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

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/adams_jarad

Connect with me via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jarad-adams-8360751b4/

Lyn Bryant - Murder Unsolved

 

Lyn Bryant was aged 40 when she was murdered whilst out walking her dog

On the afternoon of October 20th 1998, a 41-year-old housewife set out on a regular dog walk with her Lurcher called Jay. Lyn Bryant took her usual very familiar route along the Ruan High Lanes, under a mile from her home, a walk that she took alone with her dog every day. She was wearing a Tan waxed coat, dark jeans and a blue jumper with brown walking boots.

Lyn was last seen alive at 1.45pm close to the Ruan Methodist Chapel chatting to a man described as being in his 30s and around five feet, nine inches tall and wearing 'light' clothing. I feel this is one of the earliest indicators of something a little unusual. Remember it was an October day and therefore not that warm, in fact, the weather forecast for that day (link below) suggested rough wet and windy conditions so why was this man dressed so lightly? 

20th October 1998 Weather

Anyway, I digress. . . 

A tourist found the body of Lyn Bryant in the gateway to a field at 2.30pm, her clothing had been disturbed possibly indicating a sexual motive for the murder, She had been savagely attacked with multiple stab wounds to her neck, throat and back. The tourist called 999 and when the air ambulance arrived at around 2.50pm Lyn was sadly pronounced dead at the scene. 

Evidence shows that Lyn had fought hard with her killer and therefore the person responsible for her death would have been covered in blood, probably bruised and certainly pretty shaken. Forensic officers say that they believed that the killer had been with Lyn Bryant for some time and that injuries suggested that she had been stabbed whilst standing up and again laying horizontally. The dog had not been harmed at all during the attack. 

Lyn had been to her regular job as a cleaner at a local house, then briefly popped in on her parents on her way home. She had then gone out again driving her car, a grey Ford Sierra, when she firstly visited Harris Garage but having discovered that they were out of petrol she then drove on to Chenoweth's garage where she filled her car with petrol, bought some foodstuffs and went home. 

It was noted that during her drive Lyn was followed by a man described as being of large build and around 50 years old with a scruffy beard, he was driving a white van, possibly a Volvo van which was seen on the forecourt of Chenoweth's garage at around 1.05pm. More than 6,700 white vans and their owners have been identified and tracked during the course of the long-running investigation.

Lyn returned home and had lunch with her 19-year-old daughter Erin during which they discussed Lyn's upcoming 41st birthday, before setting out to walk the dog.

As you can see things seemed to happen in somewhat of a succession and over quite a small space of time. I mean let's just take in that at 1.05pm Lyn is at a petrol garage fuelling her car and shopping. By 1.50pm she had driven the mile or so home, presumably put her shopping away, had lunch, got her coat on and made her way to the Ruan Methodist Chapel and was talking to a man. Just 40 minutes later she was found dead in a field gateway. It seems suggestive to me that Lyn Bryant may have gone out quite quickly after her shopping trip in order to meet the male, whilst I am unable to find any actual evidence of this it does seem more of a distinct possibility. Did Lyn go out and unwittingly meet her killer? Just a thought. 

A critical sighting was made by a farmer at between 2.45pm and 3pm when he saw a man walking across a field which does not have a footpath close to it or surrounding it and according to the farmer was never normally used by walkers. The man was wearing what the farmer described as normal clothes and shoes which of course is quite odd for two reasons, firstly the weather was wet and rough and secondly, he was crossing fields in late autumn when it would obviously be muddy. 

A vital piece of evidence is a quantity of vivid blue polyester-cotton mix fibres found on Lyn's body. The police have since identified them as the sort used in the manufacture of polo shirts and sweatshirts. There has been no identification as to a specific manufacturer or brand thus far, obviously, that would narrow things down still further, It is fair to assume that the fibres were left by the killer as they were completely alien to Lyn and her home, again this is suggestive of a link to the man seen wearing 'normal' clothes perhaps, but we should not explore a line with no supporting evidence either.

Some four months after the murder on the 2nd February 1999, Lyn's tortoiseshell spectacles were found just 3 feet from where her body had been discovered plainly sitting on top of the mud, an area which had been intensely searched by police. 

The 2nd February was a dry and mild day with temperatures as high as 8 degrees Celsius in Cornwall so it's not like the glasses suddenly blew out of a tree in a storm or anything. So did the killer return to the murder scene for some strange reason maybe to relive his or her sick fantasy again? Another question which pops into my mind, did the person that reported finding the glasses actually "find" them on that day or on the day of the murder? Did that person have a connection to the murder, maybe the killer was known to them and they hid that from the police?

The police are absolutely certain that there was no way the glasses could have been missed during the in-depth search of the area in October and as the area was a muddy and well-used entrance to a field the glasses would have been damaged or buried long before a six month period had passed. There is something really quite curious about the "discovery" of those glasses that I feel somehow is very relevant to identifying the killer. I truly believe that when the person found those glasses and reported the find to the police it was one of the moments when the police were, in fact, closest to revealing the killer's identity.

