MULTIPLE murder cases remain unsolved across Essex after many years of investigations.

The lack of closure for families when losing a loved one in such tragic circumstances can be just as devastating as losing them.

Both Essex Police and Suffolk Police say cases are never closed and they are regularly reviewed with the hope of bringing the culprits to justice.

Today we look at some of the unsolved murder cases which still hang over loved ones’ heads.

Anyone wanting to give information on an unsolved case can call 101.

If people are concerned about their safety in reporting crime, they can share information anonymously with the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 or crimestoppers-uk.org.


Mary Kriek

Thurrock Gazette:

Mary Kriek – a Dutch au pair – was killed in January 1958 after getting off a bus at Foxes Corner in Eight Ash Green at 10.45pm.

The 19-year-old never made the 300 yard walk to her home in Bullbanks Farm and was found dead by a cyclist a 20 minute drive away in Dedham Road near Boxted having been beaten over the head with a tyre lever.

No one has ever been convicted in connection with her death.


Linda Smith

Thurrock Gazette:

Linda Smith, who lived in Foundry Lane, Earls Colne, was found four days after she disappeared while running an errand on Monday, January 16, 1961.

Her body was discovered in a ditch in Hadleigh Heath, Polstead, Suffolk - about 12 miles from her village.

Detectives believe the tragic youngster, who was aged 12, had been strangled with her own school scarf.

Linda was killed after leaving her great aunt’s house in Earls Colne to go to the newsagents. She did the errand most days and it would normally take about 15 minutes.

She was seen by a number of people as she made her way down Burrows Road. Linda was also seen looking through the newsagent’s window, but didn’t go into the shop.

Minutes later she had crossed the road and was chatting to a local cobbler.

Although there were many people in the High Street, Linda was not seen alive again.

Read more >> Police make appeal to bring killer of schoolgirl to justice 60 years after her death


Ivy Davies

Thurrock Gazette:

Ivy was battered to death at her home in Holland Road, Westcliff in 1975.

The house was ransacked and a ligature left around her neck, although it was not the cause of death.

The murder weapon, a metal pry bar, was found near her body. No-one has ever been charged with her murder.

Two men were initially questioned on suspicion of carrying out the 1975 murder shortly after her death, but they were never charged.

They remained the prime suspects for more than 30 years until the case took an unexpected turn in 2006 when detectives arrested a third man, aged 68 from Basildon, on suspicion of murder.

He too was later released without charge.


Alison Morris

Thurrock Gazette:

The trainee teacher, aged 25, was stabbed multiple times in Ramsey as she walked down a footpath to the River Stour, 250 yards from her home in Wrabness Road on September 1, 1979.

The case remains unsolved.

Essex Police did consider whether Peter Sutcliffe may be a possible suspect, however he was ruled out for a number of reasons including his involvement in a crime in Bradford on the same day.

Read more >> TV show to investigate link between Yorkshire Ripper and murder of Essex teacher


Diane Jones

Thurrock Gazette:

Diane was the 35-year-old wife of a doctor living in Coggeshall.

On July 23, 1983 the couple went for a drink at their local public house, leaving at about 11 pm to drive to their home.

Diane was last seen at the front gate to their house, having got out of the car whilst her husband parked it.

She was not reported missing until nine days after this event, at which time Essex Police commenced enquiries.

On October 22, 1983, some three months after she was last seen, Diane’s body was discovered in a copse adjacent to the A1093 road at Martlesham, Suffolk.

Mrs Jones, who was two months pregnant, had multiple skull fractures.

Police believed she had been battered with a spiked hammer shortly after she went missing, but the weapon was not found.

Extensive enquiries were made in Suffolk and Essex at the time and the investigation continued in the years since as further pieces of information came to light.

But to date, Diane’s killer has not been brought to justice.


John Marshall

The execution-style murder of Billericay car dealer John Marshall re-mains a mystery as the £5,000 cash he took with him the day he disappeared was left un-touched by his murderers.

