THE story of how Pembrokeshire serial killer John Cooper almost escaped justice over two double killings in the county has recently gripped viewers of ITV’s The Pembrokeshire Murders.

While the acclaimed three-part series told the story of Cooper eventually being jailed for the murders of Peter and Gwenda Dixon and Richard and Helen Thomas, among his other crimes, many believe he may be connected with another death, Flo Evans.

Cooper was befriended by kind-hearted neighbour Florence ‘Flo’ Evans, a pensioner who lived at Thornhill, Jordanston.

She took a liking to Cooper and tried to find some land for him to buy to establish a smallholding, in the hope that he and his wife Patricia would stay in the area.

Just days after complaining to friends that she couldn’t find her house keys, Flo Evans was found fully clothed and drowned in her bath. It was 1989 – the same year Cooper blasted Peter and Gwenda Dixon to death.

Flo Evans’ death was put down to her slipping into the bath and banging her head.

But it is now known that Cooper regularly burgled the homes of people he knew and reacted violently if disturbed.

An inquest recorded a verdict of accidental death, but relatives were not convinced, and called for the police to investigate further.

The family’s suspicions were aroused by a number of things about the way Mrs Evans’ house was found.

Mrs Evans was found fully clothed and wearing slippers; the kitchen fire which provided hot water had not been lit and the bath was half-filled with cold water.

The TV was switched off by the button, but Mrs Evans always turned it off at the plug. The curtains were drawn and a soft brown leather purse was missing.

The family believe there would have been money in the house, but there was no sign of forced entry, and the doors were deadlocked.

A post-mortem found Mrs Evans had a cut on her forehead, which could have caused her to lose consciousness, but there were no other marks of violence.

The house has since been demolished and relatives fear any evidence of foul play would have disappeared with it.

Mrs Evans’ niece Jean Murphy has previously told the Western Telegraph: “We had suspicions about her death at the time, and still want answers so we can draw a line under it all.

“It was a shock when she died. I saw her earlier that day. Some things just weren’t right. We couldn’t find her purse and the bath was cold, and the cats were in.

“There are lots of unanswered questions.”