Isaac Hughes & Arthur Waite

Disclaimer: this article contains details which may be upsetting for some readers. Discretion is advised.

Despite being a small town with a population of just over 6,000 residents, Blaenavon in Monmouthshire, Wales, has a long and fascinating history. Translating in Welsh to 'rivers source', Blaenavon appropriately sits near the source of the Afon Lwyd, perched on the side of a hill.

At the time when industrialists from the West Midlands in England decided to open an ironworks in the area back in 18th century, the area was empty save for miles of rolling Welsh countryside. By 1788, however, three blast furnaces were in development and the ironworks started operating. Around the operation, houses began to spring up to provide accommodation for workers and their families - the origin of what would eventually become the town as it's known today.

The area would go on to mine iron ore, coal and limestone from the 'Big Pit' mine, with resources being moved around the area and to the ironworks via canals and railways. The ironworks ceased operation in 1902, but the coal mine would continue to function until 1980, when it would close after a full century. In 2000, Blaenavon was granted the title of UNESCO world heritage site due to it's part in industrial development. Many of the structures which played a key role in the manufacturing of products from the 18th century have been preserved and are part of an open-air museum, attracting tourists throughout the year.

In 1972, however, the town hit headlines for an entirely different reason. The bodies of two local men were found in a property in Rifle's Green, triggering an extensive investigation to find a killer which continues to this day.

This is the story of Isaac Hughes and Arthur Waite.

Seventy-year-old Isaac Hughes and his close friend fifty-year-old James 'Arthur' Waite were well known within their hometown of Blaenavon. Isaac - better known as Ike - was a retired farmer and had lived in a caravan until early in 1972, when he had moved into his mother's cottage on Rifle Green after she had passed away. Arthur worked as a miner at the still-functioning Big Pit Colliery, and lived approximately a mile away from Rifle Green on Victoria Row. Each of the men lived alone at the time of their deaths, and were unmarried.

The pair were regular drinking companions at the Rifleman's Arms, a pub situated just a short walk from Rifle Green, and could often be found propping up the bar in their free time.

On Easter Monday 1972 - the 3rd April - the pair had started drinking at approximately 2pm, and were much the worse for wear by the time last orders were called at the Rifleman's Arms at 11pm, having spent most of the day socialising and drinking with other miners and local residents. Although they could become a bit loud and raucous, they were described by friends as never causing harm to anyone. In fact, Arthur was known to regularly buy a pint for any stranger in the pub out of good will - he was described as 'happy-go-lucky', generally with a joke or quip at hand. Although Isaac was much more reserved, he often opened the doors of his home to friends and had recently had an Irish family to stay for a night on Easter Friday.

Image 1: Isaac Hughes

Image 2: Arthur Waite

The pub had been very busy across Easter Monday, and there were several friends and acquaintances at hand to help Isaac and Arthur make their way home. Two patrons from the pub supported them out of the establishment, through an alleyway and onto Rifle Green. The pair needed physical support to head down the hill and to the door of Isaac's cottage, where they bid the helpful pub-goers good night and retreated behind the cottage door. It was common for Arthur to stay at Isaac's property overnight if the pair had partaken in a particularly heavy drinking session, rather than attempting to walk the mile back to his own property.

It was the last time the pair were seen alive.

The following day, Isaac's younger brother Bert called at the property but received no response after knocking on the door. Bert wasn't overly concerned until he returned on Wednesday 5th April to collect Isaac for a pre-arranged trip to the cattle market and could still raise no answer from the property. Heading around the back of the house, he found that the eggs by the back door hadn't been collected and he started to become concerned for his brother's welfare, thinking that he had perhaps fallen ill.

As the doors to the property were locked, Bert obtained a ladder and gained entry to the one-up, one-down cottage via an upstairs window. He was therefore the first to uncover the horrific scene in the lounge, immediately raising the alarm.

When police arrived at the property, they found Arthur Waite slumped in an armchair in the lounge. He had been savagely beaten about the head multiple times, with the right side of his skull having caved in under the force. Lying on the floor at his feet was the body of his close friend. Isaac had been hit on the back of the head a single time, with a post-mortem deeming that he had subsequently choked on his own vomit, likely regurgitating after the impact of the head injury.

A former detective who was interviewed for the Welsh Mail in 2019 under the condition of anonymity told the press: '"Arthur was sitting in a wooden, old-type Welsh armchair with open struts all the way round. He was just sat as if he was posed."'