During the murder investigation, the police interviewed every male aged between 14 and 70 years old on the Roseland Peninsula but they did not reveal anything of real relevance and certainly did not find Lyn Bryant's killer.

The area where this murder took place is a very remote area of Cornwall and the murder investigation team are satisfied that the killer was almost definitely a local person with good knowledge of the area. Senior investigating officer detective Stuart Ellis said "This is a very remote area and not the kind of place someone is liable to just wander into" He went on to say that it is much more likely that the killer was someone that had a definite reason to be there, whether that be work, family or another connection but the indication is that it is almost certain that the person that was responsible has good local knowledge and local contact.

A very interesting little twist to this story is that in 2013 a self-proclaimed psychic medium and drag queen known as Tristan Rees came forward to police claiming that he had seen regular visions of Lyn's murder and that he was visited by her spirit. During such "visits" the spirit showed Tristan what he described as almost film-like footage of her being followed then murdered. He said that he had begun to receive these spiritual communications just a few months after Lyn Bryant was murdered and they were very graphic, however, he did not contact police as he felt he may be made a suspect. 

Police did indeed treat Tristan Rees as a suspect in as much as they took DNA samples from him but no action was taken against him. Tristan later said that he believed the police had taken his samples because of how much detail he was able to give to them. He described the vehicle in which the killer fled the scene and the killer himself but I think the police possibly saw Tristan Rees more like a suspect than an informant due to the length of time that had passed before he came forward. 

Tristan described the killer as having ginger but greying hair, a wrinkled face and wearing a blue boiler suit and heavy boots which were covered in blood when he left the scene. He was driving a large white van. The clairvoyant said that he was plagued by the spiritual images and visions for some 15 years before he eventually found the courage to contact Devon and Cornwall police and give them his drawings of the suspect and details of the murder. I personally feel that there is good and credible evidence in Tristan Rees's words but it seems the police did not take things seriously enough. 

He said that he left the drawings and description documents at the police station and the spiritual communications stopped, that was the last that he heard of it all until some two years later when two plain-clothed police officers arrived at his home and took DNA samples. As far as I am able to ascertain Tristan has not been contacted further and is unsure whether he may still be considered a suspect. 

I would love to speak to Tristan Rees but I have not so far been successful in establishing contact, I will, of course, advise you here and via social media if and when that changes. 

In 2015 police went back to basics so to speak and undertook a full forensic view of the case during which they examined hundreds of exhibits. A partial DNA profile of the person believed to be Lyn's killer was able to be found 

It has been suggested that there may be links to some other murders of lone women walking dogs within a few months of each other, do I think they are linked? In all honesty, I doubt it. There is a slight possibility that the murder of Kate Bushell may possibly be linked due to some similarities but I feel that the murders of Helen Fleet and Julia Webb are almost certainly separate cases. 

Helen Fleet was murdered in March 1987 so over 11 years before Lyn Bryant and Julia Webb's murder took place some 310 miles away from Roseland Peninsula in Cornwall and even 223 miles from Exwick in Devon and there was no stabbing of the victim at all. The only way I see any link could be established between the killing of Helen Fleet, Lyn Bryant and Kate Bushell is to explain the very long gap between the murders. If anyone has anything that you would like to suggest then do please get in touch, I would be delighted to hear from you my contact details are below and of course you can leave me a comment here. 

Of course, if anyone reading this knows anything or even believes they do then please do get in touch with Devon and Cornwall Police or Crimestoppers at once, remember even the smallest piece of evidence, a name, a vehicle identity or a location can change this enquiry and lead to justice for Lyn and especially for her family left behind, still not knowing who was responsible for her horrific murder or why.

Points of interest

(Not necessarily related to the case) 

20th October 1998 was Tuesday and was the 293rd day of the year (the 42nd Tuesday of the year) This pattern of dates will be exactly the same will be 2026 when in effect you could reuse your 1998 calendar 

In mythology, October began the season for military campaigns and ended the season for farming. In the Roman religion October 19th, the day before this murder the festival of Armilustrium was celebrated in honour of Mars, the god of war. On this day soldiers, and weapons were purified 

Kate Bushell Murder - Was it a serial killer?

 

This is Kate Bushell, she was just 14 years old when she was savagely murdered

This is a tragic case that just has not received enough publicity and has possibly been stalled by certain theorists putting forward ideas and possible explanations that really make little or no sense. This has taken the public eye away from identifying genuine evidence as the theories suggest one man responsible for several murders, which is not necessarily true particularly in this particular matter. I will try to explain what I mean whilst covering the case. . .

Okay so let's take a quick look at the bones of the story

It was Saturday, November 15th, 1997, 14-year-old Kate Bushell had a lay in after a tough week at school then got up and headed into Exeter City centre to do some research for her homework then to do some shopping with her mum Suzanne. Kate and her family lived in the village of Exwick in Devon so Exeter was the nearest major shopping area for them, 

After completing her homework research Kate and her mum went to buy a CD by one of Kate's favourite bands and did some birthday shopping for her older brother's upcoming birthday. The weather had taken a decent break so they were able to enjoy their shopping, had it been the next day then the weather was much more rough and wet. They then returned home and Kate went to her room to complete her school homework. Kate was a very well thought of pupil at St Thomas High School and always did her work to a high standard. 

