John Chipp | Pushed to Death | FilmRise True Crime | Forensic Files

JANE PERRY: A fatal fall from 80 feet off a bridge into an ice cold river in the middle of the night.
[music playing] - We could see scuff marks on the pipe, as if someone had been trying to cling on for their life
before falling to their death. JANE PERRY: A young student's life cut short. RUTH CHIPP: You never expect a child to go early.
It's like torture. JANE PERRY: Was it simply a bizarre accident-- - What he witnessed was John almost doing
a backflip over the railings and disappearing into the water. [music intensifies]
[water rushing] JANE PERRY: --or murder? - Unless he was punched with the force of someone
like Popeye, then he could not go over accidentally. [music crescendos] [calm music]
[seagulls calling] RUTH CHIPP: Our son, John Chipp, was born on the 11th of March,
1986, in Castletown, which is an area in Sunderland. [light music] He was a lovely baby.
He was bright. He walked early at 10 months. He was always fun. - He was very thoughtful, very loving,
very friendly with everybody. And he just loved life. MARK CHIPP - Mine and John's relationship was really good one.
We were very close. Our John was the older one. He was two years older than me. He was always there for us.
He would always stick up for us. He would always fight my corner, and we had some great times together.
[upbeat music] JANE PERRY: Like many young people in Sunderland, John loved soccer.
RUTH CHIPP: Even before he could walk properly, he was kicking the ball around. GEORGE CHIPP: He loved to follow
Sunderland Football Club. He was a season ticket holder. - We used to go out and play football together,
and he was great at football. So he just used to take the ball past me all the time.
JANE PERRY: John also shared his father's love of racing pigeons. - He used to love coming down, sitting with the birds,
helping his dad basket the birds and train the birds. RUTH CHIPP: It's the delightful John Chipp.
He's been in the sea. We enjoyed our family holidays, and we went to the Dominican Republic as a family.
MARK CHIPP: The holiday was great. We had a right laugh. I was 15 at the time. He would have been 17.
And we just bonded. It was great. I'd class him as a perfect brother. I-- I don't think I could have asked much more from him.
- He was very loving, very thoughtful. Always tell you he loved you and put his arms around you.
We couldn't have asked for anything better. [music playing] JANE PERRY: Situated in the Northeast of England,
John's home city of Sunderland is famous for more than its Football Club. - We've got a fabulous coastline,
lots of historic things, good shopping centers. It's a really, really nice area to live.
JANE PERRY: It's a city that former Detective Superintendent Ian Sharp policed for a decade during his 30 years of service.
- The city of Sunderland is a typical busy city center built around the River Wear, the deep gorge river,
ideal for shipbuilding, and one of the oldest bridges crossing the river is the Queen Alexandra Bridge.
It's 330 feet long and 85 feet high. [light music] JANE PERRY: By 2004, John Chipp had finished school
and was preparing for his next stage in life. - John was enrolled in college to do
a BTEC in public services. - I think he wanted to be either a fireman or a police officer.
JANE PERRY: John turned 18 on March 11, 2004. And a week later, on Thursday, March 18,
another friend was celebrating their big day. - When John finished work, he called in to see
his dad at the pigeon loft. - And he just says, dad, do you mind if I go out? I said to them, don't get too much
to drink, make sure you stick together, and make sure you come home together. - Went out with a big smile on his face
as he used excited to go and have a drink with his friends. - I didn't get home until after John had gone out.
We had our evening meal, settled down for the evening, went to bed, and John wasn't in.
It wasn't until the following morning that we both realized he hadn't come home,
and that's when alarm bells start to ring. It was not like him at all. He hadn't even phoned or left a message
to say he was all right. I had to get to work that Friday morning. But I think during the whole day, both of us
tried his mobile phone numerous times. He didn't answer. - The day have passed, and we just
thought he might have been partying at a friend's house or whatever. - When I came back from work on Friday evening,
that's when we reported him missing to the police. [light music] They wanted a photograph of him.
John always played five a side football at Nissan Car Factory Sports Club on a Friday.
We went there, and he wasn't there. - You get that feeling, you know there's something
wrong, desperately wrong. Just a gut feeling that you know it's going to turn out bad.
It was just like he disappeared off the Earth. JANE PERRY: Meanwhile, police were
rapidly escalating their inquiries into John's disappearance. - He was reported missing Friday,
the 19th of March to my colleague, Detective Sergeant Chris Sobenga. We get many reports of missing from homes.
