What Happens When Murder Goes Cold

 

According to recent research, there are more than 1,100 unsolved murder cases in the UK

Many of the unsolved murders in the UK are quite old, with some dating back several generations whilst others are much more recent. Police forces claim to never truly close cases, they leave them on file and review them from time to time. Is that truly good enough? In my opinion "no it is not", but funding is simply not made available by the government to keep officers active on cases and that combined with the factor of evidence drying up forces a case to become cold.

Sadly many people, even the dedicated true crime fans that I am proud to be associated with will have cases that they have never heard of, cases such as Emile L'Angelier from Glasgow, poisoned in 1857 or Emma Jackson of St.Giles, London, she was a sex worker who was stabbed to death in a room at a brothel in 1863. Both of these cases remain on file with the police but are cold and unsolved.

Of course, there are also the more famous cases of murder that still send a chill down the spine of many to this day, cases such as Jack The Ripper. Those cases have had so much input from members of the public, detectives, armchair detectives, writers and more that the chances of the true killer ever being identified are extremely unlikely. 

According to research figures provided by the BBC London's Metropolitan Police have the largest number of unsolved cases per individual force with 341 cases being unsolved and on the cold case list. It is worth pointing out that this figure only covers the dates from 1996 to the present day, so the actual number of unsolved murders within the Metropolitan force is considerably larger.

So why are so many cases unsolved? Well in murder investigation there are some important points that make a huge difference to the outcome of a case. 

Firstly it is very important to remember that "Time is of the essence" at the outset of any criminal investigation, even more so in the case of murder. It is very important that a crime scene is secured as quickly as possible these days to allow an in-depth investigation by forensic scientists. The first few hours truly can 'make or break' the outcome of a murder enquiry.

The first 24 hours, can sometimes be pushed to as much as 48 hours but as soon as the crime scene is freed up so that anyone can access it then the game is over and things deteriorate. Of course in older times there was either very limited or no forensic science of any sort so a crime scene inspection would have relied on the eyes of the police and detectives to spot particular aspects of a crime,

Victimology says that in many cases of murder, the killer will be known to the victim so if an investigator can establish what put an assailant and a victim in the same place at the same time then a case will begin to build. Establish a reason for the killing and the case is well underway, sadly this is one of the key elements that lets an investigation down as there is seems to be no reason at all for the killing. 

The victimology of a murder enquiry combined with the piecing together of the final days, hours and minutes of a victim's life are the major part of modern investigation. This combined with the forensic investigation is the reason that many more cases are solved in modern times, but still, there are cases that for one reason or another are unsolved. 

Unfortunately, there are many cases of corruption, whereby a person will be "fitted-up", made a scapegoat of and the murder will seem as if it is solved, sadly the true assailant will be out free and roaming the streets. There is wrongly a line of belief in some police officers and other officials minds that "As long as there is a name in the frame, that's all that matters". 

There is a case that I recently reviewed; The murder of Judith Roberts saw a young man with various mental health disabilities (Andrew Evans) sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering the teenager. Despite his confession during a delusion episode, there was absolutely no other evidence to convict Andrew the police still took the case to trial, They obviously knew that Andrew was not guilty of murder but "they had their man they could close the file". Of course, now that Andrew Evans is free and his conviction overturned the case remains unsolved.

Judith Roberts Blog post

There is a theory that the murder was committed by Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper, but it is just that, a theory without foundation. 

There is another issue with unsolved cases, one that often leads to cases going cold, that is the group of people that either investigate a case so much that they become desperate to name an assailant or really do not do their research properly and just name a particularly well-known killer for many crimes. This then causes the pubic to "take their eye off the ball" because a case appears solved when it is not. 

There is a writer out there selling his books in which he claims two or three serial killers to be responsible for a number of crimes, his theories are unfounded and lack evidence but "hey he's selling his books", and that is so wrong. 

Moving on. . .

