UPDATE: The above headline reflects the fact that Causley has been convicted of murder. However, no body has ever been found, and the late Bob Woffinden argued that a miscarriage of justice had occurred. His critique of the documentary can be read here.
From the Mirror, August 2017:
A daughter trying to solve the riddle of her mother’s murder has launched a new bid to uncover the full truth after 30 years of torment.
Sam Gillingham is demanding her lovecheat father Russell Causley – in jail for the murder – reveals what he did with Carole Packman’s body.
She also intends to face Causley’s mistress Patricia Ward in court after launching a private prosecution against her for using tragic Carole’s ID.
…Last year, Carole’s murder was the subject of ITV documentary The Investigator, in which Mark Williams-Thomas – who exposed pervert DJ Jimmy Savile – probed her disappearance.
The BBC has an overview of the case here. The television series was broadcast in 2016, and a Mirror article published at the time reported how Samantha GIllingham “and son Neil sought help from investigator Williams-Thomas after he exposed Jimmy Savile as a paedophile.” The same article (by a showbiz reporter) said that “after watching the final instalment of ITV’s The Investigator, Samantha Gillingham feels she is one step closer to discovering her mother’s fate”, although a piece in the Express published the same day reported that “viewers were left feeling cheated and furious as after various suggestions that things were going to take an interesting turn, practically nothing was solved” (as ever, this was a “Twitter comment round-up” article).
So what happened about the “private prosecution” against Ward? No such prosecution has materialised, and in April this year Neil Gillingham (on social media “Neil Gill”) issued a statement criticising Williams-Thomas for what he calls “predatory actions” that have “humiliated” his mother. As evidence for this assessment, he has published a text message that he purportedly received on 14 July 2017, in which Williams-Thomas appears to have promised to fund the action:
So we will set meeting up for next week QC is back Sunday so will get date then . We are go on the private prosecution – I will fund £50k to get it to trial and getting going asap But this should be kept secret. We should start next week a crowd funding page to raise 50k for the private prosecution . I need you to talk to Police today and tell them you are about to start a private prosecution against Patricia . You have waited almost a year and no progress – you need to know the state of the review and if charges are imminent for Patricia . Does that work for you?
Must keep all funding aspect just between us.
The above is slightly ambiguous: is the crowd-funded money meant to supplement the promised £50,000, or to reimburse Williams-Thomas? Either way, though, the promise is unconditional and presented as an amount sufficient “to get it to trial”. It seems that this promise was not honoured.
Neil asks:
Who benefited from putting a positive spin on that [press] release? Mum? Me? My grandmother or Mark and ITV who the same week as saying we were launching a private prosecution also announced series 2 of The Investigator?
Given the claims recently made about Williams-Thomas in relation to the Jonathan King trial, this leaves a troubling impression. We might also ask why it is that this newsworthy grievance has not made its way into the same newspapers that have over the years used material either about or from Williams-Thomas.
(H/T @EricHardcastle)
Filed under: Uncategorized
The original post that appears in Eric’s tweet can be found here:
https://m.facebook.com/groups/145556342840285?view=permalink&id=199476667448252&anchor_composer=false
There is a bit more info regarding MWT’s rotten behaviour in the comments below but perhaps as interestingly a lunatic turns up offering ‘help’. I won’t link to the (quite possibly well-meaning) ghoul, but suffice to say that fake claims of having been a “police consultant” abound while images of Myra Hindley’s waterfall nestle against others of Portugal…
The amount of rubbish these families have to put up with…
This is v interesting, if true.
The ruse of ‘raising funds’ when already pledged is precisely the way some charity fundraising operates in order for it to appear that there is a ‘massive response’ to an appeal -ie successful so pledge more. I have argued for long that many abuse investigations follow a similar plan.
To take the Savile ‘Exposure’ programme aired after a few pre- programme claims as a teaser. When aired with phoneline, publicity and lawyers promising compo it’s claimed ‘massive response’ when in fact mostly a few known pre- programme accusers and others on hold.
So another appeal for victims more pub, programmes etc this time on the basis that there has been a ‘massive response’ of victims since the first.
All based on the private/public appeal fundraising method pioneered by Marian Alford re the 80s GOSH appeal and described in her 93 Charity Appeals – complete guide to success.
I interviewed her when it was published in 93 and her method of success made a deep and lasting impression on me. As she said – people want to contribute to success – not failure.
