Man denies murder of Shani Warren
Thames Valley: Donald Robertson, 66, accused of 1987 killing
The trial of a former Slough man accused of kidnapping a woman before gagging her and leaving her to drown in Taplow Lake in the 1980s has commenced.
Donald Robertson, 66, is charged with the murder of Shani Warren, from Stoke Poges, who was found by a dog walker at the lake on Saturday, April 18, 1987.
He is also charged with false imprisonment and indecent assault against Ms Warren, as well as the kidnap and rape of a 16year-old girl in 1981.
The trial began on Friday at Reading Crown Court, at which the jury heard that Ms Warren’s body had been found by the late Marjorie Arnold.
The court learned that after being alerted to something suspicious in the water by her dog, Ms Arnold ‘saw a pair of hands tied with something red’.
After seeking help from drivers on the nearby Bath Road, Ms Arnold – along with two others – pulled the body out of the water.
The court later heard that Ms Warren’s ankles and legs were tied with a yellow tow rope, while her hands were restrained by a red car jump lead.
Meanwhile, a gag described by witnesses as a ‘blue scarf’ had been placed around her mouth.
Fresh bruising was also identified to her neck, prosecution barrister John Price QC told the jury, while a black car jump lead was later discovered in the lake by police divers.
“These findings pointed strongly to an act of strangulation occurring before she died,” Mr Price said.
A post-mortem examination was carried out at Wexham Park Hospital in 1987 by the late Dr Benjamin Davis, who concluded that Ms Warren’s cause of death was drowning.
“However, Dr Davis was responsible for a significant and culpable omission. He did not take a mouth swab,” Mr Price told the jury.
More than 30 years later, when the gag was re-examined, traces of semen were found upon it.
It was Dr Davis’ own opinion at the time that Ms Warren had died from suicide.
Mr Price told the court that Ms Warren, who was 26, was ‘clearly not someone who would ever have contemplated suicide’.
The jury was told that Ms Warren, who worked in Maidenhead and lived in Stoke Poges, was cutting grass outside her home on Good Friday (April 17, 1987), before placing the cuttings into plastic bin bags.
She had been last seen to place these bags into the boot of her black Vauxhall Cavalier car, before driving off alone.
Mr Price told jurors: “She was believed to be just popping out and [would] soon be back. But of course she never returned.”
The car was spotted by witnesses parked in a lay-by near to Taplow Lake with the driver’s door not fully shut.
On Tuesday, a pathologist told the court he did not agree that Ms Warren died from suicide as Dr Davis’ opinion came under scrutiny.
The jury heard from the Home Office’s Dr Ashley Fegan-Earl, who was asked for his take on the post-mortem carried out by Dr Davis in 1987, as well as evidence the latter gave at an inquest in October that year.
“A careful examination of the body did not reveal evidence of any physical assault,” Dr Davis said in his conclusion at the time.
“The ligatures appeared to be somewhat loosely tied, possibly by the deceased herself.”
While at the inquest, Dr Davis said ‘there was perhaps a remote possibility’ of third party involvement in her death.
He said: “All the evidence pointed that way, and the more I heard the more I became convinced. But I was perfectly prepared to change my view.”
Dr Fegan-Earl told the court that while he agreed on drowning being the cause of death, he differed in his opinion on whether someone else had been involved.
“I am of the opinion that the features here are supportive of a death due to third party involvement,” Dr Fegan-Earl said.
He said that this came down to three reasons: the first being the recent discovery of semen on the mouth gag, and secondly, the ‘extensive binding and gagging of the body’.
Thirdly, he added that the presence of ‘neck compressions’ could have rendered Ms Warren ‘incapable’.
When asked by Mr Price whether he agreed with Dr Davis’ opinion that she had died from suicide, Dr Fegan-Earl said ‘no’.
Defending Robertson, Michael Ivers QC suggested that the marks on Ms Warren’s neck could have been applied by her pulling on the ligatures.
Dr Fegan-Earl replied that this would depend on the type of restraint used, as one that is loosely tied by a person on themselves is likely to fall away after they become unconscious.
The jury had earlier heard that Robertson admitted raping a 14year-old girl six years prior to Ms Warren's death, and had been found guilty of the rape of a 17year-old girl two months after she was found.
Jurors learned that Robertson was also convicted of burglary with intent to commit rape and kidnap in December 1990.
He denies all the charges against him. The trial continues.