When a case has gone cold with no new evidence coming to light and enquiries pretty much exhausted, senior police officers, meet to decide whether the case should be "shelved" and the desks cleared to make room for more active cases. Of course, that is not the end of a case by no means, current police policy is to review cases every two years to see if there is anything new or to see if the ever-progressing world of forensic science can offer anything new. 

Cases are often reviewed by private organisations, independent investigators and the like, sometimes that route can prove fruitful as an independent investigator may just pick up on that little thread of evidence that was either missed by the police or presumed not to be relevant to the enquiry. Once again with the advancement of various forms of science and the ever-growing power of the internet, particularly social media new things come up and cases are solved. 

There are also times when certain things change, a member of a criminal gang leaves or is shunned by his group so he feels it is time to open up and give information about a murder that he previously would have stayed quiet about, loyalties change with time.

A recent post by a journalist from the BBC said: "For many of the cases that are unsolved, it is too late to ever get to the bottom of what happened". I absolutely disagree with that writer, in my professional opinion it is never too late, a case is always worth reviewing, always worth looking over again even old ones. 

Unsolved UK crime, particularly murders are a passion of mine and I will always be more than happy to review a case, just in case, there is one person out there or one scrap of evidence hidden somewhere that can be uncovered and a case turned around. 

Cold cases should never be allowed to go completely cold and more funding should be made available to ensure that they are not forgotten, that's my opinion. 

On that point, I will close this one but don't forget; If you have a British unsolved/cold case that you would like me to review for a documentary, film, podcast, report or blog then please get in touch via the contact form below or e-mail me: jaradcoldcases@protonmail.com

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Who Killed Patricia Grainger?

 

Patricia Grainger was 25 and a young mum when she was viciously raped and murdered in Sheffield on 10th August 1997, to date no one has ever been convicted of this heinous crime

Okay readers, so here we have an interesting and in some ways a still-active case, being kept alive by Patricia Grainger's son, Daniel. 

Let's have a delve into this one and see just how much we can learn. . .

Despite this case being some 23 years old, there is still a great deal of activity it, which is very encouraging, as we know so many cases like this have been allowed to go cold and almost forgotten.

Patricia Grainger was seriously sexually assaulted, strangled, stabbed multiple times and her breasts and genital area were badly mutilated. These dreadful injuries that resulted in her death were inflicted just a few minutes from her home, her body was then dumped in a local woodland brook. The young mother was found face down and forcibly submerged under the base of a divan bed, but to date, the dangerous killer responsible has never been identified. 

Daniel Grainger was just a small child, aged 5 when his mum's life was so tragically ended but he is still campaigning hard to get justice for her and the family, He has been very critical of South Yorkshire Police in regard to their investigation of his mother's murder. I can fully appreciate his anger and disappointment as the police say that although the matter is "subject to review" they no longer have some of the original evidence in the case. In response to this allegation, South Yorkshire Police said that they had submitted items of clothing that Mrs Grainger had been wearing at the time of her murder to the Forensic Science Service for examination, hence the police were no longer in possession of the items. 

The BBC asked South Yorkshire Police about the missing evidence and asked if they had followed correct procedure in sending the clothing to the FSS but other than confirming that a complaint from Daniel Grainger was being looked into, the force did not provide a comment. Sadly the Forensic Science Service closed down in March 2012 so there is no chance of the evidence being recovered. 

One of the worrying things in my research into this case that I find really disturbing is that apparently there was no sign of any defence wounds on Patricia's body, so either she was made unconscious somehow very early into the attack or taken by surprise, maybe attacked from behind with great physical force, The only other possibility is that Patricia was somehow made to fear her attackers so much that she simply did not fight back, but I have to say that seems unlikely as the human instinct is fight or flight.

Unfortunately, South Yorkshire police still refuse to give Daniel Grainger a copy of his mother's autopsy report, they apparently claim that it is to "protect the public from distress" I have to say that my opinion is the same as Daniel Grainger in that the police won't give up the report for fear he may post it on his website and let the truth out.

