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Sandbrook
Details
Type Town
Location Unknown
Country United Kingdom
Population Unknown

Sandbrook was a town mentioned many times during Series 1, but never seen on screen. It was where DI Alec Hardy had previously worked on a case involving the murder of two female cousins, ages 12 and 19. It seems to have been very similar to the situation in Broadchurch, in that a murder case happened in a quiet community. Hardy moved to Broadchurch after the ordeal there to relax and get out of the eye of the media, as the media was very dissatisfied with the outcome, or lack of outcome, of that case. However, it's later revealed that Claire Ripley had also re-located to Broadchurch with Hardy. Beth Latimer met the murder victim's mother, who showed her empathy for her situation of living after her young child had died.

The Sandbrook Case[]

The Sandbrook case concerned the murder of two cousins in the town of Sandbrook. The investigation was headed by DI Alec Hardy with his wife as DS. It fell into disaster after a vital piece of evidence, the pendant, was stolen after the DS left it in her car along with other valuables while she met with another man in a hotel to have an affair. Hardy covered for his wife, telling the press that the loss of vital evidence was his fault, because he didn't want his teenage daughter to find out her mother had had an affair. After this piece of evidence was lost, they couldn't make the case, and it was left open with the killer never found.

The victims were Pippa Gillespie and Lisa Newbury. Lisa, the oldest of the two, was Pippa's cousin, who frequently babysat whilst her parents, Ricky Gillespie (Lisa's uncle) and his wife Cate, went out.

Pippa's body was found in the Sandbrook River by Alec Hardy; however, Lisa's body went unfound until her killer was identified and caught. 

The prime suspect for the murders was Lee Ashworth, who lived next door to the Gillespie family. Lee lived there with his partner, Claire, who later relocated to Broadchurch prior to Danny Latimer's murder. Other suspects included Claire, Pippa's father, Ricky, and an unnamed 'stalker' who lived on their estate.   

In the series 2 finale, Ricky Gillespie was revealed as the killer of Lisa, and Lee Ashworth as the killer of Pippa.  

 

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