Post-Mortem Examination Report

Deceased: Graham Arthur Tulloch, aged 62 years Date of Examination: 16th November 2025 Place of Examination: Gloucestershire Royal Hospital Mortuary Pathologist: Dr Faisal Mahmoud, FRCPath, Home Office Registered Forensic Pathologist

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External Examination

The body is that of a well-built Caucasian male, height 181 cm, weight 89 kg. The deceased is wearing a dark green waxed jacket (Barbour), a checked flannel shirt, corduroy trousers, and brown leather walking boots. A flat cap was recovered from the road surface approximately four metres from the body.

Severe traumatic injuries to the left side. The left hip and thigh show massive contusion with underlying crepitus, consistent with fracture of the left femur and disruption of the pelvic ring. A distinct linear bruise pattern, approximately 12 cm wide, runs horizontally across the hip at a height of 52 cm from the sole of the foot. This height is consistent with the bumper of a standard passenger car.

The left forearm shows a compound fracture. Abrasions to the left palm and knees suggest ground contact following impact. A large laceration to the left temporal region, 8 cm in length, with underlying skull fracture.

Paint transfer: Fragments of silver metallic paint are embedded in the fibres of the waxed jacket at the primary impact site on the left hip. Additional fragments on the left trouser leg. Samples taken for analysis.

No defensive injuries. No signs of restraint or struggle before the impact.

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Internal Examination

The pelvis is fractured in three places. The left femur is fractured mid-shaft. Ribs 8 through 11 on the left side are fractured. The spleen is ruptured with approximately 2.5 litres of free blood in the abdominal cavity. The skull fracture extends from the left temporal bone across the parietal bone with a small subdural haematoma, not in itself fatal.

The heart shows mild left ventricular hypertrophy consistent with treated hypertension. Coronary arteries show moderate atherosclerosis but no acute occlusion.

Stomach contents: partially digested food consistent with a light meal consumed two to three hours before death.

Blood alcohol: 0.02 g/dL (trace). No other drugs or substances detected.

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Injury Pattern Analysis

The injuries are consistent with a pedestrian struck by the front of a motor vehicle. The primary impact at 52 cm is consistent with a standard car bumper. The severity suggests a speed at impact of 40 to 50 mph. The absence of braking-related injury patterns suggests the vehicle did not decelerate before impact.

The linear bruise pattern and paint transfer indicate a single, direct impact from a car bumper, not a glancing blow. The vehicle struck the victim squarely.

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Cause of Death

1a. Internal haemorrhage 1b. Ruptured spleen and multiple fractures 1c. Pedestrian struck by motor vehicle

Opinion

Mr Tulloch died as a result of being struck by a motor vehicle while walking on Drystone Lane. The impact was at 40 to 50 mph with no evidence of braking. Silver metallic paint fragments have been submitted for analysis. The impact height (52 cm) is consistent with a standard passenger car, not a larger vehicle such as an SUV or van.

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Dr Faisal Mahmoud, FRCPath 16th November 2025

Case Notes: Death of Graham Tulloch

Detective Sergeant Erin Walsh, Gloucestershire Constabulary, Major Crime Investigation Team Notes compiled 15th-18th November 2025

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Called to Drystone Lane, Nether Haddon, at 6:40 a.m. on Saturday. Graham Tulloch, 62, retired property developer, found in a drainage ditch by a dog walker. Body temperature and rigor suggest death between 6:00 and 7:30 p.m. on Friday. His walking stick was snapped in two on the road. His flat cap was four metres away. The cap looked expensive. The stick did too.

The road is single-track, unlit, no CCTV. A blind bend with high hedgerows on both sides. The sort of lane that looks beautiful on a postcard and murderous after dark.

Initial thought: tragic accident. Pedestrian in dark clothing, unlit road, driver who panicked. But the pathologist says the vehicle did not brake. Tyre marks on the road show acceleration, not braking. Someone drove into him at speed and kept going. Not an accident. Not a panic. A decision.

