Murder of Lesley Molseed - Cleared of Murder

Cleared of Murder

Although he had been told in 1983 that he would only be eligible for parole if he admitted having murdered Lesley Molseed, the Home Office apparently changed its view and, in February 1990, privately disclosed that Kiszko's first parole hearing would take place in December 1992, by which time he would have served 17 years in custody, but he would only be released if he could convince the Parole Board that he would not be a danger to children or the public. Kiszko would only be released if he admitted to having murdered Lesley Molseed; if he did neither, he would remain behind bars.

However, ten months before his parole hearing, on 17 February 1992, the judicial investigation into Kiszko's conviction began. It was heard by three judges, Lord Lane, Mr. Justice Rose and Mr. Justice Potts. Present at the hearing were Franz Muller QC and William Boyce for the Crown, who were there to argue that Kiszko was guilty of murder and therefore must remain in prison custody for at least another ten months, and Stephen Sedley QC and Jim Gregory, to state that Kiszko was innocent. However, Muller and Boyce did not put up any contrary argument after hearing the new evidence from Sedley and Gregory, and immediately accepted its validity.

After hearing the new evidence, Lord Chief Justice Lane said: "It has been shown that this man cannot produce sperm. This man cannot have been the person responsible for ejaculating over the girl's knickers and skirt, and consequently cannot have been the murderer". Kiszko was cleared and Lane ordered his immediate release from prison custody. Anthony Beaumont-Dark, a Conservative MP said, "This must be the worst miscarriage of justice of all time" and, like many others, demanded a full, independent and wide ranging inquiry into the conviction.

The 1976 trial judge Sir Hugh Park, who had praised the police and the 13-year-old girls at the original trial for bringing Kiszko to justice, apologised for what had happened to Kiszko but said he was not sorry for how he had handled the court case.

The Molseed family, who were convinced of Kiszko's guilt up to the very moment of him being cleared, also publicly apologised for the things they had said after his conviction such as demanding that he be hanged in public. In 1976 Lesley Molseed's father, Fred Anderson, had hurled a volley of verbal abuse at Kiszko's mother Charlotte outside the court after her son was convicted. Anderson had also told the media that he would be outside the prison gates waiting for Kiszko should he be ever released.

In February 1992, Kiszko's mother said that it was David Waddington who ought to be "strung up" for his pro-capital punishment views and for the way he had handled her son's defence at the 1976 trial.

Despite the overwhelming and obvious evidence that Kiszko was innocent, the West Yorkshire police and Ronald Outteridge, the original forensic scientist, refused to apologise to Kiszko for his wrongful conviction. In 1991 Outteridge was angry when questioned about his role in the trial.

Neither did David Waddington, Sheila Buckley, her daughter Maxine, Hind, Brown and Burke, whose perjured evidence helped convict Kiszko, or prosecution barrister Peter Taylor offer any apology or express one word of regret for what had happened. All refused to comment when Kiszko was released. West Yorkshire Police even tried to justify the position they took in 1975 while accepting and admitting they were wrong.