Seafield Road's grisly history of murder as Eddie Forrester's killer is jailed for life

Cold-blooded killer William Wilkinson, 65, bludgeoned 'harmless' Eddie Forrester at his flat in Seafield Road, North Shore - before cutting off his limbs, removing the heart and dumping his remains in bins around Blackpool.

The murder is the latest grisly chapter in Seafield Road's history of horrors which began in 1998 with the savage double murder of two Blackpool pensioners at the hands of a demented serial killer.

Seaside serial killer who ‘hated’ the elderly

The first two murders took place in 1998 when Eric and Joan Boardman were found slain in their home in Seafield Road by their daughter Marilyn on October 30.

The murder weapon appeared to be a makeshift 'cosh' consisting of six torch batteries held together with white masking tape.

Mr Boardman, a 76-year-old retired seaman, suffered a wound to his head and was found trapped underneath a wardrobe in the hallway of the couple's end terrace home.

Police found the home-made weapon on the floor when they moved Mr Boardman's body. Mrs Boardman, 74, was found lying on her back in a rear living room with no apparent injuries.

But post-mortem examination examinations found Mrs Boardman had suffered fatal neck injuries, while her husband had also sustained fatal injuries to his head and neck.

Det Supt Bob Denmark said: “This was a savage attack on two defenceless elderly people and we are keen to establish why it might have happened.”

A community in shock

Mr Boardman used to take holidaymakers for pleasure boat trips off the Fylde coast during the 1960s and was well known among Blackpool’s seafaring community.

Mrs Boardman especially was well known on the street, and would often lend a helping hand to neighbours.

One close neighbour described her as a “diamond”. Others said she was always a friendly face who would stop to say hello in the morning.

One neighbour said: “I am just really shocked. I can't believe it. It’s so sad. It’s a quiet street and we all know each other.

“Joan was an extremely nice lady. I used to bump into her sometimes in Morrisons or Marks and Spencer’s with her daughter. She would always inquire about my mum.

“She was just a very nice lady. Joan used to feed my dog with bones, and even posted them through the letterbox.

“She was the sort of person you would always say hello to.”

Stephen Akinmurele’s arrest

Stephen Akinmurele, 20, of Cheltenham Road, was arrested on suspicion of Eric and Joan Boardman’s murder on November 1, 1998.

By December 11, Akinmurele was charged with three other murders.

Akinmurele was accused of murdering his former landlady Jemima Cargill, 75, who died in a house fire at her home in Caunce Street on October 2.

The former civil servant was also accused of killing 72-year-old Marjorie Ashton in May 1995 and partially blind and deaf Dorothy Harris, 68, in February 1996.

Both women were found dead at their homes in Ballasalla on the Isle of Man, but the charges were later formally withdrawn on a legal technicality.

Ted Hallsall, the brother of Dorothy Harris, said he had no doubt Akinmurele was responsible for his sister's death.

While in custody, Akinmurele confessed to three further murders, including that of a rambler on the Isle of Man.

He claimed that he had killed the man and buried his body on a cliff overlooking the sea. Manx police found a gun with his fingerprint on it but found no body despite extensive excavation.

Suicide

Nigerian-born Akinmurele “cheated justice” after he was found hanged in a prison cell at Manchester Prison in August 1999, just weeks before his trial.

He had made two previous suicide attempts, and his girlfriend had warned prison authorities that he was a danger to himself. He died at the age of 21.

An inquest heard Akinmurele left a note to his mother saying: “I couldn’t take any more of feeling like how I do now, always wanting to kill.”

Det Supt Bob Denmark, who headed the investigation into the murders, described Akinmurele as “one of the most dangerous men” he had ever met.

He revealed he was confident that no matter what pleas he would have entered at his trial, there would have been more than sufficient evidence to convict him.

2023, Eddie Forrester bludgeoned and dismembered

Eddie Forrester, 55, of Seafield Road, Blackpool was "a quiet man, a creature of habit" and when he failed to meet a friend for dinner on September 2 last year, the alarm was raised.

