Donald Neilson
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Donald Neilson, also known as "The Black Panther," "The Phantom," and "Handy Andy," was an English armed robber, kidnapper and murderer. Neilson carried out a series of sub-post office robberies betwe
Mugshot of Neilson
The kidnapping and murder of Lesley Whittle occurred on 14 January 1975. Whittle, a teenage heiress, was kidnapped at gunpoint from her home in Highley, Shropshire, by Donald Neilson, a notorious burg
Donald Neilson
…Neilson carried out a series of sub-post office robberies between 1971 and 1974, killing three people. In 1975, he kidnapped for a £50,000 ransom Lesley Whittle, an heiress from Shropshire, who died in captivity. Neilson was arrested later that year, convicted of four murders and sentenced to life imprisonment…
Lesley Whittle, pictured at her brother Ronald's wedding in October 1972
Donald Neilson and Lesley Whittle
The entrance to one of the drainage shafts at Bathpool Park. A search of this location by Scotland Yard on 17 January failed to locate several items left by Lesley's kidnapper.
The entrance to the drainage shaft at Bathpool Park where Lesley was held. Her body was discovered 54 feet (16 m) beneath this entrance.