Operation Profile was a Lancashire Police investigation that spanned North and North-West Lancashire and Cumbria. Edward Forrester, 55, was reported missing a day after he was last seen in Blackpool on 1st September 2023. His remains were later found in Blackpool and Cumbria. His neighbour William Wilkinson, 65, pleaded guilty to murder and perverting the course of justice and was jailed for life with a minimum tariff of 19 years and 3 months.
The case received widespread media coverage. The BBC reported that Preston Crown Court heard Lancashire Police saw blood on the door of Wilkinson’s flat, when they went to Mr Forrester’s flat after he had been reported missing. Inside they found traces of blood at the door, “evidence of a clean-up” and a broken wooden stick with a heavy metal bung at one end in a bin liner. The body had been disembowelled and dismembered and then hidden in various locations in Blackpool and Cumbria, including in a quarry.
The case was defended extremely carefully as several considerations needed to be explored before it could resolve. This involved a high amount of pre-court engagement between the defence, experts and the prosecution. Tim Storrie KC and Sarah Magill were instructed by Hannah Youren and Tayla England of Clarkson Hirst Solicitors.