On the morning of February 8th, 2001, fifty-seven-year-old Jill Jenkin was struck by a car in Sydenham Road, Catford, south-east London, just yards from her home. She was still wearing her slippers at the time. The vehicle was a stolen Nissan Bluebird, and the driver did not stop. Jenkin suffered severe injuries, fell into a coma, and died on February 28th, 2001 from broncho-pneumonia brought on by serious head injuries.
The incident occurred in a residential area of Catford. A witness, Terry Weise, who had just crossed the road, later described hearing a thud and seeing Jenkin roll off the hood of the car. He noted that an elderly lady had been walking behind him moments earlier.
The Nissan Bluebird had been stolen on January 29th from a used car dealership called Leas Green in Chislehurst. The owner, Stuart Evans, described it as an “old banger” and said he had not been particularly concerned when it went missing. Police later traced the abandoned vehicle back to the dealership.
Jill Jenkin had recently lost her husband, who died just three months before the incident. At the inquest held at Southwark Coroner’s Court in early 2002, Coroner Selena Lynch recorded a verdict of accidental death. However, she acknowledged the profound difficulty for the family and expressed hope that “someone’s conscience will get the better of them, or someone who knows them will come forward.” She noted that the inquest could be reopened if new evidence emerged from the police investigation.
No detailed suspect descriptions or arrests were reported in available contemporary coverage. The hit-and-run nature of the collision—using a recently stolen vehicle—left investigators with limited immediate leads, and the case appears to have remained unresolved in terms of bringing the responsible party to justice.
Crime Immemorial 