Killing of Evelyn: Family speaks

In their first full length interview, Evelyn's family tell us how their mother's dream of a quiet retirement became a nightmare.

>> Life before Lund
Evelyn's first marriage, which lasted for 22 years, was far happier than the five years she spent married to Robert Lund.

Brought up in Rossendale, she met Arthur Taylor in an Irish bar in Waterfoot.

She was out with her father Fred; he was out with a navy pal. The pair got talking and became inseparable.

Arthur, from Stacksteads, went on to a successful career working as a district manager for Prudential Insurance. Evelyn, who was a hairdresser when they met, went on to be a social worker.

They had three children - twins Patricia and Elizabeth, now 38, and Victoria, now 30 - and also fostered several youngsters. They lived in Ulverston, Rossendale, Earby and Cumbrian Way, Burnley, before settling at Winter Hill in Darwen.

Patricia, a chef who lives in Blackburn, said: "We were a perfect family. Mum and dad loved each other and enjoyed each other's company.

"Mum liked cooking. She liked being with us, taking us on walks.

"She loved her animals. We got a brand new house in Burnley and she insisted on keeping chickens in the back garden."

She added: "We were always doing family things, going for walks in Grizedale forest and getting up at 6am to go picking mushrooms or blackberries.

"Sometimes we would come back with a jar of tadpoles and it would be like we had found treasure. We would go and feed the birds and come back with the bread bags on our heads if it started to rain.

"Mum devoted her life to her kids."

But tragedy struck when Arthur was diagnosed with cancer in 1991 and was given 12 months to live. He died just six weeks later.

>> Couple's fatal attraction
Feeling alone and depressed after the sudden death of her husband, widow Evelyn found solace in the attentions of tree protection officer Lund.

Lund and Evelyn met at a party at her home in Darwen. He offered to help her with her animals and by Christmas 1991 he had moved out of his caravan in Anyon Street and into the family home.

Daughter Victoria was 13 at the time.

"Mum was absolutely devastated after our dad died, as anyone would be," she said. "If she'd had time to grieve she'd not have got together with Robert, but he got her at her most vulnerable and chipped away. He wormed his way in."

Victoria, now living in Cornwall, said she saw many rows between the couple including several that ended in violence.

Then, she said, Lund began to isolate Evelyn from her friends.

"Mum was a real hostess," said Victoria. "She loved entertaining and having dinner parties for her friends. But Robert would be rude to them. They started to not come round for dinner.

"It was his tactic."

Evelyn and her first husband had been into country pursuits. Lund appeared to want a part of that life too.

Patricia's husband Alan Kay said: "He was always walking around in jodhpurs, going to riding lessons. He wanted to be like the country squire. Evelyn's money allowed him to live that life."

>> Dream becomes a nightmare
Evelyn had her heart set on moving to Scotland, where she and Arthur had dreamt of retiring to a life of peace and tranquility.

But Lund selected the secluded hamlet of La Veaute in the south of France.

Evelyn, who did not speak French, found it difficult to integrate into life in a foreign country.

Victoria lived with her mum and Robert until she went to start a job in the Alps. She said: "I was going insane there. There was nothing to do, it was so isolated from anything else. The nearest town was a 15-minute drive away."

The family believe that Lund tried to cut them out of Evelyn's life.

"He was playing mind games with her," said Patricia. "He would tell her we had phoned and left messages asking her never to call us again.

"We all sent Christmas cards and presents, and friends sent them too, but she never got them.

"Mum asked Robert to post a parcel of duck pate for a friend back home. It never arrived. We think he was hiding her post."

The family were put off visiting the house because of Lund's behaviour, but made the effort for their mum.

Victoria said: "He called Patricia stupid and Elizabeth bitch daughter'. He would have a go at mum if I had a bath or slept in bed late."

Patricia added: "He got her as far away from her family as possible. When we went to visit he would go and eat downstairs. We weren't bothered because we had gone over there to see her, not him."

