Double murder hanging appeal to be submitted next month

Dec 18 2008 by Barry Gibson, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

A BID to clear the name of a man hanged for two murders in Huddersfield has reached a crucial point.

A file into the case of Alfred Moore – convicted of killing two policemen – will be submitted to the Criminal Cases Review Commission next month.

Investigators will then look into the case of Moore, from Kirkheaton, who was executed in 1952.

Police suspected he was a prolific burglar. On the night of July 14, 1951, 10 officers surrounded his farmhouse at Cockley Hill, hoping to catch him returning home with his haul.

Two of the officers were shot while trying to arrest a man as he approached the house.

Det Insp Duncan Fraser, 45, died at the scene and Pc Gordon Jagger, 42, was rushed to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary.

Moore was arrested at his farmhouse a few hours after the shooting – but the gun was never found. One theory is that the killer fled, leaving Moore to take the blame.

Retired police officer Steven Lawson believes Moore was innocent.