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The Victim

Graham Tulloch. Wealthy. Lived alone at The Old Rectory, which is exactly the sort of house you would expect a retired property developer to own in a Cotswold village. Former managing director of Tulloch-Howell Properties Ltd, dissolved 2019 after his business partner's death. Divorced 2020. One adult daughter, Sophie, in the village.

Not popular. He had submitted a planning application to convert a barn next to the village pub into holiday lets. The kind of proposal that makes a man the subject of conversation in every kitchen within half a mile. He walked Drystone Lane every Friday evening between six and seven. Everyone in the village knew. Several people mentioned this with the air of having mentioned it before.

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Persons of Interest

Marcus Poole, 38. Pub landlord.

The loudest grievance in the village, which is saying something. The barn conversion would have taken the pub's car park and beer garden. Three weeks ago at a parish council meeting, Poole said: "Someone ought to run that man off the road." Exact words. Twelve witnesses. The sort of thing a man says when he is angry and does not expect anyone to write it down.

His Land Rover Defender has fresh damage to the front bumper. He says he reversed into the gate post on Wednesday. The postman confirms this, but I want forensics to check properly. Postmen see a great deal. They do not always see everything.

He also keeps a silver Skoda Fabia at the pub for supply runs. Small hatchback. VW Group, same as the paint fragments on the victim's clothing. When the paint results came back -- silver, Volkswagen Group -- I looked at that Fabia very carefully. It was parked in the car park out back all evening. But the car park is 30 seconds from the front door.

Poole was behind the bar on Friday but admits stepping outside for a cigarette at about 6:15 p.m. for roughly ten minutes. Right in the window. He says he stood in the doorway. Two regulars say he was back by 6:23. Eight minutes. Enough time for a cigarette. Possibly enough to walk round the back, take the Fabia, drive to the bend, and come back. The distances are tight but not impossible. It bothers me.

Motive, public threat, a damaged Land Rover, a silver Fabia that matches the paint, and a gap in his alibi. Poole is my primary line.

Diane Farrow, 55. Ex-wife.

In the village visiting their daughter Sophie. Bitter divorce. Recently discovered Tulloch hid approximately £300,000 in assets during the proceedings. Text from 1st November: "I will make you pay for what you did to this family." The sort of message that reads differently before and after somebody dies.

She drives a dark grey BMW. In fading light, that could look like any dark vehicle.

Alibi is strong. Phone location places her at Sophie's from 3:52 p.m. onwards. A neighbour's Ring doorbell shows her BMW stationary in Sophie's drive from 4:10 p.m. to 9:45 a.m. Saturday. She walked to the shop at about half five for milk. The shop closes at six. Apparently this was urgent.

Alibi checks out, but the texts are venomous and the financial motive is real. She says she needed him alive for the legal claim. Possibly true. People with solicitors tend to let the solicitors do the threatening.

Caitlin Howell, 29. Personal assistant.

Daughter of Derek Howell, Tulloch's late business partner. Worked for Tulloch four years. Everyone describes her as devoted. She was at Tulloch's house on Friday afternoon, dropping off paperwork. Says she left at about half five and drove home to Cheltenham. Her flatmate was away. No corroboration. She was visibly distressed when I spoke to her. Genuinely so, as far as I could tell.

She drives a silver Volkswagen Polo. Same VW Group paint as Poole's Fabia. Her phone was off between 5:35 and 7:20 p.m. She says the battery died. Old phone. These things happen.

No obvious motive. No grudge. Seems to be the one person who genuinely cared about the man. Gave a clear, detailed account. Mentioned the porch light being on as she drove past at half five. The sort of small detail that makes a statement feel lived in.