There were sightings of Patricia up to just a few hours prior to her body being found and although she had been missing from home during the final few days of her life and her family did not know where she was staying during that period. I cannot help but wonder if she knew her killer, had she been staying with him/her? Her body was found by local youths playing by the brook, known locally as 'Tongue Gutter', I can only imagine the shock and trauma that those kids must have experienced in finding a woman so badly mutilated, that is something which will live with them forever. I feel that maybe more than one person was responsible for such a vicious attack, but the ultimate question is why? 

Here is a little timeline of things to assist with understanding the story:

Patricia had not stayed at her home address in Buchanan Road, Parsons Cross since Monday, August 4th 1997, but her parents said that she often visited friends and stayed over, so it wasn't until after in the week that she was reported missing.

Tuesday 5th August 1997 saw a possible sighting of Patricia close to the place where her body was found, but this is unconfirmed

Thursday 7th August 1997 Patricia was confirmed as seen at Northern General Hospital, but the reason for her being there remains unclear

Saturday 9th August 1997 A possible sighting of Patricia at 7.45am when she was seen talking to a man at the junction of Holgate Crescent and Holgate Road, again that sighting was never confirmed.

A very important piece of evidence is that a very scruffy male was seen in the early hours of Sunday, August 10th 1997 in the Collinson / Adrian Crescent area very close to Patricia Grainger's home address and indeed quite close to where she was found dead. The scruffy man is reported to have intimidated a woman who was passing through the area, he stared directly at the woman who feared for her safety and moved away quickly, The man was described as white, about 30 years old, 5ft 6 inches tall with dark greasy or gelled back hair.

According to the post-mortem report, in this case, Patricia had been strangled, stabbed four times in the neck as well as being sexually assaulted, the actual cause of death was recorded as "inconclusive" because it was also noted that water from the brook was found in her lungs, which suggested that an attempt had also been made to drown her or she had at least been alive when her body entered the water. The report went on to state that Patricia had been badly beaten.  

It seems that Patricia Grainger, who had learning difficulties, the mental capacity of a 12-year-old girl, was partially deaf and was thought to suffer from ADHD was far too trusting and according to local people she would trust anyone that showed an interest in her. Clearly, someone abused that trust and destroyed a young innocent woman's life. Someone in the community where Patricia lived with her young son must be carrying around a really heavy burden of a secret through all these years. 

Has the person or persons that killed this young woman gone on to kill again? Had there been other murders that the same people were responsible for prior to the killing? I mean in my experience it is quite rare that a killer will only strike once in a lifetime unless of course there is a reason to just kill that one person i.e. in anger or deliberate targeting in some kind of 'payback'. As there appears to be no real reason to murder such a nice lady, it hardly seems like a 'gangland killing' or something of that sort. 

In an article originally printed by 'The Star', (a local Sheffield newspaper), David Stopford, head of South Yorkshire's major incident review team said: "Mrs Grainger's murder remains incredibly distressing for those who knew and loved her. Throughout our investigation into her death, specific details about the nature of Mrs Grainger's injuries have not been disclosed for a number of reasons". 

Detective Stopford goes on to say: "We did not feel it appropriate to place potentially harrowing, upsetting information into the public domain, where it could cause additional pain to Mrs Grainger's loved ones". He said "In addition, the release of sensitive information could compromise the ongoing investigation"

I personally do not see how releasing details of injuries in a murder case will do much harm to an investigation, except for time wasters who may come forward purporting to be the killer because they had knowledge of the injuries but any good murder investigator knows that there would be more detail about the victim known by police that would not be known to anyone that was not there and ultimately responsible for the murder. Therefore, it is my submission that the reasoning for withholding such information was if anything counter-productive.

On Monday, August 10th 2020 ITV announced that there is a renewed appeal to find Patricia Grainger's killer some 23 years after the horrific murder took place and a £10,000 reward has been offered to help solve the murder. 

Within the report by ITV, Patricia's son Daniel made an impassioned plea: "No-one can ever imagine the pain and suffering our family have had to suffer as a result of my mum's brutal murder. Whilst many years have passed, the memory of what happened to my vulnerable mum hasn't gone. She was treated as if she wasn't human and brutalised in the most sickening way. She trusted anyone that showed her interest and they abused that trust". 

