Ten unsolved murders across Derbyshire are still open. Cases span over 60 years. Interactive map shows locations.
Each case spurred a large police investigation. The cases include random attacks, violent robberies, gangland killings, and contract murders. Mavis Hudson’s murder is Derbyshire’s oldest unsolved case; she was fifteen years old. Someone found Mavis in 1966 in a warehouse on Spa Lane in Chesterfield’s center.
The case gained a lot of media attention. Officers from Derbyshire and South Yorkshire assisted in the investigation. Jim Dawson’s case is the oldest nationwide. He was a farmer shot in the back near Clitheroe in 1938, believing someone threw stones. Jim worsened four days later. He died in a Blackburn nursing home due to gangrene from an infected wound.
Criminologist Dr. David Wilson, who has studied cold cases, said police solve most murders because victims and killers usually know each other. Husbands kill wives, parents kill children, and friends kill each other. Young men also kill each other. There is usually a connection.
Unsolved murder victims often lack community ties. No one notices when they disappear. Elaine Wakefield was twenty when someone found her near a racetrack in 1982. She only wore a bra, and her neck injuries caused her death. Race organizers found her at High Edge Raceway between Leek and Buxton.
The case reopened in 2003 but stopped due to no new leads, despite a full-time team. Wendy Sewell, a legal secretary, was attacked in Bakewell Cemetery in 1973. She was beaten with a pickaxe handle and sexually assaulted. Stephen Downing, who worked at the cemetery, was jailed for the murder; his conviction was overturned in 2002 after 27 years in prison. Some suspect Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper, murdered Wendy Sewell.
Barbara Mayo was murdered in 1970. Police requested information in 2017 after someone found her body near the M1 in woodland near Glapwell. Barbara, a student teacher, is believed by some to be another Yorkshire Ripper victim. Her murder sparked a large manhunt. She was raped, beaten, and strangled while hitchhiking to get her boyfriend’s car.
Mavis Hudson, fifteen, was the youngest victim, and her murder is Derbyshire’s oldest unsolved case. Someone found her in a warehouse off Spa Lane in Chesterfield in 1966. Two boys discovered Mavis and identified her quickly. She died between December 26 and 27, between 10 PM and 2 AM.
Michael Pritchard, from Stoke-on-Trent, was killed by a thief whom he tried to stop from stealing his van in Kirk Langley. Michael was dragged along the road and died at the scene with many injuries. Over fifty officers investigated, going door to door, but the case was never resolved.
Kenneth Broughton, twenty-four, died after petrol was poured into his flat in 2003, setting it on fire. His brother Neil had serious burns. Police charged two teens, sixteen and seventeen, with murder in 2004, but a trial later found them not guilty. Neighbors heard the brothers crying; the fire was an arson attack.
Ronald Hull, a retired shopkeeper from Ilkeston, was suffocated in 1996. His son was initially charged with the murder, but the charge was reduced to manslaughter and dropped in 1997. Ronald’s son never returned to the house where his father died.
William Cox, found with head injuries in Derby in 1996, died later in the hospital. Earlier, he was near a pub 600 meters away. William was about 5’10” tall with a slim build, wearing a beige jacket, jeans, and a blue hat. Police called him a harmless man and described the attack as brutal.
Brian Adams was murdered In Alvaston in 1990. He was shot outside his home. The gunman wore a balaclava, leading police to believe it was a professional hit. Brian, who sold windscreen replacements, had just bought a new motorbike. He was on his driveway when the killer emerged and shot him with a shotgun. Gurbax Kaur Sandhu, thirty, was strangled at her home in 1993. There isn’t much information available.