Convicted child murderer's blood found at third murder scene, jury told

Bespectacled David Burgess, formerly of Stoneyfield, Beenham, is charged with murdering 17-year-old Yolande Waddington, whose naked body was found in a ditch in Clay Lane, Beenham, on October 30, 1966. He denies the charge.
She had been stabbed and strangled, Reading Crown Court heard during the second week of the murder trial.
In 1967 Mr Burgess was convicted of murdering

nine-year-old girls Jeanette Wigmore and Jacqueline Williams, whose bodies were found in a disused gravel pit in Beenham on April 17, 1967, the jury was told.
Prosecutor John Price QC told the jury that despite a thorough investigation by the police following Miss Waddington’s death, which included taking blood samples from every man aged between 15 and 50 in the village, as well as other suspects, the forensic evidence at the time was not conclusive.
However, he said modern testing can prove that Mr Burgess’ DNA was found on a sack, a comb, and Miss Waddington’ hair band, which were all found in a barn next to the ditch where her body was discovered.
Forensic scientist Roy Green told the court yesterday (Tuesday) that the chances of the blood discovered on a polythene ICI fertilizer sack found at the murder scene not belonging to Mr Burgess were ‘smaller than one in a billion’.
The court also heard that in 1967 Mr Burgess (pictured bottom right) told a national newspaper journalist that he managed to convince the police that he was not responsible for killing Miss Waddington (pictured top right). The trial continues.
For more, read tomorrow’s Newbury Weekly News.