Daniel went on to say: Someone in the community must know what happened to Pat and has sat on the secret for decades. We are appealing to your better nature. With our reward through Crimestoppers still available for three more months, there is still time for you to do the right thing, to tell the truth, and help us get answers".

In the same ITV appeal, South Yorkshire police gave a statement which reads:

"On the 23rd anniversary of the death of Patricia Grainger, we continue to appeal for information which could lead to us bringing those involved in her death to justice. The investigation into Mrs Grainger's death remains under "continual review" by the force's Major Incident Review Team who look at any new leads or lines of enquiry".

Despite this renewed appeal and the regularly updated "Who killed my mum" website set up by Daniel Grainger in 2008 and now the renewed appeal with an offer of a £10,000 reward, there is still no information coming forward and that is very sad indeed. 

It is worth noting that there have been people questioned and even charged with Patricia Grainger's murder but no one has ever been convicted. . .

In August 1997 three people were held by police in connection with Patricia's murder but they were later released without charge. Apparently, they had been held because they had given conflicting statements as to where she had stayed during her last week of life.

In September 1997 a 45-year-old man was arrested and charged with the murder of Patricia Grainger, he was later released. After he was charged the man's house came under attack by residents of the local council estate where he lived, threw stones threw his windows. The married man took his wife and children to another estate and left his home boarded up, it was consequently set in fire, The case against the 45-year-old collapsed.

In 2008 two ore people were arrested in connection with the murder and placed on bail, the case against them was closed in April 2009, no charges were ever brought against them. 

So we are back to the question "Who killed Patricia Grainger"? Someone somewhere must know what happened, obviously, someone out there has Patricia's blood on his or her hands and her son Daniel is desperate to put the case to rest with closure as to what happened to his mum and who is responsible for it. 

Do you know something? Maybe you remember someone suddenly acting differently? Did someone you know suddenly have a big impromptu bonfire in August 1997? Did someone you know suddenly over away from your area in Sheffield? Did someone arrive in your area in a rush in August 1997? 

There is a young man out there, desperate for answers, there is a reward available for information leading to the conviction of Patricia Grainger's Killer. Maybe you have held the terrible secret all these years? If you have any information then, please call Crimestoppers right now 0800 555 111 and do the right thing

Don't forget if you have any unsolved/cold UK rue crime cases that you'd like reviewed, like me to blog on or you need research undertaken for a documentary, film, book or even a podcast do please get in touch. 

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Judith Roberts Murder Linked to Yorkshire Ripper?

 

For more than 25 years it was believed Judith Robert's killer was behind bars, but all was not that simple or straightforward

Judith Roberts was just 14 years old when she vanished whilst out on a cycle ride on 7th June 1972 in Tamworth, Staffordshire, later the same day her body was found in a field, badly battered and hidden under some discarded fertiliser bags covered with a pile of hedge clippings.

Police believed that Judith had been dragged from her bicycle, into the field then beaten to death and dumped like rubbish.

A massive murder hunt was launched, one of the most intense crime hunts ever known in The Midlands. over 15, 000 sets of fingerprints were taken and 11,000 door-to-door inquiries were made, but the inquiry was stalling. 

Four months into the inquiry, the police had what they thought at the time to be a huge breakthrough, a 17-year-old army recruit named Andrew Evans came forward and confessed to the murder of Judith Roberts.

Evans told police that he had been disturbed by a dream during which he believed he had seen Judith and he asked officers for a photograph of the child. He apparently told the police "I keep on seeing her face, I want to see a picture of her. I think I may have done it".

Police asked Evans if he had ever been to Tamworth and his very unusual reply was "I don't know, I don't know, I could have been, "I don't remember where I've been". When Police pressed Andrew Evans for a straight answer to the question "Did you murder Judith Roberts"? He replied "This is it, I don't know. Show me a picture and I'll tell you if I've seen it". 

