Murders of Harry and Megan Tooze

Harry and Megan Tooze were an elderly couple who lived together on a remote farm just north of Llanharry in South Wales. Harry was well known in the community through his market garden business, although he had retired seven years previously when the couple's only daughter, Cheryl Tooze, had also moved away. Harry still spent time growing cabbages at his farm, but the pair were said to live an "uneventful" life. Around a year before the murders, in 1992, Harry's shotgun, which he used to shoot rabbits that were attempting to eat his cabbages, was mysteriously stolen from the farm. ==Murders==

On the morning of Monday 26 July 1993, the Toozes left the farm to collect their pensions in Llanharry. Inside the farmhouse, the table had been set for lunch with the couple's best china; a teacup was also set on the table, which police learned was only ever used when an important visitor was present. The crockery that had been set out was never used for everyday use. The lunch was found cooked on the stove but not eaten. There were no signs of robbery. The nature of the crime scene made police believe that the Toozes may have known their killer. They considered that they may have stopped by unannounced, which would explain why the stove had been turned off and tea prepared. The indications were that the couple had not themselves drunk from the teacup, with Megan's own favourite mug nearby and Harry's mug also on the table, pointing to there being a visitor at the farm that lunchtime. A white shirt of Harry's was found laid out on the bed, further indicating that he was expecting someone or going out for a social engagement. ==Initial investigation==

shotgun, the kind which would have been used in the murder Murder-suicide was quickly ruled out when drag marks believed to have been made from a body were found going from near the farmhouse to the cowshed. A forensic and ballistics analysis determined Harry had been shot just inside the door of the cowshed, after which he was placed in a trough and covered with hay and tarpaulin sheets in order to conceal the body. Megan had been shot at the other side of the farmhouse, possibly near the corner of the kitchen, and it was theorised she may have been trying to escape. Her body had then also been placed in the cowshed and covered with a carpet. Both victims had each been shot once in the back of the head from away. The entrance to the cowshed was out of view of neighbours. A number of heavy tools kept in the doorway would have had to have been moved to enter, and it appeared they had later been moved back to their original position. It was believed that the shots used were number 7 shot, but no cartridges were located. Number 7 was not the type of shot Harry had ever used. No evidence would be found that suggested the shotgun stolen from Harry a year before had been the one used in the murders. At first it was thought that the shooting might have been a professional hit, but ballistics experts reckoned that determination may have been all which was needed to carry out the murders successfully. Forensic evidence in the cowshed indicated the killer would likely have been splattered with blood and body tissue, but no blood was found anywhere else on the farm. Because Harry's body showed evident hypostasis on the side he was not found lying on, it was concluded he had been moved three to four hours after he had died. Megan's body showed hypostasis in a much smaller amount, possibly suggesting that she may have been killed some time after Harry. The murder weapon was not located, and the investigative team initially focused on the possibility that the Toozes had disturbed an intruder. However, there was no evidence of intrusion and nothing had been stolen, with money and valuable jewellery left in the house untouched. Harry himself had £75 on him which had also been left untouched. On 28 September 1993, two months after the murders, a reconstruction and appeal was shown on the BBC's Crimewatch, where it was asked that the unknown visitor to the farmhouse come forward to eliminate themselves. It was said that very few people had been found to have ever visited the Toozes at the farmhouse. An appeal was also made for any passersby to come forward, with the key M4 motorway passing through Llanharry. Members of the public who knew what had happened to Harry's previously stolen shotgun were also asked to come forward. The lead detective on the case revealed that, despite extensive enquiries, no motive for the killings had been found, and said the case was the "most baffling" he had investigated. ==Jonathan Jones emerges as a suspect==

