As we all know, the film ‘Get Carter’ was based on Ted Lewis’s eponymous novel ‘Jack’s Return Home’. But did you know that the novel itself is loosely connected to a similar, real-life story that happened in the North-East only a few years before?
Angus Sibbet was a money collector for a well known local villain, Vince Landa, who controlled the majority of the one-armed bandit machines in the North-East. Well, on the 5th January 1967 the body of Sibbet was found dead in his car in South Hetton. Landa’s brother, Michael Luvaglio and Sibbet’s colleague, Dennis Stafford, were arrested and found guilty of his murder – both sentenced to life imprisonment but released in 1979.
Numerous similarities to the Get Carter movie are obvious, there can be no doubt about that – hence why it is such an intriguing case for many fans of the film.
Both men have vehemently protested their innocence since being released from prison and this week marks a major milestone in the crime, a full 50 years since it took place. Luckily, there are a number of good online articles that have outlined the case and are well worth checking out.
Firstly though, it may be useful to get a good background from the Wikipedia page of the murders.
- Newcastle Chronicle run us through the 12 facts of the case with a great picture gallery
- The Scottish Sun ask ‘were the pair really guilty?’
- The Sheffield Star give a good background on the case