Now don't take me wrong readers but does that really make sense? Does that approach not seem just a little questionable, a little odd? Obviously, Andrew would have seen photographs of Judith in the media, on posters, and in many places, after all, there was a nationwide manhunt for a child killer in progress. 

Elaborate Hoax? Yes I think so

I have to say that if I had been a police detective working on the investigation, big alarm bells would have been ringing in my head, something clearly didn't add up. Nonetheless,

 detectives continued to pursue things, believing that they may well have had their man.

Andrew Evans was not your average 'thug' on the street, he had been prescribed medication to treat depression and was widely known to be a fantasist. Bizarrely after 3 days of questioning, he made a full confession to the murder of Judith Roberts and he was charged.

Evans had put forward some alibi stories but these had not held up, He had claimed that he had been in army barracks in the company of three other soldiers but police established that two of the soldiers had in fact left barracks sometime before the time of the murder and the third was simply not traceable, suggesting that Evans had made him up. 

12 months passed and by the time of the trial, Andrew Evans was absolutely adamant that he was innocent and had played no part in the murder of the 14-year-old. Unfortunately, he was not able to provide any credible evidence to support an alibi. 

During the trial, there was no real evidence placed before the jury, save for Andrew's rather shaky and somewhat unbelievable 'confession'. An independent doctor advised the court that Evans was suffering from amnesia, so he was convicted of murder and given a life sentence to prison. His legal team advised him that he had no grounds at all from which to launch an appeal so Andrew Evans spent the next 20 years in custody.

Things began to take a turn when in 1994 whilst serving time at HM Prison Verne in Dorset, Andrew had a chance meeting with Steve Elsworth, who had been at the prison giving a talk on Greenpeace to the prisoners.  

Steve Elsworth made a note of Andrew's contact details and a few weeks later returned to Verne Prison to carry out a formal and in-depth interview with Andrew Evans. As a result of the interview, notes were passed on to Carlton Television and they produced a crime show called 'Crime Stalker'. The knock-on affect of that crime show lead to a documentary being produced that was aptly titled 'The Nightmare'. 

During this part of his sentence, Andrew had also decided to write to an organisation calling themselves 'Justice' and asked them to take on his case and that is exactly what they did. After an investigation, Justice helped Andrew to make an application to the Court of Appeal and he subsequently won the right to go ahead with an appeal. 

The Court of Appeal were told that in 1972 Andrew Evans had been on medication to treat severe depression and that during the trial he had been given a "truth drug" which 20 years on had been proved to produce 'false memories' and that coupled with the very questionable way that detectives had originally handled the case saw Andrew Evans case acquitted. The original conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeal and Andrew was a free man, having been awarded £750,000 (Seven Hundred & Fifty Thousand Pounds) in compensation by The Home Office.

The case thus remains unsolved but in more recent times a theory has been put forward by historian and forensic psychology student Sarah Clark, suggesting that Judith Roberts may well have been an unidentified victim of Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe. She has put the name forward as being responsible for this case and stated that she is working on seven other unsolved murders, which she believes may have also been committed by Sutcliffe.

I am not personally convinced by this theory, although the method of killing does match those used by The Ripper, namely a head injury caused by a blunt instrument. It is in my opinion all too easy to put a murder down to a serial killer, with the attitude "That clears that one up nicely". After all, Sutcliffe will die in prison, so whether he has 12, 30, or 50 murders that he is claimed to have been responsible for then it won't make any difference to his sentence and gets another one off the police's unsolved crime database. 

Of course, that is not the right or appropriate way to deal with serious cases where a person, in this case, a child has been killed. The family deserves better and so does the victim, to be fair a murderer could still be prowling the streets out there, knowing that he or she was responsible for a vicious murder.

Let's take a look at a report from The Birmingham Mail published in February 2019, just to see what they have to bring us. 

They say that Peter Sutcliffe was convicted of the murder of 13 women and attempting to murder 7 more. He apparently matched the description of a man seen very close to the scene of the 1972 murder and a car with an uncanny similar description to the Ripper's car was seen at the scene on 7th June 1972. The interesting part of that report in my opinion is that having been supplied with all that "information" back in 1972, the police did nothing much to act upon it as far as we are aware. In fact, police went on to push for a conviction of a mentally unstable young man, based solely on a confession that was clearly a fantasy story. Why not use the "evidence" of the car and the man's description to pursue their man? 