Kate was a dog lover and although she did not have one of her own she would often take care of and walk dogs for other people and Saturday 15th November 1997 was indeed one of those days. At 4.30pm Kate set out to walk a Jack Russell dog that belonged to neighbours, Stuart & Alison Smith who were on holiday at the time.

We know that Kate walked along Burrator Drive, which was the street in which she lived, then headed towards Exwick Lane. She and the dog Gemma continued past Exwick Heights Primary School and down into the lane. Kate had told her parents that she would be gone about 20 minutes but at 5pm they noticed she had not returned and as time continued they began to be concerned. It was winter so of course, it was dark before 5pm.

By 6.45pm the couple became very worried so dad Jerry set out to look for his daughter and Gemma the dog. He went around the estate to see if he could locate Kate but no luck so he decided it was time to call for help and thus returned home to call Devon & Cornwall Police. Whilst the police were on their way Jerry asked a neighbour if he could borrow a strong torch and headed out again to look for Kate whilst Suzanne stayed at home in case their daughter returned. 

Jerry carefully retraced what he believed would have been his daughter's route along Burrator Drive and into Exwick lane.  At 7.30pm Jerry walked along the lane, which by then was very dark and so shone the torch around the stile that leads into the entrance to the field where he knew Kate may well have chosen to have exercised the dog. The torchlight caught in the eyes of Gemma the dog and then landed on the lifeless body of Kate, I can only imagine that Jerry must have been absolutely devastated by the sight that met him. 

Kate's throat had been slashed deeply and the top half of her was covered in blood. Her Reebok jogging trousers had been pulled down to her knees but, rather strangely there was no evidence of any sexual assault, this leads me to three possible explanations:

1. Kate's attacker had planned on sexually assaulting her but had been disturbed and made off before the act could be completed, but I feel this the least likely.
2. The attacker had layed her that way deliberately as a mark of power to show the child had not only been savagely murdered but was very much vulnerable and in the power of the killer even after death. This in my opinion is the most likely of all scenarios.
3. Kate had been 'taken short' and had stopped to urinate when she was attacked, again not really that likely, but still not to be ruled out

The murder scene was literally only a few minute's walk from the Bushell family home in Burrator Drive and so it was suggested that it may well have been an opportunist crime, but I can honestly say I am not convinced on that. I believe that it is quite unlikely for a killer to have set out to just randomly grab and kill someone, particularly a young girl. I feel this was more than likely very much a premeditated killing and that the killer may well have known the planned movements of Kate on that tragic Saturday. 

You see this in my opinion is where the so-named 'professionals' sometimes misjudge and misread situations, which completely changes the route that the investigation then follows.  My point is that the lane and field in question are literally used by approximately 100 dog walkers every day and there tends to be a peak first thing in the morning and around 'tea time' before people settle down for evening meal. once again it is quite unlikely that 14-year-old Kate Bushell would have been alone for more than a few minutes so two questions immediately arise. . .

1. How come no one heard any screams or calls for help or indeed the dog barking and whining? This is a quiet village with housing very close by after all and dog walkers regularly passing along Exwick Lane
2. Why did it take until 7.30pm for Kate's body to be found? I do appreciate it was dark in winter but many dog walkers use torches and exercise dogs after evening meal before settling down for the night, Something here doesn't quite make sense.

"Yes, Yes, you always say that" I hear you say but, in my opinion, these points are very relevant and very much need to be carefully looked into. What time was Kate Bushell killed? Where was she killed? Did she, in fact, meet her end in that field entrance or was she placed there after death? 

Another question which I feel needs to be raised at this juncture is with regard to the dog, this dog stayed with Kate, is that really that likely, particularly as the dog was not hers? I would very much like to speak to an animal behaviour expert on this. I realise that the dog would probably have been on a lead but I am fairly sure that unless Kate had fixed the lead to herself in some way, the dog would easily have got free once Kate was dead. I do hope that this makes sense to you and regardless would have made a terrific fuss, after all the person walking it was murdered.

I am wondering whether the dog was temporarily silenced maybe a drugged piece of meat or something. unfortunately, there is no mention of this in reports.

There has been mention of a vehicle being seen near some stables in Exwick Lane at 4.50pm when a lady and her daughter were driving along. They saw the blue Vauxhall Astra van or estate car parked at the side of the road with a man looking into the rear of it, They also saw Kate with Gemma walking along the lane, but just 5 minutes later the man was nowhere to be seen and neither were Kate and the dog. The vehicle was still parked so it is perfectly possible that the man was at the stables or maybe in a field but interestingly no one has come forward for elimination.

The man that the pair saw was described as white, aged 30 to 40, medium build, collar-length dark hair, clean-shaven and was wearing jeans. Of course, this describes many men that were quite likely to be visiting stables and local fields but the concern is the man has never been identified, this, of course, is suggestive of possible involvement in Kate's demise.  It is certainly clear that the man would have been there at the boot of the vehicle when Kate and Gemma walked past, that is beyond doubt, but where did he vanish to so quickly? 

