Scott C Lornax - Unsolved Murders in South Yorkshire

First Published in Great Britain in 2013 by
Wharncliffe Books
an imprint of
Pen and Sword Books Ltd.
47 Church Street
Barnsley
South Yorkshire
S70 2AS

Copyright Scott C. Lomax 2013

ISBN: 978-1-84563-159-8
EPUB ISBN: 978-1-47382-243-6
PRC ISBN: 978-1-47382-195-8

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would like to thank the staff at Sheffield Local Studies Library for the access to newspaper archives and for permission to use historic photographs from the Picture Sheffield collection. I would also like to thank David Clifford Taylor for his knowledge of many unsolved murders which helped me identify some of the cases featured in this book and proved to be a useful starting point in my research. I would like to thank my wife for her support and for accompanying me on some very long walks across South Yorkshire to take photographs and carry out research.

Finally I would like to thank Sue Blackhall, Lisa Hooson and all of the staff at Pen and Sword Books who have assisted in the production of this book.

ruth will come to light, murder cannot be hid long, a mans son may, but at the length truth will out said Launcelot in The Merchant of Venice. Whilst the passage of time can, and has, uncovered many secrets, killers could get away with their crimes in 1596 when Shakespeare penned these words and this is certainly the case in more recent times as the following chapters clearly demonstrate.

Most murders today are quickly solved. Often the perpetrator is caught red-handed or they are easily found out because most murders take place in the home by someone known to the victim, and so the number of suspects is limited. Many murders are not particularly well planned, sometimes being spur of the moment actions, and so evidence is quickly obtained to identify the culprit. There is also CCTV footage available for most urban centres and an increasing number of businesses and residential areas. Furthermore, some groups of people who were historically unwilling to speak to the police are now more cooperative. Improved scientific techniques and policing methods have also helped, of course.

Despite improved investigation tools and methods too many criminals are escaping justice. In 1999 the Macpherson Report into the Metropolitan Police Forces handling of the original investigation into the murder of Stephen Lawrence claimed the national average murder detection rate was 92 per cent i.e. eight out of 100 murders were going unsolved. This proportion was exactly the same in 20089 according to figures from the Ministry of Justice. So unsolved murders remain a problem, with improved forensic techniques not reducing the proportion of unsolved cases, at least in part because there is not always compelling forensic evidence left at a crime scene. There can be no doubt, of course, that forensic science has resulted in countless convictions where forensic evidence is present, but even in this advanced technological age people are getting away with murder. What was the situation like before any advanced forms of forensic examination was conceived, even before DNA testing, and before other tools used by modern police forces?

In cases where there was little or no evidence to identify a suspect or prove their guilt the victim is denied justice. Friends and relatives of the victim obviously suffer as they continue to wonder why their loved one was killed, and by whom, and this pain continues throughout their lives. Society as a whole also suffers because a murderer continues to live in its midst, free to commit further crime and this often puts enduring fear into communities.

The following chapters are examples of such cases. The early chapters include cases of historic interest where killers certainly went to their graves in the knowledge they had got away with murder. Cases include suspicious deaths which left detectives in South Yorkshire baffled, but which were, it would seem, acts of callous murder which were not recognised as such due to dubious police opinions and practices. There are also cases of clear murder such as a man shot in the head during the Victorian period, whose killer was never identified.

The later chapters, however, feature cases where there is still the possibility that the wicked men or women who were responsible for such acts of inhumanity may remain within our society. These include a man murdered for less than 70 in a city centre multistorey car park, a teenage girl abducted, sexually assaulted and left dead at the foot of a dung hill, a young mother who entered prostitution and died at the hands of a man with more than sex on his mind, a disabled woman who was strangled in her home which was then set ablaze, and a newborn baby girl whose body was found in the toilets of a shop in Barnsley.

For some of these cases there is the chance that someone has information which, despite the passage of decades, could lead to one or more individuals standing trial for murder. Justice can still prevail.

Over the years while I have been writing about murders many people have claimed my interest is somewhat dark. There has always been a fascination for me about mysteries of the present and past and I know this is shared by many others who I am sure will be as fascinated when reading about the cases old, and not so old, featured in this book, as I was researching and writing about them.

However, the following pages are intended to serve a further purpose in addition to satisfying fascination. When writing about unsolved cases of the past I believe that it is as important today to write about these cases as it was back when the crimes were committed and journalists were writing anything and everything they could about the crimes. I want to send out a clear message in the following pages to those killers some of whom most likely still live in South Yorkshire who committed evil acts decades ago. With the passage of time these criminals may well have begun to relax and gain somewhat normal lives. They may have children and grandchildren and try to lead respectable lives believing they have got away with murder. I want these people to know that they should continue to look over their shoulders, that they are not safe, that there are people still looking for them and I want them to be prepared to be found. I want to make sure these people have fear in their minds for what they have done, until that day when they are caught or when they take their secrets to their grave.