Police immediately set up an incident room at the local court in Blaenavon, assembling a team of seventy detectives in addition to crime squad and uniformed officers to start a murder investigation. Ironically, uniformed police had been patrolling the area around the Rifleman's Arms on Monday 3rd April but had moved on at approximately 10pm after the radio remained quiet and no trouble was noted in the area.

During the early stages of the investigation, detectives believed that the murder had occurred in the late hours of Monday night - likely around midnight - and they set about interviewing as many of the local residents as possible. Back in 1972 when the coal mine was still operational and mine employees resided in the area with their families, the population of Blaenavon was in excess of 8,000 residents. Police set about speaking to every resident in the town and establishing their whereabouts during the late night hours of Monday night, documenting alibis and establishing timelines for anyone who may have been in the area of Rifle Green. A search for the murder weapon also commenced, with officers checking local areas, undergrowth and gardens for a bloodied object which could fit the bill.

Image 3: an officer standing guard outside Isaac Hughes' property

By Monday 10th April, sub-aqua police divers had been drafted in to search local colliery ponds for the murder weapon in case it had been discarded in the water in a bid to hide it. Soldiers were brought in to help the search efforts as the investigation extended to include the area around local Elgam housing estate, with some being armed with metal detectors to help find the object.

Detective Superintendent Val Shortridge, leading the investigation, said: '"we have not been able to determine a motive, but robbery has not been ruled out. There could be money missing, but we are not aware of it at this stage. We have good reason to believe it is a local case and I feel it could be resolved with the help of local people. We will persist in our enquiries until we have interviewed everyone in Blaenavon."'

Image 4: The Rifleman's Arms in the 1970s

However, the anonymous former detective who was interviewed in 2019 pointed out some significant flaws in the early stages of the investigation. Isaac and Arthur had been in the pub since 2pm on Monday 3rd, returning home somewhere shortly after 11pm. They had been eating and drinking throughout this time, meaning that their stomachs and their bladders would have likely been full on return home to Rifle Green. If Isaac and Arthur had been killed, as detectives initially suspected, between 12am and 3am, they would have had evidence of food in their stomachs and would probably have had full bladders as the hours of drinking worked through their systems. However, at the time of the post-mortems the pathologist noted their stomachs and bladders to be empty, meaning that they had more than likely been attacked sometime on Tuesday morning, having slept through the night.

The former detective told the Welsh Mail: '"the powers that be wouldn't accept that they had made a mistake," "they got in touch with the pathologist and this time they had a big meeting at headquarters - a big row ensued. One month later the whole tone of the inquiry changed."' After a month of interviewing residents to assess their whereabouts late on Monday night, detectives went back to the drawing board and contacted the same people to ascertain their locations between 8am and 9am on Tuesday morning. The total number of people interviewed in the vicinity of Blaenavon exceeded 8,000 residents, with many of them being interviewed more than once after the timeline of the crime was amended.

Police gradually put the pieces of the evening together and believed that Isaac and Arthur had retired to sleep shortly after their arrival at Rifle Green. Arthur headed to sleep on the sofa in the lounge, whereas Isaac headed upstairs to his bedroom. It was believed that Isaac headed downstairs at around 8am on Tuesday morning, possibly to answer a knock at the door. There was no sign of forced entry at the property, leading police to conclude that Isaac had opened the door to the killer and invited them into the property.

Police believed that Isaac argued with the killer at the door, the noise of which woke Arthur in the lounge. Whilst at the door, it's believed that Isaac was hit on the back of the head by a sharp metal object, the force of which knocked him unconscious. Arthur, heading into the hallway to find out what had happened, assisted the visitor to move Isaac into the lounge and lay him in front of the fire to keep him warm. They placed a pillow under his head and attempted to stem the flow of blood from the wound with a rag. Arthur sat in the armchair with his friend at his feet to keep an eye on him.

Image 5: officers carrying out door-to-door enquiries in the Blaenavon area

Whether before or after Isaac vomited and passed away, the killer was thought to have decided to kill Arthur - he had seen what had happened to Isaac, and this made him a witness. Perhaps Arthur wanted to call for help or call the police - something which was sure to see the assailant be arrested. The killer - thought to be right-handed - walked behind Arthur and battered him eight times on the right side of his head, causing significant damage to his skull as he sat in the armchair. Police were able to ascertain that Arthur was attacked after Isaac, as Arthur's blood was splattered on Isaac's body as he lay on the floor. The attack on Arthur was described as being so ferocious that gouge marks were left in the ceiling where the weapon had been violently swung. The two men died where they were later found by Bert.