A separate witness gave a statement which is quite interesting in that a man was seen running along the field behind Normans cash and carry at between 5.10pm and 5.40pm, he was coming from the direction of the location Kate was later found dead. The report suggests that he was running 'out of control and very fast' down a muddy slippery hill, before turning back into the estate. He was not wearing jogging attire and was in an area where it would be unusual to see a jogger, particularly with it dropping dusk at that time of the year. Once again this man has never come forward for elimination so it is perfectly suggestive that he may have been the killer or at least involved in Kate's death but this is only supposition. The only doubt cast here is that the man ran into the estate of houses, he would almost certainly have been covered in blood and very muddy from running, he could easily have been identified and definitely noticed, so where did he go?

We obviously know Kate's route but it seems that something must have happened as according to the family she would not have normally turned off the road and into the darkened lane as it was well away from the road. There is certainly suggestion that something must have spooked her otherwise she would simply have walked along Exwick lane.

Now when forensic examinations were undertaken there were over 100 Orange clothing fibres found on Kate, these were completely alien to her and her home so they almost certainly must have come from the killer, but neither of the witness statements from the immediate time mention any Orange colours being visible, did the killer maybe have an orange sack of some kind that he or she originally planned to take Kate away in? Or was she killed somewhere then taken to the spot where her body was found? It is interesting that the forensic scientist indicated that the fibres were identified as quite unusual and may possibly have come from work-wear such as a boiler suit. I wonder if there have been local council workers or something similar such as road workers that have been supplied with this protective clothing? The fibres were not only found on Kate's clothing and body but on the stile where her body was found. 

One other line of inquiry that I would like to follow up in connection with the somewhat unusual Orange fibres is something of a shot in the dark but had anyone recently arrived in Devon from America? Either a convicted offender or maybe someone that had obtained a boiler suit similar to those worn by prisoners over there? I am going to follow my nose just a little and indulge my thought by trying to ascertain what kinds of materials are used in American prison boiler suits. If I come up with anything of interest I will of course post an update here.

So what other clues do we have about the killer? Well, it is fair to say that the killer must have been very strong and was cold and calculated enough to have brought the weapon of murder and taken it away again. You notice I do not say "he" as whilst there is every possibility that such a dreadful act would have been carried out by a male there is also the ever-present possibility that the perpetrator could have been a female. Is this why there was no evidence of sexual assault on Kate's body? Maybe the jogging pants being pulled down was a form of sexual arousal or empowerment? 

The very clear point is that it is highly probable that this offender will most likely have offended again, although not definite that is almost a certainty unless of course whoever was responsible was so disturbed by their actions that they maybe took their own lives since. It is almost certain that the offender will have committed crimes, probably of a violent nature prior to such a dreadful murder as this. Offenders rarely just commit a psychotic murder of this magnitude as a one-off or first offence, so maybe there is someone out there that had been the victim of violent assault? If so then you could be unwittingly hiding a killer's identity. 

Maybe someone had an idea at the time that he or she could have been in contact with Kate's killer but for one reason or another did not come forward? If that person is you do please get in touch with the police, remember it is never too late to do the right thing. A young girls' life was viciously and abruptly ended that November afternoon in 1997 and her family deserve justice. 

There have been some possible related cases that I will just skim over below but I personally do not see them as linked in any way except that the victims were all walking dogs when they were murdered. I may well post separate blogs on those killings, just to demonstrate the differences in killings. There are theories also about this being a killing by the serial killer Christopher Halliwell but having examined a lot of information and studied his behaviour I do not feel that he is in any way connected to the case. 

There is a writer / former policeman that is using cases like this to sell his books and stories which is a real shame because not only is it making money in book sales, the stories have little or no base and therefore this misleads the public so that if there was a question in someone's mind "hmmm I wonder of it was that person, I remember seeing him that day" it goes unreported because they read a story suggesting that dozens of murders were the responsibility of just one man. Sorry if this displeases some but I feel I have to get that out there. Crime investigation and solving come from gathering evidence, not looking at stories of other crimes, and simply saying "Well he did that one so it must be him that is responsible for so many more".

So let's look briefly at the other 'similar' murders. . .

Lyn Bryant

This lady was murdered whilst out walking her Lurcher dog on The Roseland Peninsula, near Truro in Cornwall on 20th October 1998.

Her body was found at around 2.40pm in the gateway to a field, she had been stabbed several times in the neck, throat, and back. Just bear in mind that Kate Bushell was killed by a single deep striking wound to her throat. 

Lyn was last seen at around 1.45pm outside the Ruan Methodist Chapel talking to a man described as in his 30s, around 5 feet 9 inches tall and dressed in light clothing. The field gateway where Lyn was discovered was just 100 yards from the chapel. 

A small curiosity, in this case, is that Lyn's glasses were found 6 months later, just a few feet from where her body had been found. Police think it is highly probable that the killer returned his trophy to the sight for some reason and in my personal opinion, this suggests that the killer was a local person, not a passing chancer from out of town. Lyn was aged 40 at the time of her death and had lived in the area all her life, she had two daughters and was a housewife, so no real motif for such a gruesome murder.

