A tabloid newspaper sent Susan Caddicks dossier of complaints to Detective Chief Inspector Baines, the Officer in Charge of the Merseyside Investigation into Eddies case.

On 23^rd November 1993, the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) agreed to supervise the complaints raised in the dossier and agreed to the appointment of Superintendent Gooch of the Lancashire Constabulary to reinvestigate the whole case.

Detective Superintendent Gooch, together with a team of his officers re-investigated the case from the beginning to the end. They re-interviewed all of the witnesses spoken to during the course of the Merseyside Inquiry. They also traced new witnesses, sought independent expert opinion and were exhaustive in their enquiries to find out the truth of the case.

Early on in the original investigation, the Merseyside Police knew from their own enquiries and from the evidence that the time of death was no doubt prior to 2pm. They knew that the only real opportunity for Eddie to commit the alleged crime, was before he left for work that morning.

However, the prosecution at the commencement of the trial, did not offer to the court a time in that day when Eddie could have killed Paula. They left the time that the alleged crime could have taken place, open-ended. This was because the prosecution knew that they would have difficulty proving to the jury when Eddie could have done it. It was not until late in the trial that the jury were told that Paula must have died before 2pm.

Superintendent Gooch was acutely aware that the time of death for Paula was particularly crucial.

Merseyside Police had interviewed a door-to-door canvasser, Maureen Brannan, who they knew was probably the last independent witness to see Paula alive and well. The importance of this witness could not have been underestimated. Brannan interviewed both Paula and Eddie on the morning of the day of her death and completed with them a written survey to do with wine. Brannan stated that she spoke to them both between 11am and 11.20am on 4^th June 1992 at the couples home at Grafton Drive.

The Merseyside Police knew that Eddie was seen at work in the canteen at 11.30am 4^th June 1992 by Sandra Davies and her friend who also worked in the canteen. Eddie had a drive of about 8 minutes to work from Grafton Drive. This left Eddie with little or no time to coax Paula into the garage in order to kill her in the way described at the trial.

The Merseyside Police should have made further enquiries to firmly establish the timings given by Brannan. Instead, they left Brannans statement to standalone and uncorroborated. When she gave evidence at the trial the Judge and the prosecution tried to put some doubt on her timings, thereby giving Eddie more of an opportunity within which to commit the alleged crime before he left for work.

Also, at the trial the police and prosecution brought a witness who gave evidence, a colleague of Eddie namely Michael Douglas. He gave evidence that Eddie apparently went missing from work for a considerable amount of time before 2pm. The inference was that Eddie could have nipped home from work, killed Paula and nipped back to work unnoticed. Again, the Merseyside Police should have made every attempt to verify if Douglas was correct and whether or not Eddie had gone missing from work or not.

The Merseyside Police knew that when it came to the trial, if they were unable to cast doubt on the timings of Brannan, the evidence of Douglas would provide an alternative opportunity in that day for Eddie to commit the crime. As with Brannan they left the evidence of Douglas to standalone.

There was also a dispute of where Eddie was and what he did shortly after arriving home from work. Eddie had told the police that when he arrived home at about 4.40pm from work, he found the suicide letter and immediately went for help to his parents house in Wallasey. He arrived at his parents house at about 5pm.

The police and prosecution brought three witnesses, who alleged that Eddie was on his driveway at home at 5.30pm and at the shops in Upton Village at 5.40pm. Again, the Merseyside Police and prosecution left the evidence of these three witnesses to standalone, rather than make vigorous enquiries to establish whether or not their timings were correct. The effect of the testimony of these three witnesses firstly made Eddie out to be a liar with regard to his whereabouts and actions after arriving home from work. Secondly, depending upon how the trial could have unfolded the police and prosecution knew that they could have arguably left another opportunity, 45 minutes or so, for Eddie to commit the crime prior to going to his parents house.

Superintendent Gooch's inquiries was able to fix Brannan's timings by simply interviewing a neighbour in Grafton Drive who also completed the wine survey. Therefore, Brannan's timings of 11am to 11.20am were correct.

With regard to the witness Douglas, Superintendent Gooch simply interviewed other members of staff and colleagues of Eddie who clearly put Eddie in work for all of that day. Eddie could not therefore have nipped home, killed his wife and nipped back to work as the police and prosecution were alleging at the trial.

