An Angel - A true Story

The picture is of Gail Louise Evans taken on the day of the christening of my 6 month old step-daughter, Lorna, in October 1980. The original was dark and had deteriorated so I've repaired and enhanced it.

On Friday 26 February 1982, Louise (as she was known) was murdered. 

When Mrs BB was about 10 years old she moved from Neath to Chepstow and spoke with a very welsh accent. Chepstow is on the border with England and she was bullied because of her accent. She became best friends with Louise who looked after her and got her through it. Even after leaving school they met up often, with Louise catching the bus from Chepstow to Newport to meet up.

On Friday 26 February 1982, Louise (22yrs) of Middle Way, Bulwark, Chepstow, worked in Hendersons Newsagents in Bulwark. She went out with friends to a pub and when the evening finished, a school friend, Martin Steven Dixon (22yrs)  of Oakley Way, Caldicot, offered to walk her home. She didn't really like him but didn't want to offend and let him. He'd been 'chasing' her for a while but she wasn't interested.

When they got to the copse on Fishermans Walk, Martens Road, Bulwark, he made advances on her. When she rebuffed them, he strangled and attacked her, setting fire to her partly clothed body to try and destroy evidence.

Early Saturday morning, on 27 February 1982, Dixon handed himself into police who found Louise's body about 7am.

Early on Sunday 28 February, Mrs BB father drove from Chepstow to Newport to tell her what had happened before it was on the news. Later that evening, Mrs BB put Lorna, who was about 20 months , to bed and went downstairs. Later she heard a door close and felt a cool breeze. Hearing Lorna she went upstairs to check. Lorna could say a few words and was trying to tell her that Louise was there and saying 'bye-bye'.

Lorna hadn't been told what had happened and in anycase was too young to understand. It appears she had been visited by the spirit of Louise, her Godmother.

Louise is buried at St Thomas a Becket church, Shirenewton, near Chepstow. It's a lovely medieval church dating from 13 century. Her heartbroken father never got over her death and died himself five years later aged 59.

Photograph of grave here