This one was more unusual. The family were distraught and frantic. Chris Sobenga contacted the family immediately to seek
clues and help from them. We began inquiries around the mobile phone to see if there was any response from that.
And then began to review CCTV footage from the town center to see if they could pick up John Chipp.
[moderate music] CCTV, in its early stages, was very grainy and bad quality. But they were able to pick up John Chipp in the town
center at around 11:30. He'd been out drinking, and was very drunk, and had been spoken to by police officers
in the town center, who told him to behave and get himself on his way home. Further CCTV footage was reviewed,
and it was able to pick up John running home quite fast from the city center along towards
the Queen Alexandra Bridge. Another male was seen about two minutes ahead of him going onto the bridge before John ran
onto the bridge. The last movements of John entering the bridge from the south side was just after midnight at about
quarter past midnight. That takes us into the early hours of Friday the 19th of March.
[dramatic music] So we know that he went onto the Queen Alexandra Bridge from the south side trying to get home on the north side.
But he never came over the other side of the bridge. He wasn't seen again. The worst case scenario was that
he'd fallen from the bridge somehow, an 80-foot drop. [water rushing] A fall from the bridge of 80 foot onto the water
would certainly knock you out unconscious immediately. It's similar to hitting concrete.
The weather at the time was rough and a cold water temperature from the north sea.
The chances of survival from an 80-foot drop onto the river are very slim indeed.
[ominous music] [moderate music] JANE PERRY: In the days after John Chipp went missing on
March 18, 2004, possibly having suffered a fatal fall from the Queen Alexandra Bridge in Sunderland,
police and family grew increasingly concerned for his safety. RUTH CHIPP: You felt powerless.
You didn't know where to start looking. You don't know what to do. It's awful, absolutely awful.
[somber music] JANE PERRY: While police pieced together John's last known movements, John's father,
George, continued to do everything he could to find his son. - I just couldn't sit back and just sit-in the house.
I just had to be out there, looking. I'd went down to the river, because we used to walk
the dog down the river. I searched the allotments where I've got the pigeons. I never give up.
I went out looking every day. - I always had it in my head that he was going to show up.
He's somewhere. He's-- he's just being an idiot. Just come home, John. JANE PERRY: Investigators, led at this point
by Detective Sergeant Chris Sobenga were desperate for more information. Chris Sobenga was in close contact with the family,
and he urged the family to make a press appeal for further witnesses to come forward.
[light music] RUTH CHIPP: Sunderland Football Club, they were very happy to put an appeal out at their home game
that weekend. I was asked if I would do a local radio interview. Probably one of the most traumatic ones
was doing the press conference where people's cameras are clicking as you walk in a room.
[moderate music] HONOR DORO TOWNSHEND: There are a number of reasons why the police might choose to hold
a missing person appeal. The first one might be that they are looking out for people who might be witnesses,
without even realizing that they witnessed anything. There is the added benefit in a way
that doing this appeal is really highlighting to the victim's family that they are doing as much as they can.
A missing person's appeal can have the added bonus of putting pressure on people who either know information or
is aware of someone else being involved, because it can start to feel like those walls are
closing in. So it can encourage people who know something to come forward. [suspenseful music]
IAN SHARP: Police investigations at this point are centered around searching the riverbanks.
The Marine section of Northumbria police were involved, underwater search unit divers were involved.
But it is difficult because of the fast flowing tide and the deep silt. JANE PERRY: But almost two weeks since his disappearance,
there was still no sign of John. IAN SHARP: The police are struggling to find any clues or evidence.
The bridge has been searched and analyzed. There are no signs of any struggle or assault or
any blood, so there is no typical crime scene to start a murder inquiry. [light music]
JANE PERRY: Meanwhile, the local community rallied to support John's family. - I had people knocking on our door
with flowers, some people I didn't even know. I started to feel like we lived in a flower shop.
But you almost feel like your life's not your own at that time, because you just go through motions
other than your grief and your frustration of not having any-- anything to do or any news.
You function, and that's all. [suspenseful music] JANE PERRY: In late March 2004, two
weeks after John went missing from the Queen Alexandra Bridge, police received a call, which was quickly
brought to the attention of Detective Superintendent Ian sharp. - The phone call comes in from a member
of the public, who happens to be a family friend of a man named Christopher Weldon.
