The theories: Why was Jill Dando shot dead?

Pa
Friday 01 August 2008 15:48 BST

The myriad of theories about why Jill Dando was killed resurfaced today as Barry George was cleared of her murder.

Dando was shot once in the head outside her home in Fulham, south west London, on April 26 1999.

The way she was killed led to theories that she might have been targeted by a professional hitman - possibly hired by a criminal imprisoned due to publicity on TV's Crimewatch, which she presented.

George's defence team described the killing as "meticulously planned" and "thoroughly professional".

Another possibility was an attack by an obsessed fan. The blonde news reader and TV presenter had reportedly been harassed by a fan in the year before she died.

Dando also appeared leather-clad in a provocative Radio Times cover shoot in the week when she was killed. Could this have tipped a stalker or extreme fan over the edge?

There were suggestions that the killing might have been linked to a charity appeal she fronted for the Disasters Emergency Committee for people in Kosovo.

The theory was that her death could have been revenge for Nato airstrikes on the former Yugoslavia.

Two weeks before she died, Dando reportedly received a letter from a Serb source criticising her involvement.

She might also have fallen prey to a botched robbery or mugging attempt.

Dando had been staying at her fiancee's house in the days before her death, leaving her own home empty, and one witness reported seeing a man watching the presenter's house an hour before she was killed.

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