What happened to Adrian Greenwood, who is his murderer Michael Danaher and how much was The Wind in the Willows first edition worth?
A WEALTHY antiques dealer was found dead in his home after being brutally stabbed while his valuable first edition of The Wind In The Willows was missing.
Here's what happened to Adrian Greenwood, as featured in new documentary Catching A Killer: The Wind And The Willows Murder.
What happened to Adrian Greenwood?
Adrian Greenwood was stabbed 16 times in a horrific attack at his home in Oxford in April 2016.
The 42-year-old was an author and biographer as well as a historian and dealer in art, cars and other historic artefacts.
He collected early editions of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books and also held a first edition copy of the Wind and the Willows, published in 1908 and valued at £50,000.
Mr Greenwood was stabbed in the back, chest and neck and his attacker stamped on his arm before scouring his four-storey home for items to steal.
His body was discovered by his cleaner on April 7, 2016, and during his trial, the prosecution said he had wounds which suggested possible torture.
The handle of a kitchen knife was found at the scene but no blade was attached to it.
Mr Greenwood’s mobile phone was missing but a police search traced its movements through Oxford to Peterborough on the day of the murder.
Number plate recognition technology revealed the only car which travelled that route on that day was a Citreon Picasso belonging to Michael Danaher, of Peterborough.
Who is Michael Danaher?
Michael Danaher, 50, was jailed for life with a minimum of 34 years in October 2016 after being found guilty of murdering Adrian Greenwood.
The unemployed dad-of-two insisted he had killed the author out of self defence but investigators discovered he had drawn up a sick "hit list" of celebrity targets including Simon Cowell, Kate Moss, Rio Ferdinand and Jeffrey Archer.
Over the four week trial the jury heard Danaher, the son of Irish immigrants, compiled a list of wealthy people to rob and kidnap along with some ordinary members of the public.
The targets were all listed in a document titled “Enterprises” which also noted Eamonn Holmes, Michael Parkinson, Katie Hopkins, Alan Sugar and Greg Dyke.
He even listed his method of capture or target by listing things such as “stun”, “crate delivery” and “daughter” before also highlighting his “expected take”.
Alongside the name Adrian Greenwood in that column is the two word phrase “rare books”.
Danaher, who is separated from his wife, was in £13,000 of debt after losing his redundancy payout from his engine manufacturer job in an investment scam.
The evening after the murder, he put the £50,000 rare book on eBay for the knockdown price of £2,000.
The killer also concocted a “make-believe tale” to explain the cuts on his fingers and face to his 15-year-old son.
The court was told Danaher even stopped outside Greenwood’s house and took a selfie after the brutal killing.
The jury deliberated for just an hour before returning the unanimous verdict – while Danaher looked on expressionless.
When is Catching a Killer: The Wind in the Willows Murder on TV?
The true crime documentary will show on Channel 4 on Monday July 10, from 9-10.25pm.
It will be repeated on other channels later in the week and will also be available to catch up on 4 on Demand.
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