Helen Fleet

66-year-old Helen was strangled, beaten around the head, and stabbed approximately 10 times on March 28th, 1987. She had been out walking her dogs in Worlebury Woods near Weston Super Mare in Somerset when the brutal attack happened. 

No motive was ever established for the gruesome murder and the killer has never been identified. Once again a totally different and much more frenzied murder than that of Kate Bushell, in my opinion, a very different Modus Operandi.

Mrs. Fleet was also a local lady and lived not far from the murder scene with her younger sister Betty Brough. It is thought that Helen Fleet was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and the murder was not targeted to her in any way, I am not convinced but that is for a different blog on a different day.

Suffice to say that police believe Helen's killer to have been a local boy who had excellent knowledge of the woods and not connected to the serial killer, Christopher Halliwell, as suggested by a former policeman and writer Christopher Clark, he remains adamant that Helen was one of the first victims of Halliwell. Clark told local newspapers that the murder had stark resemblances to those of Kate Bushell and Lyn Bryant, I personally see little or no resemblance save for the facts the other victims were also walking dogs at the time they were killed.

That's all for this one, please do leave me a comment if you wish, and do please share my work as it brings these cases to the attention of the public again and may just help to see justice done, remember it is never too late to come forward if you think you can help

Please do contact Devon and Cornwall police on 101 or contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via their website www.crimestoppers-uk.org

Points of interest:

(Not necessarily linked to the case)

Exwick is an historic manor parish a northwestern suburb of Exeter and has an Eastern boundary of the River Exe which is where the village takes its name. The village played a very important part in milling as it is located on the floodplain of the river 

There are several large houses in Exwick including Cleve House which became a training centre for guide dogs for the blind in the 1950s, it later was made into smaller houses and the site of a new primary school. 

One of the most famous names in Exwick history was that of William Gibbs who paid to make Exwick a separate parish from St Thomas and extended the chapel of ease into a full church of St. Andrews.

November 15th was the 319th day of the year in 1997 in the Gregorian calendar  

 

Genette Tate - Unsolved

 

Genette Tate vanished from her home village age 13 years, she has never been found

On August 19th 1978 a 13-year-old girl simply vanished whilst she was doing her regular paper round delivering the Exeter Express & Echo. It is now 42 years since Genette Tate disappeared and her father has recently passed away without knowing what truly happened to his little girl. As a parent, I can only begin to imagine how dreadful that must have felt. 

So let's look at the story then draw some thoughts as we go along. . .

Genette lived in the historic village of Aylesbeare, approximately 8 miles east of the city of Exeter in Devon UK. The village dates back to at least the 13th century and is by all accounts a very peaceful and pleasant area to live in. The village has a somewhat mixed population of farmers, retired and commuter families within it, it is very small and even today if you drive in one end you will be out the other end in less than 2 minutes. Once the M5 Motorway was opened in 1975 the village was just a field or two away from national road links, so a possible way for the killer to enter Aylesbeare, abduct Genette and leave just as fast.

Genette had been born in the Somerset town of Taunton but she had moved with her family into Cornwall, then on to Aylesbeare. Her mother and father had divorced and Genette was living with her dad, his partner Violet and her daughter Tania. 

The teenager's family had nicknamed her 'Ginny' and she had an amazing ability with mathematics and had a great curiosity about the world, all in all, a pretty smart girl it seems. She was a keen little worker and was doing holiday relief paper rounds on the day that she disappeared. She had left home at around 2pm, cycled through the village and met the newspaper van on the A3052 (the main Exeter to Sidmouth road) outside The White Horse Pub at around 2.50pm, something which she had done each day for the past week, as she was the relief paper girl. 19th August 1978 was to have been Genette's last day doing the round as the regular paper girl was due back.

Okay so let me pause there for just a minute and explore the last couple of sentences. . . Genette was doing a temporary job so, does this suggest that this was very much a random abduction or was it planned? I would say that I feel something like that is more likely to have been planned as opposed to just a random kidnapping. why do I say this? Well, let's think about the setting, a very rural, quiet village where I imagine pretty much everybody knew one another so abducting a young girl that could well make an awful lot of noise, struggle and may even get away and raise the alarm could be extremely risky. The only consideration here is that there is no telling what goes on in an evil monster's mind, would someone just take pot luck, a random chance abduction? Could the real target have been the regular paper girl that was away on summer holiday? 

Moving on. . .

Okay so Genette collected her papers and began her round delivering some fourteen papers before she met up with two local friends, Margaret Heavey and Tracey Pratt around 3.15pm, they chatted and walked slowly with Genette up a slight incline in the road heading back into the village. Once they reached the peak of the incline Genette took to her bike once more and rode ahead to continue her deliveries, she remained in the girl's sight for around 50 metres then took a curve in the road. Just about five or so minutes later the Tracey and Margaret came across Genette's bike, on the road with the newspapers all tipped out of the cycle's basket, there was no sign of Genette at all. 

