WORDS: JULIA SIDWELL. PHOTOS: ALAMY, GETTY, PA, SHUTTERSTOCK, THE SUN/NEWS LICENSING
Advances in forensics mean many cold cases can finally be closed
Imagine losing a loved one to a crime, and then not finding out the truth about what happened until years later - or worse, not at all. Research shows there are over 2,600 unsolved killings in the UK, with some crimes decades old.
One case that’s gripped the public for 27 years is the murder of New York-born rapper Tupac Shakur (2Pac), who was shot four times aged 25 in a drive-by attack in Las Vegas. With evidence collected and a former gang leader now charged with 2Pac’s murder, it may not be long before the case is closed. Woman’s Own looks into how advances in forensic technology have secured convictions in historic cold cases, proving justice is always possible…
Major manhunt
CASE CLOSED: 29 YEARS
When three teenage girls’ bodies were found in 1973, the biggest ever manhunt in Wales ensued. Sandra Newton, 16, was found beaten, raped and strangled on her way home after a night out. Two months later, Geraldine Hughes and Pauline Floyd, also 16, were found dead in woodland.
Police scrutinised the evidence, yet the murders could not be solved. But they never stopped investigating, and almost three decades later, in 2002, advanced forensic science meant swabs could prove one man was responsible for all three murders. Police had looked into Paul Kappen, who had a record for car theft but would have been only seven at the time of the murders. His DNA was a 50% match to the killer, though. His father, Joseph Kappen, had died of lung cancer in June 1990, 17 years after the murders had taken place. But his body was exhumed and a DNA examination proved that he was the killer.
The case went down in criminal history, and has been turned into hit BBC drama Steeltown Murders.
Acquittal to conviction
CASE CLOSED: 19 YEARS
The racially motivated murder of 18-year-old Stephen Lawrence in 1993 was one of London’s most controversial unsolved cases. The initial investigation failed to convict anyone and, due to a lack of forensic evidence, the case collapsed.
But in 2007, fibres from Stephen’s clothes were found on clothing taken from two men: Gary Dobson and David Norris. Then came the clincher – a speck of Stephen’s blood on the packaging