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Key Questions

1. Poole's bumper. Gate post or pedestrian? Forensics to compare.
2. Poole's Fabia. Paint matches, tyre size matches. Was it used on Friday evening? Get forensics to examine it.
3. Poole's cigarette break. Could he have taken the Fabia to the bend and back in eight minutes? Tight, but I want the distances checked.
4. Farrow's texts. How far does financial anger go?
5. Two silver VW Group vehicles: Poole's Fabia and Howell's Polo. The paint puts both in the frame. Need forensics to tell them apart.
6. Howell's phone gap. Probably a dead battery. Note it.

Poole is the strongest lead. Two vehicles, one matching the paint. Building the case around him.

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DS E. Walsh Gloucestershire Constabulary, Major Crime Investigation Team 18th November 2025

Forensic Examination Report

Case: Death of Graham Tulloch, Drystone Lane, Nether Haddon Date of Examination: 15th-19th November 2025 Lead Forensic Officer: DS Michael Cartwright, Gloucestershire Constabulary Forensic Services Assisting: CSI Laura Payne

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Scene Examination

Drystone Lane is a single-track unlit road running south from Nether Haddon to the B4068, approximately 800 metres. A blind bend occurs 200 metres south of the village where the hedgerow on the eastern side reaches 2.5 metres, limiting visibility to approximately 10 metres.

The body was in the drainage ditch on the western side, 3 metres past the apex of the bend.

Tyre marks: Fresh rubber marks on the road for 18 metres approaching the bend from the south, consistent with acceleration, not braking. The tread is consistent with 185/65 R15 tyres, a standard fitment for small hatchbacks. This size is not consistent with a Land Rover Defender (235/85 R16 or larger) or a BMW 3 Series (225/45 R18).

No glass fragments or vehicle debris at the scene.

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Paint Fragment Analysis

Silver metallic paint from the deceased's jacket and trousers was identified as Volkswagen Group colour code LA7W (Reflex Silver Metallic). A three-coat system: primer, silver metallic basecoat, clear lacquer. Used on Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT, and Skoda models 2014-2025.

Not consistent with:

• Marcus Poole's Land Rover Defender (VN17 HXR): factory "Fuji White."
• Diane Farrow's BMW 320d (DK21 LFP): factory "Mineral Grey Metallic" (BMW B39).

Consistent with two vehicles connected to persons of interest:

• Caitlin Howell's 2019 Volkswagen Polo (CJ19 WNT): factory Reflex Silver Metallic (LA7W).
• Marcus Poole's 2018 Skoda Fabia (GN18 PXD): factory Reflex Silver Metallic (LA7W). Used for pub supply runs, registered to the same address as the Land Rover.

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Vehicle Examination: Poole's Land Rover

Front bumper dent on the nearside, approximately 15 cm wide. Green paint transfer matches the gate post at The Haddon Arms beer garden entrance, which shows corresponding white paint and a fresh impact mark.

No biological material, fabric fibre, or silver paint on the Land Rover. This vehicle was not involved.

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Vehicle Examination: Poole's Skoda Fabia

Examined 19th November at The Haddon Arms car park. Silver metallic finish consistent with VW Group LA7W.

No visible damage to the front bumper, bonnet, or bodywork. No biological material. No fabric fibres. No paint transfer from another surface. Under ultraviolet light: no cleaning chemical residue on any panel. The vehicle does not appear to have been recently washed by commercial jet wash.

Tyres: Bridgestone Ecopia EP150, size 185/65 R15 (matching the scene tread width). However, the tread pattern of the Bridgestone Ecopia differs from the Continental EcoContact 6 pattern recorded at the scene. Overnight condensation and vehicle traffic on Saturday morning partially degraded the scene marks. A definitive tread pattern comparison was not possible from the available impressions.

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Vehicle Examination: Howell's Volkswagen Polo

Examined 18th November. Recently washed. No visible damage, blood, or fabric traces.

Under ultraviolet light: faint cleaning chemical residue on the front bumper and lower nearside wing, consistent with a commercial jet wash. The nearside fog lamp surround shows a hairline crack. A single fibre caught in the crack was recovered for comparison with the deceased's clothing.

Tyres: Continental EcoContact 6, size 185/65 R15, consistent with the scene tread marks.

