpatrick, who was married, later made another statement in which he admitted he had sex with Cotter at a hotel some time between February and May 1974 but denied ever paying her.

Healy also read out a statement made on June 2, 1974, by Pamela Shackleton, a sex worker who used the name Marie, who said she first met Cotter in November 1973.

Shackleton said, “Eileen was staying in Battersea with her father but she said her father didn’t want to know her because she was a prostitute.”

She said: “Eileen used to charge £3 and was earning £30 a day. She banked it at the Irish bank.”

Shackleton said she and Cotter shared lodgings together for a while and she said she last saw her on May 30, 1974, when they went for a drink at The Arsenal Tavern, leaving at 9:30 p.m.

The jury was told Cotter’s murder had remained unsolved for decades but it was reopened as a cold case after advances in DNA testing.

Healy told the jury Apelgren indecently assaulted a teenager—who cannot be identified for legal reasons—at his wedding to Ann Smythe on Oct. 14, 1972.

Alleged Victim Told Defendant’s Wife After Divorce

The prosecutor said, “She did not tell anybody about this at the time, but eventually some many years later she was to tell Ann after the defendant and Ann were divorced.”

“The allegation came to the attention of the police when Ann was spoken to as part of the investigation into Eileen Cotter’s death,” she added.

Healy said Apelgren was interviewed by police in June 2019 and denied any knowledge of Cotter’s death.

She said: “In his first interview he said ... he did not know any prostitutes and had never had sex with a prostitute. He was shown a photograph of Eileen Cotter. He said he did not recognise her and had never, to his knowledge, ever met her. He was shown photographs of the garages in Hamilton Park where the body was found. He said that it did not look familiar to him.”

Healy said then, after a break in the interview when disclosures were made about the DNA evidence, Apelgren made further disclosures.

“He said that he had had sexual relations with about four other women during his marriage to Anne Smythe. He said Eileen could have been one of those four. He had never paid another woman for sex,” said Healy.

Apelgren, who is hard of hearing, listened to the evidence through special headphones as he sat in the dock.

The trial continues.