The witness told us that he'd been out drinking with Christopher Weldon and the wives.
There'd been a lot of alcohol consumed. Weldon's wife took the car keys from Weldon
and told him he was not capable of driving. Weldon objected to that. There was an argument, and he stormed off in a huff,
stating he was going to go to the Queen Alexandra Bridge and throw himself off. [dramatic music]
The witness told us that he'd been talking to Christopher Weldon, and-- and he said,
you'd never guess what's happened. I went to the Queen Alexandra Bridge, and as I was standing there, a young lad came running across,
and he's gone over the side of the bridge. [ominous music] The witness urged Weldon to go to the police,
but Weldon refused. So that witness came to the police and gave us that information.
And at that point, myself and Steve Barron became involved in a homicide inquiry.
[music crescendos] - The witness had quite a tale to tell, and I think we were all very surprised when he came forward.
Weldon had said, this young lad come running towards us, and he started to fight with us.
And during that fight, that young lad has somehow gone over the bridge. Weldon hadn't done anything.
He hadn't left the bridge and contacted the emergency services. In actual fact, he'd left the bridge, phoned a friend,
and got a lift home. The witness was willing to give that evidence in court. So now we have what we would refer to as a key and
significant witness. And now we are very much leaning towards the fact that what's happened on the bridge
is John has come across Christopher Weldon. There's been some form of altercation.
And as a result of that, John's ended up in the river. [ominous music] JANE PERRY: Investigators were grateful
that the witness had found the strength to come forward and report one of his own friends.
STEVE BARRON: He knows that if this turns out to be a murder and his friends found guilty of it, that he's going
to go to jail for a long time. I'm sure he thought long and hard about it, but I'm also sure that he was hugely
influenced by those appeals from John's parents. JANE PERRY: Armed with this new information,
Detective Superintendent Ian Sharp moved quickly to detain his suspect. - Christopher Weldon was arrested and
placed in the cells overnight. He was originally arrested for an assault case because he'd already confessed to being
in a fight on the bridge with a younger man. So the arrest for assault was appropriate because we
did not have a dead body. [radio chatter] JANE PERRY: With Christopher Weldon in detention
awaiting interview at Sunderland police station, astonishing new information about their suspect
quickly came to light regarding an incident that happened just 10 days before John Chipp disappeared.
- We found out that Christopher Weldon had been a passenger on a ferry. That ferry traveled from Amsterdam to North Shields.
And what we knew was that Weldon was on that boat with a number of friends. We also knew that there was a 35-year-old German man called
Frank Conrad on the ferry. - We know on that ferry trip, there had been an argument between Weldon and Frank Conrad.
- And when the ferry docked in North shields, Mr. Conrad was not on board. [suspenseful music]
Mr. Conrad, at some point during that journey, had gone overboard and into the North Sea.
- We know that Weldon was interviewed by police about a week before John Chipp went missing.
- So when Weldon was arrested in relation to John's disappearance, he's already a part of an investigation in relation
to Frank Conrad's missing episode from the ferry. JANE PERRY: Frank Conrad's body was never found.
And although Weldon was never charged, police were struck by the similarities between the cases.
- We have two reports of men going into water under circumstances that are not understood and not explained.
And both investigations now involve Christopher Weldon. [light music] - It's important to note that Weldon
never had any criminal charge associated with the ferry incident. However, that incident will have
meant that Weldon was aware that someone went overboard, was missing, and no criminal charges were brought.
And that does then pose the question that, did that give Weldon a kind of sense of self-assurance, a confidence that he then
felt he didn't need to go to the police when he knew that John had gone over the bridge?
Because he knew that no information had been found in relation to the ferry incident,
so why would this be any Different [suspenseful music] JANE PERRY: For Detective Superintendent Ian Sharp,
this was a unique and challenging case. - As a Detective Superintendent and senior investigating officer, I had investigated many murders,
which normally begin with a crime scene, a dead body, forensic scientists, pathologists,
blood splash patterns, and lots of clues to help you get started. This was a unique case because we had none of that.
And we were pinning our hopes on an interview strategy to see what clues we could pick up from Christopher Weldon.
So it was important to talk to him and find out exactly what happened on the bridge.
[music crescendos] [light music] JANE PERRY: With 18-year-old John Chipp still missing after
an altercation on Queen Alexandra Bridge in Sunderland, police needed to establish whether he had
accidentally fallen into the river below or if he had been pushed. While their number one suspect was
in the cells awaiting interview, police informed John Chipp's family of Christopher Weldon's arrest.
