‘Lady in the Lake’: Appeal court upholds murder conviction for Gordon Park

The family of a schoolteacher convicted of the infamous Lady in the Lake murder of his wife have lost a posthumous appeal against his conviction.

Gordon Park was jailed for life in 2005, but always insisted he was innocent and killed himself on his birthday five years later.

The question of his guilt split the family – his children believed in his innocence, but others felt he was the killer.

Mother-of-three Carol Park, 30, vanished from the family home in Cumbria in 1976, with her husband claiming at the time she had left him to live with another man.

Her body was discovered 21 years later by amateur divers in Coniston Water in the Lake District, and Park was arrested and charged, but later released.

Fresh forensic and geological evidence eventually led to Park’s re-arrest and conviction.

In dismissing an appeal brought by Park’s son, Jeremy, the judges said the prosecution evidence was strong and dismissed a claim that his conviction was unsafe.

In their judgement, they cited the length of time Park took to report his wife missing and to contact family and friends, and the absence of any checks he made on the couple’s bank balance.

They said he knew the area where his wife was found and had a knowledge of sailing knots used to tie her body.

Park lost his first appeal in 2008, two years before his jail suicide on his 66th birthday, but his son persuaded the Criminal Cases Review Commission to mount the new appeal.

The CCRC told the Appeal Court in November that the prosecution had originally withheld from the defence key evidence which would have undermined the credibility of a confession Park was said to have made to a fellow prisoner.

The Commission also cast doubt on the prosecution’s claim that Park’s ice axe could have been the murder weapon.

After the latest judgement, the Park family said in a statement: “The family, friends and supporters of Gordon Park, and Carol Park’s children, are disappointed with today’s decision.

“Having exhausted all options, we are now left without the closure we were all hoping for. The judgement marks the end of our fight to clear his name.”

Other relatives of Carol Park said the ruling was a “very welcome decision”.

In a statement issued by Cumbria Police, Claire Gardner and Kay Washford, nieces of Mrs Park, said: “In January 2005, justice was served following a three-month trial with the jury reaching a majority verdict of guilty and Gordon Park was sentenced to life imprisonment.

“Our Auntie Carol had suffered a tragic death and we were relieved that she could now rest in peace and our family could move forward and remember her with the love and dignity she deserved.

“In the years following Gordon Park’s conviction we have still had to endure the pain of reliving this nightmare in the times when it has been sought to have his conviction overturned.

“However, today is closure for us and we are relieved that this is the last appeal that can be sought and we can now live our lives remembering our auntie as the beautiful auntie she was.”

(c) Sky News 2020: ‘Lady in the Lake’: Appeal court upholds murder conviction for Gordon Park