Her ways of attracting the secret private donors were borderline fraudulent but all in a good cause.
Same Mark Williams-Thomas who white knighted for “Nick/Carl” in Op Midland?
Not a good day for MWT, see David Rose’s skewering of him in the Mail?
The woman did it. She knew. Now she needs to rot.
This takes victim-blaming to a whole new level.
As always the comment section is worth reading more than the late news article. Whoever tries and help this ‘victim’ daughter is wasting their time. I’ve followed this story for many years now, I just have a hard time understanding as a mother and daughter myself when will Sam accept she is her fathers daughter? When will it occur, I’m sure never, that her behaviors only mimic dear ol dads. If you don’t see it then you haven’t followed the story long enough. This is just another tantrum from someone whom treated her mother terrible she made the woman who gave her life miserable. Finding her body will not make you feel better Sam. There’s no way to fix what you did all those years ago. You were a stomping self righteous brat & real life has no do overs. Let the memory of your mother rest. It seems you think if you are successful in locating her remains (or possibly die trying) that somehow will make your punishment lesser on the other side. It’s not everyone else’s fault. It’s yours, you should have been your mothers friend then but you didn’t care & I think caring now is self seeking behavior. This in its self screams lawsuit. Your absolutely disgusting as a person.
What a self-righteous bitch you are .Was your family dynamics perfect , did you never fall out with your parents when you where a teenager,and what about the mistress closer in age to the daughter almost like a friend .You must live a perfect life to you and yours .
Wast Nicole that chose dads lover over her own mother Jac, she should be totally ashamed of her actions
Well said my sentiments too
Agree completely.
@ Nicole,
Give me a shout, happy to discuss your vulgar opinion personally.
You can find me on Twitter @helenslawcarole
Drop me a message, please don’t hide behind a first name or pseudonym – given the seriousness of your allegation and strength of opinion I believe it’s only fair you put an identity to your words to ensure I am able to stop you adequately in your tracks.
On your side
Very well said.
She was a teenager trying to please a abusive father. And your an asshole
Exactly. A child who was afraid of her father and seriously manipulated by him.
Wow.. it’s you who are the disgustinh person
What kind of sick twisted individual writes this Kind of rubbish is astonishing. The girls mothers murdered… The mistress helped murder her… they plotted it and tried to cash in on the Insurance, They even schemed to fake his death together, This girl may have had teenage troubles with her mother, but that does not give you the right to say such pig headed evil nonsense…
EVIL, SICK UNEMPATHETIC LOSERS LIKE YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF!
Diasgusting cockroach!
Nicole, your comment regarding Sam as a disgusting human are unwarranted. She was 16 when her Mum disappeared. 16. A teenager… how many teens do you know who aren’t stomping self righteous brats?
Sam, I’ve watched the series, and am so shocked that Patricia has never been charged with anything. It’s quite frankly unbelievable.
As for your father, it’s my opinion he is 100% guilty. I’m saddened that he cannot confess where your mother is. How selfish. I’m so so sorry –
Ren in Australia.
“It’s not everyone else’s fault it’s yours”- REALLY? Wow. What a bizarre statement.
Nicole, how is Sam to blame for her fathers and Patricias actions in addition to her mothers murder?
Very well said.
all of you do not understand the psychopath that the father is. His controlling nature could turn the affections of his daughter away from the mom. He had that power over all of them. Sam is truly a victim of a malicious father. She does live with the guilt. I had the same type of father and at 16 I hated my mom but as I grew older I realized that it was my father manipulating me. I was too young to understand. I saw my mom in a new light but could not help her be free of him. Please Nicole have compassion. There is enough nastiness already here.
Sadly I said all along that MWT did not have the knowledge or capability to solve the Packman case. My heart goes out to Sam as she allowed herself to be dragged along like a tidal wave by MWT
He clearly was not a “specialist investigator” and ITV should never have said he was.
The evidence is clear in the King case, the investigator documentary and even MWT’s support for “Nick” from operation Midland.
MWT was out of his depth, running on celebrity status and hype.
I personally believe that the late, great Bob Woffinden was right as Causley is clearly wrongly behind bars. Unfortunately there is so much corruption within the police and British justice system as a whole that innocent men rot in jail whilst liars and those driven by the power of celebrity status thrive on others grief.
