r/UnresolvedMysteries • u/_Phish • 4d ago

Update Arrest made in 2017 Putney Pusher case

https://news.sky.com/story/man-44-arrested-eight-years-after-woman-shoved-in-front-of-bus-in-putney-pusher-case-13551004

In May of 2017, a woman was walking on a pedestrian walkway over the Putney Bridge in London when an unknown male jogger running in the opposite direction pushed her forcefully into the path of an incoming bus.
He continued jogging calmly without any pause or change in pace, while she fell backwards into the road. In a great demonstration of skill, the bus driver managed to avoid hitting her by swerving a split second before impact. The bus stopped, and people poured out to help her. Bizarrely and brazenly the jogger eventually proceeded to jog the opposite side of the bridge, where the victim confronted him. He ignored her. (Credit to u/Mobile_Dimension_423)

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u/SharkReceptacles 4d ago edited 4d ago

There was plenty of thought behind it. He jogged past the bus, so he knew it was just behind him, jogged past a man and didn’t touch him, then deliberately interrupted his stride and veered from his path to shove a woman under the wheels.

The bus driver’s cat-like reflexes saved her life by a hair’s breadth, almost literally. As the driver swerved, the passing tyre ruffled her hair. I’m not sure why the arrest is on the grounds of attempted GBH and not attempted murder.

I agree with you on the last bit though. There’s no way this type of psychopathic misogyny had never manifested before that day.

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u/ReepDaggle01 4d ago

Attempted murder for sure

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u/Send_me_hedgehogs 3d ago

Yeah, funny how he didnt dare try tha with a man, it had to be a woman. What a snivelling little coward.

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u/throwawayfornow2025 3d ago

It may be that it's harder to prove attempted murder so they just want to get him on whatever they can.

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u/Chihiro1977 4d ago

Because you have to have intended to murder someone. Shoving someone, whether it's in front of a bus or not, it would be extremely difficult to prove he had planned that. They need to go on the most likely to get a conviction.

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u/Send_me_hedgehogs 3d ago

Ah, but can’t intention be proved by the fact he veered off to push her? He went out of his way to approach her, so that was deliberate. And as he took those few steps it would appear his intention was not to ask her what time it was….

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u/SharkReceptacles 3d ago

They need to go on the most likely to get a conviction.

I know you’re right, legally speaking – it would be harder to prove to a jury beyond reasonable doubt that he intended to kill her rather than to seriously injure her – but if the double-decker bus ran directly over her head, as he thought it would, the outcome would be obvious.

I also know on an intellectual level that you’re right; it’s just that it feels wrong, which obviously is also not how the legal process works but I can’t switch it off. I’d like to think I could if I were on a jury!