Following his conviction at Swansea Crown Court, Cooper was sentenced to a whole life minimum tariff. He was also found guilty of further offences including rape, indecent assault, and four counts of attempted robbery. Cooper has always maintained his innocence and has now requested a review of his conviction.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), an independent body that reviews potential miscarriages of justice, has received the application to review the case. The CCRC is the last line of appeal open to anybody who thinks they have been wrongfully convicted. It has the power to obtain information from public bodies to further investigate claims of wrongful conviction. The CCRC will only consider cases if there is new evidence, not known at the time of the trial, or a new scientific development. If the CRCC backs the application, the case can be sent back to the Court of Appeal.
Cooper’s cold case review, which led to his conviction, has also been turned into a three-part drama mini-series on ITV called The Pembrokeshire Murders, featuring Hollywood actor Luke Evans. The case gained notoriety after footage of Cooper’s appearance on the TV gameshow Bullseye, aired only a month before he murdered the Dixons, was shown in court during the trial to compare his likeness to that of a man seen using Peter Dixon’s cash card on the day of his murder.
Cooper was described in court by the judge as a “very dangerous man, highly predatory who, but for advances in forensic science, may well have continued to evade capture.” He was convicted in 2011 in relation to three separate incidents, including a rape and indecent assault on two teenage girls in Milford Haven, as well as the 1985 murders of siblings Richard and Helen Thomas and the 1989 murders of Peter and Gwenda Dixon. The victims were killed with a double-barrelled shotgun.
Cooper had been convicted in 1998 of 31 offences of burglary and robbery and sentenced to 16 years in prison during the Huntsman investigation. During the course of that investigation, police began to suspect he may be linked to the two unsolved double murders in Pembrokeshire. New forensic tests on exhibits gathered during the Huntsman investigation pointed to Cooper as the double shotgun killer and sex attacker.