. At the time of the murders, Cheryl lived with her boyfriend Jonathan Jones in Orpington, Kent, although they often visited the Toozes' farm in Llanharry. It was discovered that the return trip from Orpington to Llanharry and back would have taken a maximum of seven hours by car or train, giving Jones enough time to commit the murders that day. When Cheryl had become concerned about her parents not answering the phone that evening, she asked Jonathan to drive the to Llanharry to check up on them, purportedly unable to go herself as she had to work the following morning. He set off between 10:00 and 11:00 pm, and at 1:00 am he called Cheryl to say that he was still short of the farm at Leigh Delamere services on the M4. Jones did not arrive until 3:00 am, claiming that the weather had slowed him down, at which time he was told by officers that the bodies had been found. Police reported that he showed a "strange reaction" when informed of the murders. Police became suspicious at the length of Jones' journey, which was far longer than it should have taken. They believed that Jones had disposed of clothing and the murder weapon during the drive. After questioning both Jonathan and Cheryl, police felt that both were withholding and/or fabricating information and said that Cheryl had been dodging almost every question asked of her. The decision was made to arrest and charge Jonathan two months after the murder. ==Trial==

Police charged Jones with the murders and he was brought to trial in 1995. After the murders he would have returned on the train and arrived back at the flat at 7:30 pm as he said he had. ==Appeal==

Cheryl Tooze said she was dismayed by the verdict and offered a £25,000 reward for information from the public that would support her boyfriend's alibi and prove him innocent. Her relations with her family members broke down as they were angry at her support for Jonathan. Jury members spoke out against claims that they had got it wrong, with one saying: "They are making us out to be imbeciles. We are all educated people. One of the ladies on the jury was a school teacher. I am sorry but I think he is guilty." Jones did not receive compensation for his imprisonment as there was no evidence that showed he was innocent. ==Subsequent investigations==

In 2000, with the murders legally unsolved, two reviews of the case were carried out, although the results of these have never been made public so as to not influence any potential future trial or re-trial. An appeal was made for the letter writer to come forward and police said they believed the letter was genuine. Experts concluded that they had been dismantled from a gun by someone with firearms expertise. The investigation into the murders was re-opened and witness accounts of cars seen in the area at the time of the murders were also examined. On 26 July 2023, the 30th anniversary of the murders, South Wales Police launched a forensic review of the case. On 17 December 2025, South Wales Police announced that they had arrested an 86-year-old man in relation to the murders and that he had subsequently been released on bail. John Cooper investigated After serial killer burglar John Cooper's convictions in 2011 for the double shotgun murders of couples in Pembrokeshire in the 1980s, it was revealed that detectives were investigating whether there was any "connectivity" between Cooper and the Tooze murders. Some similarities with Cooper's known murders were noted, including the fact that both victims were shot at close range and attempts were made to hide their bodies. Cooper always used a shotgun in his known crimes. It was also observed that there are very few double shotgun murders nationally, and that Cooper was already known to have committed two double shotgun murders. In 2011, the year Cooper was convicted, the Tooze case was re-examined by police, but no evidence was found to conclusively link him to the case. Harry and Megan would not have known Cooper, and so the theory would not explain why the best china was laid out as if a guest had arrived. Cooper also stole from his victims, and nothing was found stolen from the farm. Police also found that Cooper was not familiar with the Llanharry area, although he once attended a hospital appointment in Bridgend that year. Cooper's modus operandi was to target areas he knew well, with all his crimes being committed in the general area he lived in, in Pembrokeshire, and also always shot his victims face-on, unlike in the Tooze murders. Jones' lawyer insisted that Cooper was a better suspect than Jones. ==Aftermath==

The Tooze murders remain some of Wales' most notorious unsolved murders. In 2009, the murders were investigated in a chapter of Vanessa Howard's book ''Britain's Ten Most Wanted: The Truth Behind The Most Shocking Unsolved Murders''. In early 2021 the Tooze murders returned to the news after the airing of The Pembrokeshire Murders series on ITV, which dramatized the investigation that led to serial killer John Cooper finally being apprehended. It was noted in several news outlets that he had once been linked to the Tooze murders. In April 2021, the murders were the subject of a Crime+ Investigation podcast, as part of their podcast series spin-off from their documentary series Murdertown. The episode was titled The Llanharry Murders: South Wales. ==See also==