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Phone Data

Person	Phone Status, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Friday 14 Nov	Notes
Marcus Poole	Active. Cell tower: Nether Haddon. Continuous.	Consistent with remaining at the pub.
Diane Farrow	Active. Cell tower: Nether Haddon. Continuous from 3:52 p.m.	Alibi confirmed.
Caitlin Howell	Off from 5:35 p.m. to 7:20 p.m. Reconnected at 7:22 p.m. via Cheltenham cell tower.	No data during the murder window.

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Doorbell Camera: 3 Church Lane

A Ring doorbell opposite Sophie Tulloch's cottage recorded:

• 4:10 p.m.: Farrow's BMW parked in Sophie's drive.
• No movement of the BMW until 9:45 a.m. Saturday.
• 5:28 p.m.: Farrow walks south on foot.
• 5:41 p.m.: Farrow returns north carrying a bag.

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Summary

1. The vehicle accelerated into the bend. No braking.
2. Paint on the deceased is Volkswagen Reflex Silver (LA7W). Two vehicles match: Howell's Polo and Poole's Skoda Fabia. Does not match Poole's Land Rover or Farrow's BMW.
3. Poole's Land Rover bumper damage is from the gate post. That vehicle was not involved.
4. Poole's Skoda Fabia: no damage, no fibres, no cleaning residue. Tyre size matches the scene; tread pattern differs from scene marks but comparison is inconclusive due to degradation.
5. Farrow's BMW did not move during the relevant period.
6. Howell's Polo: commercial washing residue, cracked fog lamp surround with a fibre. Tyre size and tread pattern (Continental EcoContact 6) match the scene.
7. Howell's phone was off for 1 hour 45 minutes during the murder window.

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DS M. Cartwright Gloucestershire Constabulary Forensic Services 19th November 2025

Witness Statement: Diane Farrow

Taken at 14 Coxwell Drive, Cirencester, on the 16th day of November 2025, by Detective Constable J. Farrugia, Gloucestershire Constabulary.

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I was married to Graham for eighteen years. I know what kind of man he was better than anyone, and I will not pretend to grieve for him. But I did not kill him.

We married in 2002. I was thirty and thought I had found someone solid. A builder, I thought. Someone who makes things. He was charming in those days. Generous, when it suited him. We had Sophie in 2004 and he was a decent enough father when she was small, though he was always away. Always on site, always on the phone. The business grew. Tulloch-Howell Properties. Him and Derek Howell. They built housing estates, converted farmhouses, developed retail parks. By 2015 they were turning over three million a year.

The problems started when Derek died. Heart attack, 2020. Derek's daughter Caitlin was shattered. She had been close to her father. Graham stepped in, offered her a job as his PA. Generous of him, people said. I thought so too, at the time.

Graham and I divorced that same year. He said the marriage had run its course. What had actually run its course was his willingness to share anything. The settlement was handled by his solicitor, a man I now believe was complicit. I received the house in Cirencester and a lump sum. Graham kept everything else, including assets I did not know existed.

I found out six weeks ago. A friend who works in property saw a Land Registry entry for a flat in Cheltenham registered to a company called Tulloch Holdings Ltd. I had never heard of it. My solicitor made enquiries. There is a portfolio: the Cheltenham flat, a commercial unit in Stroud, a share in a holiday cottage in Cornwall. Roughly £300,000 in assets that should have been declared during the divorce. I instructed my solicitor to begin proceedings. I am good at instructing solicitors. It is the one skill this marriage taught me.

Yes, I sent him a text. On the first of November. I said I would make him pay for what he did to this family. I meant through the courts. I had a strong legal case. His death has actually complicated matters, not simplified them. I needed him alive to answer for the hidden assets. Dead, everything goes through probate and his solicitor will fight me at every stage.

On Friday I drove to Nether Haddon to see Sophie. I arrived at about four o'clock. Sophie and I cooked a chicken casserole and opened a bottle of wine. I did not leave her cottage all evening. My phone was with me. My car was in her drive.

