My mum was strangled to death in front of me when I was 4 – crucial clue led to killer’s capture | The Sun

A WOMAN whose mum was strangled to death in front of her when she was four has met the detectives that put the evil killer behind bars.

Amanda Wright's life was changed forever when family friend John Dickinson killed her mum Susan Lowson, 25, while lying next to her daughter in bed in March 1980 before throttling the youngster and setting their house on fire.

And now, almost 43 years later, Amanda decided to meet with the police officers who solved the horrific crime and says they "truly brought a little girl and her family justice".

Three retired Hertfordshire Constabulary police officers met with the mum-of-two near her home in Stevenage, Herts to share recollections of the case and The Sun was there.

And Amanda says if it wasn't for those men caging Dickinson, she would never have found peace.

Dickinson, who had been staying at Amanda’s family home that fateful day in 1980 tried to cover his tracks by throttling the little girl as well as her mum before setting fire to the house and fleeing.

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Miraculously, Amanda was saved by a passing milkman who heard her screams and smashed through the front door.

She spent two months in hospital, where she had several skin grafts on her legs, before going to live with her father.

Since her ordeal, the 47-year-old, who still lives in Stevenage, has been haunted by nightmares and flashbacks, but she has decided to confront her painful past.

In 2016 she wrote a book about her horrific experience called 'Without a Mother's Love' and more recently appeared in Sky Crime documentary, Forensics: Catching the Killer, which chronicled the incredible forensic work that helped police solve the case.

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And now meeting the detectives that were instrumental in bringing her mum's killer to justice is another big moment in her life.

"When my mum died, everyone initially thought she had been smoking and she had left her cigarette alight – that the fire was an accident," she said.

"If it wasn't for these guys who pieced everything together, the man who killed my mum wouldn't be behind bars.

"And it wasn't until a police officer became suspicious and a pathologist assessed the body and said 'no, something else has gone on', which is what sparked the investigation.

"If it wasn't for these guys who pieced everything together, the man who killed my mum wouldn't be behind bars.

"Meeting them really did bring up a lot of memories and I'm so very grateful that they cracked the case and pleased to be able to meet these amazing people.

"They truly did bring a little girl and her family justice."

Amanda met with Peter Harpur, a former Detective Constable in the scenes of crime unit at Hertfordshire Police, as well as former Detective Sergeant Brian Todd, the man who arrested Dickinson, and former Detective Sergeant Jimmy McQueen, who also played a key role in cracking the case.

COP'S SUSPICIONS

DC Harpur, 74, was particularly instrumental in solving the murder because he suspected foul play from the get-go.

He said: "I was training as a detective in those days. I was literally left to my own devices, and while everyone believed it to be a house fire, I suspected otherwise. 

"Thankfully my instincts were right, it all pointed in the right direction and it got the man who was responsible for it.

"It's very satisfying when justice is done."

Two plates and cutlery at the kitchen table first aroused Mr Harpur's suspicions, as well as an unburned curtain pole on the floor of the bedroom which suggested a struggle before any fire was lit.

DC Harpur's instincts led him to immediately seal off different areas of the house so the forensics team could do their work.

A man's fingerprint was the first clue to unravel the hideous crime, followed by ligature marks around Susan Lowson's neck.

SCARRED FOR LIFE

The former cop, who now lives in Letchworth, Herts, said it was "unexpected" to meet Amanda again after all these years.

"I never thought I'd be talking about this job ever again, let alone meeting that little girl," he said.

"I remember her as a four-year-old, I spoke to her and her recollection of the chap (Dickinson) was quite good, she gave a good description.

"To meet her after all these years was nice, she was smiling, laughing, but every now and then she went back to how it's ruined her life and that's something you can't change.

"The old phrase, 'scarred for life', well she is."

Amanda said meeting the men, writing her book, making the documentary, and finally coming to terms with what happened, has made her stronger.

"It's really helped me personally, I feel a lot stronger and more confident now," she said.

"Before I was unsure, uncertain and now I've grown in confidence, it's been cathartic and I have met some amazing people along the way.

"I never saw my mum again, my house, my toys, everything was gone."

"Hopefully by telling my story it will inspire other victims of crime to come forward, they will know they can talk about it and get help.

"This whole thing has dominated my life, from the moment this happened to me and my mum – it changed everything.

"My life was all ripped apart, all the happiness taken away.

"I never saw my mum again, my house, my toys, everything was gone."

But as a grown woman Amanda says she had to come to terms with the trauma she suffered.

Being a mum to Susanna, 19, named after her mother, and Isabelle, 16, has helped, as well as her job as a manager at an after-school club in Hitchin.

"I'm in a really good place and it does feel good to talk about, it's not something to hide away, when I was younger I felt guilty and scared, you get survivor's guilt, you really do," she explained.

"I've still got the scars on my legs and I hated looking at them because of what it represented, people would ask 'what's happened to your legs' and I didn't want to say."

Evil John Dickinson was convicted of murder and arson and sentenced to life imprisonment in September 1980 – but was released in 2014.

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He was jailed again for 17 years in 2020 for historic child sex offences after siblings Angie Godfrey and Jamie Little spoke out about abuse they had suffered.

Angie and Jamie had been inspired to come forward after reading Amanda's book and they reached out to her before contacting police.

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