[calm music] - We had a visit from the CID. - But the information, what we got, we didn't really want to hear, because it was all bad.
- It was pure shock. We still didn't have John. We still didn't know the true facts behind what had gone on.
You just want to know where he is and why. [suspenseful music] JANE PERRY: As well as prompting
Christopher Weldon's arrest, the call made by his friend also led Detective Superintendent Ian
Sharp to re-examine the scene of John Chipp's suspected fatal fall. - When we got information that an altercation had taken place
between Weldon and John Chipp on the bridge, we examined closely a pipe that ran
alongside the barrier of the bridge, and we could see scuff marks on the pipe, like finger marks being dragged down
the pipe as if someone was trying to hold on before falling. [dramatic beat] It was gut wrenching.
It was terrible to think that someone had been trying to cling on for their life
before falling to their death. [dramatic beat] Seeing those finger marks on that pipe
certainly tied in with Weldon's first confession to his friend, that an altercation that took place,
and a boy had gone over the side of the bridge. [suspenseful music] What we now had to try and understand
was, was that an accident or was he deliberately thrown over the bridge? JANE PERRY: Ian and his team knew
that interviewing Christopher Weldon would be key to understanding what really happened on the bridge.
- Weldon's version of events is that he is there because he is contemplating taking his own life.
He says that he sees a young man running towards him, and that that young man begins to assault him.
Weldon describes that he somehow stumbles and his arms flail upwards. And in doing so, he catches John somehow,
and John is propelled backwards over the railings and into the water. Video interviews now are very commonplace.
But back then, they weren't. IAN SHARP: It was difficult to picture in your mind
exactly what you were seeing and to establish, was this an accident or not. I knew at that point the Crown Prosecution Service would think
there was reasonable doubt. So I decided on a new tactic to go to the gymnasium and set up a volleyball net at the same height of the bridge
barrier, and to get Weldon to reconstruct and tell us exactly what had happened, only
this time video record it to see if what he was saying was indeed possible. [camera shutter]
We said it at the height of 4 feet 2 inches, which is exactly the same height as the bridge barrier.
- And we essentially said to Weldon, can you show us what this looked like? And what he described was being knocked back during this attack
and lost his balance. His arm flew in the air, made contact with John. And what he witnessed was John almost doing
a backflip over the railings and disappearing into the water. - That's the version he was sticking to.
He was defending himself. He was the victim, and this young boy had somehow gone over headfirst over the side of the bridge
and had fallen to his death. - I'm thinking to myself from a common sense perspective,
I don't know if that's possible. - The difficulty now was convincing the CPS to charge a murder charge given that we
did not have a dead body. [ominous music] JANE PERRY: To help convince the Crown Prosecution Service
to charge Weldon with murder, they decided to enlist the help of pathologist Jim Sunter
and explained to him the circumstances of the altercation. - We said, if this young man has gone off
the bridge in these circumstances, what's the likelihood of him surviving an impact with the water?
And what that person said was, I'm convinced that that young man would not have survived that fall.
You simply haven't yet recovered his body. [suspenseful music] The next thing we asked him about
was, what did he think about the account that Christopher Weldon had provided? - He immediately said, no, that's impossible,
because your center of gravity is down where your hips are. The barrier rail is set at 4 foot 2 shoulder
height for a safety reason. And unless he was punched with the force of someone like Popeye, then he could not go over accidentally.
We got a very early statement from the pathologist at that point to support the theory
that John Chipp had been deliberately pushed over the bridge. And this was murder, not an accident.
[ominous music] [light music] JANE PERRY: Even without a body, the evidence gathered by Ian and Steve
was enough to convince the Crown Prosecution Service. On Thursday, April 1, 2004, they
authorized a charge of murder against Christopher Weldon, and he was remanded in custody to appear
at Houghton Le spring Magistrates' Court the following morning. Meanwhile, Ian and Steve visited John's family
to tell them that Weldon was now being charged with their son's murder. - I don't recall exactly what my reaction was,
because it's not happiness. You never expect a child to go early. It's like torture.
We still didn't have John. All I wanted was to know where my-- my son was so I could lay him to rest.
