Executed on Easter Monday: The Alan Leppard and Brenda Long Case | Ep. 241

April 8, 2026·36 min·3 clips

Brenda Long was found dead in her bath with ether in her system, turning the unsolved shooting into a double murder mystery.

1. British Murders with Stuart Blues examines the double unsolved murder of Alan Leppard, shot on his doorstep on Easter Monday 1991, and his partner Brenda Long, drowned eight months later after being sedated with ether. 2. Host Stuart Blues presents the case solo, recorded on Easter Monday 2026 — the 35th anniversary of Alan's death — drawing on historical newspaper articles, court records, and BBC Crimewatch broadcasts. 3. The episode's central unresolved question is whether the same person or persons killed both Alan and Brenda, and if so, why two people with no known criminal connections were targeted. 4. Alan Leppard, 43, had worked as a quality assurance manager at P&B Metal Components in Whitstable since 1978, checking components used in electrical switches; colleagues described him as 'placid and easy to get on with.' 5. Brenda Long, 40, worked as an accounts manager at the same company, where the couple met; she had taken Alan's surname by deed poll to reflect their commitment, though Alan was legally still married to a previous wife. 6. Both victims had used multiple names — Alan had been referred to as Adam, Andy, Brian, and Steven in various reports; Brenda was also known as Diane by a neighbour — a detail the host flags as intriguing though Brenda denied any double life. 7. On Easter Monday, April 1st 1991, two men in a large white American-style car knocked on the couple's door at around 10pm; Brenda looked out and they fled, then returned at approximately 10.40–10.45pm. 8. When Alan answered the door a second time there was a brief exchange described by some reports as sounding like an argument, then a single shot was fired from what investigators believed was a shotgun; Alan collapsed inside the house and died in Brenda's arms. 9. A neighbour described the gunshot as sounding like a car backfiring, then saw a white Cadillac-style vehicle speed away and heard Brenda scream; Alan was already dead by the time the ambulance arrived, cause of death confirmed as gunshot wounds to the chest. 10. The car was described by multiple witnesses as big, white or light-coloured, American in style, and likely left-hand drive; it was spotted in Monkton multiple times over the Easter weekend, including near a pub car park in the village of Minster at around 11.10pm. 11. BBC Crimewatch featured the case twice — on April 11th and May 2nd 1991 — with the second appearance as the programme's opening case; presenter Nick Ross described it as 'feeling like something out of a second-rate Hollywood script.' 12. Two video-fit suspects were released: a man in his late 40s with grey-white hair and a stooped posture, and a younger man in his mid-to-late 30s, smartly dressed in a dark suit and red tie with a gold watch, who had entered the White Stag pub about three weeks before the murder and asked for Alan by name. 13. Alan's personal history complicated the investigation: he had been married up to four times previously and had walked out on his most recent wife and their daughter just before Christmas 1990, only months before moving in with Brenda. 14. Police investigated whether a nearby resident of similar age and build, who also lived close to the pub and had run a London car business for over 20 years, may have been the intended target, but officially ruled out mistaken identity. 15. Eight months later, on December 28th 1991, Brenda was found dead in a half-filled bath at her flat in White Marsh Court, Whitstable; police initially treated it as suicide with no signs of violence. 16. The April 1992 inquest reversed that finding: ether was found in significant, deadly amounts in her system, small rectangular bruises on her face suggested she had been sedated before being drowned, and the pathologist stated the ether levels were too high to have been self-administered. 17. Brenda's former partner of 12 years, Arthur Hibbert — who had spent Boxing Day with her, was the last person to see her alive, and found her body — was found on January 30th 1992 in a car with a hosepipe connected to the exhaust in what appeared to be a suicide attempt; he survived and denied any involvement in Brenda's death. 18. The episode is presented in a conversational solo monologue style; Stuart's tone is calm but openly baffled, occasionally editorialising with lines like 'come on, it's hard not to see a connection.' 19. Listeners who enjoy cold-case investigations with multiple unanswered threads, contested inquests, and English village settings will find this episode detailed and layered. 20. Those who find unresolved cases frustrating or prefer episodic true crime with clear resolutions are likely to find this unsatisfying.

As heard by us

A patient Kent case built around the suspicious American car and the unease it leaves behind.

A quiet Easter Monday in Kent becomes a murder story built on absence. There is no clear motive, no obvious background to lean on, and no suspect to settle the unease.

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Why you'd press play

You want a Kent murder case built around a quiet Easter Monday, no obvious answer, and one suspicious American car that keeps pulling focus.

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