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Killer in the family podcast
A true crime podcast exploring men who kill their families.
Killer in the family podcast
Episode 42 - Julie and Maisie Harrison
In December 2009 Julie Harrison was dropping off her four-year-old daughter Maisie at her ex-partner Andrew Copland’s house when he dragged them both inside to shoot and kill them. Maisie died straight away but Julie held on for another 24 hours before succumbing to her injuries. Copland also took his own life. A controlling and abusive partner Copland took the opportunity of child contact to end Julie and his daughter’s lives. This is the story of Julie and Maisie Harrison.
Information and support
· Samaritans UK Contact Us | Samaritans
· National Domestic Violence Helpline UK 0808 2000 247
· Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse (AAFDA) Home - AAFDA
· Women’s Aid www.womensaid.org.uk
· Mental health support USA I'm looking for mental health help for myself | Mental Health America (mhanational.org)
· Domestic abuse helpline USA 1.800.799.SAFE Domestic Violence Support | National Domestic Violence Hotline (thehotline.org)
References
Clare Laxton is fundraising for Women's Aid Federation Of England (justgiving.com)
Family pay tribute to murdered Julie Harrison and daughter Maisie - Mirror Online
Dad ‘shot daughter, 4, and partner over secret lover’ | UK | News | Express.co.uk
BBC News - Funeral held for woman and child killed in Aldershot
Maisie and Julie "unlawfully killed" - Heart Berkshire & North Hampshire
Credits
Hosted and created by Clare Laxton @la
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Killer in the family podcast is a total labour of love. If you'd like to support me please buy me a coffee or tea!
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Hi there and welcome to Killer in the Family podcast. I'm your host, claire Laxton. Welcome to episode 42 and just a couple of bits before we get into this episode. As you know, this podcast is a total labour of love. It's just me, a laptop, a mic and a crapload of true crime documentaries. You can really help support the pod by buying me a coffee or tea. The link is in the episode notes under support the show, right at the end. I'll also share it on my socials. I had a really lovely listener buy me a coffee recently and they said, quote love the podcast and all the work you're doing to improve understanding on such complex issues. Well done. Thank you so much for your support. It genuinely, really means the world. Also, a couple of weeks ago, I got my official offer to do my professional doctorate, so I officially start in January 2025 and get to continue my research into intimate partner homicide and coercive control. So I'm really excited, although that sounds like the wrong word to use, but I'm really, you know, looking forward to delving more into these issues and really trying to make a change here, to delving more into these issues and really trying to make a change here. So let's get into this episode.
Speaker 1:In December 2009, julie Harrison was dropping off her four-year-old daughter, maisie, at her ex-partner, andrew Copland's house when he dragged them both inside to shoot and kill them. Maisie died straight away, but Julie held on for another 24 hours before succumbing to her injuries. Copland also took his own life. A controlling and abusive partner, copland took the opportunity of child contact to end Julie and his daughter's lives. This is the story of Julie and Maisie Harrison, so this is going to be a really tough listen team. For this episode, I've not only relied on news articles, but also a episode from the podcast British Murders. All my sources are in the episode notes, as are links to information and support if you need it. So let's talk about Julie.
Speaker 1:Julie Harrison. She was 40 years old when she was killed by her ex-partner. She had one older brother, chris, and grew up in Aldershot in Kent, which is in the southeast of England. When she was killed by her ex-partner, she had one older brother, chris, and grew up in Aldershot in Kent, which is in the southeast of England. She was absolutely adored by her family and friends. In an article in the Mirror, julie's dad, reginald, described her as a happy-go-lucky, bubbly girl. Apparently, she was always pulling his leg as well. She was a bit of a joker and he also said, quote her very presence made us feel good and we always looked forward to her visits. She was involved in charity work and loved animals and recently played the role of Father Christmas for the children at play school. Now Julie worked as a care assistant in a business run by a woman called Christine and she also latterly worked as a cleaner. Now she worked as a cleaner when she was also caring for her mother who had MS, multiple sclerosis, I think you know this really shows how caring Julie was, how selfless she was, how selfless she was. And, as her dad mentioned earlier, she also did lots for charities, especially, especially, animal charities, and helped out loads at her daughter's preschool.
Speaker 1:Now, in 1992 Julie married a guy called Kevin. According to the British Murders podcast, julie and Kevin met when they both lived in a shared property, like separate rooms, but in the same sort of property. Met when they both lived in a shared property, like separate rooms, but in the same sort of property. They stayed married for four years and split up in 1996. The split was pretty amicable and it was just due to differences in sort of how they wanted to live their lives, rather than anything bad that happened in their relationship. And after she split up from Kevin, julie was pretty happy, living her life surrounded by friends and family.