[light music] - Often, we talk about the significant impact on families when a loved one is murdered, but
it can be worse when there is no body to grieve over. Because there's this constant back of the mind thought of,
what if they're just missing? What if they turn up? Because there's no evidence physically
yet that that can't happen. [dramatic music] - The underlying priority for the family and for us,
was to recover John Chipp's body and give the family some peace of mind. And we made a promise that we would
do everything humanly possible to recover John's body. JANE PERRY: While police frogmen continued
to search the River Wear, investigators made another breakthrough in the case. - A witness came forward, and she described
entering the bridge from the North side, and she encountered a big man, who we now
know as Christopher Weldon. She walked past the big man. And as she walked towards the South side,
she saw what she says is a young boy running under the bridge. It is important that she places both of them
together on the bridge at quarter past midnight. That was the last sighting of John Chipp.
JANE PERRY: As investigations continued, so did the search for John Chipp's body.
[somber music] - It's important because that body will tell us a story. For example, was John alive when he hit the water,
or was he killed on the bridge first and then thrown over? John could have had a suicide note
on his body, which would indicate that he had killed himself rather than being thrown from the bridge.
- The officers from the Northumbria Police Marine Unit undertook hours and hours of searching
in the-- the river. We are in the most arduous of circumstances. - We had a friend that had a small, small boat.
For a couple of days, we went up and down the river, the same river as the police.
So they were on the south side. We were on the north side, but we had no joy. It was nigh on impossible, really.
[suspenseful music] JANE PERRY: On April 15, 2004, almost a month after John Chipp had fallen from the Queen Alexandra
bridge, and two weeks after Christopher Weldon had been charged with his murder, the search for John's body
came to an end. - A dog Walker at Hilton, a couple of miles up the river, saw a body floating in the river and contacted the police.
[somber music] The Marine section recovered the body from the river and brought it back to the dock at Sunderland, where myself
and Steve Barron were waiting. - John's mobile phone, and as I recall, his wallet were--
were still in his pockets. So that-- that indicated that it was John, and you could see that it was-- it
was John, albeit he was formally identified through DNA enquiries. [light music]
JANE PERRY: John's body was sent to pathologist Jim Sunter for a post-mortem, while Detective Superintendent Ian Sharp passed on the news
to John's family. - They just gave us that information and made sure we were OK, but I think
they knew that we needed to be on our own, and I think we just hugged and cried.
Part in sadness, but also relief that at least we knew where he was, and we could finally have some closure.
- I was in school, actually. I was in a lesson, and the two teachers come in and took me out of the lesson.
I thought I was in trouble. And they put us in the car, but they didn't say a word.
It was just silence. And then they took us home. And that's when I got-- got told that the body had been found.
And then when the teachers had gone, I just burst-- burst into tears, and I just jumped off the stairs
and just gave my mom and dad a big cuddle. JANE PERRY: While John's family were left to process the news,
a post-mortem gave investigators more information about what had happened to him the night
he fell from the bridge. - He had not been stabbed before going over from the side of the bridge.
- John had water in his lungs, which means that when John entered the river, he was still breathing.
- Pathologists said he would have been knocked unconscious immediately. And when he went under the water,
he took a gulp of breath, and water entered his lungs. The cause of death was given as drowning.
The property was still on the body, so he wasn't robbed on the bridge, and nothing else
to give us any indication that something else had happened on the bridge, other than an altercation and
being bundled over the side and into the river whilst he was alive. [suspenseful music]
Trying to put together a motive for John's murder, I think it's clear that Christopher Weldon's
standing on that bridge with serious troubles on his mind. He'd just been interviewed about a ferry death.
He'd had an argument with his wife. He was drunk. He'd gone to the bridge, and he told people
he was going to kill himself. He didn't kill himself and killed someone else instead.
[light music] JANE PERRY: After weeks of turmoil, John Chipp's parents were finally able to begin
preparing for his funeral. And his father, George, was determined that John finished the journey he started the night he died.
- I was told that there wouldn't be bringing them home, but I demanded he come home.
I says he was on his way home. He wanted to get home. I want you to bring him home.
They brought in that house, and we-- we had John in the house overnight, obviously, in his coffin.
That was such a relief. I felt much, much better just having him there for that night.
That was probably the best sleep I had had for weeks. [somber music] JANE PERRY: Finally, on May 12, 2004,
John Chipp was laid to rest. MARK CHIPP: The funeral was absolutely massive. Couldn't get everyone in the church.
