A TRUE-CRIME author has spoken of the “emotional” response by Islanders to his research into Jersey’s most notorious unsolved murder, revealing that he has received a significant amount of new information since publishing his book two months ago.
Mark Bridgeman spent two years working on the book about the killing of 20-year-old Finnish woman Tuula Höök, whose battered body was found in a field in St Clement in December 1966.
Miss Höök first came to Jersey in the summer of 1965, and returned the following year when she worked as an au pair, as a waitress and in hotels. Her battered body was found by a farmer at Rue Laurens around 11am on Saturday 31 December, but the police investigation failed to solve the mystery despite several cold-case reviews.
“The reaction to the book has been really good,” said Mr Bridgeman. “It’s been quite emotional – lots of people have been affected by the story and identified with Tuula.
“I naïvely thought that there can’t be anybody who doesn’t know about this by the time the book came out, but that’s clearly not the case – the publication of the book has generated additional publicity and I’ve been contacted by lots of people with information.”
Several strands have stirred his interest over the past two months:
- A man named Leonard Luce approached the police with information, but was not taken seriously at the time. Although Mr Bridgeman stressed that Mr Luce was not considered a suspect and died some time ago, he may have shared his thoughts with relatives or friends.
- The man identified by the author as his prime suspect for the killing – referred to as “Mr E” in the book, was an entertainer in Jersey’s folk music scene during the 1960s. Miss Höök often watched rehearsals at the Pontac House Hotel and Mr Bridgeman believes there may be other musicians who have relevant information.
- Among Miss Höök’s jobs during her time in Jersey was a stint at the Southampton Hotel in St Helier, however she left suddenly despite appearing to have enjoyed working there. She then received a “distressing” phone call at her next job, with the young Finnish woman telling her new employers she would be leaving immediately, and not to reveal her new address to anyone who called. Mr Bridgeman believes the two incidents are linked.
- Mr Bridgeman has also examined the way the case was handled by police at the time, after the discovery of Tuula’s body was initially reported to honorary officers in Grouville, and not St Clement. A confusion over the boundary between the two parishes may have caused a delay in the investigation.
Perhaps the most intriguing detail to emerge is a possible location for the disposal of the murder weapon, in a nearby disused quarry.
“If someone can shed more light on that theory, it would be hugely helpful,” Mr Bridgeman added.
The author is considering publishing some form of follow-up to the original book, and hopes that there may still be people with additional information.
“I’m shaking the tree, which is about all you can do after 60 years with so many witnesses now passed away and so much information probably lost,” he said. “The hope is that new things will fall off the tree.”
The writer can be contacted by email – mark@markbridgemanauthor.co.uk – or by post: 39 Duntaylor Avenue, Aberfeldy, PH15 2BX.