Now once again I draw your thoughts to the abduction, Margaret and Tracey were only a matter of minutes behind Genette yet she had vanished, suggesting that the abductor must have acted very, very fast. He or she must have really taken a massive risk as the girls or indeed anyone else from the village could have come along at any moment, was the kidnapper working alone? Was there any force, was Genette maybe gagged or in someway stunned to silence her? It was suggested by one writer that a large van was used, considering the noise and the way such a vehicle would have stood out in such a surrounding that seems extremely unlikely, So what did happen to Genette Tate? We may never know.

The two girls began to call Genette's name out and looked over hedges and into gateways but there was no sign of the teenager. They walked on, pushing Genette's bike until they reached John Tate, he said: "Genette's friends came up the road to tell me that they couldn't find her, so I joined them and we headed back along the road to the lane where they had last seen her". "We were all looking for her by then jumping over hedges, shouting her name but to no avail, quite soon after that Violet said 'John I think we should call the police' ".

This was to be the start of one of the longest and biggest missing person searches ever launched by Devon and Cornwall police. The response by the police was prompt and well operated, within two hours of the report being made they had a helicopter from the RAF search and rescue team in the air and there were uniformed police all over the village. I can only imagine the dreadful fears held by John and Violet as they watched things unfold before their eyes. The couple spent the evening and many evenings after that searching the lanes and fields for Genette, but with no luck, Genette had literally 'vanished into thin air'.

The police officer in charge of the investigation was Detective superintendent Eric Rundle, he had no clues, no leads to go on. he was a highly experienced police officer and the second most senior detective on the Devon and Cornwall police force at that time. He had a team of officers working under him, which he divided into teams to search in particular areas. His job must have been extremely difficult as he had no witnesses, no sightings or reports of anything suspicious. There were so many questions; had Genette had some kind of accident? Had she been the victim of a robbery? Had she been abducted, if so why? The possibilities were endless but all just had no starting point, the most obvious hypothesis was that she had been abducted and taken away somewhere and based on that Eric Rundle would have been extremely aware of just how crucial time is in such cases if there is a chance of finding a victim alive.

It was said by a police officer working on the case that one disappointing thing was Margaret and Tracey had moved Genette's bike which could have given some clue or guidance to a trained eye, "the scene had been tampered with before the job got going".

The police commandeered the village hall as a form of operational centre and issued a description of Genette as 'boyish, 5ft tall with close style brown hair, suntanned wearing a white t-shirt with her name embroidered on its left shoulder. Her dad recalled her as very young-looking still very much a child but, interestingly some others from the village described her as maturing fast and very much a developing young woman. This, of course, has no obvious relevance to the case as far as I am able to ascertain but the description difference could bear importance as well as the way in which the missing girl was thought of and in how investigators understand the girl that apparently just vanished. 

Very early in the investigation police realised that they needed help from the full force of the media to get Genette's face on the pages of papers and Television screens all over the UK. They called a press conference and staged photographs of the teenager's bicycle abandoned in the road and for a whole month after the disappearance, the publication which Genette had been delivering ran stories with a photograph of her on their front page every day. 

On Monday 21st August just two days after the disappearance the headline on the Express and Echo ran 'Echo newsgirl vanishes'. They encouraged more than 8,000 people to gather just a week after Genette went missing to search the local common just on the outskirts of Aylesbeare known as Woodbury Common. The media dubbed the searchers 'Genette's army' as they set themselves into groups and tramped across the vast common searching for any clue that might lead to the missing girl being found. Worryingly it has since been admitted that there was actually no operational reason to scour the common but nonetheless it was done. 

The family were becoming increasingly desperate with every day that passed and this lead to many theories being put forward from all walks of life including paranormal investigators and mystics of all kinds including some conspiracy theorists (a pet hate of mine) but unfortunately, it seems Devon and Cornwall police were keen to listen to almost every theory suggested, maybe not the best practice but things were pretty desperate in so many ways, so every bit of publicity in a difficult case such as this really could have made a difference. 

Sadly as time wore on with no new leads and literally nothing at all to suggest what had truly happened to Genette eventually things began to wind down, The police gave the village hall back and the press headed off to find their next story. No sign of Genette, no one coming forward with credible information finally lead to the case becoming somewhat cold and enquiries being scaled back. 

In 1990 a killer was arrested for child abduction in the Scottish Highlands, he was Robert Black. He had a very shady past and had all the stereotypical identities of a predatory paedophile. He had a very bad childhood and moved down into England in 1968. He passed his driving test in 1976 and took a job as a poster delivery driver which gave him a reason to travel the highways and motorways with his work and could by all accounts literally turn up 'anywhere in the UK'. 

According to records Black's method of abducting children was to leave the major roads and head into rural settings such as Aylesbeare, abduct a child and vanish again without anyone even noticing him, so a theory was suggested that Genette Tate was a victim of Black but I don't feel that to be the case. 