Outside the church, the street was just packed. It was-- it's the biggest funeral I've ever--
I've ever seen. It was unbelievable the amount that turnout for him. - The street was lined by hundreds of neighbors, friends.
It was very moving. - It was an amazing occasion, but a-- but a very sad one. You can't believe that an--
an 18-year-old that still lived at home could have an effect on so many people's lives.
[birds chirping] [somber music] JANE PERRY: On June 15, 2004, Christopher Weldon
appeared in court at a plea hearing for pushing John Chipp to his death from the Queen Alexandra bridge in Sunderland.
It was the first time John's parents came face to face with the man accused of killing their son.
- I remember thinking, bizarrely, he's not a monster. I-- I don't know whether you think somebody is--
that does such a horrific thing to another human being can look normal. - I just seen him as evil.
I couldn't see him as anything else. [ominous music] JANE PERRY: After pleading not guilty,
Christopher Weldon was remanded until November 2004, when he went on trial for the murder of John Chipp.
To disprove Weldon's version of events, the prosecution wanted to show the jury a visual interpretation of what must
have happened on the bridge. - In the run up to the trial, we considered another new tactic of doing
a computer reconstruction. The defense didn't like it because it was prejudicial
and because it wasn't admitted in evidence. That caused the judge to instruct the jury to attend the bridge.
- It is very rare that a jury will physically go and visit a crime scene location.
The whole court process is supposed to be very secular, very kept within closed walls.
Now, it can be really helpful for the jury to help contextualize the scene. Specifically, in this case, they
need to understand the physicality, the physical possibility of Weldon's claim that John has just accidentally almost fallen
over the side of this bridge. And so this visit to the bridge is going to have had to be extremely well planned
and mapped out to be able to go ahead. [light music] JANE PERRY: Over 20 years later,
former Detective Inspector Steve Barron revisited the bridge to retrace the jury's steps.
- We wanted the jury to see what this looked like, a 4 foot 2 railing. And to get over here, you're going to have to climb over,
or you're going to have to be manhandled and thrown over. And we wanted the jury to understand what an 85-foot drop
looks like, because that's what we've got from here under the river. Coming here and seeing this footpath
made the jury think about the account that Weldon had given. And ultimately, that just demonstrated
that Weldon's account was totally fanciful. [dramatic music] JANE PERRY: The defense claimed that John's death
was an accident, and that he had attacked Weldon. - Defense was making John out to be an unpleasant individual,
that John was looking for a fight, and that's hard to listen to as a mother whose son had been murdered.
[moderate music] JANE PERRY: In his defense, Weldon also came up with an unexpected tactic.
- Incredibly, as part of the defense strategy, they introduced evidence about the ferry incident
the week before John going missing. - Where Frank Conrad had been reported missing,
presumed having gone overboard. And the jury heard that Weldon had been on the ferry
when this had happened, that he'd been interviewed by the police. - It seems extremely unusual that Weldon's defense attorney
would decide to bring up a case where Weldon's been questioned in relation to a potential crime
in very similar circumstances to the one that he's now on trial for. There are a couple of reasons that they might have
decided to do this, though. This is a relatively small local community. People are going to have heard about Weldon being questioned
in relation to this prior case, so they maybe thought it's better to officially introduce it to record and control the narrative
in relation to it. Additionally, they're trying to use this to paint Weldon as this victim who's being falsely accused
and has had these run ins a couple of times now. Ultimately, though, I think it backfires.
Because actually, it just goes to show that this is the type of person who's at least been suspected
of being able to show this level of extreme violence before and not even very long ago.
JANE PERRY: On Wednesday, December 1, 2004, the jury returned their verdict. STEVE BARRON: The jury came back with a majority of 10 to 2
that Weldon was guilty of John's murder. [somber music] - But you know what, we don't win.
We don't have our son back and never will do. So yes, there is some happiness and elation on one part.
But equally, that sadness is still there. [light music] JANE PERRY: Christopher Weldon was given a life
sentence with a recommendation of 15 years in prison minus the eight months he'd already spent on remand.
[thud] - In my opinion, it wasn't a fair-- it wasn't a fair sentence. - I pictured him as coming out at 42.
He's still got a lot of years to enjoy life, and I just didn't think the sentence was long enough.
- From a professional perspective, sentencing and guidelines are there for judges
to understand and implement. And on that basis, 15 years was entirely appropriate.
But had John been my boy and somebody had murdered him, I would want them to go to jail for the rest of their life.