A missing from home investigation quickly developed into a murder investigation with the notable absence of his neighbour, William Wilkinson, and signs of blood and a clean-up inside Wilkinson's flat in Seafield Road raising concerns.

Forensic experts later found Eddie’s blood in other areas of Wilkinson’s flat, including the carpet, walls, skirting boards and stairs, as well as in the communal hallway.

Wilkinson, 65, was tracked down and arrested whilst sleeping in his van in Cumbria. He denied all knowledge of Eddie’s disappearance or any dispute with him. He explained that it was a coincidence that he had fled to Cumbria and that he was just enjoying a holiday in the countryside.

But as Lancashire Police pieced together Wilkinson’s movements in the period between Eddie’s disappearance and the 65-year-old's arrest, they scoured hundreds of hours of CCTV footage. This showed Wilkinson walking around Blackpool on September 1, 2 and 3 disposing of carrier bags which are thought to have contained Eddie’s remains and personal belongings.

Wilkinson was charged with Edward Forrester’s murder prior to any of Eddie’s remains being recovered – based on the forensic evidence found at his flat in Seafield Road and piecing together of Wilkinsons movements.

Sadly, the investigation that followed revealed a horrific sequence of events.

Eddie had likely been attacked shortly after returning home on the afternoon of Friday, September 1. The reason for the attack remains a mystery but Wilkinson repeatedly struck Eddie around the head with a heavy wooden stick and killed him.

Having done so, he systematically dismembered Eddie’s body in his kitchen, before wrapping the body parts in plastic bags and putting them into his van.

Over the course of the weekend Wilkinson made attempts to keep up appearances. He kept his usual routine of going to a car boot sale, going shopping and placing bets at the bookmakers.

His movements were tracked on CCTV for four days up until the time of his arrest and revealed that he had visited dozens of waste bins around Blackpool, depositing items and destroying evidence.

He also changed his clothing and drastically changed his appearance with a trip to the barbers – changing his appearance from having long hair and a beard to being clean shaven with a crew cut, in an effort to cover his tracks. He then fled to Cumbria, where a search investigation lasting several weeks, covering miles of open land and involving dozens of officers resulted in the gruesome discovery of the majority of Eddie’s remains.

They had been disposed of carefully and separately, some in suitcases thrown into woodland and covered with undergrowth.

"Sadly, for Eddie’s family, some of his remains were never found, and such is the passage of time that it is unlikely that they ever will be," said Det Supt Mark Haworth-Oates of Lancashire Police.

Instead, Wilkinson frustrated the police investigation, destroyed evidence and only admitted his guilt in the face of overwhelming evidence against him.

William Wilkinson appeared at Preston Crown Court on Friday, January 19 where he was sentenced to 'life' in prison. He was told he would serve a minimum of 19 years and three months before he is eligible to apply for parole.

Det Supt Mark Haworth-Oates added: “William Wilkinson was a man of previous good character and only he knows what happened on that Friday afternoon that led him to commit this most appalling crime.

"I welcome the life sentence imposed upon him and hope that the family and friends of Eddie can have some comfort knowing that the person responsible for the offence will likely never be released.”

Family tribute to Eddie - "a quiet and harmless man who wouldn’t hurt a soul"

Following Wilkinson's sentencing, Eddie’s family said: “As the siblings of Edward, we cannot believe that this savage, brutal and diabolic murder has happened.

“This was inflicted on our brother Edward - a quiet and harmless individual, who wouldn’t hurt a soul.

“We, as his family, have had to live with what happened to Edward, leading to sleepless nights, nightmares and flashbacks.

“When we were initially told that Edward had been murdered we thought it would be a single act, possibly a punch, an irrational act, someone who would be sorry for what they had done. But what we have found to have happened to Edward, to disregard him as a human being and prevent him from being laid to rest as a whole person has sickened our family and is something that we will never get over.

“Edward will be sadly missed and loved by many and we are happy that today, justice has been served.”