Met officer kept murder photos for bragging rights, tribunal told

A Met detective showed colleagues crime scene photos from a murder for “entertainment and bragging rights”, a misconduct hearing has heard.

Jason Grafham retired as a detective sergeant last Friday after being accused of keeping images from the scene where Sally Anne Bowman, 18, was found dead in 2005.

He is also accused of showing the images without a policing reason and making sexually inappropriate remarks to three colleagues.

He was not at the hearing in Southwark, but his Police Federation representative said Grafham admitted making three inappropriate remarks but denied keeping the photos.

The hearing was told Grafham, who was based in the Met’s Central Specialist Crime unit, had been “proud” of his role as exhibits officer in the Bowman case and spoke about it frequently.

Bowman was found dead in the early hours of 25 September 2005. She had been raped and murdered. Mark Dixie was convicted in 2008 and jailed for life with a minimum term of 34 years.

After colleagues reported Grafham had shown them the photos, his desk was searched and “extremely graphic” photocopies were found in a locked cabinet.

A witness, referred to as Miss C, said it had become a “running joke” how often Grafham mentioned the case. She said: “That job featured highly in his mind because it was very high profile.”

Asked whether the photos were being used for training, she said: “Not in a professional way, no. More of an old war story.”

Another witness, Miss B, said she believed Grafham was showing them for “entertainment and bragging rights”. She told the panel: “He liked to hold court, to talk about jobs he worked on, especially high profile. However on this occasion it was highly inappropriate, I found it disturbing.

“It wasn’t formal, it felt like he was bragging, it wasn’t for any educational purposes. I felt he was showing off.”

A third colleague, Miss A, said Grafham made sexually inappropriate comments towards her but added he “shouldn’t have been at work” due to issues in his personal life.

Grafham’s line manager, Det Insp Louise Caveen, said she was aware he was seeking help for an alcohol problem but that he remained in post until his suspension in December 2024.

The hearing continues on Wednesday.

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