Murder in The Valleys: The true story of the Clydach murders - Wales' biggest police investigation

It was the biggest police investigation in Welsh history, which deeply divided a community.

The Clydach murders saw multiple suspects investigated, two murder trials, an appeal, several reexaminations of the evidence, as well as documentaries and books written about the case.

What happened on the night of the murders in Clydach?

Mandy Power, 34, her bed-ridden mother Doris Dawson, 80, and her daughters Katie, 10, and Emily, eight, were found dead by firefighters at their home in Clydach, near Swansea, in June 1999.

All four had been bludgeoned to death with a pole before their house was set on fire.

Who was convicted of the murders?

Former builder David Morris was jailed for a minimum of 32 years, having been convicted for a second time of their murders in 2006.

An earlier conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal when a second trial was ordered.

David Morris died in HMP Long Lartin on August 20, aged 59.

A unanimous verdict by a jury at Swansea Crown Court in 2002 convicted Morris, but this ruling was overturned on appeal due to a conflict of interest by a defence solicitor.

He was convicted again at a retrial at Newport Crown Court in 2006, when he was sentenced to life imprisonment.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission had reviewed the case as recently as 2018, but at the time found no new evidence and decided not to refer it to the Court of Appeal.

After Morris' death, new forensic evidence unearthed during a review of the case linked him with a blood-stained sock found at the crime scene.

Why were there doubts over David Morris' conviction?

David Morris long maintained his innocence.

An investigation by BBC's Panorama programme in 2003 claimed South Wales Police made a string of errors while investigating the murder case, with vital witness statements not being properly acted upon.

And in 2020, a programme by BBC Wales Investigates questioned the safety of the conviction.

It featured interviews with two potential witnesses - one who said he had never spoken to police and the other who said he contacted police to report what he had seen but nobody ever called him back.

South Wales Police said they had spoken to the two men and sought advice from the Crown Prosecution Service, who said no information had been provided that undermined Morris's conviction.

Morris was arrested after the finger of suspicion wrongly pointed to Ms Power’s lover, Alison Lewis.

Former policewoman Ms Lewis and her former husband Stephen, an officer with South Wales Police, were arrested on suspicion of murder a year after the deaths.

Mr Lewis’s brother Stuart, also a police officer, was arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice. They were all released without charge.

What is the Murder in The Valleys TV show and how can I watch it?

Filmed over a period of twelve months, Murder in The Valleys tells the story behind the largest and most exhaustive criminal investigation in Welsh history and its enduring repercussions.

The four-part series premiered on streaming service NOW and Sky Crime on Sunday February 6.

Poppy Dixon, Director of Documentaries and Factual Commissioning at Sky, said: “The Clydach murders remain one of the largest and most divisive investigations in Welsh history.

"The team at Five Mile Films have meticulously re-examined the case and bring fresh scrutiny to the historic inquiry, in a richly thought-provoking and gripping series."