In 1994 Roger Black was tried and convicted of the abduction, rape and murder of three girls during the 1980s and he was sentenced to life in prison. His victims were Susan Maxwell, aged 11 whom he sexually abused and murdered on July 30th 1982, he drove her body some 264 miles to dump her. Caroline Hogg aged just 5 was abducted on July 8th 1983 and her body found 310 miles away from her home and Sarah Harper aged 10 was abducted on March 26th 1986 from Leeds with her body found some 71 miles away. 

Devon and Cornwall Police interviewed Roger Black at length but he did not give anything away and was never charged but still remained a firm suspect in the Genette Tate disappearance. I personally am not convinced that he had any connection and neither was John Tate, Genette's father. Just remember this; all the other bodies were found, Genette's was not and whilst this may be just unfortunate I think it changes the hypothesis surrounding Black as an abductor.

In 2007 the police submitted a file to the Crown Prosecution Service with a view to charging Black in connection with Genette Tate's disappearance but the CPS were unable to find sufficient evidence to proceed. There was a little more hope in Black being further pursued after he was charged and convicted of yet another abduction and murder in 2011, that of Jennifer Cardy aged 9 abducted on 12th August 1981, Black had grabbed her whilst she was cycling to a friend's house. 

There is some evidence relating to Genette Tate's case in that a witness saw Black at Exeter Airport "acting suspiciously" on 19th August 1978 and the existence of a fuel receipt puts Black in the South West of England around the date of Genette's disappearance but it is not known how close to Aylesbeare he actually was. 

Whilst I accept these small pieces of evidence may be suggestive of Black taking Genette it is very much assumed based purely on other crimes he had committed and I am not at all convinced, I firmly believe that the person responsible for Genette's disappearance was from much closer to home but this is very much my own opinion. 

Black has been suggested as a relevant name / possible suspect in over a dozen child abduction cases in both the UK and into Europe but to be fair most "serial killers" will always be put forward for many crimes because they have been responsible for something similar. After all look at Christopher Halliwell, I have recently been made aware of a person writing on Facebook suggesting that he was responsible for 27 or more abductions and murders, but many can easily be debunked as nothing to do with him either.

Nobody knows for certain what happened on the afternoon of 19th August 1978 in Withen Lane Aylesbeare. Some are convinced that Robert Black was responsible for the vanishing of Genette Tate but many others are equally not convinced at all. Due to the passage of time and many theories combined with misinformation the stories and amateur sleuths, it seems unlikely we will ever get to the truth now, but we must never give up hope. 

There have been many suggestions of paedophilic activity in and around the village, occult crimes and more but I personally don't feel these "suggestions" are that far from the truth after all, but I don't want to be seen as too suggestive. I will, however, add just one point taken from a news article published by Devon Live which reads "The only lane leading off the main road is called Withen Lane, about 100 metres from the centre of Aylesbeare and within sight of the ancient church turret" think carefully about that. 

The village itself dates back to The Domesday Book and is itself very rural with lots of farmland. I won't dwell on these points but I feel that this information is important when studying the case in any depth, I could, of course, be 'barking up the wrong tree' so to speak. 

I will just close by saying that Genette Tate's father John went to his grave not knowing what happened to his precious daughter but he was absolutely adamant that Robert Black was not the man responsible for the disappearance. John Tate said that Devon and Cornwall Police had Black's name in the frame but purely based on his past not even any circumstantial evidence exists, that is made clear by the fact that as I mentioned previously the CPS would not prosecute as there was insufficient evidence. 

The disappearance of Genette Tate is a tragic and confusing case whist being of huge interest to true crime researchers such as myself. I do hope that one day there will be some answers and we may get to know what happened to Genette as she and her family still left behind deserve justice. 

Here below are some useful links with regard to this case. . .

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-52697413

https://youtu.be/mat8SCRyb1I

https://janmeecham.wordpress.com/2019/05/13/into-thin-air/

Ann Heron - Unsolved murder 30th anniversary

August 3rd 2020 marks the 30th anniversary of the tragic murder of Ann heron in the outskirts of Darlington, in County Durham in the North of England. The murder that became known as  'The bikini murder'  has to this day never been solved, but a death investigator Jen Jarvie believes that she could possibly have identified the killer or at least the guy seen driving away from the scene in a blue car at the approximate time of the killing.

Ann Heron's murder which took place on the hottest day of 1990 remains the only unsolved murder to remain unsolved in the last 70 years so I can only imagine that it must be quite a thorn in the side for that area's police. 

Mrs Heron was 44 years old and mum to three when she met her tragic end to an unknown murderer and her husband has been shrouded in suspicion. He was arrested and charged with Ann's murder in 2005 but all the charges were dropped and the case against him was abruptly discontinued after just 12 weeks. Sadly because no other suspect has been forthcoming and the murder has not been solved the 85 year old widower's name has never been fully cleared of suspicion.

Now, I have recently read quite a lot of material written about this case suggesting that the killer may be Christopher Halliwell, which in my opinion takes the focus away from the search for the real assailant. I am not an expert but, I really am frustrated to see people that claim to have a "high level of expertise" in criminal investigation writing books and articles simply suggesting one man's name for about 30 murders up and down the UK.