[light music] JANE PERRY: After the jury's guilty verdict, the judge acknowledged Ian, Steve, and
Detective Sergeant Chris Sobenga's roles in what had been a tragic and unique case.
- The judge formally commended Ian, and he commended Chris and myself for our efforts
in supporting Ian leading the investigation. - At the end of the trial, Ruth gave me a thank you
card and a bottle of whisky. Getting a hug from Ruth was more important than the commendation.
[light music] JANE PERRY: With Weldon serving time in Northumberland Prison, John's family faced the challenge of life
without their beloved son and brother. RUTH CHIPP: You just have to try and move on.
I don't think any of us wanted to celebrate Christmas that year, did we? - We-- we actually felt guilty--
RUTH CHIPP: Enjoying ourselves. - --for trying to enjoy ourselves. MARK CHIPP: At the time, I was very young
and I didn't realize how much losing my brother had affected us. I think it changed my life drastically for the worse,
really, because I grew up without a brother, I'll never be able to be an uncle, stuff like that.
JANE PERRY: In the spring of 2019, over 14 years after Christopher Weldon was sentenced for the murder of John Chipp,
he became eligible for parole. - You are given the choice whether you want to deliver an impact statement at that
the parole hearing, and we decided that's what we wanted to do. JANE PERRY: But Weldon refused to attend the family's
statement reading. [light music] GEORGE CHIPP: I thought it was just a coward. He took our son away from us, and
he couldn't come and face us. He didn't have the guts. JANE PERRY: Despite not being able to talk directly
to Weldon, Ruth read the family's impact statement, in which Ruth described how losing John
had affected the family. RUTH CHIPP: "John was a much loved son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin, and friend.
The anguish that we all feel at his pointless death is indescribable, and it is very hard to put it into words.
Our son, Mark, was only 15 years old when John was murdered. He often speaks of his brother affectionately
and becomes upset and angry that John is no longer with us. My husband George and I are still haunted by John's death.
No parent should have to experience the tragic death of a child, especially in such awful circumstances."
JANE PERRY: John's parents requested the parole board keep Weldon locked up, but having served
his sentence, Weldon's parole was granted, and he was released under license in December 2019.
RUTH CHIPP: I wish he was still behind bars. However, I won't allow it to eat me
up and niggle away in my head. And I need to fill it with much nicer things than thinking about him.
JANE PERRY: Over 20 years since John's death, his memory lives on through his family and friends.
- We go out for his memory. We sometimes get together with the lads, like all his close friends, at the time or all my--
like, some of them are my best friends now. - In memory of John, we decided to raise money for the guide
dogs for the blind. We have managed to raise over 22,000 pounds. We have named a dog after him.
We had a black Labrador called Chippy. - My older son, who was 13, he's actually called John Chipp.
I named him after my brother in memory of him. RUTH CHIPP: John's old comprehensive school,
we decided to set up a subject award in art in his memory. We would like John to be remembered
as a young, ginger-headed young man who loved life, loved his sport. - Loved his animals.
- Mhm. - I'd like John to be remembered as a fun, outgoing, very kind, polite, lovely-- lovely person.
That's exactly who he was. - He was a much loved child, and we want his memory to continue.
[light music] [theme music]

The tragic case of John Chipp, who is thrown 85 feet to his death after a night out celebrating his 18th birthday.

Pushed to Death tells the stories of people who tragically passed away after appearing to suffer a fatal fall in suspicious circumstances.

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Brief Summary

John Chipp's death raises questions of murder after he fell from a bridge, leading to Christopher Weldon's arrest and trial.

Key points

A Fatal Fall. John Chipp's tragic fall from the Queen Alexandra Bridge raises questions of accident or foul play.
The Search Begins. John's family and police launch a frantic search after he goes missing.
Witness Comes Forward. A witness reveals a fight on the bridge before John's disappearance, leading to a homicide inquiry.
Weldon's Arrest. Christopher Weldon is arrested in connection with John's disappearance amid growing evidence.
The Scuff Marks. Investigators find scuff marks on the bridge, suggesting a struggle before John's fall.
Murder Charge Authorized. The Crown Prosecution Service authorized a murder charge against Christopher Weldon, despite no body found.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

He was very loving, very thoughtful.

Mark Chipp remembers his brother John.

3:01WatchFeb 5, 2026

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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