Speaker 1:In the early noughties she actually got together with a man called Andrew Copland, and Copland was the ex-husband of Christine who owned the care company that Julie used to work for. That's how she knew him. She knew him. He was a sort of painter decorator. You know general handyman and the British Murders podcast talked about how there were very contrasting reports about who he was as a man. Now, this is so common when we talk about an abusive and controlling man. Very often they have a public persona that they work hard on building and they are very different with their partners and intimate partners. It's a classic occurrence, so it doesn't surprise me that there are differing descriptions of Copland. On the one hand, his friends and people he used to drink in a pub with him said he was very quiet and reserved he actually had the nickname Ghost because he was so quiet and they said he was a pretty normal, polite guy living a regular life. But on the other hand, if you ask his ex-wife, christine, you get a very different story.
Speaker 1:Copland was violent and abusive towards Christine throughout their marriage. Copland was violent and abusive towards Christine throughout their marriage. When Christine eventually left him, he continued his abuse, as many perpetrators do, through stalking and harassment, and there were a couple of really concerning incidents to talk about here. Firstly, after they'd separated and when Christine met and started dating someone else, copland increased his stalking, surveillance and harassment. He actually confronted Christine, her new partner, and their child that she shared with Copland, with a crossbow Flipping crossbow.
Speaker 1:I cannot with this guy Now. Thankfully he didn't actually use the crossbow, but how terrifying is that. Not only this, but when he was arrested for this incident, he received a six month suspended sentence, which basically means he doesn't go to prison, but will if he offends within six months. Now, for me he really should have received a harsher sentence, but maybe that's you know with hindsight. This suspended sentence did not deter him at all and we talked last week in the episode last week about how perpetrators so often breach orders like restraining orders and suspended sentence, without being held accountable by police. It's a huge issue actually for the safety of women and children. Anyway, so undeterred was Copland that he actually then set Christine's car on fire. He did receive a prison sentence for this thankfully, two years in prison.
Speaker 1:Christine was so terrified of Copland that she had a panic alarm fitted. Now, having worked with many survivors of domestic abuse, this doesn't happen easily, so they must have seen that that he was posing a real threat to her. So when Julie and Copland got together, he was there with this history of violence, abuse, harassment, control and stalking and had a criminal conviction for these crimes. Now, I don't think Julie knew that and I don't think her family knew that either. And Julie had wanted a child for such a long time and was so happy when her and Copland had Maisie.
Speaker 1:Reginald, julie's dad said, quote Julie was completely devoted to her daughter, maisie, our beautiful granddaughter. Maisie was confident, happy, chatty, active, animated, a bright young girl who brought joy to our lives. She loved playing with her dolls and loved animals and had just spent a fantastic Christmas with Julie and our family. Now Julie and Maisie love spending time together and were like peas in a pod apparently. Now Julie and Maisie love spending time together and we're like peas in a pod apparently. She sounds like just such a lovely child and it's just so heartbreaking that she was only four years old when she was killed by her father, like she had only just started going to school and you know that exciting time in a child's life and you know starting to see what the world is about yeah, like with Christine Copland was violent and abusive to Julie.
Speaker 1:He would have angry outbursts and abuse her with physical violence. Now, as far as we know, she didn't tell anyone when it was happening and the police weren't involved either. After she left Copland and started a new relationship with a man called Lee, she did tell him what happened and after the murders Lee told the Express newspaper quote she told me Andrew had been violent on a number of occasions. He punched her and pushed her down the stairs. He'd also hit her in front of Maisie on one occasion. Now it isn't unusual for survivors of domestic abuse to not tell anyone, including the police, what they're experiencing. They'll often endure years of violence and control before even calling the police what they're experiencing. They'll often endure years of violence and control before even calling the police the first time. And if they do call the police, it's usually because they're afraid for their children rather than themselves. So I don't want you to think that because she didn't tell anyone, because she didn't call the police that the violence that she was experiencing wasn't serious, because that is not the case.
Speaker 1:Four years after Maisie was born, julie, sick of the violence and abuse, left Copland and moved her and Maisie into a flat of their own. This was in November 2009. And, as I mentioned before, she actually reconnected with a friend she knew from school online and started dating him too. His name was Lee. Things were looking up for Julie and Maisie and she was hopeful about the future. Copland, however, was not happy. He hated that Julie left him and that she was seeing someone new, like Christine, before he continued his abuse and harassment, and Julie didn't know that Copland knew about her new boyfriend. There was something else that people didn't know about Copland the fact that he had a gun. In 1998, on a construction job he was working on, copland found an old handgun in a skip. It was a 1934 Beretta 9mm pistol and was used by the Italian army. He fired it and it worked, and he took the gun home instead of turning it into the police.
