Robert Black Convicted of Jennifer Cardy's Murder: ITN Report with Police Interview Excerpt, 2011
An ITN report from the day Robert Black was convicted of murdering nine-year-old Jennifer Cardy in 1981, with a 13-second excerpt of a police interview in which he describes approaching girls.
- Subject
- Robert Black
- Recorded
- about October 27, 2011
- Runtime
- 1:37
Content warning: Concerns the abduction and murder of children; Black describes how he approached a girl. No graphic detail.
The Interview
This is a 97-second ITN news report from October 27, 2011, the day Robert Black was found guilty at Armagh Crown Court of the 1981 murder of Jennifer Cardy. It includes a short excerpt of a police interview with Black, released by police that day, in which he is heard for about 13 seconds describing how he would approach a girl from his van. The rest of the report is narration, two short statements from Jennifer's father, and comments from a woman who escaped an abduction attempt by Black.
Historical Context
Black, a delivery van driver, was arrested in July 1990 at Stow, in the Scottish Borders, with a girl he had just abducted in his van. In May 1994, at Newcastle upon Tyne, he was convicted of the murders of three girls abducted in Scotland and England in the 1980s and of an attempted abduction, and given ten life sentences. Jennifer Cardy, aged nine, had disappeared while cycling near her home at Ballinderry, County Antrim, in August 1981; Black was charged with her murder years later and tried in Armagh in 2011.
Circumstances of the Interview
The interview excerpt was released by police on the day of the Armagh verdict. The clip does not say which force recorded it or when; Black was interviewed by Scottish officers after his 1990 arrest and by police in Northern Ireland about the Cardy case, and transcripts of the Northern Ireland interviews were read to the Armagh jury.
What the Interview Covers
In the excerpt Black says, "I'd be driving along and see a young girl," and describes getting out to talk to her and trying to push her into the van (one word there is unclear) to take her "somewhere quiet". The report opens with the verdict, which it describes as making Black "the worst child serial killer the UK has ever known". Jennifer's father speaks of the relief of seeing the crime brought to justice and says Black "didn't steal the lives of me and my family". A woman who escaped an abduction attempt by Black says she is glad to have survived but sometimes feels guilty when she thinks of the girls who did not. The report closes by noting that the conviction would prompt further investigations into other unsolved disappearances.
What Makes the Recording Significant
Few recordings of Black's voice have been published. These few seconds, released by police, are his own description of how he approached the children he targeted.
Archival Importance
The Cardy verdict, three decades after her death, was Black's fourth murder conviction and his last; he died in prison in Northern Ireland in 2016. The report preserves the day's coverage together with a rare sample of his voice.
Important Caveats
Black is heard for about 13 seconds only; the clip is not the full interview, and the YouTube title's "interview released" overstates what it contains. Which interview the excerpt comes from, and when it was recorded, is not stated. One word in his second sentence is unclear ("again at", probably "into"). The upload is by a reposting channel, not ITN. The "worst child serial killer" description is the reporter's.
Reporter: This is Robert Black, now the worst child serial killer the UK has ever known. He's been found guilty of the murder of Jennifer Cardy. Her family have had to wait 30 years for justice.
Jennifer Cardy'S Father: We have the relief of knowing that the perpetrator of this gruesome, horrible crime has been brought to justice.
Jennifer Cardy'S Father: Robert Black stole the life of our daughter Jennifer, but Robert Black didn't steal the lives of me and my family.
Reporter: Police have released an interview with Robert Black.
Robert Black: I'd be driving along and see a young girl. I'd go out and talk to her and try to push her [unclear: "again at" / perhaps "into"] the van and take her somewhere quiet. [00:54 to 01:02: no speech in the machine transcript; a short burst of sound at about 00:59 to 01:02 is not transcribed (possibly more of the interview or natural sound; confirm by listening).]
Reporter: One of his potential victims, Teresa Thornhill, managed to escape.
Teresa Thornhill: I feel like I'm happy to be here and I'm happy that I've [unclear: "survived the tale" / perhaps "survived to tell the tale"], but then I look back and think about the poor girls that haven't survived, and sometimes feel so guilty.
Reporter: His fourth murder conviction will prompt further investigations into other unsolved disappearances. [01:28 to 01:37: no speech in the machine transcript; clip ends.] ---