At about half five I walked to the village shop to buy milk. The shop closes at six and I wanted to catch it. I walked along Church Lane to the High Street. I could see The Old Rectory from the junction. Caitlin Howell's silver car was parked outside. A little Volkswagen. I noticed it because I wondered why she was still there at that hour. She usually finishes by five on Fridays, or so Sophie has told me. I turned south to the shop.

I bought the milk, walked back. I did not see Graham. I did not go near Drystone Lane. Sophie and I ate dinner, watched a film, and I went to bed in her spare room at about eleven.

I will tell you something about Caitlin Howell. She is a lovely girl and I feel sorry for her. She lost her father and then attached herself to the man who, in my view, contributed to his death. Derek Howell's share of the business was worth at least half a million and Graham extracted it from him over three years. Derek died with nothing. Caitlin does not seem to know this, or if she does, she has made her peace with it. She calls Graham "Mr T" and organises his dentist appointments and picks up his dry cleaning. I find it difficult to watch.

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Statement reviewed and signed by Diane Farrow, 16th November 2025.

Witness Statement: Caitlin Howell

Taken at 22b Montpellier Terrace, Cheltenham, on the 16th day of November 2025, by Detective Constable J. Farrugia, Gloucestershire Constabulary.

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I still cannot believe it. I keep picking up my phone to text him about something and then remembering. This morning I saw a letter on the mat addressed to him and I thought, I need to forward that. And then I remembered there is nowhere to forward it to.

Mr Tulloch gave me a job when I had nothing. My father died in March 2020, right at the start of lockdown. We could not even have a proper funeral. Twelve people in a crematorium car park, two metres apart, wearing masks. Dad had been ill for a while. His heart. The doctors said it was the stress. He had money problems towards the end, business things I never fully understood. He and Mr Tulloch had been partners for years but the company was wound up after Dad died.

Mr Tulloch rang me about six months later and said he needed someone to help with his paperwork. He was retired but he still had property interests, tenants, contractors, accounts. He offered me three days a week, flexible hours, good pay. I think he felt responsible for me, in a way. He had known me since I was a child. He came to my christening. There are photographs of him holding me as a baby.

He was not the easiest man. I know people in the village found him difficult. The business with the pub, the barn, the planning application. He could be stubborn. Once he had decided something, you could not shift him. But he was always kind to me. He remembered my birthday. He asked after my mother. When my car needed a service last year, he lent me his spare set of keys so I could use his Volvo for the week. He left a note on the dashboard that said "Don't adjust my mirrors." That was him. Gruff, but he cared.

On Friday I went to The Old Rectory at about quarter to five. I had post to sort and a few invoices to file. Mr Tulloch was in the sitting room reading the paper. We talked for a few minutes. He mentioned he was looking forward to his walk. He always walked Drystone Lane on Friday evenings, between six and seven. Rain or shine. He said it cleared his head.

I finished the filing at about twenty past five. I said goodbye, packed up, and left. As I drove past the house, I could see his porch light was on. It must have been about half five. I remember thinking the evenings were getting so dark, the clocks having gone back. I turned south on Drystone Lane and picked up the B4068 towards Cheltenham.

My phone died somewhere on the A40. I did not notice until I got home and plugged it in. It is an old phone and the battery has been unreliable for months. It came back on at about twenty past seven. I had a quiet evening. My flatmate Jess was away visiting her parents in Cardiff, so I made pasta and watched something on the television. I cannot remember what. Something with subtitles. I was not really paying attention.

I heard about Mr Tulloch on Saturday morning. Your colleague rang me at about nine. I could not speak for a while.

You asked about his relationships. He and Diane, his ex-wife, were not on good terms. I do not know the details but there were arguments about money. Sophie, their daughter, is lovely and was close to her father, though she found him frustrating. Marcus Poole at the pub had been very vocal about the barn. I heard about the parish council meeting. People in the village talked about it for days.