Speaker 1:Thank you for watching. This is going to be a tough listen. We are going to talk about what happened on the 29th of December 2009. Julie started her day with Maisie and her new partner, lee. She'd had a really good Christmas with family and friends and was starting to hope that Copland was easing off in terms of his abuse and harassment. According to the British Murders podcast episode, she's feeling really hopeful and happy and was already thinking about her plans for the new year. After getting up on the morning of the 29th of December, she got Maisie ready to see her dad and took her off to his house. Her plan was to drop Maisie off quickly at Copland's house and then head back to her place to spend the rest of the day with Lee.
Speaker 1:Julie and Maisie arrived at Copland's house, and so quick was Julie planning to be that she left her car running as she went up to the front door with Maisie, clearly intending to drop her off with little or no interaction with Copland, and head home. Copland, though, had other ideas. It seems that as soon as Julie and Maisie were at the front door, he pulled them inside Absolutely chillingly. A neighbour of his saw everything. Rachel Southern, the neighbour, said, quote I saw Julie going up to the path and I assumed Maisie was seeing her dad and we smiled at each other, but her car was parked in the middle of the road with the engine running, as there were no parking spaces so I couldn't get out. I heard the door slam and I noticed that Julie disappeared from the doorstep. I heard bolts going across the door and could see Andrew in the door's glass window. He disappeared. Then I saw Julie appear banging on the glass.
Speaker 1:Now, little did Julie know that when she was dropping Maisie off, copland answered the door with the gun in his hand, forcing them both inside. Now what the neighbour saw next is just absolutely horrific. She said quote absolutely horrific. She said quote. Then her head just went back as if something had been thrown at her or if she'd been hit and then just collapsed.
Speaker 1:Now little did the neighbour know at that moment Copland had shot Julie. She'd fallen to the ground in the hallway and then he went to the back of his house, into the kitchen where Maisie was and shot and killed her in the head. In the hallway of his house he shot himself and took his own life. Now the neighbour had already called the police and another neighbour's did the same, as Julie's car was blocking sort of the path of other cars, and the police arrived just six minutes later. So they were there so quickly, and Julie was actually leaning against the front door, so they sort of had to push it hard and and her aside, to actually get into the house. And what they found, I am sure, will stay with them until this day Now. Julie was actually alive at this point and she was quickly rushed to hospital. The police then found Maisie in the kitchen and they could see that she had been shot and killed, as well as finding Copland's body, who'd also been shot by his own hand and had died Despite fighting for her life that day. Julie sadly died the next morning in hospital, thank you.
Speaker 1:Needless to say, the murders of Julia Maisie not only rocked the local community, but also her family and friends. Her dad said, quote the loss of our beloved Julia Maisie has devastated our family and close friends, and this is something we're having great difficulty in coming to terms with. On behalf of our family, I'd like to thank the hospital, the police and everyone who's given our support during this incredibly distressing time. If there is any good to come from this tragedy, it is that Julie has given the gift of life to many others by donating her organs, and you know what a quote by Julie's dad there to even be able to see that positive and how. You know not positive, but how important it is that Julie was able to donate her organs and, you know, potentially save other people's lives as well.
Speaker 1:Now there was an inquest into Julie and Maisie's murders, which reported in March 2010. Which reported in March 2010. The North Hampshire coroner, andrew Bradley, ruled that Maisie and Julie were unlawfully killed and that Andrew Copland took his own life. He also said for Copland to kill his ex-partner and daughter was abhorrent and could never be justified and that the reason behind the tragedy would never be known. And that the reason behind the tragedy would never be known. Just stay with that for a second.
Speaker 1:Indeed, in the police statement at the time, they said that no one could have predicted or prevented the murders. Now we've got a couple of issues with these statements. While I'm not saying that the murders could have been prevented you know I do take issue with these statements from the coroner and the police we do know the reason behind the murders could have been prevented. You know I do take issue with these statements from the coroner and the police. We do know the reason behind the murders. It's not a tragedy like it's an accident. It is the abuse, power and control from Copland. He was obsessed with Julie as he was with Christine after she left him as well. He was controlling and couldn't bear that she had left him and potentially found someone else. There's a very clear reason. If people just take a little bit of time to think about it and thinking about what the police said again, although I'm not saying that these murders could have been prevented, I genuinely believe that if professionals understood the nature of coercive control and abuse, then they would have known that Copland was potentially extremely dangerous when Julie left him with Maisie, particularly because Julie still had contact with him, because he would be seeing Maisie through child contact visits. Copland had proved before that he was violent and abusive and that he wasn't being deterred by being arrested or charged by the police. He actually set Christine's car on fire after he received a suspended sentence for threatening her with a crossbow. Now, as someone on Married at First Light Australia said last season hey, don't judge me. When someone shows you who they are, believe them. And Copland had already shown himself to be abusive, controlling and obsessive with Christine. So let's believe him when he does it again with Julie.
