https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/six-cold-case-mysteries-haunt-24384175?utm_source=mirror_newsletter&utm_campaign=must_reads_newsletter2&utm_medium=emailSix cold case mysteries that haunt Britain Jill Dando, Torso in the Thames, Playboy Bunny
Police hope they have found a breakthrough in the 1987 'Lady in the Lake' mystery, but across Britain there are still thousands of baffling unsolved murders
By Alex Bellotti News Features Writer
15:11, 24 JUN 2021Updated16:01, 24 JUN 2021
A TV star gunned down on her doorstep, a mum set ablaze in a churchyard and a glamour model slashed to death these are just some of the horrific cold case mysteries still baffling police to this day. Earlier this week, a stunning breakthrough in a case dating back more than three decades was announced as a pensioner was arrested over the infamous 'Lady in the Lake' murder. Shani Warren, 26, was found bound, gagged and drowned in Taplow Lake, Bucks, after disappearing while mowing the lawn at her home in 1987. Nobody was ever apprehended over the death, but on Tuesday night Thames Valley Police said they had arrested a 65-year-old man on suspicion of her murder. Across Britain, there are thousands more unsolved cases that continue to haunt the families of victims. From the shocking assassination of television presenter Jill Dando to the notorious 'Jack the Stripper' killings, these sickening cases are still giving investigators sleepness nights.
TV star gunned down on doorstep
Shot dead as she arrived at her home in Fulham, west London, the murder of Jill Dando on April 26, 1999, shocked the world. The former Crimewatch star was gunned down with a single bullet on her doorstep aged 37, with a neighbour finding her 14 minutes later slumped in a pool of blood. Scotland Yard launched a huge manhunt that stretched over a year, but the investigation failed to uncover any clear suspects. Eventually, they focused their attention on Barry George, a loner with previous stalking offences who lived half a mile from Jill's house. George was jailed over the murder in July 2001, but his case was riddled with concern over the lack of substantial evidence. He was eventually granted a retrial and acquitted by a jury in August 2008. The true identity of Jill's killer has remained a mystery since George's release. While police investigated several men who had previous romances with the TV host, they were all cleared. One of the most enduring theories is that she was taken out by a Serbian assassin. Experts point to the fact she was taken out by a single bullet the hallmark of a hitman and the fact that the assailant was able to slip away in broad daylight after killing Jill at 11.30am. The broadcaster had fronted a TV crisis appeal weeks before her death raising money for those fleeing ethnic cleansing in the Balkans. The UK had joined Nato forces in bombing Serbian forces, taking out the headquarters of a news organisation in the country that killed 16 employees. The day after Dando was killed, Lord Hall, who was the BBC’s head of news, revealed he had been phoned by a man with an East European accent saying: “Your prime minister Blair butchered innocent young people, we butcher back.â€Â
Jack the Stripper 'nude murders'
Originally known as the 'Hammersmith nude murders', the Jack the Stripper killings of the 1960s have baffled cops to this day. Over a year-long spree, six female sex workers were murdered near the Thames found with their teeth and clothes removed. The first victim was 30-year-old Hannah Tailford who was found by the river in Hammersmith in February 1964. Irene Lockwood, 25, and Helen Barthelemy, 22, was found nearby weeks later, while the remains of 30-year-old Mary Fleming were discovered at a garage. The body of 21-year-old Frances Brown was uncovered in Kensington in November, and the following February Irish immigrant Bridget O'Hara was found in Acton. A number of suspects were identified, including security guard Mungo Ireland who died of suicide shortly after being identified. However, he was believed to be in Scotland at the time of the murders. Former world champion boxer and police superintendent Freddie Mills was also suspected after journalist Peter Neale told police he had received information from a serving chief inspector that he "killed the nude prostitutes". The claims have since been dismissed. The most recent suspect is shop worker Harold Jones, who was aged just 15 when he killed eight-year-old Freda Burnell in Wales in 1921. He later pleaded guilty to murdering Florence Little, 11, and hiding her body in the attic of his parents' home, and admitted killing Freda. David Wilson, a professor of criminology at Birmingham City University, spent 15 months investigating the murders and presented his findings to cops in 2019, claiming Jones was living in West London during the 1960s.
Torso in the Thames
On the afternoon of Friday, September 21, 2001, the dismembered torso of a young child was discovered floating towards Tower Bridge in the River Thames. The boy's limbs and head had been removed and the only clothing was a pair of orange shorts around the stumps of his legs. In the absence of positive identification, police named the body Adam. Police believe Adam was from Nigeria, and was murdered as part of a West African magic ritual. Despite having potentially identified Adam as Patrick Erhabor, a child brought to London from Germany after his parents had been deported back to Nigeria, nobody has been charged with his murder and the case remains open.
Mum blindfolded and torched in church
Tracey Mertens endured a "violent and horrific death" on December 23, 1994 blindfolded, doused in petrol and set on fire in a Cheshire churchyard. The 31-year-old was found dying but was able to describe her two attackers to police before passing away in hospital. The mum-of-two said her assailants were "two black men around 30-years-old, big and fat in build with Birmingham accents", according to Manchester Evening News. Yet despite police describing it as "vital information", no one has ever been charged over her death. Tracey lived in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, with her kids and partner Joey Kavanagh, allegedly an in-debt drug user with whom she had a strained relationship. Joey had travelled to Birmingham on the day of her murder, and according to police, two men had knocked on Tracey's door asking where he was. She was then blindfolded and dragged to the churchyard in a yellow Ford Escort. Five hours later, she was found by a passer by covered in 95 per cent burns with investigators later finding a petrol canister nearby.
Playboy bunny slashed in home
Eve Stratford was a popular bunny girl who worked at the Playboy Club in London's Park Lane. On March 18, 1975, she was found with her throat slashed up to 12 times by boyfriend Tony Priest, who was the lead singer of rock band Onyx. The 22-year-old glamour model had been raped, with her arms bound behind her back and a nylon ÂÂstocking tied tight around one of her ÂÂankles. Next to her mutilated body lay a bunch of flowers. A neighbour had heard Eve and a man talking at about 4.30pm that afternoon. Police believe she knew her killer ÂÂbecause there was no sign of a break-in. Eve's death was later connected to the murder of Lynne Weedon, 16, who was raped in an alleyway in Hounslow in September of the same year. Matching DNA was identified on the victims, who did not know each other, in 2007.
Ferry worker's mysterious disappearance
Kevin Dundon, from Essex, disappeared from a North Sea Ferry returning from Belgium on September 21, 1980. The 22-year-old was working for a shipping company called Townsend Thoresen on a large vessel called the Viking Viscount and was last seen around 6.30pm as it travelled off the coast of Surrey. A frantic hunt ensued for the young man and further investigations were made after the ferry docked in Felixstowe, with the coastguard launching a 'man overboard' search. Sadly, he was never found. Last year, Suffolk Police said it was reviewing the case and admitted there was "growing support" for the theory that his disappearance was not accidental. Kevin's brother, Tom Dundon, told the BBC that he received a phone call from a priest who told him that immediately after the ship had docked, a crew member went to talk to him about what happened on the boat. "The padre said to me that he couldn't tell me what he said but don't let it drop, bad things had happened on the boat," said Tom.