Also, enquiries by Superintendent Gooch cast much doubt on the evidence of the three witnesses who gave evidence at the trial with regard to Eddie being on his driveway at 5.30pm and at the shops in Upton Village at 5.40pm.

Furthermore, Superintendent Gooch was aware of the existence of the witness Maureen Piper who had been interviewed by the Merseyside Police.

Early on in the Merseyside Police Investigation Maureen Piper approached Paulas sister, Susan Dubost. She told Susan that she had spoken to Paula in Moreton Post Office at 12.40pm on the day of her death. Because Eddie had been spotted at work at 11.30am by Sandra Davies and her friend, this meant that Paula was alive at a time after Eddie was supposed to have killed her. The Merseyside Police knew that if Maureen Piper was correct, then Eddie could not have killed Paula as the only real opportunity Eddie had to commit the crime was before he left the house for work that morning.

Therefore, Eddie was accounted for in work when Paula was spotted in the post office. He could not have sneaked out of work in the time allowed and killed her, because if Piper was correct Paula was not at home. Eddie would not have known where she was and he would not have had the time to search for her. This was of course in the days before mobile phones. The Merseyside Police were aware that if Maureen Piper was correct and had spoken to Paula in the post office then that effectively meant that their case against Eddie for murder was all but over. To continue to pursue Eddie for murder they would have to find a way to deal with the evidence of Piper.

Having heard what Maureen Piper had to say, Susan Dubost then made a statement to the police, in which she stated that it was herself that was in the post office at 12.40pm. This was exactly the same time given by Piper and it also presented the detectives with a way in which to deal with Pipers evidence.

Detective Constable Gregson told Maureen Piper that she was mistaken and had not spoken to Paula but had spoken to Paulas sister Susan. Piper argued that Paula and Susan were as different as chalk and cheese and pointed out that she knew Susan better than she knew Paula. Piper had walked to work with Susan for something like fifteen years. She lived opposite Susan and few doors from Paulas parents home. She knew Paula well. Piper told Superintendent Gooch, that DC Gregson told her "we are scrubbing your statement".

Crucially, the Merseyside Police never interviewed Pipers friend who was also in the post office with Piper when she spoke to Paula. She may have been able to corroborate Piper speaking with Paula in the post office queue. Nor did they speak to Pipers other friend who the day after the death broke the news about Paulas death to Piper. Piper remarked to this other friend "I was only speaking to her yesterday in the post office". Piper's two friends would have been able to give evidence to corroborate the sighting and more importantly confirm the time and day that Piper saw Paula in the post office. Had it not been for Superintendent Gooch, Pipers two friends would never have been interviewed.

Furthermore, Detective Constable Gregson was present at a pre-trial conference with the Crown Prosecution Service. Also present was Detective Chief Inspector Baines. The CPS were told by the police that Piper had mixed up the two sisters, Paula and Susan Dubost. DC Gregson knew that that this was not what Piper was saying, yet that was the impression left with the CPS. This is confirmed in a letter prior to the trial from the CPS to the police.

For the trial, Pipers statement was left to standalone and was put in the unused material rather than the trial documents. Piper was therefore never called to the trial to give evidence.

Superintendent Gooch questioned the sudden and unusual appearance of the so-called 'practice rope', which featured strongly in the trial.

Superintendent Gooch interviewed all of the Police Officers involved in the search of Grafton Drive on the night of 8^th of June 1992. Constable Cartwright, a member of the Merseyside Police Search Team, remains adamant that the practice rope was not in the drawer in the garage when he searched it.

Yet, a fortnight later on 23^rd June 1992 while the Police and scientists attempt a reconstruction of the death in the garage at Grafton Drive, the forensic scientist discussed with the Police Officers present what other evidence (such as other ropes and things) would be needed to help the case against Eddie Gilfoyle. Later that day, Detective Constable Gregson found a rope in the drawer in the garage apparently in the form of a running noose. Coincidently, this was the same day that Maureen Piper was interviewed by the police. Then just two days later on the 25th of June, Detective Constable Gregson told Piper that she had confused the identity of Paula with Paulas sister, Susan Dubost.

But, with regard to the discovery of the so called 'practice rope' Superintendent Gooch is not convinced that the highly trained Merseyside Police Search Team would have missed such a damming piece of evidence when they searched the garage drawer two weeks earlier.