The 34-year-old left his home at 10am on May 15, 1996, to finalise a business deal in Kent.

Although his black Range Rover was seen crossing the Queen Elizabeth II bridge at noon, he failed to return home or keep any other appointments that day.

A devoted family man, his disappearance was completely out of character and devastating for his wife Toni and their three children.

Seven days later, on May 22, an officer found Mr Marshall's body under straw in the unlocked boot of his Range Rover, parked in Sydenham, South London.

He had been shot twice in the head and chest, but not with a shotgun.

The Range Rover keys, a grey Head sports bag, two mobile phones and a Patek Philippe 18ct gold watch with a blue face were missing.


Ronald Fuller

Thurrock Gazette:

Ronald Fuller was found bleeding to death on his front doorstep after he was gunned down by a motorcyclist.

The painter and decorator was shot several times as he left his house in Parkside, Grays, at 7.45am on August 29, 2000.

The murder was carried out by a lone motorcyclist, who sped off towards the old A13 via King Edward Drive on a modern, step-through motor scooter displaying L plates.

The year before his death, Mr Fuller had been working as a doorman at Epping Forest Country Club and had been arrested for public order offences following the stabbing of Darren Pearman.

Charges were later dropped and police say there is no apparent link between the incidents.


Andrea Daly

Thurrock Gazette:

Andrea, 40, died of smoke inhalation in the blaze, which broke out at her mid-terrace house in Rochford Road, on November 10, 2005.

Andrea's sons, aged 17 and 20 at the time, jumped from a first-floor bedroom window.

But Andrea became trapped in her bedroom and died as a result of inhaling smoke.

Extensive enquiries have been carried out to try and find those responsible. But despite these efforts, they remain at large and their motives for starting the fire are unknown.

A further appeal for information was made in 2015, on the tenth anniversary of her death, and again in 2017. The killer has still not come forward or been found.


Paul Duckenfield

Thurrock Gazette:

Paul Duckenfield, who lived with his wife and two children in Portugal, was 41 when he was last seen alive arriving at Stansted airport on Monday, September 15 2008.

He regularly returned to the UK on business flying from the continent to Stansted or East Midlands and was believed to be involved in dealing steroids used by bodybuilders and athletes.

Mr Duckenfield is believed to have visited gyms and leisure facilities when he visited the Great Saling and Braintree areas.

On the day he was last seen he was picked up from the airport by a business partner he had known for several years.

The last independent sighting of Mr Duckenfield was in the evening of September 15, 2008 at the Palm Trees restaurant in Great Saling.

He had planned to return home to his family on September 19 or 20 by flying from East Midlands Airport to Faro but did not make the flight and has never been seen or heard from since.

Read more >> Renewed appeal for witnesses decade after murder of suspected steroid dealer

Despite the fact Mr Duckenfield's body has never been recovered, detectives believe he was murdered in the Essex area on or around September 16. 


Albert Williams

Thurrock Gazette:

Albert Williams, 67, was found dead in his small flat in Cedar Close, Southend, on August 8, 2015.

Mr Williams had been stamped on, strangled and set on fire.

Two men - Simon Smith, of no fixed address; and Anthony Smith, of Ceylon Road, Westcliff – were cleared of his murder in December 2016.

However, they were jailed for eight-and-a-half-years each for a violent burglary at his home seven days before his death.

They were said to have exploited his vulnerabilities and targeted him because of it, kicking and punching him taking a box containing £2,000.


Ladi Benson

Thurrock Gazette:

Shop owner Ladi Benson, 27, was stabbed to death in Chelmsford in November 2015. He was from Westcliff.

The father-of-two ran a shoe and clothes shop called Numero 88, based in Princes Street.

An inquest held into his death in 2016 heard his friends have refused to cooperate with the police.

As a result, they have not been able to follow lines of enquiry and his killer has never been identified.