Image 6: photofit of a person seen in the Rifle Green area

The pair who had supported Isaac and Arthur home on the night of Monday 3rd April were trace, interviewed and subsequently ruled out of the investigation. Likewise the Irish family who had stayed with Isaac on Good Friday were contacted, but they were confirmed to be in London at the time the attack happened.

Fingerprints were taken from the property and examined, with no matches being found in local records. Police considered whether either man may have been involved with a married woman, with the attack being carried out by a disgruntled husband, but an investigation of both victims soon ruled this out.

A witness came forward to give a description of a male seen in the area on the night of Monday 3rd April. The witness lived a short distance from Isaac's cottage, and had received a late-night caller asking if he was near Rifle Green. Blaenavon was a tight-knit community, and small enough for people to know each other or recognise their neighbours by sight - but the witness did now know or recognise the male caller. He disappeared back into the night and, despite the police releasing a photofit composite image, no-one else came forward to report seeing the male in the area.

Despite the extensive enquiries in the local area, with nearly every resident of Blaenavon being interviewed and a large radius being searched for the murder weapon, no-one was charged with the murders of the two men.

In 1990, Detective Inspector Gwyn Regan spoke to the press and expressed his belief that Arthur would only have sat down in the armchair if the person in the property was someone that he knew and felt comfortable with. He said: '"if you thought you were going to be killed, you wouldn't sit and wait for it to happen."'

Image 7: officers pictured in the Blaenavon incident room

Detectives believed that the pair were killed by someone that they had considered to be a friend, most likely a Blaenavon local. By the time 1990 rolled around, burglary had been ruled out as a motive - post-mortem review of Isaac's clothing found money in his pockets, and an amount of cash was discovered upstairs in the property. They considered the possibility that Isaac and Arthur's behaviour in the pub may have caused offense or upset someone, or perhaps triggered someone to bear a grudge against them.

On Sunday 6th May 1990, the Wales on Sunday newspaper printed an article including an interview with former Detective Inspector Ray Hapgood, who had been involved in the investigation prior to his retirement. A financial consultant at the time of the interview, he told the press: '"I have my own ideas who did it and that person knows I know he did it. I'm quite sure in my own mind that the killer is still alive and living in the area."' He went on to say that there hadn't been enough evidence to charge the person in relation to the crime.

Image 8: the space where Isaac Hughes' property once stood

In 2006, Joan Evans - daughter of Isaac - made an appeal to the public for information relating to the murder of her father and Arthur. She said: '"This will live with me until the day I die. I can't rest until I know I've tried to find out who killed my father. Someone in Blaenavon must know something. The killer may even still live there. Time is going along and I just want someone to find it in their heart to help me find out who did it."'

Isaac's property, which previously stood in the middle of a terraced row on Rifle Green, has since been destroyed. Today, an empty space remains where the cottage once stood, with grass coating the earth.

In 2019, a retired police detective was interviewed by Anna Lewis, a reported with the Welsh Mail in Cardiff. The article was printed in November 2019, and dropped some bombshells in relation to how the investigation was led. Not only did the detective provide information about the police focusing on what transpired to be an incorrect time of death - wasting time interviewing residents about their whereabouts late on Monday 3rd April - he also talked about how detectives had interviewed the same man nearly fifty times, with no charges being brought against him.

The anonymous detective stated that the man interviewed was a neighbour of Isaac, and often visited the property to take him a meal, or run errands on behalf of the seventy-year-old. The detective described how the male had come close to being mentally broken by the continuous interviewing by police, with the detective feeling that the interrogations were without reason.

The former detective told Anna Lewis: '"it was a simple murder, made complicated because people wouldn't sit down and talk about how it happened. We had meetings all the time, every day, but here we are in 2019 and it's still undetected, and never will be solved because most people alive at the time - police, witnesses, even the chap who did it, I would say - are dead."'

A spokesperson from Gwent police, the force who are responsible for the investigation, released a statement in response to the press interview with the anonymous detective: '"the original investigation consisted of over 1,900 witness statements from Blaenavon residents and over 900 exhibits were taken. Our Major Investigation Team continue to conduct a full forensic review, using advanced forensic techniques in an effort to solve this double murder that took place back in April 1972. The investigation remains open and we will continue to explore any new leads and forensic advances. Over the years, lots of information has been provided by members of the public and we continue to appeal for information from anyone who could help with information about this incident - the smallest detail could help with the breakthrough we need."'

Isaac Hughes and Arthur Waite have never received the justice that they deserve. The pair were murdered during the morning of Tuesday 4th April in what seems to have been a spur-of-the-moment attack. Even after more than fifty years, they still deserve a resolution and their families deserve answers as to who committed this appalling act against them, and why.