There were people desperate to see Russell Causley remain behind bars when MWT’s documentary was aired because he was the ideal scapegoat. Is Carole Packman dead? Did Russell or Patricia murder Carole? I doubt it. MWT is addicted to sexual offences and glorifies them particularly when it comes to celebrities, why I don’t know. He served as a uniformed police officer with just 9 months as a rookie in CID making the tea. He would not of held high enough rank to have lead serious enquiries and high profile cases. What happened to the private prosecution in relation to Patricia Causley? Why? MWT’s false promise and the crowd funding page never came to anything, it was fake, just like MWT’s other “exposures” that have lead to innocent peoples lives being destroyed. If MWT told me it was snowing and he had a snow ball in his hand I would pop out and double check before I reached for my wellies.
Andy What makes you think he is innocent.He is not saying where his wifes body is you Dickhead.
Funny bit everything you said is rubbish..
Fact is he found out and did a whole lot more than the dumbass police ever did.
You would have to be an absolute moron to believe that MWT being an asshole in any way changes the fact that RC has confessed to Carole’s murder. It is entirely believable and most likely that Patricia was involved and he accepted all of the blame to protect her. I am gobsmacked by the ignorance of many of the contributors here.
I think RC was telling the truth when he confessed. I do yhink he killed her and I think he did burn the body. But I think his reasons of “love” are completely false. And it is interesting that Patricia has the same reason for committing her crimes.
They did not care that Carole and Sam were in the house and they did not care about the affair being known about. They pretty much had it all at that point and there was no reason to kill Carole, even if she walked out, unless she threatened to take the house due to his infidelity. Once she was gone, they took ownership of the house and then committed further crimes for more money. This was all about money. And Patricia just wanted to take everything from Carole.
I came up with the same conclusion.
The reason of the “disappearance” is probably money. She wanted to go and get her share. He did not want to.
The following events after 85 go in that direction, they were all about easy money and lies. That being said, the netflix doc was entertaining tv for sure but, as a litigator myself (in france), i see 0 progress made due to this tv show except maybe the digging in the garden…but its slim, very slim for someone who markets himself as a top investigator.
youre a pretty dumb example then.
IF GETTING A CONFESSION, DISCOVERING FRAUD PROOF AND FINDING OUT A WHOLE LOT MORE THAN THE IDIOT LAZY POLICE COULD BOTHER DOING IS SOMETHING YOU CONSIDER USELESS THEN HOW SAD ARE YOU?
HE DID MORE TO FIND THE TRUTH IN HIS 8 MONTHS OF INVESTIGATION THAN 30 YEARS OF IGNORANCE BY POLICE EVER DID MORON!
I completely agree!
It’s not only the money. It was the guilt of how dastardly they perverted a home, marriage ; and bona fide birth in marriage. Carole was target because she was personification of the betrayed the innocence represented in her pain ,loyalty ,unbeleivable un rewarded strength. Trying to mother. Just how wrong and involving the marital child thats as well why the father doesn’t resemble one. Because Samantha is still his target to cause these perverted pains the malice out of his guilt.. Carole and Samantha was everything that this evil pair weren’t. These self involved 2 wanted to believe in this hype’ that they had true love, righteousness as a foundation. But you can’t fake yourself and observing ad continually traumatizing mother and daughter; trying make them complicit to take the edge off the wrongness and sacrilege . As is the truest action in sin I’ve refer seen in human behavior -it reveals thoroughly in the lie reasoning why apparent motive ( love of Patricia) its just the opposite Guilt is the number one force behind this. Unfounfed money spending : a common thread among deep seeded guilt as every other display in characteristic personalities of the devil. Love does nothing like this but the obsessions in propelling the wrongdoing in order to plagiarize the truth I their minds is priority . essential all cover up moves displaying again in Patricias statement ( compassion for Sam)
It’s not only the money. It was the guilt of how dastardly they perverted a home, marriage ; and bona fide birth in marriage. Carole was target because she was personification of the betrayed the innocence represented in her pain ,loyalty ,unbeleivable un rewarded strength. Trying to mother. Just how wrong and involving the marital child thats as well why the father doesn’t resemble one. Because Samantha is still his target to cause these perverted pains the malice out of his guilt.. Carole and Samantha was everything that this evil pair weren’t. These self involved 2 wanted to believe in this hype’ that they had true love, righteousness as a foundation. But you can’t fake yourself and observing ad continually traumatizing mother and daughter; trying make them complicit to take the edge off the wrongness and sacrilege . As is the truest action in sin I’ve refer seen in human behavior -it reveals thoroughly in the lie reasoning why apparent motive ( love of Patricia) its just the opposite Guilt is the number one force behind this. Unfounfed money spending : a common thread among deep seeded guilt as every other display in characteristic personalities of the devil. Love does nothing like this but the obsessions in propelling the wrongdoing in order to plagiarize the truth I their minds is priority . essential all cover up moves displaying again in Patricias statement ( compassion for Sam) my heart goes to your kin bless you poor Samantha
Sam if you read this i feel sorry for the way people are trying to portray you
i believe your father and patricia had a hand in the murder of your mother
i believe in your own heart you know the reason he will not see/communicate with you is because of his guilt
there are many murderers that won’t give family members that piece of mind
i believe in your fathers case his belief is no body no evidence
he sees himself as innocent proven guilty
I was also bothered by the fact that not much came from the tv series, especially after all the promises made in the beginning of the 1st episode. Also, I do not like having questions while I’m watching the best investigator in the history of time ; that bonfire he made to burn his wife’s body, NOBODY mentioned the smell. That’s a massive question and they just avoided it.
