Judge, Murder Victim. He was a senior Circuit Judge who was murdered in cold blood by a man he had sentenced 13 years previously. After qualifying at Cambridge University, he began his career in the judiciary in 1937 as a "Circuit Junior". He was a Major during the Second World War in the King's Own Border Regiment of the British Army and spent much of the time in the Western Desert then served in Burma in a combined special-operations unit of the British and Indian Armies known as 'Wingate's Chindits'. He returned to the northern courts circuit as a forthright barrister, becoming chairman of the county's Quarter Sessions in 1958. The same year he became Recorder of Preston. He held both posts until 1971 when he became a Circuit Judge and Honorary Recorder of Preston. He also served as Deputy Lieutenant of Lancashire. Standing at 6ft 6ins, he was a "gentle giant" who was widely respected as a firm but fair and one who fulfilled his duties very conscientiously but never lost his common touch. He was to fall victim to one of the most brutal killings in Lancashire. He had sentenced a loner called John Smith to borstal (youth detention centre) in 1968 for theft. Smith developed a warped obsession over the years that he was being persecuted by the police and the courts, and harboured an ambition to become Britain's most notorious assassin. He drew up a 'hit list' of persons he wanted to execute and the one he grew to hate most was Judge Openshaw, the man who had put him behind bars in the first place. On May 10th, 1981, he was seen waving his arms and screaming obscenities outside Preston's Crown Court. Smith then made his way to Judge Openshaw's house, waited until the Openshaws fell asleep then sneaked into their garage where he hid in the rafters during the night. At approximately 8:30 a.m the next morning, as the judge went to open his car to travel to court, Smith dropped from the rafters and knifed him to death in a frenzied and vengeful attack, stabbing him 12 times in the head, neck, and back. The judge's lifeless body was discovered in a pool of blood next to his car by his wife, Joyce. Smith was apprehended the same day following a car chase, and confessed to the murder. Bill Openshaw's funeral and burial was held at the 760-year-old church in Ribchester and attended by thirty top northern judges, three bishops and a cast of civic leaders, policemen and ex-servicemen. He was described as "filled with good, down to earth, common sense; respected as a judge, and as a man and for his community work." At his trial, Smith claimed he had been "filled with hate and hellbent on settling an old score," and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Judge, Murder Victim. He was a senior Circuit Judge who was murdered in cold blood by a man he had sentenced 13 years previously. After qualifying at Cambridge University, he began his career in the judiciary in 1937 as a "Circuit Junior". He was a Major during the Second World War in the King's Own Border Regiment of the British Army and spent much of the time in the Western Desert then served in Burma in a combined special-operations unit of the British and Indian Armies known as 'Wingate's Chindits'. He returned to the northern courts circuit as a forthright barrister, becoming chairman of the county's Quarter Sessions in 1958. The same year he became Recorder of Preston. He held both posts until 1971 when he became a Circuit Judge and Honorary Recorder of Preston. He also served as Deputy Lieutenant of Lancashire. Standing at 6ft 6ins, he was a "gentle giant" who was widely respected as a firm but fair and one who fulfilled his duties very conscientiously but never lost his common touch. He was to fall victim to one of the most brutal killings in Lancashire. He had sentenced a loner called John Smith to borstal (youth detention centre) in 1968 for theft. Smith developed a warped obsession over the years that he was being persecuted by the police and the courts, and harboured an ambition to become Britain's most notorious assassin. He drew up a 'hit list' of persons he wanted to execute and the one he grew to hate most was Judge Openshaw, the man who had put him behind bars in the first place. On May 10th, 1981, he was seen waving his arms and screaming obscenities outside Preston's Crown Court. Smith then made his way to Judge Openshaw's house, waited until the Openshaws fell asleep then sneaked into their garage where he hid in the rafters during the night. At approximately 8:30 a.m the next morning, as the judge went to open his car to travel to court, Smith dropped from the rafters and knifed him to death in a frenzied and vengeful attack, stabbing him 12 times in the head, neck, and back. The judge's lifeless body was discovered in a pool of blood next to his car by his wife, Joyce. Smith was apprehended the same day following a car chase, and confessed to the murder. Bill Openshaw's funeral and burial was held at the 760-year-old church in Ribchester and attended by thirty top northern judges, three bishops and a cast of civic leaders, policemen and ex-servicemen. He was described as "filled with good, down to earth, common sense; respected as a judge, and as a man and for his community work." At his trial, Smith claimed he had been "filled with hate and hellbent on settling an old score," and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
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