Sorry I digress. . .

So it seems that a dangerous criminal Michael Benson was on the run from prison where he had been serving a life sentence for violent crimes. Jen Jarvie has been working closely with the family of the late Ann for over 4 years now has said that she firmly believes that Benson should at least be considered as a serious suspect in the murder. Mrs Jarvie said "Benson has not been a suspect in the investigation throughout it's 30 year history and she believes he should be considered as a suspect". 

Jen Jarvie went on to say "after 30 long years, the family needs conclusion. These are people's lives that we are dealing with. It is cruel, it is inhumane to keep them hanging".

3rd August 2020 sees the 30th anniversary in this unsolved case and it is in my mind high time that this case was investigated from a new angle, take away the automatic assumption that "Halliwell is responsible" and look more carefully at the information that we have available to us.

Ann Heron is thought to have been sunbathing in a fairly secluded garden at her somewhat isolated  home and may well have been observed over a hedge. She was wearing her bikini and enjoying a very hot day, the hottest in the North East of England since records began in the 1930s. At  1645 hrs a blue car, possibly a Ford Sierra or Vauxhall Astra was seen parked outside Ann's home, Aeolian House, Middleton St George and at 1705 hrs a blue car was seen speeding down the 50 yard driveway and away in a westerly direction along the A66, having cut sharply across the A67, overtook a taxi and sped away. 

The driver of the car was described as Heavily tanned possibly of  a Mediterranean appearance with hair longer at the sides, aged between 35 to 45 years old. Unfortunately neither of the witnesses managed to get even a partial index for the vehicle and despite intense enquiries it was never found. It is quite clear that the vehicle and it's driver need to be identified but of course time has passed, the car has probably long since been scrapped and the driver will have changed considerably. If a witness comes forward they will need to be sure that the person they identify is the right one, but having said that no one must be put off. If anyone knows any information relating to that fateful day 3rd august 1990 particularly between abut 1630 hrs and 1710 hrs they really need to come forward and speak up.

The late Ann Heron's widower Peter is in his late 80's and it is so important to try to ensure any doubt about his involvement in his wife's death is lifted before he passes away so that he can rein peace. Peter came home that day and found the dog in the garden and Ann on the floor in the lounge in a pool of blood wearing just her bikini top. Ann who was booked to attend a party that evening had been repeatedly and brutally stabbed to death. Police suggest that the suspect had planned to rape Ann as her bikini bottom had been removed but whether that was the intention or not of course we cannot confirm.

I mean however unlikely there is no evidence available to confirm that Ann was in fact wearing the bikini bottoms prior to the incident which lead to her death, although there would be no logical reason why she would not have.

Sadly due to misreporting by the media (as usual) it was suggested that Ann's killer was planning to rape her but if that was the case why didn't he go through with it? After all he was presumably alone with Ann and as according to the police there was no sign of any struggle inside the house or indeed outside, this of course indicates that there was a very good chance the killer was known to Ann, but who was he? 

30 years ago today 3rd August Ann's life was brought to an abrupt end seemingly without any reason or explanation. She was by all accounts a friendly lady, quite reserved and a mother that was very much loved so why would anyone take her life? Was this just an opportune killer who saw Ann sun bathing in the grounds of her home? If so then why no sign of any disturbance or of a fight? After all our natural human instinct when faced with danger is to fight or flee, neither of which seems to have happened on the hottest day of 1990. 

https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/18623640.ann-heron-murder-give-day-court-clear-name-says-husband-peter/

Ann's husband has today written to the police and challenged them to either look at the new evidence and clear his name completely or charge him again and give him his day in court to prove to the world that he had nothing to do with his wife's death. 

Peter said "You are innocent until proven guilty, but they never gave me the chance to prove I am innocent" He went on to say "I was guilty before I could be innocent"

I know it's a long time ago but I do urge anyone that may have any memories of 3rd August 1990 in or around Darlington in County Durham in particular the A67 between 4.30pm and 5,15pm to contact the police or indeed get in touch with The Northern Echo. 

I would like to take this opportunity to say that I do not believe this lady's murder to be in any way connected to Christopher Halliwell and I urge anyone looking at the case to focus on more recent evidence raised by private death investigator, Jen Jarvie which links the late Michael Benson to the case. Here is a picture of him taken from the 1990 BBC Crimewatch appeal when he was on the run from prison and said to have been driving a blue Ford Orion. . .

I wish Peter Heron the very best and sincerely hope that his name will soon be cleared and the truth finally told on this tragic case. 

Stay safe everyone, please do leave me a comment and don't forget to follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/adams_jarad or

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jarad-adams-8360751b4/

Useful Links: https://thetruecrimeenthusiast.co.uk/2017/07/18/the-beauty-in-the-bikini-murder/

                       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyhXJ3dx3Ck

Update . . .

BBC News has today announced that a suspect has officially been put forward in this case by Jen Jarvie and now the family have high hopes that the case may at last be solved and most importantly the good name of Peter Heron be rightly cleared. 

I will bring updates as they come in, here is the link to the news article, stay safe

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-53637276