However, that doesn’t change the fact that Russell Causley is guilty and that the infamous Patricia is living the life of Riley. She stole Sam Gillingham’s inheritance and whatever property she owns today was got by ill-gotten gains. It sounds all very materiel but it’s the truth, she profited from a person’s death, that is a crime!
Sam, like many others. I’m so sorry for your loss. People like your father take joy in their actions now as well as then. I don’t believe that the only way to get the answers that you so desperately need is a letter that you receive after he dies. Control and publicly is what he wants now. Please don’t let that control ruin your and your families life. That is exactly what he wants. I just saw the documentary on Netflix and that jumped out at me from the very beginning. I’m a disabled police officer in the United States. I pray that you get the the information one day but don’t count on it. Sincerely, Marcia
Just watched the documentary on Netflix. A shame that the note supposedly left by Carole wasn’t able to be analysed against Russell’s or Patricia’s handwriting. Conveniently thrown out before any investigation. What a sad story it is; that Sam’s father can still exercise a degree of control over her from prison by not revealing any information regarding Carole’s body (an occasion whereby I’d support wholeheartedly the use of some form of torture to obtain information. Seriously). And that despite solid evidence against Patricia she still hasn’t faced any serious charges. It’s hard to fathom really.
I am absolutely gobsmacked. Of course Patricia was well aware of what Russell did. Why oh why did he suddenly write a letter saying that there was no crime and that Patricia couldn’t and didn’t/doesn’t know anything?? Because dear “innocent” Patricia was getting worried, questioned by MWT was bringing unwanted attention,so contacts Russell and obviously threatened to divulge some more information if he didn’t withdraw his accusations about her. Sheeze it’s not rocket science what transpired!!
You can all say what you want but the fact of the matter is the specialist investigator done more in a few months than the entire police force done in years ( drops mic)
Everyone in this whole story are liars with the exception of the poor grandson who really is the victim.
It ridiculous to explore any more statements from Russell or this sociopath Patricia.
He and Patricia probably killed her. End of story.
I have just watched the series on Netflix & can’t believe the police have done noting about Patricia’s clear fraud!! She has gotten away with it hasn’t she?!
I am so sorry for Sam & Neil having to go through something like this & still have no answers. My heart goes out to you & your families. Carol looked like a wonderful kind person & did not deserve to be treated like she was by her husband. May be stop his selfish games & be honest about where she is.
In the US, if someone has not shown real contrition to a crime, including identifying the remains in a case like this, they would highly likely remain in prison, no parole. Our justice system is messed up but in that way, for evil psychopaths like this guy, they cannot keep torturing the families of their victims without having to pay the price of remaining imprisoned.
When is that criminal Patricia Ward going to get her come uppance.long past the time for justice.
I have just watched the show on Netflix and I think that the reason why he won’t see or speak to Samantha is because she looks like her mother, and he would have to face upto what he has done and by not saying where she is or what he has done with her remains he holds all the cards and can use them to his advantage at any point
I have just watched the show on Netflix and I think that the reason why he won’t see or speak to Samantha is because she looks like her mother, and he would have to face upto what he has done and by not saying where she is or what he has done with her remains he holds all the cards and can use them to his advantage at any point