According to apparent 'news archives' there was evidence put forward at the time as follows:

1. A man matching Sutcliffe's description - black curly hair and long sideburns was seen talking to Judith Roberts shortly before her death

2. The man in question was wearing work clothes and wellington boots, when he was caught Sutcliffe admitted sometimes dressing like this when he was killing

3. Judith was killed by being repeatedly bludgeoned to the head by a blunt instrument, a method of murder used by Sutcliffe.

It has also been suggested that there is a similarity in the way that Judith's body was hidden in comparison to that of red light district worker Helen Rytka, killed by Sutcliffe in 1978. Rytka was hidden beneath asbestos sheeting and of course, Judith Roberts's body was hidden beneath fertiliser bags, but I do not see this as such an odd way to hide a body bearing in mind that Judith was killed in the countryside in a very rural location.

The main point of this blog is to highlight that Andrew Evans was convicted of a crime that he did not commit based on a confession that he made whilst in a delusional state caused by a combination of depression and the medication used to treat it. He was 17 and spent 25 years of his life due mainly to the police's hunger to simply get a conviction, regardless of how truly credible the "confession" actually was.

As to the theory of Sarah Clark, well I am not satisfied that this murder was the responsibility of Peter Sutcliffe at all. I feel that she is swayed by her close ties to the family of Judith. Sarah's mother Donna Osborne was best friends with Judith's twin, Anne, her grandmother was hairdresser to the girls and relatives lived literally just down the road from the murder scene. 

I feel that the story and the whole sadness that surrounded a murder that literally stunned a community have been passed down to Sarah and since Andrew Evans was exonerated she has been desperate to get the case concluded to give the people of her village peace and closure, I feel that this may well have clouded her judgment a little, plus the simplicity to put a serial killer's "name in the frame" is just a finishing touch.

My final word on this case. . .Remember that Peter Sutcliffe having confessed his crimes said that "God had told him to kill Prostitutes", that's right 'prostitutes' not 14-year-old children in quiet villages.

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If you have an unsolved/cold UK case that you would like me to review for a blog, a documentary, film or other publication do please pop me an email, I am always delighted to look into new cases for you.

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Doused in Petrol & Burned on Church Steps - Unsolved

31-Year-Old mum of two was blindfolded, forced into a car then dumped on church steps, doused in petrol and set alight in Cheshire in the UK

This story shocked the whole nation, yet 26 years on the vile perpetrators of this heinous crime remain undiscovered and Tracey Mertens family are heading towards their 27th Christmas without her. 

Tracey's children are now adults they were 11 and 12 respectively when the tragedy struck their family after their mum set off from their new home in Rochdale in Greater Manchester heading for Birmingham to collect her benefits book. She had recently moved back to Northern England to be with her on-off partner Joey Kavanagh and their two children. 

It is quite important to note here that Tracey and her partner had originally got together when they were 16 but they had quite a disrupted and somewhat strained relationship and this was exacerbated by the fact Joey was a drug user and always owed people money.

Tracey Mertens had originally planned to travel to her old home in Birmingham and back to Rochdale in one day but ended up spending a night with her sister-in-law, planning to set off back the next day.

The next day Tracey went to her old house as arranged and was surprised within ten minutes to receive a knock at the front door. Two men burst into her home and demanded to know the whereabouts of Joey Kavanagh. Tracey refused to tell the men anything and she was then blindfolded and forced into a very old rough looking yellow Ford Escort car and driven some seventy miles to a village in Cheshire called Eaton. 

Some five hours after Tracey was snatched from her old house a person passing near the church in Eaton heard Tracey screaming and discovered her on the church steps on fire. It was a very cold winter night and Tracey's clothes were smouldering and there was a strong smell of petrol. She was so badly burnt that the witness initially thought she was wearing a Halloween type of costume. 