I do not know who could have done this. He walked that lane every Friday. Everyone knew. It was part of the village. You would see him heading out at six with his stick and his cap, and he would be back by seven, standing at his front door stamping the mud off his boots.

I am sorry. I am not being very helpful. I just keep thinking about him walking out there in the dark, alone, and nobody stopping.

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Statement reviewed and signed by Caitlin Howell, 16th November 2025.

Witness Statement: Marcus Poole

Taken at The Haddon Arms, Nether Haddon, on the 15th day of November 2025, by Detective Constable J. Farrugia, Gloucestershire Constabulary.

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Right. Fine. I know why you're here and I know what people are saying. Let me tell you what actually happened.

I've run this pub for eleven years. Bought it as a going concern in 2014, put everything I had into it. The Haddon Arms is the only pub in this village. It is the reason people move here, the reason they stay, the reason the cricket team exists and the darts league runs and the parish council has somewhere to argue every second Tuesday. Without this pub, Nether Haddon is just a collection of expensive houses with no heartbeat. I believe that. I have believed it every morning at six when I am hauling crates down the cellar steps and wondering why I did not become an accountant.

Graham Tulloch wanted to rip the heart out. He bought the barn next door in 2023 and submitted plans to convert it into four holiday lets. Serviced. With parking. The parking would have meant carving up the land between the barn and the pub, which is my car park and beer garden. I have a right of access but no ownership. He knew that. He bought the barn specifically because he knew that once the holiday lets went in, the pub would lose its outdoor space, its parking, half its trade. He did not care. He smiled when I asked him to reconsider. Actually smiled.

Yes, I said it at the parish council. "Someone ought to run that man off the road." It was a stupid thing to say. I was angry. I am angry. But I did not mean it literally and I did not do it. For God's sake, I said it in front of twelve people. If I was planning to murder the man, would I announce it at a public meeting?

The Land Rover. I reversed into the gate post on Wednesday afternoon. The post by the beer garden entrance. It is painted green and I have hit it before, twice, because the turning circle is tight and I am usually carrying crates when I do it. Ray Gerrard, the postman, was standing right there. He laughed and said I should get a smaller vehicle. There is green paint on my bumper from the post. You can check.

On Friday. I opened the bar at five. The usual crowd drifted in. Keith Saunders, Brian Leach, Janet Overton, the Mosely couple. I was behind the bar from five o'clock onward. I pulled pints, I served crisps, I changed a barrel of Hooky at about half five. At six o'clock, or just past, I saw Tulloch walk past the front window heading south towards the lane. He had his stick and his cap. He always walked that way on Fridays. I thought nothing of it. You do not think about things that happen every week.

At about quarter past six I went outside for a cigarette. I stood in the doorway, the front door, which faces the High Street, not Drystone Lane. The lane is 200 metres south. I could not see it from where I was standing. I smoked one cigarette, maybe eight minutes, came back in. Keith and Brian were at the bar. They will tell you I was back by half six at the latest.

I did not get in my Land Rover. I did not drive anywhere. I did not leave the pub premises. The keys to the Defender were hanging on the hook behind the bar where they always are.

Yes, I have a Skoda as well. The silver one in the car park. I use it for cash and carry runs and picking up deliveries. It was parked around the back all Friday. I did not touch it. The keys were on the same hook as the Defender keys, behind the bar, in plain sight. I was behind the bar all evening. Anyone will tell you.

Was I glad to hear he was dead? I will be honest with you. My first thought was that the planning application dies with him. I am not proud of that. But thinking it is not the same as doing it. And my second thought, if you want to know, was that his daughter Sophie was going to have a terrible Christmas. She comes in sometimes for a glass of wine. She is a nice girl.

I did not kill Graham Tulloch. I said something idiotic at a meeting, I have a dented bumper, and I went outside for a smoke at an unfortunate time. That is the whole of it.

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Statement reviewed and signed by Marcus Poole, 15th November 2025.