Potentially vital DNA evidence in a suspected miscarriage of justice may have been lost, according to correspondence seen by Newsquest.
Lawyers for Essex man Jason Moore, fighting to overturn a murder conviction, were told two exhibits were “missing” when the Metropolitan Police retrieved exhibit bags in the case.
The claim was made in a letter to Moore’s lawyers from the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC – the official miscarriage of justice watchdog).
Questioned about the CCRC’s claim by Newsquest, the Met repeatedly said no evidence had been “declared as missing”.
But when pressed for a straight answer on whether the exhibits described as missing by the CCRC had now been located, it repeatedly refused to answer.
The CCRC demanded the exhibits be turned over for modern DNA testing six months ago, but they still have not been supplied.
The watchdog is reinvestigating Moore’s case after Newsquest uncovered evidence undermining his conviction.
Moore – from Clacton – was jailed for life in 2013 for the 2005 murder of east London man Robert Darby, after a single eyewitness picked him from a photo line-up seven years after Darby’s stabbing.
The same witness had given police a string of provably inaccurate details about the stabbing, rejected Moore as a suspect in a line-up weeks after the crime, and picked somebody else out at the time who looked nothing like Moore.
When Newsquest found the eyewitness in 2022, he blurted out that he was “drunk” when he witnessed the stabbing and wasn’t sure he had picked out the right man.
He also claimed police knew all along that he’d been drinking that day. If true, that vital information was withheld from the defence and jury.
No other eyewitness or forensics ever linked Moore to the crime. Even Robert Darby’s family are convinced he is innocent, campaigning alongside Moore’s family to quash his conviction.
After being provided with our interview with the eyewitness, the CCRC launched a wider reinvestigation, including new forensic opportunities.
Eyewitnesses told police in 2005 that Darby’s stabber wore a blue, zip-up jacket.
CCTV showed Moore neither wearing nor carrying a blue jacket that day – but when police raided the home of another suspect, from south Essex, they seized what they described as a “blue top”.
Tapings were taken from the collar and cuffs for DNA testing to try to identify the wearer, and from the front to see if Darby’s blood was on it.
The collar and cuff tapings excluded Moore as the wearer but were otherwise inconclusive. The tapings from the front were never tested.
The CCRC ordered the Met in September to turn over all three sets of tapings for modern DNA testing.
In February, the CCRC told Moore’s lawyers in a letter: “Whilst there was some initial delay in the officer being in possession of the exhibit bags… it was not until the end of October that we were informed that having obtained and searched the relevant bags, the tapings were not present.”
In a further letter in March, it said police now had “one of the tapings” but “two further tapings remain outstanding.
"The police have continued their enquiries to locate the missing tapings and have advised that an outstanding line of enquiry remains with a retired officer, and with the original forensic provider.”
It described the exhibits as “missing” twice more in the letter, and said it was “hoping for a final update shortly to ascertain if they can be located”.
Catch up on our exclusive investigation into Jason Moore's conviction:
- Recap - Who is Jason Moore, and why do people believe he's innocent of murder?
- Anger as 'innocent man' may have spent months behind bars due to Met delays
- Essex Police probe as mystery man orders £10k hit on murder convict Jason Moore
Questioned about the CCRC’s claims, the Met Police press office said that “nothing has been declared as missing.”
Asked whether that meant the outstanding tapings had been found, it would not directly answer.
It said: “No evidence has been lost and the Met continues to fully support the CCRC.”
Asked to answer “yes” or “no” to whether it had now found the tapings, it refused, saying: “We’re unable to go into the detail you’ve requested at this stage.”
Jasons’ sister Kirstie Moore said: “It is six months since the CCRC demanded these exhibits. They’ve still not been turned over and now we’re told some might be missing. But there’s no urgency. It’s absolutely shocking.
“This CCRC application was submitted in 2023. We’re now in 2026. Every day that passes is another day my brother is rotting in a prison cell.”
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