Speaker 1:And we talk here a little bit about sort of child contact and the dangers of it now. Now, as we know from cases such as Hannah Clark and her children that we talked about in episode two of the podcast, child contact after separation with a perpetrator of abuse can be used by the perpetrator to continue the abuse. Women's Aid have a campaign called Child First, which I helped launch in 2016,. That called for safer child contact and better understanding of domestic abuse and coercive control by family courts. This campaign led to a huge report that was published by the Ministry of Justice in 2020, called the Harm Panel Report. It made a whole series of recommendations for change, but one of the main findings of the report was that child contact quote enabled the continued control of children and adult victims of domestic abuse by alleged abusers, as well as the continued abuse of victims and children. And this is so important because it's seeing, it's helping to see particularly Julian Maisie's case in that wider context of coercive control, harm and power that Copland wanted.
Speaker 1:And while I don't think that the child contact between Julian and Copland was coordinated through the family courts, so it was more like informal child contact, it could still have been used by Copland as a mechanism for control and power. Indeed, he used the opportunity of a child contact visit with Maisie to kill them both. He had clearly been planning it for a while. So, again, while I'm not saying that the murders of Julian Mazie could have been predicted or prevented, I am saying that the harm and danger that Copland posed to both Julian Mazie could have been worked out if professionals were involved and they had thought more about his past behaviour, his criminal past with ex-partners, his history of abuse and control after separation and the dangers of coercive control when it comes to homicide. Even his neighbours could see the dangers he posed to women. According to the Eye newspaper, one of Copland's neighbours said he had been angry and depressed since Julie had left him in November, saying quote when I moved in, a neighbour told me that Andy wasn't having a good time because his partner had taken the child and moved out. Someone told me that he was obsessed with her. He struck me as someone who hated women, and I think that's a pretty good summing up of Copland, to be fair.
Speaker 1:Now, before we finish this episode, I wanted to talk a bit about the media response to the murders as well, and you know this was 2009, so it's about 15 years ago, but, as with so many stories that we discuss on the pod, the media response and narrative to the case has definitely been left wanting. One article talked about a domestic row which caused Copland to murder Julian Mazie. Another talked about how a secret lover caused the murders as well. The worst one I saw was the headline dad shot daughter and partner over secret lover. Right. Number one she wasn't his partner, they had split up. And number two there wasn't a secret lover because she wasn't his partner. Have they all forgotten that Julie and Copland were no longer in a relationship? Therefore, if Julie had a new partner, that's absolutely fine and 100% not a justification for murdering her and his four-year-old daughter. Another headline said that Copland was angered by the breakup yet more justification for what he did. I just I can't with these headlines. They are so trying to justify what he did and give reasons why, but none of them talk about abuse, control and power, and none of them talk about what actually happened, which is that this perpetrator couldn't bear that. He lost control over Julia Mazie and decided to kill them and himself.
Speaker 1:Now Julia Mazie were buried in January 2010 in Holy Trinity Church in Hampshire. According to the BBC, reverend Martin Neal said at the funeral. Quote Today is not a day for bitterness or anger, still less for recrimination. It's certainly a day of sadness, profoundly felt by all who've known Julie and Maisie, but it must also be a day of loving reflection for two lives lived in our affection and honoured by the happy memories of many. Julie was something of a free spirit. She made up her own rules and was determined to plough her own furrow, going with the flow. Now, when talking about Maisie during the funeral, the Reverend said, quote she was a quietly popular girl, well adjusted to sharing with friends, enjoying all the hard work of getting ready for the school Christmas. Her little friends from school and her teachers are missing her so much. Oh, wow, that that was. That's really tough and it's just so heartbreaking. This episode is dedicated to Julia, maisie, and I'm going to finish with some words about Julie from her friends, which were read out at her funeral Quote. Underneath her playfulness was warmth, kindness and care. She wore her heart on her sleeve and loved like a lion.
Speaker 1:This has been Killer in the Family podcast written and produced by me, claire Laxton, with the music from Brilliant Tombox and Pixabay. I'll be back next week with a new episode. So please subscribe wherever you get your podcast. Don't forget to send me any comments or questions to my insta at killer in the family pod or through a text via link in the episode notes. Do let me know any stories you'd like me to cover as well. Also, don't forget that you can buy me a coffee if you like the podcast and help. Support is running. The link is in the episode notes. Until then, I've been Claire Laxton. This is killer in the family podcast. Until next time, take care, thank you, thank you.
