Unsolved Murders in Devon & Cornwall

 

Reading clockwise from top left the victims of these unsolved murders are: Lyn Bryant, Peter Solheim, Esther Soper, Kate Bushell, Les Bate, Genette Tate, Monica Hughes and Peter Hughes

Because of the in-depth research going on into a specific case that we are working on at present, I have not been able to dedicate quite as much time as I would like to this site, I thought I would just pop this one up to keep our true crime fans grey matter busy.

In these times cases never really, truly go cold because modern policing allows for regular case reviews and of course computerised databases are updated every time a new clue or lead comes to light, combined with that is the amazing forensic science, which just changes every day.  Sadly with the passing of time and as media input lessens even the most serious investigations get left behind and remain unsolved.

The counties of Devon and Cornwall are one of those areas where there have been some pretty notorious murders that despite rigorous investigation appear to have been somewhat forgotten and are now just laying on file waiting for a clue to be "miraculously" uncovered to bring them back to life.

This particular area of the UK is made up of some towns, a couple of cities and an abundance of rural area. The road and rail links to other parts of the UK leave a lot to be desired and many locals seem to be quite a way behind in their approach to life.  I am of the opinion that this could be at least part of the reason for such a number of serious crimes being unsolved for a long time. 

Please don't be concerned I am not suggesting that there is a bunch of lunatic murderers out there waiting to pounce, far from it. To coin a phrase from BBC Crimewatch; "Remember these cases are extremely rare". Nonetheless, there are a significant number of major crimes, particularly murders that remain open and in need of attention.

Here are just a few of the most serious cases that are seemingly cold and unresolved.

Lyn Bryant

This is a case that I have blogged on previously you can read the full story Here

The 41-year-old victim of this seemingly pointless murder was killed on October 20th 1998 whilst out walked her dog in Ruan High Lanes, just outside Truro in Cornwall. 

Her body was found by a tourist in the gateway of a field, her clothing had been disturbed indicating a possible sexual element to the killing and she had been viciously attacked with multiple stab wounds to her neck, throat and back.

There seems to be quite a lot of very useful pieces of information and witness statements suggesting who Lyn Bryant had been in contact with prior to her murder, even some indication as to a vehicle that was thought to have followed her earlier that day, but the case ran cold due to lack of investigation combined with theorists suggesting extremely unlikely links to other murders based purely on a singular point of the victims had also been walking dogs. 

Peter Solheim 

This is what you may deem a partially solved murder as the victim's partner of some 9 years is currently serving a prison sentence for "Conspiring to Commit Murder" by planning and arranging the killing but not actually carrying out the deed. 

Solheim has been revealed to have been a very unsavoury character with an evil and very dark side to him. During a trial at Truro Crown Court in 2012 involving two notorious paedophiles, Jack Kemp and Peter Petrauske it was revealed that Peter Solheim had been involved in a vile ring that had abused children for a considerable number of years in ritualistic pagan and satanic settings.

Peter Solheim's former partner, Margaret James was convicted of conspiracy to arrange his murder, despite none of the motives really adding up and is rightly still appealing her 20-year sentence to this day. You can read more on her story by clicking Here

A very interesting blog looking at the unsolved murder was published by lolly true crime which you can read here why not take a look? 

Peter Hughes

Peter Hughes, Monica Hughes and Joan Harper were found dead in the Penhallow Hotel in Newquay, Cornwall after a fire on 18th August 2007.

Four members of staff from the hotel were arrested; Two hotel managers, the bar manager and the hotel porter but The Crown Prosecution Service said that it was not possible to bring charges due to insufficient evidence and the four were released without charge.

Local council took private prosecutions against the hotel owners for breaches of fire safety alleging a contravention of The Regulatory Reform Order (Fire Safety) Act 2005. The court ordered the owners to pay a total of £142,000 (One hundred & forty-two thousand pounds) in fines and costs. Two company directors denied any personal responsibility for the deaths and the prosecution felt it was not in the public interest to pursue the charges to trial. 

The hotel had been inspected in 2006 and several issues were raised including the lack of the appropriate L2 alarm system, only 26 of the 52 rooms had self-closing doors and some windows around the fire escape area did not have the fire-resistant glass fitted. 

The company admitted that it was fully aware of the faults but did not deem them as urgent but had begun to look into making arrangements for the upgrade works to be carried out. 

Fire investigators said that evidence pointed to the fire being started deliberately on the ground floor in the hotel bar's drink store using a naked flame. There was no evident motive for the arson but as a result of the ferocity of the fire, flames spread fast and at times leapt 30 feet into the air. 100 firefighters tackled the blaze with the first crews arriving within 4 minutes of the 999 call being received at 0017 hours, the first officers to reach the scene reported that "the hotel was already well alight". 

The hotel was demolished after it was deemed too badly damaged to be repaired 

Kate Bushell

The murder of 14-year-old Exwick schoolgirl Kate Bushell has never been solved despite a massive police investigation and a renewed appeal for information on the 20th anniversary of the killing. 

Kate was murdered on November 15th 1997 as she walked a neighbour's dog just a short distance from her home. Her body was found in a field just off Exwick Lane by her father on the same evening after he went out to look for her because she had failed to return home. 