Evelyn would often ring her daughters and tell them how abusive Lund had been towards her, they said. She had also discovered her husband was having an affair but did not know who with.

At one point, her family said, she made Lund move out, but he told her she would have to give him half of everything if they divorced and she took him back.

>> Evelyn's disappearance
On December 29, 1999, Evelyn ran out of her home following a row with Lund and, in a state of distress, turned up on the doorstep of her friend Marianne Ramsey.

Several hours later she left the Ramsey's house in Lombers and was never seen alive again.

Her family believe Lund had been setting a trail to elude the police even before she died.

Son-in-law Alan said: " I knew Robert was up to something. He kept trying to convince me that Evelyn was going mad. When you look back you can see why he was trying to do it. But we spent two weeks with her and I couldn't see any evidence of what he was saying."

They were also puzzled by a phone call on the evening of Evelyn's disappearance, when Lund rang to say the phone lines were now working.

Patricia said: "He had never once phoned us before and there was no mention of mum leaving the house. It was very strange."

The family were alarmed that Lund began talking about a funeral just weeks after Evelyn vanished. When her body was found, they say he showed no emotion and instead went to get the radio fixed on his car.

They are adamant that Lund had calmly calculated what to do with their mother's body - it was found 22 months later in a nearby lake.

Victoria said: "That lake had been chosen. It had been drained shortly before she disappeared so he would know where the deepest spot was. He knew what he was going to do and waited for an opportunity.

"He didn't just panic and dump her body. He knew he could come up with a plausible excuse - that she had been on her way home from Marianne's and got lost."

>> The 'Body In The Lake' trial
The case of the body in the lake' was finally heard in the Cour d'Assises in Albi eight years after Evelyn was killed.

Seeing their stepfather in court was harrowing. Patricia said: "He was staring at me and when I looked into his eyes they were empty, evil. He never once said he loved our mum. He was putting on a performance for the jury."

With the majority of proceedings being conducted in French the daughters had to rely on their uncle's French wife, Christine Wilkinson, to translate what was going on.

They were deeply upset by the picture that was painted of their mother. "It was made out she was a hysterical, drunken lunatic," said Patricia, "but that is not how it was at all."

Victoria added: "The people who stood up in court and testified were not friends of our mum, only acquaintances. Her only real friend that gave evidence was Marianne.

"Robert's supporters made out mum drank too much but they all drank too. There is nothing else for them to do. They would all start up at lunch. Robert would often go to the bar in town, drink Belgian beer and then drive home."

The family dispute a lot of the evidence given in court. For example, Lund's accusation they tried to steal Evelyn's bank statements was them taking evidence to the police. "It was just lies, lies, lies," said Patricia.

Once the verdict was returned the family were abused by Lund's supporters.

Victoria said: "How could they sit through all the evidence and still believe he was innocent?"

>> Aftermath
Despite a guilty verdict being returned, the saga is not yet over for Evelyn's family.

Lund can still appeal his conviction - and they hope that he does.

Patricia said: "They will still find him guilty and the sentence will be more severe. We want him to appeal, then he will get the sentence he deserves.

"He will never admit what he has done. Now he even believes his own lies."

Victoria added: "Twelve years is not enough for taking someone's life. We've lost our mother and have been through eight years of hell. I don't think we will ever feel normal again.

"We feel for Lund's family too. Neville has lost his brother and has put his life savings into fighting Robert's legal battles. Robert will never admit what he did - he would not want to lose face in front of his brother and supporters.

"Robert underestimated us as a family. He thought we would just give up, that we didn't want answers. We may not have all the answers but we have had justice."

After the resolution of an appeal, the family will be due civil compensation from Lund, running into hundreds of thousands of euros.

Patricia said: "We cannot think about that. We have to take one step at a time.

"What we hope is that one day in the future we can all visit the farmhouse together, with mum's grandchildren, and that we will be able to draw out some happy memories from this tragedy."