Victim: Michelle Confait (born Maxwell Confait)
Perpetrator: Unknown, initial wrongful convictions
Date of Incident: April 1972
Location: Catford, South London

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Key Details

• Background: Maxwell Confait, who was known as Michelle to their friends, was a 26-year-old who had worked as a sex worker. They lived in a bedsit in Doggett Road, Catford.

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• Discovery of Body: On April 21, 1972, firefighters responding to a blaze at Confait’s home found their strangled body. The fire was believed to have been set to cover up the murder.

• Initial Arrests and Convictions: Three teenagers, known as the "Catford Three"—Ronald Leighton (aged 15), Ahmet Salih (aged 14), and Raymond Gilbert (aged 18)—were arrested and convicted based on confessions obtained under duress during police interrogations.

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• Wrongful Convictions: The convictions were later found to be wrongful. The boys' confessions were coerced, and the interrogation methods used were heavily criticised. None of the physical evidence connected the boys to the crime scene.

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• Appeal and Aftermath: In 1975, their convictions were quashed after a campaign by journalist Paul Foot and a review by the Court of Appeal. The case highlighted significant flaws in the police and judicial handling of the investigation.

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• Impact on Legal System: The case led to the establishment of the Royal Commission on Criminal Procedure and eventually to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE), which introduced safeguards for suspects, including the right to legal representation and the proper handling of evidence.

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• Ongoing Investigation: Despite the quashing of the wrongful convictions, the true perpetrator of Michelle Confait’s murder has never been identified. The case remains one of the prominent unsolved murders in South London.