The teenager had been killed by a vicious knife wound to her throat and when found her jogging bottoms and knickers had been pulled down to below her knees, yet there was no evidence of a sexual assault. It is my belief that the lowering of clothing may well have been for some sick glorifying of the murder or even to take photographs. 

I recently published a full article on this case which you can read by clicking this link

Esther Soper

51-year-old Esther Soper was a widow living alone in Plymouth, Devon. She had a slightly unusual lifestyle due to her religious dedication as an Exclusive Brethren a very strict sect of the Christian church.

The widow had been in the process of trying to sell her house in Trematon Terrace, Mutley Plain when she was brutally murdered on New Years Day 1976. Her body was found, wrapped in curtains in the hallway of her home by two fellow members of the Exclusive Brethren when they came to check on her well being after she had failed to attend a church meeting. 

Mrs Soper had been bludgeoned to death with a heavy glass or ceramic cider bottle and strangled with her own tights, the latter being some kind of weird and unnecessary act that is thought to have some kind of sexual overtone. It is possible that there was some sort of link between her religious beliefs.

Esther and her husband had both been regular members of the church for a long time and it is quite obvious that one way or another her murder had a connection to her membership of the Exclusive Brethren (aka The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church). Whether she was killed by someone from the church or someone who took umbrage at her beliefs it is not yet clear, but I am delighted to be working with a team who are passionate to further review this unsolved case, so we hope to have more answers in the fullness of time. 

Two recent blogs published by Lolly true crime make very interesting reading, you may like to read them for yourself. Blog one is Here (blog one) and the second updated blog is Here (blog two). There are ongoing enquiries in connection with those two blog posts, so I recommend you subscribe to the blogs so as to keep up to date.

The Esther Soper murder is not what I deem a "normal case", there are a lot of questions where the answers are so obvious, yet the police did not even seem to ask. One thing that really rattles the team is that not a single person has ever been arrested or even questioned about this murder, the truth is there and must out.

Les Bate

On April 12th 2002 Les Bate had been out for drinks at one of his favourite public houses The Maltsters Arms in Chapel Amble in Cornwall. Witness statements say that he had been waving a wallet around containing an estimated £1,000 in cash and a cheque for £11,000.

The next day Mr Bate's daughter had tried to contact him from her home in Australia and having constantly got no reply had become very concerned so she called her brother Martin who lived close to Les Bate and asked him to check on their father.

When Matin Bate eventually got into his father's home he discovered the body of Les Bate in a pool of blood on the floor of the utility room. There was no sign of a weapon, no evidence of a fight and no indication of forced entry. 

There was no immediate police investigation until some ten days had passed when the second post-mortem examination found that Les Bate could not possibly of died by accident.

His head had been smashed into the washing machine an injury that the Home Office pathologist said could not have been caused by a simple fall. He had deep bruising to his back which was conducive with having been knelt on or stood on and rib fractures indicative of someone kicking him from above. The injuries had caused a major blockage to a coronary artery which ultimately caused death.

The 71-year-old was described as "larger than life" character whose brusque manner could sometimes alienate people, but he was a "true Cornish character" by heart.

He was a farmer and self-made millionaire, owner of four farms and hundreds of acres of land. 

Detectives believe that the target of the murder was most likely the wallet that Les had been waving around in the pub on the night before he was found dead. 

Officers worked extremely hard to try to find Mr Bate's killer and forensic scientists found traces of blue suede in the rear pocket of his trousers where he kept his wallet but despite this, neither the wallet nor indeed the killer has ever been found and the case remains unsolved.

Genette Tate 

This case was one of the most high-profile investigations of the time. 13-year-old Genette Tate was out on her relief paper round job in the village of Aylesbeare, near Exeter, Devon when she simply vanished without a trace. 

It has been suggested that the serial killer Robert Black may have been responsible for the disappearance and presumed murder of the child on 19th august 1978 but I really don't think so. I feel there is a much more local connection and I feel the person responsible has lived with this for the past 42 years if they are even now still alive. 

I published an article on this case not long ago which details the case which you can read by clicking here. It is worth noting that this is one of the longest-running and best known missing person cases and has been described by Devon & Cornwall Police as a murder enquiry. Despite those factors, the case of missing schoolgirl Genette Tate remains unsolved.

In conclusion

These cases are all extremely serious and the fact that so many remain unsolved and somewhat cold is of very real concern. I am of the opinion that one or two unsolved murders on a particular police force books are a little concerning, but when it comes to several then questions do start to need answers. 

As I mentioned previously at least one of these cases is receiving serious attention but aside from writing blogs and chasing down the media to help in keeping the cases in the public eye, there is only so much that we as individuals can do. 

Please if you have any information on any of these cases that you have just read about, even the smallest thing then do contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or contact them online via their web page www.crimestoppers-uk.org 

I will leave it there and remind you as always if you have any UK case unsolved/cold or active but simply not getting anywhere do get in touch. I can offer case studies, reports, case reviews, writing for publications, research and scripts for film, documentary, podcast or even just a simple blog. 

My email address is: jaradcoldcases@protonmail.com

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