Tracey was able to give details of her horrific ordeal from her hospital bed before she sadly passed away on Christmas Eve 1994.  Doctors said that the burns covered 95 per cent of Tracey's body, so for the 12 hours that she fought to live I can only imagine that she must have been in excruciating pain. She described her abductors as big, fat and black, around 30 years old with Birmingham accents, but they actually spoke in a foreign language that Tracey did not recognise or understand for most of the time she was with them, detectives believe the language may have been Patois, a Jamaican dialect. They both wore long black leather coats and brown leather hats When detectives visited Tracey's former Birmingham home they noticed that the word 'death' had been daubed on the window with white paint.

Tracey's murder was reconstructed by BBC Crimewatch during which her family spoke of their deep pain at the loss of Tracey. Her daughter Kelly spoke to the programme saying "The happiest times of my life were with my mum, the memories that I have of her and the things that I have been through alone when she should have been there, she deserves to be at peace, but I don't think she ever will be until these dreadful people are caught"

This case was reopened by Cheshire Police in 2003 in hope that with the advances of technology and forensic science the monsters that killed Tracey may be brought to justice but 11 years on police are no nearer to finding the answers. 

Joey Kavanagh flatly denies that Tracey's murder could have been connected to him in any way but I personally do not believe that at all. Here was a man who was a regular drug abuser that had moved over a hundred miles away from Birmingham to Rochdale and when his partner returned she was abducted and murdered by men demanding to know his whereabouts.  It seems interesting that Joey could not offer any insight into who may have been responsible for the mother of his children's murder yet he owed many people money including I suspect drug dealers that he had double-crossed 

Detective inspector Kate Tomlinson from Cheshire police said "Tracey met a violent and horrific death at the hands of her killers. She was so brave and told detectives as much as she could before she died. That information was vital to our investigation team at the time and many lines of enquiry were pursued"

She went on to say "Over the years we have renewed our appeal and a number of people have come forward with information - I would like to thank them for their assistance. However, despite enquiries having been pursued, no one has been identified for Tracey's murder".

A Birmingham man was at one stage charged with conspiracy to murder but the charges were later dropped with no further action. 

I must say that it seems rather curious that even in 1994 the yellow car was not picked by CCTV somewhere en route between Birmingham and Cheshire, it could be a possibility that there was a vehicle change but as Tracey's information was quite detailed I would be surprised as she did not mention it. 

There is, of course, the question of why they chose that particular location to dump and murder Tracey, the area is quite rural so it is not a place people on a journey from one place to another, was this place known to them? Had they visited the church before? Do they maybe have a relative or friend in the area or even possibly know if someone buried in a grave in the churchyard? Maybe records of recent weddings, funerals, etc that had taken place at the church in the months leading up to the murder. 

There is also the big risk that they took in travelling some 70 miles with a woman in the back of a Ford Escort Mark 2, (hardly a big car with lots of space inside), particularly as she was wearing a blindfold and would have probably been moving around trying to get free. After all, a car with two big men inside being driven probably at speed with a woman in the back seat wearing a blindfold could have easily been noticed by other motorists. Something doesn't quite add up there, maybe Tracey was mistaken and the vehicle was an Escort van? Doesn't seem that likely but there is a lot to be learned from that part of the enquiry in my opinion.

As a point of interest Tracey Mertens apparently left Joey Kavanagh and returned to her home town of Rochdale in the summer of 1994 and whilst staying at her sister's house she taped up the letterbox, taped the curtains together so that they couldn't be opened and generally acted rather strangely. A family friend said that she believed that Tracey was afraid of seriously afraid of something or someone, maybe this lady was half expecting to be attacked or murdered? 

Finally, the police say that sometime after Tracey's murder they were approached by a couple that were drug users and informed that the couple had received a call warning them 'if you don't pay up, you will get what Tracey Mertens got'. I will leave you to draw your own conclusions on this one, though the reason for Tracey's murder seems pretty clear cut to me.

Crimewatch Appeal

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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/