Bio

David Morris was born in 1959 and lived in Craig Cefn Parc in the Swansea Valley, Wales. Before the murders, he was described in reports as a former scrap metal worker, builder, or builder’s labourer. Morris knew Mandy Power before the murders. Prosecutors said the two had a casual sexual relationship, but that Mandy later rejected his advances. At the time, Mandy was also involved in a relationship with Alison Lewis, a former policewoman. This relationship became part of the investigation and trial because Alison Lewis, her husband Stephen Lewis, and Stephen’s brother Stuart Lewis were arrested earlier in the investigation but were later released without charge.

Morris was not arrested immediately after the killings. South Wales Police later described the Clydach case as the largest and most complex murder investigation ever carried out by a Welsh police force, involving more than 4,500 statements, nearly 2,000 homes visited, and more than 3,700 exhibits seized.

Murder Story

On June 27, 1999, Mandy Power, her daughters Katie and Emily, and her mother Doris Dawson were found murdered inside their home on Kelvin Road in Clydach, near Swansea. Mandy was 34, Katie was 10, Emily was 8, and Doris was 80. All four had been beaten to death with an iron pole or bar, and the house was then set on fire.

Prosecutors said the attack happened after Mandy Power refused Morris’s sexual advances following a casual relationship. The prosecution described the killings as extremely violent. Mandy was beaten repeatedly, Doris Dawson was attacked while in bed, and the two children were killed inside the home. The fire was treated as an attempt to destroy evidence and cover up the murders.

A major piece of evidence was a bloodstained gold necklace found at the crime scene. Prosecutors said the chain belonged to Morris and had been ripped from his neck during the attack. Paint found on the necklace was said to match paint from kitchen units at Morris’s home. Morris initially denied that the chain was his, but later said it probably belonged to him.

Morris was arrested in March 2001. On June 28, 2002, he was convicted at Swansea Crown Court and sentenced to four life sentences. His first convictions were later overturned in 2005, and a retrial was ordered. In August 2006, he was convicted again after a retrial at Newport Crown Court. South Wales Police confirmed that Morris was convicted in 2002 by unanimous verdict, that the conviction was overturned on appeal, and that he was convicted again in 2006.

After the second conviction, Morris received four life sentences. A judge initially said he should spend the rest of his life in prison, but the Court of Appeal later ruled that the sentence could not be harsher than the sentence imposed after his first trial. His minimum term was set at 32 years before possible parole consideration.

Morris continued to maintain his innocence. His supporters disputed the conviction, and the case remained controversial. In 2021, South Wales Police reviewed issues raised by Morris’s legal team and potential new witnesses identified by a BBC Wales programme. Police said the Crown Prosecution Service advised that no new information had been provided that undermined Morris’s conviction.

David Morris died in prison on August 20, 2021, while serving his sentence. ITV reported that he had spent 22 years in jail for the murders of Mandy Power, Katie Power, Emily Power, and Doris Dawson.